In Debt - Harry Kane

IN DEBT - a short film by Harry Kane featuring John Hines & inspired by the blaxploitation movies of the 70s. Great soundtrack too.

Primo Rockin' Beats

PRIMO, PREMO, DJ PREMIER, or one half of the group GANG STARR - however you know him, there's no denying this is one producer who has contributed HUGELY to hip hop music over the last twenty years.
Not only do most other Hip Hop artists wanna work with him, but he has also inspired a million and one other beatmakers to pick up a SP1200 or MPC2000 (or other weapon of choice) and rock their own shit. I'm sure most artists would admit to being a fan of GANG STARR's beatman, and would give their right arms to emulate that wall of sound that he creates so well. Without doubt, that DJ PREMIER sound is so tight, and using some well-picked samples and his clever formulae he creates one banger after another...even when lazily using the same drum noises for a whole album (and his new trick is to leave out the hats as I'm sure you have noticed!)
But you cannot dispute the fact the man has got serious talent where beats are concerned. And why would you want to? Go and count how many GANG STARR or PRIMO-produced records you have in your crates - the list is endless trust me!
So to celebrate all things P-P-P-P-PREMIER P-P-P-P-PREMIER ... here's just a few of our favourite PRIMO beats.

(note: been having problems with Divshare files playing slowly, so I'm afraid its back to Zshare)

GANG STARR - "Gotch U" HUNTER MIX
Despite the fact that DJ PREMIER was not there at GANG STARR's early days, it wasn't long before the 45 KING gave over the reigns to PREMIER and the group went on to bigger success. The LP "No More Mr Nice Guy" was well received but wasn't strong enough to make the group blow the hell up. The time for this would eventually come with PRIMO's trademark sound, and the 2nd effort, STEP IN THE ARENA, established them as hip hop icons. The HUNTER MIX is taken from the POSITIVITY 12" release on the German BELLAPHON label, with different mixes of this track and also the Whole World Mix of "Positivity". Not PRIMO's best work I agree, but I just love to hear his different mixes of the old joints, especially this one using JAMES BROWN's Give It Up Or Turn It Loose drums.
Gotch U

LORD FINESSE - "Strictly For The Ladies"
Yep PRIMO provided lots of early beats for the FUNKYMAN, as well as being the backbone for GANG STARR. It seems as though even then in the early days the PRIMO BEAT MACHINE was churning overtime back at the lab.
Strictly For The Ladies

GANG STARR - "Now You're Mine"
I'm not sure why I love this beat so much, but suffice to say it's been my mobile phone ringtone for 3 or 4 years. To listen to it briefly sounds like a quick horn loop, double bass slap, and some well placed drums. But listen closer and this beat illustrates perfectly how DJ PREMIER gets his shit sounding so nice in the mix. The drum pattern is funky and inconspicuous, while the (Ahmad Jamal??) horns hypnotise with repetitive synchronisity, only to be broken with teasing fades and pauses for Guru to drop his punchlines. Plus some added white noise during bars to break up the horns. CLASSIC!
Now You're Mine

BIG DADDY KANE - "Show & Prove"
We all know PRIMO has made beats for a multitiude of emcees, but check the list of appearances just on this track....Kane himself, Jay-Z, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Scoob Lover, Sauce, and Shyhiem. This beat is tough, and has always been a play out favourite of ours. Bouncy and uptempo.....just how we like it. Scoob's verse on this joint is off the wall! Crazy English accent too!
Here's the INSTRUMENTAL version.
Show & Prove

JAY-Z - "Friend or Foe"
Again DJ PREMIER helping elevate an emcee to another level. It would take days to total up how many artists have had a helping hand from a PRIMO produced beat or two. But none more so than JAY-Z. Back in '96 his "Reasonable Doubt" LP was a huge yet calculated risk by the Jiggaman, both in going it solo but also by starting his fledgling Roc-a-Fella label with his own money. But to have some solid production skills from PRIMO ensured street sales and wide appeal. The rest is history.
Friend or Foe

MOP - "Handle Ur Bizness" PREMIER REMIX
I wasn't always an MOP fan because of all the shouting, but over the years the PRIMO beats have won me over, and here is a classic late 90's banger remixed by the man himself. Billy Danze and Lil Fame's dark past is echoed by the sinister beat here, and PRIMO creates the usual tension for them to spit over.
Handle Ur Bizness

