Mi & Shecky Take It Way Back.

I’ve just been listening to this mix and thought that some of you would appreciate it.  DJ Might Mi (Smut Peddlers) and Shecky Green (co-founder of the The Source magazine) drop a two hour session of golden era hip hop.  “So what” I hear you say, lot’s of people do these kinds of mixes, why is this one any better?

Well, apart from it feeling like it was actually recorded 15 years ago, the track selection is top notch with a good number of forgotten gems thrown in, and the mix choices of instrumental and acapella kept my interest throughout.  But the cream of the crop has to be the Juice Crew vs Wu-Tang section.  On paper it sounds like it should be awful, but some of these mash ups work exceptionally well.  If only the radio was still like this….



Full track listing after the jump....

We Bring The Smac!

Smac 19 were a big part of the UK's early B-boy history.  Hailing from Sheffield, the crew were a force to be reckoned with and along with several other crews from the midlands and the north, they showed that the UK had a lot to offer.

After many years of memories, the Smac 19 name has now been revived to give a new generation of B-boys and B-girls something to live up to.  Check out the new Smac crew...

I dedicate this to Moyinka who grew up in the original Smac 19 era.

93 Culture

 

This is something a little bit different, but definitely worth a listen and download.  Imagine finding an an album of the dopest instrumentals from unreleased tracks that were made in the 90's, and you won't be far off imagining what this sounds like.  I've embedded the bandcamp player for ease of checking it out, but I'd recommend downloading it for a proper listen as it works much better as a mix.

 

In the words of the producer Jaz Infinite:

 

93 Culture is my ode to the golden era of boom bap hip-hop. To keep it authenticate as possible I created this album using only the techniques and tools typically used in the early 90s. DJ Chorizo Funk mixed the instrumentals in that classic mixtape format and Dinco D of the Leaders of The New School came through on the hosting tip to keep the vibe going.

Equipment used:
ASR-10
MPC 60II
Akai S-950
Mixed in ProTools, bounced to casette, then digitized again

***The bandcamp player adds gaps between songs when playing.  To hear the mix without the gaps, download the album and play it in your usual music player (iTunes etc.)***

History & Hunger

I'm pleased to see the stress and chaos of Christmas well behind me, now its time to focus on music and blogging.....
Here's some interesting stuff the internet has thrown up over the last few weeks:

Boombox History

 

In this era, where virtually everything from the early days of hip hop has become either a collectable, iconic, valuable, or captured in some kind of documentary, it never occurred to me that nobody has every really given any shine to the good old boombox.  You know, before the man bag, the record bag or the back pack, the must have accessory was a boom box (or 'ghetto blaster' in some local dialects).  So it's great to see that Egotripland picked up this article which looks back at the power sucking radios that so many of us first heard the latest Electro album on way back in the 80's.

 

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/how-boomboxes-got-so-badass/

 

 

Chief Rocker History

The original soloist on the mic breaks down a little history in this short biopic.  There's some nice old school footage to accompany the Chief Rocker's narrative of his early years, and he touches on his clashes with Kool Moe Dee and Lovebug Starski.

 

 

R U Gonna Eat That?

I'm really feeling this Dopplegangaz joint of the recently released Marco Polo LP - PA2: The Director's Cut, and now it's got a video!   Marco's smooth thumping beat really fits the Dopplegangaz flow and makes the perfect recipe.  Yep, you should certainly digest this.

 



Madiba

Whenever I see something new by Rakim I approach with extreme caution, as so often I'm left feeling underwhelmed.  I still burn a torch for him in the hope that one day he returns with the right producer and blows me away again.  Unfortunately, this track wasn't the one, but it's a timely tribute to Nelson Mandela and for that reason alone it should get some shine. 

 

 

Yo! International - UK

When the Saturday edition of Yo! MTV Raps used to air, when Fab 5 Freddy was the host, he toured a variety of locations to meet rappers, usually in their home town or on the location of a video shoot.  On one of those occassions, the MTV budget stretched a little further than usual and they paid for Freddy to grace the shores of the UK and present this edition of the series.

I would love to know the reasoning behind the selection of artists for this particular show.  MTV had shown the London Posse some love and previously played several of their videos, but to present Black Radcal Mk II to the international stage was a surprise to me.  I'm not saying they shouldn't have been there as they'd put out a lot of good material at the time, but in the early 90's there were so many excellent and successful artists in the UK, I just feel some others should also have been given a chance to shine and better represent the UK's hip hop diversity.  On the up side, it's was great to see MTV recognise some of the more underground groups.

Nevertheless, this little selection of interviews is still interesting and it's great that MTV took the time to explore hip hop beyond the US.

