Alcoholic Vibes

MMM MMM BITCH!!!!!

Did a lot of drinking this weekend. Pretty good time on Friday night. Had a party and djed all night till the cops came at 4am, so I was told. I blacked out early so I really dont remember much, cept these Guatemalan honeys that couldn't speak any English that rolled through round 3 am and me falling in front of em in my kitchen and busting my ass while breaking my dogs food and water bowls. YEAHH BITCH!!! Saturday I was laid out in bed all day, had to call outta work, and missed fucking Melvin Sparks play. Fucking Melvin Sparks. I was real salty bout that, but there was no way I was gonna be in a bar the way I felt. So anyways, 'nuff bout me. Tonight's post is bout the drank. There has been quite a few groups that have dedicated songs and even albums to getting tore up on booze. Alcohol is one of Americas- fuck that, one of the worlds favorite past time. So of course it has a very significant impact on music and especially hip hop, with marketing campaign utilizing hip hop stars and icons to pump booze. From the St. Ides commercials (check out O-Dub's review) to Jigga owning Armadale vodka, liquor has been a staple in hip hop since the genres humble beginnings. Along with one of my favorite past times, smoking trees, being sober is just not on most rappers agendas. So this post is dedicated to all those that have woke up in a weird place covered in puke, wondering why your leg and ass are all bruised up, calling someone for bail while donning an orange suit, or wondering what the fat girl with one leg and no teeth is doing in your house in your bed. So with that here is a few tracks that tribute getting tore the fuck up on the dranky drank.

1. Alcoholic Vibes - Lord Sear
Now I have a lot of favorite songs, but this joint is real high on the fucking list. Man the first time I heard this, I must have hit rewind about 40 times in a row. Lord Sear is a DJ out in NYC, that was a part of the ill 90's crew The Constipated Monkeys along with Kurious Jorge, KMD, MF Grim, Earthquake, and the Stretch and Bobbito show. These cats laced mad heat down in the indie scene in NYC during the mid 90's and a lot of them are doing aight now. This track here is one of those rare tracks that Sear just fucking murdered. Son's rhymes are just crazy. They are just rugged as fuck. And the beat is seriously one of the dopest beats I have ever heard. That crazy bassline and those drums are all Sear needs to get down on this joint. Ahh the 90's....

2. Sweet Premium Wine - KMD
Another classic track right here. This track is off the dope LP, Black Bastards by KMD. I think I posted this track along time ago, but it is so dope it needs to get posted again. Gotta love Zev Love X, now known as the indie super-villain, MF DOOM, rocking on the track. The production is real dope on this track also. Shit just gets my head knodding with those funky gtars and the boom bap of them drums. If you dont own Black Bastards, then you need to get your broke ass out to the store and get it. RIP to Subroc.

3. Hip Hop Drunkies - ODB and The Liks
"MY NAME IS ODB AND IM AN ALCOHOLIC OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Now thats a fucking intro. Im not a real big fan of the Liks but these cats had there moments. Its hard to expect mad quality from cats that get really really drunk all day long. But this joint shines like a muthafucka. ODB is mad on point and in his prime here. He just kills his verses. And gotta love J-Ro on this shit also. The beat is tight. Using that ice cube (not the sample, the fucking freezer joint) sample throughout the track, over those old tyme pianos was some ill shit. And when the 808 drops shit cant get much better. I like when ODB fucks up his last verse though. Thats the ODB that we all know and loved. RIP to ODB also.

4. Crazy Drunkin Style - Masta Ace Inc.
This track is rugged. Lord Digga is fucking pissed. He just comes on the track and sounds nice and violently drunk. I like Lord Digga a lot. I think he got just a real sick voice. Son sounds fucking mean. He is also slick with the production. (Check out that joint, Can You Feel It) Then Masta Ace comes in with that off beat flow and just rocks the mic that special way that only he can do it. The beat is on the dark tip, but that whole album, Slaughtahouse, was on that sinister shit. Some classic 90's ish for that ass.

