Ego Trippin

Apologies....

2006-11-29T14:27:00.000Z

...for the lack of posts recently. This has been due to my continuing health problems.
I have an appointment with my neurosurgeon on Friday, who hopefully should be able to decide what happens next.

Please be patient - I will start posting again soon; hopefully this weekend but maybe not until the middle of next week.

Skinny Boys - Skinny... They Can't Get Enough

2006-11-20T20:27:00.000Z

Write up to follow - just too damn busy at the mo!
Love this album... get it while you can

Skinny Boys - Skinny... They Can't Get Enough
http://rapidshare.com/files/3848166/SB-STHCGE.rar.html

Jungle Brothers - Done By The Forces of Nature

2006-11-17T14:28:00.000Z

"Those who are deluded by the illusive power of Nature become attached to the work done by the forces of Nature" - Krishna

Released on Warner Bros in '89, "Done By The Forces of Nature" was the Jungle Brothers follow up to their inspirational, original, ground-breaking album "Straight Out The Jungle". Often labelled as "alternative", the JBs championed their afrocentric backgrounds & used religious influences in their lyrics in a way that few other hip hop artists had done before.

The most successful (commercially speaking) single from the album was "What U Waitin' 4?". Equally impressive are "U Make Me Sweat", "Black Woman" (feat. Caron Wheeler of Soul II Soul fame) & their collaboration with members of the Native Tongues Posse on "Doin Our Own Dang".

Jungle Brothers - Done By The Forces of Nature -
http://rapidshare.com/files/3718006/DBTFoN.rar.html

Blog Check Update

2006-11-14T15:01:00.000Z

Just a quick post to say I've updated the list of links in the sidebar to include 3 other blogs that have impressed me recently.

Firstly, there's Moshitup! (http://mp30day.blogspot.com) -
They've currently got links to the hugely under-rated K Sol album "Tell The World My Name".

Secondly, there's Rap Dungeon (http://rapdungeon.blogspot.com) -
A great site that's been around for a while. Look out for the VH1 Hip Hop Honors 2006 post - it's got artist tributes to Mc Lyte, Rakim, Ice Cube, Eazy E & Afrika Bambatta amongst others

Thirdly, check out Will For All (http://willforall.blogspot.com) -
currently got links to MC Shan's "Born To Be Wild" album

And finally, I know I've bigged up Bust The Facts several times on this blog before but I must do it again. Without doubt, from the sheer volume of links they produce, it's got to be my favourite blog at the moment & they've recently upped Original Concept - "Straight From The Basement Of Kooley High!" If you've never heard this album before, make sure you get it & listen to it. A true classic, in my opinion.

Stetsasonic - In Full Gear

2006-11-14T13:43:00.000Z

Stetsasonic claimed to be the 1st hip hop "band"; using live instruments in the studio & on tour. This album (their second of three) demonstrates this fact quite well & was probably the first record to successfully introduce jazz to the rap scene, with probably the single that they were most famous for - "Talkin All That Jazz".

Released in '88 on the Tommy Boy label, this album comprises of 17 tracks; of which, very few can be considered "fillers". Highlights of the album for me are the title track, as well as "Pen & Paper", "DBC Let The Music Play" & "Freedom Or Death".

The fact that this album was re-released in 2001 (with 3 bonus tracks) speaks volumes about this album. It still sounds fresh today!

Stetsasonic - In Full Gear (Part 1)
http://rapidshare.com/files/3079509/Stet1.rar.html

Stetsasonic - In Full Gear (Part 2)
http://rapidshare.com/files/3098593/Stet2.rar.html

It only takes a minute of your time...

2006-11-09T09:29:00.000Z

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It seems like the only people leaving comments these days (with a few exceptions) are the owners of other blogs. It'd be good to hear from some of the other readers out there - even if it's only to say hi, amke a suggestion for a future post etc

Def Jam - The No.1 Label of the Golden Era?

2006-11-08T21:05:00.000Z

In my opinion they were THE label in the mid-late 80's, with a stable of top drawer artists consistently bringing out top quality records. Today's post is a link I discovered on the internet today (on some strange Hungarian music forum, of all places). It's the box set they brought out as a 10 year celebratory compilation. There are some real classics on here from the like of LL, Public Enemy, Slick Rick, 3rd Bass & Eric Sermon. Full track listing is in the comments below.

