Grown Man Comic

I've been a fan of Ed Piskor since the first time I saw his online comic the Hip Hop Family Tree and I've already blogged about it several times (it really is that good!).  But a couple of months back it transversed from the web to paper pages when the first edition was printed as a book.

If you haven't already copped it, then it's highly recommended.  No matter how tough you think your knowledge of hip hop is, you are almost certainly guaranteed to learn a thing or two from reading this book.  The combination of acute historical detail with a traditional style comic interface makes this essential, enjoyable and no doubt collectible.

Peep this mini preview with Ed for more details, or just head over to Amazon (or your preferred retailer) and buy it now.

Filling The Gaps

Being a bit of a nerd for hip hop trivia, I was pleased to see the soundtrack for the early 80's movie Breakin' 'n' Enterin' posted up on the 1994hiphop.net blog.  I blogged about this movie last year so if you aren't aware of it, check out this post for more info.

Although the availability of the soundtrack was of interest to me, it was the narrative that accompanied it that intrigued me the most:

In 1983 director Topper Carrew produced a documentary about the Radio Club called “Breakin’ ‘n’ Enterin’”. For this early piece of West Coast History Ice T, Egyptian Lover and The Glove recorded five songs which were released on the legendary ‘Radio Crew’ EP. The artist Dupont who also first appeared on the soundtrack did three songs for this documentary; filled with vocoder voices and electro beats, which were well ahead of their time, but his tracks never made it on to the original vinyl pressing. The EP is one of the rarest pieces of vinyl in Hip Hop history, only pressed 25 times for the cast of the documentary.

This 2008 release contains the original 5 tracks that appeared on the EP in addition to the Dupont tracks.

If you've watched the movie then you'll know that Dupont's music is heavily featured, in fact it kind of becomes the films theme tune!  So it's seems harsh that it was left off the original EP.  But regardless, it's nice to have access to a 320kbps rip all these years later, especially as I'm never like to find (or afford) one of the original EP's.  Here's the track listing and download link, and many thanks to Juicy for sharing the link and his knowledge.

01 Ice-T – Intro
02 Radio Crew, The – The Glove – 6 PM Mix
03 Radio Crew, The – Spray It – Super AJ
04 Radio Crew, The – Breaking & Entering
05 Radio Crew, The – The Glove Meets The Egyptian Lover
06 Radio Crew, The – The Egyptian Lover’s Theme
07 Ice-T – Breaking & Entering (Rap)
08 Dupont – Burn
09 Dupont – Break Dancer
10 Dupont – Let’s Rock

Download

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!

History Continues To Be Uncovered

It feels like the resurgence of interest in pre 2000 hip hop just keeps growing and growing, as this months round up will testify.  Once upon a time we waited for what seemed like an eternity just to see something hip hop related grace our TV screens.  Now it feels like every month there is a new project that is turning out a new insight on a part of our culture.
I'm all for it, so long as we don't get saturated with recycled clips and retold stories, but so far, it seems like most of what is being produced is a fresh perspective.  And long may that continue!

Unstoppable

First up in the latest documentary-that's-soon-to-be-released category is Unstoppable  which looks at the evolution of London's hip hop scene.  I normally reserve judgement until the final film is released, but this looks quite promising as they're focusing on all elements of hip hop, have unearthed unseen footage and UK hip hop history that hasn't been properly documented yet.  

PTC Mix - Naughty By Nature

Zulu Nation's DJ Lord Ron keeps preserving the culture (PTC) with his latest mix.  This time he's done a special mix dedicated to Naughty By Nature.  It's a nice little blend covering Naughty's best tracks, and it's available for download too, enjoy.

Much more after the jump

What do you ask god?

It's been an interesting month on the internet.  Aside the drama around Tim Dog's supposedly fake death, and the passing of one half of Kris Kross, there's also been some retro goodness.  Here we go....

