The Living Legacy of Sacred Hoop

(Updating you guys on this saga has become a sort of tradition here at Werner's. But there's something extra special at the end of this year's video. Youtube version is here.)

On Tilt! The Return of One of My All-Time Favorite Producers!

This is definitely one of the few albums I'm really excited about in 2016, and I didn't even see it coming!  You know, how you'll be waiting two to three years for your favorite guy to release that LP he announced, and you're constantly re-checking the calendar for that release date?  Will, this is the opposite of that, because I had no idea this was a thing until it became available to order.  On Tilt is the latest project from Luke Sick, the man who has a new group every month.  He's always great, so I'm already on board.  But what makes this one so much more special, is that it's a reunion with his original Sacred Hoop partner Vrse Murphy!  Yeah, every track is produced by Vrse, who's one of my all time favorite producers.  He's back, baby!

So, why is this an On Tilt album rather than an official Sacred Hoop album?  Well, look at the two dudes drawn on the cover.  That's not Luke and Vrse, that's Luke and a guy named QM, who's another Bay Area rapper, and this is just as much his album as the other guys'.  I'm not too familiar with his past work, but he's blipped on my radar for having a couple online songs with Luke and co., and he was one of the guys on the Mutual Daps album.  But he's actually got a deep history, as part of the Rec League family, then known as Cumulus, and his history of making records actually goes back like 15-20 years.  So we're not talking about some new kid getting carried on anybody's shoulders.

And the other reason this isn't quite a Sacred Hoop track is I suspect the deal here is that Luke & QM are rhyming over lost, unused Vrse beats from past years or something.  I say that for two reasons.  One, because while the liner notes do credit all production to Vrse, they credit "post production" to Richie Cunning (also of Rec League) and QM.  So that would make sense, right?  Vrse produced the tracks, then vaulted them, then QM & Richie produced the new recordings with Luke and QM rapping over them?  That's my guess, anyway.

And I also think that may be the case because I recognize one of these beats from seventeen years ago.  One of the first songs on this album, "Detox With More Liquor," features the same instrumental as one of my favorite Sacred Hoop songs (although admittedly, I have many favorite Sacred Hoop songs), "N.O.H."  That stands for "Not Our House," and it's about getting raucous at a house party with reckless regard because it's not your place.  It's one of their early collaborations with Z-Man, and it was on their cassette-only release Last Days Of the Hump Hut from 1999.  Almost every song on that tape wound up being included on the more widely released album Sleepover in 2001, but not "N.O.H.," because that wound up going to a compilation called Cue's Hip-Hop Shop instead.  So now it's kind of a rare Sacred Hoop song that's not on any of their albums.

And it still is.  Because "Detox With More Liquor" is using the same track, but it's an all-new song with all new lyrics and entertaining vocal samples for a hook.  And QM kicks fun, nihilistic freestyle rhymes like you can always expect from the Gurp City crew, but with a bit of a throwback 90s feel, "I'm unforgettable like scarin' a nun by airin' a gun.  Cum, I get busy like I got errands to run.  Vrse craft the beat like Dirk Dastardly; the flow make 'em say 'uhh, I'm Master P.  Um, actually, you must be fast asleep.  Ya feeling down, then load every last track from me.  Ya see Vrse he pleads the fifth and speaks with the beats, while me and Luke drops the speech that they loop to the beats.  That's word to me, Chuck and the Trav, gettin' drunk in the Aves like a couple of savs.  I don't fuck with the tabs, so that's more for you.  I detox with malt liquor, hit the store for brew."  I think I still prefer "N.O.H.," because you can't really top Z's energy on that song.  But two songs over a killer beat?  Yeah, I'll take that.

And to be clear, that's the only beat I recognize.  If anything else has been recycled, I think it's all unreleased material, so it's all brand new to my ears, which is just as good.  And it sounds great.  "Dank and Drank" has that classic Hoop feel, but really all the production is killer.  Some is dark and ominous, some is hard, and some is playful.  "Can't Go Home" has a sick human beatbox loop, and "Quest On Tilt" is a classic DJ cut, with DJ Quest cutting up over a chunky piano sample.  The whole thing ends with a tough posse cut featuring all the regulars: Lightbulb, Z-Man, Eddie K, Brandon B and TOPR.  It's a little album.  It's thirteen songs, but several of those are instrumental skits, and even some of the proper songs still clock in at just around two minutes.  So it's a breezy listen you're gonna want to repeat as soon as you hit the end.

