The Lost Giancana Story

So, most of you guys know the basic story of Kool G Rap's sixth album; but for those who don't let me catch ya up real quick before we get into the advanced stuff. When G Rap was looking for a post Cold Chillin' label/home, Rawkus Records was at the top of its game. So when they signed him, it seemed like the promise of something great (even if they were already showing signs of having too much corny, controlling influence in their artists' work). So, he recorded his album, The Giancana Story for them, and they released a promo single or two. They started to have conflict about his not being commercial enough, their focusing on other other artists who were popping off... the album kept getting pushed back. G Rap recorded new material to please the label, a few more promo 12"s came out, the album leaked. The album got pushed back again, another version leaked. Eventually the album was shelved, Rawkus fell into financial hardship and eventually collapsed, and Kool G Rap was without a label. A few years later, he signed with Koch, and their first project with him was to release long lost The Giancana Story (with Rawkus, who are also credited on the label).

Ok, so now you're caught up. The Giancana Story, as it was released by Koch, was fourteen tracks long (refer to my Kool G Rap page for the complete track-listing). But the leak(s) were longer, and featured a bunch of songs not on the Koch version. And some of the stuff released on promo 12" also wasn't on the Koch album. In fact, there's more missing from the Koch album than there's included! So, now let's take a look back at all of these "lost" Giancana stories.

Oh wait; before I start, let me just get this out of the way. To add to the confusion of the different Giancana Story albums, there have been some retitlings. For instance, "She's Dressed To Kill" from the original leak did make its way onto the final, retail version; only they called it "Black Widow." "Get 'Em Up Now" became "Fight Club," etc. But the tracks we're about to look at are completely different songs.

1) "First Nigga" - This was released on promo 12" in 2001. It's ok (there's some nice scratching on the hook), but was quickly overshadowed by our next track...

2) "First Nigga (DJ Premiere Remix)" - This was released as the B-side to the 2001 single of "The Streets," and as you'd expect from a remix by DJ Premiere, it totally eclipsed the original, which was promptly forgotten. It's not surprising that "First Nigga" didn't make the album, but very surprising that this remix didn't.

3) "Ride On" featuring Jagged Edge - This was released on 12" in 2002. Jagged Edge is a male R&B group singing the hook... they're ok, but G Rap flowing on the killer beat to The Arsonists' "Venom" is hot. It's worth picking up the 12".

4) "G Rap Is a Villain" featuring Ma Barker - This song was only on the leaked album and has never been properly released. It's a duet with Ma Barker, and a play on "Top Billin'" with a hook that goes, "Ma Barker's chillin', G Rap is a villain, what more can we say to you bitches? We pop steel an' that's what we got, baby, givin' it good. Don't give a fuck if you from the same hood." It's not great, but a fun album track.

5) "This Is My Life" featuring CNN - this song is one of the best on any version of the album, but it was only featured on the leak. It loops an upbeat moment from the Scarface soundtrack, and each MC spits gangster tales and comes off tight (and I'm really not much of a CNN supporter generally). There must have been sample issues or something, 'cause I can't imagine even the most tin-eared label exec thinking this should be left back.

6) "Round and Round (remix)" featuring Jonel - To be fair, this was probably never intended for any version of The Giancana Story, but as always, I'm being completist. This was featured on a 2001 promotional CDsingle of "My Life." It's an R&B song by Jonel that features a couple guest verses by G Rap; he wasn't on the original, and there was even another version featuring Method Man. It's basically just another in a long line of forgettable R&B tracks with guest rappers on the remix, but it's worth tracking down just because the guest happened to be G Rap this time.

7) "Keep Goin'" featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg & Devin the Dude - This team-up must've been some Rawkus guy's idea. It was released as a promo 12" in 2002. Each MC does a good job, but with a slow beat (produced by Hi-Tek) and a sung hook, it's the sort of compromised sound that doesn't wind up satisfying any of these guys' fans. It's really not bad, though.

8) "How It Feel" featuring Havoc - The track for this leak-only joint is really cool, with some nice atmospheric samples; and G Rap kills it. Havoc provides a nice hook (though no verse). This would've been a much better choice than a lot of the generic tracks that made the final album.

9) "Ya'll Niggas" featuring BGF - This wasn't featured on the original leak, so it must've been recorded later to satisfy Rawkus. It was never released, only featured on a second leak. It's an ok posse cut with his crew again, the beat is a little livelier than most. Update 1/28/09: The Japanese issue of the Koch CD actually includes this song as a bonus track, retitled as "Planet Of the Apes." There's no difference between the two.

10) "This Means War" - This is kinda like "Ya'll Niggas" but without his crew. Which makes it a little better. It's upbeat and angry, but the track is kinda lame. It was only featured on the leak.

11) "Holla Back" with Nas, Nawz & AZ - Yeah, this was featured on the album. But the leaked version had Nas kicking the first verse instead of Tito of BGF. Nas seriously came off with one of his tightest, illest verses, too ("Throw niggas off yachts, hold niggas with shots, my bitches ran 'cause I'm stupid - I put the shit on digital cam. Light up an ounce, let my bitches watch it on television, hella relentless. Fifty a pop, sell it like Menace. When I sleep, all I see is a white skeleton image. It's telling me something... I opened up Shakespeare's tomb, stole his remains, grinded his bones and got in the game"); so it's a real loss. This version was only featured on the leak. The Koch version also remixed the beat adding a few extra samples and bits. None of it makes up for the loss of Nas.

12) "Nobody Can't Eat" - In a 2002 interview with HipHopDX, G Rap talked about how he wanted this to be his next single, saying, "that’s a good song to define G Rap." It was featured as the B-side to his "My Life" single, but wasn't featured on any versions of the actual album.

13) "Ordinary Love" featuring Ma Barker - Kool G Rap kills it on this song, though the R&B hook could've turned off the pure hardrock fans. I really like this one, though; the only drawback to me is Ma Barker. Don't get me wrong, she's ok (she usually is), but Kool G Rap raises the bar way over her head with his verses. It's also some (slightly) different material for G Rap. This was only featured on the leak.