The Microphone Master

The Red Bull Music Academy has been consistently representing good hip hop for a few years now, but now they bring us nearly 2 hours of discussion with hip hop's greatest emcee.  I don't think I need say any more, let Ra do the talking.

NYC Live Throw Down: 1979-1985

Just take another look at that image!  26 hours!!!  Props to Janka-man for sharing this.  It turned up on one of the best websites there is for finding obscure and out of print records.  I'd never seen it before, so I'm assuming many of you won't have either.  Here's the description:

Over 1 full day (33 live performances) of vintage and official live throwdowns, spanning from 1979 to 1985.  New York City's original school together in one complete set.  This collector's set includes one data DVD containing 3.5 GB of high quality (320 Bit Rate) mp3's.  Each show is ID'd and sequenced, resulting in convenient use and enjoyment, as opposed to each show being one thirty to ninety minute-long continuous track.  

No collection is complete without the infamous Kool Moe Dee / Busy Bee scuffle, or the notorious routines of the Force MCs, Treacherous Three, and Cold Crush 4 MCs.  The list of essentials on this disc is endless. Includes a 24 page full color booklet of vintage NYC show flyers and artwork.

If you're an old schooler with a passion for this type of stuff, then download, buy some food supplies and lock yourself in a room for a couple of days whilst you reminisce.  All the links and a detailed track listing can be found here:

http://1994hiphop.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/nyc-live-throw-down-1979-1985-2007-dvd.html

G.U.R.U.

Last month was the 3rd anniversary of Guru's death.  Somehow this tribute track from Marco Polo, Talib Kweli and DJ Premier completely passed me by, which is a shame, because it's pretty nice.  See what you think.

Would You Like a Demo of ESP?

Nope, I'm not offering to read your mind, or bend a spoon.  I'm talking about the demo tape of Tha Alkaholiks when they went under their previous name, the Educated Street Poets or ESP.  I've previously covered this demo (and 29 others) here, but the tracks were embedded and were not available for download, whereas this downloadable version contains all 6 tracks.  Props to Warlord for sharing this rarity.

http://www.fileswap.com/dl/OuO8V1ygRV/Tha_Alkaholiks_aka_E.S.P._Demo.rar.html

More of the God MC

Producer Dominic Owen has released the 3rd instalment of his unreleased Rakim tracks.  This time round we're blessed with Get Visual (which eventually made it onto Rakim's debut LP The 18th Letter under the title When I'm Flowing).
For me, this is an interesting piece of history that adds another layer to this track.  As you can see from the Soundcloud title, Dominic produced this track in 1995, but the LP wasn't released until 1997!  This version is far superior to the album cut, but then I've always hated the LP version.  Why?  Because there is another (bootleg) version that ranks as one of my all time favourite Rakim tracks.  Both versions are presented here, you decide which is better, but don't waste your time with the LP version.

Notts Graffiti

When I was in my very early twenties me and a few fellows would periodically take a trip down the road to Nottingham on a record buying mission to the famous Arcade records. One of my mates already knew where it was and this knowledge came as a surprise to me as he barely left the house - still doesn't - and to this very day he still hasn't learned to drive. On one particular trip we got a little lost as there was a diversion in place and I only knew one way as sat navs weren't invented and we ended up spotting a community centre type building with a perimeter wall that was bombed to hell. The building itself was also shrouded in graffiti and there wasn't a space left that wasn't 'written' on. I parked up, got the camera out - I always carried it, just in case - and snapped away. We'd already discovered the Cifton Youth Centre as we'd been to a graffiti competition/exhibition before - it was there that I'd heard 'The Magic Number' by De La Soul for the first time having already been down to Warp records to try and get it that very morning only to be told that 'it wasn't out yet'. - hence the reason for the out of town buying trips. This place, we later learned, was St. Anns. We went back once more with a mate who worked at the Kodak shop in the city - can't think why I invited him - and took loads more between us and swapped when he'd developed them. The very last time we returned was about a year later and we were disappointed to find it all nicely painted in neutral, bland colours with no sign of the colourful and vibrant artwork that took us by surprise the first time we happened to drive by. A shame really as that's what Clifton looked like after we went back there too a few years later. Good job I always traveled with the trusty, non-digital camera that was really hard to load.
I've chosen a few pics for you to download and have a look at and labelled them as best I can remember. If you are a native of the area or traveled around a bit like we did well. you never know, they might trigger a few fond memories.

