O.C. Demos and Vaulted Treasures

Remember when I reviewed No Sleep's killer EP release of O.C. demos last year? And it ended with the promise that, "This release is part one of two unreleased O.C. EP?" Well, guess what? Part 2 is here!

So, this time around, O-Zone Originals Part 2 isn't all demos like the first one. But they are all unreleased treasures from 1994-1996 that've been previously locked away unheard in O.C.'s vaults. It's also a little more limited than the first volume... there was 200 copies pressed of that, and only 175 of this one.

It starts out with two tracks recorded after Word... Life, but before Jewelz. "Flipside," produced by DJ Ogee, has a smooth, summer cool-out vibe to it. It's honestly a little forgettable, especially if it had come out when it was recorded back in '94, but O.C. rides the beat like a pro and raises it above the glut low budget major label stuff that was dropping in '94. "Master Ya High," produced by Buckwild, also has s slow, mellow groove... in fact, apparently Buckwild wound up giving this a slightly altered version of this beat to Faith Evans when this got shelved, so that tells you how un-hard the instrumental is. But the drums are raw and O.C. is on some serious spitting, so it winds up being a compelling counter-point and a generally better song than "Flipside."

Next up is "Gone," produced by DJ Ogee. You might remember the song from O.C.'s 2005 album, Smoke and Mirrors - the one he did with Hieroglyphics! - but it turns out this was originally recorded for Jewelz, and this is the original version with a different instrumental than the version on Smoke. This one's more stripped down, as opposed to all the R&B singing included on the later version by Mike Loe. I actually liked the singing on that version, so it's hard to pick a favorite, but this one has a whole different tone to it; it's practically an entirely different song.

And rounding out side A we have a radio promo produced by Buckwild for the Kevvy Kev show. It's just a super short, single verse freestyle as opposed to a proper song, but OC sounds great and the beat is really cool. If this was expanded into a full song, it would've sounded great on Word... Life. Unfortunately, he only raps for like 20 seconds here, but what little there is certainly cool.

Then, onto the flip, we finally have a demo joint... like everything on O-Zone Originals Part 1, it was recorded before Word... Life. It's called "Sharp As a Knife" and it's produced by Buckwild. This is the kind of O.C. stuff I'm really after on an EP like this. It's tight, though a little more relaxed than the title might lead you to believe.

Next we've got the original version of "Stronjay," a song from Jewelz. I think this version, produced by DJ Ogee, sounds better better than the released version, even though that one was done by Da Beatminerz. But, frankly, I never really cared for this song, and this hasn't changed my mind. It's cool to have it here as a historical artifact, but otherwise... meh.

Speaking of Da Beatminerz, there's a song by them on here called "Pain." it was recorded for Jewelz but left off. I can't imagine why, though, because this is better than a lot of stuff on Jewelz (like, say, "Stronjay"). The beat is dark and cool, and it has a fresh, uncredited reggae hook on it.

Finally, O-Zone Originals Part 2 winds out with another cool radio promo, this one featuring MC Serch, recorded for The Wake Up Show. Fortunately, unlike the one on Side A, this one isn't over before it starts... though I still wish it was longer. Serch and OC pass the mic back and forth, kicking a funky, staccato flow over a chunky, piano loop provided by Ogee.

Overall, I don't know if this is quite as impressive as the first volume, but it's definitely quality O.C. material that deserved to finally see the light of day, and any serious O.C. fan will want to get this; and they won't be disappointed when they do. Still, it would be nice if those last few, remaining truly vintage and great OC demos could come out on a similar EP one day...

Tribal Visions

(Youtube version is here... much higher quality, but still out of focus.)

Z-Man and Dan the Automator? Sign Me Up!

This 12" came out at the end of 2010, but I only just found out about it browsing around ughh for other stuff. I blame all the rap blogs that can't stop blabbing about useless celebrity gossip long enough to tell us about the actual, good music that's coming out. I don't care when Tyler the Creator says something disrespectful about Charles Hamilton on his twitter page... I care when Z-Man hooks up with JtheSarge to make a 12" with Dan the Automator!

JtheSarge, if you don't know, is Mykah 9's partner in Magic Heart Genies, the group they formed with DJ Drez... that's why this 12" was put out by M9 Ent. So this is a great combination of several very talented camps. You know, speaking of Odd Future (what? I mentioned Tyler up in the first paragraph), I always thought they were sort of redux of 99th Demention, which is a good thing, because I like them. But listening to some new Z-Man, I gotta say the hip-hop world still hasn't come up with an adequate replacement.

So, yeah. This is a super fresh 2-song 12". The A-side, "On a Hunt for a Show" is not produced by Dan, but JtheSarge himself. It's a really fresh, upbeat, modern-sounding track. This is the kind of track Wiz or Lupe would love to rap over, but unfortuantely for them, it went to some MCs who know how to ride over it a lot better. In fact, if you told me the label got it wrong and Dan actually produced this one, I'd believe you.

Then you get the B-side, which was produced by Dan. Surprisingly, this is a darker, moodier, bass-heavy instrumental that sounds much less reminiscent of his past work than the song he didn't produce does. It's got a really nice horn sample on the hook, though. It all serves as the groundwork for "What's It All About," which pairs J up with two guys I've never heard of: Big Pers and Matt Gamin. They come pretty nice, though; but disappointingly, Z-Man is not on this one. They manage to make up for it, though, by having Tapemastah Steph provide some fresh scratches.

