Saturday 21 February 2009

NYC B-Boy Battle

Here's some great footage of Knucklehead Zoo vs Last For One at Circle Night Club NYC. Dope floor action here - watch out for the super-smooth slow motion handspin around 1:15 (possibly one of the best moves I have seen) and the headslide to camera later on. This is the sort of floor rock we enjoy. Hope you dig it too.

Friday 20 February 2009

DOLLABIN - DJ Ian Head and Verbal Math

More crate diggin' science from those DOLLABIN dudes... We've always been fans of their down-to-earth beats and confident flows.




...check 'em out at their MYSPACE page, and peep their 2008 SAMPLER TAPE download, and ONE MORE CRATE EP also available to DL. Plus the track "Pragmatic" is a real grower. Props to Ian Head and Verbal Math for coming back with more of the raw.

Making funky music is a MUST!

Kid Dyno

Thursday 12 February 2009

Maseo aka Pasemaster Mase

Vincent Mason is known best for his role as PASEMASTER MASE aka DJ MASEO of the legendary hip hop crew DE LA SOUL. His interest in music emerged at the early age of six as he observed a family friend practicing on his DJ equipment.
MASEO’s ambitious journey to stardom officially began when his mother gave him his very own set of turntables. Destined for success he dedicated all of his free time to mastering his craft by observing neighborhood DJs. MASEO made his first debut as a DJ at the age of twelve and by the time he reached high school his DJ skills were really on point.

During his high school experience, MASEO’s life would be forever changed as he and two of his high-school friends, Kelvin Mercer and David Jolicouer, formed one of the most highly respected and critically acclaimed hip hop groups, DE LA SOUL. In 1989, the trio released their first album "3 Feet High and Rising". They were an instant success, despite being miles away from the "usual" sound of hip hop music, and their TOMMY BOY album was duly certified platinum. Since their initial release DE LA have added additional classic albums: De La Soul is Dead, Buhloone Mindstate, Stakes is High, AOI: Mosaic Thump and AOI: Bionix.

MASEO's knowledge of music is damn hard to match, and to hear him drop records is mesmerising to say the least. But you do not have to wait long to check him out right here in the UK in BIRMINGHAM on SAT 21st Feb 2009.

FUNKBOX (in association with Leftfoot)

presents

DJ MASEO - DE LA SOUL
DJ Guy C
and
FUNKBOX DJ's

Hosted By Kosyne (Louis Den/Eat Good)
Saturday 21st February 2009
Hare & Hounds
106 High St Kings Heath Birmingham B14 7JZ
9PM - 2AM / £11 ADVANCE / MOTD

TICKETS:
WWW.THETICKETSELLERS.CO.UK / 0844 870 0000
JIBBERING (MOSELEY) 0121 449 4551

INFO:
EMAIL: ROYROASTBEEF@YAHOO.CO.UK
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/FUNKBOXCLUB
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/DELASOUL

"As one third of hip-hop super-group De La Soul, DJ Maseo’s ability and immense talents behind the turntables has seen him travel the world, making the transition between turntable maestro to hip-hop phenomenon, he now lands at FUNKBOX to tear up the dancefloor.
In 1989, De La Soul released their first LP ‘3 Feet High and Rising’ to worldwide acclaim and changed the face of hip-hop. The trio have continued to push the boundaries of hip-hop with their six further offerings, all of which have reached classic status with hip-hop heads and music lovers alike. It is fair to say everyone has heard a De La Soul tune.
Most recently Maseo has founded a label and turned those years of rocking parties to good use by delivering his first official mix tape, chocked full of classic hip-hop and other funky gems.
A true old school party DJ, Maseo will blend and mash up classic Hip-Hop, original funk breaks and anything else!! This is one definitely not to miss as a true legend does his thing behind the decks of the Hare & Hounds
."

And don't forget MASEO is also not afraid to grab the mic here and there... and his MC skills ain't so terrible, even if it is done purely for comedy value! Even back in the day MASEO, or MASE as he was known then, dropped a little humorous science on the "SAY NO GO" TOMMY BOY test press in 1989. Have a listen...