Download

UPDATE July 13 - If you want to see more graffiti from Nottingham's well respected past, there's a facebook group dedicated to its history. Its an active group with hundreds of old school photos. You can find it here: - https://www.facebook.com/groups/118592520553/

Warren Mills - Sunshine

 I was watching football focus the other week and Ledley King was on with some local kids at some kind of get-the-kids-off-the-streets-through-sport type project and they described him as 'Spurs legend, Ledley King'. He was an excellent player but legend he ain't. I think Masterscratch, however, deserves legendary status. His tapes were the best around and he was pretty darned good. If you had one it was your prized possession and other people who heard it instantly asked for it too.
 He played the break from this record, if you can call it a break, on quite a lot of his tapes and I wanted it so badly but never knew what it was called. I was browsing in a used record shop we used to visit once a fortnight on a trip with a few mates. One of them saw it and told me it was 'that record Masterscratch used on all his tapes' and proceeded to describe it to me human beatbox style. I didn't believe him at first; how the hell did he know what it was?. It was 50p so I got it anyway, played it and was most pleased with my purchase.
 I searched around for some info on Warren Mills but no-one appears to know where he is or what he's doing now. The record on the whole is pretty lame and I'm sure Jive thought little Warren would be the next Michael Jackson but there's only ever one of anyone and there's certainly only one Masterscratch. Legend.

Download

Ed Piskor Revisited

Almost a year ago, I recommended that you take a look at a hip hop comic strip that had been created by cartoonist Ed Piskor.  Even more intriguing than the creation of a credible hip hop comic, was Ed's 'family tree' format that really helped you to piece together the jigsaw pieces of hip hop history.

Well the comic strip is still going strong with more pieces of the puzzle being added all the time.  But now we get an in depth interview with the man behind it all.  Ed let's us in on how the idea came to fruition, where he intends to take it, and the publication of his first hop hop comic book later this year.  If you've enjoyed the comics, then you'll need to read his interview.

In depth interview: http://boingboing.net/2013/02/11/the-ed-piskor-interview.html

Hip Hop Family Tree Comic: http://boingboing.net/tag/hip-hop-family-tree

Fresh Prince Gets Raw

Yep, updating this blog is a good couple of weeks overdue, but I’m hopefully now back in action and normal service will resume. My online persona had to take a back seat for a few weeks whilst the living and breathing me got on top of some real life business! You’ve got to keep life in check, or else it sneaks up on you with surprises. So, having conquered several family illnesses, completed a DIY project, started a new job and survived the festive period, I find myself in 2013.

I should probably start by wishing everyone a belated happy New Year, but I guess that by now you’ve quit the diet, started smoking again, cancelled the gym membership etc and things possibly aren’t looking so happy! Well the best fix for getting through the dismal month of January is…… to immerse yourself in hip hop.

It’s been a short while since I shared some vinyl, so I thought I’d kick the New Year off by sharing something that on face value might not seem that appealing, but read on and I think you might be surprised by an early example of record industry interference with the artists lyrical content.

Last year I discussed the classic single Girl's ain't nothing but trouble by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince as part of my Silver Anniversary Series.  However, I was discussing the original 1986 version, not the one that is more commonly found on various compilation CD's and their 1988 debut album.  The original version is much harder and contains stronger lyrics (well, stronger than what we have come to expect from Will Smith).

