Snippets On Ice

(Youtube link here.)

Mmm... Makeba Mooncycle

Most people, if they've heard of Makeba Mooncycle, know her as an outer sphere Wu-Tang affiliate. But she's actually had a long and varied career... She was originally down with The Blackwatch Movement and sang on X-Clan's first album. She then hooked up with MC Lyte and co-ran her company along with LinQue. I actually didn't realize it until relatively recently, but Makeba and Kink EZ are in fact the same person. And, yes, she's made several appearances on Wu-related projects. She also put out some indie singles like this in the 90's.

The enthusiastically entitled "Ahhh!!!" dropped on Mmm... Records in 1998, very possibly the only release on that label. And the first thing to establish, I guess, is that she's rapping here, not singing. Well, she sings a bit at the end (and it sounds good!), but essentially this is a straight-up hip-hop single. It's a simple track, with some slow drums lead by a deep bass guitar loop, meant to showcase the MCs' skills. This is quintessential indie 90's stuff right here, produced by a couple known as Kevin "The Dungeon Master" & Amelia Moore. It features a group called Coins sharing mic duty with her. The first MC kicks some straight space rap, "Came with dead-ass swords to the galaxian wars. Space shuttle, one accord; back to Earth before I'm bored," and then Makeba gets on to follow suit:

"Ride with the Coins in a lunar eclipse;
Took a ride on the starship; then we flipped.
Saw MC's in the Milky Way taking a bath;
Jump aboard the sunship, still doing the math,
Keep Coins by my side, 'cause United's my Kingdom.
Revolution is over, and acknowledge my freedom.
The new holy renegade, my lyrics cut like old blades,
Riding on shooting stars, politicking with the Gods.
The holy land to the stars, vacations on Mars;
The battle has been won, from the moon to the sun."

The B-side is called "High Plains Drifter" and features cuts by Chops of The Mountain Brothers. A brief intro featuring a clip of her introducing the song recorded live at some venue establishes that this is her battle song, where she's battling "against the beat." The beat again is pretty simple (and again produced by the Moores): another slow drum track, an unassuming bassline and a Spanish guitar sample, though of course the scratching stands out during the choruses. She basically just spits four verses of hard battle rhymes ("Crushing your mental like a blow to the temple. A-rat-a-tat-tat! Here's some blows to your central"), pausing briefly to drop a brief hook. Good stuff, no doubt. Probably not the easiest to find, but worth tracking down.

The Missed Step

This has to be Freddie Foxxx's (or, "Freddy Fox"'s, as it's spelled here) second rarest record, after this one. And they both have some key elements in common: they're both white labels of tracks Freddie did for his Flavor Unit period, which he put out himself when the label dropped him, and they're both different mixes than what ultimately wound up appearing on Traffic's Crazy Like a Foxxx restoration. By the way, I did a pretty detailed, comprehensive post already comparing the many differences between the Traffic version and the version of the album that leaked back in the 90's, so you might want to catch up there if you missed it the first time (The Real Crazy Like a Foxxx), and then rejoin us. Basically, between that post and the "Do What You Gotta Do" write-up, this 12" is the last piece in the puzzle. And I finally got it, so let's rock. 8)

"Step" dropped in 1996, making it the last in the series of Crazy Like a Foxxx singles, even counting "Do What I Gotta Do," which wasn't on the original Crazy tape, but was included on the Traffic mix. Oh, and interestingly, this 12" plays at 45 rpm. Anyway, this is pretty similar to the version you heard on the Traffic album in a lot of ways... lyrically, it's exactly the same, Chuck D's part is the same, the samples used are the same, etc. But you'll hear the difference instantly - there's a DJ doing some wicked cutting throughout Chuck D's introduction on this 12" version that's sadly absent from the Traffic version. The scratches come back on the 12" for each hook, and are definitely a strong factor to the song. Both versions are also mixed differently... the Traffic version is a slower (you can even see it in the running time!) and places more emphasis on the bassline, while the 12" mix puts more on the drums. What's more, the 12" version also features a tight horn sample, that sounds sort of like a cross between something The 45 King and Showbiz would use. I don't know why Traffic chose the mix they did, because hands down, this one is the winner.

And for the record, this 12" mix is the version that was on the old tape, too.