14) "Why You Gotta Do It Like That" featuring Ma Barker - Kool G Rap tries something a little different here. The hook drags on a bit, but the beat is interesting and G Rap comes off really nice once he starts spittin'. Ma Barker sounds nice on this track, too; though of course another G Rap verse would've been preferable. If you ask me, the combo of G Rap and this track would've sounded really nice on the album, but again it was only featured on the leak.

Update 1/20/09: I forgot one!
15) "Thug Out" featuring Black Child, Caddillac Tah, Ma Barker & Jinx - this is the original version of what Koch later released as "Spill Blood" (not on the album, but put out as the exclusive B-side to their 12" single of "It's Nothin'"). It features the same hook and verses, but the beat is totally different ...actually, "Spill Blood"'s track by DJ Scratch is better, so this not being included is no great loss. For some reason Ma Barker isn't credited on the 12" with the other MCs, but that's clearly her kicking the third verse.

Of course, there's no telling if there are any other unreleased Giancana stories still locked in Rawkus or Koch's closets. The Koch version did introduce us to a few new tracks: "Gangsta Gangsta," "Drama (Bitch Nigga)" and "It's Nothin'," which they also made as their single. So if there was those, maybe there's more. And even if there isn't, there's still enough here for a Giancana Story Part 2. So how about it, guys? G Rap's Rawkus material is underrated (most of it at least holds up to Live & Let Die, and 4,5,6). I'd buy it.

The Fresh Prince Meets Jazz

"To other DJ's, Jeff is just too much - he doesn't use a line switch as a transformer crutch!"

Yeah, "The Groove (Jazzy's Groove)" is already one of the best, most understated DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince songs - certainly the best off of album #3. It's a hype beat with fun, clever rhymes by Smith hyping up his DJ:

"Look, it's simple;
Just admit it.
Jeff is the deffest;
You wanted to battle? Forget it!
You're a fool,
You're slippin', you're loony, you're crazy;
No if's, no and's,
It'll be just your butt, baby!"

And every hook or breakdown is Jeff using a showcasing his skills on the turntables in a different way. It's also an amusing answer record of sorts to Soul II Soul's "Jazzie's Groove" which was a big hit single at the time. ...But that's just the tip of the iceberg of what makes this second single so dope.

First, you've got the Extended Remix, which adds about a minute's length and features jazz great Grover Washington Jr.! About midway through the song, Smith adds a new verse about how they had trouble finishing the record and until Grover came in to save the day, and then Grover plays an incredible solo over the breakdown. Soon Grover is playing all over the track, and there's some additional keyboards and samples added as well. Jeff changes his final line from, "I made the beat hype, but still kinda smooth" to "I made the beat hype; Grover made it smooth." Finally, the A-side of is rounded out by the Radio version, which is just a shortened edit of the Extended version.

But that's still not the half, 'cause when you flip the record over, instead of "The Groove (Jazzy's Groove)," you have three mixes of "The Groove (Grover's Groove)." The beat starts out the same, with the added instrumentation of the Extended version, but Grover is playing from the first note. Basically, where the A-side was DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince song featuring Grover Washington Jr., this is a Grover Washington Jr. song that features them. The beat is mellowed out, dropping the drums and some other elements for most of the song. Smith starts kicking the verse he added to Extended Version on the A-side, but this is a fuller version, with more (and better) rhymes about working with Grover and music bringing together people from different walks of life. But it's just that verse; most of the song is Grover playing non-stop to the groove.

The B-side also has a Version Without Rap, which is pretty self-explanitory, totally removing The Fresh Prince from the equation. And finally there's a Radio Version - a tighter edit of the "Grover's Groove" mix. All this and a picture cover? And because it's not at all rare and people sleep on their later material, it can be easily found at super cheap prices. This belongs in your crates!

Cocaine Blunts Vs. Werner Von Wallenrod

Woohoo! It has landed - the year-end issue of Hip-Hop Connection magazine (January '09, issue #230 with L'il Wayne on the cover for those on the lookout), that features this very blog you're now reading. :) By the way, I had a devil of a time getting an issue here in New Jersey, so thanks very much again to a nice guy who was generous enough to mail me a copy from Europe.

It's a nice, four-page piece written by Andrew Emery called "Hip-Hop Blog World Cup," which picks the top 16 hip-hop blogs and pits us against each other. There's commentary on each blog by the writer, as well as by the other bloggers (we were all interviewed in advance). So the article writes, "Werner's unique approach to obscure hip-hop and compellingly strange video essays take the blog into new territory" (hehe), and then like Trav of Wake Your Daughter Up says about me, "If all of us old school bloggers held a Jeopardy type tournament, Werner would crush us all." Man, I loves this article.

So, we're then pit up against each other in pairs. As you may've guessed from the title, I was rivaled off with Cocaine Blunts, which is some stiff comp... I said (an unused quote, which makes this like a bonus, unreleased 12" b-side to the full mag article LP), "CB closed down for a minute, but I'm so glad it's back. Noz is one of the best hip-hop writers.” But then, I guess there's not really anyone in the piece that I'd want to have to dual it out with. That's why I'm glad that outside of this article, it's not a competition - I'm honored just to be on the same page as these guys, and every single one of them is in my Reader.

We're also quoted throughout the article talking about each other's blogs like this on Soul Sides, "Werner Von Wallenrod sums it up best: 'Knowledgeable, well-written blog… too much about the music used to make hip-hop than actual hip-hop music for my tastes; but they’re definitely authorities on what they write about.'" Here are a couple more bonus ones of mine that aren't in final the article:

Unkut - "Sometimes gets a little lazy just posting random mp3's, but has done some of the best interviews in any hip-hop blog, ever... getting to the hearts of stories most hip-hop writers aren't knowledgeable enough to even ask about."

Nah Right - "Basically just news aggregation, I guess; but does so much (you can scroll through pages of old posts and they'll still be from today!), that Nah Right's become a pretty definitive source."

