Ruff, Rugged, and Raw: Beats, Rhymes and Some Links Son

Ive been feelin the whole random mp3 posts so imma do another joint like that. Tonight its gonna be focused on a few dope hip hop songs that I have had on rotation. Also please do us a favor and sign up at The Low End Theory forums. Were trying to make it fly, but its hard with no members. Thanks to Brother B of All Thangs Funky for adding some flavor on there. Props. :) Now to the jams.

1. Afu Ra- Whirlwind Thru Cities
Ah this track is off Afu Ra's first album, Body of the Life Force. This was a tight album. Afu actually first debuted with Jeru Tha Damaja on "Mental Stamina" in 1994. He then guested on Jeru's second album, Wrath of the Math, then released this cut as his first single in 1998. This track was produced by DJ Roach. The key sample is real dope and I love Afu's lyrics.

2.Masta Ace- Lets Take a Walk (ft. Apocalypse)
This cut here was off Masta Ace's Disposable Arts album. He dropped this after a six year hiatus from the rap game. This album was a more bitter and a pissed off take on the industry then his earlier joints. I think it is one of the dopest Masta Ace albums. His new one though is mad tight, Long Hot Summer. One of last years best releases in my opinion. Anyways, this track has that ill vocal sample and that throbbin bassline. Its an eerie ghetto narrative and really paints a picture of the "hood". Also Apocalypse is rugged as fuck. I really liked him on this track, but think he kills shit on Long Hot Summer with that track, Da Grind. If u don’t have that album scoop it up. And while u at it get this joint also.

3. Nightmares On Wax - 70's 80's
4. Nightmares On Wax - Les Nuits
5. Nightmares On Wax - Survial
I want to feature a few cuts from these cats. Nightmares is more of a downtempo group then hip hop. George Evelyn (aka EASE - 'Experimental Sample Expert') and Kevin Harper formed together via a breakdance crew, and then dropped there first single in 1990, Dextrous. They dropped another track called Aftermath. This tracked peaked to no.38 on the charts and established a sound called " 'Northern Bleep' - a homebrewed, North-East digital-break sound masterminded by The Forgemasters, LFO and Unique 3, to name some." They still kept to the hip hop beats even though they had a unique electronic sound. They then dropped there album, A Word Of Science: The First And Final Chapter. After this album dropped NoW disappeared for a few and George built up his library of samples. They then dropped there album Smokers Delight which was very hip hop geared. They also incorporated a lot of live instrumentation with samples on that album. It was like a hip hop chill out album. Lots of real dope head knodding beats. There beats have a lot of different influences from electro to reggae all fused into one unique sound. Kevin has left the band, and in his place, a rapper, bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, and a singer have filled in the gap. George uses his mpc as the drummer and uses samples to color the live sound. Some dope shit. There latest album was called, Mind Elevation and had a pretty decent promotion and backin. Check it out.

Now for the links.

First up is Suge Knight is in trooooooooooouble.

North Korea is pretty fucking pissed. They goin to war son! (thanks to Tic Toc for the link)

Mad old school hip hop videos.

Ghostface plans on releasing 3 new albums this year, including the MF DOOM collabo. Pretty Tone knows the deal.

C-Murder loses his murder appeal. Looks like no trial for a minute. And Master P and his bro plead not guilty to gun charges. No Limit is always on some shit.

Shyne's money is held back due to the "Son of Sam" law. Aint that a bitch.

50 Cent partying with rich white people in his crib, having a good ol time. Thats hood son. Gangsta.

and thats it for tonight fuckers.

oh and hit the forums. Dont be a bitch. PEACE

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Follow 4 Now: Sway & King Tech

Sway & King Tech are the hosts of the most popular Hip Hop radio show in the world: The Wake Up Show, which is based out of California. They have helped birth the careers of some of Hip Hops most prominent artists including Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Eminem, and more. More importantly they gave these and other MC's a chance to shine even when they were nobodies and had no name or fame, so in essence Sway & King Tech are some pretty good talent scouts. They are also an integral part of Hip Hop that keeps the culture expanding and keeps it alive.

Sway & King Tech have been in the "Rap Game" longer than a lot of people know. They have been releasing their own music since about 1987. The duo started out as a group called the Flynamic Force, but changed it to Sway & King Tech in 1990. King Tech was mainly responsible for getting the duo on air. He won a DJ competition in San Francisco which awarded him a 15 minute spot on station KMEL. He worked out real well, so he eventually got a regular spot, however on one condition: that his partner Sway was part of the package, and thus The Wake Up Show was birthed in 1991.

The year 1991 also had other developments for Sway & King Tech. They released their "official" debut album Concrete Jungle on Giant Records. The album is produced, programmed, and arranged by King Tech, and the vocals are done by Sway. The album is produced very solidly for what it was. King Tech proved he was quite an accomplished producer and programmer as the album's soundscape is very slick and polished. The main drawback of the album is that the duo tried to fit in all the current trends and fads in Hip Hop on one album, so it lacked cohesiveness, and of course a lot of it was blatantly commercial. It featured a lot of dance and house type tracks, which sound similar to C+C Music Factory, which by hardcore Hip Hop standards is very lame, but they redeem themselves by using a lot of classic breaks and funk samples throughout, and there are straight forward Hip Hop jams on the album. Despite it not being a hardcore Hip Hop album it was and still is an enjoyable listen that does have me reminiscing on when Hip Hop was more fun and innocent. I have included three MP3's from the album. These are the more straight ahead Hip Hop joints. Also, enjoy a current article on Sway & King Tech on Allhiphop.com which talks about their up and coming projects, and make sure to check out The Low End Theory's Forum.

Sway & King Tech - Concrete Jungle
Sway & King Tech - Follow 4 Now (Remix)
Sway & King Tech - Time 4 Peace

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Funkin' Around: Dope Tracks And Some Links For That Ass

Enough jazz. Im on the funk tip tonight. Figured I would make a post cause the whole beat thing is a lil stagnant this evening. Just ain't got that magic tonight. Anyways, here are 3 funky cuts that I've been bumpin in the ipod as of late.

1. Elliot Fisher - For the Love Of Money
This is a dope cover of the O-Jay's banger of the same title. The joint that asshole Donald Trump used for his big ego-fest television show, The Apprentice. He was a violinist who did work with Sam Cooke, Ronnie Laws, Johnny "Guitar" Watson and a few other cats. Most recently this cut has been on a few comps. It starts out with the ill guitar riff, then kicks into a rugged breakbeat. I like this version because the vocals are substituted with Elliot on the violin. The guitars on this joint are ill though. Real funky shit.