One thing you can't knock this 12" for is quality of presentation. It's pressed on marbleized hot pink vinyl, and comes in a brown M9 sleeve with a sticker cover. You get Clean, Dirty and Instrumental versions of both songs, plus a TV Mix of "On a Hunt for a Show." There's a few bonus stickers inside the sleeve and best of all, it comes with a download card, so you can get all the mixes as high-quality mp3s, too. That's first class all the way, and they don't charge any more than the standard coach 12" price.

Not Quite a New Shifters Album

The Shape Shifters have a newish album out... sorta. It's called The Shape Shifter Army, and it popped up around the end of 2010. Accesshiphop describes it as a "[t]our only release from the Shape Shifters! Featuring greatest hits, remixes and unreleased or no longer available material!" And if you got it from them or at a show, you received a CDR in a purple slimline case featuring a pretty random track-listing, including a lot of songs that don't appear to be from their past albums. It's a little bit hard what to make of this album, exactly, with such an eclectic collection of songs, but that's fitting for the Shifters, I guess.

So just what do we have here, exactly? Let's see if we can demystify this track-listing a little:

1. G's In da House - This is a track from the incomplete and unreleased collaboration between Circus and Odd Nosdam. The whole thing would make a great official release, even incomplete, it's so strangely compelling. Just the finished tracks, "Circus for President" and the other Nosdam instrumentals would make an awesome CD or limited vinyl. But oh well. Anyway, this was leaked online as an mp3 but has otherwise gone unreleased until now.

2. Soyons Sales - This is a bi-lingual song by a group called Gourmets featuring the Shifters from 2008. This is a cool, wild song that was released on vinyl in 2008 - I wish I knew what the French MCs were saying.

3. Dig Dig Dig - This is another great song - love the hook! It's an ode to crate digging by Akuma & Factor featuring Awol and RadioInactive, from their 2005 album, Dawn of a New Era.

4. Yum Yum - This is from the Shifters' last official album, Was Here.

5. The Funkiestereo - This is the opening track to Existereo's 2004 album, Crush Groove. It's got a dope, 90's throw-back style beat with some hard cuts.

6. Get Acquainted - Another track from Akuma & Factor's Dawn Of a New Era.

7. Three the Hard Way - This one's from another Akuma album that dropped the same year as Dawn, called Eye In the Sky.

8. Tobasco - Another one from Was Here.

9. L.A. Is the Mother Land - This one's from the Existereo & Deskee album, Hopeless Crooks With Open Books.

10. Automatic Movement - I think this is an exclusive song to this CD, another unreleased track. It's a catchy, upbeat solo track by Doc Lewd. If you don't recognize Doc's name, you'll surely remember his voice from other Shifters projects like the Soul Lows album. He was also on "Get Acquainted," above.

11. S.O.T.F. - This is from Awol One's 2004 album, Self-Titled and features Circus and 2Mex.

12. Tarantulas - This is from RadioInactive's 2006 album, Soundtrack To a Book.

13. Welcome 2 America 2012 - This is a Die Young song from Soul Lows.

14. Futuristic - Another track from Was Here. I'm surprised they keep going back to that album, since it was their last official album and pretty widely released. You'd think they'd stick to rarer stuff.

15. Counter Clock Wise - This is actually "Counter Cloudwise," an OMD song from Fat Jack's Cater To the DJ compilation album, mistitled.

16. Beetleborg - This is from Adopted By Aliens, and certainly one of their most "out there" numbers, half in English and half in Spanish.

17. Miracle Business - This is fun, religiously subversive posse cut from Matre's 2009 solo album, Easter Sonday[sic.].

18. Quit Your Job - More from Was Here.

19. FEARS - Another from Awol's Self Titled.

20. Run the Crowd - And, finally, still more from Was Here.

All in all, this is an interesting little album. There's not much unreleased or unique to this disc (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if that Doc Lewd song was on some obscure CD I missed). It picks out some nice gems from the lesser known extended Shifters family members' solo albums, meaning only the most die-hard fan would have all these songs already. Some exclusive remixes or something like accesshiphop promised us would've gone a long way, though. And there's certainly far too much of Was Here on here (surely anybody who would be picking up this obscure album would have that one already). So I can't help feeling a little disappointed.

If you're a major fan, this off-beat little Shifters compilation makes for a rewarding listen - certainly there's a lot of good songs. But for the rest of us, don't worry that you're missing out on anything essential. There's not much here by way of new or lost recordings, just recycled product.

Competive Spirit - Kool G Rap Interview

I've got a great one for you guys this weekend. I just got to talk in depth with pretty much the greatest rapper of all time: Kool G. Rap. I got to ask him about all the obscure, finer points everybody else glosses over - yes, my first question for him was about "Movie Review." :-D

There was a track on promo copies of Live and Let Die that didn’t wind up on the final album. It was called "Movie Review." Can you tell us about that?

Right. My recollection is very vague, so I couldn’t really give you accurate information… it did kinda ring a little bell, but it’s very vague. I think it was a skit, if I remember correctly, but that’s about all I can give you on that, it was so long ago and I put so much stuff out there, you know?

Sometimes people post stuff out there that I haven‘t seen in years, I don’t know how they got their hands on it. I don’t have it. In my personal possession. I’ll hear something and be sort of shocked myself, like where the fuck they get that off?