Oh, but it ain't over. Because unlike the "Do What You Gotta Do" record, this is no single-sided 12"; this has a B-side: "Pressure On the Brain." And it's different, too. And just to make things a little bit more complicated, Traffic released two versions of "Pressure On the Brain" in their 2-disc set, giving us another version to compare. So let's jump right in:

Straight up, I almost wonder if Traffic didn't make a mistake. The two versions of "Pressure On the Brain," they released sound kinda similar. Don't get me wrong... they're different; you can tell just from listening to 'em. But they're much more alike than the 12" version to either of them. So, let's see, where to start? Well, first of all, like "Step," the 12" mix has some nice scratching on it that's missing from both Traffic mixes. Also, both Traffic mixes have essentially the same bassline. The 12" mix has a different bassline and, yes, it's better. One difference between the two Traffic versions is that the Jailhouse version has these keyboard tones in them, which makes the whole thing sound more like a polished studio product, as opposed to the grimier demo mix. The 12" here is in line with the demo mix, it doesn't have those keyboards (and just to be clear: I don't miss 'em).

Finally, I'll say that the 12" mix and the promo tape are essentially the same. They do sound like they're mixed differently (and the 12" is a tiny bit faster), but it's hard to tell how much of that is an inherent difference in the source material, and how much of that is just the format difference between a copy of promo cassette and an original 12" pressing. They're certainly "close enough," I think, even for a really serious fan not to care.

So, in the end, I don't know whether to scold Traffic for a dumb move or praise them for a good one. On the one hand, they clearly released the inferior of their options, so my first instinct was to say, "well, Traffic sure screwed up here!" But on the other hand, as rare as it is, this 12" is out there, available to the public (they just have to be die-hard enough fans to track it down). In putting out these (admittedly weaker) versions, Traffic has released versions that have never ever been released before, not even on the leaked promo tape. So their shit's 100% exclusive. So, ultimately it's a win for the serious collector/fan, who will ultimately get all versions, and the more casual fans or are missing out on the better versions of the songs wouldn't know what they were missing anyway. So, I'm leaning in favor of Traffic and giving 'em props. Now, if they really wanna make me happy, all they gotta do is press up this awesome 2-disc set of theirs on to vinyl! =)

Hot Chillin'

One of the major players in the current limited vinyl release game is Hot Chillin', Marley Marl's new, indie hip-hop label (a play, of course, on the classic Warner Bros subsidiary label, Cold Chillin' Records). They put out their first record in 2007 and their second in 2008, but it turns they have copies of both still available direct from their website, hotchillin.com.

HC000 is their debut 12": Kool G Rap's "Men At Work." "Men At Work," of course, is one of the many killer songs of G Rap's debut album, Road To the Riches, which - 'till now - had never been released as a single. This wrong has been corrected, and it's now available on 12" with an instrumental and acapella. But best of all, the vocal version on this 12" is a vintage but never-before-released extended version. Dope! This was limited to 500 copies or, by some accounts, 1000.

They came back the next year with HC001, Big Daddy Kane's "Set It Off" 12". Like HC000, this is again an unreleased extended version, b/w unreleased instrumental and acapella versions. Now, it's true there was a UK 12" of "Set It Off" back in '88 with an extended mix. But this is an extra-extended version, different and longer than that mix. What's more, this also features a short unreleased live version, and even better, an unreleased WBLS promo song called "Raw Attitude" by Kane featuring Antoinette. This was indisputably limited to 500 copies, as each copy is hand-numbered on the label. Mine is #232. :)

If that's not special and limited enough for ya, Hot Chillin' has produced 25 DJ sets of the "Set It Off" 12". What's a DJ set? Well, first of all, it's doubles of the HC001. But more importantly, it comes in a custom, graffiti-style cover hand-painted by Lordroc. All 25 covers were hung up the wall, and painted as one giant mural... the full picture will only come together if all 25 covers are reunited.

Most recently, Hot Chillin' released the limited Juice Crew EP in conjunction with DWG. I've already blogged all about that one, though, so check it out here.