2. Lee Arnold Trio - Funky Chimes
This is a banger. Real dope chimes/vibes and a funky ass breakbeat. Nice and mellow. I like it when the bass breaks down and the keys kick in. Some smooth shit.

3. Grant Green - Aint it Funky Now
Grant Green is a legendary blues/rnb guitarist. I will do a whole post on him later on down the road, but for now i will give you a funky cut of his. This song is pretty fuckin funky. He rocks out with a organist, and some nice horns are sprinkled throughout. Grant is truly one bad motherfucker on the guitar. He rips shit up on this track.


And now for some links:
JOIN THE LOW END THEORY FORUMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jadakiss gettin punked and C-Murda aint even worthy of a pen in the bing (thank Cuban Linx for the linx)


McDonalds is paying rappers to name drop burgers. I think this is real gay. Now u watch all these compaines are gonna catch on and u gonna have some crazy marketing in hip hop. You thought this shit was bad now, just wait. GAYE

New Jay Dilla track - The Love

Percee P Freestyle Video (need realplayer)

Combat Jacks 5 Gulliest Moments he experienced in the music biz. Check out parts 1 thru 3 at Bol C's blog. Funny ass storys bout R.A. the Rugged Man, Pete Rock and most recent P Diddy.

XXL Magazine making of Cuban Linx (off okayplayer.com)

Thats it for now bitches. PEACE

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Herbie Mann: Play Your Flute

Im in super lazy mode today so imma just jack allmusic.com's bio on Herbie. He was a great jazz flutist and was sampled by many hip hop groups. Pharcyde used his works on a few tracks along with Sublime, 3rd Bass, Digable Planets and more. If you see any of his albums or him on any liner notes, pick it up. You will not be disappointed.

Herbie Mann played a wide variety of music throughout his career. He became quite popular in the 1960s but in the '70s became so immersed in pop and various types of world music that he seemed lost to jazz. However, Mann never lost his ability to improvise creatively as his later recordings attest.

Herbie Mann began on clarinet when he was nine but was soon also playing flute and tenor. After serving in the Army, he was with Mat Mathews's Quintet (1953-54) and then started working and recording as a leader. During 1954-58 Mann stuck mostly to playing bop, sometimes collaborating with such players as Phil Woods, Buddy Collette, Sam Most, Bobby Jaspar and Charlie Rouse. He doubled on cool-toned tenor and was one of the few jazz musicians in the 1950s who recorded on bass clarinet; he also recorded in 1957 a full album (for Savoy) of unaccompanied flute.

After spending time playing and writing music for television, in 1959 Mann formed his Afro-Jazz Sextet, a group using several percussionists, vibes (either Johnny Rae, Hagood Hardy or Dave Pike) and the leader's flute. He toured Africa (1960) and Brazil (1961), had a hit with "Comin' Home Baby" and recorded with Bill Evans. The most popular jazz flutist during the era, Mann explored bossa nova (even recording in Brazil in 1962), incorporated music from many cultures (plus current pop tunes) into his repertoire and had among his sidemen such top young musicians as Willie Bobo, Chick Corea (1965), Attila Zoller and Roy Ayers; at the 1972 Newport Festival his sextet included David Newman and Sonny Sharrock. By then Mann had been a producer at Embroyo (a subsidiary of Atlantic) for three years and was frequently stretching his music outside of jazz. As the 1970s advanced, Mann became much more involved in rock, pop, reggae and even disco. After leaving Atlantic at the end of the 1970s, Mann had his own label for awhile and gradually came back to jazz. He recorded for Chesky, made a record with Dave Valentin and in the 1990s founded the Kokopelli label on which before breaking away in 1996 he was free to pursue his wide range of musical interests. Through the years, he recorded as a leader for Bethlehem, Prestige, Epic, Riverside, Savoy, Mode, New Jazz, Chesky, Kokopelli and most significantly Atlantic. He passed away on July 1, 2003, following an extended battle with prostate cancer. His last record was 2004's posthumusly released Beyond Brooklyn for Telarc.

Aight, now my turn. The songs that I have featured for you today are off:Memphis Underground (which has an allstar line up with the likes of Roy Ayers and engineered and produced by legendary Tom Dowd, which if u haven't seen the dvd on him you are missing out like a muthafucka.) Its a pretty dope album with some funky bluesy cuts), Waterbed (made in 1975, and features the classic that i posted, Comin' Home Baby), and Turtle Bay ( another excellent album with some midtempo to more funky jazzy cuts. Alot of slow songs also where herb wilds out on the flute)

Comin' Home Baby
Never Ending Song Of Love
Chain Of Fools

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Not All That Jazz!?! Part 1: What I Am



Today I'm starting a brand new series on The Low End Theory entitled: "Not All That Jazz!?!" Basically, what the series is going to encapsulate is albums, artists, and songs that have either been sampled or should be sampled that do not fit the "traditional" Hip Hop mold of sampling Soul, Funk, and Jazz. I'm going to kick off this series with one of my favourite 80's rock songs that have been sampled: "What I Am" by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians.

Edie Brickell & New Bohemians are something commonly called a "One Hit Wonder." The band formed in 1985 in Dallas Texas when an enebriated Edie got enough courage to join the band on stage at a bar. That band was called The New Bohemians. From that point on she became part of the group, and they continued to write and perform until they got a recording contract and released their debut album "Shooting Rubber Bands At The Stars" in 1988 on Geffen Records. Their first single "What I Am" became their one big hit and was in the top ten charts. The popularity of the single propelled their album to platinum status.

The group released their sophomore album entitled "Ghost Of A Dog" in 1990 which did not win critical acclaim nor did well on the charts, and the group disbanded shortly thereafter. Edie released a solo album in 1994 entitled "Picture Perfect Morning," and another entitled "Volcano", in 2003. Both albums were not very commercially succsseful, but they are both critically acclaimed. Today, Edie is married to singer/composer Paul Simon, and she still jams with The New Bohemians whenever she is in Texas.

The opening bar or two of "What I Am" has been sampled by a few of Hip Hop's most noteworthy groups. The first time it was sampled was by Brand Nubian for their classic single "Slow Down," which was on their debut album "One For All" released in 1990 on Elektra Records (which has now been absorbed into Atlantic Records). It was more recently sampled by DJ Premier of Gangstarr who produced a full re-make of the song with UK dance group Tin Tin Out with singer Emma Bunton (Baby Spice of The Spice Girls) doing the vocals. It was also sampled on R&B group New Edition's "Something About You" which appeared on their 1996 comeback album "Home Again."