5. Only When Im Drunk - Tha Liks
How the fuck are you supposed to do a post on drinking without mentioning Tha Liks multiple times? Its impossible. These cats have more drinking anthems then the most redneck of country bands. Cant fuck with them on the drankin tip. This is a tight ass track. I like they flip the nice and played out Seven Minutes Of Funk break that has been butchered by many a producer. Nice lil switch up from the usual jack of that loop. Tha Liks just kick them drunken rhymes the way they do best.

6. 40 Oz For Breakfast - Blackalicious
Im a big fan of this beat. It has come to my attention that DJ shadow did the beat. (Whoops...). Its a nice lush beat with alot of variations and progressions in it. Its a long track but it flows nice and keeps you interested even like 6 minutes into it. Which in the realm of hip hop is a pretty difficult task. Gift of Gab kicks some introspective rhymes about being addicted to drinking the St. Ides daily and how it controls his life to a degree. Im not really a fan of there later projects, well Blazing Arrow was cool, but Gift's solo debut I thought was a little wack. I do like that song he did that was being used for Coke or a McDonald commercial. Alot of those Quannuam cats are getting commercial spots lately. Lyrics Born and Lateef got hooked up doing like Diet Coke ads I think. (Correct me if im wrong in the comments). This track here is off of Blackalicious's first LP Melodica. Its a dope album. I liked those cats on from the old Solesides label, like DJ Shadow and Latyrx. They brought the indie scene in the bay area to a new high when they were coming out.

7. Tales Of Kidd Drunkadelic - PUTS
An LA ode to the drank. I did a post on PUTS a while ago. These cats are real tight in my opinion. Im a big fan of there production and they really bring that block party vibe back to hip hop. Real smooth and jazzy beats with some if that funky emceeing laced on top of em. This track here the big motherfucker Double K talks bout drinking and his experiences/ growth as an alcoholic. Double K's life just consists of having a good ol time, chilling on the block and hollering at girls showing off his huge belly when he all plastered.

8. Busride - Quasimoto
Man see this is one of those beats that is such fire, but its kind of ruined by an overwhelming skit piece that is layed up in it. Old Willy is just begging like a crackhead for some booze. Old Willy is mad fucking annoying. He reminds me of these scumbag bums that sit outside my work and harass everyone for fucking nickels and shit, so they can come in and cop Keystone Ice pounders and continue to be filth. If these cats would put all the energy they use for begging into a finding a job, they would be able to drink themselves to death ten times faster. Anyways, this beat is fucking sick. I kinda lost interest in the Quas shit after the first album, but this is some sick shit. Madlib got that heat.

9. The Bottle -Gil Scott
Ah here is the PSA track of the night. You didn't think I could just post ten positive drinking songs now did you? We need the one about it fucking your life up and destroying you in the long run, which is usually does. Gil Scott has always brought those social and moral issues to light with his tracks. He does it over some real jazzy tracks. If you want to spread a message then this is a way to do it. Make a real funky track, then talk about angeldust, black power, alcoholism, or whatever on it, and that shit will be heard and be remembered for years and years to come. This track is about the evils of alcoholism and it destroying peoples lives and families. Livin in a bottle. Its always been a favorite of mine.

10. Drink Away The Pain - Mobb Deep ft. Qtip
And one more hip hop track for the road. This is my favorite Mobb Deep song just cause Q-tip flips that Headhunters loop. I love that shit. This song is another song about the evils of alcoholism and all that jazz. But its weird cause Q-Tip's verse is about robbery and materialism, but P and Hav's tracks are about addiction/drinking. I dunno. I dont really see Q-tip getting drunk at 11 am and beating his girl so maybe that's why. Shit is dope though. Real tight beat.

BONUS BEATS: All the St. Ides Commercials from the 90's. Gotta peep this. The Wu-Tang one is my favorite. Whats yours? (right click and save-as to get em)

And that is it. Don't drink and drive folks, cause you might spill your drink. Its 4 am so I gotta jet. PEACE.

Clizick fo more!

