Me, Myself and I

"What?" I hear you all cry.... "Some shameless self promotion?" Actually it is! This is an interview with yours truly carried out by KOOL SKOOL's man of action SHUCKS ONE. My good friend SHUCKS made it over to the DAILY DIGGERS HQ earlier in the summer so we could catch up and reminisce about the old school, talk about the NOW school, check each other's kicks, laugh about our days on pirate radio, and other hip hop trivia that sprang to mind.

Now usually SHUCKS is used to interviewing much more important people within Hip Hop. You only have to keep one eye on his KOOL SKOOL website to spot interviews with the likes of ALI SHAHEED MUHAMMAD, MELLE MEL and the FURIOUS FIVE, MOE LUV, DR BUTCHER, ROB SWIFT, CORMEGA, JERU THE DAMAJA to name just a few. So when he asked to interview myself I found it hard to understand at first, but thought hey this might be fun. I've known SHUCKS for over ten years so we're comfortable in each other's company and with each other's sense of humour. So much so, that I had forgotten he'd even filmed any of it - it just seemed like any other evening relaxing with some dope beats and talking hip hop. Nuff respect to my man my mellow SHUCKS ONE. And check out his FOUNDATION ROCKS site for his ALI SHAHEED interview and much more...

This Is A Stick Up!

Hip Hop record collectors are a strange bunch, and I wholeheartedly include myself in that sweeping statement. After many years of collecting rap records, I find that many of my buying habits are deeply ingrained in my psyche, and as much as I try to cease doing something I find it hard to stop. For instance, buying "different" versions of the same record - even if I already own a particular record I find it hard to then later resist a promo copy if I see one, and a test pressing is even better so I would have to grab that too. But then I might discover a seven inch version on 45rpm and I find I gotta scoop that up also. Where will all this end? I don't have enough room here in the DAILY DIGGERS HQ for all my vinyl as it is, so buying duplicates is sheer madness if I'm completely honest with you.

A few years ago I managed to kick my "buying sealed records" habit. I thought it was gonna be cool to have a sealed doubles stash of 12"s and LPs from the 80s and 90s which had never seen the light of day, but as the habit escalated I realised that if I carried on I would need another storage facility just for my sealed collection . Hence I swiftly put an end to that form of knee jerk buying. However, there is one habit I cannot kick, and to be honest I would never try to. Why? Because it makes me happy. I know I'm not alone with this habit either, so I urge you as my fellow rap fiends to stand up, be counted and share the burden with me. Ok here goes (this feels like an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting!) ... I have an addiction to buying records with stickered sleeves.
These tend mostly to be promo 12"s which were sent to DJs in advance of general release, and some were smaller indie label 12"s where for cost reasons a plain sleeve was brightened up with a dope sticker. The fact is, these little stickers seem to have an alluring quality about them, and I hear "buy me" in my head whenever I see one I've yet to come across before. As a little kid growing up in the 80s I always had a liking for stickers, and maybe this has something to do with my continuing obsession. I also worked with stickers for a few years within the motor trade designing car graphics on (vinyl) stickers. Whatever the reason, I'm hooked on buying these, however my friend STICKERED STEVE is on another level when it comes to fiending for stickers on record sleeves (you might have guessed that by his name). I'm hoping after reading this he will get in touch and share us with a few of his stickered gems.

But right about now ... THIS is a stick up!

Young Einstein Gettin' Funky

Get your earholes around this funky soul and jazz 45 mix courtesy of a certain YOUNG EINSTEIN (you know that kid with the dukey gold rope!). Get your boombox firing on all cylinders and crank up the volume...

Stunts Blunts & Hip Hop

It is almost 20 years since DIAMOND D dropped his incredible "Stunts Blunts & Hip Hop" album. Let's just say a beatmaking benchmark was created with that LP. To celebrate the anniversary DIAMOND D will be taking to the road with a LIVE band to perform material from "Stunts Blunts ..." and to re-connect with his die-hard fans across the States and Europe. Look out for his show in London towards the end of this year. Shouts to DIAMOND himself and of course the PSYCHOTIC NEUROTICS: SHA EASE, LEE DANCER, DJ KX, and WHIZ ONE.