Below I have links to MP3's of "What I Am" and the songs that were built on it, especially that classic guitar riff at the beginning.

What I Am - Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
Slow Down - Brand Nubian
Something About You - New Edition
What I Am (Gangstarr Remix) - Tin Tin Out feat. Emma Bunton


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Freddie Hubbard: Let The Horns Blow

This week I would like to feature some of the jazz artists i have been feeling lately. I would like to start with Freddie Hubbard. Hubbard was a legendary jazz trumpeter with many recordings and albums under his belt. Hubbard's early career was decent, but I have really been into his works from the 70's. His 80's joints were very commercial and on the sell out tip. They tarnished his reputation, but he still is a legend. A lot of his songs have been sampled by many hip hop artists, such as Black Sheep, King Tee, UMC, Pete Rock and Cl Smooth, the Hiero fam, and many more.

Freddie Hubbard was born and raised in Indianapolis and his first recording and playing experiences were with fellow Indianapolis native Wes Montgomery. He then moved to New York in 1958 and started working with groups such as Philly Joe Jones, Sonny Rollins, Slide Hampton, J.J Johnson, and Quincy Jones. He went to tour Europe with Quincy in 1960-1961. He also recorded with John Coltrane in 1960 on Orenette Coleman's, "Free Jazz". He also did work on Coltranes, "Ascension". In 1961 he went to join Art Blakley and the Messengers, but he then branched off to forum his own group in 1964 that featured excellent altoist, James Spaudling.

From 1966 Freddie basically worked with his own quintets and quartets. He recorded his finest albums in the early 70's, Red Clay and Straight Life, on CTI Records. He then followed up that with First Light. This was one of his best works to date. Hubbard then signed to Columbia and started to slip. He kept making dud after dud and slowly fell off. Windjammer and Splash are two of his worst works. In 1977 though he went on tour throughout the US with Herbie Hancocks acoustic quintet, V.S.O.P. In the early 80's he got back some of his steam with recordings on Blue Note, Pablo, and Atlantic. In the late 80's though he really hit the bottom. His personal problems and unreliability started to affect his gigs. He was missing gigs and his performances were getting terrible.

The songs that I have featured are from a few of his different albums throughout the 70's and 80's. The 70's is the decade of Freddie's prime, so if you dig look for albums from this era. He did many albums on CTI, Blue Note, Atlantic, and his Music Master sets. He is defiantly a legendary jazz trumpeter and a lot of his works are extremly good.


Povo ft. Wes Montgomery, and Ron Carter
Birdland
The Jeff Lorber Fusion - Country (listen to the Count Bass D sample in the intro)
edit: Sorry bout the confusion. I put up the Povo joint 2x's. I just put the jeff lorber joint up now.

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Jamal Ski: Riddims N Wisdom



Jamal Ski is an interesting artist who blends Hip Hop with Reggae seamlessly and stays true to both disciplines uncomprisingly and with integrity. His Debut album "Roughneck Reality" was released in 1993 on Columbia/Sony. Despite it's corny artwork it's a solid release. The album is produced very well, and features mostly jazz samples. It was produced primarily by Jamal and others such as T Ray(produced too many people to mention, is also a well known and avid crate digger), Skeff Anselm (who has done production work with A Tribe Called Quest), and DJ Parker Lee. The album was co-executive produced by Faith Newman who also had a hand in Nas' career by executive producing the classic "Illmatic" album alongside MC Serch. The production is impressive because of all the layers of sounds on the tracks, the hundreds of little sound bites, and the frequent changes throughout many of the songs. It really is at times quite complex sounding.

The vocals stay true to Reggae Dancehall styles. However, there is actually one track that is a freestyle by little known rapper Akbar that is pure no nonsense Hip Hop. Jamal also keeps the album lively by changing subject matter throughout. This album ranges from the streets, to sex, to knowledge, to wisdom, and does so quite creatively.

Jamal himself has an interesting history. His father was a Jazz drummer, and because of that affiliation Jamal has met jazz legends like Thelonius Monk. He attended New York University for a year, and left to Oregon where he was in Reggae and Ska bands. He then moved back to New York and got increasingly involved in Hip Hop. Jamal became involved with the legendary Hip Hop B-Boy outfit The Rocksteady Crew, and even appeared on Boogie Down Productions 1990 album "Edutainment."

I have included some tracks here that hopefully show the diversity of the album and of the man himself. "Medallion Masters Human Beat" is a straight up Reggae Dancehall song, "Akbars Groove" is straight up Hip Hop, and "Jump Spread Out" is Hip Hop, Reggae styles, and Jazz samples put together in probably the most cohesive way I have ever heard. The last track (Jump Spread Out) also has a sample from "Rainbow Seeker" by Joe Sample of The Crusaders, a Jazz Fusion band which I have covered before in a previous post. If you want this album you can get it here: Roughneck Reality.

Medallion Masters Human Beat
Akbar's Groove
Jump Spread Out


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PUTS: "Kool Herc Wasn't Rocking Jams With A Keyboard"

These two cats are the realness. Thes One and Double K are People Under The Stairs. Two LA b-boys making hot ass beats and writing chill laid back rhymes to get your head knodding. They basically keep to the ethics of digging and use vintage gear and old dusty samples to make all there beats. No keyboards, no PC's, just mpc's and analog equipment. There sound is that chill laid back block party groove with filtered bass's and boom bap drums. The rhymes are usually humorous and bout getting faded, but sometimes introspective and quite deep. Brings ur ass right back to the 90's.

Aight, Thes One and Double K meet up at a record store one day digging and decided to chill and share there beats. They became close friends and started writing and working on tracks together. They recorded mad tracks together on the low, and wound up with 12 60 minute master tapes in a box and asked themselves, "What’s the next step?"

In 1998 they released an album titled "The Next Step". It basically was a collection of there recordings from the preivous two years. "The Next Step" caught the attention of San Francisco electronic label Om Records. Om basically gave them a contract saying that they could do whatever they want and keep it the way they had been doing it with no say from the label. That’s some real shit right there. Also they were and are the only hip hop group signed to Om. In 2000 they released there second album, "Questions In The Form Of An Answer" Now I’m really feeling the beats on this album and Double K on the mic, but u can see Thes One as a newbie. He sounds a little awkward rocking. Double K though straight up kills it and outshines him. They could have slimmed down the track count a little also, but I’m just nit-picking now.