Jackin' For Beats

BREAK YO SELF!!!!!!!

EDIT: Suge Knight got shot at a Kanye Party. Goddamn.

A current trend in hip hop is to make a track just using other peoples beats. And the hot shit is when an emcee and a DJ sit down and do a jacking for beats track. Originally started by Ice Cube with his classic jack move, Jackin' Fo Beats, its been a tradition to make a real fast track with a dj flexing there skill mowing thru different beats while an emcee spits over it. Sometimes its some weak ass mix of wack commercial songs with some clown rhyming over them, and other times its a dope megamix that some dj skillfully assembles with mad juggles and cuts, while there emcee pays homage to the cats that he is robbing or just flexes his lyrical skills talking bout how wack the cat was over there own beat. I always liked the indie ones though cause they just do it like the old school cats, actually relying on the DJ instead of rocking along to an mpc ( which is cool, but we need more of that Run-DMC DJ tracks, where the dj has mad time to shine) or some cat pressing play on a deck with just a handful of corny singles from the record stores. I know there is more tracks out there like this but these are the only 10 I had at my disposal. So peep some game.

1. Jacking For Beats - Ice Cube
This is the classic track that started the whole beat heisting steez. Its a real dope mix of all the classics of the time with the DJ cutting em up.. From the east to the west, he just mows thru beat after beat. He just basically speaks bout jackin your beat, and making it better then your tired ass ever could. Some dope shit.

2. 1nce Again (Jackin For Beats REMIX) - ATCQ
On this track Tribe busts lyrics over most of there most popular beats and a few other bangers laced up in there. I love tribe though, so this is some tight shit. I dont know who is DJing but they lay some cuts down while mixing the beats. One of the Native Tongue cats probally.

3. Illadel Jack Move - The High & Mighty
This is one of my favorites cause it really caters to the DJ and respected producer, Mighty Mi. Mr. Eon talks about Phillys style of jackin' others joints and drops a little history bout Philly Hip Hop.. The beats they are rocking over are some classics from the 80's and other classics outta Philly. I like alot of the shit that came out of Philly in the 80's and early 90's. Some of the first gangsta rap was born out there, with dudes like Schooly D. Respect the roots.

4. Jackin' For Beats - Fallacy
Never heard of this cat but he is out in the UK and his DJ got skills. Son can cut and speed thru the tracks. The lyrics are tight also. There is a solid hook, bout eat the rich jack they beats. Shits cool, but not really a fan of son rhyming over Peaches And Cream, and him shouting out Cubase. But overall a solid UK track.

5. Jackin' Yo Freaks - Atmosphere
This is the best joint on here. Mr. Dibbs kills this shit. Cutting up Ante up, NWA , and mowing thru all kinds of dope indie tracks from Def Jux, and all the other hot underground tracks, Dibbs gets nasty with it. This dude is a serious turntablist. I heard he is crazy as hell also, like cutting himself and puking onstage and shit. Also the concept is cool, with Slug rhyming bout banging your girl, and getting kinky with groupies. A nice lil change from the GIMMIE THAT BEAT FOO!!! steez.

6. Jackin' For Beats '99 - Sticky Fingaz
Ah son from Onyx is pissed. This track is the real violent take on stealing beats. I had this on some mixtape like 6 or 7 years ago. Its got all the hot thug shit from back in the 90's. Sticky also kills the shit flipping mad diff styles and even busting into dirty south steez for a few lines. Shit is nuts. I wish he was this dope on his LP's though.

7. Jackin Fo Beats ft. Fabolus - The Game
This is a tight mix going from west to east. The Game starts most of the joints and then Fabolus finishes the verses. Compton meets Brooklyn. The tracks are tight ranging from NWA, Tupac, and most of Bad Boy's 90's catalogue. Not a fan of either artists but this is a hot track. This was featured on some mixtape.

