The Low End Theory

3 songs about sexing up females...

2008-10-21T00:11:00.002-04:00

Its was long weekend but today I got to relax and got do cool things like go to traffic court for 4 hours. Saw some cool shit over the weekend though. Stopped by the Banksy Piece down in the village. Pretty cool shit but was packed with tourists. I liked the hotdogs in the glass cases. So check that out. Its only going on till Halloween.

Todays music has to do with sexing the ladies. I have been bumping some real chill indie hip hop shit as of late so thats the style.

First joint is "Lovely" by Phat Kat out of Detroit. I really like his album Carte Blanche so go pick that shit up. Ronnie Cash has been killing it over the dilla beats.

Next up is from Gift Of Gab's (Blackalicious) solo effort, "4th Dimensional Rocket Ships". The track I picked is "To Know You". Im loving this beat. I dont really care about Gift of Gab, dude is kind of annoying after a while, but Jake One owns the track with the production. Check for Jake-One's producer album, "White Van Music" which was released recently. Its real good.

Last track is 9th Wonder and Buckshot's track "Throwing Shade". Real nice beat with great Buckshot rhymes. Buck still remains raw after all these years. I check for everything this dude puts out. I advise you to do the same. I like the "shadey hoe" message of the track. BROOKLYN RAISE UP!!!!

Thats it. Gotta go apartment hunting out in Harlem tomorrow. Peaceeeeeee

Here we go

2008-10-15T04:40:00.007-04:00

So who remembers this blog?

a lot of things happened to me since the last post.

I finally got the hell out of Pennsatucky, PA and moved out to NYC to work in film and audio. I have been working like crazy doing studio recordings, making lots of beats, DJing clubs, doing audio work in movies, all kinds of shit. Lifes been crazy for a while so blogging hasnt really been on my top priorities. But Im finally settling into being a New Yorker have the urge to share my taste in music, production, other useless trivia to the blogosphere once again. Its been a long time and lots of things have changed, but I think this will be a good time. Just give me a few posts to somewhat re-learn the wheel on how this blogger shit breaks down. I dont have any clue about half this shit anymore.

The Low End Theory is getting its grown man on.

To start things out I have some "Im back, motherfucker!" music for you.

Bush Babees - Remember We

Peter Rock and CL Smooth - Back on the block (Thes One Remix)

Das EFX - I shine

Dennis Coffey and the Detroit Guitar Band - Scorpio

2006-11-19T20:11:00.000-05:00

When I first got into digging for records I came across a busted 45 of Dennis Coffey's Scorpio. Scorpio side was all fucked up, but it still kinda played. I was like "damn this is some hot shit". The more I got into records I learned that this is a b-boy staple and for a damn good reason. There is some dope breakdowns on this shit, where a bass line, Coffey's guitar, and the drums will just swing for a few measures. Giving DJ' something to juggle and the breakers something to dance to. Anyways, just recently I was digging in a salvo down in central jersey, and came across a NM copy of the whole LP. Coffey was a pretty bad motherfucker on the guitar. Dude really had chops and fucked a wah peddle up. I found out that he was a session guitar player for Motown records all throughout there golden years. He had tons of classics under his belt out of that camp. Coffey also did the score to Black Belt Jones which was a cult classic back in the day. He also pulled mad session work at Ric Tic Records which housed acts like Edwin Star. And he even started The Sunliners with Mike Theodore which later on became Rare Earth. Dude has a history. Now in the hip hop scheme of things, this record I'm featuring here, has been straight raped to death. Cats have not slept on this at all. I think it would be a little bad taste to even sample it now. You really gotta flip that shit now and days or you will play yourself like an asshole. If you do find it out in the field though or on the reissue tip, dont sleep. Its just one of those joints you need in your collection.

Aight today Imma post up the b-boy jam Scropio, a Led Zep cover that alot of you will recognize, and a nice slow heady guitar jam. Oh and Im pretty fucking pissed I missed the Wilkes Barre Record Fair today. I had to do a recording today and I couldn't make it down to that shit. Thats the only show that really comes around these parts of PA, so I try to get out there and get some heaters. AH WELLLLLLL. Im broke anyways so I would have to had brought a bag of change to coin star to get some loot. I should just pay for records in change anyways. Spice up the transaction part a little.

Scorpio
Whole Lotta Love
Garden of the Moon

Raekwon And El Michaels Affair

2006-11-18T16:34:00.000-05:00

I got a promo from Scion a few weeks ago for this new album/tour that El Michaels Affair and Raekwon are doing. Ive been a fan of the Affair for a little while now after I heard a track off Rewind Vol. 5 which had them covering Walk On By. I thought that was pretty cool how they reinterpreted it. After that they did an album on Truth And Soul Records, Sounding Out The City. They have that raw vintage sound that is very familiar to what producers and DJs are digging up to make there own tracks. You would swear that this shit was recorded in 1972. The Affair though is embracing the hip hop cats like the Wu which I think is a great match up. They are bringing that live band aspect to gritty rugged, hip hop which needs to be done a lot more. Some real good shit coming out of Brooklyn. So check Truth and Soul's Myspace (some sick wu covers on there) and check Scion's site for more info on the upcoming album.

I got that promo joint up today for download so check that shit, its in .rar format so use Winrar to extract it. They do a real dope cover of the PJ's produced by Pete Rock which is butta. I also included a track from there first album. So check the links, buy the albums, and goto the shows. Help these dudes out cause they are bringing some new shit to the table and need the support.

El Michaels Affair And Raekwon - Scion Promo

Hey remember me

2006-11-17T19:57:00.000-05:00

Well god damn. Its been a long time since ive done this shit. Ive been enjoying life lately and have really had no time to do the whole blog thing. Im going to school to become an audio engineer now, work for npr, been making some dope beats, record orchestras, and about to get into the record dealing biz. I really dropped the ball on this blog shit though, but im trying to work back into it. So bear with me till I get this shit back up to where it used to be. Now with youtube and other ill shit at my disposal, we gonna tear this shit up.

Today imma post some shit ive been feeling lately. Get your feet wet with some funk bangers today.

1. The Whitefield Brothers - The Don
This shit right here is dope. Real funky groove and just has that grit to it. And that real "shut yo mouth" bassline going it. I like when the guitar comes in for the solo and rips it up. And when they flip the delay effects on the bridge, it really makes a nice switch up. I just got one of there albums on reissue. Uh this shit here

2. Al Green - Lets Stay Together
Damn man this shit takes me back. I used to sit around and write love notes to my girl in highschool while bumping this in the background. Thats how i roll. Nah but Rev. AL is a legend. He just played up here recently and I missed his ass. It probably was a mediocre show, cause he found jesus, but shit its fucking Al Green for chrissake.

3. Giant Panda - One Time
Aight, now i really am not a fan of cats rapping in foreign languages. I know i shouldn't be shallow and should strive to move past the language barrier, but fuck all that shit. If i cant understand you, I CANT FUCKING UNDERSTAND YOU!!!!! How the fuck do i get down to some asshole rapping in Japanese when he could be advocating silly shit like wearing pink and punching nuns in the teeth? Now this shit here is an exception to the rule. On the 3rd verse this dude just rips it up Tokyo style (i think - its a shot in the dark- could be Chinese, and if it is, im sorry for the mixup) I like this album fly school reunion so check for that shit. This beat is bananas so i keeps it on rotation.

4. Del - Made In America
Man the first time I ever heard about Del was in an issue of High Times when i was like 14. Been a pretty big fan after that. As Ice Cubes cousin, he got started with the lynch mob and then went out and did his own thing. I Wish My Brother George Was Here was ill, Both Sides Of The Brain, Deltron 3030, the Goriallz shit, and No Need For Alarm, were all pretty decent albums too. Im not really a big fan of the recent Hiero shit, but he still is a dope motherfucker.

5. Skee-Lo - I wish i was a little bit taller
This was another jam of mine from back in my youth. I used to rock this shit non stop. I just found it last night and Ive had it on lock reminiscing about my adolescence. The lyrics are kinda doo doo, but the hook is tight and the vibe is right. Blaow, now im rhyming like Skee-Lo. But the video is my fondest memory of this shit. By the way, what ever happened to this dude? Im too lazy to give a shit and look it up my damn self, so if anyone knows drop it in the comments.

And thats it. So tell ya friends, send ya promos, and come on back tomorrow. I should be putting mad shit up fast to get this shit operating again so keep an eye out. And this time Im serious. Tomorrow Ill drop the raekwon/el michaels affair promo on all yall, so be ready. Peace

-djhaze

GOD DAMMMNNNNNN

2006-09-24T23:46:00.000-04:00

Sorry bout the complete death of this site. but in a week or two we will be getting back into the blogging game. so be prepared.

Top 10 List of Stuff I Want To See Happen & Also Go Away in 2006

2006-01-15T12:44:00.000-05:00

What the deal people? I'm back with another blog post. On this installment I'd like to speak on some things that simply NEED to happen this year and also reflect on some shit that NEEDS to F'N stop. Drum roll please...........

10. I prefer my hip-hop with 50 perCENT less beef

Ok, I'll admit it's humorous at times, but this dude is ridiculous with this. We've seen just about everything the past few years:
**We had the annoying beef with Ja Rule (that no one really cared about)...
**the Jada & Fat Joe beef aka (Double Cheeseburger Beef) both of which 50 can't compete with lyrically...
**The "when will this ever go away" beef with Game (I'm kind of happy about that one happening cause I'd rather see Game on his own anyway)...
**beef with Nas (I wish Nasty Nas would just "Ether" him already)...
**one of his latest is with singer Robbie Williams. WTF??! I don't know what to say about that one...
**even his own family members (doesn't really surprise me)
**and lastly (for now), the next on going beef would most likely be with the Dipset (especially with the signing of Murder? Mase to the G-Unit)
Fiddy needs to spend less time worrying about who he's not going to like next and more time on making better records-

9. Burn the white tees

I'm not sure who came up with the idea that the giant sized t-shirt a.k.a. man dress was a good look. Oh and they definitely look even sillier on short dudes. I'm hoping this one goes away in '06. For fuck's sake they even made an equally bad song about it.

8. Dr. Dre.....Detox PLEASE!

Ok Doc, It's been long enough. I know you have plenty of hot beats and plenty of emcees that want to be on your next album. For all I know the shit might already be done or at least partially finished. The bottom line is the people, no matter if it's East, West, South, or anywhere in between, want this to be released. Just one request: Please go light on the G-Unit and heavy on the real West Coast cats that will help make the album sound the way it should.

7. More well known rappers tapping into quality "undergound" producers

The best example of this would be the upcoming Ghostface album, "Fishscale" on Def Jam (latest release date Feb 28th). We've already heard the first single, the Pete Rock produced "Be Easy," which is a dope way to start it off. How bout this lineup: a few joints by MF Doom, and at least a track or two from Madlib and J. Dilla. Who knows what other surprises P. Tone will have in store. Can't wait to hear it! Another example: I would also like to give Jay props for bringing the much deserved 9th Wonder into the mainstream scene.

6. Chapelle's Show - The lost episodes

It would truly be a celebration....bitches (I just had to). According to comedycentral.com, the 3rd season is supposed to be airing at some point. I surely hope it does. There is not enough good comedy out there. We need as much Chappelle as possible.

5. Some long overdue albums that hip hop needs

First, there's more signs that the new Redman album is FINALLY coming out in '06. We just have to hope Funk Doc makes an album the way he wants to and that his fans want to hear. He's always on point with the rhymes but we need production like the "Muddy Waters" days. I can understand if he has to put 1 or 2 club joints on there but we need grimey Redman to make his return. Next... Talib Kweli needs to get together with Hi-Tek and give us another Reflection Eternal album. Their chemistry has always been wonderful, from back in the Lyricist Lounge and Soundbombing days right through to "Train of Thought" (which is one of my favs of all time). I'd also ask for another Black Star album but I know that's too far fetched with Mos Def more concerned about trying to win an
Oscar than a Grammy. Last for this one would be the major label debut on Atlantic for Apathy. Atlantic made a huge move by putting out the Little Brother album (one of my favs of '05), but they have been stalling for quite too long with the major-label debut from Ap, "The Bearer of Bad News." This cat has put out many dope 12"s over the past several years and some indie releases that have not disappointed. He would definitely bring something different to the most of the garbage that the majors mainly put out. Check his myspace page

4. No more Chopping or Screwing of any kind

I don't get it and never will. I can understand if it's part of the South style these days to have slower beats than normal....sometimes they work. This method was developed by the late DJ Screw but then really brought into the mainstream by another Houston dj, Michael Watts. As far as bringing the pitch on the turntable all the way down and then occasionally doubling up the records for the repeat effect....I don't see the creativeness or skill involved. The past year was filled with special chopped & screwed versions of Mike Jones (Mike Jones, Mike Jones, he's Mike Jooones), Ying Yang Twins, Three 6 Mafia, etc... Are people really buying this stuff??? Unless the senior citizen population is in need of rap music that's so damn slow even they can dance to it, please let there be an end to this nonsense.

3. The only thing more horrible than the passing of ODB is how long it's taking Dame Dash to release his album

Early reviews I read of this were very positive. I don't know what kind of problems Dame Dash is having with his Damon Dash Music Group, but I haven't heard a word or single in a while. There have been about 6 Biggie & 12 Tupac posthumous releases, but we cannot get one official Ol' Dirty album that he at least recorded while still alive??? So what I'm a native Staten Islander and my love for the Wu is insane...the fact of the matter is you can't deny this cat was one of the most unique, charismatic, crazy, and ill mother fuckers to hold a mic. He deserves better than this.

2. The Next Nas Album

If you have been following Nas since the classic Illmatic like me, you know ever since that gem he has not exactly been an expert at picking the best team of producers on his next 6 albums. Don't get me wrong, there have been several dope songs and the majority have been good albums...but every release after his debut was lacking something. It was never in his rhymes. In my book Nasty Nas is one of the top 3 emcees in the history of hip-hop. It's just there has always been a handful of cuts on most of the albums that made you think..this shit could have been produced much better or this track doesn't really fit the album. I have to admit I still do not own Nastradamus....but I DO own Nastradoomus (which is a remix of the album by MF Doom that is much better than the original...you need to peep that!) This is also is the same reason beatsmith 9th Wonder flipped the God's Son album with his own beats (another must own). With all that said what will the future hold? Here's how I want it to turn out.... He doesn't need to over-do it with the amount of songs on the album. 12 would be just fine, but no more than 14. Here's my picks for producers and a short reason why:

The most obvious--DJ Premier. If you look at Nas's career starting with Illmatic, almost always the hottest song on the album would be Premo's. These two have an amazing chemistry. So, I want at least 4 tracks from Premier. Next I'd need to see 2 Pete Rock joints. Some of the best songs over the first two albums were definitely coming from the legendary Soul Brotha #1. Keepin' it with the older cats I'd have to give 1 to Large Professor, who is another reason why Illmatic is a classic. Now getting into the new generation...without a doubt 9th Wonder would have to provide 2 beats. The proof here lies within 9th's history thus far as well as that God's Stepson album. Next would be 2 tracks from Salaam Remi. This dude isn't necessarily one of my favorite producers but it's almost a given that Nas would go to him for a beat or two. He has supplied some of the best production for Nas over the past few albums [see "Made You Look" & "What Goes Around (Poison)"]. He's pretty nice producer but he doesn't make beats for hardly anyone but Nas. I'd have to finish off the list with 1 track from Kanye West. You know there is a possibility this can happen especially with Nas being featured on Late Registration combined with him making up with Jay-Z. I know Mr. West would make a dope beat for him cause Kanye is a genius like that. If there had to be a couple more tracks I'd say he would have to look to another from Large Pro, Premier, or maybe one from L.E.S. We all have to accept at this point there will not be another Illmatic...but with the list I got goin' on here it would come pretty damn close.

And for the #1 thing I want in 2006.....

1. This Bullshit "War" To End

This motherfuckin unecessary oil war must end this year...sooner than later. Our dumb fuck of a president needs to stop sending more innocent people to their death for no good reason. It makes me sick.

There you have it people. I hope you found this interesting or it got you thinking. Please leave your comments on anything you've read here or something you would like to add to the list. Oh and make sure you add this site to your favorites list.

A few good site links:

The best hip-hop lyrics site out there OHHLA.com

A nicely done site with hip-hop from the mainstream to the underground, including new songs, reviews, news, etc. HIPHOP DX.com

A lot of dope shit to buy THE GIANT PEACH.com

www.myspace.com/evil_bee

Can you feel it...LORD DIGGA

2006-01-10T16:49:00.000-05:00

What is good all? I wanna thank evil bee for getting down with the team. I think hes gonna work out well. So stay tuned for more posts from dude. Please check out our myspaces, haze, evilbee, to check out what we got going on.

Todays post though is gonna be on Lord Digga. Now i dont know alot about digga, just that he was in Masta Ace's camp, Masta Ace Inc. (which contained members, Paula Perry, and DJ Steady Pace) and did mad production for Ace. Digga originally hails from LA and is Ace's cousin. As ace even busts in one song, "One fine spring, in the middle of May, my cousin Jerome flew in from LA..." Digga comes down for a summer and does mad production, bringing out the gritty boombap, and laying some ill lyrics down all over Aces 3rd release, Sittin' On Chrome. He was featured real quick on Ace's 2nd album Slaugta House, but he really shined on Sittin. Back then Digga was part of the production team the Bluez Brothaz and did heat for mad groups. Digga then in the mid 90's did his own releases, and made a small indie comeback. I think in for doing a couple of singles with Game Records. Most recently Ive heard him on a 7L and Esoteric track, called Way Of The Gun. Digga is just one of those rugged gritty early nyc rappers that just made the jazziest beats Ive heard in a minute. You can tell he started puffin mad heavy in the mid 90s cause he steered somewhat away from the gruff hardcore rhymes, the crazy drunken style, and got more into the mellower jazzy shit. My kinds of shit. So with that here is some digga joints that spanned of the course of his career. (i wrote out all this shit bout each track, took me like 1 hour to do, but firefox crashed so all i got is this right here. And im salty, so MYYYYYY BADDDDDDD) Peace

can you feel it
sacks 5th ave
My Flows Is Tight
East Bound - Master Ace Inc.
Who You Rolling With
Brooklyn Zoo (clean digga remix)- Odb

LINNNNKKKKSSSSS!!!!!!!

Dangerdoom video for A.T.H.F
Popsike
Ice cube's Rap school (some coooorrnnnyyyy sheet)
Takeaway Breaks (just a dope list of classic breakbeats with audio snippets)
Beef 2 excerpt with em dissing the source and benzinos gay ass
Making Beats: The Art of Sample Based Hip Hop.pdf file
Boondocks Episode 8
Lou Rawls RIP

"New" Biggie Album & Busa Bus

2006-01-07T15:09:00.000-05:00

What up people. It's Evil Bee, dj extraordinaire, with my first post on this dope site. Thanx Haze...good to be on board!

Biggie must be turning in his grave with this "Duets" album that recently came out. Some of the stuff on there I can see releasing (collabos with Jay-Z, Faith Evans, Nas, Mary J, Pac)...but puttin dudes that BIG probably never knew existed or were in elementary school when he was alive such as Smelly Nelly, Juelz Santana, Lil Wayne??, Freeway, Slim Thug, and for Christ's sake, Big Gee????!! It's disrespect in my eyes. When he was with us he didn't just colaborate with anybody. Was there not another way than this that Diddy could make more money??

Oh, and while I'm at it, how money hungry is Busta right now to do the remix of that awful garbage "Laffy Taffy" bullshit?! This cat came out with two strong singles for the new Aftermath debut ("Where's Your Money" f/ Ol' Dirty & "Touch It") and then I hear this shit. We have to pray he's not going to include those D4L rejects on his new album. Fuck anybody who calls themselves a hip-hop fan and supports that song. Okay, I'm done...for now.
PEACE-

Bring the horns....STEZO

2006-01-06T21:10:00.000-05:00

Now im not really up on hip hops middle school like that late 80's era shit. I was too young. I mean i bumped the popular shit like PE and Run DMC but I wasnt a hip hop nerd like I am now. Tonight imma talk about a dude that hailed from that era and is straight up rugged as fuck.But on the same hand, son was shady as a motherfucker. Stezo started out as a back up dancer for EPMD on there Strictly Business Tour back in 88. This was one of the biggest tours in hip hop history and he actually got kicked off of it due to beefing with Parrish Smith. Now this isnt what made Stezo famous in the hip hop community. Stezo is actually creditied with having the first recording to use the Skull Snaps break, Its a New Day. This joint has been sampled to death thru out the 90's by all kinds of motherfuckers. From Alanis Morrissete, Das Efx, Prodigy,Grave Diggerz, MF DOOM, Onyx, Pharcyde, Heavy D, Craig Mack, Lords of the Underground, shit the list goes on. This is one of the most popular and funkiest breakbeats out there. Now there is a little contreversoy though about this. He didnt discover it and kinda jacked it from his cousin Dooley O. This article here breaks down the situation so check it out.

DIRTY DIGGIN by Austin Wheeler from Elemental Magazine #31
(aka the long story behind "It's My Turn").
The Skull Snaps were a ‘70s funk group whose choice drum break at the beginning of a song called ‘It’s A New Day” became the foundation for a ridiculous amount of hip-hop in the 90s. Everything from Gang Starr’s “Take It Personal” to Black Moon’s “Who Got The Props” relied on the Skull Snaps for the fundamental thunder that is the hip-hop drum break. It falls behind only the Honey Dripper’s “Impeach the President” and James Brown’s “Funky Drummer” in terms of its importance to the hip-hop legacy.
“It’s A New Day” was first introduced to the community by a rapper named Stezo via his 1989 classic b-side “It’s My Turn”, but like most firsts in hip-hop (“Rapper’s Delight’), that is not the whole story. This story begins in 1988 in the little city of New Haven, Connecticut, on a street called (oddly enough) Liberty. Here, a young b-boy named Dooley-O managed to convince his neighbor Mrs. Brown to let him and his friend Chris Lowe dig around in her basement, uncovering two suitcases that contained her entire record collection.
The two beat-diggers found what they were looking for, and after thanking her profusely, returned to Dooley’s house with two heavy suitcases. Among other things in Mrs. Brown’s collection was a copy of the Skull Snaps’ 1973 self-titled album. At the time this didn’t mean as much as it does now, as Dooley described the record that commands at least $200 today as “aight” when he heard it for the first time. He did, however, hear the potential that so many producers have heard since in “It’s A New Day”, so he and Chris Lowe combined it with an ill Ike & Tina Turner sample and made one very legendary pause tape.
While the two were in Connecticut unearthing one of the most influential drum loops in hip-hop history, Dooley-O’s cousin Stezo was on one of the most influential tours in hip-hop history. As a dancer (which was much cooler in ‘88) for EPMD during the Strictly Business tour, Stezo had already achieved much more than anyone else from his hometown, or so he thought. After being kicked oft the tour for beefing with Parrish Smith, Stezo returned to New Haven only to find his cousin Dooley had discovered a beat that was as ill as anything that came from EPMD. Dooley told him about the concept for a song called “Watch My Moves” which would use the thunderous Skull Snaps break for the first time. Chris Lowe, who was the master of the pause tape, put together this track and another one for Stezo and Dooley. The other song would later become a song called “Crazy Noise”. With the two new songs all but recorded, the three headed for the studio.
The three heads recorded two songs in two rooms at A. Trodnozzle Studio in Wallingford, Connecticut. Having recorded "Watch my Moves" and "Crazy Noise", Dooley, Stezo, and Lowe took the cuts to the University of New Haven’s radio station for immediate airplay. This would prove to be a telling glimpse into the future of Dooley’s Skull Snaps break, as one listener jacked it from the airwaves the first time it was ever played! A student of the University of New Haven (UNH)and the nephew of the owner of DNA records (of Super Lover Ceo and Cassanova Rud fame) had looped the opening parts of the song, and made his own version of “Watch My Moves” called “Sweat My Moves”. It had the same beat, same lyrics, and the same hook (with the word “sweat” replacing the word “watch”). One week after debuting the original on the UNH radio station, Dooley heard the other kids version on the very same show. He walked down to the radio station, roughed-up the DJ, and never heard that version again.
Soon after, Stezo landed a deal with Fresh records and attention was again turned to the beat for “Watch My Moves”. This time it was Virgil Simms, Fresh’s acting A&R, who expressed interest in the beat. Tensions grew as it became apparent Simms’ interest was in the track and not in the song, as he tried to convince Dooley-O to give the beat to Stezo. Dooley told him to “go to hell”, and the meeting was over. Stezo went into the studio to record for Fresh, and his cousin went back home to New Haven, and that was the end of it as far as Dooley knew.
A few weeks later, Stezo came by his cousin’s house with the beats he’d laid down while in the Fresh studio. He apologized saying he could come out with a single, and then played what became the beat for “It’s My Turn”. It was the same one that Dooley and Chris had lugged up from Mrs. Brown’s basement and refused to give to Fresh a few weeks before. This would be the first record released with the Skull Snaps drum loop.
After failing to get the track from Dooley, Simms apparently pressured Stezo into going for self. The pressure led Stezo to steal the Skull Snaps record from Chris Lowe’s house, loop it with ‘Atomic Dog” and claim all the production credit for himself; Dooley blames Simms’ for his cousin’s thievery.
Dooley decided blood was thicker than water and didn’t let it come between them. He told Stezo just to look out for him in the future (i.e. give credit where credit is due). Immediately, “Its My Turn” became a classic and Stezo’s head, in turn, got big. He neglected to give any production credit to Dooley or Lowe on his album, and then claimed to be from Brooklyn on the classic follow-up “Freak the Funk”. At this point, Dooley got fed up with his cousin because he was not keeping it remotely "real". He stopped speaking to him until all the hype died down. wo years passed, and Stezo started work on his second album. Dooley signed with Tavdash records (who later become famous for selling R.Kelly to Jive), and EPMD blasted Stezo in their venomous classic “So Watcha Sayin”’. The cousins became friends again and Stezo enlisted Dooley’s help in the production of his answer to EPMD’s call- out. The record was called “Piece of the Pie “and featured a foreshadowing Dooley saying: “First album Strictly Business, second album Unfinished Business ,third album OUT OF BUSlNESS!” The two remain convinced that if the record had been released, it would’ve made Stezo legendary.

Now thats some shady shit. Diggin was gully as fuck back in the day. Got cats jacking records from your ass trying to be the first cat to use that break and other cats taping up records or soaking off labels so you couldnt see what they were rocking. It was on some gangsta shit back in the day. Its not like that anymore, cause everything has been sampled. Now its on how you flip it that sets you apart from the crowd. Also cats are more encouraging and are trying to progrss the art, so we sharing records to a degree. Also places like The Breaks and Soulstrut are helping to shine the light on the dopeness. With that here is 3 tracks from Steezo of his dope album Crazy Noise and I also I threw in the Skull Snaps joint for good measure. Shazam.

1. Girl Trouble
This is my joint right here. I love this shit. That Eddie Bo loop that he rocks over is real dope. Its been used by mad cats, but this is one of the first uses of it. Very dope. He talks about how he dissed a chick, then how the chick dissed his ass. Just some dope playa shit.

2. Bring The Horns
This is one of my favorite Stezo tracks. I think thats a kool and the gang loop hes rocking on, not sure. But shit is mad funky. Its just got that mad chill vibe to it. Stezo said he did the production but i dunno man. After reading that shit above, he seems like a snakey cat. But still shit is hot.