As you can see in the pic above, this is an orange cassette release, limited to 200 copies, with full color artwork.  You can cop it cheap direct from the label, Megakut Records here.  And, of course, it's also available online via their bandcamp.  But obviously the tape's, like, a thousand times cooler.

Grand Killa Con

So I just blogged about Sacred Hoop's old '94 demo tape getting reissued, but what're they up to these days? Well, as it happens, Luke Sick has a new album out, kinda like Dose One or Kool Keith in the sense where every new project is a new group. Rime Force Most Illin' was him and Rob Rush, Brougham was him and Third Eye Blind, Motel Crew was him, Z-Man and Doug Surreal. Underbucket was him and DJ Eons, Grand Invincible was also him and Eon, Get the Hater was him and The Dwarves, The Disturbers was him and... god knows. Well, this new album, Year Of the Tre Bag, is by him and a producer named Brycon - together they're known as Grand Killa Con.

You may've noticed that a bunch of those groups mentioned above are Luke working with rock artists or other not-strictly-hip-hop types. Happily, that's not the case. This is the first I've heard of Brycon, though I looked him up and apparently he's done a couple tracks for guys like Murs in the past. This is just some regular, underground hip-hop shit; and I mean that in the best possible way. One song ("Cloven Hoof") is like a vintage Saafir track, with Luke rhyming like the nomad (though without biting his unique "chockin'" flow from Boxcar Sessions) and Brycon cooking up that sounds like it was quietly borrowed from The Junction library.

Nothing else here borrows from Saafir, except that it's raw, underground and west coast. Luke is his incomparable self, and Brycon provides a wide variety of hard tracks for him. One beat has big horn samples, another chops a large chunk of an old r&b record including the vocals, and another is all dark and ominous atmosphere with a grumbling bassline. Interestingly, the effect is that album doesn't feel like another Luke Sick side project or group - it feels like his first solo album.

This is a full, fourteen track album. I was disappointed that the original "Hemmed Pt. 1" isn't on here - an advance track they leaked onto Youtube earlier in the year - But there is a "Pt. 2," with new verses over the same, smooth instrumental. And one track here, "Cinderblocks & Cyanide," is labeled as a remix - where was the original? But a fan's desire for completionism [screw you, spell check, I say it IS a word!] aside, this is a super solid, very consistent album. Well... maybe I could've done without one song called "Dynasty Killa" with a shrill instrumental and a guest rapper named Lightbulb; but otherwise this is a very full and rewarding album.

I have a feeling no matter what I write, not many heads will bother to check this one out... one more side project to lose track of by an already criminally slept on MC. But anyone who does is going to be glad they did. Consider it a secret prize for being one of the few in the know. It's the kind of album you can leave on repeat all night. And right now, it seems to only be available as a digital download (here); but I was laced with a CD with proper artwork, which makes me hope that a physical release might be just around the corner, even if it's only some low-key, limited run primarily for the merch tables.

...And if you're wondering, like I was, what about a return of the ACTUAL Sacred Hoop, with Luke Sick on the mic and Vrse on the beats, no more substitutes, I'm pleased to say that I've been told they are recording together again - I even heard a little mp3 advance of a song they were working on. So hang tight, and seriously, don't be afraid to explore Grand Killa Con while you wait.

The Latest Release... From GoodFelons?

So, I've already blogged about a couple records that managed to make it out to the people since GoodFelons closed up shop: Kev E Kev, of course, and then Marco Polo. Well, more good news, folks, another GF LP has been rescued and delivered to the public. This time it's the legendary Sacred Hoop, with the vinyl debut of their first album/ demo: the unfortunately titled Runny Poop.

Sacred Hoop's demo was recorded in 1994 and originally released in 1996 (and maybe a bit earlier), on cassette only, through Hoop's own Miasmatic Recordings. This vinyl re-issue was one of the final releases announced by GoodFelons before it all went down; and now Megakut Records has seen it through to completion.

I have to say, this is one nice package for any Hoop fan. Everything's been remastered and sounds great. It still has a small case of muddiness to it, but that's probably down to how it was recorded in the first place. And this new LP also includes a new, bonus instrumental version of the final song "Jedi-Subterranean" that wasn't included on the original tape. So while the OG tape is certainly still an awesome collectors' item for any fan who's got it, this is definitely the preferable, definitive version of the album to own.