So definitely drop by their site... it's a little wonky, but there's some great material to be found there. One caveat: Hot Chillin' is shipping their records in bubble envelopes with no other support (i.e. cardboard stiffeners) inside. So far, I haven't heard of anyone receiving broken wax, but there's a lot of creased covers going around. Now, that's no big deal if you're getting the regular 12"'s, which just come in plain, white jackets and sleeves (if it really bugs you, buy a $1 techno record off EBay and replace the jacket), but if you bought one of the one-of-a-kind, only-25-copies-in-existence DJ sets, you're kinda screwed. And considering the fact that they're charging $15 shipping per copy, and they're only spending $6, including the envelope, that's a bit of a racket.

Now, HC002 has finally been announced. Apparently there was a delay at the pressing plant, or it'd already be out; but it's now due for June and it's going to be Cool V's unreleased "Tribute To Scratching part 2!" They also have some other cool stuff planned for further down the road, including an instrumental series, with instrumental LPs of Goin' Off, In Control Vol. 1 & Long Live the Kane and an In Control Radio Show DVD.

New DWG Review

I just added a new review to Diggers With Gratitude - some dope Crusaders for Real Hip-Hop 12"-only joints that you'll surely want to pick up. Here's a direct link (all DWG reviews have mp3 audio previews, too; just fyi). 8)

Demo Week, Day 6: Stezo

(And here, of course, is the Youtube version.)

Demo Week, Day 5: The Mystro

(and here is the link to the YouTube version.)

Oh, and that myspace... I was thinking maybe it's this guy?

Demo Week, Day 4: L.I.F.E. Long

L.I.F.E. Long gave me this back in 1998. Even if you don't recognize the name, you surely have at least a few albums he's done guest verses on, because this Brooklyn MC has done enough to rival Canibus or Grand Puba. Eventually, he'd start putting out his own material independently, but this demo shows he was working on his own material even back in the 90's. If you need catching up, drop by his myspace.

Now, this is a four-song tape, and I'm pretty sure none of it has ever been released. I was meeting Thirstin Howl III, and L.I.F.E. was rolling with him and hit me up with this demo. He was changing his name to Major Thoughts at the time, but I guess in he decided to stick with L.I.F.E. Long (probably because that name was just starting to get some recognition), because this demo is the last time I've seen him referred to as Major Thoughts.

The first song is "One Voice in a Billion," produced by DJ Pistol Pete. It's a dope number and a good opener, but sometimes the the engaging Spanish guitar and horn samples are so strong, you completely lose the vocals. I don't mean in terms of volume, but just the liveliness of the music completely distracts you from the MC... you could listen to this ten times in a row and still have no idea what L.I.F.E. was rapping about (I'm sure whatever record they were originally sampling never had vocals in front of it). But, it's interesting stuff, so... fortunately for you readers, I'm a dedicated reviewer who made a point of paying attention. They're still a little confusing, but are essentially about his poetry heralding a revolutionary uprising. Here's the first verse:

"Similar to fire,
These thoughts burns within kingdoms.
Steps are drastic.
Categorize the poet as a great, classic
Soloist
That accumulates evidence in abundance,
While meditating in survival tunnels.
It's years of patience
That'll form a revolution in the making
With one thought:
Annihilate an entire sick nation.
So in touch with my past life,
My actions or maneuvers;
Multiple contusions
On a misunderstood ruler.
Forms of expression is now in question,
Poetry in its rarest state is manifestin' into a universal nuclear weapon
That breaks down the anatomy on chemical contact.
It's more than combat that contains physical vengeance.
The silent war's
Really relentless and never endless;
Shootin' bullets that the man-made commandment, tryin' to correct this
Insane format, introduced to time's existence,
Staying consistent,
On a level non-comprehended.
Speak out on secrets in a coded dialogue created divinely,
Designed precisely to expose the world fraud.
Only one voice in a billion."

Now, after the first that song, the following songs are unmastered. And you notice that fact the most on this second song, "Finally." It's produced by Game (7) 12th Round. Huh? Anyway, that's what he wrote on the sleeve. it's got some engaging string samples, but at certain points in the song, they used vocal samples from speeches, and you just cannot make out what's being said. Presumably an official version, had it ever been released, would've cleared that up.

