Tuesday 24 April 2012

The Rhyme Inspector

Extra large props to BEAT BOP SCHOLAR for this great little video from the RHYME INSPECTOR PERCEE P. Here he talks about being on BIG BEAT RECORDS back in 1992 with DJ EKIM. If you don't own a copy of their "Putting Heads To Bed" 12" on said label then I suggest you hang your head in shame. This is not a classic record, it's a legendary record.

Monday 23 April 2012

Flashback Fever with Rockin' Rob

OooooOOWWWEeeee DJ ROCKIN' ROB is smooth like butter on the 45s in this video broadcast of FLASHBACK FEVER. Both ROB and DJ MARK 45 KING have that wonderful knack of making everything sound so smooth without having to drop noisy cuts and scratches over the top all of the time. Thanks to AIDAN ORANGE LEACY for putting me up on this footage. And a word to the aspiring deejays out there - sometimes it's not about what you DO it's about what you DON'T do. Ya hear me?

Thursday 19 April 2012

Big Ups With Darrell D

Recently I received a surprise DVD through the post from my man DARRELL D at Phoenix based label JAMILLE RECORDS. You may remember I posted up about his superb RED BEANS & RICE record digging DVD back in August 2010. Well part two of the RED BEANS & RICE series is now available and features some great interviews with record collectors across the globe (many of them girls in this volume) and one particularly fantastic interview with an eccentric reggae collector who tells some stories of his Jamaican vinyl hunts.
You can also read more on DARRELL D in this cute little INTERVIEW over at the always fresh FLEA MARKET FUNK site. You can also hit him up on the link provided in the FLEA MARKET FUNK interview to get your hands on his DVDs. Big props from the DAILY DIGGERS!

Rock the Discotek Volume 1

The hardest working man of the moment JORUN BOMBAY is dropping a real gem for you old school heads in May. The original NY block party tapes 77-83 remastered - I think you might wanna mark this on your calendar!

This shit is going to be incredible. Remember where you heard it first!

Vinyl Veterans Bank Holiday Jam

In a couple of weekends VINYL VETERANS present another superdope BANK HOLIDAY BBQ ALLDAYER playing strictly vinyl to an appreciative crowd down in Brighton. Myself KID DYNO and my sidekick BEAT DETECTIVE shall be joining the VINYL VETERANS on the wheels of steel alongside sound scientist JONNY CUBA, the formidable DJ FORMAT, and the mighty MR THING. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you with names like these you know this jam is gonna be something really special! Entry is absolutely FREE and all proceeds from night will be going to charity. And there's no work on Monday so there's no reason to be absent if you like raw soul, heavy funk, original breaks and classic hip hop. I hope to see you homeboys and flygirls there!

The Original Wild Style Jam

Check out these wonderful photos taken by MICHAEL MARKOS at the filming of the original WILD STYLE jam at the EAST RIVER PARK AMPHITHEATER NYC in October 1981. This is the first of two WILD STYLE jams that took place, but unfortunately the sound quality of the footage was so poor that CHARLIE AHEARN had to re-organise another jam in order to re-shoot the scenes in May 1982. The second time GRANDMASTER FLASH and the FURIOUS FIVE were unavailable and could not perform, hence their absence from the AMPHITHEATER sequence of the released film. They do however appear in these photos. All photos copyright MICHAEL MARKOS.

MIC
MICHAEL MARKOS

Wednesday 18 April 2012

Hmmm Delicious

To coincide with the annual RECORD STORE DAY celebrations this year, DELICIOUS VINYL have teamed up with GET ON DOWN to release an anniversary box set commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the release the PHARCYDE's "Bizarre Ride to the Pharcyde" LP. The box set includes seven 7" singles on different coloured vinyl, a double-CD of 24 tracks that features previously unreleased instrumentals, acapellas and remixes. Plus there is also a poster, 120 piece jigsaw puzzle, but the icing on the cake is the fact that the box plays a sounds sample of "Oh Shit" when you lift the lid. How fucking crazy dope is that? The box set is not cheap by any means, but it is a collector's dream come true. And for those with a preference for 45s like myself, purchasing this is like a knee jerk reaction.

Big shout to ROB at GETONDOWN, DELICIOUS VINYL, THE PHARCYDE and everyone else involved in this ANNUAL RECORD STORE DAY release which helps make the event an even more special occasion. DELICIOUS VINYL and GETONDOWN bringing us some vinyl gems that are so tasty they are almost good enough to eat!!

Friday 13 April 2012

Something from Nothing

Here's the trailer for ICE-T's new film about the birth of hip hop and what it means to those who have made it up through the ranks, and also giving respect to the pioneers that helped mould the shape of hip hop in the early days. As BAMBAATAA so rightly says in this film.... "...when you are talking about Hip Hop you are talking about the WHOLE movement".

Mazaman - Addict

This is a dope new track and video from MAZAMAN telling us how he spends his day making beats and living straight up hip hop. Real beats for real heads.