The frustrating thing for me at the time of writing was that I couldn't track down a copy of the original 12" to include with my post, like I'd done for most of my other reviews in the series.  Then recently, one of our readers kindly shared some insightful knowledge in the comments section saying that they thought the UK release on Champion Records was the same version as the one released on Word-Up Records, and the licencing note confirms this.  Hmm, interesting!

What makes this information even more interesting to me is that sitting in my own collection is a promo copy of the UK version, released on Champion Records.  I'd never considered it as being a potential copy of the original, and it's not a record that I frequently dig out and listen to (I can't imagine why), so I was unfamiliar with this version.  But upon checking it, sure enough it's the original version!!!

So it seemed only right to upload it for the nerds out there who appreciate the intricate differences between records and those who are curious about how hardcore Will Smith once was.  Warning - he doesn't drop any truly hardcore lines and it certainly isn't ignorant rap, but here's just one example of how the language and tone of the record changed:

1988 revised version: "she started grabbin' all over me, kissing and hugging.  So I shoved her away and said you better stop buggin."

1986 original version: "she started grabbin' all over me, kissing and hugging.  I punched her in the chin and said, 'you better stop buggin'."

For a more detailed breakdown of the differences between the two versions, refer to the previously recommended article by Werner Von Wallenrod here: http://wernervonwallenrod.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/dj-jazzy-jeff-fresh-prince-uncensored.html.

Thanks to the reader who took the time to leave the comment and for pointing me to my own record collection, lol.  It's crazy to think I spent time looking for something on the internet that I had sitting under my very nose (quite literally, this record was within 4 feet of my computer)!

Mike Check

Download full original 12" in 320kbps mp3 (20mb)
http://www.mediafire.com/?95wl9drd3wr640d

Kool Moe Dee - Unsung

If you're under the age of 30 and have an interest in hip hop history, then this is essential viewing.  If you're over 30 (and are a b-boy/b-girl who's aging gracefully), then this is pure nostalgic pleasure and Kool Moe Dee's significance to hip hop should need no introduction.

As a pioneer of the speed rap style, one of hip hop's first intellectual rappers, and the legendary slayer of (the king of his time) Busy Bee, Kool Moe Dee's place in hip hop history is already assured.  But this documentary adds more depth to Moe Dee's contribution and contains many other interesting nostalgic moments as well as interviews with other legends from that era.  Moe Dee makes a good contribution himself and discusses his long running feud with LL Cool J and it's explained how the infamous red Kangol hat that was associated with LL Cool J ended up under the wheels of his jeep on his How Ya Like Me Now LP cover (see above).

Interestingly the programme highlights Spoonie Gee recording music before the Sugar Hill Gang's 1979 release of Rapper's Delight.  It also shows Kool Moe Dee performing on the US TV programme Graffiti Rock which the Arsonists and Non Phixion later paid tribute to in their video for their 14 Years of Rap collaborative single.

This documentary was originally shown recently on TV One's outstanding series Unsung.

Mike Check.

Art of Rap

Well, after all the hype, opinions and criticisms, if you haven’t yet seen Ice-T’s rapumentary Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap then here is your chance. Although a minority have criticised it for one reason or another, the majority seem to have welcomed its presence and feel that it fills some of the gaps that previous documentaries have failed to cover. And, it does attempt to cover the art of emceeing, rather than being a collection of interviews with old schoolers talking about how hip hop got started.

For me, this film is a welcome addition.  No single film is ever going to document hip hop perfectly, or explain the art form in consierable detail, and no matter how many people you interview there will always be an alternative opinion from someone.  But hey, it's that complexity that makes hip hop so compelling and captivating to such a broad audience.

Given that this is Ice-T’s directorial debut, I think he’s done a pretty good job. Yes it could have been better and yes it could have included so-and-so. But in fairness to Ice-T, I guess this is what happens when you have to make the film a certain length and appeal to broad enough audience that you can justify the filming costs and get it onto the big screen. With that in mind, I think we’re onto a winner. After all, when was the last time you saw a rapumentary hit the big screen like this one did?