If you've never heard it, it's a really dope album. Granted, it's not their best - Luke Sick's voice and flow sounds a little more derivative of other 90s artists than what its since matured into. But a lot of heads buying a 90's reissue like this is probably looking for that raw, throwback feel; so a lot of people might wind up appreciating this album more now than they would've back in the day. And Vrse Murphy's rich production definitely holds up, lots of layers and change-ups that really shine on vinyl.

One odd choice is that they moved the album's final instrumental track (not counting the new bonus one) to the front of the album, so this starts off with an instrumental. I guess they thought two instrumentals back to back would be a bit of a dry run; but having this album open with a vocal-less track, at least to me, pulls a little from the album's punch. Oh well, it's a minor quibble; I just mention it more because it's a strange choice, since the rest of the album remains in sequence.

Anyway, the "nice package" comment doesn't just apply to the actual content of the album, though of course that's where it counts most. The presentation is absolutely first class. It comes in unique, individually hand-screened picture covers AND a full-color inner sleeve. Inside, you'll also find an envelope with a signed note from the both members of the Hoop and, umm... some other weird, random shit, which I'll let you guys discover for yourselves. ha ha The cover has the Goodfelons logo on it, while the actual record label has Megakut's. It's available direct from the label here, and limited to 120 hand-numbered copies (mine is #120), so don't deliberate too long.

Hogs Leicht

So, we're nearing the end of another year, here... my last couple posts have been about newer releases (even if some are new releases of older music), and I'm gonna stick with that 'till the end of the year. There's still plenty of new stuff that needs to get some shine. And since last post was Grand Invincible, I'm gonna stick with the theme and do talk a bit about a sorely overlooked release from Sacred Hoop.

"Hogs of Rap" is a 12" release limited to 500 copies, but not "collector's priced" like the other limited edition I was writing about before. It's "handmade, stamped and screen-printed," and comes in the unusual picture cover shown above. This is the first release on Smooth Triumph Records... I'm not sure who runs that, exactly; but their press-sheet does say to "be on the look out for more 'vinyl only' releases from your favorite label: Smooth Triumph," so apparently they have more in store. Their motto is "breakin' even in this rap game."

"Hogs of Rap" is the first single off of Sacred Hoop's totally underrated Go Hogwild album, which I called possibly the best album of the year in '07. It's an epic posse cut, clocking in at over 11 minutes. It features Jihad, Eddie K, Brandon B, Conceit, TopR, Z-Man and of course Luke Sick over a series of Vrse Murphy's beats. Yeah, the track changes for each MC's verse. It's practically 7 separate songs with all different vocal and musical samples and distinct breaks between segments (Jihad's features a nice, altered use of the sample from Atmosphere's "Jackpot" and Eddie K's features guest scratching by DJ Quest), but somehow they all come together to make one ill cut of MC's representing both their collective crew and their own distinctive selves. Each instrumental effectively pulls you into the MC's world, who uses his unique style; and everyone involved brings their A game. It's damn fresh.

This 12" also features the full instrumental and two collections of "Acapella Scratch Phrases," where various lines from every MC are dropped acapella for DJing purposes. It actually came out at the tail end of '07 but was mostly just available at their shows. I don't know how many are left, but as of this writing, you can get it online direct off of Sacred Hoop's myspace.

While you're there, you can pick up Vrse's new instrumental album, Sport Leicht. It includes the instrumentals for all of Go Hogwild, plus a few new instrumentals ("Matador," "Cantana" and "Perfect Game"), unique to this album. And besides the new single and upcoming album from Grand Invincible mentioned in my last post, Sacred Hoop have a couple other projects in the work. Their next album they're working on now is tentatively titled Coffins In the Fourier; and Vrse is still talking about releasing The Bachelors album with Z-Man (in a semi-recent interview he said they were recording new tracks for it to keep it fresh), plus his EP with Neila. Then, Luke Sick and Z-Man have another project coming called The Motel Crew, which is them working with more "experimental" producers Mike 2600 and Doug Surreal (personally, I'd take some Vrse or Eons One beats any day; but the handful of Motel Crew tracks that've floated out onto the internet have been pretty cool - I mean, you can't front on the MCs). Oh, and Luke has mentioned another possible Disturbers album, and some unreleased Brougham stuff, too. Now, usually when artists talk about a grip of upcoming releases like that, they don't all wind up coming out, but even if only one or two of them do, it's gonna be hot.