Def Jam 10th Year Anniversary - Disc 1
http://www.megaupload.com/fr/?d=G8ODSM8S

Def Jam 10th Year Anniversary - Disc 2
http://www.megaupload.com/fr/?d=2NSL7IC7

Def Jam 10th Year Anniversary - Disc 3
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3CYBWJLR

Def Jam 10th Year Anniversary - Disc 4
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=W772BFYN

More Info - Official Def Jam sites
http://www.defjam.com/

http://www.defjam.co.uk/

http://www.islanddefjam.com/

Ten Top Old School Videos

2006-11-04T12:26:00.000Z

Ok, ok... I know anyone can search on YouTube for videos & there seem to be more & more old school hip hop vids on there these days... but I thought I'd just give you a selection of 10 of my favourite old school tunes. The videos themselves aren't fantastic but it's a little insight, I guess, into some of the stuff I loved when I was a teenager. Thanks to all the original posters.

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - The Message
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXrKIwQ6Its

Whodini - Freaks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VonntYoQmNg

Eric B & Rakim - Microphone Fiend
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oracJP6kIWY&mode=related&search=

Stetsasonic - Talkin All That Jazz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IgRKEDbXuo

EPMD - Strictly Business
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO-T9R2SDKc

Gangstarr - Positivity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_zx4ICHJMY

Geto Boys - Do It Like A G.O.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36mn3eTr6g4

NWA - Straight Outta Compton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKWaww0RK8A

Kool Moe Dee - Wild Wild West
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=467CaJw03_w

Cool Chip & Chuck Chillout - Rhythm Is The Master
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oige3Y04s1I&mode=related&search=

Enjoy!

A few random links...

2006-11-02T12:35:00.000Z

Since I've been gone a while, I wanted to put a couple of posts up today.
This one's just a selection of random links from non-predominantly hip hop blogs.
Thanks to all the relevant blogs for sharing. Respect due....

Treacherous Three - The New Rap Language & Spoonie Gee - Love Rap
http://lastdaysofman.blogspot.com/2006/10/new-rap-languange.html

NWA - Straight Outta Compton
http://elparvar.livejournal.com/#entry_55904

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - Greatest Hits
http://bluecollarfury.blogspot.com/2006/10/grandmaster-flash-and-furious-five.html

And this is something VERY special. Big props to corneliussaid for this one....

Various Artists - Unreleased Demos (from 86-89)
http://corneliussaid.blogspot.com/2006/10/classic-mcizms-unreleased-demos-this.html

It features demos from the likes of Big Daddy Kane, Chill Rob G & The Jungle Brothers amongst others

Artist Profile: Kool G Rap & DJ Polo

2006-11-02T09:12:00.000Z

Some say James Brown was the godfather of soul, George Clinton was the godfather of funk... and some say Kool G Rap was the godfather of gangster rap.

Raised in Queens NY, Kool G Rap (Nathaniel Wilson)got his first break through being a friend of Eric B's brother. Via gentle persuasion from Eric B himself, G Rap was then introduced to DJ Polo in '86. Polo, being a schoolfriend of Marley Marl, took G Rap over to Marl's house one night & the three of them started work on a record - which turned out to be their first single - "It's A Demo". G Rap & Polo were now fully fledged members of the Juice Crew & had signed to Marl's Cold Chillin label.

It was clear from this 1st song that Kool G Rap (Kool Genius of Rap), despite having an audible lisp, was a very talented rapper. As his write-up on Wiki states, "He trademarked the ability to rhyme the same syllables in the same combinations, though with different words, for a whole verse (16 bars long)". And through this style, he can be clearly seen as influencing other rappers such as Rakim, Kane, Big Pun, Nas & MF Grimm (the last two he practically introduced to the hip hop world).

Throughout his career, his experiences of life growing up in Queens & his fascination with mafioso/the gangster scene are all very apparent. There are often references to Al Capone, Sam Giancana (ex Mafia boss) & ganster films such as Scarface & The Untouchables. He loved to rap about his ambition of bettering himself - shown no more evidently in the title track of his first album "Road To The Riches", released on Cold Chillin in '89. This song, even though he was only 21 yrs old at the time, is probably one of the best autobiographical hip hop records of all time; the lyrics written with passion & power & a real insight into his struggle for a better life.

In my opinion, the "Road To The Riches" album was G Rap & Polo's finest work - featuring underground classics like "It's A Demo", "Men At Work", "Posion" and the Gary Numan sampling "Cars". The album features many of the (at that time) staple samples such as "Funky Drummer" by James Brown & "Apache" by The Incredible Bongo Band but also used more unusual samples such as "Stiletto" by Billy Joel & "Overnight Sensation" by Avalanche to give it a feel of real depth & character.