3. Its My Turn
Here is the beat that caused all the drama. Its a simple ass beat with that drum loop then the P-Funk loop gets dropped over it. But shit is hot. Its just funny how one little breakbeat got people flipping the fuck out when they heard this. So much as to even jack it off the radio and make there own tracks off his recording. The rhymes are mediocore, mainly stezo talking bout dancing and how its his turn. Whatever, but shit is tight.

4. Its a New Day - Skull Snaps
There is actually a post that we did a long time ago right here. Check that out and jam out to A New Day. Sucka.

And thats it for tonight. Bring the horns........Peace.

Nas is like....Five Rare Joints

2006-01-05T18:12:00.000-05:00

Whats good all? Todays post is going to be on one of Queensbridge's Finest. From his debut appearnce on Main Sources, Live At The BBQ, to his latest album, Nas has remained one of the best emcees that has ever touched a mic. Period. It was crazy though to see his progression thru hip hop. He started out as the Street Disciple, a young cat describing his life around him with such wordplay and intelligence, to a vain all knowing sage, that was engulfed in bling and beef. Here is the mans bio cause im too lazy to write it out. (its a pretty good read so peep that)Im a real big fan of Nas's first album, Illmatic. This album is seirously one of the best hip hop albums that Ive ever heard. They just dont make em like this anymore. The whole production and lyrics on this classic, cant be fucked with by anything that has came out in the last 10 years. And i seriously mean that. Look at tracks like The World is Yours and Halftime. This was the prime of these producers and just had that energy and vibe of NYC in the 90's that cant be brought back. It just resonated with the whole city and really made an impact on hip hop and gave Nas the oppurtunity to become a superstar. It made emcees step there game up and producers get there weight up. His albums after that were somewhat mediocore, they had a few good singles, but couldnt achieve the same results and impact as his first. A real good album though was Stillmatic. This shit was rugged. It brought new life into Nas's career and brought him back into the light after straying away for a minute. It even had him producing his own joints like One Mic. A pretty good resurgance if you ask me. This also was the begining of Jay-Z's and Nas's long standing fued for the title of the King Of NY. The title was held by Biggie Smalls, but after his death someone had to raise to power to take the title of the best lyricist of NYC. I dunno who won it, but I still think that these two cats are the best of the best. Nas still kicks that raw intellegent shit and gets whatever he wants off his chest. Look at his recent track, Coon Picnic, where he pretty much calls out all the wack motherfuckers doing the minstrel show over a dope buckwild beat. He casued a bunch of contreversy but I think it needed to be said. He also showed his personal side with the track,Im getting Married, when he married Milkshake diva Kelis. Its just a trip to watch this dudes trasnsition from a kid running around the gritty borough of Queens to an International superstar. And with that here is five tracks from Nas that are somewhat rare and slept on. They mainly are from his begingings just cause I like that era of hip hop. Jazzy boombap beats are my shit. (im using a new filesharing joint so bare with me.)

Lifes A Bitch (Remix) feat. AZ
Im A Villian
Deja Vu
Life Is Like A Dice Game (one of my favorite beats)
Nas And Six-Nine Freestyle on bobbitos show.

And thats that. I would also like to shout out D-Nice casue i jacked one of his pictures for the large pro post i did a while ago. He informed me about it so gotta say my bad. Im gully like that. haha. Check out sons website though and show him some support. He was a nice dude about letting me know though so props to that.

The Oriana Lee LP. www.writehanded.com

2006-01-03T22:54:00.000-05:00

Tonights post is about a real cool women named Oriana Lee. Shes been a friend of mine for a while and showed us mad support when we first started this website. You might also know her husband, Count Bass D. Oriana is a dope poet, educator, music executive, mother, that is doing her thing in a big way. You might remeber her speaking on the Dwight Spitz album and she has been featured on mad online and print publications. Oriana is also helping Bass D as his manager and much more. She is releasing an EP with all new beats from Count Bass D along with a belt line from Unchaste. This is all in combination with her book that is getting released this month entitled, Something to Cope, through her website, Writehanded.com. I just got the promo in the mail and im really digging it. Some real smooth Bass D beats with her lacing some poetry on the top. Its refreshing and a nice change from the shit thats been coming out lately. So keep checking the website for the release of the book. And with that here are 3 tracks from it.

A Padded Room With A View
The Expose
Who Are You Anymore

So check the tracks and hit her blog. She also has a myspace right here. She is a dope chick so show her mad respect and support all that she has got going down. Peace.

3 dope ass tracks...

2006-01-03T00:52:00.003-05:00

haha. lookat my ass. But anyways hows everyone been doing? Ive been doing the holiday shit so i havent even thought bout blogging. Or making beats or anything else. Just been having a good time seeing people i havent seen in a while and making new friends out here. Christmas was a good time, and new years was dope too. Got a lil shitty to early though but sall good. I just needed to check in right fast today and give yall some heat. I do have another dude that is bout to join up with this shit. Hes a dope dj from around the way named Evil Bee. So stay tuned for him. In the meantime imma just hit yall off with that crack.

1. Do You Believe - the Beatnuts
Beatnuts got that rugged shit. Big ju and pshcyo les been banging out classiccs from the early 90s. My favorite album by them though is Stone Crazy. They had that gritty boombap shit popping off. There newer joints are aight, wasnt really feeling that milk me j0int, but they got a decent catalouge. This track here is off Stone Crazy. Real dope melody and that gritty drums layed up on it. I like the organ loop that is floating in the back. Sounds rugged

2. P.D.S. - Big Shug
One of bostons finests. Big shug has been associated with the whole gangstarr clique from way back. Primos been lacing son with heat for a while. This beat here Primo just flips that Slyvia Striplin joint, Give Me Your Love, which is so dope you really dont even need to do much to it. He throws some dope drums on it and shug laces it with some poonanee lyrics. Anyone hear shugs new joint? I heard it was dope but havent peeped it yet.

3. Alone Again - Kev Brown
This cat here is slowly becoming the new Pete Rock. He got some rep dropping a black album remix called The Brown Album that got him some acclaim. He then did a bunch of tracks and rolled with jazzy Jeffs production company called A Touch Of Jazz. He just dropped an album called Do What I Do. Its actually really good. This track is from a mixtape he dropped in the summer, but its on the new album. Shit is fire. I like the way he chops up shit in the mpc. He also got those Pete Rock basslines. Its cool someone is carrying on that groove of music. He seems like a mad humble cat also. I like that about him. He has alot of humiltiy which makes him more human in his rhymes. He breaks down his emotions and also is paying respect to his influences and peers. Just a good dude.

BONUS BEATSSSSS
The new skillz year end rap up. Its aight. Not as good as his older ones but shit is still a good listen. (thanks bassline for this)

And thats that. Imma try and get back on the bloggin tip, but you know how that goes. Its been a little hectic this month, but i should be getting back into it. Peace......

$2 for 5, ****** got garbage down the way...

2005-12-01T00:47:00.000-05:00

Tonights post is going to be on the hustle. Hustle of what is how you define it. Some cats refer to the hustle as slanging cooked cracks, others about grinding and selling music. But there are all kinds of other hustles from slinging t-shirts, loose cigs, nickel bags of weed, working at mcdonalds, robbing the elderly, if you can make loot outta it then your hustling. One of my little hustles a few years ago was slanging books. See the one night I got on ebay and found this book over in tokyo. Talked to the cats that were pressing it and they cut me a deal. But I saw that they were just middle manning this book and raping me with there cut. So i said fuuuuccckkk that shit and i decided to press up thousands of copies my damn self. At $25 retail and $10 wholesale, I was living real nice for a minute. Didnt have to work and just learned how to make beats. Thats how i hustled. Music works the same way. Im in the process of pressing an instumental album, and learning all the ins and outs of how to independently distribute and promote my own vinyl. So to each his own. One mans hobby is another mans grind. I mean works my real hustle cause thats what keeps the lights on, but its all in definiton. Oh and im not putting Cassidys IMMMA HUSTLER IMMMA IMMMA HUSTLER on this list cause Im sick as fuck of that track. Get it? (Oh and fukkka spellcheck tonight. I think im done doing that. Imma look like one ignorant motherfucker, but tough titty.)

1. The Hustle - Pharcyde
Start off with some bay area ish. These cats used to be one of my favorite groups till they fell off all kinds of hard. Fatlip and J-Swift, one of the cats on the beats (there is actually this crazy ass trailer of this documentory that he did that is real fucked up), started smoking lots of crack, Slim Kid Tre bounced and they just feel the fuck off. Imani and Booty are still rocking the name but I think thats real wack. Thats false advertising. These cats are NOT THE PHARCYDE ANYMORE! There newest joints are booty brown. I heard some of the new tracks and I just wanted to cry. But enough hating. This track here is from when they were insanely dope and really were a dominant force in the indie hip hop scene. There beats always had that dope stoned vibe to em and were just so simple but just fused the lyrics and the whole package together. Also these cats were some dope emcees. The track is about hustling from different angles, mainly rap. Just do it do it do it.

2. Raps A Hustle - Cormega
This track here brings me back to like 5 years ago with me bumping my hooptie jensons in my accord. This is one of my all time favorite albums right here jack. Cormega on this joint just spits that real raw shit about how he pimps the fuck outta rap. And how he compares his rap to banging yayo that got the fiends on lock. Word up. The beat is fire, that real slick sampled shit. Actually this album, Legal Hustle, has good beats all throughout it. If you dont have this album, stop sleeping.

3. Cant Knock The Hustle - Jay-Z
Another real good album from the 90's. I usally dont dig the whole chick on the hook jive, but Mary J, kills this shit. This track here is about Jigga man running around with lots of money and how he hustled to get it and yadda yadda yadda. You know the typical, "I got mad ends and I shit on you" raps. The beat is real dope. Comes in with that slick filtered loop and then those gritty ass drums. Jay-z had that slick ass production team on his album of clark kent, primo, ski, and the cat that actually did this track, some unheard of dude named "Knowbody". This was the first track of the album and really set the vibe of what was about to come for the whole roc a fella camp.

4. Hustlers Theme - The Last Emperor (produced by Da Beatminerz)
This shit is hot. Sorry about evil dees corny voice tags but this was on a press release of Brace For Impak. Last emp has had a crazy career. He started out signed to Dre's label Aftermath, but along with mad other cats, got his shit shelved and was left hanging. He then got down with Rawkus records, but we all know what happened there. After they went under, he left fans fiending for more material, because all they had was some random singles and collabos that he did. He worked with a few artists, and finally did an album in 2003 called Music, Magic, Myth. Hes kinda a nerdy dude, talking bout comic books and all that shit, but he is pretty dope. I like this track, its really one of the only good ones on that beatminerz joint. Me and a friend the one time talked about how Mr. Walt and Evil Dee brag about how ill there record collections are, but then sample some played out shit and barely flip it. I dont get it. They got mad records and mad skills, but they still want to sample classic breakbeats. There sound is a little differnet now cause evil dee is using protools, but still they are some classic cats. This track is dope. The sample is ill and the drums knock. Has the beatminerz stamp all up on it.

5. Stay A Customer - Kaze (produced by 9th Wonder)
Now lets talk about the drizug game. On this joint though its about weak ass motherfuckers selling treez. Kaze advises them to give that shit up and stay a customer. Not really hardcore crack rhymes, cause all these dudes outta this camp would get there ass beat talking bout slanging crack rock. You imagine Phonte or Ninth Wonder slinging rocks? hellllll no. But anyways to the herb game this shit is real as fuck. There is mad clowns that get their hands on a quarter and think they Nino Brown. Keep that shit to the hippies and thugged out cats slinging dimes and dubs. I like this beat alot. Typical Ninth track with the same ol drums. But i like the way dude flips tracks. Gets props but he needs to start making them drums swing a little more. Little robotic. Thats the broke producer/critic in me a talking now.

And thats that. IMMMMMMA HUSSSTLA. We need some Curtis Mayfield on the outro. PEACE.

Welcome Back

2005-11-30T04:30:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the long delay in posts. We didnt dissapear. Not yet at least. I just been doing alot of running around like a lunatic, and suffered two lethal pc crashes, so im just getting back up to speed with the blogger tip. Been doing alot of digging though so got alot of new treats for you cats. Also got a dope picture phone today so youll see some insites into the life of a broke producer living in the land of the redneck. Beats have been going very good. Been real inspired as of late. I think its the wierd weather. Tonight I got a lot of randomness popping off, from jazz to broken beat. Some stuff that ive been feeling in the last few weeks. Its bout 4 am here so ill make this fast.

1. Footin' It - George Benson
"AY YO THATS THAT SHIT!!!" This song is that shit. For all the Diamond D fans heres the og song that Diamnond looped up and made that shit classic. Been really feeling George though lately. His mid 70's albums are real funky and he just kills the guitar. This track here has a solid groove that Benson just flexes his guitar chops over. One fucking real funky melody and break. Good shit.

2. Brother Can You Spare a Dime - Abbey Lincoln & Stan Getz
Now traditionally im not a big fan of female jazz/lounge vocalists, but this shit right here is real smooth. Abbey Lincoln is a very talented female vocalist that started in 1955. She did a bunch of records in that era, then she actually moved to movies for a while. In the '70s she started actually writing her own songs instead of just using other pieces of music. In 1989 she signed to Verve records and got things popping with them. She is still making music at 70 years old today. Accomplying her on this track is classic saxophonist Stan Getz. Stan was born in Philly back in 1927, then moved to the bronx when he was young. He went to WWII and learned to play with big band acts. He started catching more rep and started to do more solos on bigger albums and he became a star. He did a whole bunch of albums with Verve then, but had to take a break due to drug addiction and had to clean himself up. Went back to Verve and made some more classics.The biggest break of his carrer was when he did an album with Joa Gilberto, titled Getz/Gilberto. The album was a hit mainly due to the classic track, Girl from Ipanema. Stan was a legend on the sax and sadly passed away in 1991. But he did make a few classic recordings before his death. This song here is a more of a moody piece. Starts off with Abbey singing about when times were good and now falling on bad times. But the best part of this track is when Stan solos throughout the middle. It really breaks down and gets very jazzy. Very dope track.

3. These Passing Days - Jeremy Ellis
This track here has been getting alot of rotation in my crib. Mr Ellis here is a detroit native that has been making real funky forward thinking broken beat tracks for Ubiquity Records. Im real into the vibe of this track. Its a real spacy track with a dreamy vibe, with ellis busting out his justin timberlake over the track crooning about wanting to be with his girl and his feelings toward here. Nice vibe overall. Motherfucker kills the synths though. Some real lush patches are up in this song. And he layers them real nice. Props.

4. Emanon Japan Import - Track 4
Aight I got this online a while ago but its all in Japanese. So itunes reads it as lil squares. If you dont know about emanon check back through the blog. I did a review of there album a while ago. This beat here is real sick. Real jazzy keys and nice basslines. Im a big fan of these cats production. I likes me some jazz music.

Aight its five am now, so i gots to goto bed. Its been fun though getting back on the blogging horse and Imma go nuts in the next couple of days round these parts. Oh and thanks alot to the people that peeped my tracks. Got a lot of nice comments and even a song that someone laid lyrics on. So thanks for that support. If you would like to check out my stuff check out my myspace for newer stuff. I rotate the beats all the time so check back often. Peace and love from djhaze. Out.

Stay up late and hit the crates and create

2005-11-09T16:52:00.000-05:00

Whats good peoples? Its been a minute for a post cause of work and making beats. Ive been doing like 4 or 5 tracks a night lately so I really haven't had the time to mess with blogger. But Ill be posting some shit hopefully this week.

I will be using rapidshare now to upload a .rar file that will stay up for a while. Ill also use the yousendits but with rapidshare theres no limits or links expiring. So that should be cool for heads that dont come thru as often.

Today Imma post some various shit. Some beats Ive been feeling and a cut by the E Brothers that is dope.

rapidshare link (.rar file)
yousendit link

1. Funky Piano - E Bros
Been really feeling this joint lately. These cats are mad slick. These dudes got there break on the New Jersey Drive soundtrack back in the 90's with this track. The lyrics aren't real spectacular, but the beat is what keeps it in rotation. I think Roc Radia did this joint. Using a smooth Les Mccan loop that has been flipped by mad other groups, it just has this real laid back smoked out vibe. Shit is fly. Its just one of those smooth 90's joints, with the dope drums and the nice filtered acoustic bass, with the trademark jeep beat strings layed in there for atmosphere.

2. Lost In Rhodes - DJ Presto
Now lets move onto the instrumentals. This joint here is by DJ Presto. Presto has put out alot of beats that have been featured on various comps from OM records and Mark Farina's Mushrooom Jazz mix series. This track comes off his beat tape, Inflight Instrumentals that dropped in 2003. Very jazzy lounge type beats are on here. Im a fan of this track here cause of the Rhodes patch that is in there. Its mad chill and something to vibe too. Me and this dude think alot alike though in the production side of things. I just got this album and noticed that me and him have sampled alot of the same samples. I guess I have real similar tastes in digging for records as this cat. So if you need some shit to just chill out too while laying around then scoop this joint up.

3. 2000 Seasons - Hi Tek as Reflection Eternal
This cut here is an instrumental by Hi-Tek and Talib's group Reflection Eternal. I originally heard this on Rawkus Records Soundbombing Vol. 1. Another real nice chill piano loop track. I really like these type of joints. Ive always been a fan of Hi-Tek. He has been doing some new shit for big artists lately so he has steered away from these jazzy types of tracks, but son should drop some more shit on this level. I heard dude spends like 2 or 3 weeks just listening to wax and sampling shit like basslines, pianos, and all other sounds. Then he has a big library to work off of and just make beat after beat. Ive seen kanye doing this on some mtv jive a few days ago too. I sample drums that i hear to build a library but that's as far as I go. Got mad drums though.

4. Circus - Jay Dee
This came off of a beat tape by J-Dilla called Vintage. This is a nice smooth track. Dilla has been making some weird shit lately so its nice to hear some jazzy shit outta him. I heard that dilla sets his mpc 3000 to off quantize and does all his drums freehand. To all those that are out the loop, this means that most sequencers (ala Mpc's) have a timing correction feature so that if your sloppy programming notes into it, it will correct it for you and make it sound right. So he turns that shit off and just plays along to a track for like 3 mins straight. Pretty cool shit, and its pretty hard to do if you don't have rock solid timing. This takes years to develop and is a key skill to any musician.

5. Earth Sounds - Madlib (aka Beat Conductor)
I got this off an old 7" record that I got as a promo. Madlib is a rugged cat. He gets a lot of flack cause he likes to loop up shit and call it a day, but son got a real good ear for sounds and arrangements. His latest shit hasn't really been my steez, but when he was back rocking an Sp-1200 back in the 90s, he was one sick motherfucker. This track has that 12 bit crunch to it. There is two beats on here that segue into each other. Shit is dope.

BONUS BEATS
Gil - djhaze
Heres a track by me that I did a while ago. Some smooth jazzy shit. I used a Gil Scott Heron sample for this joint. Chopped it up all crazy and shit and chopped up a dope breakbeat to lay into it. I dont know where I got that other sample though. I think i was fucked up when i did that part. I dunno. But its dope so enjoy that shit.

LINKKSSSSS

Hey I dunno if yall mess with Myspace, but Im on there alot so check me out here

Nu-Skratch This is a cool site with trailers for this production movie there making. Shit looks really dope. (thanks to Itchyvinyl)

The Boondocks Episode 1: Part 1 n Part 2 This is a fucking ill show. Shit had me cracking up. I cant wait for the second episode this sunday at 11pm on Adult Swim.

This is mad funny. This dude just cracks up once that other dude starts talking. I couldnt stop laughing at that shit.

Mad Soundfonts I dunno if yall make beats or whatever but here is a bunch of soundfonts for free. Like the mo phat modules sounds and many many more. They are patches of like bass, drums, guitars, keys, etc... You can use soundfonts in programs like reason and fruity loops so dont sleep.

Real funny 50 cent and Howard Stern interview

GZA Interview (thanks Spine Mag)

Very cool video for the Mark 45 King documentary. Shit is dope. Mad cats talk about how they got in touch with one dope ass motherfucker known as Mark the 45 King. dopedopedope.

and thats that. PEACE!

Boom To The Bap: Low End Theory Podcast #3

2005-10-26T18:44:00.000-04:00

What up all. Like the organ? Found that shit on the street. Upper keys work, but the lower side is all fucked up. Its got a dope drum machine in it though and programmed basslines when you hit the peddles. Shit is dope. I like having it in the kitchen cause it drives my roommate nuts cause its so fucking big, and when we drinking out the kegerator I get my Stevie Wonder on hardcore. Thats whats up.

Im real sick so I'm just posting up a mixtape I did today all faded. Lots of ill 90's hip hop. All Serato also. Wooo hooo. Some of the shit was posted on the blog recently so if you missed those posts then your in luck. Let me know what you think in the comment section cause Its gonna be handed out to a few bar owners to try and get me some work. Any criticisms are greatly appreciated. Im not the most technical DJ around, I'm more of a producer, but I got some decent programming skills. So check it out. Its a big file like 60 mbs, so dial up motherfuckers need not apply. Check out the pimped out tracklist via Sony CD Architect. Rugged.

Low End Theory Podcast #3 - Serato Edition

Title : thelowendtheory.blogspot.com
Artist : thelowendtheory.blogspot.com

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Track Index In Out Length ISRC Title
----- ----- ----------- ----------- ----------- ---------------- ---------------
1 1 00:00:02:00 00:02:29:30 00:02:27:30 madlib-astrotrav
2 1 00:02:29:30 00:03:52:36 00:01:23:06 countbassd-beat
3 1 00:03:52:36 00:08:11:21 00:04:18:60 blackmoon - who got the props
4 1 00:08:11:21 00:11:22:02 00:03:10:56 diamond d - gatherround
5 1 00:11:22:02 00:14:23:52 00:03:01:50 large pro - have fun
6 1 00:14:23:52 00:17:35:38 00:03:11:61 mfgrim - get down
7 1 00:17:35:38 00:20:19:30 00:02:43:67 beatnuts - let off a couple (remix)
8 1 00:20:19:30 00:24:31:40 00:04:12:10 poorrteachers - word is life
9 1 00:24:31:40 00:27:54:44 00:03:23:04 mastaace - Da Grind
10 1 00:27:54:44 00:31:07:10 00:03:12:41 noid - Fate Or Destiny
11 1 00:31:07:10 00:34:47:49 00:03:40:39 lotu - Faith
12 1 00:34:47:49 00:38:13:42 00:03:25:68 kevbrown - always (9th Remix)
13 1 00:38:13:42 00:41:30:48 00:03:17:06 countbass - Down Easy
14 1 00:41:30:48 00:44:47:47 00:03:16:74 emanon - She thinks
15 1 00:44:47:47 00:48:28:57 00:03:41:10 slumvilla - Selfish
16 1 00:48:28:57 00:52:12:59 00:03:44:02 common - One Dollar
17 1 00:52:12:59 00:55:43:32 00:03:30:48 pharcyde - Groupie
18 1 00:55:43:32 00:58:44:74 00:03:01:42 beastie boys - Remote Control
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Engineer : Motherfucking DJ Haze beeyotch

Comments : JEEP BEATS SON!

Thats all i got for today. My man 3rd Optic posted a piece on Dave Axlerod last week, but had a problem with the pics and shit so that should be going back up in a few days. Peace.

10 Hip-Hop Interviews

2005-10-19T18:56:00.000-04:00

Who got the props?

Whats good? Well I got my M-Audio Trigger Finger Yesterday. Shits tight. Made two decent beats on it so far with my laptop. I love this shit cause I can go anywhere and make beats the way I do with my Mpc2000xl in the studio. Im rocking Ableton Live 5, Reason 3.0, Wavelab 5, Recycle 2.0 and Im using a Tascam us-224 and my trigga finga. Im getting scared though imma stray away from my mpc which would be mad fucked up. I dont think so though. I still think its the best way to produce (along with a pc) But anyways I cant wait to make beats in the fucking woods and dive bars. So that's what I got going on at the moment. Yuppppppp

So I was listening to this dope Four Tet Interview and I was like, damn I got all kinds of various snippets and interviews from rappers and producers up on my pc. Some are short and recorded all fucked up, but its cool to gain a little insight into the minds of these artists even if its just a little blurb. I don't know where I got em all from so I cant really give credit to cats but mad props to whoever laced me up.

1. Four Tet - That audio software he mentions is fly. Four Tet's shit is a little out there. Real ambient and chilled. Its cool though.

2. Jay Dee - That beat, "Fuck the Police" is bananas. I got doubles of that joint and I usually juggle with it.

3. Gangstarr (Production) - This is a little snip of Primo giving some insight on how he makes beats. Pretty cool method, but I cant work like that. I just come up with ideas on the fly. Usually a hot ass loop will set me off.

4.Pete Rock & CL Smooth - A quick discussion about an album coming out again, but they got into some beef after this interview, so I wouldn't count on it. Shits been canned. I was going to do a best of Pete Rock, but Scratch mag fucked me all up and did it. I still might put my spin on it cause a lot of his slept on and more indie joints were left out. Like Jamal's Fade Em All and the I.N.I and Grap Luva shit.

5. Muggs - Real shitty audio, but its cool. He talks about that lame downtempo joint that he did a while ago, and the older Cypress shit. I love Muggs though. He did some real hot shit with Cypress. Not really a fan of most of the Soul Assassin shit, there was some classics there though, but the bulk of it was beat. He also mentored Alchemist which I thought was pretty dope. ALC took his sound and flipped it his way, which actually got ALC mad success.

6. MF DOOM - Quick interlude where DOOM kicks it to some foreign cat. Talks a little bit about where Hip-Hop is at. I like DOOM. Hes one down to earth motherfucker.

7. Lootpack - Quick cut with Kutmasta Kurt just asks Wildchild, Madlib, and Romes some questions like the origin and each position they hold within the group. Lootpack's first album, Da Antidote, was some sick shit. Lib fucked the Sp-1200 up. This and the first Lord Quas, are some of his finest works in my opinion. His latest shit is so-so to me. Last Lord Quas was dope, but had a lot of BS that I wasn't really into.

8. Large Pro - Son is getting interviewed by the UK's own Tim Westwood over at BBC. This is a cool follow up to the post I did a few days ago. Large Pro is rugged as fuck.

9. Dr. Dre On Eazy-E - This is cool. Ice Cube is on there too talking about NWA and how easy came and brought them into the game. Also about his influence on the Music Industry and how Eazy changed a lot of shit. Shits dope.

10. Big L - And last but not least, Harlems Finest talks about how he meet Lord Finesse.

LINKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is a couple of my favorite interview websites.

Tha Formula - They used to have a lot more of em. I put them on my Ipod so I can read em when im bored. Lots of good shit.

The Underground Railroad - Jaysmooths radio show from back in the day. All in Real Audio format so sit back and listen.

Brave New Wave - I like this site. Its got lots of more obscure cats on it and outside the hip hop realm. Audio.

Basementalism - Real hot site. MAD audio joints so check that.

Red Bull Music Academy - This is hot. They always are updating it. Lots of video.

Cyberkrib - A Candain site with mad audio interviews

Urban Smarts - Lots of indie joints. Good read.

Hip Hop Section - This is a cool one. Got some dope indie cats on there.

Nobody Smiling and Illmatic Video - Ive seen this a while ago. Shit is dope. Its a real dope interview on all the producers for Nas's classic Illmatic.

H.E.A.R. PSA Videos- A bunch of artists telling you to watch your levels and save your ears. So mix low, it helps anyways cause you hear nuances in the mix a lot easier and it doesn't color your sound, or wake your wack ass neighbors.

So there you go. Have fun killing an afternoon listening and reading all this shit. Peace.

