Chuck Strangers "Albee Square" (Instrumental Album)

Where Brooklyn at? Shouts to Albee Square (Mall). Chuck Strangers of Pro Era keeps his focus on production, dropping this "Albee Square" beat tape to pay tribute to memories of a unique space in time. The 13 instrumentals create a nice vibe wrapped in dusty, lo-fi loops. Catch that vibe below, and don't stand outside the Albee Square Mall too long, you might get took for all your sh!t! BKNY!

Foul Mouth "Winner Takes All" (Instrumental Album)

Foul Mouth season has returned! “Winner Takes All” is the highly anticipated follow up to last year’s PIK beat tape “Soul Louis.” This is a continuation of the head nodding, face scrunching soul infused production Foul Mouth has become known for and includes 15 slaps containing Soul/R&B sources, hard drums and ill transitions. Don’t sleep! Cassettes are limited to only 100 copies. Listen below...

Mic Geronimo "The Natural" (The Source, 12/95)

"Comin' straight outta "crazy ass Queens" is Mic Geronimo. The latest soldier of the Queens revolution opened heads up with "Shit's Real" a short while back. Now he returns with his long anticipated debut, The Natural. Close listening is a requisite for nearly all of Mic's songs. Slip, and you could miss the entire theme. He's the intricately abstract. Mic's got that Nas, Mobb Deep type flow, but he brings more cadence and expressiveness in his delivery - one that shines on the prior single release, "Masta I.C." Smooth melodic xylophone textures chime in and out as the beat drops and the hook flows: "I'm so high, you so high / I'll be gettin' money 'til the day that I die. The album also has a phat remix of Masta I.C." that hits you with totally new dimensions: female vocals, a phat guitar lick and the lyrical prowess of the Lost Boyz' Mr. Cheeks and Freaky Tah. Mic's call and response hooks work for most of the album, but at times the flava becomes monotonous. One workable exception is "Wherever You Are." The joint coats crisp handclap drums with a deliberate bassline and a smooth guitar. Mic the player gots to get high, chill, party with the ladies, have fun with the crew, and if need be, handle his business. Other cuts to peep are "Three Stories High," "Sharane," a phat toe tapper about a shorty goin' for the gusto and "Men vs. Many," which features lyrical appearances by O.C. and Royal Flush. Tho' The Natural possesses an overabundance of skits and intros, Mic Geronimo delivers enough flavors to prove that shit's real..." - The Source (12/95).

Photo by Danny Hastings and review in The Source below...

UGeorge "The Many Faces Of" (Album Stream)

"Hailing from St. Thomas V.I., UGeorge is a talent and a force to be reckoned with within the entertainment industry. Being raised by a family of musicians, he is an accomplished singer, percussionist and guitarist and a breath of fresh air in today's copy cat format of hip hop. Deeply steeped in his caribbean culture, he always finds a way of incorporating his influences without seeming pretentious. UGeorge was fortunate enough to be living in New York at the time of hip hop's golden era and has seen the game evolve. From his time of seeing Afrika Bambaataa and the Dynamic Rockers at park jams, to sharing the stage with the likes of Wu Tang and The Pharcyde, he has always kept the music first and thus is reflected in his insightful lyrics. As he frequently says, "If they can't see your vulnerability, they can't really see you". UGeorge is also a part of the super conglomerate known to the world as Soundsci, which includes fellow lyricists Oxygen, Audessey and Supastition. As well as producers Jonny Cuba and Ollie Teeba. His solo record entitled Many Faces of UGeorge, gives the listener a peek into the complex mind of this artist as he attempts to show different perspectives of life through a grown man's eyes." - Press Kit (2015) // Listen to it below...

Original press kit from UGeorge's "The Many Face of UGeorge"

Noreaga "Next" Feature In Vibe Magazine (June/July 1998)

Whut! Whut! exclaims the 20-year-old Victor "Noreaga" Santiago. "It's the slogan I got everyone saying and feeling. It's like What! Whatever! That's the attitude I'm taking." And judging from Noreaga's recent rhyming blitz (including appearances on everything from the Firm's recent "I'm Leaving" to Big Punisher's debut album) and his upcoming solo album, N.O.R.E. (Penalty), that's a whole lot of attitude to check for. "I never had a real job in my life until I signed to a record label," says the half-black / half-Puerto Rican native of Queens who got his first job on the street - running crack at age eight. His premature initiation into a life of crime eventually ended in '91 with an attempted murder conviction for shooting someone in Queens - right after seeing the movie Juice. During his three-and-half-year bid at Green Haven Correctional Facility, Noreaga befriended future CNN (Capone-N-Noreaga) rhyme partner Capone. "I was in a cell, and the only thing that kept me moving was music," Noreaga says. "Hip-Hop is the thing that had me going in jail." Cont'd below...