G Rap & Polo went on to make two further albums together - "Wanted Dead or Alive" & "Live & Let Die" before parting company & going their separate ways. There seems to be little info around about the split & G Rap always seems to be cagey about giving too much away. In one interview in 2003, he says "I haven't spoken to Polo in a long time. Me and Polo don't talk and all that. I haven't seen him for years. We're cool. There ain't any animosity or anything".

Polo's career after the split is less visible. I understand he remained in the production side of things for a while & he released "Freak of the Week" in '96, which was quite successful in the Miami Bass scene. As for G Rap, he re-emerged as a solo artist in '95 with the album "4,5,6" - which he says is one of the albums he's most proud of. Maybe this was because of it's success. It was his biggest selling album, even reaching no.24 in the US Billboard Top 200 album chart. This was followed by the less commercially succesful "Roots of Evil" album in '98 & then the long awaited "The Giancana Story" in 2002. The latter being a disappointment to both G Rap and his fans. Originally planned to be released on the Rawkus label, it was subsequently released by Koch after Rawkus went under & some of the material that G Rap planned to include on this record was taken off of it in the "infinte wisdom" of Koch's marketing dept.

Since then, Polo has released "Click of Respect" with the 5 Family Click - a team made up of his wife (Ma Baker) and various relatives. Though he himeslf is proud of this album, to me it pales in comparison to his earlier work. And it's his earlier work that most will remember him by. As Saigon once said "We all have to pay homage to Kool G Rap. G Rap is like Dr. J of Rap, Jordan got all the accolades but he learned a lot from Dr. J."

A few links for y'all....

Kool G Rap MySpace page -
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=31920055

Kool G Rap official site -
http://www.koolgrapsite.com/

Kool G Rap interview on BallerStatus -
http://www.ballerstatus.net/features/read/id/66188124/

"Road To The Riches" video (thanks to AngryMidget) -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duk93K2kGys

"Road To The Riches" Lyrics -http://www.musicsonglyrics.com/K/koolgrapanddjpololyrics/
koolgrapanddjpoloroadtothericheslyrics.htm

"Road To The Riches" album -
http://rapidshare.com/files/1135970/kgr-r2tr.rar.html

"Wanted Dead Or Alive" album (thanks to Da Underground Kingz blogspot) -
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=S9HGWGE4

Is there a doctor in the house?

2006-10-28T08:53:00.000Z

Apologies for the recent lack of posts.
I've been in hospital for the last week after a scan revealed a cyst on my brain.
I've been let out for the weekend but I've got to go back in on Monday morning.
The Kool G Rap profile & more links will be up some time in the next week - as long as the results of my upcoming MRI scan are all ok & I'm allowed to leave the hospital.

Be patient & I'll be back soon

UPDATE I'm now out of hospital - been given the all clear for the time being but have to visit a neurosurgeon in the near future. Thanks to all of you for the comments/support. Right, time to get back to business....

A few more links...

2006-10-17T19:49:00.000Z

Here's something a bit different. It's a mixtape from Liam Howlett of dance group The Prodigy. Some of it might not be for you but there's some real classics on here from B-Boys, Word of Mouth, JVC Force, LL Cool J & Hijack amongst others. Definitely worth checking out. Respect to the GIve Me Back My Head blog (not a predominantly hip hop blog) for this.....

http://heads2.blogspot.com/2006/10/prodigy-presents-dirtchamber-sessions.html

A couple of open directories worth looking into....

http://graffitiresearchlab.com/conflux/

http://www.s1rkull.com/mp3/Rap/

And finally, some classic Biz Markie flavours from Hip Hop Bootleggers blogspot

http://hhb.blogspot.com/

Sorry for the lack of detailed posts. Another artist profile, Kool G Rap & DJ Polo should be up this weekend. Til then, enjoy the links

More Public Enemy Material

2006-10-16T20:55:00.000Z

No time for a write up (so damn busy at the moment!) - just a link to The Universal Masters Collection that I stumbled across earlier today. Fifteen tracks, most of them classics, grab it from the directory listed below....

http://www.moggygraham.com/music/Public%20Enemy/Universal%20Masters%20Collection/

Public Enemy Live (1992)

2006-10-13T17:21:00.000Z

I feel lucky enough to have seen Public Enemy live in their heyday. They were (are) without doubt one of the finest live hip hop artists of all time; probably the first to have an actual "show" that you would usually associate with a rock band on a multi-million dollar contract. When I saw them it was in Brixton, London in 1989 (I think) when they were at the top of their game. It was their first UK tour (if I remember rightly) & certainly their first since the Nation of Millions album. It started with the obligatory sirens & Griff with the S1Ws parading around the stage with their mock uzi guns before Terminator X cut the sirens dead, scratched the hell out of some horns & then Chuck D & Flav came bursting onto the stage with "Bring The Noise". By the time the concert finished, I felt that I'd witnessed a truly awesome event!