Bust the Facts - "When all the other mp3 blogs seem to be reading from the same playbook, ripping and posting the same albums; BtF always finds what all the others have overlooked. And posts a lot."

Dallas Penn - "Does the best video blogs: funny, sincere and smart."

Hip-Hop Isn't Dead... - "Great track-by-track reviews, and lots of them! Respects the greats (esp the Wu), without being blind to their shortcomings."

So yeah, check out the issue to read the whole thing, including who beat out who, and which blogger ultimately won the Hip-Hop Blog World Cup. I also found some other nice bits in the same issue to sweeten the pot, including a great big piece on The Cookie Crew, a fun interview with Russell Simmons, a cool little editorial piece on Kool G. Rap and a substantial Top Choice Clique interview. ...Why can't we have magazines like this in the US?

The Fresh Prince Meets Doo-Wop

Here's one that's probably for the hardcore collector's only, but it's kinda fun if you're willing to be seen walking out of the record store with this. "When the Radio Is On" is the single off of Paul Shaffer (yes, David Letterman's bandleader... that Paul Shaffer)'s debut album, Coast To Coast. It came out in 1989 and it's of interest because it features Ecstasy of Whodini and The Fresh Prince (who otherwise never dropped guest verses). The album was sort of a compilation, where Shaffer went around the world (or at least different parts of the US) and collaborated with all types of famous musicians; and because it was the 80's, of course his New York song had to be a rap song!

It's not that terrible, though, in a hodge-podge kind of way. It starts out like a doo-wop song, but Ecstasy quickly comes on to kick the first verse, and from then on it's a flat-out rap song with a sung chorus. The Fresh Prince rhymes second, and at first comes off as well as he was doing on his own records, but after a few lines the lyrics stop sounding like they were written by him (indeed, he doesn't get a writing credit; but then rappers often didn't get writing credit for their lyrics back in the 80's), when he says lines like, "my first romance, ooh we used to dance to the man with the blue suede shoes." So, a young Will Smith and his first girlfriend started out dancing to Carl Perkins is what you're asking us to believe? Perhaps that line was originally intended for Shaffer, who actually takes the final verse for himself. That he comes off as the weakest link should go without saying to anybody within a mile of this blog, especially since he shouts every single word of his verse, but at least he's energetic.

And the instrumental is listenable enough. It's co-produced by Whodini's producer Larry Smith, Shaffer of course (Smith and Shaffer both also play the keyboards here), and Russell Simmons. It's got a healthy dose of live instrumentation by genuinely talented musicians and vocalists like singer/songwriters Johnny Maestro, Jay Siegel, Dion, Carole King and Ellie Greenwich. And everyone just sounds so awfully damn enthusiastic singing about how much they enjoy listening to the radio.

Now, I'd actually been half-heartedly looking for this one for a while (not too hard, 'cause you know), but could never remember the title. I just remembered seeing this live on The David Letterman Show, when Paul Shaffer did a big production number to promote his new record (naturally), and it featured The Fresh Prince and Daddy-O of Stetsasonic. Daddy-O was performing because Ecstasy was unable to attend (I still remember Letterman joking that "Ecstasy is in agony"), and a couple of the other vocalists were swapped around, too. But I finally found this 12" in somebody's dollar stock (where it belongs), so I had to pick it up: "that's that's song!" Then, once I got it home and knew what the title was, I did an online search, and found the original Letterman clip is on Youtube (but minus the Ecstasy joke - I guess that came later in the episode).

Now, the 12" features five different mixes: The Big City Beat Mix, the Def & Dum Dub, The GoGo-A-GoGo Instrumental, Acappella and The Single. The one dubbed the single is the one from the album (I think it was also subtitled "The Single" there to showcase that it was, yaknow, the singlem which makes a little more sense). The Big City Beat Mix is an interesting alternative mix... it brings in some different musicians, most notably Jeff Lorber on keyboards (a lot of people with a lot of Grammys worked on this single!) , and goes for a less pop music-y vibe (though, of course, all variations of this song are inherently extremely poppy). The GoGo-A-GoGo instrumental is a bit different than the actual instrumentals to any of the other versions, but it's close to the Big City Beat Mix and features the same credits. The Acappella is self-explanatory.

Finally, there's the Def & Dum Dub, a version mixed by Larry Smith. Despite being called a dub version, it features full vocals; but most of the instruments are stripped away or turned into short sampled loops. This works to make it easily the most hip-hop sounding version of the song, though, in the case of a tune like this, I'm not sure if that's even preferable. Still, all told, the different mixes are varied enough that all five versions in a row hold together as an acceptable little listen when you're in the mood for something upbeat and goofy.

2009: Year Of the Juice Crew EP

It's here! The Juice Crew E.P. is the sixth vinyl release from DWG (and the third release from Hot Chillin' Records). It's limited to 350 copies, in four different vinyl colors (mine's blue). It features five incredible, vintage unreleased songs by Juice Crew All-Stars straight from Marley Marl's vaults, and all produced by Marley himself.

The first song is "I Declare War" by Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, recorded during the Road To the Riches sessions. The press sheet points out that Marley declared this "iller than 'It's a Demo'" during their listening sessions, and it definitely gives that song a run for it's money. The instrumental sounds a little cluttered with noise, but hits no less hard for it, and DJ Polo is really given a chance to shine on the tables during the hook. And G Rap just spits one vicious line after another:

"Old school is cool,
But I'm better than veterans.
My rhymes are vitamins,
The baddest they ever been.
MCs will freeze;
I make G's go overseas;
Records and movies,
Polo is Cool Breeze.
Ready for war
With a rap knapsack
On my back;
White or black,
G Rap will attack.
To destroy anything
Seen or an unseen,
Like Idi Amin,
You know what I mean.
Helter skelter
With no bomb shelter,
Rhymes will explode;
This beat is a Morse code.
Quiverin', shiverin',
Rappers ran again;
I make 'em panic and
Stand like a mannequin.
It is a fact
My mic'll be an artifact;
You get a heart attack
Any time I start a rap.
You want more
From a man with a high score?
That's what I'm here for;
Yo, I declare war!"