Wednesday 11 April 2012

2012 True School Park Jams

TOOLS OF WAR grassroots Hip Hop Presents The 2012 True School Park Jam Series bringing back to New York City the original vibe from the old school jams of the late 70s and early 80s. There will be park jams at White Park, Crotona Park, and St. Nicholas Park during the summer so make sure you check out at least one of these TOOLS OF WAR events if you are making a summer NY trip. Don't miss out on history being made and watch Noisemaker Media's coverage of the 2012 True School Park Jam Series (trailer below). Those legendary summers continue!

Monday 9 April 2012

Make you Press Rewind

Ahhh the good old days of cassette tapes are a very fond memory. If, like me, you were a child of the seventies the no doubt you will remember the summer of 1979 when SONY announced it's first WALKMAN personal tape recorders which at the time were the "must have" accessory (basically the Ipod of its day). This was the first time you could truly have "music on the move" without disturbing the whole community around you. And a few years before that saw the birth of the boombox, roughly around 1976, when manufacturers began making portable cassette radios with the emphasis on volume. As a very young child I would purchase seven inch singles from Woolworths using my pocket money, each single costing less than one pound. But the innovations in cassette technology actually made me switch from buying vinyl to buying tapes, and these were my format of choice right through to the early 1980s (although I continued to still buy the odd seven inch). In 1984, as my interests in music turned to the emerging hip hop culture, the cassette tape became even more appropriate as the kids in my school would swap C90s of hip hop radio shows, Street Sounds Electro albums, pause button tapes, and any DJ mixes we could get our hands on. And any kid in school with a double deck cassette recorder had twice the amount of friends as the rest of us seeing as he could do copies of any tape you wanted - back then tape was KING! And even though occasionally the tape would flip over inside it's case where it had not been kept tightly wound (thus playing in reverse) but this only added to the fun of tapes. I remember repairing hundreds of cassettes with my tiny screwdriver and a roll of sticky tape, even when friends said they were beyond a fix. Snapped tapes were dead easy to fix, taking less than 3 minutes and with a steady hand you could achieve a perfect repair job. I still got a few boxes of tapes with everything from mixes, old school jam tapes, Westwood shows, GLR shows and original albums. In fact I'm gonna dig out a box now and see what I find.
While I'm busy doing that, why don't you check out STRICTLY CASSETTE's excellent interview with nostalgia king SKEME RICHARDS as he tells of his love for the humble C90 cassette. Time to press PLAY and RECORD!

Kev-E-Kev & Ak-B - Dopeland

Here a snippet of some unreleased material by KEV-E KEV & AK-B with production by the late great PAUL C soon to drop on vinyl from GOOD FELONS RECORDS. Get yourself over to their website to find out more details.

Saturday 7 April 2012

DWG Triple Threat

It may be the Easter weekend, but I'm celebrating a different occasion - DIGGERS WITH GRATITUDE have announced their "Triple Threat" release of records by SPUTNIK BROWN, JORUN BOMBAY and some heavy TDS MOB REMIXES. Anyone with their finger on the pulse of things will be aware of how f#cking dope JORUN BOMBAY's productions have been of late through his Youtube page and through word of mouth within the hip hop community. DWG were quick to recognise that JORUN's remixes were making people say "daaamn!" so they made contact and organised a package of record releases to keep the JORUN fans happy. As for SPUTNIK BROWN, one of the biggest upsets of the last few years was hearing that the SPUTNIK BROWN LP was to be released digitally but with no vinyl planned to accompany it. Once again DWG heard the cries of hip hoppers across the world and have put that right by putting together a selection of SPUTNIK BROWN joints on wax.
And finally DWG have also included in the "Triple Threat" weekend the release of the TDS MOB remixes that were created by DWG's own members. Do not sleep on this record as it has some incredible remixes from the likes of JORUN BOMBAY (you can never have too much of this man's beats) and the formidable DJ FORMAT. It is very rare that a remix is better than the original versions but if anyone can do it it is these two dudes.Get yourself over to DWG Big Cartel store to hear the soundclips and and scoop yourself some serious records this weekend!

Friday 6 April 2012

The Legion - Straight Flow

I've just heard from Benny at ILL ADRENALINE RECORDS to confirm the pre-order of the first unreleased offering from THE LEGION. Straight from The Bronx comes the trio CHUCKY SMASH, MOLECULES and CEE-LOW. As THE LEGION they first appeared on the amped posse cut "We Boys" on BLACK SHEEP's sophomore album "Non-Fiction" in 1994. Later that year, as signees to BLACK SHEEP's One Love imprint, they dropped the brilliant underground classic "Jingle Jangle" – an ill piano sample driven track with a highly quotable finishing verse from DRES. THE LEGION followed up with "Legion Groove" and their now much sought after debut album "Theme + Echo = Krill" (1994) featuring BLACK SHEEP, CHI-ALI and SHOWBIZ & AG.
After a hiatus for a few years, they resurfaced with the single, "Street Thing / Caught Up" (1998) on Legion Records/Fat Beats and some appearances on DRES's "Sure Shot Redemption" album. Then the Bronx trio went quiet.
While MOLECULES handled dope production for DRES, MILANO, AMANDA MARSHALL and even appeared on PINK's "Stupid Girls", CHUCKY SMASH has been hosting radio shows in the BX. The three long-time friends never stopped doing music together but it was already 2011 when the trio finally made a dope comeback on the BENEFICENCE collabo track "Aim, Fire, Spit".