But is there still anything that hasn’t come out yet that you’d like to see released? Was there any song you did that you thought was really hot that Cold Chillin’ or somebody sat on?

You mean like a Lost Tapes type of thing? I have thought about that before, but I think, better than that" I always wanted to put out a collection of all the features I ever did. From known artists to not-so known artists, because I think I did some extremely good work. I don’t just push the envelope when I’m in the studio for a Mobb Deep record, or a feature with Big Pun or MOP. I do that with regular Joe Schmoe Jackson from fuckin’ Minnesota, and spit a crazy verse for that person’s project.

Yeah, one that stands out to me is "Let 'Em Live" with Chino XL, you close out with an amazing verse.

Right, Right. I appreciate that. It could be a track that Dr. Dre wants me to do, or just the average person with no name or nothing, who’s trying to get up and running, and I’ma always put the same amount of effort into my craft. So, with some people that were just trying to get their machine up off the ground, I did some real good work, that people just never heard.

Definitely. That would have to be like a five-disc set to fit all that stuff!

(Laughs) Almost! Because I’ve done a lot of features out there.

Sometimes, though, it feels like it gets marketed like a co-sign, like by you featuring on their record, it’s like you’re validating them. And you’ve worked with such a variety… Is that something that bothers you, or would you say, yeah, if you did a song with them you consider them at a certain level?

I know that’s part of the game sometimes. But yeah, I’m cool with that. I worked hard to have people look at me in that light. So I definitely wouldn’t be offended or mad now that I’m finally there; this is what I wanted from the first time doing it, doing what I do. I wanted people looking at me with the admiration or honor or whatever other things people look at G Rap as. If people look at me in that light, I definitely wouldn’t want to turn away from that now.

You’ve bigged up Silver Fox as being someone in that position for you - inspiring you, an MC to look up to.

Right.

And now Silver Fox is back, he’s got a myspace, he’s doing new songs. Have you guys considered doing some songs together or anything?

There was talk of doing some things, but it’s sort of dissipated. It was probably more to do with that he was busy doing his thing and I was definitely busy doing my thing, wrapping my project up., and running around promoting, photo sessions, press dates. It became a problem: he happened to be working on his project the same time I was working on marketing this album as much as possible and the time wouldn’t allow it. But I wish Silver Fox the best with his project; he’s definitely one of the main inspirations on G Rap and had a profound effect on how G Rap present himself to the world.

It’s interesting, because if you go back and listen to the Fantasy Three records, Silver Fox doesn’t sound like a prototypical G Rap. You don’t hear that and think, "oh, here’s where his style came from," like some early version of you.

Well, I heard him off recordings as well; I heard him freestyle. I mean, the way he was flowing back then, it might not be noticeable now because the art of flowing has gotten so technical with the times, that you probably wouldn’t even notice what he was doing in comparison with to where we at now. You know what I mean?

True.

I mean, Fantasy Three was out around, what ‘84? And by the time G Rap, Rakim and Kane came out, things had innovated already back then. And we’re talking ‘86, ‘88, those years. And we’re all the way in 2011 now. So if you had any kind of futuristic flow in comparison to the times back then, it probably wouldn’t even be that noticeable now. You’d have to saturate yourself in the music that was going on then to hear the difference.

Speaking of your beginnings, when the Terminators started, you weren’t in it, right? I know you’re not on that record - it was Polo and Frost B?

MC Frost, yeah.

But by "It’s a Demo," you’re saying, "we’re The Terminators." So how did that transition come about?

What it was is that Polo and Frost started together first. They were the team first, before I even got in the picture with Polo. Once I got in the picture, to my understanding, Frost was having differences with Polo. Because Polo wanted to do promotional stuff that Frost didn’t necessarily want to do… things they weren’t getting paid for. So when me and Polo linked up, I was for anything to accomplish my dream. Whether it was something we gotta do for promotion, get ourselves out there or get paid, it didn’t matter to me. I was gonna do it because I was hungry and I wanted it that bad, because I knew what I was capable of doing poetically.

When I mention Terminators, it was out of respect for the name Polo had before I even got into the picture. If you notice, I didn’t really use that name anymore other than just using it as a punch line or a metaphor. But I did not affiliate myself and Polo as the Terminators after that. The first time I did it was just out of respect, like, this is your thing you got going before I even got into the picture, I’ma wave that flag.

Jumping ahead a little… on your second album, Wanted Dead or Alive in 1990, you had a song called "Riker’s Island" on the cassette version, which was an older song. That was unusual, especially back then, for an album to add on a song that would’ve been like three years old, before even the first album.

I’m not sure that the copy you see is an actual release of the times, or something that somebody went back and did later and put out.

No, it’s definitely on my original copy I got when it first came out.

Oh, ok. If that was the case, then it was a record company call. Because I had enough songs to make an album; I didn’t have to include something that was put out previously.

I always thought it had something to do with getting Marley Marl’s name on there, so he would be associated with the project? Because he wasn‘t on the album otherwise.

No, not at all. Because I was comfortable with Large Professor being the overall producer of the album.

So, was it pretty much all Large Professor, then? I mean, excluding like the Cool V tracks, there’s been some question of whether it being more Eric B or Large Pro responsible for the music on that album.

