D-Nice TV

This is one channel on YouTube that you've got to check out.  It's hosted by D-Nice (from Boogie Down Productions) who is now a photographer and film maker as well as a DJ. 

D-Nice has come correct with a great little series of short documentaries with old skool artists, such as Big Daddy Kane, Buckshot, Sadat X, Masta Ace, Dana Dane, Kwame, Lords of the Underground and many more.  But what makes these videos different is that each interview starts with the artist recalling a classic, well known and well recited  rhyme from their back catalogue which they then break down and explain. 
Each lyric is carefully chosen to give the viewer an insightful, and generally unheard, history lesson from their early days of Hip Hop.  You'll find Monie Love talking about Kane hitting on her, Ace talking about how he was never meant to be on The Symphony and Sadat breaks down his classic verse from Punks Jump Up.  I'll let you discover the rest.... although I've embeded a small selection below :)

http://www.youtube.com/user/dnicetv

It's also worth taking a look at his website too.  He's got some brilliant photos of some of Hip Hop's greatest artists (old and new) that have been taken in modern times, but done in a contempory style and much removed from the usual publicity shots we're used to seeing.  It's great to see D-Nice is still a player in the game with a positive contribution, peace to D-Nice.

http://d-nice.com/

Our 1st Milestone

Who's birthday is it, I hear you asking.... well, its ours!!!!  We launched Fear of a Wack Planet last October and to be honest, we didn't think very much would happen in the first year, but how wrong we were!!!  Visitors have been steadily growing each month as our readers spread the word, and we've far exceeded our early expectations.  We've also received direct praise and thanks from some of the artists and bloggers that we've shone a spotlight on, which is also great news.

Now that things have truly taken off, we can hopefully focus on bringing you lots more gems over the next 12 months to keep you coming back for more and more of that fresh, but retro, hip hop flavour.  We have a number of ideas and plans (although I'm not going to expand on them just yet), but it's safe to say that providing you with insightful reviews of rarer material is high on our agenda.

Speaking of which, if anybody knows a decent video hosting site that will allow us to upload an hour or more of footage in one go then please let me know asap.  I really don't want to have to carve up some of our material into bitesize chunks just because Poo Tube can't handle anything longer than 15 minutes, grrr.

Anyway, we'd like to say A BIG THANK YOU to all of our visitors from all over the world who continue to show an interest in this blog and support what we do.  One love.

Mike Check & Randy Mack

Roxy Interview

Any serious b-boy or b-girl in the UK will know that this weekend (Oct 15th & 16th) is the UK B-Boy Championships 2011 at Brixton Academy in London.  Last year, the UK crew Soul Mavericks represented hard for the UK and reached the semi finals, and anyone who was there or saw the DVD will know that their b-girl Roxy was not to be taken for granted. 

The Soul Mavericks are representing us again this year and will be hoping to improve on last year's commendable performance.  But in the meantime, you might want to check out this short interview with Roxy, the UK's premier b-girl.

http://toomuchflavour.co.uk/site2/uk-bboy-championships-2011-interview-with-b-girl-roxy-soul-mavericks-plague/

Enter The Battle

For all of our UK readers, you need to be aware of this event next weekend (22nd Oct).  Enter the Battle is the UK's premier mixed discipline urban sports event featuring breaking, street dance, graffiti and an outdoor hip hop sound system with performances from Elements, Critical Beatdown & Suspekt.  Alongside these events are Extreme Martial Arts, BMX, Slackline, Freestyle Football and much, much more.

Following on from last years huge event at the O2 in London which was broadcast on Sky TV, this year see's the event move to a new venue in the Midlands.

For more information, check out http://www.enterthebattle.co.uk/ or check out their Facebook page for clips of the special guests and footage of last years show.

Darwin Vs. Redman

I chanced across this interesting individual during a late night browse, (yes i know there's porn out there), and thought he had a very interesting take on how the decaying urban environment, anthropology and evolution affected hip hop in particular. Leading many unfamiliar with the genre to remark only on the overt aggression, missing perhaps a more subtle phenomena at hand.