Now THE LEGION and their typical raw Bronx sound is back! ILL ADRENAILN have just dropped a 7-inch single "Straight Flow / Automatic Systematic" which features two unreleased tracks recorded and mixed in 1995 at the legendary D&D Studios, NYC. These two bangers are just a teaser for all you supporters of that true hip-hop sound. So stay tuned for a rough and rugged THE LEGION full length album later this year with additional production by DJ PREMIER, SHOWBIZ and BUCKWILD!
Pre-order your white vinyl or regular black version through ILL ADRENALINE.

The God, The Big Daddy & The Teacher

How about this for your three favourite emcees in one photo? RAKIM, BIG DADDY KANE and KRS ONE also known as THE GOD, THE BIG DADDY and THE TEACHER.

Thursday 5 April 2012

Benzy Box Beaters Part 2

My buddy SHUCKS ONE from KOOL SKOOL has just dropped his "Benzy Box Beaters Part 2" vinyl only mix of rare late 80s Hip-Hop gems. MR SHUCKS and myself go back ten years or so and I can tell you this is one cool brother who has been devoted to hip hop music for many years but who still keeps his energy and humour levels high no matter what the hip hop climate may be at the time. As well as presenting his KOOL SKOOL radio show on London's ITCH FM for many years (and now currently on SENSEI FM online) he has also interviewed in excess of one hundred hip hop personalities over the years. Check out the KOOL SKOOL site to check out some of these interviews and to keep abreast of SHUCKS shenanigans. But right about now it's time to pay attention - class is in session.



Supreme DJ Nyborn - Versatility
Gangstarr – No More Mr Nice Guy
Kool G. Rap – Butcher Shop
Finesse & Synquis – Soft But Deadly (Ced Gee Mix)
Kid & Play – Last Night
YZ – Taggin’ It Up
T La Rock – Flow With The New Style
Uptown – Dope On Plastic
Chill Rob G - Let Me Show You (Pasemaster Mase & Prince Paul Remix)
Big Daddy Kane – Ain't No Half Steppin'
The 7A3 – Everybody Get Loose
Sparky- D – Throwdown
3XDope – Joe Familiar
3rd Bass – Wordz Of Wisdom (Sam Sever Remix)
Top Choice – Peace Of Mind
Tall Dark & Handsome – We Don’t Need Crack
X-Clan – Heed The Word Of The Brother
The 45 King ft. Markey Fresh - The King Is Here
MC Shan – Juice Crew Law
Special Ed – I’m The Magnificent
Choice MC – Let’s Make Some Noise (Tony D Remix)
The Mau-Mau Clan Overlords - Contact Sport
Twin Hype – Double Barrel
Stetsasonic – Miami Bass

Peep BENZY BOX BEATERS part 2 HERE

Tuesday 3 April 2012

The Music Man

Rock Steady Park

Hopefully you know the significance of "ROCK STEADY" PARK on 98th Street and Amsterdam Ave in Upper West Side New York. This photo was taken by the one and only MARTHA COOPER, who along with JOE CONZO should be appreciated and celebrated for their incredible photos capturing the early days of hip hop on film.

Deflate Cha

Here's a new joint from DITC legend DIAMOND D. BIG DIME knows how to make that shit bang, check it out!

Monday 2 April 2012

Dom And A Beer

Around ten years ago I recorded a mix of beats, breaks and samples which I initially started at one of our Record Club meetings by simply dropping the funkier portion of records and then chopping into the next one and so on. At the turn of the millenium we were all listening to the amazing KON AND AMIR "On Track" mix series CDs which were bumper full of samples and choice beats, so I guess this was the format I was aiming for at the time. And because of the circumstances of the Record Club, I think I may have had one or two beers before I took to the turntables, hence the title "Dom And A Beer". I warn you, on listening you will be left scratching your head thinking to yourself "who used THIS?". Enjoy it folks. Quality is somewhat lo-fi as it was originally recorded on Minidisc.

Sunday 1 April 2012

Pete Rock & Diamond D

On Friday April 6th CHICAGO is the place to be to witness the turntable fitness of two hip hop's mightiest producers, PETE ROCK and DIAMOND D. It also happens to be DIAMOND D's birthday so happy born day to him. You can expect a serious selection of beats on the night and with these two formidable dudes in control of the sounds you know it will be a packed house at THE SHRINE in the Windy City.

Soundsci - Formula 99

The eagerly awaited SOUNDSCI LP is almost ready to drop. Hold on to your hats people this is one LP you will not wanna miss. I know a lot of hard work has gone into this release so massive respect to JONNY CUBA, OLLIE TEEBA, AUDESSEY, OXYGEN and DJ CRO at CRATE ESCAPE RECORDS. For more details check in over at their FACEBOOK page. And don't forget SOUNDSCI are performing a one-off show in conjunction with VINYL VETERANS down in Brighton this coming Thursday.