What it was… I guess, Large Professor and Eric B had worked out a situation where Large Professor was supposed to produce that album under Eric’s production company. But I wasn’t explained 100% how it was supposed to work out. I didn’t know that he did a situation with Paul, the Large Professor. So I didn’t want to just shit on Large Professor based on their inside, personal business. You know what I mean? I’m like, I gotta give Large Professor the credit; he’s the one that was in the studio every day. It kinda put me in the middle, because I’m close with Eric, and then I gained this relationship with Large Professor because we did the whole album together. So it put me in the middle, and I just gave the credits to where I thought they should’ve went, and I thought, that’s pretty much between y’all. I don’t wanna be responsible for shittin’ on nobody.

Speaking of behind the scenes business, you’ve also written for a lot of artists. How did you get started in that, especially the early stuff? Like Salt ‘N’ Pepa and their first album? That just seems so out of your camp, as opposed to just writing for others within The Juice Crew or whatever.

Well, I was messing with Hurby first. And I actually met Salt ‘N’ Pepa before they made any record.

Was Hurby going to put an album by you out at one point?

Well, I was rhyming for him and that was the intention for him to put me out. But it just didn’t work out that way. I also recorded with The Disco Twins, the guys who put out the NYC Fat Girls and all that back in the day. And then I recorded with Hurby. But then I got with Marley, that’s where it stuck right there. So I still had relationships with people I recorded with before Marley. Me and The Twins were still cool. Me and Hurby were still cool, you know what I’m saying? But I was just doing my own thing then.

Does that mean there’s like a lot of recordings of you with Hurby and all in a vault somewhere?

Nah, because this was before I got into song-writing mode and all that. So there’s not like a lot of material that Hurby would have… maybe like one or two songs with Hurby, tops; and one recording with Disco Twins I have.

Still, that would be great to hear!

(Laughs) You gotta track down Hurby.

Another interesting writing credit you have is that song for Whodini that Full Force produced.

Right, right. Yeah, absolutely right! Wow, I forgot about that.

That was interesting because it was different for Whodini, it was different for Full Force, and then it wound up just on the soundtrack for Nightmare On Elm Street 5 of all places. But it’s a really dope record.

Thanks a lot, man. I got cool with Jalil and Grandmaster Dee. I met ‘em all, but I kinda really bonded with Grandmaster Dee. Jalil was cool, too; and Ecstasy was more of a to-himself type of guy, he has that kind of persona. He acknowledged me and I acknowledged him, but he kept it right there.

You had them rapping faster and more technical than they usually do, but they did it well.

Well, they were definitely fans of G Rap, and appreciated what I do. I assume that’s why they would have me write something for them. Because that was a Whodini call. And they were able to deliver it the way I wrote it to be delivered, because they were familiar my style and they thought highly of it. Just like I respect what they do in the game, you know? But I’m just a different type of rapper. I’m more of a lyrical assassin type of rapper, and they’re more keep the party going type of rappers, and performance on stage type of rappers. They had more of that commercial appeal. G Rap has more of that gutter lyrical assault kind of vibe, but they liked my side of it, where I was at, too.

Right, no doubt. Well, now this you’ve probably been asked about a lot, but when you and Polo split… was that because he wanted you guys to steer in more commercial direction? Because you sort of went more in that one direction, and his solo album was totally someplace else.

Well, I think Polo had more of the commercial flavor to him. Polo had a great ear for what would work generally, like mass audiences. Whatever track he would track would be the track that was a little more mainstream, because you know G Rap is all gutter. I’ma attract the type that wants that hard shit, you know what I’m saying? But this was that time and era when the hard shit was getting accepted by the masses, like it is now. Fifty Cent could come out now and sell fucking nine million records because people embrace that hard shit now. Because you had people that kicked the doors off the hinges like Ice Cube, Public Enemy, Scarface, hardcore rap, hardcore street…

And you too, definitely!

And myself. But when I started doing it, there wasn’t a massive audience for it like that. And there wasn’t so many outlets for us to play like that. Radio wasn’t even trying to embrace a G Rap like that when I first started. But by the time I got to like the 4, 5, 6 album, the doors were a lot more open. Because we had like Nas, Black Moon, Smooth and Trigga the Gambla, MOP, all these real hard streets started coming out and making the audiences bigger and bigger. NWA did phenomenal with that.

Yeah, there’s almost pre-NWA and post-NWA in hip-hop.

(Laughs) Right, exactly. And Geto Boys, all that. But I didn’t have so many vehicles available when I started doing it as kids would later, when the world would embrace it.

And going back to Polo… do you still keep up with him today?

I haven’t spoken to him in a while now, but I have spoken to him… it wasn’t years and years ago, it was more a matter of several months. But yeah, me and Polo are good. We never broke up on bad terms, there was never no conflict or friction. It’s just that, by the time I got to the 4,5,6 album, I had done seven years with him, three albums, and I felt like I’d paid him back enough. Because I’ma very loyal dude. I gave him seven years of my life. But Polo was a DJ; he wasn’t a producer. It wasn’t like he would always come in with all the tracks, so it was like the workload was really just G Rap’s workload. You understand what I’m saying? Like the songs would get done, all he’d have to do is add some cuts and scratches and bring ‘em to shows. And I really didn’t feel like two grown men could eat off the same plate forever under the same circumstances, So it was time for me to move on. But no animosity or nothing like that. Me and Polo still talk to this day.

Does he still DJ at all, or is he in the business still?