LITTLE VIC - "The Exorcist"
A fairly recent production but one of his most catchy since the turn of the millenium. Features his trademark little cut & paste scratches...but hey that's the PRIMO we know and love! Little Vic drops some ill lyrics on this typical head nodder, and the twelve inch wide graffiti sticker on the cover makes this the perfect PRIMO purchase. On PROJECT / ORENA RECORDS from 2005.
The Exorcist

SPECIAL TEAMZ - "The Main Event"
This time providing the beats for EDO. G, SLAINE, and JAYSAUN, and a familiar drum pattern from the boom bap king. Once again it's easy to spot his sparse use of hats or cymbals throughout, leaving the samples and soundbites to do the talking. You could describe this one as his typical, simple, yet effective beats. If the formula ain't broke....don't fix it!
Main Event

Kid Dyno

Always Rockin' Tough

Forget street dance, or urban dance ...or whatever the media decides to call that bullshit you see on MTV these days. It's weak and it's wack!
Uprockin' and breakin' has been an integral part of Hip Hop since the 70s. It makes me cringe to see the way the press/media now sees the b-boy culture as "hip" and more importantly a moneyspinner for them now in the 00s. If you were around back in the days, you will recall any b-boys publicly going off in a circle would be instantly moved on and in some cases arrested by police, as if they were a menace to society. And as for press/tv interest - it was merely considered a craze rather than a form of dance with any kind of longevity.
Far from it, 30 years later.....

Breaks for Days Radio

We've had some great guest mixes in the last few months....P&O, MR KRUM and JABBA & CRATEDIGGER. A big thanks to those guys for putting together something special for us here at BREAKS FOR DAYS. If you have a dope mix you would like us to feature, whether hip hop or breaks & beats, we'd be happy to give it a listen and possibly post up a link. Please get in touch through the comments section.
Right now though we have another hour and half of funkiness supplied by myself KID DYNO, in the form of BREAKS FOR DAYS radio - an hour and a half of only the funkiest hip hop and beats...

BREAKS FOR DAYS RADIO

Track list

DAILY DIGGERS - Throw on Somethin' Funky
BLACKMALE - Let It Swing
DJ DOC & MC PAC - In Doc We Trust
TOP CHOICE CLIQUE - Peace of Mind
TWO KINGS IN A CYPHER - Movin' On Em
G LOVE E - Suck On This!
KID FROST - In the City
T LA ROCK - I'm Doin' Damage
KGB -Power of Three
DOWNTOWN SCIENCE - Somethin' Spanking New
STEADY B - Funky One
KNOWLEDGE - Put On Your X
POOR RIGHTEOUS TEACHERS - Strictly Mashin'
FULL RESISTANCE - 3-2-1 I Explode
JEMINI THE GIFTED ONE - Brooklyn Kids INSTRUMENTAL
ANDREW WHITE - Who Got de Funk?
BILLIE JOE YOUNG - The Push
HERBIE HANCOCK - Palm Grease
JAKE WADE - Searching for Soul
JUGGY MURRAY - Oily
THE WATTS 103rd STREET RHYTHM BAND - Do Your Thing
MFSB - Something for Nothing
LTD - Love to the World
KING FLOYD - I Feel Like Dynamite
RUFUS THOMAS - The Penguin pt2
DAVID AXELROD - Songs of Innocence
BONUS MYSTERY NUGGET

Enjoy! Kid Dyno

Kon & Amir diggin' for 45s

Another dope vid, this time XLR8R TV featuring kings of the diggin' game, KON & AMIR.

Record Raps

Check out DENT with some freestyle record rhymes! That's real hip hop.

...more baked beats.

Once again we've been cooking up some beats in the DAILY DIGGERS kitchen, and as usual we've made a god awful mess in there! There's LPs all over the place...
The weather is damn cold outside, so we needed some home-baked beats to warm us up.
Some snappy Eastern European drums provide the carbohydrate for today's menu, while the jazzy horns are taken from a library LP to tickle your taste buds! As for the flutes.... I forget ;o) but don't they taste just great?

