Monday, November 9, 2009

Beef: X-Clan vs. Boogie Down Productions

This is a strange and unwanted beef between two crews of straight intellectuals, who both seemed to be on the same page. The main difference was (and probably still is) that one crew is pro-black while the other one was pro-human.


X-CLAN - FIRE AND EARTH


More than a diss record, they just happened to remember Kris's humanist stance, and in this pro-black track they had to air it out:

And here's a message to the Rainbow crew
And their fearless leader, Captain Human:
Revolution is not humanism!
Individualism and not separatism!


Even Professor X (RIP) raps on this one, instead of just "sissying" and "pink cadillacing".

Over and under as I progress to this
Got no time to be hanging out with humanists
Raise a flag, fly the, tag the hand, clutch the fist
Serve we nationally comes the diss
Humanity keep it with us we break edicts


On another track ("Grand Verbalizer") from their first album, Brother J also sends a direct hit to KRS:

Go from go from verb to verb,
Sit back and take heed, brother
YOU must learn!


Now to be fair though, there is an interview with Brother J over at Unkut.com where J states that there never was any hostile situations.

"The original situation with me and Kris wasn’t a beef, it was more of a misunderstanding on the audience’s part(...) All I was trying to state was that black people were not ready at the time for “humanism” views – we don’t have our house clean. (...) So my thing was to him [KRS] “You must learn”, take some time back and sit back and let’s build, sit down with some different elders and see it from different perspective before it goes out there like that. And the crowd instantly took it and said “Ohh, you beefing with KRS, the greatest MC of all time!”


Personally I call bullshit. I guess that memo never got to Kris, 'cause he put on his chef's apron and served them some craaaazy beef.



BOOGIE DOWN PRODUCTIONS - BUILD AND DESTROY


The great response by KRS was not only to destroy them as artists, but also went up against their beliefs. The fact that KRS got up in pro-black's asses with his two verses just proved that he wasn't afraid of ANYTHING.

He very cleverly showed and proved that many black men are worse then white devils, using Colin Powell as a great example.

Throw in the towel, the devil is Colin Powell
You talk about being African and being black
Colin Powell's black, but Libya he'll attack
Libya's in Africa, but a black man
will lead a black man, to fight against his homeland
An accomplice to the devil is a devil too
The devil is anti-human, who the hell are you?


He then went up against all philosophies that defend that since the first man from Africa as the original man, therefore all black men are the original man. He even goes up against 5%'s that focus on black man being God.


God is not any black man on the land; God is consciousness
When you understand this you'll see Kris
Until then, you can get dissed


He finishes his diss, or better yet, his lesson, with a mouth smacking teacher-to-student verse:


Yes I am the original teacher
You gotta study the Qu'ran, Torah, Bahavaghita
The Bible, Five Baskets of Buddha Zen
And when you've read them shits, READ them shits again!
But watch what you're repeatin
If you don't know the history of the author
you don't know what you're reading!
Yeah I'm still the original
Leaving MC's lyrically miserable
Their criminal syllables are minimal, show me respect BOY
Cause I build and destroy!


This is a lesser known battle where KRS stomped all over an MC. Brother J never responded, but instead, years later invited KRS to X-Clan's album to "Speak the Truth":

X-CLAN ft. KRS-1 - "Speak the Truth"



-- cenzi stiles

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Sunday Treats: A Moment of Silence

A nice little remix compilation taken from our T.R.O.Y. forum. Peace to weekdaywarrior and Silent Sumone for this. --Philaflava




Friday, November 6, 2009

Philly Retrospective Volume 8


Bringing you volume 8 from my Philadelphia series today. Like the previous ones, this edition has some relatively obscure and very dope cuts. Starting things off strong is 'East Wild West' by Rahsheed. I scored this single for about 3 bucks from a local shop. Favorites are probably numbers 3-5, but the rest are bangers too. I cheated a little bit with the Pittsburgh tracks, hope you like them.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VO6YHTBV

01 (3:23) Rahsheed - East Wild West 1998
02 (2:49) Chief Kamachi - No Me Now 2006
03 (3:24) Tainted Mindz - Any Time Any Place 1994
04 (4:16) Lux - Street Gangsta 1994
05 (3:33) Cipha - Scared To Death 1994
06 (5:12) Krown Rulers - Would You Be My Nigga 1996
07 (4:23) The Goats - Tv Cops 1992
08 (4:07) Chops (Of The Mountain Brothers) - U Aint Got No Wings Up In Here 2003
09 (4:54) The Mountain Brothers - Fluids 1998
10 (3:17) Jedi Mind Tricks - The Winds Of War 1997
11 (3:40) Pete Philly - Self-Expression Ft. Cee Major 2002
12 (4:41) Dept. Of Rec. - Thinking Outside The Box 2001
13 (4:46) Choked Out - Grabahold (Pittsburgh 1997)
14 (3:04) Lu Chipa - Toxic Seeds 1998
15 (3:30) Black Opz - The Difference 1997
16 (4:17) Munk Wit Da Funk - Shadows 1995
17 (3:23) Mel Man - Wreck Shop (Pittsburgh 1993)
18 (1:58) Indikator - Damage (Mixtape Edit) 1994
19 (3:30) Too Deff Connection - Take A Fall 1992
20 (3:31) L. R.o.c.k. - Outstanding 1990

One note, I know Lu Cipha is from Pennsylvania but I'm not sure which city. If anyone out there can tell me I'd love to know. Give this collection a spin, it's got some replay value.