I’m not sure to be honest with you. I know he still Djs, but I’m not sure exactly how active he is in the music business. Because I know he was actually recording and actually being the vocalist. I’m sure he was rapping on that album you told me about, because he showed me a video with him and Greg Nice.

Yeah; that's right. It’s mostly guests on every song, though, like Ice-T, Melle Mel… Ron Jeremy of course was the single.

(Laughs) Right, right.

So let’s get into your new stuff. Obviously you’ve got your album coming out in just a couple weeks, and before that you dropped a free EP, Offer You Can‘t Refuse. Are those songs going to be on the album?

There’s one song off the EP that’s actually gonna be on the album, that’s the one with Havoc featuring on it and The Alchemist production. Everything else is all new material.

And that song "Sad" will be on it, with Supa Dave?

Right, exactly. That song is definitely on the album.

So who else is working on this album?

Well, I did a reunion song with Marley Marl, that’s on there. As far as other producers, I got my man DJ Pain-1, he did some stuff with Jeezy. The producer Infamous, who’s actually a Grammy award winner, who did stuff with Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Fifty Cent, LL Cool J. His discography is crazy. And the rest is underground, hungry producers like Leaf Dog. He did a track on the Offer You Can’t Refuse EP, "Baggin’ In the Spot." So if you heard the EP, you know he’s bringin’ it. Supa Dave did the majority of the tracks. He’s the only producer who did four tracks in total.

Supa Dave is really underrated. He’s someone I’m surprised didn’t get a bigger name in the late 90’s, early 2000’s.

Yeah, you know, I didn’t even know his track record like that. Somebody just told me he did tracks with De La Soul and all, I was like damn! No wonder his tracks was crazy.

Yeah, I kept expecting him to blow up more.

Right. Well, we’re gonna cure that little problem. (Laughs) If you can appreciate "Sad," then you know what the chemistry must be like between me and Supa Dave.

Now, I’ve read in an interview you said this was going to be a more personal album…?

Well, you know I touched on subjects I’ve never really touched on before with personal life experiences and things of that nature; but it‘s not like the whole album is a G Rap life story or something. I don’t wanna confuse people. I’m very well-rounded on this album, touching on a little bit of everything. "Sad" was very much me touching on real life stuff, all the people I lost down to my moms, my pops, one of my sisters, some of my friends. So I’m touching on real life situation in "Sad" and another track called "Pages In My Life." But then you’ve got the songs where I’m very metaphoric or I’m messing with the flow, or I’m doing this and doing that. I’m doing the things G Rap is known to do. Then I’ve got the story tracks, like "American Nightmare." I got concepts. The track that I did with the producer Infamous is called "Harmony Homicide." I don’t even want to give the whole idea of It away, but it’s a concept. I didn’t just do anything with this album. I really wanted to have something to say when I did this album, and it all happened to come out, and every way I wanted to display my art as a lyricist came out. This is a well-rounded album, I feel good about it, and I think the fan base is gonna love it.

Nice. And I assume Fat Beats wouldn’t be interfering like Warner Bros, so you’re pretty much free to do it all how you want?

Oh yeah, yeah. Fat Beats is like any other underground label. They accept the artist for who they are. They’re not trying to change you or polish you up. They’re gonna leave it as gritty as it comes. If they make the decision to work with you or do a joint venture with you, they already know what to expect.

So this is gonna be the album people have been looking for, without worrying that Rawkus is gonna swap tracks out or things like that.

Exactly.

It's also exciting to me because it's been a time where a lot of the greats would say they didn't have plans to do an album... like it was just put on hold indefinitely. It was actually getting a little depressing. With the labels closing I guess the greats weren't messing with the new scene, maybe? But now, not just you, but we're seeing Kane is doing a new album, there's talk of Slick Rick coming out on Ice Water Records. Is it shifting back somehow? Are we coming out of that period?

You know what I think it is? It’s been years. Big Daddy Kane’s done Big Daddy Kane for years. Slick Rick’s done Slick Rick for years now. But once you’ve been who you are for over two decades, you know, you go through changes in life. I mean, I had points where I was like, I don’t think I’ma do this no more. Or I’m ready to retire this thing, hang it up, move on. And it’s just my competitive spirit that brings me back all the time. And I’m sure all of them have that competitive spirit… Obviously, they wouldn’t have become what they did if they didn’t have that spirit. It’s just a matter of time before they dust off that old mic, plug it back in the old amp and start rappin’ again. Especially when there’s so many people out there that love them. Kane has so many fans. And Slick Rick has so many fans. And everybody’s sitting there waiting and rooting them on. And that makes you more confident to come out in a totally different era and time frame. It makes you just say, you know what, I’ma just do it for the people that love G Rap, or the people that love Kane, or the people that love Slick Rick. I’ma do it for them. But everybody has their own certain point where they’re ready to be persuaded to do that.

Well, I’m glad you’re doing it now. And on vinyl, by the way. Double LP in addition to the CDs and mp3s.

I’m glad of that, too. Because so many people are still holding it dear. I don’t think the mp3s’ll ever make it to the antique store! (Laughs) Or maybe, you never know, that’ll be an idea for someone to do in the future, an all-digital antique store. But I don’t think they got that yet.

(Laughs) Well, thanks for talking to me. Is there anything final you want to add?

Yeah, look out for the album, Riches, Royalty, Respect. And go out there and get that free mp3 download, Offer You Can’t Refuse. You can get it from koolgrapnow.com, still a free download. You won’t be disappointed.