Lunchtime Crunchtime


Kid Dyno

How Rare? pt2

DENNIS COFFEY - "Theme From Black Belt Jones" Warner 45
I'm not sure which word describes this funky little 45 best....elusive or expensive, all I know is it took me some serious years to bag a copy. DENNIS COFFEY pretty much blessed every LP he released or played on, and THE THEME FROM BLACK BELT JONES is perhaps his finest work?? A b-boy classic and notably used by 45 KING and LAKIM SHABAZZ on their aptly titled track "Sample The Dope Noise". Man this joint blows up any dance floor guaranteed - in fact if you dare listen to the clip I bet it makes you get off your ass and JAM!
This killer joint unfortunately never appeared on a DENNIS COFFEY LP, nor a BLACK BELT JONES soundtrack until one was retro-released in 2003, so the 45 is the only way to copy it on original vinyl, hence it makes well over £50 ($100) when it does appear.
A certified NUGGET on 45!

"Theme From Black Belt Jones"


LAKIM SHABAZZ - "Sample The Dope Noise"



PHASE & RHYTHM - "Brainfood"
Many records seem to reach legendary status in Hip Hop these days, but few more so than PHASE & RHYTHM's "Brainfood" b/w "Hyperactive". Whether it be the PAUL C connection (he mixed and engineered the tracks, no doubt at 1212 studios) or the fact that BOTH tracks are amazing, it is worth every penny of what you have to pay for it. I purchased their second release, "Swollen Pockets" with "Hook & Sling" when released on Tommy Boy in 1990/91, and both these joints were dope. But what I didn't know was that these dudes had already dropped an absolute gem of a record on the brief FUNKY TUNE label before signing with Tommy Silverman.
Have a peep at the soundclip, and just check out that drummer logo on the label.
In Hip Hop terms, a HOLY GRAIL. My most expensive purchase on vinyl to date!

PHASE & RHYTHM - "Brainfood"





Kid Dyno

How Rare?

It's impossible to judge how rare a record is based on a single internet auction price. In fact quite the opposite, I have seen some wack records on major labels make serious loot, and some of the rarest records I have found have been in the bargain bins! But maybe that's down to the record shops not knowing their stuff.
Over the last 5 years or so I have seen a record make sometimes 10 dollars on ebay, then later make upwards of 100 bucks, only to then drop down to a regular 10 dollars again. Obviously it depends on who is online at the time, and how fat their pockets are.....but also people's buying trends are so easily affected by the latest dope mixtape doing the rounds at the time. Examples of this include DJ SHADOW's and DJ IVORY's mixes - these together spawned an alomost fever-pitch buying bandwagon on ebay's "random" rap listings (as did the Brainfreeze mix with funky 45s). Pure craziness....especially if you remember the times when you could not GIVE away your Hip Hop vinyl??
So a price does not determine it's rarity, only it's desirability. OK so maybe a more detailed look on excellent websites like www.popsike.com would provide you with a more rounded view on an item's price over a certain period, but even this can lead you up a garden path in regards to a true value. So to us, a rare piece of wax is one that we have only ever seen a few times despite all our diggin missions, or never seen at all!
And let's not forget, a RARE record doesn't guarantee it's gonna be a DOPE record! Although we can grade a record's "coppability" thus so....

FRISBY = wax which is only good for throwing
BREAD & BUTTER = shit you see everyday and already have 5 copies
BARGAIN BUY = not rare by any means but dope nonetheless
RARITY = now that's the shit!! stuff you do not see very often
NUGGET = much harder to find & definitely worth buying
OBSCURITY = private/promo/indie press & very rarely seen shit
HOLY GRAIL = once-in-a-lifetime records, stuff you've never seen before

...and we also have a side category for "shit that you saw once at a spot but never copped, and are still regretting it to this very day". Damn I know we all have records in this categrory!

So now let us drop a few rarities from the above categories......