ANYWAYS, there 3rd album, "O.S.T" is the hot shit. The beats sound a lot alike, but shit, they are dope. They mainly are real funky joints, with the laid back bboy rhymes. These cats be lovin the izm and crates of old wax. Chopped up breakbeats and filtered bass dominates this record and is a good old school approach to hip hop that has been lacking lately. Also Double K rips shit up on the decks. Dude can cut like a muthafucka. Just a chill funky record. This is the best one that they put out in my opinion.

There latest album, "...Or Stay Tuned" still sticks to the same methods as all the others. The DIY mixing, engineering, rhyming, scratching, digging, producing mentality that they kept throughout there whole career. This album is straight. A few of the standout tracks, LA Song which is a dope tribute to the city they rep, and Take the Fruit (which uses samples off a Pac Man record) which talks to the youngins and trys to school em, show the P's diversity in there tracks.

They are releasing another album this year so keep an eye out for it. It should be banging. If u are a fan of old school hip hop and the whole bboy aesthetic, definitely scoop this up.

Oh on a quick side note, apparently the P got beef with O-Dub. Read this article from SOHH.COM

Suite For Beaver Pt. 1
July 3rd
Rattlesnake
Blowin' Wax

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Record Conventions Are The Shit.

I just went to a record convention yesterday at the Woodlands Inn, in Wilkes PA. I thought it was gonna be run of the mill nonsense, but i was greatly mistaken. There was like 40 vendors and mad jazz and funk crates. I had a field day up in that bitch. I spent like 3 hours in there diggin through every jazz crate i could find. I wound up dropping like $140 on food for my sampler. I wish I had more money to piss away there, but gotta pay these bills. Lots of rare jazz and funky tunes. They also had rock and hip hop records out the ass. Defiantly worth it. And I didn't really see any diggers there. There was one other cat rockin a YRB skullie, diggin thru the jazz, but that was it. Some of the albums were a little pricey, but for most good condition joints, about $8 to $10. They also have CD’s, movies, posters, but mainly bins and bins of records. Admission is free and they are coming to the New York area in April. So if u need some dope records save your money and hit it up.

April 10th - Deerfield Fire Hall, Trenton Rd., Utica, NY
April 17th - Holiday Inn, South Cayuga, Ithaca, NY
May 15th - Sai Bless Inn, 65 Front St., Binghamton, NY

They will be doing another round of shows in November with venues in PA and around the tri state area. I will keep u posted.

(Also if anyone knows about any conventions coming to your area, please shoot me an email and i will put it up on the blog.)

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Gil Scott-Heron: When Heroes Weren't Zeros



Gil Scott-Heron is a powerful and prolific artist, and one of the most influential progenitors of Hip Hop. He is a poet, a musician, an activist, and a beacon of light in dark and troubling times. He was the uncompromising, witty, angry, and righteous voice of Black America. Pheonix like, he rose out of the ashes of the halted Civil Rights Movemement of the 1960's. A movement that ended with the deaths of leaders Malcom X and Martin Luther King. Gil Scott-Heron took on the torch from these leaders, and used his gifts of words, music, and sharp insight to express all the problems that resided in America. It's this same torch that would be later passed on to Hip Hop artists and groups such as Public Enemy, Paris, and Talib Kweli. Not to mention many others. Gil's art still resonates with listeners the same today as it did when it was first released, as the same issues still exist within society.

Gil Scott-Heron was born in Chicago on April Fool's Day in 1949. His parents divorced when he was a young child, and he was sent to live with his grandmother in Lincoln, Tennessee. It is here that he recieved musical and literary instruction, and experienced racism first hand. It was these experiences that provided the spark for Gil's thoughts and views. He was one of three children picked to integrate into an all white school. The abuse was too much so he was sent to live with his mother in New York City where his education continued, and he started to write. One of his biggest inspirations was the Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes. He attended university for less than a year, but during that time he wrote and released his first novel "The Vulture" which won great acclaim, and met Brian Jackson, his main musical collaborator throughout his long career.

Gil Scott Heron's music career began when he was approached by Bob Thiele (the owner of legendary jazz record label Flying Dutchman) to do a jazz fusion album with Gil reading selections from his then recently published book of poetry entitled "Small Talk At 125th & Lennox," which also became the title of the ensuing debut album. The album featured many legendary players such as bassist Ron Carter, drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, flutist Hubert Laws, and of course Brian Jackson playing keys. This album spawned the single most important song of Gil's career: "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." The song is a witty polemic against major media and ignorance toward the deterioration of America and the apathy shown towards the increasing indigence and violence. Gil's second release was entitled "Pieces Of A Man." This is arguably his finest effort, and has a more straight forward song approach. Gil released a total of three albums for Flying Dutchman before a dispute caused him to leave the label.

After moving on from Flying Dutchman, Gil recorded "Winter In America" for Strata-East, then found his way to Clive Davis' Arista Records with whom he recorded twelve albums for in as many years. Gil was the first artist signed to the then nascent, and now lengendary label, so there was a lot of pressure for him to produce something both solid and that had the potential to hit the popular charts. The ensuing result was the same messages, but with more slick production. After Gil's twelve year run with Arista he was dropped from their roster in 1985. He continued to do world-wide tours, and eventually returned to recording with Brian Jackson in 1993, and released the album "Spirits" on TVT Records. The album featured a song called "Message To The Messenger" which was both a commentary and plea for today's rappers to take more responsibilty regarding the messages portrayed in their music.

Gil has had a very long and rewarding career, with many accomplishments. His style of music with it's sound, message, and spirit was a definite precursor to Hip Hop, and he will continue to be an influence on it. Below I have included a discography of all of Gil's albums, as well as a listing of all his books. Below there are also links to three MP3's of songs of his that I am currently feeling. Enjoy!