8. Jackin fo Beats - T.I.
Some southern heat. T.I. is like one of the only southern cats ive been feeling lately. Im cool with his voice and he got skills so I can get down with son. He goes through all kinds of joints from Nas's Thiefs Theme, to that Dipset/Easy E/NWA track. The track is thugged the fuck out, which most of the time I think is lame, but this comes out cool.

9. Jackin Fo Beats - Talib Kweli
This is with Cypha Sounds on the beats. He goes through some hot shit, but im not really feeling Talib. He just was having an off day or some shit. Also Cypha aint really flexing any DJ skills on this track at all. He just rubs in tracks all sloppy like some lazy fucker. Not one the best on the list but it still counts bitch.

10. Fuck this track. I was gonna put 10 in, but this track sucks cock. So no need to waste yall's time with this garbage. Outta site outta mind.

And thats how cats make jack moves on mixtapes. GIMME THAT BEAT FOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! Keep it gangsta. Peace

edit: gear for sale
esi 2000 sampler with 128 mbs ram, scsi card, zip drive $200

yamaha a5000 sampler with internal hd and max ram $299

akai dps 12 with internal hd, 4gigs, and hp cdrw $350

paypal only
email me if interested

Clizick fo more!

"Went home to puff the herb to watch a little cable..."

Damn.....

So I had all these dope album and artist reviews that I was gonna do this week, but thats gonna have to wait. Instead I got some dope tracks for you to check out. Two are of the east coast flavor, and the other is dug from the crates. Just want to say RIP to Bob Moog, the pioneer of the analog synth, who revolutionized music as we know it. So every time you here any 80's new wave, any house or trance, or most dirty south music, remember Bob tweaking knobs and circuits 60 years ago to make it possible for these cats today.In the previous post there is a link to a good interview with the man himself. On another note, this Kanye shit is outta control. He is getting all kinds of press, which is good, but he is starting to get pissy and a little arrogant. I hope his ablum does good, but that shit is getting to his head. He lately has been on these lil rants and tirades to gain more PR response, in my opinion. He knows if he does an interview with Sway on MTV, and starts to go off on a rant, that shit will spread on the internet and other medias like wildfire. He's becoming a master of marketing. Which if your trying to go 5 times plat isn't that bad of an idea. Has anyone heard it though? I heard from a lot of people that its aight. I just heard Diamonds and that Golddigger joint, which are mediocre in my eyes. Not a big fan of Jamie Fox on the mic though so Im a little biased. Oh and one more thing before we get to the music. I might be having someone join the team in the next few days to help out round here and post shitwhile Im not around. Ill let you cats know the deal with that in a few days. And with that here the beats.

1. The Ultimate (Showbiz Remix) - The Artifacts
Ah emcees El Da Sensi and my man Tame One. These cats were rugged when they were a group outta Newark, doing dope graff raps (Wrong Side Of The Tracks) and just talking bout my homestate of NJ. Tame is doing aight on his own I think. Well his last album The OG Bobby Johnson and that Leak Bros shit were a little ass, but When Rappers Attack was butter. El Da Sensi's last album though sucked dick. They had some creative differences though and had to split which is respectable, but not really an plus to eithers careers. But you know how that goes. Tame is on that smoke dust and graff rap, while El is know trying to be an indie darling so what can you do. This beat is rugged casue it got Showbiz from DITC killing it with those dope horns and loud ass drums. And that vibe sample he got going through the track is heat.

2. Son Get Wrec (Evil Dee Remix) - Black Moon
Another dope remix. This joint here is fire. This was back when Black Moon was actually putting out good records. I like the OG version, but this one kills it with those dope keys and that "yeahhh ha" sample running through. Then the gritty horns on the hook. Ill. Man anyone hear that Buckshot and Ninth Wonder album?(<--This interview though dude likes it) That was some of the worst shit I heard in a minute. Buck was off and Ninth, man I dont even know what to say bout all that. It was rough.But it got mixed reviews so some heads got down to the fruity loops steez. And Evil Dee aint doing to good himself either. That last Beatminerz joint Fully Loaded With Static was pretty miserable. I mean I give Evil Dee and Mr. Walt props for repping the Indie scene, but man they just aint got it no more. The one thing I never really liked bout them though is that they got like 10s of thousands of records but they still flip the same ass common samples that everyone else be flipping. They in interviews bragging bout there libarry of records, but then they flip some shit off an Ultimate Breaks and Beats album. But don't get me wrong, these cats were a force in the 90's and just had that chemistry as a group. This beat is a testament to that. I dunno I guess Im just stuck in the 90's.