Goose Country Leather V-Stitch

It's A Big Daddy Thing

Strictly Kings and Better

This weekend in Harlem you can catch a re-union of old school writers at the Harlem Hall Of Fame at 106 St. Park Avenue. The event is taking place over both Saturday and Sunday, and of course there will be be plenty of writing heroes in attendance, some serious wall action, a blackbook contest, a b-boy battle, deeejays ... all of that plus a bag of chips. More details at graffitihalloffame.net

Mobile Mondays - The British Are Coming...

Next Monday 27th August at the BOWERY ELECTRIC NYC, there will be a one man British invasion at MOBILE MONDAYS - the one stop shop to hear funky 45s played ALL NIGHT in Manhattan. Following the success of their night with previous guests like DJ SCRATCH, DJ MURO, DJ SPINNA, ROCKIN' ROB etc. MAC MCRAW (VINYL VETERANS) will be heading out to NYC from Brighton UK to bless the wheels of steel with his inimitably dope 45 set alongside JOEY C, NATASHA DIGGS, and OPERATOR EMZ.
If you've been to one of our VINYL VETERANS alldayers then you know my homey MAC MCRAW takes no shorts when it comes to rockin' little records, so if you are in the tri-borough or remotely in the NYC area early next week then I suggest you get over to MOBILE MONDAYS and see how the VINYL VETERANS rock the 1s and 2s.

VINYL VETERANS rocking SLOVENIA 2011

Kurious - "Competition Disappear"

More DIAMOND D produced goodness here in the form of KURIOUS JORGE's "Competition Disappear" - a new track which pays respect to the loss of both ROC RAIDA and MR MAGIC and also features A.G. from DIGGIN' IN THE CRATES crew on vocals. DIAMOND has well and truly got the bass heavy rolling on this joint, so play it loud and listen to your bass speaker positively hum with contentment! As always it's good to hear KURIOUS take the mic once again; his laid back style has only gotten more so over the years. The cool calm brother who spells it with a "J" and not with a "G" also recently featured on SPOX PhD's first vinyl venture the "Four Times Raw" 45rpm. So take my advice and don't sleep on either track cuz if you do ... you be illin'!

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Lik Dees Nuts

San Francisco is in for a treat tonight - BEATNUTS and THE ALKAHOLIKS will be getting crazy stupid at MIGHTY MAYHEM.

FootPatrol x Normski x Classic Material

The t-shirt launch at FOOT PATROL on Thursday was bionic! The garments were so fresh people were snapping them up like fresh loaves! It was good to see NORMSKI himself in fine form, and to catch up with some old friends and a few of my peers. It wasn't too long before Berwick Street W1 was close to a road block as the music pumped and the beers flowed. I would like to thank the CLASSIC MATERIAL crew for making fresh stuff like this happen (you know who you are fellas) and it was a pleasure to catch up with Normski, Mike Fresh, Mr Thing, JonnyRoast & JudyRoast, Jake (BBE), and Stickered Steve. I made a whole day of it and hit some record spots in the daytime, with some dope vinyl finds to show for my hard earned money.

Demon Boyz

I managed to grab a couple of these fantastic FOOTPATROL x NORMSKI x CLASSIC MATERIAL t-shirts at the launch on Thursday evening. I'm a sucker for BIG DADDY KANE music so I had to grab that one without question, and my other choice (it was a tough one!) was the iconic photo of UK rap legends DEMON BOYZ taken by NORMSKI in 1988.

If you are not from the UK and have never given the DEMON BOYZ material a listen then take my word for it and seek out their "Recognition" LP on MUSIC OF LIFE label (owned and run by SIMON HARRIS) if you want to check out some classic UK hip hop. For those who already LOVE the LP, check out the video below of an unreleased DEMON BOYS scorcher!
Thank you also to CAPTAIN SCARLET for the MUSIC OF LIFE and DEMON BOYZ memorabilia in the photo above.