Discography

* Small Talk At 125th & Lenox Ave. 1970 Flying Dutchman Records
* Pieces Of A Man. 1971 Flying Dutchman Records
* Free Will. 1972 Flying Dutchman Records
* Winter In America. 1974 Strata-East Records
* The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. 1974 Flying Dutchman Records
* The First Minute Of A New Day - The Midnight Band. 1975 Arista Records
* From South Africa To South Carolina. 1975 Arista Records
* It's Your World - Live. 1976 Arista Records
* Bridges. 1977 Arista Records
* Secrets. 1978 Arista Records
* The Mind of Gil Scott-Heron. 1979 Arista Records
* 1980. 1980 Arista Records
* Real Eyes. 1980 Arista Records
* Reflections. 1981 Arista Records
* Moving Target. 1982 Arista Records
* The Best Of Gil Scott-Heron. 1984 Arista Records
* Tales Of Gil Scott-Heron And His Amnesia Express. 1990 Arista Records
* Glory - The Gil Scott-Heron Collection. 1990 Arista Records
* Minister Of Information. 1994 Peak Top Records
* Spirits. 1994 TVT Records
* The Gil Scott-Heron Collection Sampler: 1974-1975. 1998 TVT Records
* Ghetto Style. 1998 Camden Records
* Evolution And Flashback: The Very Best Of Gil Scott-Heron. 1999 RCA

Books

* Small Talk At 125th And Lenox.
* The Vulture. 1969
* The Nigger Factory. 1972
* So Far, So Good. 1990
* Now And Then: The Poems Of Gil Scott-Heron. 2001

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Winter In America
Delta Man
Message To The Messengers


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Takin It Back to '82...

DONT HURT 'EM FRANK

Put the sampler down, and peep some good music

INTRO TO DISCO
I'm a big disco fan, drum machine-era and all, fuck it. But not all of it is the stereotypical shit you think of when you hear the word DISCO. Alot of the 79-81 stuff had live drums and instrumentation. This type of disco is more funk oriented (it gets confusing trying to seperate the 2). I like both sides, from the super cheesy drum machine/Casio synths to the live disco bands ('79,'80). We're gonna hit both extremes of the spectrum today kids. Get the cocaine and the platforms out

First up is some classic-yet-slept on shit, a band formed in the early 70s, called Kleeer (everything you need to know). This is a group that, through their first few albums (pre 85), fall under the live disco band category - With a dedicated drummer/producer (Woody Cunningham) and 3 other band members who rocked various instruments and percussion. Here is one of my all time favorite tracks by them, by anyone really. Circa 1979, with all 4 band members doin their thing. If you like that song, then I highly recommend any of their albums from 79-82, '84 and '85 are for the hardcore disco fans. We'll get to that...

D-Train is next...Now if your already up on disco music, I'm probably not putting you on to anything new. I'll cover the rare disco eventually. But if you're new here's some more classic shit. This song ("Keep On") is from 1982, sampled by Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz, also 112 redid the vocals for the Biggie track "Sky is the Limit". Just some smooth shit to vibe to, once you hear the OG version why even mess with the sampled versions?

In 1985 the drum machines were running rampant. This was the year when disco was pretty much over and that wack 80's mellow garbage was whining in a new era. Disco would still be made on into the early 90s but any kind of 'golden era' for it was already long over. In 1985 one of my favorite groups Rene and Angela dropped "A Street Called Desire" which was too cheesy even for me. For the most part anyway, the classic "I'll Be Good" (think Jay-Z and Foxy Brown), is too ill. There's one other hot track too but I bought the LP strictly for I'll Be Good

EDIT - yousendit is acting up...when I get a chance I'll upload that "I'll Be Good" track

This is just a little beginner course into the disco shit, I've got mad 1979-1980 LPs that are highly overlooked, that more funk oriented stuff I was talking about. I'm gonna get into that next time, for now, enjoy the music

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All I Want To Do Is Party N Bullshit

RIP to Biggie Smalls. Today was the day of his tragic death (March 9th), so gots to show a lil respect for the "Black Frank White". He was a great emcee and left a big mark on hip hop. U all know the steez.
Heres a few cuts from homes. Enjoy

Flava In Ya Ear (remix)- Craig Mack ft. Biggie, Busta, LL, and a bunch o cats
The Ugliest (dilla remix)
Live at Madison Square - ft. Big Daddy Kane, Shyheim, Tupac, and Biggie
A Bunch Of Niggaz - Heavey D and the Boyz

Aight in other news, we got a new writer joining the staff. His name is Elmacaco, so look out for posts by him. Hes a real knowledgeable cat and I think he gonna add a lot of flavor to the site.

Aight heres the latest shit on the 50 Cent, Jada, Fat Joe "beef". (thanks to junior cartel for the links) 50 cent also made up with the game today. How cute. Check out Funkdigi to see the truce he made today and audio from pre-truce interview on Street Soliders where he talks bout the Game and if this was just a tactic to sell records. HMMMMMMMM.........

Jada's Diss
Fat Joe's Diss
Fat Joe - Dont Test Me

Here is that ill beat diggin video link 1 Link 2 the at has been floating around. The OG link is dead, but i did the ol yousendit. It has Show, Diamond D, Evil Dee, Mr Walt, and some other ill cats on it. Dont get it mistaken for Beatdawg's video though. But that shit is hot, cop it here. It comes at the whole diggin shit diffrently and gives bios on alot of ill artists. Diamond D looks like he just did a rail of yay, all sweating and shit.

And here is James Brown wilding out in a older interview. Pretty funny shit. (thanks to junior cartel for the link).

Heres that RZA interview that was on NPR's Fresh Air. (thanks to O-Dub for the link) Its a 50 min joint so sit back and listen to what the Abbot got to say.

Thats it for now. PEACE.

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Do It 'Til You're Satisfied: BT Express



BT Express or the Brooklyn Trucker Express is a nine piece ensemble that originally came together in 1972 as The King Davis House Rockers. They became BT Express shortly before they released their first album and biggest hit "Do It 'Til Your Satisfied." BT Express blended Funk, Soul, and Disco seamlessly. They have had a few very big hits which were on their first few albums on Sceptre Records. In 1977 the group left Sceptre for Columbia Records where their downfall began, and they never had the same success again. The Group disbanded shortly thereafter, but has emerged again through many personnel changes, and the group still does shows to this day. Their career also has a few highlights that include playing fo the royalty of Thailand, playing at the White House for President Jimmy Carter, having their own parade to Brooklyn City Hall, and having that day declared BT Express day.

BT Express have been sampled by many great artists for many great songs. Two of my favourites are "This House Is Smokin'" which was sampled on 3rd Bass' song "Triple Stage Darkness," and "Everything Good To You" which was sampled on DMX's first hit "Get At Me Dawg." Even though BT Express isn't a very obscure group, they are responsible for providing the essential elements for many producers/beatmakers to make some classic Hip Hop tracks.