DOUBLE HUEY skit

Kid Dyno

Monday 9 February 2009

Jurassic Bedlam

One of the best parts of beat diggin' for us is being able to play a "break to the beat" - i.e. to have the original break and the hip hop track that sampled it. Those of you in the UK who are familiar with TIM WESTWOOD and his legendary CAPITAL RAP RADIO SHOW 95.8FM will remember his "break to the beat" competition where listeners could phone in to name the hip hop track and hopefully win concert tickets etc..
Ever since then we've been hooked, and a regular occurrence at our record club nights is when someone plays a combo like this. So of course when the DAILY DIGGERS play out we also love to drop a little B2B action as it is always guaranteed to get the crowd hype.
So here's a quick break to the beat to get you beatheads salivating! The break is from 1969 by RUSTIX from their BEDLAM LP, and the beat is none other than JURASSIC 5's "DUCKY BOY" from DJ BABU's 2002 "DUCK SEASON" compilation series.

JURASSIC BEDLAM

KId Dyno

Saturday 7 February 2009

Indie Rap

Without doubt, the mid 90s independent rap scene blessed us with some killer underground records. The names may not always be that familiar, or it may not be a recognisable label in many cases, but the product very often can be top notch quality hip hop. The mid 90's saw a huge lack of interest from the major labels in releasing hip hop music, so many dope underground artists took it upon themselves to release and distribute their product.
Now I'm guilty more than most of concentrating on the 80s golden era of hip hop, but I am just as much a lover of quality mid-90s indie bangers. The artistic freedom expressed, coupled with the lack of sample clearance issues very often meant true hip hop from the heart. No crossover, no sell-out.
Here I wanna drop some of my favourite indie joints from the 90s - enjoy!

BMX - "Microphone Microphone" VINYL DOGS 1997
A class indie track for sure. The intro starts with a guiro scraping noise (you know - those Latin wooden fish things), then simple beats and an infectious sample keep you hooked as a listener, whilst the Black Man Xperience tell us they "rock them like Led Zeppelin!".
A definite head-nodder from 97 - this New Jersey indie got much play on mixtapes back then. But as with most vinyldogs releases not an expensive piece to find. I minted up my copy recently for the one with the sticker sleeve, see photo. Despite the simple nature of the production, this track reeks of longevity, and I can't put my finger on it with the rhymes, as they're no lyrical masterpiece but the flow is tight and fluid.
Produced by the Vinyl Dogs and engineered by Jim Sorensen at 300mph.

Microphone, Microphone


NY CONFIDENTIAL - "Backstabbed" GUILLOTINE RECORDS 1998
A serious indie record by anyone's standards, and a highly regarded record amongst collectors of that mid 90s boom bap. All tracks are strong, but for me the track "backstabbed" is the winner by miles. You could be forgiven for hearing these beats and thinking it is a Mobb Deep classic - the mood is sinister to say the least, especially when you hear the "get rid of the bodies!" film snippet in the intro.
I was shrewd enough to purchase my copy back on release, as now it can make quite a price when it appears on ebay, discogs etc... Back in 98 it was the dope label art and chrome sticker on the cover that encouraged me to pick it up. And the name GUILLOTINE RECORDS just screams out underground beats and rough raps. Produced by E. Knight for HEADS TO THE FLOOR PRODUCTIONS.
Backstabbed


ILL BROTHERS - "Funkneck" NERVE DEAFNESS 1997

I think I first heard this funky banger on a DJ GREENPEACE mixtape, but my buddy BEAT DETECTIVE will correct me if I am wrong on that. Instantly I NEEDED to know WHAT that record was, although it
took me a while to find one as it was poorly distributed. (I found out later that Mr Bongo's on Poland Street carried a few copies).
The drum loop and bassline on this joint are crazy dope. I especially like the metallic sounding snares and simplicity of the production, much like my own beats. But it is the rhymes that make this track - not just the catchy "Funkneck" chorus with the speak n spell scratching!

"Yo I betcha wish that you was tighter than a knot,
but what you got is a style that's more wack than a belly flop.
You would think with current lyrical progressions,
That ni##uhs would try different shit to make a first impression,
I got a question for you wack crews and writers,
Why you gotta make wack shit like rhyme biters?"


Funkneck


Kid Dyno