The next track is "Stunt Of the Block" by the Super Kids (as in Tragedy, the Intelligent Hoodlum), recorded the same week as "Eric B. Is President" and "The Bridge." There's a reason he was billed as a super kid, though; if you've never heard his super early recordings, you're familiar with the "Teen Voice Tragedy." But don't get it twisted, his voice works, sounding really raw against the big, old school Marley beat and constant cutting, while he preaches at a young girl, "gettin' in bed while you're punchin' a clock? Don't even try to front 'cause you're the stunt of the block."

Track three is one that Stretch Armstrong revealed to the world last year on his blog: Big Daddy Kane's long lost, "For Your Own Concern." Of course, this - like all the other tracks on this EP - is a clean, top quality pressing taken from Marley's original masters, a nice improvement over the old (but much appreciated!) radio rip. "For Your Own Concern" was intended for Long Live the Kane, "but somehow never made it" according to the press sheet. It's a little slow and features a few rhymes Kane later recycled (though there's a lot of nice unheard material on-hand, too!); so to me this is the weakest song on here, but it's still a great example of early Kane that would easily merit a place on his best albums.

Fourth is another Kool G Rap & Polo cut called "Enter the Dragon." An alternate version of "Enter the Dragon" was released to the public in 1996, when Cold Chillin' put out the Rated XXX/ Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous compilation to finish out their contract with the label. That version was cool. but it sounds like a corny, in-house producer remix that sloppily meshes an old vocal track to a new instrumental, compared to the original included here. This is a totally different instrumental using Joe Tex's "I Gotcha" and some more nice scratching by Polo on the hook. He may even have managed to steal the show from Kool G Rap on this one, which is certainly saying something! You can go ahead and dismiss the Rated XXX version now as a novel curiosity piece for completist fats only; this version is clearly the definitive version of this rap masterpiece.

Last, we have probably the least anticipated - and as such, the sweetest surprise - Craig G's "Drop a Bomb On 'Em." This is really nice. His flow over this beat is Craig at his best; standing right alongside "Droppin' Science." From the line, "a lot of feelings were hurt when I dropped 'Duck Alert," though, we can assume this was made shortly after In Control vol. 1. I'd guess it was recorded for The Kingpin, and then left off because Atlantic needed to make room for the house and love jams, so they excised one of the nicest tracks. But whatever fool was responsible for keeping this gem from the public, DWG has finally corrected that.

Let me end with this drool-worthy quote from the press sheet, "when we were at a loss for a final song to include on this project, Marley came up with five or six different options - each as dope as the next. Which, of course, begs the question, 'when is Juice Crew EP Vol. 2 gonna drop?'" ::shudder::

Cause Marley Can Do It Righter

^^(Video blog!)
(B-side wins again.)

Whata Ya Want fur Nuthin'?

Let me start off my saying I haven't really been keeping up with the EPMD comeback hype, but what I have heard of their new reunion album, We Mean Business, (the CD is already out now; the vinyl drops later this month) was pretty respectable. So when I saw this second single (following the "Blow" 12", which came out ages ago) being offered as a freebie with any purchase from accesshiphop.com, I threw it in the cart. That single is "Run It (Remix)."

Now, from what I understand (feel free to correct me in the comments if I'm wrong; like I said, I haven't followed too closely), "Run It" was one of several tracks promotionally leaked onto the internet in advance of the album. The beat (self-produced by EPMD like most of the album) was cool, but response was a little underwhelming. So this was later leaked again, as a remix. The beats and rhymes were the same, but they added a new verse by Krs-1 at the end (he also threw in some ad-libs behind Eric and Parrish's vocals). That version was better received, and that's what finally wound up on the album.

Well, this single makes the bizarre choice to go back to the non-Krs 1 version. It's brought to you by Scion, the same car company(?) that put out that kinda cool Big Daddy Kane/Percee-P collabo last year. Supposedly you can hear samples of all their hip-hop promo singles on their website, but I can't get it to do anything but crash my browser.

So anyway, you've got three remixes here: the "Herve's Got His Hands Up Remix" by Joshua Harvey, the "Sinden Remix" by Graeme Sinden and the "Duke Dumont Mix" by Duke Dumont. No, I've never heard of any of those guys, either. And I'll tell you straight off, the first two remixes are crap. Can I just leave it at that? I guess I shouldn't.

Ok, well, any element you liked about the original instrumental is out - the ill piano looop right down to the hip-hop drums. Both remixes use typical club beats instead, and just use a different sample set on top. Harvey's variation is an irritating collage of straight-off-the-laptop sounds. He also rips out all the vocals, and just endlessly drops in a few repeating vocal samples from Sermon's verse. It's sort of a cross between the sounds of a construction site and a dentist's drill.

Sinden's remix, on the other hand, is like you might expect to hear in a London dance club, if you're an American who's never been overseas and has the worst possible opinion of Europeans. He also spends a lot of time looping short snippets of Sermon's verse, but eventually lets P's verse play through, albeit often chopped and juggled. I'm sure you've heard every sound on this mix in other dance club mixes, and you hated them then, too. I was left wanting to break up with my girlfriend for making me experience this, but then I realized I subjected myself to this.

Fortunately, Duke Dumont's remix is on a substantially higher level. I mean, it's not great; but compared to the other two it's like vintage Paul C. For one, it's back to being a hip-hop verse, with real drums and EPMD both actually spitting their verses (though still no Krs). It sounds like something you might randomly catch on Hot 97 in the evening. The hook is reduced to simply the phrase "Hands Up" looped a few times, but it's passable. Dumont adds some cool, Egyptian-sounding musical elements and marries them fairly well to the track - it's even catchy, but it kinda sounds like this track would fit a lot of artists better than EPMD.

In the end, though, the clear winner is the album version - which, for the record, isn't included here - followed by the promotional leak that wound up being rendered obsolete. But Duke Dumont's version isn't terrible, and you might finding yourself revisiting it every couple of years as a curiosity piece, if you've got the single in your collection. At least it's free.