So, yeah, that's it for tonight. We'll look at another contemporary vinyl release next time. Don't give up on new hip-hop music, old school heads. ;)

Grand Invincible

Grand Invincible is the second coming of Underbucket, the duo of Sacred Hoop's Luke Sick and DJ Eons One. They've just dropped a brand new 12" single of "Purse Thieves" b/w "Elephant Tranq." If you can't make it out on the sticker pictured above, the 12" includes instrumentals of both "Purse Thieves" and "Elephant Tranq," an "Elephant Tranq" acapella, and the bonus track "The Style Is Bonkers."

Luke described the subject matter of "Purse Thieves" on the Gurp City news column, "100% grimey! Back in the early-nineties when San Jose Live was still open in the south bay during the Hump Hut Gang’s forever-broke-never-have-a-job days, my ace boon cracker Oak D and I used to kick girl’s purses underneath the pool tables and then send Ruddy Rudd to crawl under and get ‘em into the bathroom, loot ‘em, and throw ‘em in the trash. We’d also snatch 3/4 full Long Islands off the bar when fools had their backs turned and suck ‘em down quick. We were full on fuckin’ dengenerates and it is kinda with a mixture of embarrassment and pride that I speak of it now (mostly pride though, fuck it I’m a scumbag, y’all know me). Anyway, 'Purse Thieves' kinda turned into an homage to that time in my life with a little modern shit thrown in (the first title for this song, before I wrote the chorus, was: Doing Coke in the Car). And the moral to the story kids?: Being dead broke should never stop you from getting drunk if you are determined and shameless enough. And if you should get caught? Do what we did at the Hut: Deny it to the bitter end. Why? ‘Cause nobody believe dem hoes!'"

And "Elephant Tranq" is just more ill, freestyle rhymes over a fantastic piano break and neck-snapping drums:

"Ya wanna win medals?
Better train hard
Biters take their styles from the tapes in the trainyard
Talk brain hard, droolin' on like retards
Coppin' a lame broad and tell her the game's on
Who's gonna blame y'all?
I ain't the one, Holmes.
The street lights came on
And y'all just run home.
The Year of the Rat,
And that’s twelve whole months of the
hardest G’s alive hidin’ under their comforters.
Leave no witnesses,
Send no condolences;
Didn't have to mention that I'm reppin' the holiest
Patrolin' car pullin' up in Orange
County while they bounty hunt for Vrse like he's foreign
Legion in the evenin', and I'm weavin' through traffic
Dimes hittin' guns strikin' hot like matches
You don't wanna know about the rest of the accidents
Tomorrow ain't promised, so we're gettin' some action."

As the hook says, "if rhymes is dope, then mine's elephant tranq." He sums it all up perfectly with in his singular, interminable style (and I don't think I could name another MC who'd start a verse with these opening words): "I got pussy blood on my white comforter cover; I got money in the bank that you'll never recover. I got more in my pinky than ten copies of you, so when it comes to gettin' sloppy I'm a motherfuckin' fool."

All three 12" songs are also featured on their full-length CD album, Ask the Dust. The liner notes are simple: DJ Eons One: Beats & Cuts, Luke Sick: MC. No guest MCs, no celebrity producers. They describe their style, "Grand Invincible was formed under the philosophy that hip hop as an artform was best served under the technological limitations of the late-80s and early-90s. Armed with only an AKAI MPC 2000, two turntables, a mixer, a microphone, and a diggin' ass record collection with the intention of making the most out of the least (the original hip hop aesthetic), the duo set out in the summer of 2007 to resurrect the grimey breaks and elevate a rare science. Time to put the hoodies and Tim boots back on and spark a White Owl! Long Live the Dust!"

But while Eons does a commendable job keeping this album from sounding typically over-produced, it's not just a collection of sloppy, repetetive loops. It's nothing but hot tracks driven by compellingly layered samples that blends perfectly with Luke's flows. Oh, and Eons sporadically pops in to cut up a perfectly chosen old school record. Underbucket was cool, but this is definitely the better album.

Now, they've already announced their next album, Cold Hand In the Dice Game, will be dropping in 2009. Drop by their myspace and pick up a 12" or CD, or just listen to some tracks on their player. It's some seriously good shit.