His name is Baba Brinkman (presumably not his birth name) and this performance was taken from the Edinburgh Fringe this year. Now providing the words decaying, urban environment, anthropology and evolution placed proximately together haven't seen you surf over to Babes in Boots, then you may be intrigued to view the following:

Canadian Academia in the house!!!!

Blogwatch - September 2011

Chris Marco - Dubplates
September got off to a great start with Chris Marco releasing his Dubplates - Volume 3.  For anyone who isn't familiar with these, they're a mashup of reggae instrumentals and hip hop accapella's, all mixed exceptionally well by Chris Marco.  And what makes this even better is, it's a free download! 
I'm not normally a fan of this type of mix (mostly because they're not usually executed particularly well), but this stuff is top notch and could easily be legitimate, alternative, remixes from the original 12".  Featuring classic tunes from Masta Ace, Special Ed & Buckshot, MC Lyte, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Mos Def and plenty more.

And if you like this, then check out volumes 1 and 2 that are still available for download.  Volume 1 is a King Tubby vs Wu-Tang mashup, and Volume 2 is a Bob Marley vs Jay-Z mashup.

http://chrismacro.com/vol3-available-now


Kool Keith Interview

Yup, the legend that is Kool Keith gives an insightful interview into how it all began for him, starting out with Ultramagnetic and he also breaks down many of his solo albums since. Check out the full interview along with a Flac download of the The Four Horsemen album over at Olas Un Bekons blog:

http://www.olasunbekons.com/2011/09/ultramagnetic-mcs-four-horsemen-1993.html


6th Annual Zulu Nation anniversary mixtape
I don't know what year this is from, but it's certainly going to take you a long way back in time. It features Cosmic Force, Sha Rock, Lisa Lee and the L-Brothers and lasts for about 30 minutes. It's a rip from an old tape, but for me that just adds to the authenticity of the sound, it sounds just like it used to when I was a kid!

http://old-school-hiphop-tapes.blogspot.com/2011/08/6th-annual-zulu-nation-anniversary-with.html


N.W.A. - Live from 1989
My boy Jsta has just uploaded a nice little rarity on his West Coast/Ruthless Records blog. Jsta is proving that he is still the king of the G Funk by uploading this rare concert recorded in 1989. He rightly points out that N.W.A. were banned from performing in most places, so any live recordings of their early material are very rare.

Even if N.W.A. isn't your thing, it's worth checking out his blog as you won't find a better source for old skool West Coast hip hop. He's also extremely picky (in a nice way!) about audio quality, so his rips are always top notch.

http://phuk-tha-muthaphukkin-police.blogspot.com/2008/11/nwa-live-in-anaheim-california-live.html


New Masta Ace LP
Masta Ace has announced that he's completed his collaboration album with MF Doom and it's set for a November release date. The project is titled MA Doom: Son of Yvonne (which unsurprisingly follows in the same naming style as MF Doom's previous collaboration titles). The format of the album will be MF Doom on production using beats that he previously released on his Special Herbs series, and Masta Ace providing vocals. This raises an eyebrow as to what Doom's involvement has actually been? Is this more of a mixtape or mash up than a true collaboration? I don't know, but I'm always happy to hear new material from Ace, so let's hope this doesn't disappoint.

When asked whether there will be any guest appearances on the album, Ace replied "only one, Big Daddy Kane, that's it". Is this a sign that Kane is upping his profile in preparation for a release date for his new album The Last Supper (his first album in 13 years!)?



Artful Dodger Presents - Get The Message
Style Warrior has shared this great little graffiti documentary from one of the UK's graffiti legends, Artful Dodger (aka A. DEE).  What makes this documentary a little different, is that it's not about showcasing Dodger's artwork, or a range of different pieces from around the UK.  Instead, Dodger explores graffiti culture as a whole.
The documentary lasts about 2 hours and contains many memorable clips from the past, such as appearances on Hart Beat, newspaper clippings, interviews etc.  I'm not sure when this film was produced, but I'd make an educated  guess at around 1995-1996.

http://stylewarrioruk.wordpress.com/2011/09/30/artful-dodger-presents-get-the-message/

Rare Demon Boyz Video

In case anyone hasn't come across Style Warrior, he runs a nice little site selling extremely limited runs of t-shirts featuring UK artists of the golden era.  If you haven't checked him out, I recommend that you do.