The DVD was released yesterday and although I can’t confirm it, it appears to be longer than the film, so I’m guessing it will contain additional footage and interviews, which may go some way to pleasing the critics.

Peace
Mike Check


Note: - To get the film to play without the advert, make it full screen. Alternatively, you need to click a little x that usually appears somewhere beneath the green 'download' button.  This will close the advert and allow you to play the film at the smaller resolution.  Don't download the advertised software as you don't need it and it'll probably screw up your computer.

Saxon Scoundrels - The B Boy Master Files

These days when most people first get online the obvious thing, I would imagine, would be to look for porn. Not so in my case you'll be pleased to know as the old school b boy in me never died so my first mission was to find out some old records I wanted but never had enough money to buy. I remember searching for two records in particular, 'You Can Make It' by Charlie Brown and The CB Girls and 'Little Cezar' by Elliott Ness & The Untouchables. One of the websites that came up was one called 'Trakfinder' and it was run by a chap by the name of Russell and he called himself the MP3 Genius. There was also a message forum where you could discuss whatever you liked musically speaking as long as it was old school related. I was a little nervous at asking for stuff at first but thought what the hell, he can only tell me to cobblers so I asked for both the aforementioned tracks in mp3 format and they appeared within a few days in my inbox and I was delighted I can tell you. He also had some cut 'n' paste, Latin Rascals style mixes for download, namely 'Locked In To The Boss' parts 1 and 2 and they were  unbelievably dope. I discovered this limited 7" single pressed on orange vinyl to make it extra special and released on Freddy Fresh's B Boy Beats and Pieces label which has more of the same razor sharp editing and is the first where he teamed up with his partner in scoundrelling Ictus and they contribute an offering each, both of which I'm sure, will blow you away.

Download

Scratch That

I'm sure many of you will already have seen Scratch, the feature length documentary on DJing and turntablism released in 2001.  But whether you've seen it already, or missed it the first time around, it's an excellent film that truly captures the world of the DJ and is certainly worth another watch.

The most poignant moment for me was seeing DJ Shadow sitting in the basement of a 2nd hand record store surrounded by towers of vinyl and telling how it's a humbling experience being a part of the big pile of people's broken dreams, and how every artist will eventually end up there.  So true, and it also highlights the many dedicated, lonely hours that go into making those beats and giving those broken dreams another chance at being heard, even if it is only for a few seconds.

Mike Check

More Knowledge

I recently shared an old recording of what I believed was the UK Rappin' Championships and asked if any of you knew anything more about it. Well, thankfully someone came forward who knew quite a lot about this event and has provided a considerable update. So here’s a follow up post to share this information with you, along with some video footage of the event!
But before I start, I want to say a big thanks to Shan Dookna for taking the time to help out and share his extensive knowledge.

The event name is still unconfirmed, but I think I’m safe to assume that it probably wasn’t officially called the UK Rappin’ Championships, which would also explain why the all knowing internet didn’t return anything when I started digging.

The competition was actually held as part of the DMC DJ Mixing Championships, and in 1988 these were held at the Hippodrome in London. However, another trawl of the web still doesn’t provide much fruit, the main focus is purely, and understandably, on the DJing. This leads me to believe that this freestyle competition was mainly a warm up show before the main DJ event.

Shan tells me that the judging panel included members of the Cookie Crew and Mike Allen. In my original post I pointed out that the audio cuts off before the winner is announced, but I can now confirm that the winner was in fact Fresh J, who was apparently from Huddersfield. The final battle between Fresh J and MC Brooklyn is actually on YouTube and can be seen here:



One of the female emcees on the recording went by the name of Jazzi P. Shan tells me that this is the same Jazzi P that later went on to work with hip house producer Les Adams. She had a couple of commercially successful singles, as a soloist under her Jazzi P name, but also as the vocalist for Adams’ group L.A. Mix, who had a reasonable hit with the track Get Loose on which Jazzi fires some rapid rhymes. But like what happened to many artists who jumped on the hip house bandwagon, it didn’t take them very far.

