Red Hot & Movin'

When this blog was set up it was always my intention to share much of my video collection as I have a lot of stuff that doesn't currently appear on YouTube etc.  I've had some limited success doing this over the years, but recently I've found some time to rip some of my old tapes and upload the clips to the YouTube channel.  And with my new PC being delivered soon, hopefully there'll be more of these rarities to come in the near future.

In early 1992, a group of mostly British hip hop acts came together to perform for one cause, to raise awareness of AIDS.  This resulted in a concert which was filmed and shown on Channel 4.

It features many of the biggest names in British hip hop at that time, Hijack, Caveman, Cookie Crew and the Rebel MC alongside the headliner, Master Ace (yep, before he switched up his name spelling).  The live performances are interspersed by interviews with the artists.  Given that 20+ years have passed, these are as entertaining as the performances.  Hearing K-Sly telling people to wear a condom is somewhat odd, although highly commendable.  Also featured are 11:59, Tenor Fly, Barrington Levy, Ragga Twins, Nefateri and Apache Indian.

Broke Ass Jam

The Living Legends are one of those groups that outside of America are either highly rated or completely unknown.   Given the solo success of people like Murs, it surprises me how they have remained so underground and undiscovered to so many.  So whether you're a Living Legends fan, or one of the uninitiated, here is your chance to see them in action on their Broke Ass Summer Jam tour.

Although the video's title says 2007, this concert was actually recorded in 2006.  Along with the Living Legends, there are also guest appearances by A Plus, Micah9, Saafir and others. This isn't a glossy DVD with HD visuals and sound, but let's be honest, that isn't what anyone would expect from this sort of group.
The running time is around 80 mins.

Fresh Footage?

This is a great bit of nostalgia that has turned up on YouTube, 20 minutes of good quality footage from UK Fresh 86 [Update - it may not be UK Fresh, see the comments Section.  If you can shed any light on it then please leave a comment].  It's taken from a TV show broadcast at the time and it occasionally cuts to hosts Andy Kershaw and Janice Long interviewing the organiser (and Street Sounds founder), Morgan Khan.  Andy and Janice were both BBC radio DJ’s so I’d hazard a guess this was shown on BBC2.

The footage includes performances from DJ Cheese (the world DMC champion in 1986) alongside Word of Mouth, as well as Mantronik performing with both T La Rock and then MC Tee and then lastly some footage of Faze One.  Some of the best highlights come from Morgan Khan with his misguided analysis of hip hop no longer being political, claims that Faze One would sell lots of records in America and his casual gum chewing that made me want to knock it right out of his mouth!

Fresh Fest 2

This is Video Music Box’s televised coverage of Fresh Fest 2 from 1985. This comes from the era when multiple headlining acts doing stadium tours was something new, and this footage shows how it all went down. 

Presented in the style of a documentary, we get to see Grandmaster Flash & the Furious 5, Whodini, Fat Boys and Run DMC all perform their live sets.   And let’s not forget that this is when they were at their peak and performing what we now call ‘their classics’. There’s plenty of interesting back stage clips, a press conference with Whodini and Run DMC doing a collaborative freestyle and a few other artists making surprise cameo appearances too.

This is a must see for old school enthusiasts, but if you’re a graf fan, then be prepared for the over-the-top anti graffiti messages (no doubt encouraged by NY Mayor Ed Koch, famed for his anti graffiti views). Incidentally, Ed died last week (1st Feb), but that’s purely co-incidence and not the reason I’m sharing this. Check out Mario Van Peebles ‘Don’t Do It’ skit, it’ll make you cringe.

I'd also recommend you check out Robbie's recent interview with Ralph McDaniels, who filmed this concert, over at Unkut.com.  Ralph McDaniels is the creator of Video Music Box that pre existed MTV Raps and BET, and in the interview he details how this concert was filmed along with a whole host of other interesting hip hop history.  One of the things he mentions, is his involvement with filming the Lifers Group documentary.  I just checked YouTube and it isn't on there.  I have a copy, so will endeavour to get that uploaded and shared in the near future.

Ralph McDaniels interview - Part1 and Part 2.

De La Soul

The month of April saw the (incredibly quiet) release of De La Soul's Plug 1 & Plug 2 presents... First Serve, the latest LP from the group’s front men.

I’d forgotten that this LP was in production and its stealthy release did nothing to bring it to my attention, nor will it help its sales.  As a result, I’ve not yet listened to it so I’m not going to comment on it.

Instead, when I accidentally spotted that the album is now out, it reminded me of several De La Soul videos I have sitting in my archive, and I subsequently realised that De La Soul haven’t made an appearance on this blog yet. So I think it’s time to put that right.

I wanted to upload the original 3 Feet High and Rising VHS release from 1990 that accompanied their debut LP, but I haven’t got the time to convert if from a vob file at the moment, so instead I’m going to hit you up with this rare concert footage from 1997.

This concert was filmed in Belgium at the Lokerse Festival. In an effort to make it a little more interesting than just the plain raw footage of Plug’s 1, 2 and 3 on stage, the editor has added some visual effects. Although the effects don’t detract from the concert or the music, they’re a little odd as the quality falls somewhere between amateur home video and authorised professional release. If these effects had been added to the video when it was recorded in 1997 then I probably wouldn’t have commented, but according to the closing credits the film was edited in 2008!

But don’t let any of this deter you from watching this DVD as the trio delivers a balanced mix of tracks from their early albums (which some might say was when they were at their best), all tightly pulled together and well performed.