3. Supermarket Blues - Eugene McDaniels
This here is the hot shit. Eugene McDaniels was a soul/funk artist from back in the 70's who have provided today's samplers with lots of shit to work with. His songs always have a deep meaning to them, laid over a real funky backdrop. Almost every song on his album, Headless Hero's of The Apocalypse, has been turned into hip hop form in one way or another. This jam here is most recognized by being sample by Madlib, where he flipped a loop from the beginning for I think a Quasimoto joint. This song is about a black man going into the supermarket and getting his ass kicked for being black and getting the wrong can of food. Its a deep concept but presented in a real funky form. GOOOOODDDDDD DAMMMMNNNNN!!!!!

And that is it for today. Stay tuned in the next couple of days, cause Imma hit this blogging shit with a vengeance. Peace and once again RIP to Bob Moog. Buy a Voyager to support the man.

Clizick fo more!

Its been a long time...

Sorry bout the lack of posts lately. I just been all kinds of busy, drinking, partying, djing, and just having a good ol time. I also moved my PC and didn't set up the net yet on it cause im one lazy fucker. So stay tuned next week for a gang of posts featuring indie cats like, El-Fudge, Afrobeat innovator Fela Kuti, Brooklyns Jemini the Gifted One and more. Its gonna be dope. Im at the library right now though so i got nothing to share today. But here is some interesting shit I found in the last couple of days.

Kanye West getting heated about bleeping of "white girl" from his song. Damn I really haven't been following shit, but MTV did some shit on Kanye yesterday and from some excerpts I saw he went off on the use of homo by rappers and him being a mommas boy. Shits crazy.

Nas paying $2 million for a Neptunes beat. WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING!!!!!!!!????????? Shit like this ruins my day.

Site for AZ's new album Been hearing alot of good things bout this joint. Gotta scoop it up.

Extra P at a record store in japan Dope shit. Some vids and pics.

100 Breaks Mixtape by DJ Semantik. All the classics. Shits tight.

Dutch Bob Moog Interview. I went to a site recently and it turns out Bob has real bad brain cancer. Thats real sad. This dude is the godfather of synthesis.

Kung-Fu movie trailers. Dope shit. Anyone see that Kung-Fu Hustle joint yet? It was aight. Kinda corny but the fight scenes were ill.

Grip of Wu-Tang videos. Holy shit. Noxie found this joint.

Well I gotta go to a wake tonight. R.I.P to Bob Tuohy, my godfather. Peace and come back later on in the week for mad mp3's and write ups on some real dope artists.

Clizick fo more!

Serato Scratch Live And Soulmans World Of Beats

DJ Babu: Cutting it up mp3 stylee

Whats up all. Just got Serato Scratch Live and have been so busy playing with it, I havent had time to update the blog. If you havent heard of Serato yet, its bascially a way to use vinyl records to control mp3's and other audio files from your pc. Here is what Rane has to say about it:

The Scratch LIVE interface connects almost any computer to an ordinary pair of turntables or CD players, and the software faithfully tracks every subtle movement of the stylus on the included control records. The same movement is then instantly applied to any digital audio file in the user's collection producing a sound and feel that is indistinguishable from vinyl.

and

...the software has all the features of a modern DJ player, including beat extraction, real time tempo metering, waveform coloring based on spectral content, multiple cue points per track, and full iTunes library integration. Tailored for performance work, tracks are rapidly located via full text search of ID3 tags, or even recorded directly from a microphone, and assigned to turntable control with a single key press.