A Nightmare On Elm Street rap, part 3.1

^^(Video blog!)
(I had to go in one last time and finish up the last detail.)

More On Vinyl Sales

The underrated KnowGoodMusic just posted this article (which I linked over in my "Best Blog Posts" section), with more about vinyl sales going up while CD sales continue to decline. I suggest you also read his source articles from Wendy Day and The Associated Press. Let me point a few details out:

First, the non-vinyl (from AP), "Lil Wayne had the year's top-selling album, 'Tha Carter III,' with 2.87 million units sold... The top selling digital artist was Rihanna with 9.94 million tracks sold, followed by Swift and Kayne West." Souljah Boy may've just accused Nas of killing hip-hop, but it still seems to be dominating the sales charts.

Now, let's look at the vinyl (also from AP). First the good news, "Ironically, as digital downloads grew, vinyl album sales also climbed. In 2008, more vinyl albums were purchased (1.88 million) than any other year since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991." Woot! Right? So how come all our hip-hop labels and artists are bypassing vinyl presses now of all times?

Well, let's read a bit further, "More than two of every three vinyl albums were purchased at an independent music store during the year, the company reported. The top selling vinyl albums were Radiohead's 'In Rainbows' (26,000 units), the Beatles' 'Abbey Road' (16,500) and Guns 'N Roses' 'Chinese Democracy' (13,600)." This really just seems to confirm my theory I've been building for a while now, based on my armchair research and discussions with artists and indie label owners online. For whatever reason - whether you blame the mp3 blogs, the urban economic demographic or whatever - wax is on the rise in every genre except hip-hop, the one genre that used to be the only ones holding it down.

Why is that? I don't know. The theories have certainly been tossed around and around, and it won't amount to much than that until somebody grows the balls to test a few of them. But it certainly seems to be true that none of the major hip-hop players are marketing/ advertising towards the vinyl side of things, or even acknowledging that it exists (you'd think at least Vestax or somebody would spring for a few XXL ads, right?). Instead, they seem to be deadset focused on chasing those dwindling CD sales down the tubes and becoming ringtone rappers. And that feels like everybody's loss.

Update 1/12/09: I'm refraining from making a whole new blog post on the subject, but here are a couple more links with some very interesting info on the rise of (apparently non-hip-hop) vinyl:
Will Merriweather Post Pavilion Vinyl Sales Land It On Billboard Charts? - Click through that article to a write-up on the same subject on MTV.com, too - a vinyl-only double album hitting the Billboard charts in '09!
Radiohead, Neutral Milk Hotel Help Vinyl Sales Almost Double In 2008 - The title says "almost double," but in the article, they go on to specify "89 percent more LPs were sold last year than in ‘07." Again, click through that article to another of theirs called "Vinyl Returns!"

The Mini Chandelier

Today we have Canadian producer Factor's The Chandelier EP, from his full-length album, also dubbed The Chandelier, that came out this August on his own label, Side Road Records. This EP conveniently collects the best vocal tracks with the most notable MCs, and leaves off all the boring instrumental stuff.

As you can see, it's a 7" picture disc on Ooohh That's Heavy Recordings, a label that specializes in limited 7" edition picture discs. And, yeah, this is limited, too. 500 copies were made; but that's beginning to feel like an appropriate, regular run on hip-hop vinyl these days. So, it's six solo songs by an eclectic collection of guests: "More Rude Than Handsome" by Awol One (California), "Time Of the Year" by Sadat X (New York), "The Leen" by Josh Martinez (Canada), "Good Old Smokey (My Kanine)" by Mykah Nine (California), "Pray" by Ceschi (Connecticut) and "Out Of the Same Thing" by The Gaff (Canada).

Like you'd expect from a Freestyle Fellowship veteran, Mykah gets creative with his flow, this time using a quick staccato delivery to contrast with the slow beat. Each sylable is deliberately pronounced, fitting in between rather than over each piano note, chopped vocal sample and drum hit. I get the impression both the MC and the producer were making a showcase track here.

Awol One, on the other-hand, goes for a sing-songy hook and a very relaxed flow for his verses/ The beat features driving power chords, rolling piano riffs, and a snare-heavy drum. The production is amazingly effective at making Awol's verses sound distinct and important, and he's written his unique brand of lyrics and dramatic pauses for the tune: "People and passion die inside. Your friends are just dorks and losers; my friends are incredible people that change peoples' lives. And my friends they influence the world. Your friends are just little drunk boys and girls with big dreams that they'll never carry out." He doesn't quite bring his A-game in the writing, which is a shame because the track is going all out for him, but the combination of the music and his delivery still make this a worthwhile Awol One venture.

Ceschi and Josh Martinez also go for sing-songy hooks. I don't know if Factor's beats just naturally inspire that type of hook, or if he specifically requests it. It doesn't sound out of place at all for Josh, who's upbeat number sounds like it could be lifted right off any of his recent albums, but Ceschi sounds like he's auditioning for The Eurythmics or something. It's certainly interesting, with a simple guitar loop, strong bassline and keyboards that sound like they're straight out of a Lucio Fulci film - but he leaves hip-hop a little too far behind for my tastes.

That's not a problem for Sadat's track, though. With sharp, horn-like keyboard stabs and a chopped vocal sample, care was clearly taken here to make Sadat sound at home on this track. But there's still enough piano and guitar here to make this exercise stand out from your typical Sadat X album filler. My only disappointment here is that it's too short - just 2:04... Sadat really only kicks one (nice) verse. If he'd just added one more, this could've be a successful single for Sadat to coincide with his new album.

Finally, The Gaff's contribution is a short DJ track. He cuts up various vocal samples as Factor adds and subtracts one musical element after another. The actual cutting is unexceptional, but it all adds up to a nice little interlude, anyway.