I have included MP3's below of "This House is Smokin'," and "Everything Good To You," which are on their debut album "Do It 'Til Your Satisfied." I've also included "You Got It - I Want It" from their second album "Non-Stop," which was sampled by The 2 Live Crew on their Banned In The U.S.A. album. Get your BT Express here.

This House Is Smokin'
Everything Good To You
You Got It - I Want It


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One Be Lo aka One Man Army

Lately I've been on the indie hip hop tip. Today imma talk about One Be Lo. This dude was one part of Binary Star. They were a group from Michigan that released an album called, "Waterworld" back in 1999. With limited distribution the album was mad slept on so they remixed, remastered it, and re-released it under the title, "Masters Of The Universe". This album did pretty good and got them some recognition. They broke up soon after the release of this album and One Man Army, as he was known then, changed his name to One Be Lo (due to a metal group of the same name) and started working on his solo project. The album that he came out with is called, "S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M". This album was released on Fat Beats and distributed by BMI so it had a decent backing and promotion. He and his Trackezoid crew, did all the production on the album. The beats are pretty ill consisting of a lot of deep, jazzy, key riffs, and errie strings with gritty drums and filtered basses. The lyrics are real conscious but become a little to much to digest at some points. He gives u a little too much in my opinion. For the most part though the album is one of the better joints I peeped lately. The joints I posted are some of the iller tracks off the album. I’m really feeling the beat on E.T. I like the melody and it has that gritty vibe to it. Go pick it up if your looking for something different then the usual crap that’s being released.

E.T.
Ences Eht No Krab
Sleepwalking-ft. Ka Di

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The Perceptionists: Black Dialogue

Aight I just checked out the new Perceptionists album, "Black Dialogue". Its pretty decent. The Perceptionists consists of Mr Lif, Akrobatik, and DJ Fakts One. The Boston trio decided to team up and sign to Def Jux to drop an album. This review from Elemental gives a good run down of the groups debut album. They got Guru, Phonte, and even Humpty Hump's ass featured on tracks. The beats are all over the place, from party cuts to real introspective joints. But every cut is solid. Fakts One did a good job of all the production on the album. These 3 tracks are the ones that i was feeling the most. The beat on, "Love Letter's" is rugged as fuck. And the vocal sample on "Breathe In The Sun" is real ill. Check it out. The album officially drops on March 22nd, so get your ass over to Def Jux and pre-order that shit.

Love Letters
Breathe In The Sun
5 0'Clock-ft. Phonte of Lil Brother

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Pudgee: "All Over You Like Puffy On Biggie's Album"



Pudgee AKA Pudgee Tha Phat Bastard is an MC from the 90's that showed a lot of potential and promise. He's worked with some of the biggest names in the industry: Biggie Smalls, Kool G Rap, Ish (Butterfly) from Digable Planets, DMX, and M.O.P. His first album "Give 'em The Finger" was produced by The Trakmasters in 1993, and the forgotten single I'm going to showcase today is executive produced by the legendary Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, and features production by EZ Elpee (Why is there no info. on this cat?! Anyone with solid info on Elpee, please drop your jewels in the comments section).

Now obviously Pudgee has and/or had a lot of great connections in the music industry, and had many great opportunities, and has enough skill to hang with some of Hip Hop's elite. However, the man never made it anywhere, and he seemingly dropped off the face of the earth. The one main thing that I can see as to why he never made it was because he was more of a trend follower than a trend setter. He was slighty behind the times and didn't offer anything new to listeners, but that's not to say he didn't have some dope shit.

I heard Pudgee's debut album in '93 and wasn't very impressed. I remember it having some decent tracks, but nothing really memorable. The next time I came across his work was in '96 when I decided to listen to his 12 inch "Money Don't Make Your World Stop." I decided to listen to it on a whim and because I noticed a track on the B-Side "Make 'em Die" was produced by EZ Elpee, and after hearing that track I bought the record right there. The song had the dopest loop I heard in a minute and I just had to have it. After hearing that track I was open to hearing more fom him. He was supposed to come out with an album entitled "The King Of New York," and it looked like he was poised to try and fill the late Biggie's shoes, but nothing materialized. To this day I don't know if the album even dropped or not, I haven't heard anything about Pudgee since, and there is not very much information on him.

I ripped the 3 tracks from the single for you all to check out. These songs were basically following the iced out gangsta trend of the mid to late 90's, but the production is pretty nice for the time. "Make 'em Die" has the same loop that was used for Nas' "Remember The Times" from his latest album "Street's Disciple." It's still one of my favourite loops...

Money Don't Make Your World Stop
Make 'em Die
Niguhz Fo' Life
Bonus: Make 'em Die Instrumental




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Psych Rock And Such

Jungle - Self Titled 1969

What up. Good looks to those who recommended me those movies in my last post, I'm gonna keep an eye out. Anyone up on psychedelic rock? I don't know a whole lot about it, but I've been bumpin some Animated Egg lately while getting nice. This track here is something you can drink to. It almost sounds like a Boogaloo Joe Jones (guitar player) cover. From what I understand this is a pretty rare LP (Animated Egg - Self Titled 1969), I can't find any more info on this group. If anyone has some knowledge about them feel free to post a comment. The LP overall isn't bad, there's a few stand out tracks but for the price the OG vinyl is going for, I don't think I'd do it. I like the spacey psych rock, this is kinda uptempo and raw. I paid $4, if you can get it that cheap I don't need to tell you what to do...and if you really want to hear the album, here's the reissued CD on ebay (boooo)

Next on the psych rock menu is Jungle. This self titled LP is off the hook, and also extremely rare. Nobody knows shit about this band except that they got together and recorded one album in 1969. And man, what an album. This track has one of the illest lead ins I've ever heard, and it's not even the hottest track on the ELP. The album on the whole is more downtempo and 'psychedelic' then the Animated Egg, which I like. If you ever come across this in your digs I'd definitely recommend picking it up

Last once again, the hip hop tape rip of the day. Today it's some Wu flava- Cappadonna and UGod - If Its Alright With You ...this was on the Great White Hype soundtrack, and is an overlooked gem. Rza laces (in my opinion) one of his rawest beats ever on this one. Cappa and UGod drop solid verses too. Download it like it's hot