He also shares some interesting videos and this particular clip is no exception.  According to his website, it's an exclusive and unreleased video from the Demon Boyz for the track No Hocus Pocus.  Check out his site for more details on how this video came about: http://stylewarrioruk.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/demon-boyz-no-hocus-pocus-video-exclusive/

Hard as Chinese arithmetic.

Once more we revisit our Brooklyn dwelling pioneers; this time for some Wordz of Wisdom. This has to be one of my favourites from the Bassers, 7 minutes of rhyme fuelled mayhem over a driving rhythm track that sounds as fresh today as it did in 1989.

The video itself is something of a frustration however, only released, as far as I am aware, on a VHS compilation, it would appear that it was cut to a tantalising two minute snippet for continuity purposes. Or more likely Serch and Pete Nice started fighting and the director’s panicked shouts of ‘cut’ simply saw them unsheathe their respective knives.

Speaking of the video director, I’m not sure he was their biggest fan. How else do you explain his remarkable decision to site the shoot in the middle of road you would have to describe as busy. Then placing the Prime Minister on a precarious looking chair, that certainly wouldn’t have withstood the impact of a Serch kick, never mind a 69 Impaler or whatever they’re called. He, and surely it is a he, then suggested, to our presumably incredulous duo, that we finish this bitch on a construction site! Where far larger vehicles roam unchecked, kicking up rapper obscuring amounts of dust, what could possibly go wrong! Despite this clear recipe for disaster the shoot went ahead; presumably our wordsmiths concerns were sated, when once more they were informed that the chair, undoubtedly now retired from a BBC King Arthur period drama, would be present.

I should also add that admirers of fierce crotch gyrating should certainly have their notebooks ready at 28 seconds in. For it is here that we witness an oscillation of such pelvis shattering proportions that you have to assume Serch has become accidentally entangled with a local fishermans hook, and an inadvertent, yet rhythmic fight, for genital survival briefly ensued. Thank goodness they managed a satisfactory take first time round. A second attempt may well have killed him, or at the very least separated him from his indispensible spine.

There is of course a third member of the group, who rarely seems to warrant much attention, DJ Daddy Rich. A trawl through Google reveals nothing of note, which is a shame as I would certainly loved his take on the politics of the group. He seemed happy though, always smilling. However this is perhaps best attributed to the fact that he knew that Serch and Nice were always only ever a misplaced glance away from staging their own unscripted version of ultimate fighting champion in the recording studio. An event that would appear to have ended, judging by the Serches hairdo, with him being chased down an alley that was significantly narrower than he had initially estimated.

3rd Bass - Wordz of Wisdom

Enjoy downloader, enjoy!

Silver Anniversary Series - DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince

For my latest instalment in the Silver Anniversary Series, I'm kind of passing the buck!  It's not that I don't want to do this instalment, it's that someone has pretty much done it already and I'm not one for reinventing the wheel or biting others work. 

Many people don't know that DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince were around as early as 1986, two years before their major releases on Jive Records, so I think it's important to cover them within this series, and when you've read this article you'll understand why a bubble gum pop act is being featured on this site (hint - it wasn't always like that!).

Now, Werner Von Wallenrod did an excellent narrative earlier this year on his blog about the 'original' version of DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince's Girl's ain't nothing but trouble.  I say 'original' because as Werner rightly points out in his review, the original 12" (released in 1986) existed two years before the more commonly known version and the differences are pretty significant and intriguing.

I'm not going to go into the differences here as Werner will give you the low down, but let's just say that once you've read his review you'll be wondering whether Jeff and Will could possibly have been a more credible group with much more underground success.  I'm not suggesting they would ever have been 'street', but they could have been something more akin to Biz Markie's style of credible comedy hip hop. 