So, all in all, it's a solid EP. The best moments, the ones you'll find yourself going back to, are when the guests really manage to keep up with the producer. The rest is definitely passable, and will easily keep your head nodding if you've got it playing in the background. Bottom lime: they've made an affordable EP (and as a bonus, they've made it a cool picture disc) so you can skip the clunkier full-length. Definitely worth picking up for the highlights.

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.

No Sleeping In Nick Wiz's Cellar

Nick Wiz has long been an underrated, east coast producer, but true to their name, No Sleep Records isn't sleeping on this man's talents. They've just a 42-song (not including two "Intro" skits), double CD set of rare and unreleased songs from the 90's, entitled Cellar Sounds volume one 1992-1998.

The nice thing here is the vast majority of these tracks fall under the "unreleased" rather than the "rare" category. The previously released joints are some Pudgee white label tracks, one of the Rakim remixes from his recent, limited The Cellar EP (also on No Sleep), three or four tracks from the very rare Lyricist Lounge/ Echo Underground Airplay tapes and (kind of an odd, not-so-rare choice) Main One's "Main Event" single. I'd say ten or under are previously released, which gives you about 35 completely unreleased gems on this compilation.

So, what's on this compilation? Unreleased joints by Nick Wiz's regulars like The Cella Dwellas (two tracks left off of their second album, plus an unreleased remix of "Good Dwellas") Shabaam Sahdeeq/Shadows In the Dark, Milkbone (yeah, I was a little surprised by that, too - apparently Wiz worked on his Milkcrate album), Ran Reed, Chino XL, and a whole bunch of production and remixes he did for other artists. There's a joint from Pudgee's unreleased King of New York album (not counting the white label stuff that's on here, too) and a remix of "On the Regular." There's a short but hot Chubb Rock track, an unused remix of Red Hot Lover Tone's "4 My Peeps" posse cut, another Rakim remix, a Channel Live track, a song that was left off of Darc Mind's LOUD/Anticon album and a surpriingly fresh Lady Luck track. There's also a bunch of demos and stuff he cut with several underground New Jersey artists (LSD, Mister Fit, Ill Mentatlity, Nautilus, Emskee and Tross). It's hard to pick a favorite when there's so many tracks to absorb here; but a pre-Flipmode joint by Lord Have Mercy is a clear stand-out for me.

The price is right ($13 for the double CD set), and it has some great liner notes. Nick Wiz writes a brief explanation/history for all 42 tracks! Example: "Shabaam Sahdeeq feat. Baybe - 'Sexy' - 1994 - While we were working on Shabaam's demo, Guru from Gang Starr brought Baybe down to the studio to work on her project. She jumped on the hook for this song, and actually she also sang the hook for The Cella Dwellas' single 'Perfect Match'." This is a must-have for those who've come to appreciate Nick Wiz's production and the artists he's worked with. You can order it direct from his or No Sleep's myspaces. Oh, and one of the nicest things about this release? The Volume One in the title implies a second volume in the future. :-D

Winter In Wernerland

^^(Video blog!)
(An all-original Christmas vlog - ho ho ho!)

Recovered Science

Man, it's hard to believe I haven't done a post about Main Source yet. But if I've gotta be late, it's nice to finally come out of the gate with a hot 7" arriving in the mail of three classic, never before released demo joints from the Breaking Atoms period. Lost Science, as it's titled, is the second limited (500 copies), but reasonably priced release from DWG, following their hot Cadence 7" which came out less than a month before.

So, yeah, these are demo tracks, so the sound quality isn't perfect, especially on the lead track... that's part of the reason the price is easier on the wallet. But it's reasonably cleaned up for demo tape standards - not perfect, brand new Sony album clear, but you won't be complaining.

The A-side, "Bootlegging," is the clear winner for me. Just in terms of song-writing, it's one of Main Source's best songs ever, period. Of course the beat is nice, too... very jazzy, and just keeps getting sweeter as more samples are laid in. Large Professor walks a great line between being comic and straight-up serious as he assumes the identity of a bootlegger, breaking down the situation better than any other of the many songs on the subject:

"I lamp on the corner selling bootleg tapes;
Rappers collect breaks so that I make papes.
I don't give a fuck about Kane or Biz...
Finally, somebody beats The Wiz;
And that somebody is me.
Catch me around three, and I'll be busy as a motherfucking bee.
Call five-0 and let 'em know
I'm selling bootlegged tapes, and they'll say... so?
My brothers in rap
Are gonna have to keep comin' up off the trap;
'Cause I'm a salesman on the street.
You know what to do if you can't stand the heat - can't eat:
Vacate the kitchen with your bitchin'.
I specialize in reproducin' tapes over Wild Pitchin'.
If stupid people buy 'em, I'll continue to supply 'em;
For $4.99, you can't complain about the volume."

It's really tempting to transcribe the whole damn song, but I'll leave you with the first verse. The other two tracks are hot, too. Lyrically, they don't stand out as much (though the short "Raise Up" has a nice, dead serious tone to it), but Large Pro rides his own rhythms expertly, and the grooves sound just as good as anything on their album... they would have fit in perfectly if they'd be included; and you can't ask for much higher praise than that when you consider how Breaking Atoms is regarded as one of the very pinnacles of hip-hop classic albums. For all Large Professor beat fiends, this is 100% top-shelf[link joke!] material.

What's more, this 7" is part of a package deal with their debut mixCD, Lungbutters, mixed by DJ Format (you can also buy just the CD without the record, for a few dollars cheaper; but that would be insane). Format does a nice job with some clean cuts, slick changes between songs, but doesn't go all out in the beat juggling, scratching and generally getting frantic. DWG are definitely out to showcase the tracklisting (with good reason), and Format manages to find a solid balance between doing too little and making the original songs unrecognizable. It's got some nice "you'll never hear this anywhere else" exclusives, selections from current DWG releases, future DWG releases, and some basic tracks that aren't so rare but just fit in to make a solid mix. It's a diverse troupe of artists, too, from MC Shy-D to Godfather Don to The Fifth Platoon(!). There are a few "shout outs" and what-not, but it never gets into that irritating business where they're just screaming their names all over the tracks to watermark them. Phill Most Chill drops by to kick a nice freestyle and announce an upcoming DWG release (woot!); and there are some other surprises here, too (hint: read the liner notes... not that any serious collector ever needs to be told that hehe).