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Jehst: Alcoholic Author

Aight, I’m not really a fan of UK hip hop. I think Dizee Rascal (oh check out So Many Shrimps lil news report on this dork) and The Streets suck big cock, but this cat here has got some talent. Jehst is a UK emcee and producer, who has grimy boombap beats and decent lyrics. Most emcees from the UK suffer from that mushmouth bullshit, but this dude is actually understandable. Jehst is signed to the UK label Lowlife with other indie hip hop acts, like Braintax and Rodney P. He started out a few years ago and hooked up with this cat Evil Ed and formed the YNR collective and label. He then dropped his first EP on there called, "Premonitions". This a decent album but he sounded real young on the mic and the beats were nothing spectacular. Also through this album he got in touch with J-Zone and did a track. He then moved to the Lowlife family and dropped his second EP, "High Plains Drifter". I liked this album. It had some decent beats and the emceeing was more evolved then on Premonitions. His latest album, "Falling Down", is his best work. This is the album I discovered him on and I was pretty impressed. The beats are real grimy. He uses ill breaks, and has good samples that add a lot of depth to the tracks. The DJ on there, I dunno who it is, cuts dope hip hop phrases in almost every track. If you are interested in hearing new talent from outside of the US, this dude is the first place to start. You can buy his wax or cd's off, Lowlife.

Give It Hear-ft. Klashenkoff
Alcoholic Author
Manimals - ft. Usmaan and the Sun Dragon

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Movies, Music, and More..

The Sky is Green

Since we're talking about movies..Check this, if your wondering what that picture up there means. "The soundtrack features..Kool G Rap, Ohio Players, Earth Wind and Fire, Mos Def, Madlib, etc etc". It looks like Mos and Madlib will have acting parts in the movie too, so keep an eye out for that. The soundtrack should be fresh too

To stay on the movie theme for a second, THIS is by far the illest movie I've seen in a minute. Check the review. What do you know about Terry Gilliam??? I've only seen this one movie of his and think this dude is a genius. The whole atmosphere and art style is crazy. It has nothing to do with hip hop, but do yourself a favor and look for it if you like ILL movies of the science fiction variety. I wasn't able to find a regular DVD for sale online (besides the collectors set) ..but you can rent it here. Yeah, do that. Hands down, this movie is in my top 5 of all time

Since Haze hit you with joints to funk up your afternoon, here's something you can mellow out to. This ones considered a rare gem, so guard it with your life. Straight forward piano, strings, little bit of bass, a little bit of flute, and a brush set. Beautiful song by Moe Koffman, circa 1978..word

Last but not least for the hiphop heads, is the tape rip of the day (good looks Gunman). [Red Hot Lover Tone feat. Biggie, MOP, Organized Konfusion - 4 My Peeps (Buckwild Version)] This shit is hot, download it while you can. And while your looking for more hiphop check Count Bass D - Josephina DrakeMan. Support this man, he makes ill music. Check out his website HERE

"I drop it like a clumsy black bastid"

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A To The K? A To The Muthafuckin' C: Hip Hop On Film


A To The K

Wild Style...the flick that started it all. This was the first Hip Hop movie ever released (1982), and probably is the most authentic in it's portrayal of the art, and culture of Hip Hop. This movie displayed Hip Hop in all it's beauty and grittiness, and captured the essence of all the elements of Hip Hop (DJ'ing, MC'ing, Breaking, and Grafitti or Tagging). The film is so raw...it didn't even have a script. The "actors" in the film actually played themselves, so DJs were real DJ's spinning and cutting wax, M.C.'s were real rappers spitting rhymes, Breakers are real B-Boys dancing, and grafitti artists were actually tagging up walls with their art. The Film features such Pioneers as Grand Master Flash, Grand Wizard Theodore, Busy Bee, The Cold Crush Brothers, and The Rock Steady Crew. If You love Hip Hop and don't have this in your collection I suggest getting it.



Beat Street is another classic movie that was released two years after Wild Style. It is a more "Hollywood" portrayal of Hip Hop and a little more watered down. However, it is still a classic, and features some great live performances. The most notable performances are those by Afrika Bambaata And The Soulsonic Force, and The Treacherous Three with their humourous Christmas Rap. The movie also features many other Hip Hop stars of the times, and has some really great music in it, and some excellent break dancing and DJ scenes. Get Beat Street here!



Krush Groove was released a year after Beat Street in 1985. This is a semi-biographical story that is largely based on the beginnings of the legendary Hip Hop record label Def Jam. In fact both founders of Def Jam, Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons, have parts in the movie. However, only Rick Rubin played himself. Russell's part was played by a then unknown Blair Underwood, and the actual Russell Simmons had a bit part. The movie features The Fat Boys, Run D.M.C., and Prince protege singer Sheila E. This is a very hollywood type movie as well, but it is still quite entertaining, and has some comic relief provided mostly by The Fat Boys. This movie is worth getting just to see superstar LL Cool J mopping up floors, and busting into Rick's and Russel's dorm room/office to rap for them trying to get on their label. This is another must have.

I have added links to three MP3's from these movies. I was looking for the theme to Krush Groove, but unfortunately could not find it. If I do find it, I'll update the post with the MP3. But for now enjoy these! *edit* I have found an MP3 of the theme to Krush Groove and added it below

Wild Style Theme
Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five - Beat Street (extended version)
Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five - Internationally Known (extended version)
Krush Groovin' - Krush Groove Allstars (Fat Boys, Run D.M.C., Sheila E, Kurtis Blow)



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Make It Funky! 3 rugged joints for the afternoon.

Oh yeah. Its time to funktify your afternoon. I snatched 3 joints up that get up with the get down.

The first banger that we got is:
Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters - Watermelon Man
This is an all time favorite of mine. The Headhunters were a group formed by big Herb, when he got into the more jazz fusion side of things. Before the Headhunters, Herbie rocked with the Sextant, a group that fused Rock, with Jazz, R&B with world music. After 3 albums, and weak record sales, he disbanded them and formed the Headhunters. He called apon "saxman/clarinetist Bennie Maupin (a former member from the Sextant), bassist Paul Jackson, Jr., drummer Harvey Mason and percussionist Bill Summers. This album sold well over a million copies and even beat out Miles Davis's, "Bitches Brew". By the end of the 80's the Headhunters called it quits and packed it up. They have been sampled by many hip hop groups and are one funky ass band. "Watermelon Man" is a remake of Herbie’s 60's hit with a real funked out groove. It starts with a panflute and some cat grunting, then in drops the bass. When the Rhodes kicks in, it starts really grooving. Definality a classic.