PETE ROCK & CL SMOOTH - MECCA & SOUL BROTHER instrumental LP
There are many bootleg versions of the INSTRUMENTALS from PR & CL's 1992 debut LP "MECCA & THE SOUL BROTHER", but the original double LP featuring just the beats was a promo-only item handed out by the artist/label on the ELEKTRA label at time of release. These awesome 2 pieces of vinyl show off PETE ROCK's amazing beats without the rhymes layered over the top. And in many parts you can hear shit going on sample-wise that maybe you missed on listening to the vocal LP. DOPE STUFF!
This double vinyl treat is super hard to find, and considered a definite HOLY GRAIL by many hip hip collectors. I had almost given up on owning a copy despite offering to sell my grandmother to buy the copies that I knew existed in the hands of fellow diggers. But anyone who owns this record and knows their onions will not part with it without a fight! After almost 10 years on the hunt record karma finally kicked in and I eventually acquired two copies in the space of a month or so (damn what is it they say about buses???). It just goes to show that you should always persist on the hunt for a particular gem and never give up. Obviously you must always dig hard for it, but also tell as many people as you can that you need it - record dealers, fellow diggers, online stores etc etc..

PETE ROCK & CL - ON & ON instrumental




EMBRYO SALES MEETING WINTER 1970
The cover of this LP tells us this is a special promotional record to promote EMBRYO (what seems to be a fledgling label), together with a quote from Herbie Mann "These are the first music expressions on EMBRYO. For us it's a new beginning. Our goal is to remain as naive as we are today."
I'm lead to believe this LP was a sampler for said label, and features music from Herbie Mann, together with bass legend Ron Carter, Brute Force and Atilla Zoller. On finding this LP in a pile of frisby records, that tingling sensation that you get down the spine told me to put this in the must-buy pile. I didn't have my portable turntable that day so it had to be a purchase based on a hunch, luckily one which paid off handsomely. Damn I love that feeling, especially when it's drums.
I had never seen this record before, and I have never seen it since, so this one goes in the NUGGET category.

BRUTE FORCE - The Deacon from the EMBRYO SALES MEETING promo LP 1970




GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS with FUNKY JUNCTION "Especially For You"
Man....what a wack cover, and surely there are no treats on here?
Yep I passed this LP by for years until BEAT DETECTIVE showed me how dope the FUNKY JUNCTION joints are. Why on earth GLADYS KNIGHT and her PIPS agreed to let a practically unknown band feature 2 songs on this LP is anyone's guess. But I'm glad they did....cuz the tracks ROAD'S END and TALKIN' TRASH are both killer.
Most of the album is very early R&B tunes from Gladys Knight And The Pips when they first got started. The last songs on each side are by Funky Junction who were studio musicians put together by Leo Muller. I beieve one of these dope joints also appears on other albums entitled "Acid Test". Please tell me more if you know about it.
This LP turns up regularly at charity shops, boot sales, bargain bins and normally priced under a pound (2 dollars)...so grab it whenever you spot one. And it's a fairly easy piece to find so it fits the BARGAIN BUY category nicely.
ROAD'S END is a great uptempo banger with drum break intro and a headnod feeling to it, even when the guitar takes over.
TALKIN' TRASH starts off mellow with a sinister bassline with shuffling yet crisp drums in the background... then kapow! takes it up a notch with some fuzzy wah wah guitar and drum rolls, only to breakdown again later. Have a listen...

FUNKY JUNCTION - Road's End


FUNKY JUNCTION - Talkin' Trash




...more to come

Kid Dyno

KING OF THE BEATS 2

Last sunday, myself and the BEAT DETECTIVE hit the VIBE BAR in Brick Lane (London's East End) for the preview of KING OF THE BEATS 2 film - documenting once again the art of beat diggin' culture. If you have seen KOTB 1 then you already know the format....producers are given £20 English Pounds (or the national equivalent) to hit their favourite wax spots, raid the crates, then head back to the studio to make a beat from their finds. The catch is they have to do this without exceeding the £20 budget, or using any other records to sample from.
Devised, directed and produced by PRITT from KEY FIGURES, this second instalment is every bit as good as the first. Once agin we see the UNSUNG HEROES, and SI SPEX from THE CREATORS, but this time joined by MR THING, DJ DEVASTATE (DEMON BOYS), DJ POGO, and P-BODY from Australia amongst others. The diggin' is heavy, and the beats are tough as in the first movie. KING OF THE BEATS 2 DVD is now on release...contact PRITT on the KING OF THE BEATS link above to order your copy.
Check this shit out....