Get Raw, Get Raw

Raw '91 is an interesting little release. If you want to watch 3 years of your life drift away, get into an online argument over whether it's an EP or a maxi-single, and don't stop until somebody wins. Whichever way you classify it, it dropped in the middle of a prolific period of Big Daddy Kane, released in conjunction with his fourth album, Prince of Darkness. It's been suggested, and it makes sense to me, that it was made as a response to critical fans who thought he was going to pop/ r&b. It's generally held in pretty high regard amongst Kane fans, and not for good reason, but as we'll see, there's really not much original material on this.

We start off with "Ooh, Aah, Nah-Nah-Nah (Master Mix)." "Ooh, Aah" is a Prince of Darkness album track, and despite it's title, it is one of the harder, more straight-up hip-hop jawns on the album. It starts with Kane rapping acappella, and then the hard beats kick in and it's on from there. I mean, it's not the greatest Kane song ever - the hook isn't great, and the last verse, where he just shouts out a bunch of the major rappers of the time, is a gimmick he's used several times too many - but considering he produced it himself, it's surprisingly strong.

Oh, and if you're wondering how this Master Mix differs from the album version... it doesn't. Same mix exactly. So that's one that looks like an exclusive but actually isn't. You do get the Instrumental a little further down the track-listing, though, so that's something.

Then you've got the title track "Raw '91." Of course, that's a Prince of Darkness album track, too. But it pretty killer. Of course, it's a sequel to his classic "Raw" and has him spitting over roughly the same beat and similar scratches. But, then, as the song goes on, new samples are swapped in for others and the tune keeps changing as Kane (who also produced) flexes how he's grown lyrically since the 80's. I'm not saying it tops a classic, but it's a damn great song.

Next we've got "It's Hard Being the Kane Remix Radio Edit)." This is a Marley Marl remix of the the lead single from Taste of Chocolate. This is a darker and moodier remix, which is in keeping with the tone of the EP. I'm not sure it replaces the Prince Paul original in my eyes, but it's a dope alternative. Unfortunately, this was already released on the "It's Hard Being the Kane" single from 1990, so it's nothing new. What's more, this is the Radio Edit, as opposed to the preferable Extended mix on that 12".

The album version of "It's Hard Being the Kane" is also on here.

But finally we come to the EP (or maxi-single)'s one real exclusive: "Taste of Chocolate (Remix)." This stood out to be as odd the first time I saw this on the track-listing, because "Taste of Chocolate" was never really a song on the Taste of Chocolate album. There was "Taste of Chocolate Intro" and "Taste of Chocolate Exit," but those weren't full songs... The first was an intro with a single verse, and the latter was just shout-outs over the same beat (another BDK self-production, by the way). So what's this? Well, it's the Intro expanded into a full song. The track is the same and the first verse is the same. But where the Intro ends, this Remix comes back with an all new verse:

This one stands out, because it's not hard like the rest. It's still fresh, freestyle rhymes, but the beat is soft and smooth. Or as Kane says, "this is that particular beat for all the fellas feelin' mellow to pump in their jeep." All in all, it's no masterpiece, but it's a good, worthwhile Kane song. And Raw '91 is the only way to hear more than a snippet of it, making it a must for completists. And it comes in a cool picture cover [shown is my CD single, but the 12" has the same cover and track-listing], so it's not a bad little pick up.

Damu and Buff1

Okay, so maybe you don't relish the challenge of obtaining a commercially unreleased single. Or maybe instrumental releases just don't hold your interest. That's okay, I've still got a Damu the Fudgemunk limited 7" single for you.

"When Winter Comes" is brought to us by our friends, Diggers With Gratitude. If the title sounds familiar, that's because an unfinished version's been public via mp3 since 2009. It's another killer production by Damu with brilliant, crunchy drums, killer piano samples and a vintage Wu-Tangy female vocal cue for a loop. And there's cuts as well. It's definitely more classically boom-bap than a lot of Damu's stuff. And on the vocals is Buff1, a Detroit MC from The Athletic Mic League, who should seek out more beats like this, because he sounds better than he usually does here.

But Damu just threw the song out there, because unfortunately the engineer accidentally wiped the vocal track, so it could never be properly mastered and released. But because everybody was feeling the mp3 so much, DWG got Damu and Buff back into the studio to rerecord it, as well as an all-new B-side, "Truly Get Yours."

"Truly Get Yours" is smoother and slower, but just as tight. The scratching sounds even more on point. There's another vocal sample looped on this one, and I feel like I've heard it used before, at a different pitch, but I can't place it. Then there's an amazing horn sample on the hook, it's like peak-era Pete Rock. At the end of the day, I think this is even stronger than "Winter," it's got such an addictive vibe.

So, this one's limited, but not too limited... There are 200 pressed on blue vinyl, and another 650 on standard black. And DWG releases are showing up in more and more hip-hop shops (like ughh), so this one isn't hard to find at all, and it's got a pretty close to regular price at $10. Just check out the soundclips here, especially the second half, and I'm sure you'll be sold. And check out the funky, stamped sleeves!