The second joint is:
All the People Ft. Robert Moore- Cramp Your Style
Not a lot of info bout the background of this B-Boy classic. This track has been sampled by mad hip hop groups and the Breakestra does a really funky cover of it. The Breakestra is a group that was founded by bassist/guitarist/upright cellist/producer, Miles Tackett. They did an album called, The Live Mix Pt.2 which is an album where they cover original breakbeats. This record is excellent. They seamlessly segue into different breaks. This joint here is one of the OG breaks that they do a full cover of in that album. An extremely funky joint that almost every hip hop head has heard.

The last joint imma cover today is:
Charles Wright & The Watts 103 st. Rhythm Band - What Can You Bring Me
This is some more certified heat. Charles Wright headed this great funk group from the late 60's to the early 70's. He was the leader, singer, pianist, and guitarist and recruited this 8 member band from Watts, in Los Angles, CA. Bill Cosby actually helped the band get off the ground by letting them appear on gigs. They recorded for Keyman records, then moved to Warner in 1969. They did the track "Express Yourself", which is very heavily sampled in hip hop, NWA did their classic of by the same name jacking loops of that song. This song here is not as well known as "Express" but is a classic non the less. The rhythmic guitar intro leads into a real funky horn riff that gets your head knodding real fast. FIYYYAAAHHHHHH

Thats it for now.....

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We On Some REAL LIVE Thug Shit!



Real Live is one of the most slept on groups of the 90's. They are a two man group consisting of rapper Larry-O, and exceptional beatsmith K-Def. Larry-O and K-Def purportedly have been in the Hip Hop scene since the 80's. However, they were mainly relegated to behind the scenes work and production. K-def was actually a protege of the legendary Marley Marl, and has co-produced many of Marley Marl's better ventures in the 90's. Probably the most successful of those was The Lords Of The Underground with their successful break through singles "Funky Child" and "Chief Rocka," which K-Def not only co-produced but did the cutting and scratching on too. Unfortunately, there is not an abundance of information on Larry-O, but that's enough of history...let's get into some REAL LIVE shit!

The Turnaround: A Long Awaited Drama is Real Lives' first and only LP. It was released in 1996 on the successful Big Beat records (eventually bought and absorbed by Atlantic Records), which put out some decent underground Hip Hop in the mid 90's. The album features a few tracks produced by Marley Marl, but the real focus is the stellar production of K-Def. The album's strongest point in fact is the production. The beats are classic and timeless! The only drawback is that lyrically the album isn't up to par, and the themes of songs don't stray from the cliches of money, sex, drugs, and guns.

The biggest highlight of the album is the Real Live Shit Remix, which features Ghostface and Cappadonna from Wu-Tang Clan, Lord Tariq from The Money Boss Players and Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz, and Killa Sin of Killarmy. This song is an undeniable classic. Everything from the beat, the hook, the rhymes, the flows, and the Nas vocal sample, makes this track completely off the meter...this track is incredible!

The album also features some of the best samples and best DJ'ing tracks I've heard in a long time. The DJ tracks are of course hidden interludes between tracks, which is very comparable to what another Marley Marl protege, Pete Rock, used to do on the Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth albums.

I have included 3 tracks from the album for you to check out. Towards the end of Real Live Shit Remix there is a hidden K-Def DJ track. Check 'em out!

Pop The Trunk
Trilogy Of Error
Real Live Shit Remix (Feat. Ghostface, Cappadonna, Lord Tariq, and Killa Sin)


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Tommy Guerreo: Skate-Soul

Tonight I'm going to switch gears a little and showcase Tommy Guerreo. Guerreo was a professional skater that became a musician on the Mo' Wax label. He has released a few pretty decent albums with Mo Wax over the last couple years, and is pretty rugged with a guitar and bass. He also uses mad breakbeats in his joints, which I’m really feeling. Chill laid back grooves with nice arrangements.

Tommy G, ruled the skateboard scene in the 80's. He started out learning from his brother, and in the late 70's he started getting his weight up. On the side, he got into the punk scene and started a band called Free Beer. Between 1981 and 1983 Free Beer was playing with DOA, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Bad Religion, the Dickies, with other known acts, and releasing some tracks on compilation records. In 1984 Tommy signed a contract with Powell Peralta Skateboards, making Tommy the first professional street skater in the history of the sport. As skating got larger Tommy and his team, the legendary "Bones Brigade", with Steve Caballero, Tony Hawk, Rodney Mullen and a few other cats were sent around the world making videos and doing demos. By the age of 19 Tommy was making $70,000 skating. He actually was making like $500 a day to teach Christian Slater to skate for his classic movie Gleaming The Cube.

In 1990 Tommy dipped out of Powel Peralta skateboards and started his own biz: Real Skateboards. The company is still going strong today with over 30 employees and a bunch of different divisions. In 1995 Tommy decided to retire due to him beating the shit out of his body.

Tommy then decided to dabble in music again. Tommy has become an accomplished bassist and guitarist and released his first album "Loose Grooves and Bastard Blues" in 1998. His music is very jazzy and groove based and is comprised of mainly instrumental tracks. It has a melancholy vibe to it though. Sort of like a moody, blue kind of tip. Tommy basically plays, writes and arranges all of the instruments himself and captures it all on a 4-track. He integrates samples into it along with synths and live instrumentation to form deep laid back tracks. Im a big fan of the classic drum breaks that he uses for the foundations of a lot of his tracks. I have heard Issac Hayes breaks woven in there, to the more obscure joints.

He released, A Lil' Bit Of Something, on the Mo Wax imprint. This album was pretty decent. It sounded a lot like a Beastie Boys album, with the groovy jazz instrumentals. The tracks are short lil jams, but they are pretty tight. But some critics have said the album was "flat and self-indulgent". They criticized him due to him being a skater turned musician. But not to be discouraged he banged out a couple of more EP's. He did a few joints with DJ Gadget which were pretty tight. He then release his latest album with Mo' Wax like 2 years ago called, "Soul Food Taqueria". This album was all right. It wasn’t really as dope as his other works. Mainly instrumental once again, with some tracks featuring vocals with Lyrics Born and himself singing. The cuts have a Latin groove feel to them and have the more melancholy arrangements. This album seemed to have lacked something that his earlier joints had. Maybe its just the monotonous tracks that really don’t have a lot of movement. But nonetheless there is a few gems on it. Here are a few tracks from different stages in his career that I have been feeling. Enjoy.

In My Head
Gone
Abierto

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