I Dont Want To ill, I just want to chill...Large Pro

2005-10-15T23:02:00.000-04:00

Fucking dogs mang. Check it out - last night I was mad drunk and I decided to go get some food at like 4am. Took a ride to the 24 hour supermarket and got some eats. Whenever I leave my house my big ass lab rottie dog comes for the ride. So I get this idea to let Stan run around in the parking lot. No harm no foul. So tonight my roommate locked his keys in a car at this wedding and while he was waiting for me he went out with the wedding party. I drive all the way out to club they were drinking at, snatch him up and we go over to this church where he was parked. So I was like "Hey lets let Stan run around here, Its all dark and no ones around. What could happen?" Motherfucker took off. I mean took the fuck off. You would be surprised at the speed of an un-neutered dog on the hunt for some dog puss. The fucked up thing was that we were in some crazy suburb god knows where and there is houses and roads all around for miles. Im running around the fucking woods screaming till I went horse. I love this dog. Dudes been my roommate/best friend for 5 years and to think of him running around thru traffic and shit makes my stomach drop. An hour and a half later just when we were about to give up and let someone find him and call us, this jerkoff comes trucking down the driveway of this church with the biggest shit eating grin I've ever seen on an animal or human. Must have busted the red rocket out on some unsuspecting lucky lady or ate some garbage. Man I seriously have never been this pissed at this animal in my entire life. I don't hit animals cause they bite back and this dog is like a 120 lbs, so now I got his retarded ass confined in the kitchen where he is gonna spend the next day on lock down. Im real fucking sick too, so running around screaming in some wack neighborhood wasn't really the best fucking idea I've ever had. Sorry for the rant but this has one of many crazy events that plagued me in the last few days. So anyways don't trust your pets. You think you know them, but the second another dog's fart hits the wind, they will completely forget they even know you and go out for the hunt. On to the music.

Tonight's post is on one of my favorite producers. Dude has put out some of the best hip hop music I've ever heard and I've been a fan ever since Illmatic dropped. Large Pro is a legend in this music shit. When he was 17 Extra P would program beats for Eric B and Rakim and even caught the attention of Kool G Rap where he did some joints for him. He also taught Prodigy of Mobb Deep how to get down. Getting his weight up and getting schooled by Pete Rock, he showed Primo how to use his Sp1200. Primo returned the favor by letting Large Pro fuck with his record collection. This caught the attention of Wild Pitch records and gov't name William Paul Mitchell, started out his career as part of Main Source along with DJ's K-Cut and Sir Scratch. Handling all the emcee duties and most of the production work on there classic slept on album , Breaking Atoms, Extra P made hip hop history. The track, Live At The BBQ was the debut of heavyweight Nasir Jones, known to the world as Nasty Nas. And this wasn't even the best track. The highlight of the album was the insanely dope cut called Looking Thru The Front Door. This is seriously one of my favorite tracks of all time. From those drums to the simple laid back loop, its seriously one of the finest beats to come out of the 90's. After this he did an album with Geffen Records called simply, The LP. I happened to stumble upon this reissue when I first started spinning and it is seriously one of my favorite records in my crates. Its all worn out from how much I played it. It didn't make a lot of noise outside the hip hop circles in NYC in the Mid 90's (but what did?), but is highly respected by producers and DJ's. The beats are real simple but have so much soul. He does very minimal work on the production. Usually nice fat drums with one melodic sample laid over them and the signature filtered bass that Im so found of. Dude keeps it nice and simple and lets an emcee work his tracks to there best potential. He also really knows his machines inside out. The SP1200 has been this mans right arm and along with Pete Rock have really taking this simple drum machine/sampler, into realms that were undiscovered and really shaped an entire era of music. So any fan off 90's boombap must own this album. LP's recent joints haven't really been up to par though with his earlier work. His latest album was called First Class. Not really crafted as the signature Boom Bap that he is well known for, he decided to make something unique and tried to do some different shit. It was cool and had its moments with cuts like Radioactive, but wasn't really epic like his earlier work. Also I think his emceeing got worse with time, but hey producers and rhyming are two hard feats to juggle at the same time. Not a lot of cats can were these different hats and still excel. At one point I think you have to know your strengths and roll with what your real good at. I think a lot of these cats somewhat do that and start to dedicate there time to one goal instead of trying to master both. Im not an emcee, but a producer and dj. I started spinning but now my focus is on making beats. I still spin out, but it aint like it used to be. The MPC gets all my time but to each his own. So anyways here is some of the highlights off this rugged album. Get em fast cause yousendits been fucking around. Peace.

IJUSWANNACHILL
Have Fun
Dancing Girl

Skys the Limit. No I.D.

2005-10-09T23:35:00.000-04:00

Last night I finally used Serato Scratch Live for a DJ gig. I broke my cherry. There was a few crashes though that geeked me the fuck out thought. Music went straight up dead and people were like WHAT THE FUCK??? But overall it went mad smooth. I loved it. Mad music at my disposal. I just have to bring records with me in case shit hits the fan and my laptop decides to take a shit on me. But in other news we got another writer on board, 3rdoptic. He is a producer out in NYC that has a great knowledge of dusty records and hip hop. So look forward to him posting up more shit. Today though imma talk about No I.D. This cat is one damn good producer. He hails from Chi-City and has mentored such cats as Kanye West on the production tip, and has contributed some classic tracks to Common. He did a lot of the beats on Com's second album Resurrection such as Resurrection, Used To Love H.E.R., and a Penny For Your Thoughts. He also rhymed on one track on that album, but he really isn't known for that. In 1997, he put together a pretty decent album called Accept Your Own And Be Yourself (The Black Album). This joint is pretty banging. With him and Doug infinite handling most of the rhymes and all the production it came out as a solid release on Relativity Records, (Com's old label). The rhymes are sort of generic, but the beats are spectacular. He really flexs his production muscles on this joint. Nice dusty samples like organs, and mad filtered basslines. And his drums just knock. Dude got some bangers.There is some chick on it named Syndicate, which im not really feeling, and an appearance by Com Sense, which adds some flavor to the album. The album was slept on hard unfortunately. But No I.D. had some luck back in 2002, when he got signed to Def Jam to do 3 albums for them. I haven't heard anything from him (edit: I was told by this cat DJames that he did a Lil Bow Wow track recently. Ive never heard it.)but I did see his ass on VH1's Driven for Kanye West. So check this album out. Amazon has copies but there pretty expensive.

Fate Or Destiny
State To State
Pray For The Sinners
Skys The Limit (Inf Remix)

Black Moon: Enta Da Stage

2005-10-03T14:47:00.000-04:00

Im going to let my man mpc4000xl post today.

11/15/1993

Nervous Records

Picture this your in the year 1993………………

And nobody yes, nobody is RIDIN’ SPINNERS (WHOA!!!!)

You head to your local record shop and decide to pic up an unassuming

Looking vinyl album (yes the 12 in wax).

You reach into the pocket of your Carhart jacket and pull out a twenty.

You get home press that LP into service and then you hear……….

Quote :

"(What we do) I would say is dark Hip-Hop," says Buckshot.

BLACK MOON – Enta Da Stage

Black Moon is an anagram for (Brothers Lyrically Acting Combining Kicking Music Out On Nations).

This is a trio from Bushwick Brooklyn aka Bucktown.

The group is comprised of :

Buckshot – (Kenyatta Blake) A true MC and founder of Boot Camp Clik and Duck Down Entertainment.

DJ Evil Dee – (Eward Dewgarde) Producer with credits including :

Da Beatminerz, KRS One, Jean Grae, Mos Def, Smif n Wessun etc. He also gained much respect spinning at New Yorks Hot97 as well as Power 105.1

5FT Accelerator – (????) An MC tho’ not as dominant as Buckshot is a Strong feature on “Ack Like U Want it” but Shortly after the Release of Enta Da Stage 5FT left the group (Summer 94) though he later would rejoin them for their 1999 release “War Zone” on Priority Records.

TRACK 4 TRACK

With One Good listen to this album it’s easy to see why Enta Da Stage is

Considered a classic by many and my view of it is no different………..

This album created an immediate sensation and went on to sell over 200,000 copies which considering the time period was great for a Hip-Hop groups first release.

What makes this album special is THERE is no filler Just real production combined with fluent lyrics you will love this!!!!!!!!

Powerful Impak - Hard and effective drums plus a short Busta Rhymes sample hook.

Niguz Talk S—t - Yo I love to hornz Evil Dee rocked on the chorus this is raw yes RAW.

Who Got the Propz? - This is the party mover and with the string, upright bass and Scratches on the hook there is no Question -- Black Moon Got the Propz.

Ack Like U Want it - Muted Jazzy Horns lace the chorus and 5Ft does shine solo .

Buck Em’ Down - This track is full of soul and energy and Buckshot makes flowing over Evil Dee’s drums and bass see TOTALLY EFFORTLESS……..A CLASSIC without a doubt. No Surprise then that it reached #2 on the Billboard singles chart.

Black Smif -n- Wessun - Another banger with 5FT n Buckshot on it . This slow low groove works great with sharp violins.

Son Get Wrec - The bass is dark and thick and yes Son does get wreck………YEAH!!!!!

Make Munne - This Joint Is NYC Rugged and its shows . When you listen to this clear your mind and let your head knod it hard not to!!!

Slave - The reverb is SICK maybe even scary Buckshot Ripped it and the flute loop sounds just filthy add lines like “If you never knew me then you never knew wreck” and you know have witness the work of a of a master.

I Got Ya Opin - This IS TRUE SCHOOL what can I say that would do this track JUSTICE!??!! Buckshot brings it …………..Don’t Front!!!!

But you have to hear the Remix which is somehow even better!!!! Really!!!!!

S—t is Real - You can smell the green leafy on this track and I don’t mean spinach dim those lights and zone you can’t go wrong.

Enta Da Stage - Listen closely to this joint and you will begin to hear Buckshot’s Jamican Heritage and it works !!!!! This is a true title track Credit is due. Speaking of The “Low End Theory” that bass is thicker than “London Fog” soooooooo grimey!!!!!

How many MCs - This is was considered a standout which is a tough call on an album full of FIRE though I can see the reason it is felt by many as Buckshot shares a tale of laying whack MC to rest.

U Da Man – This Marks the official 1^st appearance of Smif n Wessun aka Cocoa Brovaz and they do the damn thang as always.

Simply put if you don’t own it get it……………

In the words of RZA “ This is True Hip-Hop in a Pure Form, This

Is Lyrics Emceeing”

For More on Buckshot, Evil Dee any Duck Down Affiliates goto:

http://www.duckdown.com/digglah/index.php

http://www.duckdown.com/

ONE

God Bless The Dead...

2005-09-28T14:38:00.000-04:00

damn

only the good die young

I apologize for the lack of posts in the last couple of weeks. I’ve been grinding trying to make some money. I sold off half my studio to get an ill laptop to rock Serato Scratch Live for when I DJ. If you are in the Wilkes-Barre area, please come out to Gondas Elbow Room (111 North Main St, Wilkes Barre, PA) every Tues and Sat night from 10 to 2, to watch me kill it. It’s a small dive bar, but cheap drinks and I'll be playing mad 90's hip-hop and all kinds of other shit. If you’re a fan of the site you’ll get down there. But anyways today’s post is about the dead artists that are in the hip hop arena. Hip Hop is such a young genre of music with its conception just in the late 70's that you really don’t have a senior crowd within it. It just hasn’t been around long enough like Rock and Roll or Jazz where you have old heads. So with that when an artist dies, it very rarely is by natural causes. A lot of the deaths in hip-hop have been violent and somewhat self inflicted, by say obesity or drug abuse. It seems that with success and fame, there is a lot of bad blood that flows around. And past lives from there days in the street seem to rear there ugly heads again. Death somewhat comes with the territory when cats are portraying drug dealers and gangstas. But its fucked up cause seriously some of the best tracks and talent has been from the rappers that died before there time. While most of them have had very short careers with an extremely limited catalog, they still have made some of the best music that hip-hop has experienced. The emcees Im putting up today have left there imprint on hip hop music and redefined the genre. They have amassed millions of fans world wide and their legacy will still be carried on for many years. And with that here is the music, and RIP to them all.

1. It Sounded Like A Roc - Subroc
This is my shit right here. Subroc was one third of KMD, the other being his brother Zev Lov X, known today as MF DOOM and some cat named Onyx. KMD started out when Zev Love X was featured on a 3rd Bass track back in '89 called, The Gasface (a dope Prince Paul production). With this track this let them do a full album called Mr. Hood that came out in 1991. The album was really slept on though even considering the success of the single, Peach Fuzz. Zev and Subroc did all there own productions and had a very Native Toungue-ish sound to there beats and rhymes. They rocked the jazzy samples with crunchy break beats and laid introspective and comedic lyrics on top of them. After this album they were with Elektra records and were trying to release there second album, Black Bastards, but it was shelved due to the controversial cover art of a Black cartoon figure being hung by a noose. (The album was heavily bootlegged and eventually re-released on Subverse records) This was an excellent album though. A lot darker then the Mr. Hood LP, with the production being more gloomier and the rhymes more introspective, it really showed their development as a group. They really stepped there game up compared to the Mr. Hood LP. The label though didn’t want to touch it so they dropped the group. Right after that Subroc dies in a fatal car crash. Zev, decided to take a few years off to grieve, but later reemerged as MF Doom. He then dropped his debut album, but somewhat the last KMD album, called Operation Doomsday, which is another indie classic. Subroc though was a real talented producer, emcee, and barber who if he was still around today would be killing shit with his brother. On this song, Subroc rocks the mic solo over a real funky KMD production. I like the bassline and when the jazzy horns kick in towards the end.

2. Red Light, Green Light (Remix) - Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf
Here is another cat that died before he had a chance to really get on. Born Charles Hicks in a small suburb of San Jose called Milpitas, the emcee Charizma came up. There wasn’t a scene and it was very odd that such a talented cat came from out of this place. Chris grew up rocking all the classic hip-hop that he could consume within the isolated suburb. Raised on the staples such as Krs One, MC Shan, Biz Markie, BDK he had a strong love for the music. He met up with Peanut Butter Wolf when he was 16, and him and the 19-year-old Wolf became close friends. 3 years later after doing the grind of paying dues, they started to forge their own unique sound and style. They decided they wanted to roll with a big label to get themselves on. They went to a few labels slinging demos, but then decided to role with Hollywood Basic, Organized Konfusions label at the time. They were offered big money, a movie part in Sister Act 2, Soundtracks, and much more. For the next year they just made music all day long trying to build up enough tracks for an album. But Hollywood wasn’t really geared to make hip-hop records at the time. Them being a Walt Disney owned label, they wanted to stay safe and roll with what was selling and not allow the group to do there own thing. They had no experience in how to make hip hop records and sell them. The only thing they ever released by them was a promo of the track I’m featuring today, "Red Light, Green Light". Charizma and PNB Wolf said fuck this and got out of there deal right before the label decided to get rid of its hip hop division. Right after this Charizma was killed by a gunshot wound to the head while sitting in the backseat of a car with a girl. Its real sad cause he was a serious talent at such a young age. If he was around right now they would be a force in hip hop and probably be releasing classic shit. PNB Wolf went on to found his label Stones Throw Records, which is quickly becoming the number one indie hip-hop label of this era. With such cats on the roster like, Madlib, MED, Oh No, Jay Dee, Aloe Blac, and many other indie stars, they are selling mad records. They put out that jazzy hip-hop and allow freethinking with there music, which is very refreshing. PNB decided to release the record that Charizma and him were working on a few years ago. The LP is called Big Shots and its really good. I love the beats and Charizma got that smooth laid back flow that’s kind of gruff and rugged but still mad chill. So check that shit out.

3. 1, 2, 3, - Freaky Tah of the Lost Boyz
The Lost Boyz were an ill group from Jamica Queens, that consisted of Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah, Pretty Lou, and Spigg Nice. They put out there first single, Lifestyles Of The Rich And Shameless that caught the attention of Uptown Records who then signed them. They then did a song called Renee that was on the soundtrack of Don't Be a Menace to South Central While You're Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. They released an album called Legal Drug Money, which actually came from them witnessing a drug dealer get murdered while they were slinging rocks back in the day. The title though meant that they were trying to make that transition into the legit world coming from drug dealing and killing. They wanted to give the money back to Jamacia (NY) when they got on. The problem was that they released the singles before the album came out (a distribution problem with the label) so when it dropped cats were already listening to there second album, "Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz's". This album also was a success. But when Legal Drug Money dropped it went gold and had such classics like "Music Makes Me High", and "Get Down". They then went on to release another album, which was aight imo, called "Love Peace and Nappiness", which also went gold, in 1997. Freaky was more of the hype man for the group doing adlibs in his mad gruff Rasta tone. He really didn’t do a lot of verses on the album. This track here, 1, 2, 3 was one of the hardest cuts on the lp. It has freaky doing all the verses by himself and its basically him narrating one night when he decides to go on a killing spree cause some cats beat his boys ass. Its pretty rugged. Freaky gets hardcore as fuck on it and is killing bitches and shit. The reversed loop that is sitting hauntingly in the background is on the sinister tip. They you got the traditional horns that are on most of there tracks. Shit is pretty ill. Mr Cheeks fills in for Freaky doing the adlibs and the intro, while Freaky gets his murder raps on. Freaky was murdered by a gunshot to the head while he was walking outside of a party in Jamica Queens on March 28th, 1998 ( a month before Big L was murdered) It was basically an assassination. Dude came up in a Ski Mask at like 4am, behind freaky and blew his brains out and ran. In April 8th though police arrested and charged suspect, Rasheem Fletcher, for the murder of Freaky Tah. On SOHH, i read though that the cops were checking out to see if Tah's murder and Big L's were connected cause the two worked together in the past. Crazy shit.

4. 95 Freestyle (Stretch And Bobbito Show) - Big L ft. Jay Z
Big L was seriously one of the greatest emcees that ever picked up a mic. Big L, Lamont Coleman, was born out in Harlems "Danger Zone" 139th Street and Lennox, back on May 30th, 1974. L was a young cat growing up in the street life and decided that he wanted to get out and the way to do it was to rap. His first debut on wax was on Lord Finesse's single, "Yes You May (Remix)" Finesse met L at a record shop when he was bringing by his mix tape to sell. L said he could rhyme and Finesse was like show me right now. L killed it and Finesse had to work with him. Seeing real talent, Columbia records scooped him up in 1993, and L released one of the dopest underground singles, the promo only, "Devils Son". The song was quickly banned from the radio though for its real hardcore offensive lyrics, like "I pistol whip the priest every Sunday" and other choice lines. He didn’t give a fuck though cause he wasn’t going to comprise his music so he got mad praise from the fans of the underground scene at the time. While still on Columbia records he dropped his first album, "Lifestylz Ov Da Poor & Dangerous". Not a commercial success, it still got mad praise and good reviews, such as the Source giving it 4 mics. On this album he put on a bunch of cats that are heavyweights right now, such as Cam'ron and Jay-Z. Cam used to roll by the name of Killa Kam and Mase used be in there known as Murda Mase and they used to be in a crew with L called, Children Of The Korn. Yeah the same preacher Mase. This album though is a classic. It’s got so much heat on it. After that Columbia dropped him. He was still grinding though cause he was rolling with D.I.T.C. He was doing tours and going overseas and shit. He then decided to put out records on his own label, Flamboyant Records. The first joint he released was the classic "Ebonics". This record is just mowing through street slang and just breaking it down for everyone. This single blew up and was flooded through the underground. But then his success was cut short. Shot seven times in the head and chest, he died right down the block from his Harlem home. In august of 2000 his post humus release, "The Big Picture" dropped and it was basically half completed while he was alive and the other half was done after he was killed. They put on his some of his dopest tracks and then threw on some collabos with the already deceased Tupac, Kool G Rap, Guru, DITC. Pete Rock did a dope ass track on there that I still bump. Big L though was one of the best freestylers in the game and really was just a menace on tracks. Dude was serious. This track here is him flexing his skills up at Stretch and Bobbitos Show in NYC. He just mows through the track and really just blows cats away. Jigga comes on the second verse and crushes shit also. I love it when he fucks up though and recovers himself and flips it all crazy. These two cats have mad skills. The beat is sick too. I love the keys over the grimy drums. Shit is dope.

5. Intoxicated - ODB (ft. Raekwon, Meth, and Macy Gray)
We all know ODB. We all heard bout Ol' Dirtys legal and domestic problems. He was the crazy off the wall cat who just didn’t give a fuck that ran the 90's with his crew the Wu-Tang clan. ODB was around the Wu from the jump. Russel Jones founded the Wu, along with his cousins the Rza, and the Gza. They used to be known as the Force Of The Imperial Master, which subsequently became known as the All in Together Now Crew after they had a successful underground single of that name. ODB was the cat that stood out though in the group. He was known for his bizarre, offbeat, incomprehensible flow, crazy funny behavior that was borderline insane. Some rugged shit. He would always be screaming and wilding out on tracks, which made him really stand out. He was on the first Wu Tang joint the 36 Chambers and that album made hip hop history. Shit received mad praise and accolades without the hip hop world. ODB went solo in 1995, which was how there deal was structured with Loud. The clan was allowed to go off and doing solo projects with no problems instead of being locked into a solo contract. Which was a first for that in a contract. "Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version" was made dropped on March 28th, 1995. Rza did the production on there and really made it just a gritty rugged sound like he was known for with the Clans first album. But on this joint he made it even more minimalist and really provided the focus more on ODB's crazy ass. The album made such hits as, Shimmy Shimmy Ya, and Brooklyn Zoo, which brought the album to gold status. Also in 95 he did that Fantasy (Remix) with Mariah Carey and really that was one of the first popular Rnb and Hip Hop collabos that are so dominant in today’s weak ass scene. This is also when the controversy that kept ODB in the news for years to come also started. He was in some MTV biography piece, when he took his 13 kids to the Welfare office to pick up his check, by a limo. His album was in Billboards Top 10 at the time also. MTV got it on film and sent it worldwide. In 1997, the Wu dropped "Wu Tang Forever" which was not as good as there first joint. ODB though wasn’t featured on it nearly at all. He did contribute the solo track Dog Shit, and he did a chorus and an intro, but for the most of the 2-disc album, he wasn’t there. This was probably during his beginning of his crack smoking days. A year later though while at a recording studio in Brooklyn, he witnessed a car accident out the window. He ran out into the streets with a friend and organized about 12 onlookers to help lift a car off of a 4-year-old girl. She suffered 3rd Degree burns and was taking to the hospital. ODB though using a fake name would go and see her a few times, before the media saw him. He then went back to crazy shit and ran out on an awards show ranting and raving about how Puff Daddy won an award that the Wu should have won. He went on to say that Puffy aint for the children, Wu Tang is for the children. He then changed his name to Big Baby Jesus. Then came his album Nigga Please. This album is crazy as fuck. If you have ever heard it, you hear ODB rant and scream about the most bizarre shit, which you cant really even understand. He is in a cracked out stupor and just is saying all kinds of shit. The album though was pretty successful. It did have a few dope tracks though. You get into it cause of ODB just wilding out. The main single on there, "Got Your Money" was produced by the super group the Neputnes and provided them a key platform to establish themselves and become the stars they are now. In 2001 he went back to jail for Crack Possession and his label at the time, Elektra, decided to put out a greatest hits album. Kinda wack when you only have two albums if you ask me. It didn’t go to well but the label had to recoup from the difficult artists lack of product. They used his publicity to hustle some records. They dropped him then the label D-3 records released the album "The Trials and Tribulations of Russell Jones". This album was made up of pre recorded vocals before ODB went to jail, and had no input from ODB. He didn’t even know it was released or made. Fucked up shit. Dirty was released though and signed up with the Roc after that. Roc A Fella got him on board and tried to put together an album and keep his nose clean. He also started to do a reality TV show with VH1. But unfortunately, he was in Wu Tangs Studio, on 9/13/2004, just 2 days before his 36th birthday, when he collapsed to the floor. He died less then an hour later. The Initial reports were that he had a heart attack, which was true, but during the autopsy, they found a baggie of coke in his stomach. There was a lethal mixture of cocaine and the prescription pain killer Ultram in his system. They ruled it as an accidental overdose. Its hard to kick shit when you got money and fame like that. Especially if you smoke crack. Rip to Ol' Dirty, he was a good dude. Im really feeling this track. The loop is mad sick and Rae and Meth kill that shit. ODB comes in also to impress on this joint. Shit is banging.

6. Niggas My Height Dont Fight - Eazy E
Aight since firefox decided to crash and delete all the shit I wrote about Eazy, im just gonna jack his bio from hi official website. I aint typing that shit again. Took me like half an hour. SALTY!

Compton, California is a small suburb of Los Angeles, a place known for its vast history of rags-to-riches stories, stardom, glamour, and fame. Compton has emerged from being just another surrounding area of Los Angeles to one of the country’s most well known cities. That fact is attributed to the music in which Compton helped give birth to and make so famous. "Gangsta" rap has developed into a money making enterprise, spreading misogynistic messages, violent overtures, and the theories of toting guns as if it was a sport. Sometimes, the words would prove to be more fiction than fact, but the attention was attracted nonetheless.

One of the artists responsible for making this era of music so spectacular is Eazy-E, a gangsta rapper whose claim to fame was not the music, but in the way he presented it. With a career that would span almost a decade, Eazy became the mark of excellence in gangsta rap, but as with all success comes a price. Eazy would rise above many obstacles that would kill just an average person, and tasted the fruits of his labor until his untimely demise.

Born Eric Wright in 1964, Eazy grew up with the same hopes and dreams as most young men from an impoverished background. He wanted to make it big, no matter how he had to do it. Hip-Hop was a flourishing conglomerate, very legal, and one that could provide a way of life that make most envious to the point of rage. The Hip-Hop scene on the western section of the United States was not as lush as it was in the east, but all that would make a drastic change.

Dealing drugs to make a living, Eazy finally did something positive with the money that was leading to the bloodshed on the streets. He took a portion of his earnings and formed a rap label, called Ruthless Records. The attempt to start his rap empire didn’t prove fruitful until up and coming artists Ice Cube and Dr. Dre began to write for the label. When HBO, the signing company of Ruthless Records refused to take one of the group’s songs, titled "Boyz In The Hood," they formed the group N.W.A., an acronym for Niggaz With Attitude. They would bring aboard 1 more member DJ Yella, and the five-man team would begin to blaze the trail that we know today as gangsta rap.

N.W.A.’s debut album, "N.W.A. and The Posse," was a party-oriented jam record that largely went ignored upon its 1987 release. In the following year, the group added M.C. Ren and revamped their sound, bringing in many of the noisy, extreme sonic innovations of Public Enemy and adopting a self-consciously violent and dangerous lyrical stance. Late in 1988, N.W.A. delivered "Straight Outta Compton, " a vicious hardcore record that became an underground hit with virtually no support from radio, the press or MTV. N.W.A. became notorious for their hardcore lyrics, especially those of "Fuck Tha Police," which resulted in the FBI sending a warning letter to Ruthless and its parent company, suggesting that the group should watch their step. Most of the group's political threat left with Ice Cube when he departed in late 1989 amidst many financial disagreements. A nasty feud between N.W.A. and Cube began that would culminate with Cube’s "No Vaseline," an attack on the group's management released on his 1991 "Death Certificate" album. By the time the song was released, N.W.A., for all intents and purposes, was finished.