I'd stick around and write a tidy little outro about DWG's upcoming Juice Crew EP (it's gonna be incredible!) and maybe link you to Main Source's official myspace page, but I've gotta go listen to this stuff about twenty more times before I go to bed. ;)

Definitive Ltd.

In this new age of ringtone rap, there's come a controversial series of releases: a new hip-hop phenomenon of very limited, high-priced collectible records of previoulsy unreleased material. It all started in the summer of '06 when Ed Catto posted on The Vinyl Exchange forums that he had the complete, unreleased album by The Freestyle Professors, a very dope and underrated crew that was affiliated with DITC. They'd only released one (excellent) 12" back in 1994, but now Catto was working with the artists themselves to press up a very limited run of the entire double LP. Each copy was signed and hand-numbered, and cost a cool $100.

In an online interview with Platform8470, Branesparker (one of the FPs) spoke on the subject, "We felt this was a fair price considering the bootleg of the original was selling for fifty and wasn’t from the original masters. We also gave a classic album cover. Until this dropped, the world never knew what I looked like. There are 4 unreleased songs, plus 2 unreleased instrumentals. All copies are hand numbered and autographed by original group members and we threw in 2 new songs from our new EP. Plus this album (thanks to my collectors, much love) is not gonna lose its value; the price can only go up if you choose to sell your copy years from now. My fans must understand this project was put out only for collectors... We are aware that 100 bucks is a lot of money to some people." Adding, "I was like; if they can buy my OG EP for 500 [on EBay, which was happening] and I don’t get a dime, then they can support me for 100, get more music and help finance Freestyle Records so I can drop affordable albums."

The online debates about the expense have not stopped since then.

But regardless, a number of artists and start-up labels have followed Frestyle Records' lead. In fact, on The Vinyl Addicts forum, Catto pointed out that, "news about our release was made public on the internet months in advance (I began receiving payments in June) and was the subject of quite a bit of controversy (particularly on the old Vinyl Exchange board). There is no question in my mind that the FP's release softened the blow for the DWG release and prepared vinyl heads for the prospect of limited edition collector's-only vinyl release priced accordingly."

The important thing to remember here is that none of these are bootlegs. There are certainly plenty of bootlegs out there (some have even tried to inflate their prices to match those of these limited releases, which is extra shady), but all of the limited releases I'm discussing here are fully supporting the artists.

So now here's a complete list of all the great limiteds we've had so far (drop me a comment if I've forgotten any!), in no particular order. ...They're links if I've previously blogged about 'em.

Freestyle Records:
Freestyle Professors - Your Pockets Been P:cked 2LP (500 copies)
Showbiz & A.G. – Broken Chains: Soul Clap & Runaway Slave Unreleased, 1990-1992 2EP (500 copies, yet to ship)
*notes: Freestyle Records has since gone on to put out more affordable projects, both on CD and vinyl, of new and unreleased material by the Professors.

Hot Chillin':
Kool G Rap - Men At Work 12" (500 copies)
Big Daddy Kane - Set It Off 12" (500 copies)

Diggers With Grattitude:
Phill Most Chill - The Be Intelligent EP (100 copies)
Godfather Don - The Slave of New York EP (150 copies)
Unique - Die Hard EP (175 copies)
The Juice Crew EP (350 copies - yet to ship)
*notes: DWG has also released a pair of inexpensive 7"s of unreleased Main Source and Cadence of Raw Produce material, and a mix CD called Lungbutters.

Vinyl Addicts:
Lord Finesse - Funky Dope Maneuver EP (200 copies)
Sport G. & Mastermind - Let The Rhythm Roll EP (250 copies)

One Leg Up:
Herb McGruff - The Demo EP (200 copies)
The Cenobites - Demented Thoughts EP (200 copies)
Lord Digga - The High Plains Drifter EP (200 copies)
Shorty Long & DJ Mike Smooth - South Boogie EP (200 copies)
*notes: apparently, in 2009, a bonus 12" will be awarded to everyone who ordered all five limited releases from One Leg Up - fifth release pending. No word on what will be on that 12" yet.

Blue Concept:
Alps Cru - Loudmouths 12" (300 copies)
*notes: Blue Concept has announced another limited Alps Cru release in the new year.

Soundtable/ No Sleep:
Lord Finesse - Return of the Funky Man remixes EP - (300 copies)
Large Pro - Secret Design 12" (300 copies)
B.I.G. & Sadat X - Come On 12" (300 copies)
Rakim - The Cellar EP (300 copies)
Lord Finesse - Rare Selections EP Vol. 1 (300 copies)
Lord Finesse - Rare Selections EP Vol. 2 (300 copies)
Lord Finesse - Rare Selections EP Vol. 3 (300 copies)
*notes: No Sleep also put out affordable CD releases by Godfather Don and Kwest tha Madd Ladd, plus the unreleased Ill Biskits album, 2 Finesse compilations, a Nick Wiz comp, the Buckwild comp, and a mix CD of DITC material by DJ Boogie Blind.

Crate Escape:
Kurious - A Constipated Monkey Demo Sessions (200 copies)
*notes: CE is now putting out an affordable 7" single by Serocee.

I've blogged about every one that I own, so you can see that I have well less than half (about a quarter) of them. So far, there hasn't been a single release of this nature that I don't consider really dope, but I don't got it like that anymore than most of you. If I was an eccentric millionaire (and believe me, I've got the eccentric part ready, just waiting for the millions), I'd get them all for sure, but I've had to pass on many ...and I downright missed that BDK 12", dangit!