The link below is to part of a show they did in Winterthur, Switzerland in 1992.
In it are live performances of what some might say was their anthem "Fight The Power", plus medlies of ""Rebel Without A Pause/Public Enemy No.1/Don't Believe The Hype", "Bring The Noise/Welcome To The Terrordome" & "Buck Whylin/She Watch Channel Zero". It's just a taster, for the uninitiated, of how powerful they come across live on stage. Anyone that's ever been to a PE show will want to download this. Anyone who hasn't, MUST download it to find out what they've missed. Not sure where I got the original link from but it's just been re-uploaded so grab it while you can!!!!! You will NOT be disappointed....

http://rapidshare.de/files/36608500/PEWinSwiz.rar.html

Brief Update + Some Classic Electro

2006-10-12T09:30:00.000Z

I've managed to fix the problems I was having with the sidebar by messing about with the HTML in the template. If you're having problems viewing all of the page then you'll need to change your resolution size to at least 1000 x 760 pixels.

I'd also like to big up Scholar at Souled On Music (link in sidebar) for mentioning this blog on his own site. Visitor numbers have rocketed almost overnight, so please return the favour & visit his site if you haven't already.

Absolutely manic at work at the moment, hence the lack of updates so far this week. However, I have managed to find an open directory with some serious old school singles & a few electro albums. The link I've put below is to the Crucial Electro 1984 album. It includes the classic "Rockit" by Herbie Hancock (one of THE best breakdancing/popping tunes of all time) on side 1 & "Al-Naafyish (The Soul)" by Hashim on side 2.

http://tribal.hip-hop.lv/MP3/V.A.%20-%20Streetsounds%20Electro%20Crucial%201984/

For those of you who don't know much about the Streetsounds Electro series of albums, please visit the following link for more info

http://www.vinylvulture.co.uk/beats/streetsounds.php

As stated on the vinylvulture site, "By far the most coveted of the Streetsounds releases were the Electro series. These albums introduced the UK to the developing hip-hop scene from America - a stroke of genius that brought electro and early hip hop from the underground to the UK high street and, one could argue, helped in the creation of the UK's hip hop scene".

PS: If you do visit the tribalhiphop link, make sure you check out the parent directory - there are some great singles on there from the likes of Man Parish, Major Force West, Original Concept & The 45 King to name but a few.

PPS: Don't forget I'm still looking for suggestions for future posts. Leave a comment at http://ego-trippin.blogspot.com/2006/10/future-posts-any-suggestions.html
Thanks

Artist Profile: Big Daddy Kane

2006-10-08T19:19:00.000Z

"Kane is one of the most incredible lyricists, the most real cat if you ever get a chance to meet him. Straight out of Brooklyn, soft-spoken but he will devour you on the mic." - Ice T

Big Daddy Kane (real name Antonio Hardy) was one of the true masters of fast-paced rapping. The speed of his delivery is even more remarkable when you consider he suffers from asthma. Often citing Grandmaster Caz & Kool Moe Dee for his inspiration, he grew up listening to local artists such as Randy C & Disco Ritchie and thought, in his own words, "I can do this!"

His 1st step in the right direction was hooking up with Biz Markie. Story has it that they hit it off instantly a true friendship was formed; a friendship that would lead them both into being members of The Juice Crew & having records put out on Marley Marl's Cold Chillin label. Indeed, Kane wrote a considerable amount of material for Biz (and Roxanne Shante too).

His big break came in '87 with the release of the single "Raw"; widely regarded as an underground classic & still a firm favourite of many of today's top rappers. The debut album "Long Live The Kane" would not disappoint & featured another fast-paced masterpiece "Set It Off"; the opening accapella of which has been cut up and sampled by many DJs since. Other note-worthy tracks include "Aint No Half Steppin" & my personal favourite "I'll Take You There" (the vocal sample coming from the Staple Singers "Respect Yourself").

Backed up by his dancers Scoob & Scrap Lover, Kane had now hit the big time & was filling arenas everywhere. In an interview with halftimeonline, he was asked how his life changed once he'd hit the big time. His reply was "Pussy galore"! He was known to be a man who really knew how to seduce the ladies & was even featured in Madonna's "Sex" book. Another thing that Kane was known for was truck jewellery & he was one of the 1st rappers I remember to sport the 4-fingered ring.
He wasn't just about being top MC/ladies man though. As an article on allhiphop states, he would rap about "the state of affairs in the community, injustice, racial pride and other topics of depth and substance".