Eazy and the rest of the crew would go on to release two more albums, "100 Miles and Runnin’" in 1990 and "Efil4zaggin" (which is Niggaz 4 Life backwards) the following year, and the albums were mostly Eazy flexing his lyrical muscle. Some of the lyrics provoked outrage from many critics and conservative circles, but that only increased the group's predominately male, White suburban audience. Even though the group was at the peak of their popularity, Dre began to make efforts to leave the crew, due to conflicting egos and what he perceived as an unfair record deal. Dre and Eazy would then delve into a widely publicized feud that would run its course over a few years. Eazy then would have to make the transition as a solo artist, but seemingly the transition was made rather smoothly.

Eazy had released his debut solo album in 1988, titled "Eazy Duz It," which would ultimately be his only full-length album. It was received well amongst fans, particularly in California. Although he would never achieve the astronomical success he received with N.W.A. on a commercial level, he still was considered a force in Hip-Hop. Fans across the nation had begun to see a change in Hip-Hop, and Eazy was one of the many driving forces behind it.

Amidst the drama that was going on between he and Dr. Dre, Eazy decided to take the bold step of addressing the issue on record. "It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa" was released in late 1993, which proved to be a depiction of the murder of Dre on record, and it attracted major attention. The unapologetically violent album would be the first of many on-record feuds between Dre and Eazy, and it shed a lot of light on the issues between the former partners. It also marked the decline in Eazy’s vastly flourishing career.

In 1995, the Hip-Hop nation was struck with alarming news. In a publicized statement, Eazy announced he had contracted HIV, the virus that caused AIDS. No one, including Eazy himself had a clue about how sick he actually was. During the week of 20th March, the star drafted his last message to fans (check the last words section). One month after making that haunting announcement, Eazy succumbed to the disease at a local hospital in Los Angeles. He was 31 years old at the time of his death. Before he died, Eazy had made amends with Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, the men whom he skyrocketed to success with and rewrote Hip-Hop history with. A man of his talents has been deeply missed since his passing, and the game has had the unenviable task of going on without him.

Two postmortem albums were subsequently released, "Eternal E" in 1995 after his death, and "Str8 off Tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton," in 1998, both of which proved to be successful. An upcoming group discovered by Eazy, were in the beginning stages of their careers, which would prove fruitful later on. The legacy of Eazy E lives on in the hearts and minds of Hip-Hop and its long list of fans.

Eazy E: 1964-1995 R.I.P.

That’s sad. Its like one of those, "Live by the sword, Die by the Sword deals." This track was banging. I love the beat and just Eazy's fuck you demeanor.

7. Live At The Garden - Big, Pac, Big Scoob, Big Daddy Kane, Shyheim
This is my shit right here. I love this track. Most cats just heard the Big/Tupac edit, but this is the whole version. Shit is rugged. But anyways, everyone knows the story of the East Coast/West Coast beef and how it brought the inevitable deaths of both rappers. Turn on VH1 if you’re interested. They play that shit at least once a day. BEEF! Lets just talk about the track though. This shit here is mad hot. Mister Cee just puts on a dope break beat and lets the artists kill shit for a crowd at Madison Square Garden. Now this is some ill shit casue Big comes on after Big Scoobs aight performance, then Tupac comes after Big. But man these motherfuckers were killing shit. One of the best Biggie freestyles I’ve ever heard, then Tupac just follows up and lays down some of the best shit I’ve heard out of him in a long time. They brought their A-Game. Shyheim comes after Pac and just fucks shit up with his little kid ass, representing the Wu. But he holds his own and the kid has mad skills. The real star though of this shit is Big Daddy Kane. Dude just crushes shit with his punch lines and his whole vibe. He just comes on through with the battle raps. This shit right here is classic.

8. Tribute To Jam Master Jay - Various DJ's
VIDEO!!! Thanks to jorge
Now this is real dope. This was on BET's Source Awards after the DJwas shot in the head in his recording studio. We all know Jam Master Jay, the DJ of the super group Run DMC. These cats really brought hip-hop into the house and they were the first cats to go worldwide. They really made hip hop go international and blow up. Jay also was 50 Cents mentor, so without Jay, no 50, no G Unit, no Vita Water, so all you tugged out cats owe this dude mad respect. Jay just had a real love for the music though and really supported it and helped it grow. So dude is a legend. On this performance, DJ Premier, Kid Capri, Grand Master Flash, Jazzy Jeff, go on a rugged DJ set, flexing all there skills to pay tribute to the Jammaster. I think Jazzy Jeff kills it though. Dude is on another level. I love how you hear Preemo shouting on the whole track. It is real ill.

BONUS BEATS: M.N.C.B - Smith-N-Wessun
This is a real dope track. This was on an unreleased record that Smith N Wessun did with Rawkus before they folded. This cut though here is all about dead rappers and paying respect to them all. Some good shit.

And that’s it. I had a Big Pun joint I wanted to put up, but I want to save that track for another post. It’s a dope posse cut. So enjoy the mp3s, and RIP to all these cats cause they will truly be missed. PEACE.

edit: You know what is funny? I just read what I wrote and when I talk about an artists bio, I sound like a retard. Im all like ME THINKS ME DO type shit. It sounds like my 5th grade book reports. hahaha. Sorry just had to tell yall that.

DJ Premier's Greatest Hits

2005-09-18T00:39:00.000-04:00

The shit is real.

Just posting up something real fast before I hit the bars. Christopher Martin, aka DJ Premier has been one busy dude in the last ten years. Primo has been killing shit with his rock solid production and his perfectly phrased cuts that make up all the hooks in almost every song he has produced. Primo spent a lot of time in Texas and NYC in his earlier years. He used to goto a family members crib in Brooklyn and he heard all the block party tapes, radio, and cats on the street and that shit just stuck a chord with him. He studied computer science in a school outside Houston and he used to go by the name "Waxmaster C". He learned how to play a bunch of different instuments and he was managing a record store down there. He moved back to Brooklyn and met up with Guru. Guru had a group named Gangstarr that recorded with Mark The 45 King. What happened was that Gurus partner Mike Dee moved back to Boston so Guru needed to find someone to fill the void. While chilling listening to demo tapes Guru heard this cat that he needed to get up with. They met and got signed to Wild Pitch records and then they put out a single, Manifest and then an album, No More Mister Nice Guy. It was a little gritty and un-refined, but cats was feeling it. They were molding jazz and hip hop together to make a unique sound that drew a lot of attention. They were then asked to contribute to the Spike Lee joint, Mo Better Blues. After that they stepped there game up real fierce and dropped some east coast classics such as, '91's "Step In The Arena and the '92's banger", "Daily Operation". These albums were serious. They paved the way to a long and prosperous career for the two of these cats. Primo was also lacing mad other emcees in the 90's, doing a lot of freelance production work. He setup shop at the legendary D&D studios with his MPC-60 and s950, and just churned out track after track. Dude knows how to chop a loop up. Its crazy. He also will sample himself playing keys and then process it like all his other samples. He uses a lot of classic breakbeats, but chops them joints up into hip hop form. I've always been somewhat inspired by this cat on his technique on production. He keeps it minimal but his music just has so much soul and feeling he can get away with keepin it simple. Also the way he works with artists is real dope also. His way of working with Guru to make tracks was that Guru would write up a list of names for songs and Primo would just sit there and compose something to the name. Then Guru would do the track. He just vibes with who ever he is working with and really caters a track to them. That's some real producer shit right there. Not just some cat that makes beats. He sees projects through and puts his stamp on it and makes the artist shine. He really has established himself as one of hip hops greatest producers and has inspired many clones and imitators. Dude is disgusting with his skill. Also the DJ element he brings to all his tracks is crazy. He has really inspired mad producers and has been a dominant force in hip hop for a long fucking time. Lately I haven't been feeling many of his beats, he kinda sounds like a bad impersonation of himself now, but he is a legend so there is no love lost. I was seriously surprised at his discography though (heres an old list which is missing shitt). He has worked with all kinds of artists and crossed mad genres with his gritty ass beats. From working with jazz cats like Branford Marcellus, and even gay lame rock rap groups like Limp Bisket, he still remains rugged as fuck. I recently heard he is doing beats for Christina Aguerila. Shit is crazy. Tonight though I would like to feature 10 tracks of his that step outside of the Gangstarr steez and where he shines with other emcees. Im not that big a fan of Guru, his flow and content is a little beat in my opinion, but primo has carried the group to legendary status. I had to throw up one of my favorite Gng tracks though cause it is a Primo post. And with that here, is my favorite premo tracks..

1. Ease My Mind (Primo Remix) - Arrested Development
Man I love this joint. This is seriously one of my favorite all time tracks. The steady key riff, and that bassline just is disgusting. MC Speech kills it with his dope introspective rhymes about being frustrated and needing to relax and get yourself together. Also he talks about the inner demons that drag us down. Shit we can all relate too.

2. The Best Part - J-Live
J-Live is one talented cat. Son can emcee, produce, and dj. Thats pretty rare lately for a cat that is the triple threat. This track here was off J's first album, The Best Part. Primo laced him with this beat and man this shit just gets stuck on repeat whenever I hear it. Fr0m that panflute or whatever the fuck it is in the intro to that in your face bassline and those knocking drums, shit just gets stuck in your head for days. J spits about his love for hip hop and how it captured him from the jump. He goes through his history and how he developed and got into the game. I also love it when the beat drops out and goes into a handclap metronome and J just rocks with that oldschool freestyle flow. Shit is so tight. J just dropped a new album called, The Hear After, so check that shit out. Its pretty good.

3. The Love Is Gone - Jaz O and Immobiliare
Another heater. This beat seriously is some of the sickest shit Ive heard in a long time. Man the way primo does the variations and the cuts on the hook makes me want to turn on my mpc. Primo has a way of incorporating weird background sounds that add a lot to his tracks. On this one he got these electronic noises and some cat breathing up in the patterns. Its crazy. He is on some next level shit. Primo did this for Jaz O and The Immoblilares album called Kings Kounty but it was also featured on the D&D Part 2 comp album that was released like 2 or 3 years ago. Jaz O was actually Jigga's mentor and was making tracks in the 80's and 90's. He didn't blow up like Hova, but dudes got skills. Im not really up on this other dude. Shit sounds aight though.

4. Machine Gun Funk (remix) - Biggie
This is one of my favorite Biggie tracks, but Primo flips it crazy. He makes it alot more funkier and gritty. That ill bassline and that delayed stab sample that comes in every so often is sick. This was on Lord Sear's radio show back in the 90's. Just a sick ass track.

5. Doobie Ashtray - Devin Tha Dude
Damn. This shit is so ill. Primo hits the West Coast for this joint here and laces Devin with one of the funkiest tracks I've ever heard. This is why I love Primo cause homes really has made classics. And not like 5 or 6 ill singles, but like 40 or 50 classic tracks that still get mad play to this day. That's pretty impressive. Anyways though, this track just is so crazy. He has that dope guitar going through and that whole melancholy vibe that flows throughout the whole track. Devin spits about when you are all alone, broke, and when you trying to puff, someone done stole your roach out the ashtray. Just kinda being shit outta luck and just frustrated and real bummed the fuck out. The beat compliments it to a tee.

6. Devils Pie - D'Angleo
Now you really wont see alot of R'n'B cats gracing the pages of The Low End Theory. Just aint my thing. But man this joint here breaks all the rules. I first heard this track on the Belly Soundtrack and I lost my mind when it came on. The beat is just perfect. That sick as bassline and those horn stabs and that blip noise just seal this shit up. D is singing about the drug game and getting "a slice of the Devils pie". He gets deep with the concept and kicks some dope real shit about greed and evils of this line of work. My favorite part is towards the end where Primo cuts those horns over the track. Shit makes me want to give up making music. Its that dope.

7. Suspended In Time - Group Home
Now this is a good example of a producer carrying a group. 2 mediocre emcees and one insanely hype dj/producer = one decent fucking album. This whole album has some of the dopest Primo tracks ever composed. He just brought some real heat to the table. It kind of sucks though that he gave it to Group home. Group Home was a branch off of the Gangstarr clique that started with the release of Jeru's album The Sun Rises In The East. Which Primo did all the beats, with the classic Come Clean. Not really a fan though of the lyricism of Lil Dap and that other dude. I heard from one of my boys though that Lil Dap is out here in Wilkes Barre PA, lately. He was bullshiting with him at some bar. Dap if your reading this hit me up for some production work. haha

8. Music Evolution - Buckshot LeFonque
Now this is my shit right here. This group was Primo and Branford Marsellus's project where they fused Jazz and hip hop into one sound. Branford is a great jazz musician and has mad clout in jazz circles. This album was executive produced by Primo though which is dope. He put scratches and dope beats on a album that got received extremely well by mad jazz cats. I really like both albums that they did. This track here though is crazy. The beat has those signature Primo chops, the dope bass and that oriental sound that is thrown in there. Im really a fan of the lyrics though. I forget the emcees name, but he kicks rhymes about how music evolved from jazz and hip hop and where its at now and he makes comparisons between the two. Shit is dope.

9. The Shit is Real - Fat Joe
There once was a time when Fat Joe was one bad ass motherfucker. Now he is doing corny pop albums, and boost mobile commercials. I cant hate though cause dude was one rugged ass cat in the 90's. He rolled with DITC and just killed shit. This beat here is banging. I love the sounds Primo uses and the hook is crazy. Joe just kicks that gritty killa shit on the track and it just comes off dope as fuck.

10. Downtown Swinga '98 (Alternate Vers) - MOP
Primo actually put these cats on and laced them with mad beats when they were coming up. The chemistry they have together is so tight and just really blends perfect. This song here had 3 versions of it made cause it was so dope. This is my favorite vers though. I love that horn sample that sounds like it came from a cartoon or some shit. Its just sick. MOP really come correct on this track though. And just really show why they some of New Yorks Finest. DOOOPPPEEEEEE.

BONUS BEATS: Ex Girl To Next Girl - Gangstarr
I love this track. The beat is just so sick. I love the sample he uses. Guru just kicks rhymes about his ex trying to get back but he moved onto new puss so he don't want nothing to do with her ass. Some real shit.

And that's that. I know i missed a lot of dope tracks, but dude has so many its not even funny. A couple of cats though like Freddie Fox, Jigga, Biggie, Nas, Snoop, and mad others, deserve to be on this list, but at the moment these are my favorites. So enjoy one of hip hops legendary beat smiths. I got to get my drink on. PEACE.

White Rappers

2005-09-14T01:06:00.000-04:00

DISCLAIMER: I have actually gotten mad ebeef for this post. Cats coming at me sideways and calling me a 'wigga' on messageboards and my email. Shit is cracking me up. I think I hit a nerve of this dude in the pictures fanclub. A lot of these e-toughguys think this post is making fun of white rappers, actually if you read it, its about the cornball kids like my man in this picture that have no skills but expect to get signed and put out albums, and the cats with actual talent that are setting themselves apart from the lames outta vancover and idaho, but they cant get a deal or distribution. Battling cats on AIM doesnt make you a rapper. Having e siphers on a messageboard aint gonna get you a deal. Rocking your school talent show aint gonna get you a necklace. So once again this post is not about hating on white rappers, its about hating on wack white "rappers". So before you get your emuscles up to send me some nonsense via email, understand that it isnt that serious and should be takin lightly. Aight so enjoy the mp3s.

Aight there aint a lot of good white rappers. Mad cats like this guy in the pic got shit MAD twisted. Shit is outta control. Now I aint got nothing against any cat that has skills, but just cause you see fiddy or dipset getting down don't mean you need to pic up a mic. There are mad cats that actually do have skills and cats like this are fucking it up for us Caucasians. It took me a while though to think of some good white rappers. And Im not including Eminem's lame pill popping ass, or Paul Wall corny looking ass cause Im sick as fuck of both of em. And fuck Bubba Sparx. Everlast can eat a dick too. Eminem is not the great white hope. He needs to stay in rehab till he sobers up and listens to the bullshit he been putting out in the last few years. When he admits that he fucked up, he can then be released. Dont get me wrong though Em had mad skills, but hes gone soft. The Slim Shady LP and that indie, infinite shit were dope. Its just now he all chilling with thugs, he is making songs with 50 called Gatman and Robbin'. Its bananas. But seriously, a good white rapper is hard to find. The cats Im featuring tonight, Im genuine fans of and have been for years. These dudes are real emcees and give hip hop respect. They arent clowns that hang out in the cafeteria rhyming bout gats and weed, like your little brother. So dont get it fucked up.

1. Radiohead - Cage
Now this is the hot shit. This beat is one of the dopest beats I have on wax. The 12" of this took me mad long to find. That sample is raw and when the bass drops shit is too much. And its dope how he does his adlibs all in that crazy voice on all his tracks. This song took Cages career off. If you like to smoke dust and chill in institutions then this is your kind of music. Shit is rugged. This is when New York's indie scene was real hot with everyone's records being broke on Stretch & Bobbito's show. Some classics came out of that era.

2. STD - Necro
Another crazy ass white boy from NYC. Necro has been spewing that nasty grimy shit for like 15 years. I wore my "I Need Drugs" cassette to shit when I was a youngin. This track and the I Need Love junkie edition used to get mad play. I love this beat cause its all lo fi but just knocks. Necro did alot of his own productions using his ASR-10. He just spits that insane bullshit that he is known for. You know hes speaking on some real life experience for this joint. Hes a grimy motherfucker. I always crack up at how slow and sappy the song sounds at first but then kicks into that "THE BITCH HAD SYPHILLIS, I CRACKED HER IN THE FACE WITH A WRENCH!!!" line.

3. Every Record Sucks Dick - RA The Rugged Man
This ugly motherfucker here has been grinding for a long time. He seriously had mad ups and downs throughout the biz. Dude is crazy as hell though. I read stories of him just running up in his label with guns and grabbing bitches tits and shit. This shit here though is fire. This was off his first "album" that got shelved, I think. I don't know who produced it, but they flip that Capricorn loop from Cannonball Alderley to make a dope beat. It just fits the mood of the track perfect. Ra just talks about getting jerked around in the industry and the bullshit he faced as a white rapper dropping an album.

4. Rap Prime Minister - Prime Minister Pete Nice and Daddy Rich
Now these cats here were one of the first honky groups that came outta NYC in the 80's/90's. They had two white emcees (MC Serch) and a black DJ (Daddy Rich), known as 3rd Bass. They had skills. Around this time cats like Vanilla Ice were selling out and packing arenas, so to be a white cats with talent you got slept on by that gimmick shit. They even had a beef with Vanilla Ice called Pop Goes the Weasel which disses him for making rap a mockery. This track here is from when Pete Nice and Daddy Rich went off on there own to make Petes Album while MC Serch tried to move on to bigger and better things.

5. Car Thief - Beastie Boys
These cats here are one of my favorite hip hop groups. They have been around since the 80's and still are able to drop decent albums. Well that last one kinda sucked but they got a good track record. This joint here is off there classic album "Pauls boutique". I love this album cause the Dust Brothers did alot of production on the tracks and they rocked mad samples. Every beat is crazy. This is my favorite track of this album. Just got that funk too it.

6. Thats A Wrap - Copywrite prod. J. Dilla
Now this dude here is a mess. He got skills but he has been clowned so much recently, it was hard to put this song up here. Some cat from the Weatherman lumped him up a while ago, and he got his ass beaten again recently. Dude does have mad skills for a white cat. Also Dilla came through and blessed this nerd with some heat. The beat is weird but its dope. Copy does flex his skills here though. Cant deny that.

7. Stargazer - Visionaries
This is a dope indie group outta cali that has been on the indie scene for a while. There is a bunch of cats in the group like LMNO, and 2mex and they rock with the beat junkies all the time. They are a cali indie staple. Beat is tight. They throw that "Cheeba Cheeba" sample in there and they spit about the ladies. Its that nerd rap steez but shit is cool. I can dig it.

8. Rock Stars - Non Phixion
Now this a dope track. Non Phixion is a group of rugged cats from the BK, that just kill tracks. They live out in the projects and spit that thug shit, but can back it up. Ive been a fan of these cats for mad long. Primo laces the beat here and gives it that funk. Also he laces the hook with his cuts as usual. This was on there last album before they went out and did all there mediocre solo albums.

And that's the white cats IM feeling. I know I missed a lot of dudes but I dont give a fuck. Enjoy.

Danger Doom and Local Talent

2005-09-06T00:51:00.000-04:00

What up. Tonight I let one of my boys do a guest post. He is an emcee and producer named Dstruction and he did a album review of Danger Doom. Son can make some dope beats and he is pretty ill on the mic. He plays out in MA so look for him if your out that way. Check his website out to hear some music and info on him. Also there is two indie cats that I would like to feature. They arent signed but they got some smooth sounding shit. I think its important to check out indie and local talent casue they need the exposure. These cats have real skills and are developing there own signature sounds. They are now paying there dues, playing at bars and smaller venues to get heard. Im in the postion to feature music that I'm feeling to a large audience, so Im happy to support good independent music. Hopefully in the future they will be making real moves and get the attention they rightfully deserve. There is a lot of filler out there today with bullshit ass cats rhyming and making fruity loops beats that suck, so it is hard to hear some real talent when it comes around. Without further ado here is D's Danger Mouse review.

Dstruct:

Whats up yall? DStruct here from Bi-Polar Inc. This is my first post as a writer at this blog, and i hope yall dig this. Today, im gonna review the new album from MFDOOM and Dangermouse entitled, "Danger Doom" (creative title huh). I was excited when i first heard about this project.
First of all, I gotta say Im a big fan of MFDOOM, but in not the biggest Dangermouse fan. Regardless, i do like this album, i dont love it, but its good enough to play in my whip on a nice day, and im a picky nigga with that shit. Thes beats bang pretty good in the car, but lets break this muh fucker down track by track. First let me spark up......... (DStruct sparks fat blunt of greenery)

Bizzy Box
Bada Bing
A.T.H.F.

Track 1 "El Chupa Nibre"
First i gotta say that this whole album seems like an Adult Swim commercial. I bet this would be real hot if i was a fan of those cartoons, but im not therefore the cartoon skits are kind of corny for me. Besides the aqua teen intro and outtro, this beat is alright from the nigga dangermouse. As a producer who fucks with vinyl, I can appreciate the lack of synths and all that bullshit (although the right dude can freak them keys). Doom is on his normal bugged out steez here. I mean you can always find new punchlines in his verses the more you listen to him. Hes a deep dude. This track is a neck jerker.

Track 2 "Sofa King"
Damn I like this beat here. Doom rides it perfectly and Danger did a good job chopping the samples up and shit. The Sofa King joke is funny the first couple times, but after that, its a tad cornball. Nice track though

Track 3 "The Mask"
Nice intro, I love that crackle of the vinyl thats up in the mix. These horns are dope but it seems like this beat couldve been more in your face. Especially since that dude Ghostface Killa comes outta nowhere with a sick ass verse. This is cool.

Track 4 "Perfect Hair"
Damn this beat is the truth. Dangermouse is a beats when it comes to finding the perfect sample. Hes blessing the listener with some real dope drums also. Dooms bringing it as usual, but who the fuck mentions Jeanine Garafalo in a hip hop verse? haha, i feel kind of nerdish for even knowing who the bitch is.

Track 5 "Bizzy Box"
Wow, this is my favorite track on the album (today). Its got a simple ass beat, but i almost broke my neck a few times banging this. Cee-Lo on the hook is no joke. I wish doom hit us with a 3rd verse on this beat, because i dont want it to end! When I do my DJ thing, Ive turned a few heads onto Doom with this track. Hot shit.

Track 6 "Old School"
I like Talib Kweli alot, but this track is rather mediocre. Im not feeling it. The samples dope and all, but the hook is horrible and Talib seem like hes not into it at all. Doom does his thing but this track always gets skipped over when i play this cd.

Track 7 "ATHF"
Great another skit haha, but this beat is crazy, when it finally drops. Like i said earlier, i dont watch adult swim aqua teen hunger force, but i can hear the references to the show in the verses. Im feeling how hes incorporating all the characters into the rhymes. This is probably real dope for hardcore fans of the show. "Sock your mean younger boss/ *smack*/ adult swim aqua teen hunger force!"

Track 8 "Basket Case"
Cant say much about Doom on this album. Hes not at his absolute best, but hes very consistant with his shit on this album. Danger did his thing with this beat, but hes reminding me of madlib with all the skits between verses. All I gotta say is "Just since some people wear a mask dont mean they did nothing automatically"

Track 9 "No Names"
Damn I sampled that same bassline but i cant remember where I got it. I gotta organize my shit better. This track is a neckbreaker and DOOM is riding it with perfection. I like this one. "Eastsiiiide"

Track 10 "Crosshairs"
Wow, Im really loving the live band feel to this one. The strings really set this track off. Man, Dooms lyrics get me excited as an emcee, that i could possible make it without trying to sound like the radio. Regardless, this track gets multiple spins in the Millenia.

Track 11 "Mince Meat"
Doom is really coming through on the mic. I mean, the nikka said "Sucks to be them, Ill pass that loot/ up under the tux he wore a HAZMAT suit". That lines gonna stick with me for a while. Dudes on some shit, yall young bucks need to take notes. I love the vibe i get from this track.

Track 12 "Vats of Urine"
Personally, I dont like this one. Dangermouse, just do you man, this sounds like madlib so much haha. These little skits are pissing me off. Doom, you shouldve passed on this one.

Track 13 "space ho's"
This is cool right here. Im feeling the change ups in the track and Doom is coming with the same thought provoking style that got me into him in the first place. Wow, I cant believe he mentions Charro in this track, thats crazy, but it works haha. (DStruct puts blunt roach in bong, and skips over the cartoon outtro)

Track 14 "bada bing"
Wow, this beat comes in so crazy. I think this might be my second favorite track on the album. These samples make me feel good and doom is doing them justice on the mic. As a matter of fact this track got me inspired to go boot up my mpc and make a beat, then write some off the wall shit to it. So with that, im signing off

DStruction

Haze: Aight if you were feeling that review please let dude know in the comments.

Next order of business is this cat Vakseen. He is an emcee and producer and just dropped a CD. This cat comes with some different shit. His music has a real unique sound and the emceeing is mad different then a lot of the shit that is out right now. His group is The Shaw Shanks and the cd is titled "VAKSEEN Productions Presents: The Shaw Shanks in WORDPLAY" and it dropped 8-9-05. Here is a little press release he sent me.

For booking information, photos, audio samples and to cop the debut album “WORDPLAY” visit www.vakseen.com or contact Otha Davis III of VAKSEEN Productions at (904) 881-1657. Check these mp3's out.

Album Sampler

Get Hi
Weak
What A Crock

The next dude I want to feature is this cat called D. James. He is bringing the heat out of Indianapolis. He is also a producer and a emcee. Dude got some pretty dope songs and he rhymes bout deeper shit. His beats are tight also. On his myspace and his soundclick page you can hear more of his music. This track here is real tight.

Night Life produced by Vakseen

If you are interested in purchasing his CD get at dude at

Andre "D. James" King
3rd Eyelevel Prod.
9457 Timberview Dr.
Indianapolis, IN 46250
317.414.1911

3rdeyelevel@gmail.com to order CDs

So support local and independent artists. They need all the help they can get. All these dudes play out in MA, FL, or IN, so please check them out if you live nearby. Keep an eye out on these dudes cause they are making good music and get my support. Peace.

Oh and real quick please help out the victims of hurricane Katrina. Shit is getting real bad down there so please donate to a respectable charity. A few cats are doing there part with some auctions. The first one is an ebay auction for a dope lil synth that all the proceeds will be givin to the Red Cross. Thats a real cool thing that dude is doing so check that out. Also the cats over at Soul Strut are running a "Let A Heatrock Loose" sale to raise money for the cause. They are selling there records as a fundraiser to support the victims. A real noble thing of them to do. Here is some details:

THE IDEA

Raj has kindly allowed the use of the main page (Crate Digging Revealed) for the purpose of auctions/set sails where the proceeds will go to the Soulstrut Katrina Relief Fund (coordinated by all of us).