(Werner Necro'd) Luke Sick IM Interview

You guys remember Rebirthmag? It was a dope, indie hip-hop site run out of Chicago... I wrote for them for a while towards the end. This is an unedited (the way I like 'em) interview I did with Luke Sick of Sacred Hoop for 'em 6/8/01 at 4 in the morning. Some people I talk to, by the way, remember Sacred Hoop's classic material from the mid to late 90's, but seem surprised when I tell them that they're still killing it and just put out a great, new album this year. But yeah, anyway. Without further ado, here's my Luke Sick IM interview - enjoy:

Luke: this is luke
I would like to join hassan I sabbah's hash assassin force
Luke: how do i prove it
Luke: oh I know I have a five foot cock
Werner: Well, I generally prove my sincerity through song, but that's just me
Luke: I should have killed you I wanted to then and I still do
Werner: So, tell the folks at home something introductory about Sacred Hoop
Werner: (You'd be surprised how many people IM me to tell me that, actually)
Luke: that's one of my songs but I'm not really on the murder tip these days though. Sacred Hoop is me (luke Sick)--DJ MarZ (the Drug addict) and Vrse Murphy who doesn't want to be located right now--other crews are jealous of us cuz we have the best players at all the crucial positions and because we have orgies on week nights not just after shows-- and we know how to cook crank and they don't.
Werner: So speaking of Marz, how did you hook up with him, and what did y'all do with Fundouglas?
Luke: Fon quit. that song 'I quit' on the new album is dedicated to him. Can you believe he quit the Beatles of this underground whiteboy garage hip-hop shit? He quit the week after we found out that Elektra was interested in signing the Hoop. He isn't into that 'show yer ass on TV shit' so He quit. so we got Quest and Marz from space trav but then Quest quit to do Live Human so now we got Marz--I met him at a High Noon party (Some backyard Mission district, sf shit at that graff writer SPIE's house --he smoked all my weed so I asked him to be in the gang. he breaks records over my head if I don't get him beers during the show. he thinks I'm his bitch, but that's not really how I see it. Marz joined like 5 years ago--we did acid and chopped down a tree at Vrse cabin together while vrse was making the beat for When I'm Broke
Werner: So, was that connection with Elektra in any way related to Brougham's Elektra stint, or is that pure coincidence?
Luke: Yeah but Brougham stole our thunder. it was fucked up! they didn't even know--and this was before limp biscuit before eminem before whitey ford before moby before at the drive in before Rimbaud before Jack Kerouac before Henry MIller before James Joyce before Mix master mike joined beastie boys before buckethead was in guns 'n roses before before before and Quest was in the group when they showcased us--but they were on Brougham's dick so I was like "gotta make some scrill off this so I don't have to get a job and can keep getting drunk--then elektra dumped brougham and warner bros. picked it up and sat on it for like two years so when it came out is was all blase.I got chumped but I used the money to record and put out the new Hoop album. it's called 'Sleepover' --Oak d's sittin over my shoulder makin me prostitute that shit, but the album is the illest I must admit.
Werner: ok, so tell us about the new album... why the title "Sleepover?"
Luke: we were gonna call it "a teenage sleepover" or 'a teen sleepover' and it was supposed have a little girl on the cover, laying our 45 on her plastic fischer-price, in her room at her parent's house with roses from prom night hanging on her wall drying out--but vrse pussed out cauz he ain't down with gettin busted for kiddie-tricks, and besides the guy who did the cover, world reknown painter Aaron Horkey, had a different idea of what a teenage sleep over meant. so for those two reasons it became just 'sleepover'--but I just thinkit's an awful nice thing to say to a girl "Hey! you. no not you! you. sleepover." and she's Like, "okay." And I'm like, "I'm fuckin'."
Werner: is there really a Sacred Hoop 45?
Luke: No
Luke: really no
Werner: heh; ok. i understood at one point, there was going to be a SH release on Oxygen Music, though... is that still happening?
Luke: no and so was Kinetic and so was Dog Day and so was sick wid it so was get low so was stones throw so was mo'wax so was sole sides so was epic so was grand royal so was rap -a-lot so was ruthless so was rawkus so was rhyme sayers so was uncle howie's so was hollywood so was funky ass but they all fell threw no just kidding only the first seven ever actually approached us
Luke: okay none accept the first one approached us and that's why oxygen didn't work out. but nothing ever works out. you just get fucked gently with a chainsaw
Werner: ha - i was gonna say... i was counting seven, going "solesides? really?" so, we shouldn't hold our breaths for a "matronik vs. the hoop" techno remix of "frrrnt."
Luke: naw that shits comin' out in zero-six. did you know I did songs with Brain from Primus and Buckethead from Praxis who are both in Guns 'n roses now. wow! I'm gettin drunk now --when I get drunk I get on my own dick.
Werner: well, i knew you did a couple songs with the dwarves, though it's actually kind of hard to pick you (or anyone/ thing) out on that album...