Just over a year later, a second album followed - "It's a Big Daddy Thing". This time with a more soulful/R&B flavour, the singles included "Smooth Operator", "Lean On Me" & "Aint No Stoppin Us Now". A couple of my favourites from this album are "Warm It Up Kane" & "I Get The Job Done". Another year passed & then came the 3rd albun "Taste of Chocolate". Not as successful in the hip-hop charts as the 1st two albums, probably due to the rise of gangster rap elsewhere.

Kane fondly remembers the Chocolate City tour as one of his favourite times in his career; a tour which included the likes of Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Digital Underground & 3rd Bass. Maybe his fondness for this period was that it was possibly his last 'really' succesful album/tour. In comparison to his previous successes, the albums from "Prince of Darkness" (1991) onwards were relative flops.

Rumour has it that he was to sign to 2Pac's Makaveli label in '96, in a last bid to refind his previous glory. But as we all know, 2Pac got shot & the rest, as they say, is history. Although he may not be the force he once was, it's worth pointing out that both Jay-Z & Nas cite Kane as one of their major influences & you wonder if they would've been as succesful as they are if the Big Daddy hadn't been around to warm it up in the 80's!

Asked recently what he wants to do now, Kane said "I want to go sit on a porch in Raleigh, North Carolina drinking some corn liquor talking to my boys about the good old days. I want to have some Al Green or Curtis Mayfield playing in the background. That’s what I want…"

Links:
An unofficial site with some great Kane videos -
http://www.bigdaddykane.org/

Interview with Halftime (find out where he got his name from) -
http://halftimeonline.com/hip-hop-icon-series/big-daddy-kane/

BDK Lyrics -
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/big+daddy+kane/

His InternetMovieDataBase listing -
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0437263/

His 1st album, "Long Live The Kane" -
http://rapidshare.de/files/35853054/BDK-LLTK.rar.html

His 2nd album, "It's a Big Daddy Thing" (courtesy of Pimpin on Wax) -
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OACU7HWQ

Paris via Crooklyn

2006-10-06T19:52:00.000Z

You MUST get over to Crooklyn's Classics (http://crooklyns.blogspot.com/) for some serious Paris business! I tried so hard to find some Paris stuff on the net - without succes but Crooklyn has posted his full discography! Respect due.

"The Devil Made Me Do It" was a classic album & probably the last great one that Tommy Boy put out before their downfall. Knocked by many in the politcal centre ground (and even MTV), this was an album of rage that defined the man behind Scarface records.

Taking shots at George Bush (the 1st one) & American society in general, this album was a deep, dark insight to the mind of a serial antagonist with a grudge to bear. Not to be taken lightly, Paris (aka Oscar Jackson Jnr) was an economics graduate at California Uni. He never really received the praise that he was due, in my view. PLEASE check out the posts at Crooklyn's blog and you wil NOT be disappointed!!!

The Legendary Juice Crew

2006-10-06T09:55:00.000Z

As requested, I'm going to profile some of the artists that were part of the collective known as The Juice Crew. This will obviously have to be spread out over a number of posts, as there's so much to write; so be patient!

For the uninitiated, The Juice Crew was the brainchild of producer Marley Marl. Throughout the mid-late 80's his crew brought out a string of successful records & also got involved in some historic disses with other artists; probably the most famous of these was the Bridge vs Bronx battle that seemed to go on for an eternity. The basis of this arguement was hip hop's origin. On the one side was The Juice Crew & their claim that Queensbridge was where it started; on the other side was KRS-1 & his Boogie Down Productions posse whose claim was it all started in the South Bronx. The feud went on until KRS-1's partner, Scott La Rock, was killed in 87/88(?), after which their seemed to be a bit of a reality check from both sides & they moved on. However, the Juice Crew's MC Shan (not being one to forgive & forget forever) eventually tried to restart the beef with his track "Juice Crew Law" but it never really escalated the state it was at before Scott's death. It will though remain as one of the classic "wars" which provided loads of lyrical entertainment for the neutral.

This war wasn't the only one that The Juice Crew (and particularly MC Shan) got involved in. To me, Shan was probably the most tenacious of the crew. Perhaps it was in his nature; I see him almos terrier-like, unable to let go of something when he's got his teeth into it. I could go on for ages about all of Shan's beefs but I'll leave that for an Artist Profile at a future date. However, I must quickly tell you about one of my favourite beefs that he got involved in - with LL Cool J.