--Schenectadyfan

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Trinity reminisce over Roc Raida

The group Trinity is compromised of emcees AG, Sadat X and turntablist DJ Jab. Check out these videos and be on the look out for the new album dropping on Fat Beats Records very soon. Just how many collabo albums is AG apart of this year? --Philaflava



Who Flipped It Better? "The Rub"




George and Gwen put out "The Rub" back in 1975, on the album "Together". It still sounds perfectly fresh today! Listen as the funk makes you bop your head...

George and Gwen Mc Crae - THE RUB


How many producers out there have heard this and thought, "shit, I shoulda flipped it".

Well, it's well known that no one owns no loops, so, go ahead and compete with the best:

MOBB DEEP-CAME UP



BRAND NUBIAN - THE RETURN



METHOD MAN AND REDMAN - SERIAL KILLER



THE COUP - FAT CATS AND BIGGA FISH:





-cenzi stiles

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Sounds Like The 90s (Volume 11)

11 volumes deep and we're not stopping anytime soon. Next month we'll be bringing you the Best of Sounds Like The 90s, then regroup for the new year. We're always accepting mp3 and your suggestions to help create these compilations. No more wasting your time, just download this! -Philaflava


Sounds Like The 90s (Volume 11)

01. Juice Crew - Mr. Magic Tribute
02. Cormega - Define Yourself feat. Tragedy Khadafi & Havoc
03. Jay Electronica - Suckas
04. Saigon - Say Yes Pt. 2
05. Beanie Sigel - What You Talkin' Bout
06. Remarkable Mayor - Doomz Day
07. O.C. - Life (Roc Raida Tribue)
08. Senor Kaos - 20 Years High & Rising (Homage To De La Soul) feat. Von Pea & Homeboy Sandman
09. Fashawn - Samsonite Man feat. Blu
10. Sene - WhyBother?
11. People Under The Stairs - DQMOT (Thes One Remix)
12. Del The Funky Homosapien & Tame One - Flashback
13. Cormega - Live And Learn (prod. Pete Rock)
14. Curren$y - On My Way
15. Godamus Rhyme - Mass Appeal feat. Mr. S.O.S.
16. Masta Ace & Edo G - Pass The Mic feat. KRS-One
17. (Bonus Track) Mr. Chop - T.R.O.Y.


Catch up an all 11 volumes here.

Props to Strategy for the tagged version & Blake Reznik and Tal Danan for the sick cover.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

In Full Gear, 20 Years Later

Some people use candles on cakes to determine their age. Other do the math = this year minus year born. I use Stetsasonic's "In Full Gear". I was only 12 years old when my mind was flipped inside out after being exposed to this majestic album.

This was the record that brought me into the hiphop mindstate that I would never leave again. This is how they should all be: full of clever rhymes, impressive sound, deep layered production and riding on an impressive varying show of musical/hiphop styles in one album.

"Freedom or Death" continues to be my personal motto. Daddy-O says "If I gotta die to be free, well then I guess it gotta be, 'cause I aint never been a sucka see", leaving you no gray area at all in the philosophical arena where second-guessers lose their heads to fully convinced gladiators. These political stands are what made the golden era of hiphop an educational tool that has never been equaled by later generations.

Strong arm beats and lyrics are all over the album, thanks to Delite and Daddy O's unwavering lyrics. "We're The Band" (sampling the same music that BDP would later use for "Blackman In Effect") defines what they are over the sound of a hardcore marching beat. Prince Paul on the production and turntables. Frukwan dropping science on the mic. Wise spitting on the mics, sometimes with beatboxing, at other times with rhymes. Some of the wisest lyrics though, come from MC Delite, who already sounded like an elder on the tracks. DBC was the keyboardist/drummer/DJ. Bobby Simmons has something to do there.. but I don't think he was around for In Full Gear. Anyone wanna school me on him? I just know he has a shitty ass myspace.