“Let a heatrock loose©.” Pick a record from your collection for sacrifice. The idea should be to pick something that will hurt you not to have. That’s what sacrifice is about. That pain you’ll feel is called empathy, compassion, camaraderie. Because every time you think of that particular record, and you feel the pang of its absence, you can think of all the victims of Katrina who lost their entire record collection, their pets, their homes, their loved ones, their lives, and you can count yourself among those who were part of the solution. Providing momentary relief to their struggle.

“Let a heatrock loose©.”

So please donate and help out. Shit is real fucked up right now and its getting worse.

SUPPORT THE LOW END THEORY LAPTOP FUND!!!!!!!!

2005-09-01T04:01:00.000-04:00

And buy some fine gear from me off ebay. Shazam. Im trying to get a laptop to run in the studio due to Serato Scratch and Reason 3.0 with my MPC 2000xl. All gear is in damn good condition and most of it comes with a lot of extras. Check the auctions.

Emu Esi Sampler. 128 mbs ram, adaptec scsi card, zip dr

Boss dr. sample Sp 303. 2 64 mb smart cards, cd reader

Korg MS2000r synth. Excellent conditio. Patch Librarian

Yamaha A5000 Sampler, Internal HD, scsi zi p drive 100m

AKAI DPS 12, Effects card installed, CDRW Drive, In HD

And here is some funky ass music for the night. Its kind of late and I got work early so imma be quick.

1. Aint No Body Better Then You - Bobbie Knight and The Universal Lady
Man this is a real funky joint. Real catchy horns and bassline. Shit is dope. The lyrics have been stuck in my head for the last god damn week. Real nice swtich ups and shit just grooves out. Not really much info on the group so sorry I cant really give much of a bio.

2. Expo '83 - Backyard Heavies
Man this is a mean ass break. This is a classic funk jam, with a real sick open break in it. The drums just are super funky and those keys are real dope. Its a real dope instrumental and Pete Rock has used it before on an intro. This is a pretty rare groove so look out for the 45, which has Soul Junction on the A-Side.

3. Funky Washing Machine - World Wonders
This is a hot cut also. Real sick horns and a real solid drum beat. Also some funky ass guitars laid on top of it. Its an instrumental and just really jams out. Kenny Dope threw it on one of his comps for BBE so scoop it up.

And with that I gotta goto bed. Please buy some gear though. If I get a laptop, that means more and better posts coming out this bitch. So do us all a favor and get a sampler off me. Peace.

Alcoholic Vibes

2005-08-30T02:37:00.000-04:00

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.

Jackin' For Beats

2005-08-24T20:31:00.000-04:00

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

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

2005-08-22T14:35:00.000-04:00

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.

Its been a long time...

2005-08-19T16:33:00.000-04:00

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.

Serato Scratch Live And Soulmans World Of Beats

2005-08-06T21:58:00.000-04:00

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.

Emanon - The Waiting Room

2005-07-29T17:05:00.000-04:00

Whats up all. Today I want to feature an album that I have really been feeling lately. Emanon's (Named after a Dizzy Gillespie song with the same title, meaning No Name spelled backwards) new album, The Waiting Room, is some serious heat. Its a unique album that features a variety of different cuts. From party tracks, to love songs, and even accapella joints. Its very refreshing in the world of indie hip hop cause there really is no one doing anything like them. Emanon is composed of emcee/musician Aloe Blacc and DJ Exile. These two cats have been working with eachover since high school, when Exile, a graff artist and DJ, was making mixtapes putting all the new hot shit on the a side and on the b side he would feature emcees on his beats. He needed an emcee for the one track and in comes Aloe Blacc. They have been working together ever since. They also have successful solo careers also. Aloe is now a part of the Stones Throw family as a solo artist. As a group though, they dropped an ep on Ill Boogie records entitled, Anon & On which was received very well within the hip hop community. 3 years later they dropped there latest effort, The Waiting Room. I just copped it on vinyl this weekend and I have to say this shit is butter. These cats really have some different and very musical shit going on. There tracks are well developed and are not just the traditional style of beats that most hip hop cats rock over. Im really digging Exiles production skills on the tracks. He uses very smooth jazzy samples with breakbeats weaved in just right. Lots of nice chill vibey keys and filtered basslines all over the place. And on Aloe's end there is a lot of singing that goes along with the rhymes. This is real cool. It really adds alot to the music. They are on the label Shaman Work who also features Wale Oyjide and other dope indie cats that dont really fit into that traditional indie hip hop scene. So check these mp3's out and go cop the album. Its worth it.

1. Six Million Ways
This is my favorite track on this album. The beat is real reflective and just has that real deep vibe to it. The lyrics are all about mortality and just different vices that wind up destroying you in the long run. From family problems and growing up, to women, to drug abuse. Exile actually is rhyming on the track.

2. She Thinks
A real dope love song. This is some real smooth shit. Aloe just sings on the whole track and it comes off real tight. The beat is real layed back and fits the mood of the vocals right to a tee. its really about leaving your girl and breaking up. Dope shit.

3. More Then You Know
Im a fan of love songs so this is hot also. This one is more about meeting a women and thouse feelings that you have when you first start chilling with a chick and just expressing your feelings. The beat has that chill jazzy guitar tip and the nice chill keys in the back. I really like this joint.

4. Farewell
This is the last cut on the ablum and its there way of saying goodbye on the album. The beat starts out with a nice chill vibed out sample then breaks into a dope bassline where they kick some dope lyrics about politics and culture and just saying farewell to it all. The hook is hot and wraps up the album real nice.

So all and all a real tight album. Please support these cats and buy this joint. You will not be dissapointed. Peace.

The Low End Theory Podcast #2: The 5 AM Edition

2005-07-26T04:59:00.000-04:00

My MPC and hooptie turn.

Well its 5 am on a Monday night and Im bored as hell, so I made this hip hop mixtape/podcast for you motherfuckers. It came out pretty dope. Its about 30 minutes long and has a lot of good indie shit and some 90's joints. Heres the tracklist.

1. Intro
2. Emanon - Count Your Blessings
3. 5 Deez - Late October
4. Count Bass D - Blues For Percy Carey
5. Charizma - Red Light Green Light
6. No Id - Interlude
7. Common - In My Own Words
8. Ghostface - Biscuts
9. ATCQ - Oh My God
10. Beastie Boys - Sure Shot
11. Nature - To My Advantage
12. Diamond D - Sally Got A One Track Mind
13. Large Pro - Wanna Chill

Podcast #2

I also made this beat tonight. Shits pretty funky. Sampled some Galt MacDermot for this one. And played a lil synth in it. More of an upbeat track clocking in bout 115 bpms.

In other news, my partner Lou is taking a little break right now, so Imma roll solo for a minute. I might have some other cats come post once a while. So if your interested and have a knowledge of more obscure or slept on joints that you want to feature, hit me up. So thats it for now, enjoy the music and peep these links.

LINKSSSS!!!!!!!

Biggie Freestyle Movie. This is dope as fuck. Must see. Thanks to Spine Mag for the link.

Amen Break Documentory. Real tight. The Amen Break is a classic breakbeat by the group the Winstons, and has been used on countless tracks from all different genres of electronic music. Check this out.

Nas - 50 Cent Diss MP3

Real dope T-Shirts. Found these one ebay one night. I like the Favorite Breaks joint. It has all the dope og breaks waveforms.

Graffiti Stencils. This is cool but real wack at the same time.

Kanye West article from NY Times, via Okayplayer

Trailer For 50 Cents new movie, Get Rich Or Die Trying.

Soft Drinks And Hard Rhymes

and thats that. The suns up so I gotta get my ass in bed. Peace.

Hollertronix

2005-07-21T13:56:00.000-04:00

If you haven't heard of Diplo yet, you need to wake the fuck up. Diplo is originally from Florida and moved to Philly where he started his own parties. He met up with a cat called Low Budget and founded Hollertronix. These are like parties that they throw and they play all kinds of party shit. "...elements of 80s nostalgia with mainstream hip-hop, crunk, dancehall, bhangra, Baltimore club and now even the Favela Funk of Rio Di Janeiro (from Stylus)" These parties are real big though and get mad people out. If your in Philly or NYC they usally have one every month. On the production tip though dude has that DJ Shadow, RJD2 vibe. Really dope tracks with old breakbeats and all kinds of dope samples with that sp1200 grit. His first single was Turntablelab.com's first release on there record label, Money Studies. His debut album, Florida, is a collage of samples and layered breaks. Real good shit. His tracks always have this progression to them where he flips it up towards the middle and takes it somewhere else. He is a pretty diverse cat. He recently did a mixtape for M.I.A., Piracy Funds Terrorism, which has been blowing up worldwide for a while now. Its more of that crunk shit and he flexs his DJ muscle on there. So goto his website and get on his messageboard. There is a pretty decent community there with cats like Catchdubs and a lot of other bloggers on there. Dude is blowing up and I can see him getting real big in the next year.

1. Sarah
This is one of my favorite Diplo joints. The beat is serious. This is off his album Florida. You gotta pick this joint up with the quickness. Dont sleep.

2. When Eggnog Goes Bad
This was that Turntable Lab joint I mentioned before. I got this as a free promo the one day I bought a bunch of shit from them. Well worth it. I got that original record that horn sample is from but cant remember it.

3. Newsflash Ft. Sandra Melody
This is a Diplo riddim. This is more of his party tracks. Kinda on that Reggatron tip. Shit is hype. When i first heard this I bumped it for weeks straight.

4. Diplo Live At 3d Pt 1
This is a mix from one of Diplos gigs. Listen to how crunk it is. Its funny to hear him be so diverse in what he does. He gets mad props round here.

LINKS!!!!!!!!

MPC Simon game. This is tight. You have to follow the pads like the OG simon. dope.

Dad boxes 3 year old son and kills him. Spotted at Emynds.

Freshfest Tour

DMX is wack as fuck. Interview. Spotted at Spine.

Biggie Movie. Finally. Pac got his now Big gets his shine.

Remix Hotel In Chi-City. I wish I could check this out. Its dope.

Speaking of Expo's, DJ Times is having there big Atlantic City Expo coming up soon. I went to one like 2 years ago and they had prototypes of Numarks CD turn and other shit that wasnt released yet. So check that out.

Old KDAY clips. Dope

Rawkus Records is back. All you indie cats best protect your neck.

Bolivain Womans Wrestling. This is like backyard wrestling for the 3rd world.

Still Tippin. Getto Body Kit.

and thats that. peace.

Wale Oyejide: "One Day Everything Changed"

2005-07-19T02:45:00.000-04:00

EDIT:I made a couple of mistakes on this post that needed to be corrected. Thanks to Mr. Merge for bringing that to my attention. Peace.

Tonight I'm going to talk about a cat that I think is mad slept on. Wale Oyejide is a Nigerian born producer and vocalist that came to the US as a young teen to pursue music. He graduated an American college then started to get his name out there. His debut album is under the name Sci Fi, and was him on the beats. Very spacy and soulful productions. On his next album One Day Everything Changed, he does all the production and makes his debut on the mic. He doesnt really rap on his tracks but he sings and chants which is cool. Some of his lyrics I think are a little lame, but overall its pretty good for the most part. Alot of it deals with his frustrations, politics, black power, war, revolution, and just shout outs to Africa. Its all layed over some smooth jazzy afrobeat tracks. He handles it on the production end real well. I like his drums and the basslines. He uses some gritty synth arrangements on a few tracks, but then there is layerd vibes and keys that give the beats thats spacy hip hop nu jazz feel. The Afrobeat theme he brings to most of the tracks is cool. Its like some 2004 Fela Kuti shit popping off. You can tell Kuti had a real impact on this dude. His way of chanting on the mic and the way he lays the horns and drums is very reminiscent of the king of afrobeat. I think this is cool cause Im a big fan of Kuti and Antibalas. (Ill be doing posts on them soon) The one track Iban Sunrise sounds like Fela and Pete Rock got down on a joint together. He also has some guest appearances by Jay Dilla, MF DOOM, and this cat Taraach. The Dilla track is pretty good, but Dilla just wrote some ol bullshit for the track. Didnt put all his effort into it. The production was cool though. Wasnt really a fan of the Doom track. I usally like him but was nothing special. But overall its a tight album. Some different shit to listen to in the indie hip hop circle. Its some good shit to start rioting or if your planning a pilgrimage to Mecca. So scoop it up and pay the man. I didnt want to post up the guest tracks, cause I think other joints on the album outshined them. And quality comes first round these parts bitch.

One Day Everything Changed ft. Taraach
Damn James
Iban Sunrise

I'm takin ya back come follow me, on a journey to see a for real MC

2005-07-14T18:48:00.000-04:00

tats cru - click the pic to see it better.

What up? Gotta go to Jerz for a few days so I just got some dope tracks and links for that ass. One thing i want to mention though is this mural above me. This is done by Tats CRU, a team outta NYC, that has blown up and made the graffiti ish into a legitimate business. They are for hire to hit up a bodega or record store in a borough near you. They got some real nice murals and piece work. I dont write but I like to look at cats pieces all the time. If you do have any pics of your work please send em to thelowendtheory@gmail.com. I could always use that shit. Any promo items would be appreciated also. :) I have to do a few posts on some stuff that was sent to me a while ago. A nice sampler of Nuclear Fams new tracks, and Jeff Chang's Cant Stop Wont Stop (A very ILL book. Imma do a book report on here for it in a little bit), Ill get around to them some day. So check out the graff and these mp3's.

1. Miracles - Kice
This is a pretty dope album. Its got some real nice production done mostly by Mr. Len. This beat is tight casue of the chopped jazz/vibes loop. Dont sleep on this album though. Got alot of nice jazzy tracks and good lyrics. I think sandboxautomatic.com has it in right now. On a side note yesterday I spent over like $90 with them. Getting some dope 90's hip hop.

2. Listen 2 This - MED
This is ill. I always liked MED (Medaphor) but lately he been on thouse wierd Just Blaze or Dilla tracks, that sound like the Neptunes and Timbaland had a retarded baby together and taught it to make beats. Most of his whole new album, Push Comes to Shove is real clubby and commerical like that. I just cant get down to that ish thogh when this cat has been rocking over Madlib tracks for years. This track is a Madlib cut and I think the shit bangs. I like the way MED emcees though, even though dude gets real monotumus. He dont switch up shit. If you want to hear rhymes bout smoking weed and Cali then scoop this shit up.

3. Disillusioned - Demon Fuzz
This is for all my rare groove heads. This is a classic track that was just reissued recently. I got the reissue but the OG pressings are pretty rare. Some good shit though. There are an all black UK group that dropped back in the 60s-70's. A lot of producers have sampled there album AFRIKA. You will hear samples from it all the time. This track here starts off slow and kind of dark, but breaks into a funked out breakdown in the middle. Shit is rugged.

4. All The Way Down - March Wind
Another pimpin funk track. I couldnt do alot of research on these dudes except for them being on a few funk comp records. This shit is real funky though. It has that pimp vibe to the whole track, then towards the middle it gets crazy. Ill.

LINKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alchemist got his ribs broke and lung collapsed on a tour bus with that 50 Cent/Shady Anger Management Tour. Im not a big ALC fan but hope dude is aight and all that.

Goggle Earth. This is some of the hottest shit I've seen online. Real fun. Its almost scary how accurate the shit is though. I was looking at crackhouses and record stores in Tokyo.

Not My Baby Dady. I would be doing windmills after I heard that shit. Thanks to Frankly for the link.

88 Keys interivew at Dork Mag. Dope shit. Go over and support thouse cats. There blog is tight.

Blind Date: Crack Whore Edition This shit had me dying.

Roland SP-404 released. Just after I scoop up a 303.. This looks real cool. More effects, battrey powered, 12 pads (I like the 8 better or 16. 12 is wack.) There pretty cheap too. Def a nice portable production tool.

Hip-Hop Roots Album Explores The Most Sampled Songs In Hip-Hop.

A bunch of Z-Trip mixes. Cool shit. Spotted at Spine Mag.

Shock G calls it quits.

David Banner getting a show on Adult Swim. The one night I was watching Adult Swim, and all of a sudden this chessy beat came on and said that he gave it to them. Now this. Jezzus.

News on Danger Doom project

Worlds Ugliest Dog. ugghh thats pretty fucking grimy (thanks Diff Kitchen)

Aight I gotta get my ass on the highway to New Jeru. Peace.

HOLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!

2005-07-09T11:54:00.000-04:00

Thats one cool baby. I love days like this. Mean hangover but no work. So I can sit on my lazy ass all day and watch TV. All I got for you today is some dope music by some dope artists. Its a nice eclectic selection for today. Also check out the links.

1. Live As It Gets - Reef The Lost Cause
Got this off a sampler for reefs new album. Shit is pure fire. This beat is disgusting. That bassline that rocks thru it gets me mad amped. Its one of those joints thats so simple and minimal but just has that feeling. Got mad heart. If you haven't heard of Reef you've been sleeping. He is a real slick emcee from out of Philly and kills shit on the mic. I think he has a lot of talent but sometimes rocks over the wrong beats. The Canibus syndrome. Beats like this though make him shine like a mutha. Dude has the fundamentals of an emcee down to a tee. He got cadence, concepts, wit, and intelligence. So scoop up his joints whenever you can.

2. Mindgames (Sneaky Pete Edit) - Rich Medina
This is off a 7" that was put out with Madlib. Rich is a DJ from Philly who is has been getting mad dap as of late. The last few years dudes been getting a lot of work. I think he still holds down a few nights in Philly, and has guested on mad peoples albums. You can hear him talk some cosmic shit on King Britt's BBE release. (Forget the name - do ya homework) This beat is real chill with some lush vibes and nice synth arrangements over some slick drums. Some chill party music.

3. Ponytail - Corduroy
This is my shit here. Some UK cats making real funky music. I love shit like this. Real funky keys and arrangements. There aren't a lot of cats that really are getting down like this, so to see these cats doing it is ill. Other groups that somewhat do this are Soul Live and Bullfrog. I stole this Bio of Corduroy off Yahoo music.

The acid jazz outfit Corduroy assembled singer/keyboardist Scott Addison, his drummer brother Ben, guitarist Simon Nelson-Smith, and bassist Richard Searle (a former member of '80s one-hit wonders Doctor & the Medics). Formed from the ashes of the short-lived Brit-pop group Boys Wonder, Corduroy played their first gig -- a one-off New Year's Eve date -- in 1991; the performance proved so successful that its members agreed to continue on full-time, soon signing to the Acid Jazz label and issuing their debut LP, the largely instrumental Dad Man Cat, in 1992. High Havoc -- the soundtrack to an imaginary film -- followed a year later, launching the U.K. Top Ten hits "Something in My Eye," "The Frighteners," and "London, England." In the wake of 1994's Out of Here, however, Acid Jazz dropped Corduroy from its roster; after a long hiatus, the group finally landed on the Big Cat label, where they resurfaced in 1997 with The New You! ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide Written by Jason Ankeny

4. The Night My Girlfriend Left Me - Prince Paul
Here is some real chill zoning music. This beat is off Paul's new Ittstrumental album. Some real slick shit. Paul needs to make a lot of beats like this. Real simple melody with some strings layed behind it on some real punchy ass drums and a sub-bass. The vocal snippets are heat also and really tie in the theme of the track to the music. My only problem is the fucking emcee (Paul Barman?) that comes in towards the middle of the track. Muthafucka is wack as hell. It almost ruins the beat. But overall this is one of my favorite Prince Paul productions in a long time.

LINKS!!!!

Aight if you dont know this, Im a producer by trade. Please feel free to check out some of my beats HERE. If you are a fan of the site and the kinds of music that we put up you will enjoy some of my joints. So check that out. Shameless self promotion over.

Rocksteady's 28th Anniversary. Im defiantly going to this shit.

Oh shit Showbiz is dropping an album. Dope shit.

Lil Kim getting locked up !! Looks like she finally gonna find out how many licks it takes a prison lez to get her "magic shit".

Vintage Hip Hop Flyers And Photos This is really tight (thanks to Featherboy for the link)

Dope production clothing. Imma have to cop the mpc tee's.

Chris Tucker getting pulled over for speeding

Steinski interview at Monkey Funk

Killa Cam arrested for driving with a suspended license. DIPPP SETT!!!!!

MF DOOM mask on ebay.

Popular words used by Hip Hop Bloggers. I myself use lots of cussin and the word "Cats"

Mad Hip Hop Videos. GOD DAMN!!!!!!!!!

And that is it for today. Time to fire up the mpc and get busy. Peace.

Please set me at ease..

2005-07-05T14:16:00.000-04:00

Happy post July 4th and all that jazz. Im fighting a mean hangover and bout to goto work so I thought I would post up some cool tunes before I bounced. The 4th was cool, even though I had to work all night, but when I got home we lit off like $500 worth of fireworks, got the cops called on us, got real hammered, and made some beats. So all and all a good night. Today Imma just throw up some dope mp3's for you to groove to.

1. Please Set Me At Ease - Bobbi Humphrey
A nice chill track by the dope misses of smooth jazz. This track has been sampled by mad cats but I just like to sit back and zone out to it. Some real nice arrangements and the vibe is mad laid back. Some chilling around the crib music.

2. Do You Really Care - The Last Emperor
Now these beats are what I really get into. I love chill vibed out shit like this. That riff that goes throughout the whole track is fiyah. Im not really a fan of Last Emp, but he kills this track. This is more on the love tip, with some chick singing on the hook. Good shit.

3. Shine - Das Efx
Another Das joint this week. This track is rugged as fuck, if you can tolerate that Diggity Iggity shit for 3 minutes. Another hot as fuck beat though. I love beats with dope basslines like this and keys or vibes up in em.

That bout it for today. Gotta get my ass to work. PEACE.

edit: Also feel free to check out some of my more recent productions. I just added two more beats up.

That Other Dude: Vordul Mega

2005-07-04T23:02:00.000-04:00

I was out digging for music at one of my favourite shops a few days ago. I was mostly looking for vinyl, but decided to look at what was available in the used CD section. I found "The Revolution Of Yung Havoks" by Vordul Mega of Cannibal Ox fame on the Nature Sounds imprint. Being a fan of Cannibal Ox and Vast Aire I decided to check this album out. This album wasn't on my "to get" list at all, but since it was used I figured, "what the heck," and bought it anyway. Vordul was "the other guy" in Cannibal Ox. His partner Vast Aire is who really drew me into the group. I liked his gruff voice, intelligent poetic lyrics, and his flow. Vordul was tight but he just didn't have the same spark, so this is something that I wouldn't have checked out if it was brand new. I really wasn't expecting anything dope on it.

The store I frequent allows auditioning of all CD's and all used vinyl. I had a listen to the CD and what I liked initially was the beats, and the consistency of production throughout. I bought the album really on the strength of that. The album is produced mainly by a bunch of unknowns: Belief, Rudy Rock, Opto, Soul Purpose, Dev 1, Block Head, and Omega One. Surprisingly, with such a long list of producers you wouldn't expect the album to be very cohesive. However, it's cohesiveness is it's biggest strength.

All the tracks are hard, aggressive NYC style beats. They are Raw. There is no polish on these, or anything to make 'em sound like they would ever get played on the radio. Most of the beats are dark, grimey and moody. This suits the subject matter of the album. The main topic at hand seems to be hood struggles. Every song and every lyric, just about, is brim full with tales and emotions from the gutter life. This is not a pretty picture. There's no club jams, or feel good songs here. Just stark reality.

I really get the sense that Vordul is an "everyman." He's just a regular cat like you and I expressing himself and what he sees. He is not a superstar rhymer in the least. In fact, his flow is quite monotone, and boring at times, which is the biggest drawback to the album. Don't get me wrong, this is a solid effort and definitely worth checking out if you like gritty, raw, hard, Hip Hop. The depressing subject matter and tone is a lil much at times though. Some less dark tracks thrown here and there would have made this album a bit more enjoyable and a more interesting listen, as well we could've seen another side of Vordul. The guest spots on it do help liven things up. C Rayz Walz, Jean Grae, and Vast Aire all make appearances.

After hearing this solo effort, and the solo efforts of Vast Aire, one thing strikes me. Even though Vast Aire was the MC that really brought Cannibal Ox shine, really these two together are a great pair. They both sound lacking on their own. Neither Vast nor Vordul have quite been able to have the same spark alone that they have together. They have been doing quality solo work, and it's all been fairly consistent, but it's been nothing truly special. These two dudes really need to get back together for another Cannibal Ox album.

Below I'm including some MP3's from the album for you to check out. Also, be sure to check out our on-line store . We have some dope items for sale.

Vordul Mega - Spitamatic (feat. C Rayz Walz)
Vordul Mega - In The Hood (feat. Karnage)
Vordul Mega - Handle That (feat. Vast Aire)

Kon And Amir: On Track And On Time

2005-07-03T01:08:00.000-04:00

What's the deal? Since Ive been posting up jazzy mixtapes for a minute, I might as well toss you this one also. Kon & Amir are two diggers that really have some deep crates. On this mixtape they mow thru break after break, juggling and cutting them joints up the whole time. This tape is cool cause they go thru all kinds of rare ish that has been sampled by tons of producers. To think they own all these joints, and doubles of 2/3 of em, is pretty fucking impressive. There is 4 other mixtapes like this so look for em at stores. Mad props to cats like Soulman, Egon, Cut Chemist, Shadow, Diplo, and all the other DJ's that still make tapes or play gigs rocking breakbeats and all that goodness and keeping these joints alive.

Amir: I remember hearing those in my pops' record collection. Like Nautilus, stuff like that. So once I found that, I started going looking for other breaks that people had used, and it just sort of spirals from there. But once you get into cratedigging and record collecting... I don't want to call it a disease (laughs), but it's something that you can't put down. Once you get one, you want more and more and more, because you learn more and more about music. Then after a while it becomes more about what people use, it's more about just finding good music. Finding who plays certain instruments, stuff like that. It's what helps you out, learning how to dig for music.

Kon: (on crate digging) You might consider it a curse at the same time. It's kind of like, over time you develop a pretty vast knowledge of records and music. When you hear new music coming out, it's just pretty much the same old stuff for the most part, nobody's really pushing the envelope. And that sucks, knowing that there are so many kinds of music out there, and knowing that people are just stuck on the same old bullsh--, it's kind of a curse in that way. But at the same time, for myself it's a perk, because I know all this great music that no one else does. There's a small handful of people that are into that, the majority of the people just [listen to] Top 40.

Word up. I had to cut down the mixtape casue I aint cool with just giving you cats the whole joint. Got to support artists and all that jazz. So check this out, cop all five of em, and peep these links. Peace.

Kon & Amir: On Track Vol. 5

LINKS

Melvin Van Peebles to work on a double album with Madlib for Stones Throw.

Jay Z's nephew died in car crash

My roommate is a ninja

Suicidal Bunnies Thanks to PT3R for the link

"Live 8 stakes claim as greatest concert"... no comment... and Will Smith running the Live 8 in Philly with Kanye

Beaterator

My audience has gone from being over 95 percent Black 10 years ago to over 95 percent white today

Wife Racing Thanks to Cheech for the link

Hammond Heaven

Mad Primo samples. OG tracks used by the man. Dope shit.