LL's "Rock The Bells" featured a beat that Shan had used in a demo tape. Consequently, Shan followed up with "Beat Biter", produced by Marley Marl. At the time, I don't think I'd heard such a direct diss. The 1st few lines of the 1st verse leave you with no uncertainty as to what this record's about -

"Let me rock this rhyme only if I may,
It's directed to my man, LL Cool J.
You're brand new jam sure does sound sweet.
You rocked the bells but you stole my beat!"

The irony of it all was that even though Marl produced and, presumably, gave his full backing to this track by Shan, he later went on to produce much of LL Cool J's "Mamma said knock you out" album.

Anyway, enough of that....
Marl's Juice Crew had some of the best rappers of the era. It's prominent members included Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, Master Ace, Biz Markie & Roxanne Shante. The first of these to be profiled on my blog is Kane - the post should be up this weekend.

Finally, I wanted to give you a link that summed up The Juice Crew's quality. For me, the choice of track was obvious - "The Symphony". This record came out in 88 on Marl's Cold Chillin label and included the vocal talent of Master Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap & Kane. Find the video clip here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZen35AKcXM (courtesy of shockg - THE no.1 poster on youtube!)

Time Is Of The Essence...

2006-10-05T12:38:00.000Z

...and I don't seem to have much of it at the moment, unfortunately. I'm almost done with my Artist Profile on Big Daddy Kane. I'm also working on a few other bits & pieces but don't seem to be getting very far with them right now. I hope to make a couple of significant posts at the weekend (the BDK profile being one of them).

Also, I want to big up Travis at http://wakeyourdaughterup.blogspot.com/ for his positive piece on this blog. If you haven't checked his one out yet, please do so. He's currently got some links to some great live music, including a 30th anniversary Zulu Nation set.

Another blog worth visiting is Drop Da Bass.
I've never seen a site with so much Miami Bass on it. Definitely worth checking out - http://dropdabass.blogspot.com/

Future Posts - Any Suggestions?

2006-10-02T17:01:00.000Z

I'm currently researching/gathering info for a few posts I have planned for the future -
Artist Profile: Big Daddy Kane;
Down By Law - Artists who have had "problems" with the police. A major part of this will focus on the case of Steady B, Cool C & the Lauretha Vaird shooting;
The Roxanne Wars - from the original UTFO single, to all the follow up Roxanne records etc;

I have a few other ideas in the pipeline but just wanted to know if there's anything in particular YOU want me to write about. After all, I'm not writing this damn blog just for myself! So please have a think about what you want to read about, leave something in the comments section of this post & I'll see what I can do. All suggestions/contributions will be gratefully received.

Ultramagnetic MCs - "Ego Trippin"

2006-10-02T15:18:00.000Z

As I said in my introductory post, this blog came about as a result of me searching for this record on the net. I thought it was only fair to express why I feel this song was so important in hip-hop's golden era.

Released in 1986, it was the Ultra's debut single on Next Plateau records - the 1st of many from the acclaimed "Critical Beatdown" album. It was the first record, that I know of, to sample the drum-break from "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss; a drum-break that has since been sampled hundreds of times but never to such good effect!

Opening up with a typical '86-style "Party people in the place to be" declaration, the first verse soon starts with Kool Keith & Ced Gee tearing up the mic, belting out a line each. The first two lines seem to be an attack on Run DMC (though I'm not quite sure why) - "Say what, Peter Piper?" (KK), "To hell with childish rhymes" (CG). The rest of the verse is just a straight-forward ego trip before a very simple, but extremely catchy, chorus.

One verse, one chorus in & you're already hooked. Or, at least, I was. I remember hearing it originally on the Mike Allen Capital FM Rap Show (later hosted by Tim Westwood, before he moved on to Radio 1) and it almost became a signature tune, being Number 1 on his unofficial chart for what seemed like 3 months or so!

It's my understanding that Ced Gee was the brains behind the production of this track (and much of the Critical Beatdown album) but it was the orgnised chaos of Kool Keith's vocal talent that laced the backing, that really took hold of my attention. His complex, almost mal-structured, lyrical style was something that appeared different from what I'd heard before. Maybe he was able to draw from his experiences at Bellvue (a psychiatric hospital) - as many of his lyrics have references to the brain & the subconcious. Maybe he was just a genius. He was definitely, in my opinion, clearly intellectual with a very wide range of vocabulary.

This record remains one of my favourites from the "golden era", paving the way for a host of other artists to try complex vocal styles over the top of sampled breakbeats from the days of James Brown etc. A classic in every sense of the word!