Demo-lition

 

Yesterday there was a lot of buzz around the web about this awesome mixtape from Rock Steady DJ, JS-1. It’s 3 hours of demo’s from major artists, most of which were big in the 1990’s. Don’t get me wrong, the line up looks stellar and there are quite a few that I’m eager to hear, but when you take a minute to consider some of these joints, I’m not convinced they are all true demo’s.

For example, we know from many different stories how Eric B & Rakim’s early material came to be, and there certainly wasn’t a Rakim demo tape kicking around. So what I think we really have here is a collection of tracks that are either cuts that didn’t make the album, unused remixes, or early versions before they were fully mixed down etc, with a few demos thrown in for good measure.

Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t make the mix any less interesting (in fact it probably makes it better as demo tapes can, understandably, sound very amateurish), but it’s good to keep things in perspective. I’ve included the full track list after the jump, along with the download link.

And if hearing a demo from your favourite golden era artist is your kind of thing, keep an eye out over the next few weeks as I’ll be posting 30 more demo tracks, and this time they will be the proper original demo tapes!

Mike Check.

Do you know anything about this?

Whilst digging in my (digital) crates looking for something a little different to share with you, I stumbled across an mp3 rip that intrigued me. The file name simply said ‘UK Rappin Championships 1988’. I’ve had this for quite a while, so I can’t remember where, or who, I got it from. “Not a problem” I thought, I’ll just do a quick Google search to find out more.

But this is one of those items where the all knowing internet surprisingly returns zilch!!! I’ve got cassette rips that I consider more obscure or rarer than this, but most of them have turned up on blogs or YouTube. Yet this is a national championship akin to other competitions like the DMC, so it seems strange that it’s undocumented. I tried several popular search engines and numerous variations of search text, but the only thing I can find is an entry on Last.fm that has no description. This has just made me all the more curious. This is a part of UK hip hop history that is clearly undocumented, so if you know anything about it, however trivial, then please leave a comment below and let’s see if we can build a better picture of this event.  On the plus side, it does mean that this is probably an exclusive to FoaWP!

If you listen to the embedded music player below, you can hear that it sounds like an officially organised event and one of the first emcees to appear is an MC Einstein. I can only assume that this is the same Einstein that was signed to Music of Life records in 1988. Other named emcees are MC Brooklyn, Jazzy P and Miss Delight, but I think there are other uncredited emcees.

From what I can make out, the format was to line up a number of emcees and let them take turns, as opposed to the now traditional battle style of head to head dissing. However, there are still some nice little battles within this format (listen at around 6:15 for a good example of this). The host also makes a reference to ‘last year’ so this wasn’t the first or only event of its kind.

Whilst the judges are deliberating who the winner is, an unknown beatboxer entertains the audience which includes a nice little tribute to the kids TV programme Rainbow. The biggest travesty though is that whoever edited this from its original cassette omitted to include the announcing of the winner, duh!

The whole affair has been edited down to just less than 25 minutes. As you would expect with a recording of this age, it’s got the atmospheric cassette hiss in the background, but this doesn’t detract from the lyrics, if anything it’s a timely reminded of what we used to endure without really noticing it.

So, can you remember this event? Do you know where it was, who hosted it, or any of the contenders? Let’s hope someone can shed some light on it.  Leave a comment below if you have any info.

Update - Some of the questions here have now been answered.  Check out the update here.

Mike Check



Alternatively, download the mp3: https://hotfile.com/dl/156219942/d041742/UK_rappin_championships_1988.mp3.html

The Family Tree

Wherever you grew up in the world and whichever era you grew up in, it’s likely that alongside listening to hip hop, you probably also read a comic or two (apologies to our female readers who may not have connected with comics like most of us boys do).  Our love of comics continues into adulthood as we’re the generation that’s now watching the Iron Man, X Men and Batman movies etc.