Third is "For the Safety of My Wisdom" ("wisdom" as in mother), and it's as sappy slash pretentious as you'd expect from a title like that. It features an R&B hook and some slow production which isn't bad... I could see some rap fans really getting behind a song like this. But me, I just skip this shit. ;)

Finally, the last one is probably the most interesting. First of all, it's a duet with Mr. Malik of Illegal. Remember when they were big for a minute? And then, after that, Jamal put out a nice single and Malik went down South and appeared on the Sic-Wid-It compilation album, DownSouth Huslters? Well, this is actually a remix of that song, now featuring L.I.F.E. Long. While the original version of "Big Bank" was produced by Sam Bostic, this mix is produced by Meech. It's a cool mix of high quality Sic-Wid-It-style production and the two MCs getting creative with their flow to match it, while doing the east coast NY lyrical thing as a contrast. Unfortunately, they don't do that last part nearly enough. But it's still a cool little number... certainly different.

Demo Week, Day 3: D12

When Eminem just started blowing up outside of the underground heads circuit, and they gave Em his own Shady Records as part of his deal, the first act he signed, of course, was his crew, The Dirty Dozen. And when they first signed, one of the guys at Interscope gave me this tape. It's only one song, but it's hot and it's still unreleased.

Before Em and the Dozen all started doing this Dre-style pop music they all do now, and the Dozen got a reputation as being weed carriers to an E! Channel wannabe... before all that, I think people've forgotten, these were some lyrical cats. They were some sick MCs with some some sick ideas and a dope sound. And this song is really in that vein... so I guess it's no surprise it got left off of Devil's Night.

And before you ask, "We Live This Shhh" does not feature Eminem. And there's no production credits, but hazarding a guess, I'll say maybe it's Denaun Porter. It's got a hardcore, gritty sound, but with a touch of that "not sampled but made in a studio" music to it. And it features the MCs just continually passing and re-grabbing the mic, kicking ill, freestyle rhymes. Proof comes hard, "Holdin' three-eighties to naked twin babies - Dirty Dozen the reason y'all don't fuck with Slim Shady!" Bizarre makes extended Boogie Down Production references, "Let me begin: What? Where? Why? or When? Bizarre fuck around and blast you and your friends. See I'm not insane, in fact I'm kinda lyrical. If you live past twelve, it'll be a miracle," but surprisingly it's Kon Artist that comes with the wickedest verse:

"My idea of a romantic evening is date rape!
A caged ape
On the run from police,
Hoppin' off of your momma's fire-escape.
It's ten stories high,
Land on a limo;
Kill the chauffer,
Then skirt out bumpin' my new demo.
My life's on lease.
Get a piece of your grandniece
Then tell her my real name's Reece."

This isn't maybe the very best Em and the Dozen were capable of -if they continued in the right direction, they probably had some slicker rhymes and even more compelling beats - but it's absolutely the D12 that should've been rather than the D12 that was. Supposedly, the Dozen are working on another album after all this Relapse nonsense, but frankly, I'd just like to hear all their old school shit with Bugz, Outsidaz collabos, Proof, etc see the light of day. I'll be happy to sleep through the rest of their over-produced, teen-catering-to major studio period.

Demo Week, Day 2: Outsidaz

This is a 4-track demo The Outsidaz gave me in '98. It says "Source demo" 'cause I was writing about them for The Source at the time.

The first song is "Rain Or Shine." It's the same as on the single, which had already been released before this tape was made, so we'll move right past it except to say it's a Hell of a song and if you don't have the single, you should go get it. Now onto the goodies.

You may remember "Keep On" from their album, The Bricks. It was a pretty decent track, and was even released as a single (with a "Mozart Remix"). But this song, beat-wise and lyrically-wise, blows that shit out of the water! It's faster, more hardcore, grittier, and features a lot more Outz' members (the release version only features Pace and Zee). Like Zee says (on this version only) "my clique fill up a van; Navigators be too small. To go to Outz' shows, we need a school bus and a U-Haul."

This one starts out with one of Rah Digga's tightest verses... she sounds really young here, and without that slower, more relaxed flow (yawn) she later developed. She comes with those awkward yet incredibly-fresh style The Outz were the kings of, spitting lyrics like, "i-ight, dig; I'm swifter than an airforce Mig forced to land on an off-shore rig," and brags about being "so ready to bust I got a bad case of blue balls... and rugged as I wanna be, too. Ain't no niggas in the world gonna make me wan' shoot. Fuckin' with me, you'll have war scars from four bars and get a worse flash than any Iraqi nerve gas." This one also features D.U., and Zee & Pace's verses are 100% different from the album version as well. Only the hook is similar, and even that works better over this beat and with each MC performing the hook once before passing the mic. "Keep On" on the album was ok, but this is a killer.