Bigger And Deffer

Elite Force, Moptop & Misfits

If you can't feel the music then you cannot call yourself a true b-boy or b-girl. The break part is your invitation to hit the floor, in the meantime you need to feel and breathe the beat while looking fly at all times! Big moves might impress friends, but musicality is key. Take a look at these guys....

Idealism - Jonzhaft Demo Tape

Do you ever recognise a sample used in a hip hop track but then cannot quite put your finger on it?

I like to think I'm kinda cute at picking out samples used within our music, especially if we're talking about late 80s hip hop records. If you speak to my vinyl addicted friends they will no doubt tell you of times when I've named this snare drum, or this horn blast ... and if I'm honest it probably bores them to tears! But hey I like to sample spot.

A couple of years ago when I was chilling in the UK with that monster of the microphone that is OXYGEN (formerly of SPUTNIK BROWN and currently one half of SPOX PHd), he played me a demo tape that set the alarm bells ringing in my head. This demo was whaaay before SPUTNIK BROWN in his first incarnation as JONZHAFT THE PSYCHOPATH back in 1990. The beat was tough and had some serious swing to it, and had a "rare groove" feel. It was instantly familiar, but I could not name it for love nor money at the time despite trying. And I ain't gonna start asking an artist what track they've used, it just ain't the done thing. So I simply put it on hold thinking "this will come to me sooner or later".

But, it didn't. And only today has OXYGEN finally put me outta my misery and revealed what he used for his demo track "Idealism". He in fact had chopped up portions from pop superstar YAZZ's often overlooked album track "Something Special". Yes, the same stunning lady that had success with "The Only Way Is Up" in 1988. What made matters worse was the fact that I had actually met YAZZ circa 1990 whilst she was heavily pregnant and recording in COLDCUT's studio in Wood Green, North London (Livingston Studios was the name).

So shame on me for not spotting something that lay right on my own front doorstep. I shall remember to look closer to home in future. But you don't care about all this do you - you just wanna hear the JONZHAFT demo track don't you? Well, here it is...

YAZZ SAMPLE 1988....

JONZHAFT THE PSYCHOPATH DEMO TRACK 1990...

Record Porn

BIG records....

LITTLE records...

Return Of The Chill One

On August 17th 2012 a new song drops that I know is gonna make a few mouths drop, make die-hard hip hoppers noddingly approve, and make serious rap collectors bust a nut in their shorts. And the reason why this joint is gonna do all of that is because this, my friends, is the RETURN OF THE CHILL ONE.

Now here on planet rock we have MC CHILL, DJ CHILLY D, KING OF CHILL, CHILL WILL and also GROOVE B CHILL. I have records by all those dudes. BUT that ain't who I am referring to here, and none of those listed can actually lay claim to being THE CHILL ONE. Only one man can hold that title - a title given to him for the way he effortlessly rocks a microphone and rides a dope beat. I am of course referring to the legend that is CHILL ROB G.

So in four days time you need to stop what you're doing, get yourself in front of your PC with trigger finger at the ready and wait for the bomb to drop. Oh, and did I mention already that the production on this track called "Excitement" has been handled by DITC beatsmith DIAMOND D? An apt title don't you agree? I'm sure you know already how much a fan of BIG DIME we are here at DAILY DIGGERS HQ. Isn't everyone?

Well, it goes without saying that we're also die hard CHILL ROB G fans too, so it made perfect sense to catch up with ROB himself to find out what he's been up to, and to throw some questions at the ORIGINAL FLAVOR UNIT member.

Let's quit the yappin' and start the rappin'....

CHILL ROB G interview - AUG 2012

KID DYNO: Please could you fill us in with details of your new track with DIAMOND D, and tell me how you guys first hooked up on this project?

CHILL ROB G: I met Diamond through The 45 King, he always had some of the illest tracks so it was definitely something I wanted to do... I was just hyped he said yeah to be honest. Let me come right out and say this particular track (Excitement) might be new to the world but I've been sitting on it for some time now. I have a couple more unreleased joints that I've been baby sitting and their all going to finally see the light of day.