Anyway, head over to Werner's review and see for yourself what I'm waffling on about.

http://wernervonwallenrod.blogspot.com/2011/01/dj-jazzy-jeff-fresh-prince-uncensored.html

Once I'd read Werner's review, it made me wonder about the other version of this single, Guy's ain't nothing but trouble.  Did this undergo the same revamp?  Unfortunately I can't find a copy to listen to, but if anyone else knows the answer then please let us know or leave a comment.
I also wanted to provide you with an audio clip of the original 12" so that you could hear the difference for yourself, but no matter how much I dig, I've not managed to dig up a copy (yet!).  If anyone knows of a blog that has this, please let me know and I'll add it here.

Mike Check.

Before I Wake

The 13th of September is the 15th anniversary of Tupac Shakur's death.  So it seems like a good time to share this DVD with you all and reminisce on the brilliance that was Tupac.  I know that many people have allowed time, the media and some of the posthumous (and thugged out) releases to taint their memories of Tupac, but let's not forget that before all the hype and the demise, he was a brilliant revolutionary with pioneering lyrics and concepts.

In the wake of both Tupac and Biggie's death's, I took the time to watch many of the video releases that the market was flooded with.  Unfortunately, most of these were torturous as they contained very little in the way of interesting footage or new information.  Mostly, they were interviews with a bunch of wannabe gang-bangers with tenuous links to Tupac (like they once bumped into Tupac in a liquor store, or they lived on the same road as him when he was growing up etc).

As a result of these diabolical releases, I didn't explore any of the later material that was published, until much more recently.  So when I stumbled across this DVD, I didn't hold out much hope, but I was wrong.  This particular documentary has an interesting twist, it's Tupac's story told by one of his long time personal body guards Frank Alexander (Tupac had 5 bodyguards).  It also contains genuine unseen and rare footage that really adds to the overall presentation.  And I'm not talking about the usual scam of including a 30 second clip of Tupac on stage, recorded on a mobile phone that allows the DVD to be labelled with 'Exclusive footage', uh uh, this is proper stuff.

Some of the footage is from Frank Alexander's own personal library, other clips appear to be the edited out sections from the interviews that we've all seen previously.  These additional/extended clips add interesting new insights into Tupac's life and character.  But the bulk of the footage in this documentary is the compelling interview with Frank Alexander, supported by reconstructions, a visit to the crime scene and accounts from one of the investigating homicide detectives and a reporter who was at the scene. 

Frank Alexander comes across as a very sincere person without any ulterior motives.  He was clearly a friend of Tupac's as well as his bodyguard and he, like the rest of us, could sense that something didn't add up about the whole event.  Frank gives his own detailed account of the day leading up to the shooting, he was in the car behind Suge Knight's and saw the shooting take place, and then most interestingly he details the events that unfolded over the next few days before Tupac died almost a week later.  This is a first hand, eye witness account which I've not previously seen anywhere else.

For conspiracy theorists, Frank's account might leave you with more questions than answers.  Why was security so lax that evening?  Why did Suge drive the particular route that he did?  Why was the crime not secured by the police?  Why were eyewitnesses not identified and questoned?  Why did it take so long for detectives to interview anyone?  The list goes on. 

This information really starts to help the viewer understand why nobody was ever charged or named as a suspect and why there is such a lack of meaningful evidence.

However, what Frank's account does give, is a believable insight into aspects of the incident that haven't (to my knowledge) been previously discussed or explored.  He appears to stick to the facts and avoids filling in the gaps or speculating on what might have happened.  This helps to give credence to his version of events.

Overall, it's an interesting documentary and Frank Alexander is a decent orator.  Lasting just over an hour and half, it doesn't feel padded out and neither does it drag.  So if you're only going to pick one posthumous  Tupac video to watch, I'd strongly recommend this one over the many others that are out there.

RIP - Tupac Shakur (13th Sept 1996)

Download 700mb

http://hotfile.com/dl/128861041/3718360/Before_I_Wake.avi.html

Mike Check