Fresh Beats

I tend to find that January and February are pretty quite months for new releases, or more specifically, the good quality releases that we're waiting for don't generally drop during the post Xmas lull.  But although no killer albums have dropped yet, there are a number of tracks that are bubbling right now that hint towards 2013 having some interesting releases.

There's even enough of them to make it worth me cobbling together this post together and sharing them with you (and that doesn't happen to often!).

Boston's Finest

First up is some new Edo G.  Boston's long time favourite emcee is back with more of the grown man rap that we've come to expect from him.  This is a release from his forthcoming album Intelligence & Ignorance that drops on 5th February.  I've got to say, that Edo G is certainly one of the more consistent emcees from the golden era, and this track demonstrates it.



That's not it, there's plenty more after the jump!

Blogwatch - November 2011

Mike Allen interviewing Run DMC 22nd May 1987

Here's a nice little piece of radio history.  The great Mike Allen interviewing Run DMC in 1987 on Capital Radio whilst they were on their European tour with the Beastie Boys. 

http://old-school-hiphop-tapes.blogspot.com/2011/11/mike-allen-interviewing-run-dmc-and.html


MF Doom breaks down his early catalogue
Egotripland have uploaded another lecture from the recent Red Bull Music Academy events in Spain.  In their own words:

Bear witness as Doom discusses the early ’80s episodes of Afrika Islam’s “Zulu Beats” radio shows on WHBI, which would provide the inspiration for his signature audio collages. Listen as he explains the defining characteristics of his plethora of performance personas (Zev Love X, Doom, Viktor Vaughn, King Ghidra). Marvel as he dissects the makings of classic recordings such as KMD’s Mr. Hood and Black Bastards, Operation: Doomsday, and his essential collab with

Blogwatch - May 2011

Like most hip hop bloggers, I keep an eye on a number of other blogs to feed my own interests and to ensure that our standards are up there with the very best of ‘em. Every now and then I stumble across something that is so good I feel the need to share it with you, but the reality is I never actually get round to it. But all that is about to change, as I bring to you a monthly update showcasing the best that other blogs have to offer.

The month of May has been pretty good to me with plenty of interesting finds. Here is the cream of the crop:

Lord Finesse Interview
The Funky Man reflects on the historic battle between him and Percee P in 1989, but what makes this great interview even more amazing is that the battle was filmed and the footage is at the end of the interview. Enjoy some rare and classic history. Thanks to Thun for finding this little gem.
http://www.egotripland.com/interview-lord-finesse/

Mike Allen interview
If you grew up listening to hip hop in the UK in the 1980’s then the name Mike Allen should be familiar to you. Mike was like an John Peel of hip hop and kind of like the complete opposite of Tim Westwood! He did so much to bring the music to the masses at a time when nobody was playing it. You simply must read this interview he did with The Essex Rockerz, he’s a legend.
 http://www.stylewarrior.co.uk/pdf/MikeAlleninterview.pdf

Also, check out http://old-school-hiphop-tapes.blogspot.com where you can find many old tapes of Mike Allen from the mid 1980’s along with a 3 hour recording from Fresh ‘86. Plus there’s plenty of other good stuff on this blog if old tapes is your kind of thing.

DJ JS1 Guru Tribute
One year on from Guru’s death and JS1 (Rock Steady DJ) has done a tribute mix. Also check out the links to JS1’s blog where you can get free downloads of his mix tapes.
http://www.thetroyblog.com/2011/05/07/dj-js1-one-of-the-best-yet-guru-tribute-mix/

Kool G Rap Interview
I’ve already pointed you to this interview in one of my earlier posts, but if you haven’t read it yet then here is a gentle reminder to do so!
http://wernervonwallenrod.blogspot.com/2011/05/competive-spirit-kool-g-rap-interview.html

New Blog
For those who are still mourning the end of the brilliant Underground Strikes Back blog, fear not, a replacement has arisen from the ashes. Check out http://pieandears.blogspot.com for your fix of B-boy and graffiti related content, but this time it comes with an injection of comical additives too!


Hopefully that little lot should keep you busy for a while (it did me!).  If you spot any great interviews, rare mixtapes, or anything else that is interesting then shout up and we'll add it to next months update.
 
Peace.

Kool G Rap - Interview



This is a corker of an interview, a blog review and a free download all in a single update.  Don't say that we don't spoil you every now and then.

If you're not already aware of Werner Von Wallenrod's Humble Little Hip Hop Blog then you need to check it out.  Werner is a hip hop nerd, and I mean that in the nicest possible way.  He knows his hip hop inside out, back to front, upside down and from many other angles that you've never seen.  Think of him as a human hip hop encyclopedia - a Wernerpedia!
If there are various versions of a single, then Werner is the type of guy who will track down each version and draw his comparisons.  He is a true collector, so he knows the minuscule details of every item within his collection including the writing and production credits, the different labels, the history etc.  You get my point.
He also publishes his videos on his Youtube channel so that you can hear for yourself some of the rarer and more obscure releases from his collection before you track them down for yourself.

Now in case that wasn't enough inspiration to go and visit his blog, then this might persuade you.  He has just interviewed Kool G Rap.  Thankfully Werner stays away from all the usual interview cliches and gets down to some really interesting stuff that seems to surprise Kool G himself.  But I'm not going to spoil anything here, go check it out for yourself.

And to top things off, if you follow the interview right to the end, you'll find a link to download G Rap's Offer You Can't Refuse EP for FREE!  So what are you waiting for?

http://wernervonwallenrod.blogspot.com/2011/05/competive-spirit-kool-g-rap-interview.html