KID DYNO: It's been over 20 years since "Ride the Rhythm" dropped on WILD PITCH. Despite all the shady goings on with that label, how did it feel personally when your LP hit the street after the success of "Dope Rhymes" and "Court Is Now..."

CHILL ROB G: Felt great! After I left the studio the night we recorded "Court is in Session", I took a cd of it with me. I let 1 of my homeboys listen to it in his car cause he had 1 of the loudest systems of all time. He probably played the song 20 or 30 times. I kept sayin I had to go but homie was determined to ride around and blast that record over and over. Thats how I knew I had a hot 1. "Dope Rhymes" was cool but it was so much like having sex for the first time ya know what saying... I mean not like it was over too fast but I didn't have any experience with recording records before that so I was just trying not to suck. hahahaha.

KID DYNO: A couple of years ago I interviewed UK MC legend FRESHSKI, and we both agreed that your lyrical flow has always been nothing short of incredible. We both remarked (as do many others) how your rhymes sound so effortless on the mic.
Also, one of your lines on the track "Motivation" is .... "I'm blessed with the gift for rap".
Does "the art of rap" really come easy to you?

CHILL ROB G: Yes and no. I think anybody can rap, and when you listen to some of the stuff that's out right now it seems like anybody indeed is rapping. The question then becomes what makes me a superior rapper... cause I Am... and the answer for Chill Rob G is 2 things How much I care about what I'm saying, and how I deliver my lyrics. Way before I ever met the 45 King, I was having a conversation with this chick I dated in high schools father. We were talking about life and he said something like "a mans life should benefit people besides himself", and I don't know why that stuck but It did. so years later when I got a chance to speak to the world (at least that's what I thought I was doing from that little recording booth) I wanted to give... you know say something worthwhile. I also am a huge hip-hop fan so I knew hard heads would not be willing to listen to me if I just said my rhymes over the beat cause like I said anybody can do that, so i needed to make it as fun as possible to say. My lyrics that is. That way people will like to repeat my stuff cause its fun to say. That's how you get a "Ride the Rhythm" or a "Let the Words Flow".

KID DYNO: To also quote you from "Motivation", you refer to DJ MARK on that track as "remarkable". The pairing of you certainly remains one of the best pairings in hip hop history. I know you recorded the "Cat Jams" joints with Mark not too long ago, but can we (please) expect some more material from you guys like you hinted in your superb interview with Robbie from UNKUT.

CHILL ROB G: "Marks remarkable bass shakes the floorboards" was referencing the bass not Mark. Mark is just average. Hahahahaha ahhh man now that's all I need is for someone to take that little piece out of this whole interview. "Yo Chill Rob said Mark is average sun". hahaha Not for nothing I had no idea he was gonna release that CatJams stuff. When we recorded it he had this phone booth in his crib... still does... That he used as a sound booth back then. and I just went in there goofing off saying whatever, I mean no excuses I recorded the stuff but, If I was Mark I would not have put that out IJS. I talk to him all the time about doing another album. The 45 King is at a place where if he's going to work it needs to be an official project with EMI or Warner or "insert your favorite giant music conglomerate here", promoting it pushing it all that good junk but I still bug him about it anyway.

KID DYNO: How did the later deal come about with NJ label ECHO INTERNATIONAL after your brief hiatus? Some of the stuff on the BLACKGOLD album is highly slept on in terms of CHILL ROB material.

CHILL ROB G: Jeffrey Collins is the guy that Stu Fine (Owner of Wild Pitch Records) used as his first distributor. Jeff has been in this business longer than I have been alive, and that's saying something. I knew a guy Stormin Norm he's from Jersey City happened to be working with Jeff Storm looked me up and said we could make an album he sold me on the Idea we would have our own label and this guy Jeff who I had not met at the time would distribute our stuff under Dancefloor Dist. We started working things fell apart after about 5 songs or so the label thing never materialized but Jeff wanted to continue working with us separately. He introduced me to a couple of producers in Brooklyn close to where I had moved we used some of the stuff from the 1st project and added it with some new material and Bam "BlackGold".