Unsung: Heavy D

TV One continues the Unsung series with a history of Heavy D and the Boyz.  It follows the usual format of tracing their roots through to their success, but with 2 members of the 4 piece outfit having their lives cut drastically short, it's a little more of a tribute, and rightfully so.

I was never much of a fan of Heavy D, or his absurd wardrobe of outfits that didn't flatter a bigger man's figure.  But having watched this episode, it did remind me just how much Waterbed Hev (I still can't believe he actually called himself that!) contributed to hip hop, and that he never compromised his unique style.  It's also good to see that Eddie F gets his props too, such an underrated producer in his era.

Straight Buck Wylin In The Place To Be...

November has been a busy month for me, so I've not been keeping up with all the goodness that the internet has to offer, but that doesn't mean that there hasn't been a few things that caught my attention.  So here's a few things that you may want to check out if you haven't spotted them already.

Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See!

In 1997 Busta Rhymes' solo hit confirmed that he'd evolved, he could cut it on his own and that his Leaders of the New School era was firmly behind him.  The latest edition in the Magnum Opus series goes back in time and uncovers the history of this iconic track in this short documentary. 

Can't Lose

Elzhi is back with this smoothed out new track.  He was also seeking some funding for his LP, but appears to have already exceeded his target, so hopefully a new solo LP will be on the way sometime soon.

Guru Tribute Gets A Video

It's been a while since Marco Polo and Talib Kweli collaborated on this joint, and now it's got a video.  As tribute tracks go, this isn't bad.  RIP Guru.

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.

Sublime Wizardry

These guys just hit me up with a link to their latest video, and its made me realise that I've been sleeping on them for months!  They originally hit me up back in the summer (when I was in the midst of a big DIY project and this blog was being neglected a little), so I never got around to checking them out.  But thankfully they nudged me again, and I'm damn glad they did.

To put things in context, it's fairly rare that I heap praise onto current UK hip hop.  I accept that I've got a lot more fussy in my old age, but I'm not alone in saying that most groups these days just can't cut it.  So it's great to be able to say that Sublime Wizardry are dispelling these theories and presenting the listener with fresh new music that's been crafted using the old traditions.  This really is hip hop that's been made for the veteran's that have stayed true to the culture and will appreciate it's authenticity.  They even put their DJ to good use at the end of the track, a feature that is sadly lacking in much of today's music.  I'm now hoping I can catch these guys performing live somewhere in the not too distant future.

Check out the video below, and if you're feeling it then head over to their website where you can hear more of their material including tracks of their recently released Best of the Bunch EP, or you can cop this track from: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/can-she-be-heard-single/id733269157.

Memories of Mr C.

A couple of years back I did a piece on Paul C using Dave Tompkins biography, Paul was one of the unsung elevators of early hip hop. To this day it still defies my belief that this guy rarely gets a mention, let alone enough credit for his contribution, despite there still being so many people still active within the world of hip hop that worked with the man.
So to my surprise, I then see two Paul C related articles pop up in the same month! And both are outstanding!!

The first offering is from film maker Pritt Kalsi, who has produced a 3 part documentary that in his own words is "not the definitive documentary or story of Paul C McKasty". But considering it runs for almost an hour and a half, contains interviews from friends, family and artists that he worked with, and given that there has been virtually nothing before it, its as good as we're ever likely to get and it goes way beyond my own expectations.

This is not your average film, it’s a little slower in pace when compared to most documentaries and it doesn’t contain any of the music that Paul C produced, but this provides space for the contributors to talk in more depth.

The personal reflections and stories from his collaborators - Pharoahe Monch, CJ Moore, Casanova Rud, O.C., Dr Butcher, Breakbeat Lou, Mikey D, Rakim and Ultramagnetic amongst others - really get into the history of that era, what it was like to work with Paul C and the way he influenced/mentored Large Professor. This film has clearly been a labour of love for Pritt Kalsi, and all credit goes to him for the hard work that has gone into making this documentary and for sharing his passion and work with us.

To watch the movie you’ll need to visit Kalsi’s own site:
Part 1 & 2 
Part 3


On the same day, the StrictlyBusinessHipHop blog published a compilation list of Paul C productions. Due to the lack of acknowledgement given to engineers and producers back then, it is probably impossible to pin down all of the productions he did, or had a hand in. So this list is a massive step towards a fairly definitive list.

So you've now got a list of Paul C productions to go and hunt down, but wait, the StrictlyBusiness boys went one better and have provided downloads for the majority of this list. I'm sure you’ll appreciate that a lot of work has gone into this and some of the tracks are hard to find, so this is a real gift.

Check it out here - http://strictlybusinesshiphop.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/strictly-paul-c.html