Podcasting: Part 1

2005-07-01T16:20:00.000-04:00

EDIT: Luther Vandross dies at age 54???? WTF is that about. Damn shame.
Just checking in briefly today. I have a dope mixtape/podcast to share today. If you like jazz, funky music and sampling, it'll be up your alley. Lots of Blue Note joints and some real funky shit.. All mixed by me, DJ Haze. Enjoy. Please check out our store and shit and buy some stuff. The forums are officially dead, but its all good. Also we have been added as a part of SOHH's blog division. We joined up with like 5 other dope blogs and formed the first hip hop blog network so we can take this blog shit to the next level. Stay tuned for more info on that ish. Our name is up there now, but due to some technical difficulties on my end (I had my retard moment trying to set it up) our link isn't displayed right. So keep checking back thru the week while Hashim, the admin and creator of the network, gets everything setup. In the meantime enjoy the podcast and some links. I will have a series of posts coming up soon on some slept on and unknown cats that Ive been really feeling. So dont sleep.

The Low End Theory Podcast #1 - DJ Haze

LINKSSS!!!!

Just Blaze honered at a producers convention

Cheesy Drum Machine heaven

The cats over at 15 mins to live are putting up mad videos. Check that shit out.

Bobby Brown got his own reality tv show. SMOOOKEEE CRACK!!!!

Big's murder is finally going to trial. Took em like 7 years.

Kanye is gettin on my nerves.

Saul Williams Mixtape (thanks to Catch Dubs for the link)

Cuban Linx's got a gang of mp3's up and videos.

PEAAACCCEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God Damn. Im finally back

2005-06-30T18:36:00.000-04:00

Whats up all? My pc took a crap on me so ive been offline for about 3 or 4 weeks. I want to thank Lou for holding it down while Ive been on my little hiatus. Ill be doing a bunch of dope posts this week so keep checking back. Ive got to read mad emails and install software to get me up to speed again right now so I gotta jet. Ill throw up some music for that azz real quick though.

Das EFX - The Real Hip Hop
I found this track on some record that has Pete Rock's greatest hits on it. The label, Archives INC., has like 2 vol.'s of just dope P to the Raaah remix's and classics. Jamal's, Fade Em All, is on there and that shit is classic. On the other vinyl there is Soul Brother #1's remix of P.E's Shut Em Down. They also make Tribe, Primo, Black Sheep, EPMD, and mad other groups, greatest hits or unreleased track albums. Keep your eyes out for em.

Nice & Smooth - Funky For You
Damn this is some hot shit. I always loved Nice & Smooth. I think the first track that I heard them on was D.W.Y.C.K. by GnG. This beat here rocks the Impeach the Pres drums, and kicks into a real funky loop produced by Teddy Ted. Drink Hennneeseeee eeeeeee.

Platinum Pied Pipers - 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
Now I got this cd as a promo a while ago. These dudes are aight. They have a few tracks with Dilla and Sa-Ra that are cool. Im not really a fan of cats singing on tracks like Seal's ass, but this shit is dope. A real jazzy beat thats not really hip hop, more like chill jazz/downtempo/house or whatever genre you want to throw it in. Got some nice keys at the end. Look for the CD in stores and sandboxautomatic.com

Thats it for now. I got a bunch of good shit coming up so dont sleep. Also we have a little thing popping off with SOHH.COM and Ill speak more on that in the week. Peace.

Psychedelic Mixing: David Gibson Blinded Me With Science

2005-06-29T23:07:00.000-04:00

It's been another "interesting" week. My work has been either cutting shifts or letting us go home early for the past week. This would be cool if I didn't have to pay for bills and all this gear I ordered. I just started this job and I'm pretty heated about this. I'm thinking of hitting the pavement and finding another job here very soon, as I understand this happens at the end of almost every month there.

Speaking of the gear I bought, I ordered a pair of Samson Rubicon R6A monitors from American Musical. I got the pair of monitors and noticed right away that the volume knob on the back of one of the speakers was deformed. I thought, "not a big deal if they sound good." Well, I hooked them up and realized that the speakers were doodoo too. I was making a beat on the MPC 1000, and everytime I hit a pad that had a kick drum loaded in it, both speakers would squeak. Besides that annoying squeak they sounded pretty decent. I guess it was a good thing they were defective, cause they were really too big for the room. I'm not going to slander American Musical for this either. They are a great company. They have 24/7 customer service by phone or chat, which is absolutely great. They are going to cover my expenses for mailing back the speakers to them, and they even sent out another pair (decided to go with some M-Audio's instead) before I even sent back the defective Samson pair. Their customer service was very nice and helpful. It was quite refreshing. I would deal with them again just because the customer service was that good. As for Samson, I will probably never buy another Samson product again. Their Quality Control is busted, much like those speakers. Enough about my week, lets get down to some business.

Before work, I like to do things that keep me occupied, so it doesn't seem like I'm just working, going home, falling asleep, waking up and going to work, and repeating the cycle. (I'm trying to avoid living in my own personal Groundhog's Day.) I decided to go to my city's public library. I picked up a DVD called "The Art Of Mixing" by David Gibson. This isn't the first time I picked up something truly worth while from there that was related to music. They have a good selection of CD's from just about every genre too. Since my shift was cut today, I decided to watch the DVD and write about it. I have to admit that the DVD quality is a lil bootleg looking. It looks like your corny high school music teacher signed out the video camera from the audio/visual room and decided to make a video. David Gibson, the maker of the video, and also the writer of the book by the same name, decided to REALLY go the visual route with this DVD. I mean, it didn't stop with visual representations of the sounds and techniques, it had actors dressed up as scientists, buddhists, headbangers, rap cats, weird 80's cats, and they had some weird psychedelic effects going on through out the presentation.

Despite all the corniness, this video was exceptionally great at getting the points across, so you understand exactly what is being talked about in each topic. Everything is broken down to a basic and practical level. The visuals actually help very much with this. They say a picture says a thousand words and those visuals get across some very complicated information in a way that could make a grade schooler become a great mixing engineer. The video actually explained and enlightened me to a lot of things that I didn't know about. This definitely takes the mystery out of professional mixing.

Another thing that I liked about this DVD is how it shows the different approaches to mixing that is taken by different styles of music. Each genre of music has it's own aesthetics that are more or less adhered to, and yes, it does show how Hip Hop is mainly mixed. Hip Hop heads did not make this video, so the sonic representations of Hip Hop are extremely antiquated, but the principles discussed still hold true. Nowhere in the DVD are you told "this is the way you MUST do it." You are given the general principles and told basically that you can take it in any direction you want. David Gibson stresses many times in the DVD that you must mix to your "own values," and there is no right or wrong way to mix. Mixing is part of the overall expression that is music, and he is simply telling you how and what works. I like that view point very much.

Baisically, if you are interested in recording and mixing music I suggest getting this DVD. I heard about the book quite awhile ago, and I think I will probably read it. I will check the library catalogue. They probably have it on the shelves somewhere in the city. There's one last thing that I want to point out. If you can stand the song "She Blinded Me With Science" by Thomas Dolby for a good 3 hours straight, it is definitely worth it, because that is the song that is used to demonstrate most of the principles. If you don't already hate that song, not only will you absolutely despise it, but you will want to hunt down and kill Thomas Dolby after watching this video. (note: not to be taken literally - just a figure of speech to express how irritating the constant repetition of passages of this song was in the video)

Of Course, if you want to hear probably the best mixed Hip Hop record out there, pick up Dr. Dre's The Chronic 2001. It is often used as a reference for how Hip Hop should sound like when "properly mixed." Again, it's all subjective. I don't want to hear every record sounding like Dre's joints. Come to the table with your own values and expression, like the video says.

If you enjoy this blog and would like to help support some starving beatmakers/music heads who have terrible jobs and expensive gear and music habits; check our on-line store at www.cafepress.com/lowendtheory and pick up some shirts for your family, your dog, and heck, your mistress (hoes need clothes too, Mufucka!). We also got stickers, hats, and other items. We only get paid $1 an item, so buy lots and lots. PEACE!

Gear Porn: Future Music

2005-06-21T00:50:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone. It's been an interesting week. DJ Haze fried his PC and it's now in the shop, so that's why he hasn't been on-line in a minute. I'm not sure when he's going to make an appearance again either. It should be sometime soon. I myself had a big week. I just started a new job, have a new girlfriend, and I am in the process of tracking down equipment, cables, accessories, and doing research on stuff I still need for a small budget bedroom studio that I'm putting together for myself. I got a turntable and mixer, just got an Akai MPC 1000, got a mic stand and popper stopper (I don't M.C. or sing myself. I got these to record others, but you know, since I'm going to have it I might as well funk with it a bit...right? Of Course.) I'm still waiting on an Akai dps12 portable studio/multitrack, a Shure 57 mic, some Samson Rubicon 6A studio monitors, and a bunch of lil odds and ends. It's madd stressful getting equipment, but very exciting at the same time. There is way too many options, and way too many things to consider, and way too much money that you may never see any returns on, but it's a labor of love and obsession to the highest degree. Nonetheless, I've been running around like a mad man this week, and I finally have some time and energy to sit down and make a post.

So, anyways, back to the matter at hand. Today I'm going to do a review on a dope magazine I found on a news stand near my work: Future Music. Incidentally, it's a magazine about...yes...music gear. "Electronic" music gear at that. It's perfect for the beat digging head that wants to find out more about different programs and equipment so they can make beats; perfect for all types of "electronic" musicians not just Hip Hop; and also perfect for those who just want to stay informed about the ever evolving technology of music production.

What caught my eye first about this magazine was that it came with not one, but two CD-ROMs. Both CD's come jam packed with gear and software demos, and get this...approximately 1000 royalty free samples spread out over the two discs. The samples are hits, loops, and multisamples in WAV, AIF, and REX2 (Reason/Recycle) files. There are even some Maelstrom and Subtractor patches (both are for use in Reason software as well). The style of samples range in everything from Hip Hop, Progression, Afro Latin, Session Drums, Electro Breaks, etc. The selection is fairly diverse. The Hip Hop sounds were ok. It's nice to have some extra sounds to mess around with regardless.

Now as far as the content of the magazine itself, I was fairly impressed. It's very well written. Most of it is technical in nature, but that is to be expected. It is written in a very understandable, easy going, and straight to the point style. My only complaint is at times it can be too conversational. At times, the writers more or less just express their opinions without really saying why they've come to certain conclusions. Thankfully, this doesn't happen very often.

Now, this magazine is not tailored to us Hip Hop heads like say Scratch magazine, but the information and what is covered is very relevant to Hip Hop production. Future Music covers a lot of things that will and should be of interest to many Hip Hop producers whether they are making beats in their bedrooms, or in expensive studio facilities. There is full reviews of the latest in software and gear. One of the most notable reviews was on Serato Scratch which is basically software that allows DJ's to use their turntables to mix, cut, and scratch MP3s just like actual vinyl. The benefits of this are obvious. It opens up a whole new world of music for DJ's to mix and manipulate. It also saves DJ's from carrying around crates of vinyl with them from gig to gig. Another very interesting review was on the Faderfox midi controllers. These basically make Ableton Live software become more like hardware by giving kinesthetic (hands on) people what they are missing when it comes to working with software set-ups. There are three separate controllers that give physical control over most aspects of the program. This look really great in concept, I wonder if it's equally as great in practice. Hopefully so.

A feature that I found kinda cool was the audio makover section called Changing Studios. I'm sure most of you have seen talk shows like Jenny Jones, Maury, and all that other crap, that give their guests with poor fashion sense makeovers and make 'em look pretty/handsome, and updated. Well, Future Music gives audio makeovers, if you will, to those who are suffering from outdated and/or poor gear. This was compelling. I'd love to get that shit done. If the editors are reading this...hook a fella up...nahmean?!!? For Real. I need that shit so bad.

The magazine I purchased is from the UK. This is my first time seeing the magazine, so I am not sure if there are different versions for different regions. There are tons of ads in it for UK retailers with prices for all types of gear. Anything from computers, to keyboards, midi controllers, monitors, microphones, etc. etc. is in here. So for those who are in the UK, this magazine might be helpful to you if you want to buy some new gear and want to price shop. For those that are not in the UK, Future Music does have a feature that showcases and compares "the best of" certain types of equipment such as monitors, samplers, sequencers, microphones, and keyboards, even sample cd's. This could be very helpful regardless of which region you reside in. I would, however, take the opinions with a grain of salt, because a lot of this is personal preference, and is quite subjective. Future Music does primarily stick to popular opinion anyway. If you know anything about music gear, you probably won't be surprised by their lists. If you know little or nothing, this should bring you up to speed on what gear is current, and has a reasonably good reputation for whatever price bracket you're looking at. Even if you aren't in the market for gear, it is still interesting to check out.

All in all, Future Music is a pretty solid magazine and has lots to offer. It is a bit pricey. I'm not going to lie about that, but the cd-roms make it worth it. Both for the free stuff that's on them, and for making the magazine a more interactive experience. Each issue is pricey enough that I probaby won't buy it every month, and I bet the subsription cost is quite steep too. However, I will defintely purchase it when it has particular things of interest to me. This is definitely on my "To Check For" list. Definitely check it out for yourself when you have the chance.

If you like The Low End Theory and would like to help get the word out about it, and would like to help support a couple of music addicts in doing their thing, check out our on-line store. We only make 50 cents to a dollar per item. It's not the money obviously, we would just like our blog promoted, and the items are pretty dope. We have shirts, hats, notebooks, and other cool shit. When I get over my gear lust I'm going to cop something for myself, and yes I do have to pay for it too, so does DJ Haze. He got a shirt for his dog (yes, we got dog shirts too).

I'm including two zip files that contain most of the samples that come with the issue I purchased (May 2005). One set is from Tekniks (183 MB), the other is from Loopmasters (285 MB). They both have sounds for a variety of musical genres, and are encoded in a few different file types: WAV, AIF, and REX2. Both zip files are rather large. I would suggest only those who have a high speed connection download this. However, if you got dial-up and really don't mind letting your pc run all day/night to download these...be my guest. If you like this post be sure to check us out in the future. We will have more posts on gear/equipment.

Tekniks Samples
Loopmasters Samples

Diggin On Blue Note: A History And Some Hip Hop

2005-06-07T23:21:00.000-04:00

Today I’m going to talk a little about Blue Note Records. Blue Note has been the premier jazz label for the last 60 somewhat years. Their artists have inspired and influenced a big chunk of 90's hip hop and there samples are on joints that are still dropping today. Numerous albums from there vaults were used for groups like ATCQ, D.I.T.C., Brand Nubian, Nas, Large Pro, Pete Rock and many more's productions.

Blue Note started out in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Francis Wolfff. The name comes from the "blue notes" which is characteristic of jazz and blues music. Lion came from Berlin and moved to NYC in 1937. In 1939 he recorded Albert Ammons and Meade "Lux" Lewis in a one day session in a rented studio. This started the album out. The labels first releases were traditional "hot" jazz and boogie-woogie music. The labels first hit record was "Summertime", by Sidney Bechet. They would record artists from around the city after there gigs usually late at night. The label soon had a reputation of treating the musicians well and catering to there needs such as recording at convenient times and allowing the artists to be involved with all aspects of making the record. Franciss Wolfff was not a part of the label yet, but he moved to the US from Germany and joined up with Lions. He then was drafted into the service for two years. At this time the label was not really doing much. After he got back he worked inside a music store where the owner was keeping the catalogue in print and providing storage of the records. By late 1943 Blue Note started recording again and began to supply the US Army with records. Towards the end of the war Blue Note started to make Be Bop jazz records, a style that was started mainly by Dizzy Gillepsie and Charlie Parker. In 1947, Thelonius Monk started to record for the label. On these recordings, this was Monks first debut of a leader, and also the debut of Art Blakley. The Be Bop Era went on for the next couple of years with other musicians joining Blue Note such as Bud Powell and even a few sessions with Miles Davis. In 1951 the music started to shift style a little and shift into "hard bop". Blue Note then started signing acts such as Horace Silver, the Jazz Messengers (originally a collaborative group, but soon to become Art Blakey's band), Milt Jackson (in what would soon become the Modern Jazz Quartet), Clifford Brown and Herbie Nichols. Jimmy Smith signed with them in 1956 and released the first 12" release on the label. In the late 50's Blue Note started to sign talent such as Sonny Rollins, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, Sonny Clark, Kenny Dorham, Kenny Burrell, Jackie McLean, Donald Byrd, Lou Donaldson, the return of Bud Powell (by then past his prime), John Coltrane's Blue Train, and Cannonball Adderley's Somethin' Else (featuring Miles Davis in a rare supporting role). This was the era that was responsible for many hip hop producer's beats in the 90's. These records are classics in the world of digging and should be in every producer’s collection. In the 60's they dropped Herbie Hancocks debut album. Also a lot of session players such as Ron Carter who established his own solo career in the 80's for the label, Freddie Hubbard, Grant Green, Joe Henderson, and more formed somewhat of a family of musicians that would assist each over on there own records and each over’s projects. In 1965 Blue Note was acquired by Liberty Records and Lions and Wolfff retired. In 1979 EMI came in and purchased the label and started to pahse it out until 1985 when it re-launched as part of EMI Manhattan Records. Blue Note is now owned by Capitol Records and has been on active reissue campaign of the labels releases. Now such artists as Norah Jones and Anita Baker are with the label.

For today’s mp3's I would like to focus on the hip hop side of Blue Note. In 1999, Blue Note approached Lord Finesse to do a mixtape of the classic Blue Note breaks. This album has Finesse just juggling some of the dopest Blue Note breaks ever. You will recognize about 90% of these samples that he plays. Shit is very dope. Its about 50 mins long and has shout outs from everyone on there. I would like to thank Cheech for hooking me up with the mp3's.

Diggin On Blue Note Side B

In 2003 Blue Note approached Madlib and asked him to produce an album that featured samples from there entire catalogue. A very cool thing for a record label to do and a producers dream. The album has covers of different tracks such as my favorite Mystic Brew, by Ronnie Fostor and many other artists such as Donald Bryd, Horace Silver, Gene Harris, and many more. He uses his band Yesterday's New Quintet on a few tracks to provide a jazz feel, and takes the hip hop approach on others. MED has a track on there rhyming which is pretty cool. The album is good and has its moments. Some real smooth beats on it. Blue Note has been very supportive of hip hop and has embraced these artists with open arms. So they get mad props over here. Enjoy these mp3s and go digging and scoop up some of these joints.

Montra - Madlib
Mystic Bounce - Madlib

Also please by a T-shirt from us. They are pretty cool. I bought a few and they look good and the one for the dog is crazy dope. Help us promote The Low End Theory. Please join up to our forums to talk about the blog, music, links, and whatnot. And the last order of biz is the mailing list. The mailing list is bumping right now with yousendit links flying all around. So check that out. Please send an email to letheory@gmail.com to get on it. Thanks a lot and peace to all.

Ay Yo....C'mere...shhh ...Yo...You Want Some Of That Rock?!!

2005-06-06T00:58:00.000-04:00



Admittedly, I don't listen to a lot of comedy albums. I could probably count on one hand how many I have listened to, but you know what??? I can't even remember the ones I've heard to count them anyways, so scew it. I've pretty much just listened to them once and forgot about them. This has been my M.O. when it comes to comedy albums, until I heard Chris Rock's Never Scared. (It is a DVD also)

Now I have heard Chris Rock albums before, and to tell you the truth I can't remember a single thing from them, but this album is incredibly funny, insightful, intelligent, and memorable. I enjoyed every bit of it, save some of the stupid skits. I think why I enjoyed it so much is because so much of the shit he says is absolutely true, and the kicker is that it's absolutely offensive much of the time too. I now regard Chris Rock as a comic genius. I think he's absolutely brilliant now. I remember him on Saturday Night Live and a few of his movies. To be quite honest, I was never that impressed with him, or thought he was that funny. I guess doing skits and acting is just really not his forte. Even the skits on Never Scared kinda suck, even though they were produced by the equally brilliant producer Prince Paul. I guess stand-up comedy is truly Rock's niche and genius. He's that good. To me he is getting better with time too. Even some of his latest movies are pretty good and also doing very well at the box office. I admit, it's good to see Rock finally get his. He has been working hard in the biz for a very long time.

Some of my favourite moments on this disc have to do with music. Most of the album is compromised of audio recorded from his stand-up show. He has one bit on Hip Hop and how he is 39 and still loves it, but hates that he has to constantly defend it. It's true though. How many times have you had to defend your love of Rap/Hip Hop? I know I have to. Sometimes it's like a daily thing. He is also right that there are some things about the music that are just damn near impossible to defend. Namely the mysogyny and violence. Chris Rock also talks very candidly about his thoughts on Michael Jackson and R. Kelly. It may not have been as funny as Dave Chappelle's "Pee On You" skit (A parody of R. Kelly) from The Dave Chappelle Show, but it's still very funny and insightful.

I don't want to try and paint the picture that this disc is mostly funny shit about music, because it's not. Far from it. Chris Rock touches on a vast array of topics that range from politics, to child rearing, to relationships, marriage, racism, wealth, etc. etc. If you crave some great comedy that is intelligent, daring, political, relevant, and "in your face," pick up Chris Rock's Never Scared. It comes with a bonus DVD that shows footage of the making of the album. You see how much of a perfectionist Chris Rock really is. 

I have included MP3's of my favourite tracks from the disc. If you would like to help support us and spread the word, we have shirts, hats, and stickers with our logo for sale. Also, be sure to join The Low End Theory Forums and get on our mailing list. EDIT BY DJHAZE: also check out a beat tape i just made. It has like 12 beats i did in the last couple of weeks. 

Chris Rock - Rap Stand Up
Chris Rock - Drugs, Donuts, and Wealth
Chris Rock - Real People Of Ignorance (Tattoo)

"Im on the grind, but I still got that money on my mind..."

2005-06-02T21:59:00.000-04:00

you know what is fucked up? if you search for "work sucks" or "my job sucks" on yahoo pictures, you get alot of blowjob pics.

What up people. If you haven’t already seen, our forum was shut down by the man for a few. It's all good though. Go there and sign up and get info on how to sign up for our mailing list. I would advise you to do that soon. If you know what’s good for you...Also WE GOT SOME T-SHIRTS!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!!! This was inspired by my man Dstruction. We dont make nearly any money on em. Like I think we get $1 a shirt. But they look cool and you should buy one. Imma have to buy one also, folks. If you want decent looking T-Shirt's for like $10 to $15 bucks and want to help support us trying to release this record that is coming out in July, pick one up. AIGHT? ALSO CHECK OUT THIS BEAT TAPE I MADE, IT HAS 12 BEATS IVE DONE IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS.

Anyway, today’s post is going to be on work. Working a 9 to 5 and being a musician, or any sort of artist, is a tough gig. You have to do some mind-numbing bullshit all day just to pay the bills, so you can make music and get closer to your goals. Lately, I feel I never have any time to work in the studio and take care of business. I mean, I still make a beat a day, but I gotta do that when I get out late at night, and wind up staying up till 5 am or just being real tired and accomplishing nothing. For the last two years, I was a scrub that didn’t work at all, but was in the lab seriously 10 hours a day. I got mad shit done, and learned the trade. I kinda miss that shit. It's cool though cause you have to make ends meet. Back then I couldn’t even afford food and had to do some ill shit to make rent. Now I got some money, so I can invest that into my music and keep the lights on, but I just don’t have the time I wish I had. Also having a job is less stressful in the long run cause living the trife life ain’t too cool. If you had to live off Ramen Noodles and ice tea/Kool Aid powder for a while, you know where I'm coming from. So it works out. But it's hard realizing your getting older and still having your lame ass day job. I know a lot of you out there feel this shit. Cats with talent, creative drive, and a desire to make something out of their lives instead of moving up the Walmart corporate ladder, or becoming the head manager at the car wash. Ive had a ton of weird jobs throughout the years, such as valet parking, telemarketing, managing a bookstore, supermarkets, retail, waiter, and a lot more. Now I do deliveries and you should see some of the characters I have to deal with. I’ve seen some bizarre shit there. Yesterday I had a retarded dude fall on me in his house and start crying saying, "I HAVE A PROBLEM!!!!". Not cool. And a little while ago, I went to this nursing home, and the people were rolling down the hall in wheelchairs screaming "I WANT TO DIE!!! KILL ME!!!", while leaving a trail of piss. All for $5.15 an hour and some hurting tips. But you gotta get your hustle on to pay bills and have somewhere to sleep at night. And It's even harder when you have kids, credit card, medical, car, you name it, adding up. So with that little rant, today’s songs are about working on the grind and getting by, trying to move toward the bigger picture in life, instead of being a slave to some bullshit job that you despise.

WORK SUCKS

Da Grind ft. Apocalypse - Masta Ace
I might have posted this song up before but this joint is on some real shit. This song has Masta Ace and Apoc talking about their daily struggle and the need to make it in music, while having to work and grind to get there. I like Apoc's verse the best. Just the overwhelming task of balancing music and making ends meet is what hits home with me. The beat is crazy tight. I think it was done by Krysalis. This track is off Ace's new album, Long Hot Summer.

God's Work - Murs
Ahh a joint bout waking up hungover, getting ready for work while rushing out the door, being stuck in traffic, being late, and dealing with bullshit when you get there. I know everyone here has had a day like this. I usually have like 2 a week. I hate the feeling of being late. Getting all anxious and freaking out on the ride there having to do that walk inside feeling like everyone is looking at you and knows you just done fucked up. Not a good look. This beat is rugged as fuck. I wasn’t a big fan of Murs until a a few months ago. I had some of his older shit, but lately I’ve been feeling dude. I thought that Living Legends shit was lame, but his solo joints are aight. He is on some tight productions most of the time also.

Fuck a Job - Soul Postion
This is a cut off that 8 Million Stories LP. Soul Position is comprised of RJD2 on the beats and Blueprint handling the emcee duties. The track is all about how Blueprint is a computer programmer and how disposable he is in the whole corporate machine. How he has no identity and his whole career can be thrown away over a meeting, and by computers and technology making him obsolete. This is some real shit. My pops had this problem recently. He worked as a manager at AT&T for the last 25 years, till they starting slipping and their stock fell hard, so they had to do massive layoffs. His options were to stay around and get fired inevitably with no reimbursement, or just take a package and leave. After 25 years of loyal service, this is how they repay him. He wound up getting a fucking watch for 25 years of service. Dude just got a job now at half the salary, after not being able to find work for almost 2 years. He is 52 years old now and still has to work 40 hours a week. This is a big reason why I dropped out of college and started doing music, cause I ain't going out like that. So fuck a job. This track is dope. I like how he flips the KRS-ONE, "Outta Here" hook. RJD2 also handles that shit on the beat.

I wanna go home - Ugly Duckling
I just started checking these dudes out. The beats are aight. The emceeing gets a little corny on ALOT of their tracks, along with the skits. They got this Meat Shake theme throughout this album, that is just gaye, but they shine with tracks like this. This track is about waking up, going to work and just wanting to leave. Like when you roll up in there and you wish you called out cause it sucks so bad. This is about 90% of my days.

5 0'clock ft. Phonte Of Lil Brother - The Perceptionists
This cut is off their new album, Black Dialogue. It's a song bout leaving the grind and getting home and unwinding. Doing what you want instead of dealing with your jobs bullshit, like chilling, putting on some records and laying around. Phonte is on the hook singing some shit, instead of rapping this time. Fakts-One does a good job on the beat. I like that filtered guitar with the LFO on it.

The Grind Date - De La Soul
This is off De La's new album with the same title. It's all bout coming up in the rap game and grinding and working your way up the ladder. Pos, talks bout the motivation and dedication to pursuing the "grind" with music. Maseo talks bout his experiences with his first contract and where he was at when he came into the game. The beat is ill. This whole album was dope. I thought this was one of the better releases of last year.

