Flashback

It's a brief look back at some of the gems from around the internet this month, but don't let that fool you.  The two interviews are quality pieces that explore untapped history from two very different artists.  And then I had a macabre few minutes deciding to share the final piece, but there's something about it I find quite fascinating. 

MC Shan Interview

This is a corker. Anyone who is familiar with Shan will know that he’s honest, upfront and outspoken, which are all the ingredients required to serve up a good interview. And Robbie (from Unkut.com) does a sterling job (as always) in asking Shan some unique questions to draw out some great stories and hip hop history. Shan recalls dissing LL Cool J (and his fans turning LL’s limo over), the formation of Cold Chilin Records, drug addiction, various beefs and why hid didn’t appear on The Symphony. Definitely worth digesting!

Unkut - MC Shan Interview

What happened to Kool Kim?

Or his partner Hass G for that matter?  Well, if you ever wondered what happened to The UMC's check out Unkut's upfront interview with Kool Kim who explains what went down, reminisces on growing up with the Wu Tang  on Staten Island (and battling Shyheim), and recalibrates people's opinion on whether they were hard or soft.  

Unkut.com - Kool Kim Interview

Biggie Smalls - The Autopsy Report

I know it's a bit grim, but at the same time its kind of fascinating, and I know some of you will be intrigued by this.  TMZ have obtained a copy of The Notorious B.I.G.'s autopsy report which details how many times he was shot and what, from a medical point of view, actually killed him.

What's most interesting to me is the details of the entry and exit wounds.  If you do the math, it's clear that he was moving around in an attempt to minimise the risk of being hit.  It paints a grim picture of the chaos that must have occurred in those few tragic seconds.

http://www.tmz.com/2012/12/07/notorious-b-i-g-autopsy-death-report-christopher-wallace-gunshots-heart-arm-scrotum/

Rewriting History?

Marely Marl & MC Shan in better times

Several months back I wrote about D-Nice's website, and in particular I suggested you might want to review some of his short documentaries where old school artists reflect on their rhymes, records and events from that era.

One of my personal favourites was from Masta Ace who gave his account of how Marley Marl's classic The Symphony came about (see the link above if you haven't yet seen it).  Well, in recent days, MC Shan has seen this clip and has decided to put up a response to it as he thinks Marley has misled Masta Ace and the others who appear on The Symphony and he wants to set the record straight.

Initially I was curious to hear the other side of the story and clarify the facts around this piece of history, but to my surprise what has started out as an attempt to set the record straight, has turned into something much bigger and in some ways it's more interesting.

Now I've never really been into gossip or hearsay, and I don't care much for hip hop beefs (unless of course they bring out the best in an artist and provide us with some banging tunes (Cool J vs Canibus and Jay-Z vs Nas spring to mind)).  But this is something different.  This is more about artist integrity.

Watch the series of clips for yourself and see what you think, but to me it seems as though Marley has something to hide.  Shan is explicit in his accusations towards Marley, yet Marley never calls Shan a liar.  Instead he attacks his skin complexion, who he hangs out with etc.  But aside the issue that started all of this debate, there are other interesting bits of history being shared, such as Shan's involvement with recording Rakim, Kane providing his own beats and plenty more.

Shan and Marley aren't going to acheive very much from these discussions, they'll no doubt end up agreeing to disagree, but whilst it continues I'm loving the little side stories that are embedded within this debate.
Shan also promises to record further (unrelated) videos that provide more hip hop history, and these are potential gems for us to look forward to.