Private Damu

My mind is full of things I would do if I were super rich. You know: army of robot servants, invisible airplanes, decent health care... those sort of silly, impossible flights of fancy. But there's one idea that always sticks out as being slightly less impossible. You know how lots of dope MCs like Craig G, Young Zee, etc, will post on their myspaces or twitter accounts about how they're available for collabos for a fee? So how awesome would it be, just as a fan, to hire your favorite artist and commission your own new favorite song? Like, whatever your tastes are... if you're a frat kid, you could go to the next kegger and say, "I'm tried of 'Jump Around.' Let's put on my exclusive 'Jump Around part 2' that House of Pain created just for me!"

Well, I don't know if Spice is rich or if he just decided life is too short, but he's gone and done it.

Now, do you guys know who Damu the Fudgemunk is? If not, you should, and it'll be my honor to introduce him to you. He's a producer who's been putting out a ton of instrumental records on his own label, Redefinition, to heaps of acclaim. And unlike all these other dudes who keep getting attention and "buzz" online, dude actually deserves it. I actually held off checking out Damu's first couple releases, because it just raised all my "contemporary, overhyped mediocrity" red flags. But no, for once, believe the hype:

“Very refreshing to hear a young cat with that much soul. Exactly what’s been missing from the game … soul.” - Marley Marl

It's 100% sample-based production. It's really rich and layered... which means, essentially, a bunch of combined samples, as opposed to a basic loop with frills. Like if DJ Shadow kept progressing after Entroducing, instead of drifting off into dubstep or whatever the heck he does now (he still wins at random rap mixCDs, though), and had substantially more R&B in his collection.

So what we've got here is a 7" single by Damu, commissioned by Spice to celebrate the birth of his daughter. Spice had the concept ("a reworking of the Ramsey Lewis and Minnie Ripperton versions of the Charles Stepney classic, Les Fleurs") and even some of the samples picked out. He gave it to Damu, who handed him back the excellent "Brooklyn Flower" (plus a hot B-side called "Yes We Can"). And Spice printed up this up in a limited run, never to be released commercially.

...Which means, no, you can't really buy it anywhere. The songs have been (officially) leaked online, so you can listen to the music for free... they're on Youtube and have been posted on the best blogs already. But vinyl heads, yes, there is an actual record. It's a private run of 500 copies, number-stamped (mine's #133), in a cool picture cover on white[white] vinyl. So, happy digging, guys!

The Outsidaz Go To Germany

Don't be surprised if you haven't heard of a rare, indie documentary called Underground Rapstarr from 2004. And be even less surprised if you haven't heard of the accompanying soundtrack album, the excessively titled Underground Rapstarr Soundtrack A.D. vol. 1: Exclusive European Version. But if you're an Outsidaz fan, you'll be glad to learn of it now.

Underground Rapstarr was directed by a guy named Anthony Douglas, about "american[sic.] rap artists and their struggle for fame, money, street credibility and international success." And the soundtrack was put together by A. Dizzle (the "A.D." part of the title). It's no coincidence that Anthony Douglas's initials are A.D.; it's the same guy, and he also maybe produced most of the music on here.

It's hard to say.

See, the production credits just say, "produced by A. Dizzle" and then "co-produced by Divine, Josh, Bamba Nazaar, Garoo Rodney Hunter." But then the front cover says, "includes the street burner 'World War 2000'[titled "World War 2003" in the track-listing] produced by DJ Desue." ...So what we can take away from all that is the production credits are incomplete and there's really no telling who made which beats.

Anyway, despite the movie being about American rap artists, it's on a German label - Crown - and most of the guys on this soundtrack seem to be from Germany, many of whom don't rap in English (though A.D. does). Oh, also actress Michelle Rodriguez (that girl from Girlfight and Avatar) had something to do with this, because her picture appears several times in the CD booklet. So it's a bit of an oddball, motley crew. But this whole project's noteworthy because they roped in American rap stars Kurupt and The Outsidaz, who appear on three songs apiece.

So, first a couple words on Kurupt's contribution - pretty forgettable. For one thing, he's often saddled with some weaker MCs on his tracks (some of whom, again, don't rap in English), and the production mostly sounds like the kind of stuff a major label A&R would force on a rapper who'd rather work with Premier. And on his solo song, "What You Thought It Was," someone made the ridiculously awful decision to fill the song with background vocals and ad-libs by a silly-ass cartoon voice.

Fortunately, the Outsidaz fare much better. First of all, they aren't paired up with anybody. All three Outsidaz songs only feature the Outsidaz. The beats fit them better, too. This could possibly be because DJ Muhammed (Outsidaz DJ and all-around nice guy) is credited on the album as an executive producer. And the line-up of Outsidaz members is excellent... it isn't just the big names (Young Zee and Pace) like you might expect, but it isn't just the lesser known MCs either. It's a great mix, with Young Zee being nasty as ever:

"Fuck a diamond. When I'm rhymin', I got you;
I'm the type to fuck a model with a Heineken bottle.
I fucks with ghetto girls who keep a clean coochie;
I squeeze machine Uzis like Steve McQueen movies.
At a interview, I can blast about ten of you,
And drench a few in chemicals that pin you to the living room."

...Pace Won coming tighter than he has in a long time:

"Semiautomatic 9m by the buckle,
Scarrin' tissue,
Makin' God an issue since you artificial,
Bust my gun and y'all run like it's a starter pistol;
And if ya game that tight, I send my broad to get you."