You Dont Work You Dont Eat - WC & The Maad Circle
This track has that gangsta west coast funk. Those trademark Zapp/P Funk basslines over some funky ass keys and guitars. This shit is about just hustling and growing up and making money and working. WC talks bout he used to work at the chicken shack hustling fried chickie. "MCDONALDS IS MY SPOT!!!" Some dope west coast ish. This track also features Jay Dee, (not Jay Dilla) who I think is incarcerated right now on some weird murder charge that smells like some setup shit. I’m not sure though. If anyone has any links to this cat please post them in the comments section.

Boss Man - Bo Diddly
Here we go with the non hip hop joints. This one is bout Bo pleading to his boss man to have sympathy on him and understand his plight. Dude works all day, got rent, kids, the whole nine. Shit got them funky ol' pianos. And that good ol' jive to it.

Working In A Coal Mine - Lee Dorsey
I think everyone has heard this track in one form or another. BT Express did an ill instrumental cover of it. Shit is dope though. It starts out with a nice breakbeat and goes into some funky bass and cool harmonies with the vocals. Then Lee gets on and talks bout working in a coal mine, waking up at 5 am, being too tired to move when he gets off. Shit the title kinda tells it all. You know how much that would suck? I think my job is beat, this shit must really fucking blow goat dick.

And there you have it. Songs bout working and the daily grind. If you dont work, or you have some kind of trust fund so you can sit around and jerkoff all day, you suck. So join the forums and get on the mailing list. Trust me it's worth it. And buy some Low End Theory gear. Peace.

The Furious Funk Of Flash

2005-06-01T23:10:00.000-04:00



Today I'm going to review something very legendary and momentus in Hip Hop. The Message by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five (released in 1982 on Sugar Hill Records) was in my opinion the first Hip Hop release to establish the then nascent music and culture of Hip Hop as a serious and respectable art form in the mainstream and around the world. It was the first time DJ'ing and cutting was committed to wax. It was the first time brilliant sociological commentary was to be expressed by Hip Hop. It was also a very versatile work that included many styles that ranged from hardcore, to party jams, to R&B. I picked up a re-issue of this album alsmost 2 years ago. There's no way I'm going to find an OG pressing of this where I'm at. If your a serious Hip Hop fan and are interested in Hip Hop's humble beginnings...be sure to pick this up.

Grandmaster Flash was one of the pioneers of Hip Hop DJ'ing. He may not have invented scratching (Grand Wizard Theodore) or extending breaks (Kool Herc), but he was the DJ to bring these new artforms to the world. Grandmaster Flash (named after "The Grand Master" Bruce Lee and Flash for his speed on the turntables) was always interested in vinyl even as a child. He also held an interest in electronics as well. Both of these interests went hand in glove with DJ'ing. Grandmaster Flash not only studied that art of DJ'ing, but also the inner workings of his equipment. He even modded his own gear. 

Flash's DJ performances were so captivating that people would just stand around and watch. He started putting a mic out for vocalists to rock, and eventually settled on five MC's (Cowboy, Melle Mel, Rahiem, Kidd Creole, and Mr. Ness/Scorpio) who eventually became The Furious Five. Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five as a group had an opportunity to release the first rap single, but Flash declined as he only believed that those in the Bronx would be feeling it, and he wanted to keep everything underground and real. That is until the "Rappers Delight" single by The Sugar Hill Gang was released on Sugar Hill Records in the late 70's and was a hit. That made Flash change his tune so to speak. The group then released their first single Superrappin' on Enjoy Records. The single failed to meet expectations. Soon after Flash was approached by Sugar Hill Records, and the group began recording the singles and album cuts that eventually made it onto their first full length The Message. As I mentioned above this album had a lot of great firsts, not only for the group, but for Hip Hop itself. 

When listening to this album I can hear a formula that has been used for many great classic Hip Hop albums. It basically has a track for everybody. If your a conscious head and want to here The Realness, you got the title track "The Message." If you like partying, you got "It's Nasty." If you like smooth R & B you got the Stevie Wonder tribute "Dreamin'." If you just love the breaks, you got "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel." I also noticed how things go in cycles, because back then they didn't have sampling, so they would have a band interpolate the breaks that Flash was rocking for most of the tracks. A lot of that is being done today, but that is mostly due to copyright issues. 

Anyways, I have included some MP3's below of my favourite tracks from the album. Check 'em out. Also be sure to join our forums. We have a good community there. We have recently had some problems and had to shut down part of it, but that won't stop us. Peace.

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - It's Nasty
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - The Message
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel

FUCK THE POLICE!!!!!!!!!!

2005-05-31T01:46:00.000-04:00

WORD THE FUCK UP!!!!!!
Man, you ever have one of those weeks when shit is just fucked up? I've been working my ass off for the last two weeks at the day job and in the studio, and on top of that shit the motherfucking cops are harrasing me. It all started a week ago when these pricks decided to pull me over for my registration and inspection being expired. The reg was expired on 1/20/04, but fuck them. Anyways, I catch 2 citations for that nonsense. Then all of a sudden every fucking cop has a hard on for me. I got pulled over twice after this. Now I aint been pulled over in a good year or two, so for this bullshit to happen in the last week is on some other shit. Now I gotta pay these cocks a grip of loot. But whatever. The shit that really pisses me off is that today when I go to work I hear that Johnny Law been looking for me. Now it happens on Fri night I was leaving work and I drilled this retards car behind me. I wasn’t really paying attention cause I was out of it from working nine hours, but this chick came flying up on my ass when I was leaving, and she got what she was looking for. I hop out the van and go look at it with her and she just has this fucking look on her face like OOOOHHHHH LAWWWD THE WORLD IS GOING TO FUCKING END!!!!!!!!!, while her clown ass man just sat in the car looking stupid. And to make it worse there was a bunch of punk ass kids all sitting around in the parking lot going "OHHH SHIT HE JUST FUCKED HER CAR UP!!!!!!! OHHHH SHIT!!!!" Making my life more unpleasant then it already was. Upon further inspection I concur that there is no damage to either vehicles and I say, "Well what do you want to do? Should I call the police?" This moron just looks at me and says no. At least I think she does. I was trying to get my ass home to drink the 40's that I just bought. So I was like "Aight then, PEACE!", and got my ass in my van and drove home. She wasn't to amused with this, apparently, so she decided to go into my job and talk MADDD shit bout me, calling me an asshole and a bunch of other choice comments. My bosses are pretty cool though and they defended me and told her to relax. And they knew the officer that came in so they just ended it right there. Thank god, cause if a pig decides to pull me over, I get the privilege of being arrested for this warrant bullshit that they issued and that I decided not to pay till Im good and ready, god damnit.. Fuck that ten day deadline shit. I'll get you your money on my time. If my landlord and the cable company get it like that, what makes these pricks any different in my eyes? So on that note I have to say, fuck the police cause they suck and they make my life hard. God damnit. Well enough ranting and lets get on to the hate mixtape I prepared for you fuckers. Oh and hit The Low End Theory Forums for free music and all that jazz. Shit has been bumping lately. Mad mp3s and other shit. Sign up to get into the mp3 section.

FUCK THE POLICE!!!

Fuck the Police - NWA
The classic cop hate song. This song has every member of NWA venting on the cops. This song stirred up mad controversy back in the day. They just are expressing the way young black males get fucked with by these pricks and the harassment that 5-0 gives people. Some classic shit.

Deep Cover - Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre
This is my jam. "YEAHHHH AND YOU DONT STOP!!!!!! 187 ON AN UNDERCOVER COP!" This song is about some entrapment shit that an undercover trying to bust Dre and Snoop doing a drug deal. Snoop and Dre gonna meet up with some corrupt cops that are trying to get them to work for them. So Snoop blasts them. This was off the soundtrack to a movie by the same name. The movie is pretty dope and this song really got cats amped when it came out.

Sound Of The Police - KRS ONE
Black Cop - KRS ONE
Two songs by the Blastmaster. You get the idea. Black cop has that dope beat and the cuts on the hook. It's all bout black cops messing with black dudes and black on black crime. Shit is tight. Sound of The Po Po is KRS' venting on the cops in his hood and the way they fuck with cats.

Cop Killer - Ice T
This song caused all kinds of problems when it got released. Ice T got martyred for this shit. His album was pulled and he had cats like Charleton Heston cracking down on him. This shit pissed MAD people off. Got Warner to even drop Ice T. This group was Ice T's all black heavy metal band, Body Count. It was supposed to be an expression of cats feelings towards the 5-0 but they were not feeling that at all. So that makes it ten times cooler.

Pigs - Cypress Hill
This is the hot shit. The beat is rugged as fuck. Muggs kills this shit. I like the theme of the song cause it breaks it down lil piggy style and details the stories of various pigs throughout the city and the corruption. Shit is dope.

Fuck the Police! - Jay Dee
This is a dope Jay Dilla production. Jay Dee spits on how the cops fuck with everyone, how much he hates them, and how they are corrupt and how they fuck with cats. Basically follows suit with the rest of these songs I’m posting.

Cop Hell - Mobb Deep
This is an earlier Mobb joint. This song is bout getting them fuckers. Hav and P talk bout getting harassed by 5-0 and shooting at them and whooping there asses with nightsticks and shit. Basically, it's on the killer tip and they gonna send these cops to Cop Hell, cause they're hardcore and all that ish.

Ghetto Bird - Ice Cube
This song is all bout the helicopter in the hood chasing cats down. It details Ice Cube driving around and having one of these things chasing him and fucking with him. Dope west coast steez.

Low Class Conspircsy - Lord Qaus
Now the indie take on 5-0. This song starts out with Quas and Madlib driving to a party smoking trees and some Narcs roll up and harass them and search the whip and all that jazz. The beat is crazy chill. Some nice jazzy shit that rides with the theme.

Cop Hell - Nighthawks
This is the only good song of this ill fated concept album put together by Camu Tau and Cage. It's supposed to be like that movie with Billy D and that white dude, called Nighthawks. The song is bout some corrupt ass cops running around causing hell and doing shady shit. Dope beat but the album sucks cock. This is really the only shit I can bump off it.

I Shot The Sheriff - Bob Marley
This is the bonus cut of the night. This is the classic cop killing song. Bob pops the sheriff and has to deal with the repercussions. I like this version more then the Clapton song. Some ragga steelo.

And that’s that. I’m not serious bout hating or killing the cops and shit, so I don’t want to see no hate mail and all that or my ass on some list somewhere. This is just for entertainment value and we here at the Low End Theory don’t advocate anything that I just said and expressed in this posting. Cops have their purpose, but they get on my nerves sometimes. So don’t take all this serious, just some good ol' cop hating fun. And if you do take offense to this, your panties are to tight and get a fucking life! Peace and hit up the forums.

NYC Record Stores

2005-05-25T00:22:00.000-04:00

Fatbeats NYC
Whats good? Sorry I haven’t been on for a few, my Internet got shut off cause I’m a scumbag who doesn’t like to pay my bills. Anyways, tonight’s post is going to be on my favorite city and the record stores in it. I try to hit NYC at least once a month where I proceed to spend $300 to $400 on some of the illist records around. I’m out in the lameness of PA, so quality record shops are lacking. Me and my boy Dan try to hit up 3 places every time we roll out there. Fatbeats, The Sound Libary, and Turntable Lab. These three usually bankrupt me by the time I make my rounds. I will break down them one by one, and a few more shops in the area to check out when you hit the city. Oh and I went out and bought a drumset. Shit is real tight. If anyone has any good links or advice, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME. It would be appreciated. I’m a straight up retard on them. Aint nothing like my MPC. Not a good look. Oh and hit up the forums for some free music. You have to be a member to join the mp3 section. Now on to the stores.

Fatbeats
Fatbeats is one of the finest hip hop record stores in NYC. If you need some indie and the current hot shit that is on the radio, this is your first stop. They have all the banging indie singles and LPs you need. On the one wall right across from the wall is all the current indie and commercial shit. There is bins in the middle with indie shit throughout the years. Real nice selection. In front of the turntables there is mad sampleable shit like the Dusty Fingers Comps and funk and jazz re-issues. Now on the wall to the left of the turntables is the scratch records and the old school records. The problem with this wall is that the fucking sun hits them and bakes them bitches so you bring home mad warped records. Not too cool. Other then that though the selection is dope. Up at the counter you have all the dope videos and books on hip hop, graff, and all other shit like that. If you spin hip hop this is the place to check out while your in NYC. Also you will see artists in there all the time. I've ran into Breezy Brewin from the Juggaknots, J-Zone, DJ Rhettmatics, and DJ Eclipse from Non-Phixion, who actually is the manager.

The Sound Library
I think this place is my favorite record store in NYC. I make beats and this place gets my nipples hard. When you walk in there is bins of the illist jazz, funk, and rare grooves just laid out. Everything in there is heat. They are a little pricey, but worth it. It's like they weed through all the bullshit at a place you would normally dig at, and just leave you with the fire. Real dope. They also have a real nice hip hop collection with OG pressings of real rare albums and singles. The last time I was in there they had an OG Souls Of Mischeif 93 till ... for $60. Pricy but worth it if you have the dough. The have like 2 listening stations and the cats that work there are pretty knowledgeable and helpful. They have a few bins labeled, BEATS: which has all records with dope drum breaks, SOUNDLIBRARIES: records that have certain sounds on them, REISSUES: you get it, and more. If you sample records you have to hit this place up. Just make sure to bring some loot.

Turntable Lab
Another gem located out in the Lower East Side. Its a small place with a few bins and a little DJ station, but don’t let that fool you. This place has mad indie joints, all the current radio joints, mad 90's records, lots of scratch records, downtempo and electronic joints, and they are a full gear dealership. I bought 2 mixers from there. There prices are fair and the selection is dope. They are a well rounded DJ store. Also they give out a lot of promo shit with records. Like there is always a deal like "buy this record and get a limited edition 45 or free cd." Gotta love that shit. They also have mad magazines, and books. The gear selection is dope. You can buy turntables, needles, to MPC's up in that bitch. The prices are on par with everyone else for the gear. The staff is cool and real helpful also. Check them out if you hit the city.

Beat Street
This place is out in the heart of Brooklyn. I haven’t been there in a little while but this place is fucking huge. You walk downstairs and there is seriously like a football field of records up in there. They have the biggest stock of records I’ve seen out in the city. As you first walk through it there is all the commercial thug shit on the right and all the UB&B series of records on the left. A whole wall of scratch records also. As you go further there is a special room dedicated to dancehall and reggae. Then you walk around the corner and there is a whole store in itself with indie joints. Shit is crazy. The first time I went in there I was gassed by how big this place was. You seriously can find everything in there. They got the hip hop on lock. The prices are crazy cheap also. Like singles for under $4. Not really a place to look for samples but if you DJ, this the joint.

Rock and Soul
I have never been to this place but I hear they got good stock and gear. I cant really elaborate though.

That’s all the places that I hit up when I hit the city. They usually put me in crazy debt, but leave me real fucking happy. You just can't find wax like that anywhere else. If your looking for quality though you must make a trip to the Mecca of Hippity Hop. There is also mad lil record stores that you stumble upon while venturing around the village, and the LES. Just keep your eyes open. I went to this one place the one time called 8 Ball Records and they had mad house and DnB, I think. Limited hip hop, but quality shit. Got Super Duck Breaks up in there.

Online Record Stores
Since I’m on the topic of record stores, I'll let you know 'bout a few where I get my e-digging on.

Dusty Groove
I’ve spent many a paycheck up in this bitch. They are based out in Chicago and have great shit to sample. If you are looking for nice rare records, and re-issues of dope shit, this the place to fuck with. Their prices ain't to bad either. Their jazz selection is real nice and they got mad funk joints. You can also buy hip hop up in there also. What I like about this place is that on a lot of the records listed they show the covers. I’m not a hard core digger and roll around with lists of shit that I need to get, so I base a lot of purchases on covers. I know some names of shit to look for and labels but a cover is what sells it for me. So that is a dope feature. The shipping is nice and fast, and I think they send shit overseas. Good place to fuck with if your in the boonies looking for shit to sample.

Hiphopsite.com
I’ve messed with these cats once and they got a good selection of hip hop. Mad indie joints. They also give out mad promo cds and vinyl on most purchases and they always have the newest joints in stock. A good place to get your underground joints. I like this place cause they have snippets of the wax for you to peep. That’s a good tool on deciding on what to cop.

Sandbox Automatic
This place is the bare bones approach, but they got the selection. They are real good on customer service and thorough in promos and shit also. They have a lot of stock also. One of the best hip hop record stores online.

Turntable Lab
Now I talked about the retail store, but there online shop is just as banging. They have all the shit they have in the retail store on here, and show covers and play snippets of the records. I love shopping at this joint online. If you can't make it out to NYC definitely hit this shit up.

Music for you fuckers
Aight got to throw up some heaters so check it:

1. Devil's Pie - D'Angelo
A dope Primo production with D'Angleo crooning over the track. Shit is heat. This cut was off the Belly soundtrack and got alot of play in the whip when I was younger. The beat is sick and D'Angleo talks 'bout the evils of man. WORD.

2. I'm a Villain - Nas
This was a Nas bootleg that came out a while ago. Shit is pretty dope. I like the laid back vibe of the beat and his lyrics. That bassline is fire.

3. Impuls - Sextant
The jazz cut of the night. This song starts out all wierd and dramatic then breaks into some funky shit towards the middle. Some European rare grooves for you. I got this off a comp with a lot of other rare grooves from there and they all are pretty tight. I might throw some more up later on down the road. If your lucky....

And that's it. Enjoy bitches.

Ready Or Not: The Delfonics

2005-05-12T18:00:00.000-04:00



Today I'm going to highlight a group that is known more for their sweet soul sounding music than for sampleable breaks and rhythms. This group is The Delfonics. The Delfonics are a trio made up of two brothers, William and Wilbert Hart, and friend Randy Cain. They were the group that started the "Philly Sound." When they first began as a group they mostly garnered small regional success within the Philadelphia area. The little attention they recieved was enough to get Thom Bell the owner of Philly Groove to sign them. They released their classic hit "La La means I love you" in 1968, which birthed their careers, became an undisputable classic, and introduced the world to the sounds of Philly.

The Philly sound was actually quite different from what was happening in soul music at the time. It was much more smooth, melodic, and the arrangements were more simple and sparse sounding. This made soul music a little more accessible to the mainstream. In fact, The Delfonics break out hit "La La Means I love you" became a hit for many more artists from different genres throughout the 70's. By The mid 70's the band's success began to die down. Randy Cain left the group and was replaced by Major Harris. With Harris in the group they had a few more minor hits, but Harris soon left to pursue a solo career. At that point the group was dismantled.

Today, you can still hear The Delfonics influence especially in Hip Hop. They have been sampled by Timbaland for Missy Elliot's music, as well as their lyrics being interpolated by Lauryn Hill on the Fugees classic softmore album The Score on the opening track "Ready Or Not." If you like good soul music that will make you feel good, and is suitable for everyone to listen to, pick up some Delfonics.

I've Included 3 Delfonics' MP3's that I'm currently feeling. Also join The Low End Theory Forums for more free shit and more contributions.

Ready Or Not Here I Come
Trying To Make A Fool Of Me
Going Out Of My Head

Sho' Yo' Wright!

2005-05-12T16:51:00.000-04:00



Today's post is going to highlight one of my favourite southern soul singers: O.V. Wright. O.V. was an exceptional soul singer. He was one of the very few that would really make you feel how he was feeling. His piercing voice let you know what it felt like to be a troubled man in pain and sorrow. He epitomized the blues in R&B. If you like artists like Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, and Al Green you will surely like the work of O.V. Wright.

O.V. began his career as a gospel singer. This is no surprise as many southern soul artists began their careers in the church. In the 1960's he began his journey into secular music lured by all the trappings and vices that it afforded. His first label was a small southern soul label called Black Beat. Since the label was so small, O.V.'s early recording were only played regionally on small R&B stations. In the 1970's he began his career at Hi Records. His records were produced by the legendary Willie Mitchell, and here O.V. also helped Al Green develop his sound. Producer Willie Mitchell knowing how talented and gifted O.V. was tried desperately to try and give him the same success that Al Green had. However, O.V. never did reach those heights. He did make some great music in his career. Upon listening to his works you will definitely hear a sound and style that is very much in sync with Al Green's music. But O.V.'s music is much more deeper, heartfelt, and searing at times. This is mostly due just to the nature of his singing voice alone.

You can hear O.V.'s influence on Hip Hop mostly through the art of sampling. His voice was sampled for Ghostface's track "Motherless Child" from the brilliant Ironman LP. His grooves and rhythms were also sampled as well. If you want to hear some REAL soul music, defintely pick up his albums if you see them. There is a few compilations that I have seen, and his earlier works on Black Beat have been re-issued as well.

I have included 3 MP3's of my favourite O.V. Wright Tracks below. If you haven't done so already join The Low End Theory Forums for more free stuff and great contributions.

Into Something (Can't Shake Loose)
Let's Straighten It Out
I Don't Know Why

OH SNAP!!!

2005-05-12T15:45:00.000-04:00



Today I decided to write about a legendary and mysterious album and group: The Skull Snaps. The reason why this group is so legenday is because they have provided Hip Hop with one of it's hardest and most loved drum breaks. It's the drum break that starts off The Snap's "It's A New Day." What is also so interesting about this group is that they only released the one album, no one has heard of them since, and no one even knows the names of the musicians involved. It's a shame really, because their work is really tight. 

After listening to this album I was fairly surprised. Most of the tracks are pretty much your standard soul music with a dash of funk sprinkled on top. If you like straight up soul music you will enjoy this. If you are simply digging for beats, well you will find a few treats on here as well, but be warned The Skull Snaps ain't no Kool & The Gang, the arrangements and such are relatively simple, but still effective.

If you find this album I do suggest picking it up. It is relatively rare. However, it's been raped for samples. No Lie! A quick search on The-Breaks.com will show many entries of songs that have sampled The Snaps. The only one that really took me by surprise was Alanis Morissette sampling them for her song called "Still." I gotta check that joint out just because that's so outta left field. As far as Hip Hop artists that have sampled The Snaps it ranges from anyone from Public Enemy, Diamond D, Ultramagnetic MC's, The Alkaholiks, Redman, Blackmoom, and the list goes on, and  grows larger every year.

I have some MP3's by The Skull Snaps below. I have included the joints with their oft sampled breaks as well as something that shows their diversity. Don't forget to join The Low End Theory Forums if you haven't done so. There is a lot of free shit, and a lot of great contributions.

It's A New Day
Trespassing
I'm Your Pimp

Gimmie The Loot! The Robbery Track

2005-05-09T14:16:00.000-04:00

Todays post is going to be on robberies. This has always been a subject that has been covered in rap songs, from doing the robbery to getting robbed. Artists have expressed different angles of getting jacked or plotting to jack someone for years. I have about 7 songs that go through different scenarios of a heist. Also please hit up the forums. Members have been posting up some real good music lately. You have to be a member to view the mp3 forum.

1. Ski Mask Way - 50 Cent
I’m not really a big 50 fan anymore. His first single How to Rob, was some classic shit, but lately I feel a lot of his tracks are watered down and not really the quality they used to be. Especially on his newest album the Massacre. This track though was the stand on one in my opinion. Disco D, a Detroit "ghetto tech" producer, did this beat. Shit is real hot. This track basically is 50 talking bout jacking you the "ski mask way". Which means that he just gonna kick in your door and take your watch and your chains and shit. And hog tie your mom's. Its just funny to have Disco D doing the track, cause he a little white dude who looks like he doing shit the "nerd-hop way".

2. Gimmie The Loot - Biggie
This track is a classic robbery track. It is straight up about Biggies passion for robbing cats. Biggies does two voices on this track, a high pitched version of Biggie that is supposed to be Bigs partner in the caper, and his bad assed self. The chorus is one of the ruggedest hooks in the last ten years. Also the beat is laced proper. I always wondered though why the fuck the word "pregnant" was edited out that track, considering the rest of the track was obscene as fuck. Puff Daddy and his pussy ass like "Well we can keep all the hard-core killing and stick up lyrics, but this preggers shit gotta go. That’s crossing the line."

3. Robbery - Necro
Here is the hard-core white dude take on robbery. This beat was originally used by DJ Serious ft D-sisive on a track called - Popped which had pretty weak lyrics but an ill beat. Necro does his whole shock rap shit and spits all about him jacking cats with that crazy ass flow of his. I hate bootleg demos though cause on the hook the DJ or whoever recorded this shit has a problem with his levels and cuts the volume of the track out for a few sec’s. Hooptie shit.

4. Our Secret - Souls Of Mischief
Now here is the indie take on robbery. These dudes dont really seem that threatening when they robbing. I can see these dudes like robbing there school at night, or some other non- threatening B & E. I just cant picture these cats rolling up on someone and robbing them point blank. The beat is real tight though. Got the classic break rocking and the funky loop going through it and the dope horns on the hook.

5. The Heist Revisited - Big L
Now here’s a track about plotting and following through on a stick up. L leaves the studio and catches a call from his boy, talking bout his wife and some cats just got a room at the Holiday Inn. L rolls up in there with his crew and kills these cats and his girl and winds up getting mad herb, yayo, and bout 2 million in cash. See that’s why you don’t cheat on your man ladies. Big L didn’t fuck around. I like this beat better then the OG version. Got more of the funky pimp shit going on. Good robbery music.

6. Intruder Alert - Sauce Money
Here’s another track about conspiring. Sauce gets woken up by his boy and dude laid down the scheme that these other cats had about jacking Sauce. Sauce like fuck that shit, imma go to his crib, rob his ass, and pop him in the head before he gets at me. This is a Primo production and shit bumps like usual. I like the cuts that Primo uses on the melody.

7. Great Live Caper - J. Rawls feat. J-Live
Now this track is all about getting robbed. J-Live comes home from the gym, and notices that his place has been broken into and that they stole nothing else but his rhyme book. J-Live expresses the feelings and anxiety of getting robbed real well in this track. He then gets his "homing" device and hunts these cats down and winds up blowing up the plane they are escaping on with his rhyme book. Hahaha. I’m not making this shit up. A pretty decent J. Rawls beat with some cuts and choir voices on the hook.

And that is it. Its a jack move fool. And one more time please check out the forums to get some free shit. Peace.

LINKS:

Dope Primo interview

Bobbito A.K.A Cucumber Slice Interview

We All Was Kings Tralier. A real ill looking independent film on hip hop.

MF Grim interview (thanks to Andreas for the link)

Here you go. Buy your Ipod from a vending machine. Right next to the one with condems and Milky Ways.

DJ Spooky talks about remixing

Whats your Wu-Alisas? My govt comes up as "Vulgar Bastard". (thanks to Tanamo for the link)

Madlib Interview in Elemental.

and thats it. Check the forums out for free shit.

Not The Fifty Your Thinkin' 'Bout!

2005-05-06T16:18:00.000-04:00



Today I'm doing a post on a slept on M.C. who has worked with some of Hip Hop's biggest heavyweights. Buc Fifty is an M.C. that has been on the grind for years. He was born in New Rochelle, New York where he starting rapping at the age of 12. By the time he was 16 he moved to Los Angeles and decided to try and make a name for himself there. He became part of a crew called The Wascalz and made his debut on an Eazy-E EP "5150: Home For Tha Sick," and followed that up later with an appearance on The Pharcyde's classic debut album Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde. At that time he was known as "Bucwhead," and rapped with a high pitched voice.
 
