Old To The New

Several tracks have emerged recently from golden era heavyweights, that I think are worth giving some shine to. 

Infamous Sessions

First up is a track from the bonus CD that accompanied the recently released Mobb Deep album.  For those who no longer pay attention to Mobb Deep (you're not on your own!), the bonus CD contains original/alternate versions from their 2nd LP The Infamous.  I'm surprised that this particular version ended up on the cutting room floor, and that Ghostface was trimmed from the final release.  This should have been a 12" remix.

The Blastmaster Returns

Whoa, KRS is back spitting like it's 1994 and Premo is on the production!  Ok, so there's no Premo, but this is Kris back in full effect and doing what he does best, braggadocios, arrogant rhyming, with some knowledge dropped in for good measure.

"I'd rather make one righteous dollar on my level, than make a million dollars spitting rhymes for the devil".

Cookin Soul

The original version of this tune was a bit bland and certainly an album track.  But this remix does it plenty of justice, and breathes new life into a 2Pac track that pays homage to the artists that influenced him, and reflects his early days growing up on the east coast.

Queensbridge History

In my recent Silver Anniversary review of one of Tragedy Khadafi's earliest singles, I promised to share the links to the documentary on his life called Tragedy: The Story of Queensbridge.

This documentary lasts approx 1 hour and was filmed in the Queensbridge projects across a two year period.  It attempts to capture the essential parts of his life that have ultimately shaped him to the be the man that he is, and it does this relatively well. 
Whilst following Tragedy on his journey, we are given a rare and honest insight into what Queensbridge was like in the 1980's when some of the biggest names in hip hop were exploding onto the scene.  Trag himself wears his heart on his sleeve and gives frank and open accounts of his past, each one helping to put pieces of the jigsaw into place.

There are plenty of fascinating bits of information, history, interviews etc that help to make this documentary a little different to most others.  Even those who may not be fans of Tragedy or QB hip hop will no doubt appreciate this documentary for the historical perspective it portrays.
There are appearances and commentary from Marley Marl, Mobb Deep, Capone & Noreaga amongst others.

You can either watch this documentary on YouTube (in 7 parts) or download a copy to view in a single part.  Either way it's the same version.