...and the under-appreciated members like Axe proving how they earned their spot in the clique:

"Drug pick-ups,
Doin' stick-ups on my dirtbike.
I spark heads, still hussle;
Fuck what the narc said,
Axe'll turn a sunny sky dark red.
I be chillin' all day,
Exit 143 off the Parkway.
Yo doe do-doe!
I been places that you hopin' to go;
You mope with the dough;
Used to cook dope on the stove;
My nigga Fiend sold crack and coke in the Grove.
Axe's hype enough to wanna punch the pope in the nose!
My ultimate goal?
Swimmin' in an ocean of gold,
Smokin' the 'dro, dick stays poked in the holes,
Drillin' the mic;
Even if I made a million a night,
I'd still be real and polite, willing to fight.
Villain for life,
Devil nigga, you killin' for stripes;
Bust the Dillinger twice, spillin' ya pipes!"

It's sick, the production is harder, and they just kill it consistently. It's exactly what you'd want from Outsidaz songs, even better than some of the songs on The Bricks. Straight up classic material, which was almost lost entirely, as apparently this album was pulled from the shelves quickly.

Crown's website explains, "April 2004 Crownn releases the controversial 'Underground Rapstarr' album which was later taken off the retail availability !! ?? due to!? The album was a soundtrack album from the self titled indie film 'Underground Rapstarr'. It was highlighted with the opening track 'What you though it was!' (Krupt ,Anthony Douglas, Michelle Rodriguz) but was plagued by unforeseen legal issues that had very little to nothing to do with the label or the distributor. Endorsed in the media by Kickz Clothing and set on A list priority by Crownn/Cargo the album to this day remains to be classic. (Its no longer available via Crownn)."*

That's not exactly clear... but "legal issues" seems to be the key phrase there.

By the way, while there was no vol. 2, there is an alternate version of this album with some different songs. Remember, this is the "Exclusive European Version." There's a CD released on Unity, which I think only came out in Japan, simply called Underground Rapstarr. This one's marketed just as an AD album (or "A. Dizzleelini" as he writes it here), as opposed to a soundtrack. But even though it's presented as an AD album, it still features a bunch of songs he doesn't appear on (maybe he did produce those tracks), including two of the three Outsidaz songs. There's a bunch of exclusive songs on that version, too; and the new songs include appearances by Master Ace and RA, plus Michelle Rodriguez herself performs on two songs.

Personally, I wasn't curious enough about the Master Ace verse to seek out that version, though. This is the version you want for all the Outsidaz songs. and some of the other songs are decent, too... "Donner Rap Kings" has a good sound, for example, I just wish the MCs were speaking English on it. Then again, Sabreeze's "The One and Only" is so corny, I wish she was speaking a different language. It's kind of a rare album, since it was only released in Europe and it was swiftly pulled from the shelves. But it was worth it for me. Yo doe doe!

*Despite all the spelling errors and "!! ??"s, this isn't from Google translator or anything. That's how they wrote it on their English-language website.

Neva Stop Diggin' (Especially Not Today)!

Just in time for Record Store Day: a brand new vinyl release of an ode to digging by one of the realest hip-hoppers who ever did it! This here's a 7" single by Phill Most Chill on Diggers With Gratitude. What's interesting is that Phill is known at least as much - probably more - for being a killer producer, not just an MC; and he's always produced all his own stuff. But this 7" has Phill over beats by two other producers.

"Neva Stop Diggin'" first appeared online in 2006, when producer Paul Nice uploaded this track he'd just completed. The beat kicks in (after a funny Simpsons sample), and it's an instant bumper. It's got kind of modern soul production sound... where on the one hand it's got that sort of boop, boop, boop sound, but the sampled instruments have a richer, more organic vibe than your average contemporary hip-hop track that does the same kind of thing but lacks the soul. This being Paul Nice, there's also a bevy of fresh scratched-in vocal samples on the hook. And Phill rhymes what could be the definitive anthem for the current digging scene:

"You know I never stop diggin';
It's like my religion.
Ever since the days of Wild Style,
Flash in the kitchen
Cuttin' Bob James.
Biz says he got a version with no bells;
But I ain't never seen that for sale,
Definition of a Holy Grail!"

People were amped for this to come out. It was set to be on Paul Nice's album, but that project wound up getting derailed. So for years later, people kept asking, "what about that 'Neva Stop Diggin' track - is it ever gonna come out on vinyl?" ((crickets))

But that's not even the whole story. While all that was going on, there was a similar situation where Phill Most threw an obscure song up on his blog in a post about another hot producer. This time it's "Smash!" with producer Jorun Bombay. Yes, that Jorun, who did all those sought after Haltown tapes in the 90's and worked with Buck 65 before anybody knew who the heck he was. It turns out they originally recorded "Smash" with Jorun's crew First Words (though only Phill raps on this) as a bonus cut on their 2008 Deadbeats album, Cheaters. I believe that was CD only, if not mp3-only, and definitely not about to see a vinyl pressing.

So, bam! DWG stepped in and made them both happen. A hot 7" single with "Neva Stop Diggin'" on the A-side, and "Smash!" on the flip. This is barely limited - 1000 copies, which is essentially a full run, these days. The first 75 people to order copies, however, were treated to a version pressed on bright yellow wax. Either way, it's a top quality release as always. It's also not priced like a limited... roughly $10, depending where you get it from, and almost everyplace has got it available. So there's something for you to keep an eye out for when you go out digging this Record Store Day.


P.s. - Jorun has said to me that he's up for repressing the old Haltown tapes if there's demand for it. So everybody get up him about it!

The Brick

(Youtube version is here.)