After his release, he and Capone strong-armed their way onto the scene with their '96 indie single "LA LA" (the East Coast counterstrike to the Dogg Pound's New York New York") and their searing debut album of the same year, The War Report (Penalty). "Nore is the closest thing to Tupac since he died," declares Lance "Un" Rivera, Untertainment Records mogul / hip-hop impresario. "His perception of being a star is what the streets is lacking right now. He's coming across as the brotha that'll say, "Yo, I don't give a f#ck, my rhyme style and lyrics is for brothas on the street, and it ain't for nobody else." And as if rhyming for his fellow street dwellers wasn't enough work, Nore has even helped carpet New York City with his self-designed promotional sticker campaign. "I gotta lot of energy in me," says Noreaga, revealing the significance behind his acronymically titled solo album, N!ggas on the Run Eatin'. "I feel like if I'ma be the rapper to come out from my 'hood, I'ma destroy it. I'm too hungry." Open wide, it's time to feast. (II)" - Vibe, June/July 1998.

Smoothe The Hustler "Broken Language" (1995)

"Here comes that Brooklyn aesthetic again - slang talk, crook walk and glock cock attitude. Smoothe Da Hustler, a product of the mean streets of Brownsville, Brooklyn, is poised to big-up the borough lovely with his debut release ... "Broken Language" is the real jewel here. Smoothe pairs up with his brother Trigga to deliver one of the most jaw dropping performances by a duo in some time. The two engage in vintage hip-hop, switching back and forth in an endless series of self-aggrandizing descriptions. As the sinister, sting-adorned track pulses in the background, Trigga and Smoothe strive to metaphorically outdo each other. Trigga: "Your death threater, sender, head spinner, rap beginner, light dimmer, three-knock out count winner / Your gun reacher, bustin' shot teacher, your funeral service church preacher / Your black hearse coffin' seeker." Smoothe: "Camera, the beer guzzler, the slug to your mug tussler, the drug juggler, the crazy thug hustler / The lexus wanter, the chain, ring and bracelet flaunter." Undoubtedly - as summed up quite succinctly by Smoothe - the "hottest n!gga out this winta." - The Source, 11/95. Prod. by DR Period, check it out below...

Poor Righteous Teachers "New World Order" (The Source, 11/96)

"There's a new set of rules we shall all have to abide by / the non-lyrical shall be terminated," goes the outro line of "Gods, Earth and 85ers." Hollywood might call it Revenge Of The Intelligent. But Poor Righteous Teachers call it the New World Order. Not just a reference to some master plan for world domination, this LP's title also aims for a shift in hip-hop's balance of power, away from the false prophets of gangsta nihilism, back to the knowledge rap that ruled when PRT first stepped on the scene in '90. The centerpiece of this album are the dozens of tightly constructed dope lyrics concocted by MC Wise Intelligent. There are almost too many to quote ... Wise unleashes lyric after lyric attacking ignorance and negativity in both hip-hop, and the overall Black Community." Cont'd...

"Fellow PRT members Father Shaheed and Culture Freedom also offer significant contributions from behind the boards. Culture brings some reggae flavor to the tight verbals kicked on "Some Tachers, Some Refugees," featuring The Fugees ... But no amount of funkiness could overshadow the outstanding performance of Wise. On New World Order, he's harnessed all his lyrical strength to issue a call to arms. Just like De La and Jeru have done this year, he's let it be known that he's fed up. This teacher's lesson: "Hip-hop has become a species in danger / since rappers turned gangsta." - The Source, 11/96 - Audio for "Dreadful Day" above, and full review in The Source available below.

Del Tha Funkee Homosapien "No Need For Alarm" (Rap Pages, 11/93)

"Del tha Funke Homosapien burst into the world of Hip-Hop a full two years ago with his dope-if-often puzzling debut I Wish My Brotha George Was Here. As a cousin of Cube and a member of the Street Knowledge posse, he was given a suitably P-Funky birth. In '93, he returns with his sophomore effort No Need For Alarm. Both Cube and Pooh are long gone from the production credits, and they have taken George and the funk with them. What is left behind on ... Alarm is experimental, difficult and original - this is an album for the hardcore b-boys. Del has the ability to choose odd, quirky beats and has developed a real skill for fast drum matching abstract lyrics. The often-preachy tone of his debut album has been replaced by "a new way to say what is clever," to quote the opening track, "You're in Shambles." In the last year, nongangster Hip-Hop has blossomed in the Bay Area. Both FM20 and the Hieroglyphics (Souls of Mischief, Hobo Junction and Casual) have captured many eyes and ears with their brands of West Coast b-boyism. Del has been very instrumental in this. Many hope that this album will confirm Del's spot at the top of the heap..."

"No Need For Alarm bristles with tight bass lines, jangling pianos, stiff snares and even an occasional cello - you will not have heard any of these beats before. Lyrically, Del has moved into styling, and conceptually he covers the territory of MC concerns in ways that are often new and humorous. "Check It Out" tells of a bad review he received from a dull, too-critical bitch writer. "Wrong Place" tells of the perils of living in close proximity to continual gun-play. For my money the fattest track on here is the posse cut "No More Worries" - a straight Bay Area open-mike session. Del gets mad dap for originality and for sticking to the difficult path of expanding the music. This album is definitely worth the duckets - the more I listen, the more I like." - Rap Pages, November 1993.