Luke: Let's talk about music what you feel these days potna
Werner: well, contemporary music-wise (i still listen to a LOT of old school records, generally); i'd say pretty exclusively underground, "artsy" rap, like anticon, braille, aesoprock, ani difranco... looking for stuff with substance
Luke: I know if you blink you miss me--I'm on track 7 it's called "deadly eye" I say "Hewhocannotbenamed bring on the young girls and the free cocaine!" and some other shit-- Marz scratches on song "Over you"--'tis dope...that was the only thing cool about Brougham we got to meet the Dwarves--I've been a huge fan since birth. Kurt Cobain used to bow to them. we were recording in the same place and I got to Know Blag the lead singer and now me him and Marz are doing a project called "get the hater" our first single is 'fuck you style' b/w 'what m.c.in' is all about"
Luke: I Like M.O.P. Salute! I don't like substance I expect it.
Werner: i imagine expecting substance could be pretty disappointing business on a general scale...?
Werner: is "get the hater" gonna be a miasmatic project?
Luke: uhhhhhh? I dunno what--I kinda want it to come out on Man's Ruin but Marz thinks he owns the rights to it--and Oak D. is calling his lawyer--I dunno --I stay out of that side of it--I'm a retard
Werner: so, vrse's not gonna be involved in that... he wasn't with brougham, and only tangently on disturbers... is he more "strictly hip-hop," then, i take it?
Luke: no he's doing his instru-fag-mental dj shadow-esque/moby/fat boy slim solo project right now. does that answer your question? no seriously I'm just fucking with him because he just got out of rehab and he doesn't want to be located right now and he doesn't want any body to find him. I called my boy Thug-e-fresh (Check for our live collabo 'Killin' mutha fuckas in Vacaville') to see if he was in Chico. but he ain't seen him neever... so vrse as usual is missing and yes he is 'strictly hip-HOP" emphasis on HOP.
Luke: of course he's hip hop have you heard The Bachelors?
Luke: That's a b-boy classic Z-man is my favorite mc.
Werner: no, actually, i haven't... here on the east coast, folks've gotta wait for atak to stock it
Luke: my title is "the only whiteboy to bring a gold plaque back to ATAK
Luke: gee aren't I racial today?
Werner: gold plaque? was that "i walked in?"
Werner: ha - you're aboutthis close to offending my delicate sensibilities...
Luke: Fuck yeah. I was on the same album as run-dmc. I stood on my head and shit on myself. MY mom has the plaque up in her kitchen it was like my ticket back into thanksgiving dinners. seriously though I like the coked up run-dmc--tougher than leather era--in fact all my favorite music is from the crack era '85-'92 hip hop's golden years like '79 was for brit punk
Werner: yeah, it all kind of rose and fell with the fat boys...
Luke: when crack was cool.. oh, when crack was cool
Luke: crushin' is the album right there
Luke: fat boys that is
Luke: i'm not being facetious
Werner: nah, i agree... though i kind of missed the sutra sound... though, it didn't occur to me to miss the sutra/ k. blow style until coming back hard again
Luke: did I spell facetious right
Werner: yeah, that looks right to me
Werner: let me ask you this: who's the film buff in SH? 'cause, you know, while most hip-hop are quoting and sampling every nanosecond of scarface, y'all've been referencing and/or sampling peckinpah, say anything, russ meyer, fellini, etc
Luke: we played the fillmore in SF. I love to brag about this, and I might as well kepp braggin cuz that's all I been doin' --at the Fillmore this girl said we sounded like "suburban ametuer karoke" and I'm like finally somebody got it right. Can you believe the Hoop played on the same stage as Janis Joplin? Grateful Dead? Jimi Hendrix? Cream? after that girl made that comment I said, "what do think about dildos? oh did I say dildos? no I didn't mean--oh yes I did--what do you think about dildos?" and she walked the fuck away. that's right
Luke: ok about film. Fon was the original with the peckinpah shit--but I know more than him did you catch the Fletch in No Category?
Werner: nah - i'm gonna have to go back, now, and check it after this
Luke: I'll have a steak sandwich and a steak sandwich the bassline from the end of service and maintainence is from the movie Kalifornia vrse is gonna be pissed that I'm snitchin
Luke: Fellini? where?
Werner: on "panhandling" - the driving loop of the girl singing is the girl who sang on the beach in 8 1/2
Werner: that "lah, da da da dah" ish
Luke: oh la dah dah oh yeah that's vrse tryin' to fuck an arsty bitch and blowin' her off to make beats cuz the movie had some tight shit in it
Werner: yeah, i remember thinking that had to be a hip-hop first...
Luke: fellini or kalifornia or fellini or a producer who actually blew off a bitch to make beats for once?
Luke: I menat fletch not the second fellini
Werner: well, i meant fellini, but they all probably apply
Luke: I meant meant not menat
Luke: ha
Luke: a whole new kind of drunk interview
Luke: good thing I'm like Bukowski on these keys bitch
Werner: it'll give the whole thing more of an "genuine" feel... maybe
Luke: maybe i'll shove the dead rat in the cat's ass
Luke: stupid
Luke: so ask me about drugs and women