Pritt was also the man behing the excellent NU-SKRATCH website, and the short film featuring DJ SUPREME from HIJACK . Normally a very humble man, it's great to see PRITT drop a heavy beat on his own film. Great work P!! The P-BODY beat is a banger, & the UNSUNG HEROES beat is also sick, using a bargain bin HARRY NILSSON LP with some heavy kick-ass drums.

Now as you already know, making funky beats is a daily operation here at the DAILY DIGGERS HQ, but we thought we would raid the waste bin of discs filled with disposable beats, and share a few of them with you. You never know, you may see the DAILY DIGGERS on the next instalment of KOTB...?? ;o)

DAILY DIGGERS' DISPOSABLE BEATS


Kid Dyno

Breaks For Days Radio - Mr Cratedigger & Jabba tha Kut

"ONCE AGAIN IT'S ON!!"
BREAKS FOR DAYS RADIO is back in ya face with another woofer-blasting 2 hours of madness on the 1s and 2s, this time courtesy of MR CRATEDIGGER and scratch supremo JABBA THA KUT from boogie-down Bournemouth on the UK's south coast. Now here at the HQ we've always been fans of JABBA's tight scratches and fly ass mixtapes, and CRATEDIGGER has got more wax than a candle factory...so we just knew this was gonna be superbootytuff!
We first encountered JABBA whilst we were playing on the recently defunkt ITCH FM which had been London's premiere pirate radio station strictly for Hip Hop (this was before the days of 1EXTRA etc..)
On ITCH, JABBA had always impressed us with his choice of quality records, but more so the tightness of these mixes and the advanced scratches & cuts he threw over the top. (So much so I had to "lift" a couple the master copies on leaving the station!!)

Now what we're gonna drop tonight is 2hrs of the funkiest shit...both US and UK bangers - so get downloading and pump it in your mp3 player!

U.S TO U.K 2HR MIX BY JABBA THA KUT COMPILED BY MR.CRATEDIGGER



download

1. U.S INTRO
2. JOLLIROCK-DON'T MISS ME
3. P-19-MASS CONFUSION
4. 3D-ONCE MORE YOU HEAR THE DOPE STUFF
5. TWO X STRONG- I GET LIFTED
6. TRUE CULTURE-IT'S SO GOOD IT'S BAD
7. CHILL ROB G-LET THE WORDS FLOW
8. TOO BROWN-ERIE AVENUE
9. BOLAJI-RUN 4 COVER
10. PHILL MOST CHILL-BE INTELLIGENT
11. UNIQUE-DIE HARD
12. LARRY LAR-LINE 4 LINE
13. HARD KNOCKS-THOUGHTS OF A NEGRO
14. BARITONE TIPLOVE-THINKIN' BOUT A PAYBACK
15. BENNIE BEN-I,M TAKING OVER
16. MOVEMENT X-FREEDOM GOT A SHOTGUN
17. STRONG ARM-STRONG ARM THEME
18. UK INTRO
19. CAVEMAN-INTRODUCTION TO A CAVEMAN
20. PD THREE-BREAKING THE SILENCE
21. 2 THE TOP-SCORE TO SETTLE
22. MC EVEREADY & UNANIMOUS DECISION-FLOWMOTION
23. BLADE-BORN TO RULE
24. TOP BILLIN'-STRAIGHT FROM THE SOUL
25. CUT 2 KILL-IT'S A HEAT UP
26. MC'S LOGIK-WE'RE ON A MISSION
27. HARDNOISE-MICE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LION
28. STANDING OVATION-ONSLAUGHT
29. HIJACK-THE BAD MAN IS ROBBIN'
30. LORDS OF RAP-WHERE ARE YOU COMING FROM
31. MC'S LOGIK-OPERATE LOGIKALY
32. THE BROTHERHOOD-WAYZ OF THE WIZE
33. GOLDTOP-INTRODUCTION
34. TOP BILLIN'-NATURALLY
35. THE FORCE-MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
36. OUTRO

JABBA THA KUT - www.myspace.com/jabbathakut1

MR CRATEDIGGER - www.myspace.com/dustywax

ENJOY!!.....KID DYNO