KID DYNO: What's your personal favourite joint you have recorded so far? And are there any unreleased CHILL ROB joints hiding on a DAT tape somewhere still to see the light of day?

CHILL ROB G: I did some stuff with these guys out in the UK "Bankrupt Europeans" they know their hip-hop and a couple of those joints are crazy. I also got a Homie from Jersey City called Suge Light hahaha we did like 4 songs on our way to an album but once again things fell apart, can I mention The Roots are 1 of my favorite groups. 1 joint called Slow Down. you guys will hear that soon. but The dude I've been working with the last couple years Dayta 120 is sick with his. We got a lot of heat for ya... Last thing we did is called "I Am Not Surprised" I like it. Yeah man I got few things up my sleeve and behind my back.

KID DYNO: Does Hip Hop in 2012 still get your head nodding? Who else within Hip Hop would you want to record with and why?

CHILL ROB G: It does... I still listen to all my old favorites. I guess I'd record with anyone willing to risk it. Why not. Im not gonna not work with someone cause they suck, how are they ever gonna improve unless they get on a track with better MC, and people point out to them that they getting smoked on the record. Rappers are mad sensitive and most are very competitive that's another reason I care so much about what I sound like. so... But If want names I guess Id want to work with Wu-Tang or Will.I.Am or cause we bring such different elements to a record. I've been trying to get in the studio Naughty, Nikki D and Lakim since our homie Apache died maybe that 1 can still happen.

KID DYNO: What else can we expect from the CHILL ONE in the future?

CHILL ROB G: More Dope

Parkside 5-2 Jorun's Remix

Holy shit he's done it again. I know it's getting kinda boring me saying this, but JORUN BOMBAY has once again made an old track sound super duty tough with a 2012 remix. He has kept it close to the gritty original SCHOOLLY D classic that we all know and love. Check out this remix of Parkside 5-2. Tell us more JORUN.....

"The newest installment of the Jorun Bombay remixes. I tried to keep this one as gritty sounding as the original. Took out the drum machine track, chopped some sample drums (i'm sure you can guess which ones), added some PSK hats & bongos along with atouch of wah wah guitar samples to keep it sounding gritty.. and re-cut the original scratch sound that was in the OG version along with some extras. This version cannot be found on any Schoolly D albums or 12 inch singles. This is a Jorun Bombay exclusive remix. For those of you who never heard of Schoolly D, go check out his early stuff and get knowledged. He's a Philly legend and was label-mates with KRS ONE, Too Short, Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince on Jive records in the mid-late 80's. He is the Godfather of Gangsta Rap way before the west coast was doing it and many artists after him modelled their flow after Schoolly D - (Beastie Boys "Scenario", NWA, Ice T "6 in the morning", Eazy E "Eazy duz it" & Boyz in the hood" - just to name a few)"

Human Beatbox

I'm not normally one for these dubstep sounding beatboxers, having been brought up on DOUG E FRESH, THE INHUMAN ORCHESTRA BIZ MARKIE, BUFFY from THE FAT BOYS, JOCKBOX from SKINNY BOYS, GREG NICE, and WISE from STET TROOP. However there is one dude out there who is kinda funky and fearless with his beats. His name is DAVE CROWE. He makes music with his mouth. And he does this in public. Now this is some serious breath control.

Rockin' Rob - Disco Juice

One of the lesser talked about DJs from yesteryear is DJ ROCKIN' ROB. But let's get one thing straight from the start - just because he isn't talked about as much other pioneer deejays, doesn't mean he hasn't got as much pedigree as the others. In fact anyone who has seen this man spin 45s will tell you his style is nothing less than mesmerising, and he is so smooth on the cuts and blends.

Check out this interesting interview with ROCKIN' ROB hosted by none other than D.C. LA RUE in Bushwick, Brooklyn. ROCKIN' ROB discusses his MEAN MACHINE crew, the parties they held in the late 70s, and drops some of his silky skills and gives us a heavy dose of the music that we love.