Werner: moving on? who's the band on "moe's interlude" (moe's trange hobby) and the intro to the second disturbers' cd?
Werner: for that matter, who's moe?
Luke: The Donnas an all chick punk group from palo alto california
Luke: moe is a graffiti writer who lived at my house who never bombed and never got up he didn't even tag he was a toy I think he did half a piece once and show it off to me no less
Luke: that was in Mountain view (dirttown) like 4 years ago
Luke: The donnas are hot I have a crush
Werner: so, alright... drugs and women... ha, we'll do it Tiger Beat interview style: what kind of girls do you like, and where's your favorite place to take a girl on a date?
Luke: when I say 'i'm that rocknroll boy who don't wash his hair' it's because they have a song called rocknroll boy about a guy who doesn't you guessed it wash his hair.
Luke: cool that kinda answers that last question
Luke: I like all the donnas even the scary bassplayer
Luke: but my favorite is the guitar player
Luke: but she's out of my league
Luke: this is easier to do type writer style
Luke: I'm down for the lead singer most she's kinda christina ricci
Luke: the drummer is like animal from the muppet show with long hair
Luke: but hot
Werner: well, that follows... animal was kinda hot
Luke: oh shit
Luke: so tell every body to cop the old albums and remember who they bit
Luke: rappers are so mad
Luke: going to frig for beer one sec.
Luke: word I'm back. have you heard the bullet proof space travelers album
Luke: let's talk about who I bit
Werner: i got the space travelers breakbeat set and a dub of an old bullet proof tape
Luke: well the rapper on the new album 'Built to Last" out on Stray records is one of the main people I bite his name is Eddie K. he is the 1000 proof mc he is from Lake view, sf and has been down with Eddie Def the last creep from jump.
Luke: I just did a song with him called --we might be drunk
Werner: is that going to be for their next album, or the next hoop album, or...?
Luke: no on an album that Marz is doing cause he's in that crew too. the project is called the Rehab clinic in honor of vrse not having anything to do with it. the rehab clinic is live outtakes of our shows from sf to santa cruz to az to chico, ca and drunk ass songs recorded by marz it should be chainless get it?--that is so honky!
Luke: chainless how stupid
Luke: do you want to hear about the next two miasmatic releases?
Werner: yeah, definitely
Luke: first is --The Bachelors--featuring Z-man from 99th Demention and Vrse"go ahead ask him if he's thirsty" Murphy from yours truly--like I said before it's a b-boy classic-- and sorry I mean the EPMD b-boy not as in breakdancing--secondly we have a Vrse Murphy presents type thing coming out that'll be just like a Hoop record but me and Z won't be the only emcees--Eddie K.'s gonna be on there so is Jihad from third sight and Brandon B from gAME tIGHT eLECTRO and some other lucky bitches
Luke: have you heard the disturbers kefu qan
Werner: yeah... although i haven't really played the newer disturber tapes as much as anasi spider
Luke: My boys from the disturbers most namely Unbreakable Combz and Curator are floating beautiful on some fuck the world shit --honestly though can you even listen to kefu qan I know it's hard
Werner: yeah... i mean, it's not something i've ever really sat and gotten that familiar with, though
Werner: oh, hey - lemme ask you about that neila ep (that vrse produced) before i forget
Luke: good you are too scared to talk about kefu qan that's how I like it. Neila got Marz so fucked up on brown weed blunts one night that he could join me a Z-man jumping into the pool with gold ropes on at a vrse's house house party in phoenix--he passed out off weed--and i'm not talkin bout gittin the spins i'm talkin bout drinkin til ya brain cave in
Werner: well, i can't really speak too intelligently on kefa qan (it may also be debatable on whether i can speak intelligently on other matters), as i've only actually listened to it a couple times
Luke: i mean he couldn't join me and z-man
Luke: dude I should skidattle I got go collect me virgins and cold beer and go to gourmet food with my girlfriend Tina hi tina don't try an bust me out when you read this on the internet cause yer a nerd get offa there don't you know that is why our rent is so high don't support these fucks, I don't mean you john, ofcourse.
Werner: ha, cool; alright. good talking to you for... actually, quite a while
Luke: I know a pint later and we're still here I typing slower now though and I didn't write I'm
Luke: how do you hang up? oh I have to say what's up to Cocks Of Satan new rap crew comin out of San Jose and Shadow People from Redwood City and Joe Dubbs and Sub contents and megabusive and FTA and rase and shane and p-minus and smash adams and little pussy every where. when I get my shit together I'll send you my shit did you know the Hoop (me vrse, z, and marz where in a majorly released movie
Luke: doing a Brougham song in a bar scene
Werner: no; what movie is that?
Luke: it is call Playing Mona Lisa it was adapted from a play called two golsteins on acid
Luke: put that in the interview I want these bitches to know
Luke: if you blink you'll miss us we beat out Rasco for the role and that is not a lie
Luke: I really have to go my girl is gonna kill me
ok one more beer