But when was the last time you actually picked up a traditional comic? For me, it was about 6 months ago when I was rooting around in my loft. I opened a box which I thought contained an item I was looking for, but instead it had some old comics in it. This was a pleasant surprise and I was momentarily distracted as I pulled a couple of editions out and thumbed through them, reminiscing of old times.
I soon remembered that I was in my loft for a purpose and within a few minutes the comics were returned to deep storage and I was back searching for what I’d originally gone up there for.
This kind of summarises my love of comics. It was once there but it has been filed, almost indefinitely, to make space for other things. Until now…..

Breakin' 'n' Enterin'

(This is the image for the OST, but it's the actual documentary being reviewed here)

In my recent Silver Anniversary post I reflected on some of Ice-T’s history in the game. I was specifically looking at his contribution from 25 years ago in 1986 but I also mentioned that he may well have been the first rapper/actor as he’d already had cameo roles in the films Breakin’ (1984), Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984) and Rappin’ (1985).
But then I got an e-mail from my homie Jsta, a fellow blogger over at the Phuk-tha-muthaphukkin-police blog. He hit me up on the documentary Breakin’ ‘n’ Enterin’ (Yep, there are far too many apostrophes in the name, but it is the correct spelling) from 1983 which is Ice-T’s first on-screen appearance. Damn, this is nearly 30 years old!!!

Although Ice-T has a significant amount of screen time in this documentary, and this was my primary reason for checking it out, what’s actually most important here is the excellent cataloguing of the west coast break dance scene in the early 80’s. Ice-T is just one small contribution to this, so I’ll come back to him later.

There are hours of footage that document much of the early Rock Steady Crew battles and many more that catalogue the east coast scene in general, but this is a huge injustice to the west coast who had an equally vibrant, and some might say more varied, scene. That’s where Breakin’ ‘n’ Enterin’ attempts to redress that imbalance.

Hip Hop Legends DVD (2007) - Repost

Update - I'm reposting this article as I have now found links to a downloadable copy of this documentary to replace the Megavideo version. 

This is an interesting documentary that is really worth watching. The production quality with its cheap graphics and basic editing isn’t the greatest, but what it lacks in presentation it makes up for in content.

Instead of seeing the usual bunch of contributors who always seem to be readily available to tell their version of the history of Hip Hop, the film makers made the effort to track down some of the less familiar (but often more important) names and get them to provide the commentary.

This results in the viewer seeing some insightful claims and memories, such as Pow Wow claiming that Lovebug Starski invented the term Hip Hop and Bambaataa decided to use it as the name for the evolving culture.

It also steers away from using the same archive footage that any long term Hip Hop fan has seen 100’s of times before. So I can reliably report that you won’t have to watch Kool Herc driving through the Bronx with his ‘Herculoid’ speakers in the back seat of his convertible, or hear Malcolm McLaren talking about his 'first experience' of Hip Hop, nor will you see any mention of Blondie, Fab 5 Freddy or the Sugar Hill Gang!

Instead we’re presented with many new and original clips. Ok, the clips aren’t anything to write home about and the producers haven’t managed to uncover any unseen clips of Kool Moe Dee battling Busy Bee, but what they have got helps to give the film a different feel to the usual trip down Hip Hop’s memory lane.

The main focus of the film is about how the whole culture got started during the 1970’s (which seems to be slightly at odds with the films title). It explores Kool Herc bringing the sound system style from Jamaica to the Bronx, Bambaataa working with gang members to form the Zulu Nation, how breaking, DJing and MC battling evolved and it gives us a timely reminder of what Hip Hop culture was originally all about. The narrators repeatedly express their concern for what Hip Hop has become compared to it’s original intentions and foundations (but keep in mind that this film was released at a time (2007) when the phrase ‘Hip Hop is Dead’ was in wide use).