A few links -

"Ego Trippin" Lyrics -
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/u/ultramagnetic+mc's/ego+trippin_10161554.html

Melvin Bliss - "Synthetic Substitution" -
http://www.rolldabeats.com/audio/breaks/melvin_bliss-synthetic_substitution.mp3

Short video clip of "Ego Trippin" Live @ The Bomb Tour -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQGkEGiBWuE

"Ego Trippin" on LastFM -
http://www.last.fm/music/Ultramagnetic+MC's/_/Ego+Trippin'

Do You Like Mantronix?

2006-10-01T20:06:00.000Z

Throughout the mid-late 80's, Mantronix championed the combination of electronic beats & synthesisers with raw hard-core rap lyrics. Originally comprising Kurtis Mantronik (Kurtis Khaleel) & MC Tee (Toure Embden), the pair signed to Sleeping Bag Records & soon released their debut single "Fresh Is The Word".

The self-titled initial album contained the classics "Bassline" & "Ladies", which are still very listenable today, over 20 years on. As a teenager, MC Tee was one of my favourite MCs, being able to string out a single verse for almost two minutes - take Ladies for example. Simple, catchy, braggadocia lyrics backed up by Mantronik's skills on the 808 drum machine & Korg keyboards. The pair worked so well together.

Two years later came the second album, "In Full Effect". Personal favourites are "Simple Simon" & "Get Stupid (Part 3)" - another fine example of Kurtis's desire for a banging bassline that made you move your feet.

After this, MC Tee left to join the US Army & was later replaced with Bryce Luvah (a cousin of LL Cool J). Although the 3rd album ("This Should Move Ya") sold well, in the UK at least, I don't think Bryce complimented Kurtis's style the way that Tee did. Their music had become more commercial (now on Capitol Records) & was probably now too "soft" for the hardcore hip hop fan.

One thing's for sure, Mantronik was a hugely talented producer (working with artits like Just Ice, T La Rock, Ruth Joy & Kim Sims ) not afriad to experiment with different sounds & direction. I still play the original album from time to time & think to myself this guy was way ahead of his time & it's a shame he's not in the scene anymore....

A few links -

The Bassline video -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP-R2gZCJaM

Simple Simon video -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0zz-I3BuhU

Mantronic - The Album (courtesy of Tico In Japan) -
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=B8LVFOKQ

Mantronix - In Full Effect (courtesy of Bust The Facts) -
http://rapidshare.de/files/31012980/Mantronix_-_in_full_effect_-_1988.rar.html

Mantronix - This Should Move Ya (again, courtesy of Bust The Facts) -
http://www.uploading.com/files/EJIPH3UC/mantronix90.zip.html

And the classic "King of the Beats", which didn't appear on any of their albums -
http://tribal.hip-hop.lv/MP3/Mantronix%20-%20King%20of%20the%20Beats.MP3

Artist Profile: Run DMC

2006-09-29T18:50:00.000Z

"Run-DMC broke down the barriers. They were the first real rap stars. Everyone in the game today owes something to them." - Eminem

This quote sums up why I thought my first Artist Profile should be Run DMC.
There are very few hip hop artists that can be labelled as legends; these 3 guys from Hollis, New York are in that select few.
Comprising of Joseph Simmons (Run), Darryl McDaniels (DMC) & Jason Mizell (Jam Master Jay), their first single "It's Like That" was released in 1983 but for me it was the Raising Hell album of 1986 that defined them & put them in the premier league of hip hop artists.

Run may have had the good fortune of being brother to producer Russell Simmons (of Rush Productions), partnering the already-established Kurtis Blow for a brief period, but that can't detract from the fact that he had real talent. When he linked up with school friend DMC, and later brought JMJ in to the fold, the result was dynamite. They engineered hip hop's move away from disco-based backing tracks, replacing them with raw drum beats that sounded much more "street". Their dress sense too was different from what had been before; dressed in black with fedora hats & trainers (sneakers) instead of spangly, sequined nonsense!

One of the things that made Run DMC so special for me was the lyrical partnership between the two MCs. The way the lead vocal could switch so cleanly & crisply from say Run to Dmc & then back again, often mid-sentence, was an art form they made their own. Take the 1st verse of Peter Piper for instance. I can't think of a record since (and certainly not before) where this skill has been done with such perfection.

I suppose one of the tracks that they'll be remembered by is their collaboration with Aerosmith on "Walk This Way". Although I didn't particularly like this song, it managed to bring rap music to the masses in a way that hadn't been achieved before. Overnight, they became rap's first true "superstars" & can lay claim to some groundbreaking firsts -
the first rap act to go gold (and platinum), have a video aired on MTV, receive a Grammy nomination & appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.... the list goes on.