Tracklist and embedded video after the jump.

What is Rap SM?

If you liked my recent Pharcyde post then you might also like this live concert from Oakland's Souls of Mischief. 
The gig was filmed at an event in Helsinki, Finland called Rap SM.  I don't know anything about this event, but it's billed as a 'Freestyle Battle' [if any of our Finnish readers want to expand on this, please feel free to update us in the comments section].  Having looked at the Rap SM website, it seems like an event for Finnish emcees to battle each other, and each year they get a major US underground artist to perform at the event.  The last two years have seen Elzhi and Wildchild perform, but in 2009 it was the turn of the Hieroglyphic affiliates.

All to often, the footage of your favourite rapper in concert turns out to be a grainy, muffled, dimly lit and filmed from the back of the stage on a mobile phone type of affair, which is more than a little disappointing (whoever thought we wanted to see the back of an artist?).  And I'm not talking about the crap you find on YouTube filmed by paying fans, this stuff is frequently padding out full price retail DVD's!
So footage like we have here, with clear audio and visuals (where you can actually distinguish the faces of each emcee) feels like a real treat, especially when it's for a group that these days receives a minimal amount of exposure.  Read more after the jump...

Blogwatch - December 2011

Although 2012 is now here, I've taken the usual look back over the last month of 2011 and pulled together some of the highlights from around the internets various sites and blogs etc.  Although the Xmas and New Year parties have now finished, I've decided to lay on a retrospective buffet of hip hop for you to feast upon, there's plenty more after the jump:

Public Enemy in Concert

The boys over at the T.R.O.Y. blog have found this great recording of P.E. live in concert.  Although it's a recent concert, they showcase many of their hits from over the decades.  Why not digest nearly 2 hours of truly classic hip hop?

Dead Prez & KRS One - Live from L.A. DVD

I’m not sure where this DVD has emerged from as there appears to be a distinct lack of information surrounding it. A Google search just finds a dozen torrent sites with it on their lists and the title claims it's a DVD rip, but not one major outlet has the DVD for sale and I can’t find any reviews or reference to it. This seems pretty strange given that it’s a professionally made DVD with two of hip hops biggest political heavyweights collaborating. So it falls to me to give some insight into what is in store for you.

Neither KRS or Dead Prez should need any introduction, but despite their similarities as conscious rappers who are not afraid to point out political errors, highlight deprivation or berate the corrupt record industries, I still would not have foreseen them collaborating in this way. That said, I’m glad they did as this DVD is a perfect blend of old school meets new school.  Each artist compliments the other as they highlight the different styles that they have adopted in an effort to achieve the same desired outcomes.

The crazy thing is, KRS wasn't even on the bill that night, he was in the audience watching the performance when M1 invites him to join them.  Kris then jumps on stage and rips through a collection of his own hits before dropping into some freestyle's.  In usual KRS fashion, he doesn't just do a quick 5 minutes, no, he gets right into it and pleases the crowd with a medley of hits.

The concert was filmed at the Key Club on the Sunset Strip in L.A. in August 2006.  Dead Prez perform a range of their best material from their first 3 CD's.  It's an incredible performance from both artists and I can definitely say that 'it's bigger than hip hop'.

If you enjoy this DVD then I would normally say go and buy it and support both of these artists as well as conscientious hip hop, but as nobody is selling it you'll have to make do with this DVD rip, enjoy.

Download Link (Hotfile - 690mb)
http://hotfile.com/dl/83783461/0a02d34/Dead_Prez__KRS_One_-_The_DVD_Live_From_L.A._2006.rar.html

Sabac - The Ritual DVD

Sabac Red (as he was formerly known in Non Phixion alongside DJ Eclipse, Ill Bill & Goretex) is an underrated political and conscious MC with a lot to say that will provoke the mind. He has released two solo projects since Non Phixion disbanded in 2006, both released on Necro's Psycho+Logical-Records, but each remain slept on by the masses (which is no bad thing).  His 2nd offering The Ritual came in two formats, one of which was accompanied by a DVD.

Although this DVD isn't a highly polished, big budget effort, it's certainly not one of those lame efforts which are just a collection of random clips.  You know the ones, where they use mobile phone footage of live concerts and call it 'exclusive content'. 
Sabac has really made an effort to engage with the viewer by giving them an insight into the work that he does behind the scenes to improve his community and educate the kids.  He commentates on his work and his feelings and this informal narration cuts in and out throughout the DVD and successfully pulls together the various other footage that we're presented with. 
 
The DVD is a full length film featuring videos, interviews, live European tour footage with Ill Bill & DJ Eclipse, freestyles, behind the scenes making of 'The Collabo Collection Vol. 2 Mixtape' and more.
 
Download Link (Hotfile - 690mb)
http://hotfile.com/dl/83638488/88aca73/Sabac.The.Ritual.Bonus.DVD.2008.DVDRip.rar.html

Public Enemy, Eric B & Rakim and LL Cool J - Live in Amsterdam 1987

Okay, the title mentions PE (and there is about 10 minutes of them at the start of the recording), but this is mainly a Rakim and LL performance. 
Eric B & Rakim take us through half an hour of highlights from their first album - which in 1987 would have been the freshest thing on the streets. 
LL Cool J then headlines the show for an hour long set (it should of been the other way round if you ask me!) and performs all of his classics from that era.  This is a fine piece of memorabilia and a poignant reminder of the good old days.

Download Link (140mb, 192kbps):
Part 1