The main contributions are from DJ Skribble, DMC, Bambaataa & Grandmaster Caz. But there are also many appearances from rarely seen pioneers such as Pow Wow from the Soul Sonic Force, EK Mike C from Crash Crew, Busy Bee and old skoolers Rob Base & EZ Rock.

Download is 700mb in two parts:
https://rapidshare.com/files/3341468394/Hip.Hop.Legends.2007.DVDRip.part1.rar
https://rapidshare.com/files/590620252/Hip.Hop.Legends.2007.DVDRip.part2.rar

Mike Check

Silver Anniversary Series - 1986 - The Wrap Up (Part III)

To end this 3 part edition of the Silver Anniversary Series wrap up for 1986, wouldn’t it be nice to provide you all with a superb mix of records that were all released that year?

Well, DJ K-Delight took the time and trouble to do just this, and it’s a cracking job he’s done too! Here’s what his own web page has to say about how the tape came about:

The 5 month labour of love that is 'Fresh For 86' by turntable scratch assassin and UK producer K-Delight. This mix has been recorded using all original 80's Electro vinyl. K-Delight has kept this mix as authentic as possible by recording the whole mix onto an old Yamaha multi track tape machine!!!!!!!! Yes that’s right, we said tape! Hell yeah.

K-Delight made his name on the UK hip hop scene in the early nineties with his dope 4 track mix tapes. Now with the UK Fresh 86 reunion happening this year, what better time to create a pure old school mix not only in sound but in the recording method too. Once 'Fresh For 86' was mixed it was then cut the hell up using Cubase to give some extra edit power paying tribute to edit king Chep Nunez and of course the man Mantronik. 

Throughout the mix there are cuts and samples from classic Mike Allen radio shows, audio from the original UK Fresh 86 event as well as sneaky snippets of Morgan Khan’s vocals and words of wisdom from Arthur Baker!

It’s clear that an immense amount of time, thought, preparation and love went into this mix, and I really respect K-Delight's dedication to it. It’s a fitting tribute to what has to be one of the most influential, innovative, creative and enjoyable years from hip hop’s great history.

And the best part is yet to come! You can either listen to the mix through the embedded SoundCloud player below, or better still you can download it for free to bump in your car, or to play at that retro New Year party that you’ve been planning.  The full track list is after the jump.

A big thank you to K-Delight for providing the icing on my 1986 cake! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Download here: http://soundcloud.com/k-delight/fresh-for-86-by-k-delight/download


FRESH FOR 86 by K-DELIGHT by K-DELIGHT

Tracklist
1. K-Delight - Fresh For 86
2. The World Class Wreckin Crew - World Class
3. Pumpkin - King Of The Beat.
4. Dr Jeckyll & Mr Hyde - Fast Life
5. 2 Live Crew - What I Like
6. The B Boys - Two Three Break
7. Davy DMX - One For The Treble
8. UTFO - Roxanne, Roxanne
9. Rapologists - Hip Hop Beat (Street Mix)
10. Man Parrish - Hip Hop Be Bop (Dont Stop)
11. B.O.S.E - Bass Overdrive
12. High Fidelity Three - B Boys Breakdance
13. Freestyle - Don't Stop The Rock
14. Sparky D v's The Play Girls - The Battle
15. Rock Master Scott & The Dynamic Three - The Roof Is On Fire
16. Hashim - Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)
17. Fresh 3 M.C.'s - Fresh
18. Kid Frost - Terminator
19. Mixmaster Gee & The Turntable Orchestra - The Manipulator
20. LA Dream Team - RockBerry Jam
21. Captain Rock - Return Of Captain Rock
22. Twilight 22 - Electric Kingdom
23. Real Roxanne & Howie Tee - Lets Go Go Go
24. Marley Marl feat. MC Shan - Marley Marl Scratch
25. Mantronix - Needle To The Groove
26. Word Of Mouth & DJ Cheese - King Kut
27. Aleem - Release Yourself