Tags: Luke Sick, Sacred Hoop

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The First Stand Out Album of 2007?

So, you may not've noticed, but I've linked another "Favorite Hip-Hop Site That Ain't Mine" to my blog links. Oh Word is a fun, well-written site that I've been sort of checking for every so often.... but not so much because they focus on contemporary hip-hop, no matter how dreary and commercially painful the scene has become. I mean, do I really care about comparisons between UGK & Outkast, or commentary on Cam'Ron's latest album, even if the writer is clever? I don't know, maybe I'm just a cranky ol' curmudgeon. But, anyway, I was just browsing through a bunch of their old entries I'd missed the first time around, and there's some really good stuff, so I finally added 'em.

But, yeah. That brings me to the object of this post. The only new releases in 2007 that I've had any interest have been part of the recent (and really fantastic) wave of unreleased old school material being put out for the first time. The Ultimate Force LP was just released, Freestyle Professors just re-released their obscure '94 EP with all new tracks from the period, DWG is putting out a 7-track EP of great, unheard GodFather Don songs from the late 90's... But finally, a new album has come out that's really woken me up; a 2007 release that actually ranks higher than "eh, I guess that's alright."
Sacred Hoop's latest album, Go Hogwild actually has a copyright date of 2006 on it; but Atak has only just added it to their catalog, and until recently, the Hoop had pre-mix, earlier versions of some of the songs on this album up on their myspace. Which makes me think the album was just recently completed, but they printed up the artwork earlier. Just a guess. Anyway, they're only just now promoting it and making it available.

And it's hot. Damn, go get it. Vrse's production is spot on, DJ Quest and DJ Raw B's scratches add new life to the prerelease demo versions (although, frankly, I miss the driving piano sample from the original version of "Chicks Pack Heat" - can we get a 12" single that combines the best of both worlds please, guys?), and Z-Man, as ever, is on hand to add some ill guest verses. And there's no filler; this is at least as (possibly more so) consistently solid as Sleepover. Gone is their lo-fi, 4-track Sexy Henrietta sound, but you won't miss it. The Hoop is definitely at that rare point where they've matured and elevated their sound without turning into it into dumber, commercial gloss.
So, yeah. You can pick this up from Atak or direct from their official site, sacredhoopfan.com. Live it up. This might be the only worthwhile new album 'till 2008.