To complete the band, we have the ringleader, no doubt; Daddy-O. His gruff voice mixed with his raging lyrics make up the poisonous darts he throws out in every verse on every track of this album. Even when he says "I tape the daytime soaps on the VCR", you come out convinced that daytime soaps are straight gangster. If not, you'll give him his respect after you remember what he spit a few lines before:

"And though I'm not a politician I know all my rights
I had a fight with a cop just last night
Address my girl 'my dear', been shootin guns for years
And I never been a sucker givin in to my peers"


"Stet Troop 88" has Wise on the beatbox mixed with some perfect uppercut-punch-strong programmed beats. "Float On" is just a soft love song, coming equipped with all the rappers horoscope signs and some silly ass whispering. "Pen and Paper" is just a dope hiphop track, an ode to writing your lyrics over a kick ass bassed-beat, and a climaxing simple-but-so-well-placed wicky-wicky scratch. "This is it Y'all" rolls into your ears like that all hiphop tracks should. A perfect beat. A perfect horny stab. A perfect drum roll. Three MC's rolling over the beat like airplane wheels over tarmacs. To lighten the atmosphere, interludes come in and add comedy, "Extensions" would be a perfect track for Chris Rock's latest documentary "Good Hair". "Sally", a song about an ugly but loveable girl. The album just goes all over the place from utilizing heavy metal riffs, ("It's In My Song"), to some deep dubb Miami Bass (with the obvious title "Miami Bass", but actually talking more about), some of you may not need to be reminded how big that bass sound was in the late 80's. Daddy-O had to bring at least one trade mark dancehall track, this one called "ODad".

Music for the Stetfully Insane


The one track that probably get's skipped by a lot of people, just happens to be my all time favorite Prince Paul production (and my funny ass ringtone that gets ALOT of attention when I'm at the bank). "Music for the Stetfully Insane" is an interlude consisting of a fat, real sounding drum loop scratched over a Funkadelic's "Atmosphere", a lengthy Bernie Worrellathon keyboard solo track. Side note: Interesting how 15 years later Paul would work with Bernie Worrel in their monumental album "Baby Elephant".





This album was all about that open-minded theme that so many late 80's records boasted with pride.

But the song that I haven't mentioned yet was the one that would change hiphop single-handedly. "Talking All That Jazz" was an impressive 4 minutes and 49 seconds pièce de résistance that would put Stetsasonic in a whole new plateau. The song talked about the importance of sampling in hiphop, to respect the original artist, help make them relevant to a new generation.

You see, you misunderstood
A sample is a tactic
A portion of my method, a tool
In fact it's only of importance when I make it a priority




Sadly only one year later De La Soul would be taken to court and lose a legal battle over the use of a sample. Biz Markie would lose his battle too. Too many songs have been shelved due to lack of sample clearance. In this respect, the old school will always have that one edge over anything newer. They had way more creativity with samples before the law abiding record industry fucked up the sample-game.

It's borderline insane that this track, that was so historic and iconic in it's prime, usually gets more play on European dancefloors than anywhere else. Let's make up for lost time then, and bump it now, and bump it loud: "TALKING ALL THAT JAZZ"



-- cenzi stiles

Monday, November 2, 2009

Artifacts Rhyme Biting Scandal (Tame One vs. Lo Down)1994

Back in the day, maybe sometime in 1994(not positive), I remember listening to Stretch and Bobbito one night when the following occurred:

Stretch or Bob announced that they had received a certain demo in the mail. They played the first verse of said demo, check it out-

Lo Down - Mask Of The Phantom

Well, this verse sounded a little too familiar to the record breaking duo. It rang such a resounding bell because it was the same exact verse Tame One had kicked in a freestyle on their show in the past. They just happened to have that freestyle on hand and immediately played it after that demo. Peep it-

Tame One Freestyle

Yep. Same exact verse. I guess if this happened now a days, it wouldn't mean anything. But we all know that biting, especially straight lyric jacking, was not cool back then. And it still isn't, in our book, right?

I don't remember what exactly ensued after this was exposed, but I don't remember ever seeing many records by the Lo Down crew. It's a shame, too, they had some pretty good beats. Shouldn't have bit.

Download includes full Lo Down song and full Artifacts freestyle.

Thanks to Mad Human at the T.R.O.Y. forum for uploading the Lo Down EP in our definitive Ill EPs thread. Over a 100 EPs and counting, join in and add on.
Thanks to Roy Johnson for the Artifacts freestyle. I'm pretty sure that's who posted it. If not, claim your props in the comments.

--Verge

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Recap 10/26/09 -11/01/09


Que pasa, calabasa?


No Tricks, Just Treats


In Retrospect: Pete Nice And Daddy Rich Dust To Dust - Waiting for the pitch so we can chrome your dome.

West Coast Underground Volume I - Gangstas or griots?

Touring The States: Los Angeles, CA
- L.A., L.A., big city of obscure tapes.

'89/'90 - "Without definition, you represent the fraudulent..."

Golden Era Classic Selection - Know your history.

dirt_dog Remix Pack 4
- Remix mad kick, more than Metallica.

Rakim - The Seventh Seal Tour (live performance video)

King Sun, Rhymefest & Percee P (live performance video)


November, we go hard. No Antoine Merriwaether.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Rakim - The Seventh Seal Tour (Live @El Rey Theatre) Los Angeles


"Eric B ain't on the cut, but my name is Rakim"








Check out the live performances of Microphone Fiend, Mahogany, Paid In Full & I Know You Got Soul HERE! Subscribe to my channel, I got something cool from this show that I'll post soon. To see when Rakim is rocking in your city, check the tour dates. Peace.

-- Thomas V