The next track, "Nobody" is essentially the same as the "Nobody" that appears on Pace Won's Won album (and, before that, the unreleased Pace Won Effect album), but with one crucial difference. The "mixed" version slows the whole song down. The beats, the lyrics... basically they just slowed down the completed recording of the song. Maybe they were worried people were having trouble following Pace's complex flow? I don't know; but trust me, this demo version is the only way to hear this song. Once you hear it, the album version will forever sound wrong to you. I don't know why they did this, but if you notice, almost all of the Bricks-era Outsidaz stuff is slower than their earlier indie-era material, and I think really to their detriment.

Finally, is the completely 100% unreleased song, "Brick City." Now, I know I just trashed the slowing down of their material, and I believe it to be a general truism; but this is a slower song that works. It's got a deep bassline, rough drums and a slow and low piano riff. Again, this sounds rougher and grimier than most of their later stuff, Pace Won's verse is definitely nastier than usual:

"I hope you're ready for it when we set it off lovely.
I drop a metaphor it's like every whore love me;
Wanna hold me close,
They know we smoke,
It's like we in church, now, they catch the holy ghost.
They spread their legs and I slide a greasy dick in;
My rap style's for greedy chickens,
Like easy pickin's.
Watch me like the C.I.A.
Feel my pain,
While pussies retreat, I stay;
Beef I spray.
Screamin' out my name from the Brooklyn zoo to Jersey,
Think the average rap crew can hurt me?
I do you dirty!
Savage,
Slappin' that ass with no mercy;
I can beat that ass with both hands down like six thirty!"

It features a raw verse from the underrated Yah Lovah ("the best you can do is die, battlin' is suicide; I can take out half the niggas you influenced by! What? I ruin guys. Outz, all we do is ride. Call the ambulence, I'm 'bout to put two inside!"), Young Zee braggin' about crazy drug antics ("we got hoes takin' weed down South in hair dryers. And spare tires filled up with coke in it. We got them bitches out there tryin' to sell weight to No Limit. Drug addict, since fourteen I've been on Morphene; knockin' niggas in the youth house out, high off Thorzine") and a couple other Outz members... I think maybe D.U. and Azizz, but I'm not certain.

Between this and other unreleased tracks that've been floating around the internet ("Hard Act To Follow," "Duck Huntin'," etc) The Outsidaz are sitting on a classic album (at least one!) worth of material. And I mean classic classic, like Illmatic level. If someone could get all this material released - at least the very best stuff, but preferably everything - it'd be incredible.

Demo Week, Day 1.5: Chino XL

Ok, this is being billed as "Day 1.5" because it's a bit of an underwhelming entry. I almost didn't bother writing but, but I thought, what the heck. It should at least be of some nominal interest to the hardcore fans.

What we have here is a 3-song demo Dan Charnas sent me in advance of what would... eventually lead up to Chino XL's I Told You So album. I think I got this in '99 and the album came out in '01, so it was a long time before any of these tracks got heard by the public, but eventually they... mostly did.

Before I get to that, though; let me get the easy stuff out of the way. The other two songs on this tape, "Nunca" and "Chianardo Di Caprio" are the same as what wound up on the album, right down to the excruciating skit about Chino being visited by an angel in traffic. So nothing new there. These are "ruff" mixes, but there's no significant differences.

But the third song, "Papi," is essentially unreleased. I say "essentially," because he did eventually put it on his 2006 mixtape, The Definition of MC; but of course there it's marred with your typical radio blends and vocal tags being dropped over the song. So, it's kinda been released; but it's never been properly released.

It's a nice track, with a funky guitar picking sample and hard drums. Chino's delivery is nice, too; but the gimmick of his first verse, where he name-drops every Latino pop culture celebrity wears thin right at the first line, where he says he's, "in a kayak with Selma Hayak and Jennifer Lopez." He describes himself as "that lyrical Antonio Banderas," "pounding niggas like John Leguizamo" and so on. It gets better when he gets past that, but his need to turn everything into a cheesy punchline still weighs him down. But hey, the beat is really cool and his flow is engaging... it's better than a lot of Chino songs.

So, yeah. Pretty underwhelming. And that's why this is just "1.5." Look for Day 2 later tonight. :)