Its real ill. Feels so much like vinyl its scary. It best be the bomb digs though with it retaling at $540 at most online shops. I went through ZZounds cause if you live in the Tri-State area and PA, they ship almost overnight while still using ground. So thats free shipping. I can cut my own beats, mix exclusive shit that didnt get released on wax, juggle beats, practice scratching and mixing, record shit straigt into it and much more. Its overwhelming how many different ideas and usages you can do with it. All using my mixer and two records. Its the ultimate DJ tool. The Itunes intergration is insane. I made like 30 playlists of all the different genres of music I have, and just have been spending hours and hours organizing it. Its dope though casue then its like having my crates around. And it updates instantly when you mess with itunes. Also tons of DJs are endorsing it. In the latest issue of Remix, (the one with that nerd Billy Corgan on it) there was an article of questlove saying that he was paying someone to burn his vast record collection into itunes. Crazy shit. I was looking into Final Scratch by Stanton, but I heard better feedback and stabilty with Serato and that sold me over. Here is a mix I made a few nights ago with it.

Serato Mix:

1.Count Bass D - no time for faking
2.AZ- Never Stop
3.Mobb Deep - Drink Away
4.Beatnuts - get funky
5.Common - Penny for my thoughts
6.Jay X - feeling it
8.Emanon - 6 million
9. Roots - Up your lighter

And now I want to talk about a dude that is a legend when it comes to rare grooves and breakbeats. Dude is Phill Stroman a.k.a. Soulman. Here is a little bio he did on himself for his website.

Grew up in Connecticut about a half hour away from the Bronx, NY. Got down with the music back in 1978 (before it was even called hip-hop and before there were any rap records) as a shorty standing behind the ropes at parties, watching the MCs and DJs perform. Started rhyming, deejaying, and collecting records in 1983 after moving to Harrisburg and then Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ("Being away from the New York area made me appreciate hip-hop much more, and I tried to make the transition from observer to performer"). Signed with Cutting Records in 1984 as a member of The Devestating 2 but never released a record. Became obsessed with breakbeats in the late 1980s.

Signed with Easy Street Records in 1990 as producer and creator of the novelty group Baritone Tiplove and released a single, "Young Ladees Drive Me Crazee", and an album, "Livin' Foul" in 1991 (If you find any copies, please burn them immediately!!!) Moved on to doing a comic strip for Rap Sheet magazine, which soon led to writing feature articles and the infamous World Of Beats column (which was Rap Sheet's most popular column during its run, garnering hundreds of letters from fans all over the world). Record collection swelled from less than 3,000 to over 10,000 during this period.

Left Rap Sheet after 3-4 years of "dopeness". Began selling beats to producers at the Roosevelt Soul/Disco record convention in New York (clients include Pete Rock, Diamond D, Lord Finesse, Buckwild, PM Dawn, L.E.S., Onyx, Mobb Deep, Trackmasters, The Hitmen, Q-Tip, Organized Confusion, Ski, Rashad Smith, Jay Dee, Salaam Remi, Beatnuts, Beatminerz, and many more). Produced the independent single "You Ain't Ready" by Soma on Apex Records in 1997, scoring a minor underground hit. Released Soulman's World Of Beats Vols. 1, 2, & 3: phat breakbeat mixtapes that have been met with overwhelmingly positive reviews.

Record collection now estimated around 15-20,000.

This is an old bio, but Phil is still around and made a little cameo on Beatdawg's Deep Crates Documentory talking about sifting through records. Soulmans website, World Of Beats, is what you need to be hitting up. Its got that crack. Its a good way to kill a few hours and read interviews with all kinds of producers and other dope crate diggin stories. It is the best digger site around and has links to a bunch of other dope sites. He hasnt updated it though in years which kinda sucks, but its all good. He also released a bunch of mixtapes with him cutting up rare ass grooves and dope music. I think most of em are outta print though. I got a few off my boy but I heard he will sell you ones though if you email him. Ive posted half of one below that is straight fire. So check that out.

Soulmans Classics Pt. 2

Peace.

Clizick fo more!