Raising Hell was quite simply a brilliant album, delivered at the right time, and they deserved the success it brought them. They were at the pinnacle of their game but, as in all genres, you can't stay at the top forever.

Whether it was the fact that the next album (Tougher Than Leather) wasn't as good as it's predecessor or whether it was the fact that new artists (such as Public Enemy) came along with a different style/sound/direction, one thing's for sure.... by the time 1989 came about, Run DMC's popularity amongst the true hip hop fans was starting to wane.

A succession of mediocre albums followed before the 3 guys went their separate ways, pursuing solo careers of limited success. They reformed on occassion but were never to return to the heights they reached in the 80's.
Maybe they just didn't have a place in the scene because it had moved on so much? Whatever the reason, and whatever you think of them, you have to admire them and pay respect to them for their contribution to hip hop. As Chuck D said "They are our Beatles".

As sad as their fall from grace may seem to a purist like me, the worst was yet to come. On October 30th 2002, Jam Master Jay was shot & killed in a recording studio in New York. Many theories have been branded about as to why he was killed & who killed him, the case remains unsolved.

In my search for further info on this piece, I came across some interesting links. Firstly, here's a great clip of a JMJ tribute performed by DJ Premier (of Gangstarr fame), Grandmaster Flash, Kid Capri & Jazzy Jeff

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur5oK7xpj14

A few interesting tribute sites here....

www.j-m-j.com/ - where you can leave you're own tribute

http://www.hiphop-elements.com/article/read/7/5634/1/ - a very well written piece

http://www.jayquan.com/jmj.htm - a touching, heartfelt tribute

Run DMCs first two albums (with respect to the guys at the Bust The Facts blog for uploading - one of the best on the net in my opinion)

Run DMC - "Run DMC" (1984)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=57OAYBEC

Run DMC - "King of Rock" (1985)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VRL4XPDB

If anyone has a link to the Raising Hell album, please feel free to post it in the comments section.

Behold The Detonator

2006-09-29T12:14:00.000Z

I noticed over at Crooklyn's Classics, they've done a great piece on 1989

http://crooklyns.blogspot.com/2006/09/1989-revisited.html

There's a fine selection of albums there, most of which I bought 1st time round. The real gem for me is Tuff Crew's "Back To Wreck Shop".

Tuff Crew were around at the time of, what i call, the Philly almost-Revolution. As we all know, NY is where rap started. It didn't really have any rivals til the West Coast got in on the act - but Philadelphia almost changed that by bringing us Schoolly D, 3x Dope & Steady B. And then came the Tuff Crew. With four fast-paced rappers mic-sharing, blowing their own trumpets & doing their best to brag about 'their part of town', they were backed up by one of the finest DJ's from this period... DJ Too Tuff. Or, to give him his full title, DJ Too Tuff The Deuce Ace Detonator.

Boy, could this guy scratch! Listen to him absolutely rip up some Public Enemy lyrics, horns & chants in "Behold The Detonator" on the Wreck Shop album, particularly the horn. It's worth downloading the album for just to hear his scratching techniques.

I tried researching the Tuff Crew on the net but there's very little about them. Probably because they never crossed over to the mainstream & they were on a small independent label. However, I did come across this video clip of "Robbin Hoods" (NB: this track is NOT on the Wreck Shop album).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt_XN2cK8Mg

And if you're not sure about getting the Wreck Shop album, try listening to the My Part Of Town remix over at Last.fm

h**p://www.last.fm/music/tuff+crew

Introducing The Ego Trippin Blog

2006-09-26T21:55:00.000Z

Quite recently, I was scouring the net for an mp3 of Ego Trippin by the Ultramagnetic MCs.
In my search, I stumbled across some old skool hip hop blogs & my memories of the mid 80's - early 90's came flooding back... the Electro collecions by Streetsounds, the Mike Allen show on Capital FM, UK Fresh 86, Public Enemy in Brixton.... the list goes on.
My musical tastes had moved away from hip hop since those days & I'd forgotten just how good the music was back in the "old days". I've now rekindled my passion for what was such ground-breaking material at the time & this blog is my way of sharing my knowledge & experiences with everyone out there.

Although I won't be hosting any music myself, I will provide links to other sites that do (giving praise to the original link poster, wherever possible). If anyone that I've linked to objects to this then please leave a comment & I'll remove your links & respect your decision.
I'll also be providing historical content & in depth artist(s) profiles/biographies from hip-hop's "golden era".

If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment or two. I will reply as soon as I can.

Thanks for visiting. Do come again!