So, what's up with the cost, amirite? How can Invincible afford to press up her 12" and charge $7 through the normal indie hip-hop venues, but these guys have to charge just over or under (depending on the release) $100? Here are a couple of comments Sureshot La Rock of Diggers With Grattitude has said on the subject, "The artists get paid properly for their music (if we sell all of the Marley EPs[meaning the Juice Crew EPs, listed above] and all of the Lungbutters CDs, we'll nearly break even on the Marley project: that should give you an idea of what goes into this). If we were ripping people off, how would we convince the next artist in our series to get involved? The fact that we are still involved with each of the artists we've worked with previously should reassure that no-one is getting ripped off... We are not a record label: none of us sit here online 24/7 counting money we've made off selling limited edition records. So far, to date, any profit (which is far less than people may assume) went into the next project." He added, "We don't have the space, time or investment to press up 10,000 copies of something and then try and sell them. This is a labour of love."

Now, I don't know anymore than you guys. I've never tried to press up a limited run of records to find out all the costs involved. But I'll say this. To anyone who doesn't like how these guys have done it, why don't you just do it yourselves your own way? These labels haven't done anything you couldn't do... they go to the artist(s), pay them for the songs, get them mastered, design the labels/stickers/whatever, go to a plant to get them pressed up, take orders on their website (all you need is a Paypal account), package them all, and ship them out. Everyone reading this can do that, too (granted, you might have to remortage your home to be able to afford it, but that's no more than one of the DWG guys has done). In most cases, they don't have exclusive access or "ins" with the artists (Hot Chillin' being an obvious exception, since Marley Marl owns that label himself) - you can hit up their myspaces or websites just as well as these guys.

And if any of my readers press up some great, unreleased music on vinyl and sells it at a cheap price, you can bet your ass I'll support ya and buy a copy. ...I'll even go further and say that if it's music I'm into in (and if you haven't noticed, I'm into a lot when it comes to hip-hop), I'll guarantee you a review on my blog, with direct links to your site to send customers your way. And then YOU can pick what lost songs released (in most cases, the artists have had more unreleased songs to choose from than just the ones that got pressed up - maybe your taste would be better). I will give you props, money (buying your release), reviews, links, advice. What's more, I'll design the labels and help you select the songs if you like. I can even point you in the direction of some artists who have unreleased albums I'm dying to hear!

And Hell yes, I'd love it if you released your vinyl in the $6-10 range. I might even buy TWO copies if you get something dope out that cheap. Oh, and P.s. - Freestyle Records still have 150 copies left of that original, Your Pockets Been P:cked album. You can order it direct from their site. :-D

Bop Ya Headz

^Video blog!!
(I told you guys I'd be making a bunch of drivin' vlogs.)

Two To Grow On

^Video blog!!
(I actually made this one a little too widescreen... messed up the AR. Oh well.)

InstaRapFlix 15/16: Born 2B Gangsta?/ Mixtape, Inc.

Right from the title we know we're in for, uhh... some kind of experience. It's telling that there aren't any user reviews/comments at all for 2005's Born 2B Gangsta? (Netflix rating: 2 stars), but if nobody else has watched it, that kind of almost makes it my duty!

...Except, it turns out nobody else has played it because it seems to be broken, and the video plays like watching a scrambled cable station, like trying to watch the Playboy channel without paying for it. Yeah, we've all been there.

So, anyway; I rang up their customer service number (it was a little embarrassing when I had to spell out for them, "to be is spelled like the number two and the letter bee, but one word, and then gangsta is with an A at the end, not an ER. Oh, and it ends with a question mark"), reported that one, and moved on to Mixtape, Inc. (actual onscreen title, Mixtape, Inc. The Movie - Netflix rating: 2.5 stars). This one looks like a better movie, anyway (the first comment starts out, "this is one of the best hip-hop documentaries I've seen!"); I just picked Born because it was shorter and I was being lazy.

It starts out with the onscreen question, "What's the difference between mixtapes and bootlegging?" and we're immediately answered by laughing voices, "nothing! Nothing at all!" This doc hits us with an impressive list of interviewees, like DJs Enuff, Doctor Dre & Ed Lover, and DJ Lady K, to artists like Kanye West (who busts an impromptu freestyle), Chuck D, Xzibit and Lloyd Banks. And a large chunk of the doc follows music store owner Alan Berry, who was arrested for selling mixtapes in Minneapolis, and a couple store owners in Cleveland.

There's some great history in this doc. DJ Red Alert gets on and talks about mix-tapes' rawest origins as recorded performances at parties and clubs, and being one of the original tape-makers for Bambaataa and the other originators in The Bronx. DJ Brucie B talks about how he originated and popularized giving DJ shout-outs on tapes. Ron G talks about the actual blank tapes (he used Maxwells), K-Slay talks about his criminal past, Clue talks about making the first mix-CDs, and almost everybody talks about how Kid Capri started changing the game by selling tapes based on his skill rather than how hot the records he was using were.

It then gets into the battle with the RIAA. They interview a copyright attorney, Berry's lawyer and a cop who busted a place in Queens for selling mixtapes (though they subtitle him when he's speaking perfect English, which seems like a weird jibe at his being Asian). Finally, it ends with a bit about mp3s and Itunes. It would have been interesting to look at mp3s starting to phase out mix-tape DJs (who needs to spend $15 on a Clue CD when you can DL all those exCLUEsives for free?), but I guess they're saving that for the sequel.

The only real downside to this flick is that the voiceover narration is corny as hell. It never adds anything worthwhile and just drags the film down whenever he gets on the mic... sort of like DJs adding name-drop all over their tapes. And the narrator sometimes goes on for a good stretch. Early on he says the film's not making any statements, just showing us how it is; but then the narrator gets on some pretty big soapboxes later in the film - they could've cut a good twenty minutes of that junk out (including his weird, extended "war games" metaphor).

But besides that and a few notable absences - nothing on the Invisbl Skratch Picklz or that whole west coast scratch tape movement (Beat Junkies, 5th Platoon, 1200 Hobos, etc) at all?? - it's a pretty comprehensive, almost definitive documentary on mix-tapes. Definitely some recommended viewing.

I guess it turned out to be a lucky break that Born 2B Gangsta? didn't wind up playing.