 His crew, The Wascalz, released a few 12 inch singles on Delicious Vinyl. An album was to follow but it was never released. Later on Buc was working on an album with Fat Lip from The Pharcyde, but reportedly Fat Lip no longer wanted to work with him because of his violent nature. Shortly thereafter Buc hooked up with a then unknown producer by the name of The Alchemist and began working on music. They released a few singles on DJ Muggs Soul Assassins label, and then for Vancouver Canada based label Battle Axe. Buc Fifty was supposed to release an album entitled "Nigga Heaven" which was to be produced almost entirely by Alchemist, but it was never released. Buc Fifty did however release an album a few years later called "Bad Man" which unfortunately had no material produced by The Alchemist but it was still a decent release. Buc has recently released a new album entitled "Serve The Devil, Praise The Lord." Which is produced by J-Swift, Ralph M from Funkdoobiest, Nucleus, and DJ Revolution.
 
 Buc Fifty's subject matter for the most part is street, gully, and gangster. He has quite the opposite image of many of the artists he collaborates and works with. His beats are hard and have an underground appeal to them, but the lyrics are more along the lines of any pop "gangster" record out there. In other words, Buc Fifty strikes a nice balance between "Nerd-Hop" and Hip Hop's more thugged out styles.
 
 I am including only the MP3's of the Buc Fifty tracks that were produced by the one and only Alchemist, as these are fairly scarce. I apologize for the sound quality of the files. Also, if you haven't yet joined The Low End Theory Forums please do so. It is constantly being updated with MP3's from DJ Haze, the forum members, and I. Peace!
 
 Still Breathin'
 Worst Enemy
 Buc Buc Buc
 Permanent Scars
 Scandalous feat. Tha Liks
 Penitentiary
 Bad Man
 Comin' With Me
 Killer Technology
 Metal's Advocate
 Jacking For Fan's

Hey Ladies: The Chick Song

2005-05-02T17:17:00.000-04:00

dizamn
Almost every rapper puts an ode to the opposite sex on there albums. Whether it be a dedication or a hate track, they usually deal with the subject of relationships in at least one of there cuts. Today imma showcase a few tracks that use women as the theme and go through the various stages of relationships and just straight up songs bout fucking. Also please hit up the forums, we got a lot of dope shit in there this week thanks to the contributing forum members. You have to join to gain access to the music section.

Can I Get With You?
These songs are about meeting women and kicking a little game.

Be My Girl ft. Solomen Child - Theodore Unit
This track is Solomen meeting a women and expressing how much he wants to be with her. Its on that thug love tip. This track is off the Theodore Unit mixtape 718 that Ghostface released last year. The beat is tight and Solomen kicks that shit proper.

Could You Be? - Vast Aire
This track is a more indie take on meeting a women and kicking some game. Vast spits about meeting his women of his dreams and talks about how she could be the one for him. This track is off of Vast's solo album, Look Ma No Hands, and was produced by Madlib. This is one of the best tracks on that album. The beat is on some slick shit. A nice key riff and a dope breakbeat for Vast to rock on. A little singing on the hook ties it up.

Passin Me By - Pharcyde
Now this track is more about getting rejected while trying to get with some ladies. The members from Pharcyde each talk about different dilemmas while lusting for someone and getting turned down, or just "passing me by". The beat is rugged, taking a loop of Quincy Jones, Summer in The City. This is off there album, Bizarre Ride Pt. 2.

Always (Ninth Wonder Remix) - Kev Brown
This joint is by Kev Brown, a dope upcoming producer with some sick beats. Its all about a producers take on ladies and lusting for women. He talks about being mad lonely cause he always in the lab and never gets out but always has women on his mind. Its a frustrating gig to make beats on the serious tip. The og track is aight, but this remix is banging. Ninth killed it with this one.

I Dont Know - Slum Village
This track her is all about fucking with the chick that you know deep down that you shouldn’t be fucking with. The one that is gonna fuck you up in the long run, but you still "don't know why your fucking with her". The beat is mad tight, a smooth Dilla Production, with some James Brown wordplay going on. One of my favorite tracks off of Fantastic Vol. 2.

Sex Type Thing
These songs are about getting freaky with chicks.

She Swallowed It - N.W.A.
This is the classic track about some freak nasty shit. This track is on some crazy shit. MC Ren goes through how he gets on some wild shit with chicks. The chorus is mad funny with Eazy E's telling his lady, "Dont Matta Just Dont Bite It". A classic track.

One More Chance - Biggie
This one is one of my favorite Biggie tracks. The cut is all about sexing. Biggie gets on some real shit talking bout the ladies and how he gets down. I dunno how a big ugly muthafucka like B.I.G. got so much puss, but he apparently "got that good dick, girl u didnt know". The beat is laced proper and the intro is some funny shit.

Strawberry - Ghostface
This cuts about Pretty Tone getting nasty with bitches, with him describing it in full detail. The beat is crazy tight, and when the beat breaks and Rza interrupts Ghostface getting some knowledge had me cracking up. This one is off Bulletproof Wallets.

Electric Relaxation - ATCQ
This is a smooth track outta Tribes Camp about sexing up honeys. Q-tip and Phife spit about lusting for chicks and boning them. One of the dopest tracks from Tribe in my opinion. The beat has that real chill vibe and the bassline is sick. I think that’s a Ron Carter sample on the bass but I’m not sure.

Clinic - Big L
Now this is the track about the negative side of hitting skins. This whole track is about how Big L got burnt and him regretting putting a helmet on his soldier. A ill PSA from Lamont Coleman. The beat is traditional DITC flavor and the little key loop in the chorus is dope.

Devotion
These tracks are about cats expressing some deep shit about there ladies.

This One - Diamond D
This track is real dope. This song is Diamond D talking about how much he loves his girl and what she means to him. Some deep shit from the Best Producer On The Mic. The chorus has Busta Rhymes spitting a loop about "This one right muthafucking here". The beat is on some real reflective shit and compliments the whole vibe of the track. I’m loving the keys. This is off of Diamonds, Hatreds Passions and Infidelity.

Queen - Chief Kamachi
This joint is by a somewhat unknown cat from Philly, by the name of Chief Kamachi. He basically talks about how much he loves his "Nubian Queen" and him describing his love for her. The beat is rugged as fuck and the hook is tight. One of my favorite tracks off his album Cult Status.

Breaking Up
These tracks are about getting your heart broken and shit on by a chick.

Just A Friend - Biz Mark
This is Biz's track about him kicking game and having the chick tell him, that "hes just a friend". It winds up with Biz meeting his girl at her college and walking in while she getting busy with some cat. Aint that a trip?

Fancy Clown - Madvillan
This joint is about Vik Vaughn finding out that his girl has been fucking around on him and him confronting her on the phone. Its on some deep shit about him getting crushed by this and his hatred and anger about it. If you ever been caught up like this, Doom hits that shit right on the head. The beat is done up by Madlib and got a real soulful vibe going on.

Situation - Madlib (Lootpack)
This is another about heartbreak and getting used. This comes from the Beat Conductors point of view. Lib describes how heartbroken he is and how fucked up shit got when his girl cheated on him. The beat is real dope and fits the depressing vibe perfect.

Da Bitchiz' - Jeru
This joint isn’t really about breaking up, but about scheming chicks that out to use you and fuck you up. Jeru describes the difference between a bitch and a lady. This is all about the scheming hoes that are out for your papes and how they use the fuck out of you for material gains. The beat is done up by Primo and has that laid back jazzy horn loop running through it.

So there you have it. That is hip hop's take on the ladies. Enjoy these 18 tracks. And join up at the forums for more dope tracks. Peace.

Back Like Cooked Crack: Crack Cocaine And Hip Hop

2005-04-26T23:59:00.000-04:00

I want to thank Lou for holding down the blog for the last week. Work got me running around like an asshole, and I'm trying to get ready for the studio on saturday, so I havent had any time to post lately. Hopefully there will be a Low End Theory 12" scratch record coming out by the end of May, so check back for updates. And hit up the forums for rare and obscure mp3's. You have to join to get to the mp3 section. Anyway, tonight imma talk a little about crack/cocaine in hip hop. The roots of cocaine/crack and some cocaine/crack tidbits, break down like this:

HISTORY:

Cocaine was first extracted from coca in the 19th cent. and was at first hailed as a miracle drug. By the 1880s in the United States it was freely prescribed by physicians for exhaustion, depression, and morphine addiction and was available in many patent medicines. After users and physicians began to realize its dangers and various regulations were enacted, its use decreased, and by the 1920s the epidemic had abated.

Another epidemic began in the United States in the 1970s and peaked in the mid-1980s; again the drug was at first considered harmless. With the latter epidemic and its accompanying crack epidemic (beginning in 1985 and peaking in 1988) violence in crack-infested neighborhoods increased dramatically. Young people with few other opportunities were lured by the power and money of being crack dealers; most carried guns and many were murdered in drug-gang wars that ensued. By the late 1990s the cocaine and crack epidemic had subsided as heroin regained popularity among illicit drug users.

Crack appeared in late 1984 and 1985 primarily in impoverished African-American and Latino inner-city neighborhoods in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. Crack is smokeable cocaine. It gained its named from the "crackling" sound it makes when heated. It is easily produced in a pot on a kitchen stove by "cooking down" a mixture of powder cocaine, water, and baking soda. Crack is typically sold in tiny vials or envelopes that cost between $5 and $20. Crack was not a new drug; its active ingredient is entirely cocaine. Nor was it a new way of using cocaine; smoking cocaine freebase had been practiced since the 1970s.

Crack was a marketing innovation. It was a way of packaging a relatively expensive and upscale commodity (powder cocaine) in small, inexpensive units. So packaged, this form of smokeable cocaine (crack) was then sold, usually on the street by young African-Americans and Latinos, to a whole new class of customers: residents of impoverished inner-city neighborhoods. The marketing innovation was successful for at least two reasons. First, there was a huge workforce of unemployed young people ready to take jobs in the new, neighborhood-based business of crack preparation and sales. Working in the crack business offered these people better jobs, working conditions, and pay than any "straight" job they could get (and better than other entry-level criminal jobs like burglary or stealing car radios). Second, the marketing innovation succeeded because turning powder cocaine into smokeable "crack" changed the way cocaine was consumed and thereby dramatically strengthened the character of cocaine intoxication. Smoking crack offered a very brief but very intense intoxication. This inexpensive and dramatic "high" was much better suited to the finances and interest in immediate escape of the inner-city poor than the more subtle and expensive effects of powder cocaine.

Cocaine in any form is a stimulant, much like amphetamine or even caffeine. When powder cocaine is sniffed in small doses (as it usually is), it makes the user moderately alert and energized. Thus, the typical psychoactive effects of sniffing powder cocaine are subtle. Users report having to learn to recognize it. In the 1930s, songwriter Cole Porter wrote that he'd "get no kick" from cocaine about powder cocaine.

INFORMATION:

Cocaine is either snorted (sniffed), swallowed, injected, or smoked. Habitual snorting can result in serious damage to the nasal mucous membranes; shared needles put the user at increased risk of HIV infection. The street drug comes in the form of a white powder, cocaine hydrochloride. The hydrochloride salt and the cutting agents are removed to create the pure base product "freebase." Freebase is smoked and reaches the brain in seconds. "Crack" cocaine, also called "rock," is a form of freebase that comes in small lumps and makes a crackling sound when heated. It is relatively inexpensive, but must be repeated often.

Crack cocaine magnifies the effects of cocaine and is considered to be more highly and more quickly addictive than snorted cocaine. It causes a very abrupt increase in heart rate and blood pressure that can lead to heart attack and stroke even in young people with no history of vascular disease, sometimes the first time the drug is used. It also crosses the placental barrier; babies born to crack-addicted mothers go through withdrawal and are at a higher risk of stroke, cerebral palsy, and other birth defects.

STREET NAMES:

Big C, blow, "C", chick, coke, corine, dust, flake, girl, happy, dust, nieve, nose candy, nose stuff, snow, toot, uptown, white, white girl, roca, rock, crack, Roxane, and white pipe.

Now a little low end theory history on the invention of crack. Crack was started by a Los Angles legend named, "Freeway Rick" Ross. He was an illiterate ex-tennis champ, and got his first bag of yayo on Christmas Day in 1979. He started out selling white to wealthy Black clients. As he took on more users and expanded his coverage, he got his product cheaper. He started to make his competition work for him because he was offering them great prices on powder. They traded in what they were selling and then got up with Rick. He was even training L.A. Crips to do sales for him. Back then Freebase was the "upper class" way to use cocaine. It was only really done by the wealthy and upper class users. Ricks customers knew about freebase, but they were afraid of Richard Pryors lil experiment gone wrong. So Rick then learned how to make a simpler method of cooking cocaine, cutting it with baking soda and heating it to make "Ready Rock". With Ready Rock, the rocks were a lot more potent then powder and a lot more economically viable. By the end of 1982 Rick stopped selling powder, and just hustled rocks. Rock offered a much larger market, and was doubling the profits of powder cocaine. Which took on the masses. Anyone could afford a nick rock of crack compared to a gram of coke that would run upwards $50 to $100. And the addiction to crack made it the greatest product for a dealer to sling, cause one hit was all it took most of the time to have a customer on lock. After this, the shit hit the fan. Whole communities were devastated and destroyed. Families and friends turned into zombies. Fiends were robbing anyone and everything they could for pocket change to cop rocks with. It was a real fucked up period. This also left room for mad entrepenaur that could make $100,000 a week on the corner, compared to a 9 to 5 paying $150 a week. Kids saw dealers rolling around in expensive cars with expensive clothes with wads of cash. These dealers became there idols, and showed them that if u want some real money, sell crack. Cause the legit job cant touch the profits that hustlers were making. Fuck being a fireman or an astronaut when u could be a millionaire slanging rocks. This also brought on mad violence such as turf wars, police intervention, rivalries, and claimed thousands of lives. In the 90's these dealers transferred there illicit business into the rap game. Easy E was one of the first cats that turned his hustle biz into a record label. Cats saw that you could make more money slanging music, but still keep the mentality and ethics of the crack game. Tons of artists, from Biggie to Jay-Z to Snoop Dog to Masta P, all were hustlers at one time serving fiends on the corner. Some still are, such as Irv Gotti, most recently. A lot of rappers glorify crack and promote the selling of crack because of how lucrative it is. There is also the songs that discuss the down sides and the evils of the biz. But they are some what out numbered by the tracks that are in favor of the pure white and praise the virtues of selling rocks, such as status, assets, and just being a gangster. Crack has somewhat died down in the last couple of years, just due to fiends dying and people shifting more into heroin. But the impact crack made on society and even music, will be felt for decades. And with that, im going to show all the different angles of cocaine/crack within hip hop music.

1. Peruvian Cocaine - Immortal Technique
This tracks is a narrative about where the cocaine originates and the channels it comes from. Immortal Technique and pals each take turns with roles from the cat picking the leaf, to the political influences, to the cat slanging in the projects, and then even the law enforcement end of it. Its basically shows who is involved and how yayo travels.

2. Ghetto D - Masta P
This is how u make crack and hit the block. This song pretty much tells u how to cook up some crack and get your ass some work. Pretty much biting Eric B and Rakim's classic, Make Em Clap To This, Master P and pals spit the crack rock recipe. This song shows how to make the rocks and how to get your own crack business blooming.

3. Ten Crack Commandents - Biggie Smalls
Ah the classic crack track. This track deals with the crack dealers etiquette. A how to guide on successful crack dealings. Biggie lays down the rule book for slanging rocks on this joint. On a side note, its funny how Chuck D went after Primo for using his voice on this song without authorization for its negative content. What a dick.

4. Hardcore Hip Hop - Rawcoticks (Primo Remix)
This is a soldiers point of view on slanging rocks. A rugged primo track with the cats from Rawcotiks spitting about the everyday hustle. The cat on the second verse really gets into it and details his daily crack slanging biz.

5. Raw And Uncut - Beanie Sigel ft. Jay-Z
This song parallels crack and rap. Beanie goes over his street life, and how he got down on the block. The chorus pretty much sums it all up.

6. White Lines - Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
This is the old school anti drug track. They rock over Liquid Liquid's Cavern break beat and talks about cocaine and how you got to stay away. The good ol' hip hop PSA.

7. P Is Still Free - KRS One
Damn another Primo track. Primo is the don dadda of this crack rap shit. This song is about skeezy crack hoes. This is basically a follow up to the old BDP classic, The P is Free. This song talks about the sleezy crack chasing hoes, that will do whatever for some rocks.

8. Jane Stop This Crazy Thing - M.C. Shan
Ah this classic talks more about a skeezy crackhoe named Jane. Jane is a base head that is all fucked up and Shan breaks down how wack she got from the glass dick.

LINKS

Apache Video (Thanks to Elmac for the link)

Pete Rock Making Of Soul Survivor Video (thanks to Prah for the link)

Yo MTV Raps Last Episode ft. Rakim, Krs One, E-Dub, Mc Serch and Chubb Rock

MED Interview

Copywrite got his ass beat by Camu Tau. Its funny as hell cause Copy had brass knucks and wound up breaking his own finger.

Crazy big MF DOOM and Ghostface collab article. And i mean big.

Terror Squad beats crowds asses after getting booed.

Kanye speaks on Dr. Dre in Rolling Stone (thanks to Chronobeats for the link)

GET THE FUK OUTTA HEA! (snatched off Catchdubs)

and thats that. PPPEACE.

Behind The Scenes Of The Source - Reginald Dennis Speaks

2005-04-24T01:43:00.000-04:00



Founder of XXL magazine Reginald Dennis speaks very candidly about his experiences as being a scribe at "Hip Hop's Bible" The Source Magazine in the latest exclusive at www.hiphopdx.com.(scroll down after clicking the link the 1st part of the piece will be there) It is a lengthy 3 part piece that details the breadth of the former Source editor's career at The Source, and what led him to create his own Hip Hop publication: XXL.

The meat and potatoes of the article is basically the strange host/parasite or extortionee/extortionist relationship that exists between David Mays and Ray Benzino ("co-owners" of The Source), and how Ray's influence on David Mays and The Source is one of the biggest factors in what many see as The Source's probable (inevitable?) demise.

Now, the fact that Ray Benzino is a negative influence on The Source is something that is widely known. However, Reginald gives you the insider's look at what was actually happening within the confines of The Source's offices when most of us were oblivious to what was happening. Most of us at the time were fiending for the mag. to drop every month so we could pick it up and go straight to the record review section, and check out how many "mics" future release albums recieved. Most of the time The Source was on point, but I'm sure we all remember when the reviews and album ratings turned biased. It was probaly around the same time we saw 3 page "Made Men" ads. Things that make you go "hmmmmmm."

Well, after reading this interview you may never look at another Source mag. the same, and that's pretty much all I'm going to say. You have to read the exclusive for yourself. I've added 3 tracks on this post. They don't relate to the post. They are just something I felt like posting at the moment. Enjoy!

It's Real - Mic Geronimo
Who Got Da Props - Black Moon
Ronnie Laws - Tidal Wave (main song sampled for Who Got Da Props)

King Asiatic

2005-04-20T20:26:00.000-04:00



Antonio Hardy aka Big Daddy Kane aka King Asiatic Nobody's Equal is one of Hip Hop's dopest artists. During the late 80's early 90's (Hip Hop's Golden Period) Big Daddy Kane was in top form both creatively and career wise. He was one of the few rappers that could blend raw tough lyricism, 5 percent speak, be a "Smooth Operator" for the ladies, and still maintain his cred. Big Daddy Kane is also responsible or played some part in some of Hip Hop's most indelible moments and classic songs.
 
 Big Daddy Kane had been in the Hip Hop scene since the very early 80's at the least. Kane's career in the music business starte when he met Biz Markie in 1984. From that point on they became friends, and Kane often co-wrote Biz Markie's lyrics. In 1987 they both hooked up with legendary producer, and head of The Juice Crew, Marley Marl. Big Daddy Kane then became an integral part of the group often co-writing other members material. Kane released his first single "Raw," and the classic debut album "Long Live The Kane" in 1988, and followed up in 1989 with the stellar "It's A Big Daddy Thing." This album features Kane's best "player" track "Smooth Operator" and one of my favourite all time Kane tracks "Another Victory," which samples another one of my all time favourite tracks "Melting Pot" by Booker T. And The M.G.'s.
 
 After this point is where Big Daddy kane unfortunately started to fall off. He released the album "A Taste Of Chocolate" in 1990, which although had it's high points, it also suffered from some very sub par corny R and B influenced songs. Unfortunately Kane followed the same formula in 1991 with "Prince Of Darkness." In 1993 Kane came back to his more lyrical and street roots with "It Looks Like A Job For." However, Hip Hop had gone through many changes and Kane came with an album with an antiquated sound that definitely lacked the fire of previous albums. In 1994 Kane released "Daddy's Home" which was largely a forgettable effort. His last and possibly final album was released in 1998. It was entitled "Veteranz Day." It was an independent release and it also failed to make it's mark.
 
 Regardless of Kane's later unsuccessful albums, he still remains a Hip Hop icon that will never be forgotten. His earlier work is just so dope that he will always have a place in Hip Hop history. In fact, Kane still makes very rare appearances on tracks and albums, showing he still has enough juice to flow with the best of them.
 
 I have included my favourite Big Daddy Kane tracks below. Check 'em out. Also Don't forget to join The Low End Theory Forums. It's full of free shit.
 
 RAW
 Another Victory
 Young Gifted And Black
 Nuff Respect
 The Man The Icon

10 Questions With Count Bass D

2005-04-14T20:49:00.000-04:00

Here is our first interview for The Low End Theory. We are trying to make this a common thing round here, so stay tuned for more. I had the privilege to ask Count Bass D ten questions via email. If u don’t know who Count Bass D is, he is a rugged emcee and producer out of Nashville, that has released some real dope material. He is also a very talented musican that can play live instruments, but he can kill a mpc 60 and akai s3000 like none other. His album "Dwight Spitz" that was released in 2002, was a masterpiece and what I think was one of the best releases of that year. Real soulful beats and dope creative emceeing that was just a great album all around. His beats have a real unique sound and are just put together so dope. He is on some next level shit. He has just released his newest joint entitled "BEGBORROWSTEEL" and it is seriously one of the best releases of this year so far. If u haven’t had the opportunity to scoop it up, please head over to his site to scoop up a copy. So sit back and read a quick lil interview with Count Bass D. (excuse my bootleg interviewing)

1. When did you first discover hip hop and what were your influences?

Graf in Boston in about '76. The way all the older kids dressed when I was a child. I didn't know what was driving the fashion.

2. When did you get start getting into production and how?

I produced my first recording in Tampa Florida when I was fifteen or sixteen. I was home from school and my brother offered to let me go in the studio to make a joint. He paid for me to go to the studio with Kenny K and I made my first song. Kenny K helped out with that a lot.

3. What was your gear like then and what are you rocking with now?

I had no gear only records. I did it on an EPS I think. I don't know if it was his or if it belonged to the studio.

4. When and what was your first break. How did you get on? And how did u get approached and get a deal on Sony?

I had no gear so many people would pay for me to go in the studio with them to try to get me a deal when I moved to Nashville. Much like my brother had been doing. One of those tapes ended up in the hands of Pete Nice. After the bidding war and lawsuits ended, I was able to move forward. When I got signed in 1993 I had a lawsuit before I even signed the contract. People thought I was going to be really big.

5. Tell me about your first album. I heard you did a lot of the live instrumentation on it yourself. Was there any regrets with it?

You're right I did most of the live instrumentation on Pre-Life Crisis. Regrets waste time.

6. Tell me about what happened after that, with your 2nd project, and what you were doing up till Dwight Spitz. How did you meet your wife? And tell us about your children.

I recorded Art For Sale & two twelve inches. I met my wife at the college I dropped out of. I was doing a radio show with Egon and working at a record label. We have four children that we live our lives for.

7. Tell me about Dwight Spitz. How did that come about and what was the result of it? How was it received in the US and overseas?

Dwight Spitz was me just borrowing a few drum machines and setting out to prove that making beats would be easy for me even if I did it the average rap producer's way. I didn't make much money, but most people know me because of that album. I just shrug my shoulders and wonder why I still often don't believe in myself. Or why I give myself such a hard time about my abilities.

8. How did you link up with Doom and who else have you worked with thru the years? How did the Bella Flek projects come about.

DOOM and I both had similar business dealings since 1993 so it was destined to happen. My discography at the website shows everyone I've worked with. I met Victor Wooten in 1996 and he wasn't lying when he said "I want to work with you sometime".

9. Tell me about BEGBORROWSTEEL and how did this come together and how have you and your music changed throughout the years? How are you going about distributing it with you not on a label. How is it being received and how satisfied are you with it?

BEGBORROWSTEEL is me borrowing drum machines in order to stay afloat. After I changed my mind about moving to Atlanta in 2002 I had to come up with something really bad. I made the album using Van Hunt's MPC and another producer based here named Nikko. My music changes as I change. Not many drastic changes have occured in my life since Dwight Spitz so it doesn't sound as different as maybe Pre-Life Crisis or Art For Sale. Ramp Recordings licensed it and Groove Attack and Caroline are both distributing it worldwide. It's being received very well, but I thought distibutors were in business to make money. I don't understand why my album is so hard to find. CountBassD.com is the label that I am on.

10.What is your favorite track that you have ever made throughout your career and why?

"Worst Case Scenerio (off Art For Sale)" / Listen to it. Think about what's going on right now.

and thats it folks. Please check out Bass D's site and his forum to talk to the man himself. I would like to thank Oriana of Writehanded.com for making this all possible. Mad props. I have chosen a few of my favorite tracks throughout Bass D's career for you to check out.

T-Boz Tried To Talk to Me (off Pre Life Crisis)
Soyini (off Art For Sale)
Aural S(ect)s (off Dwight Spitz)
Remix 12 (off Count Bass D.com)
Kumbukawatupendapesa(part_2) (off BEGBORROWSTEEL)
Dollar Bil (off BEGBORROWSTEEL)

Also please check out the forums for some good music and other cool shit. Peace.

"All I Want To Know Is Where The Party At"

2005-04-12T15:50:00.000-04:00

Every hip hop artist has to have there party cut. The track that talks bout the rugged house party where they smoke blunts and get pissy drunk and of course the ass whooping of the night. Someone always has to get the shit kicked out of them at a party. The 3 tracks I’m putting up today are the party jams.

1. Biggie - Party and Bullshit
This track was Biggies first solo cut. He dropped this right after he jumped on Mary J's, "Real Love - Remix" and "Whats the 411". It was on the soundtrack to Who's The Man. Right after this he dropped his album Ready to Die. This joint is a typical house party in the BK. Blunts, bitches, "getting pissy drunk" and wilding out. A good fucking time.

2. Thirstin' Howl III - I Bust The Shots That Stop The Party
Now this track takes a little different angle. This shows how BK cats end the party (or just straight crash that shit). Homes is talking bout running up in the party snatching chains and poppin shots off into the crowd. I guess there aint no party like a Brooklyn party. Thirstin’ was a member of the Lo-Lifes, a crew that stole thousands of dollars in merchandise and always decked out in Polo clothes. He came from poverty and robbery, to start making his own tracks, becoming an emcee, and putting out his own releases on his own label.

3. Shyheim - Party's Goin On
This is a rugged track from youngin, Shyheim AKA The Rugged Child. Shyheim was a little kid when his first album dropped. He is also a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. This joint talks bout a little kids take on a party. Homes all gets ready to go and when he tries to get into it he gets turned down at the door cause he a still a shorty. RNS did the production on this, I think. He did most of the cuts off the album. The beat is dope. Real laid back with that trademark Wu chorus. Drums hit nice and hard and when the beat boxing comes in shit is rugged.

4. Ghostface Killa - The After Party ft. Method Man
This is the tightest track I got in a minute. This was on Method Mans latest flop, Tical 0: The Prequel. This track is all about the next day after a party. Waking up and finding your crib all fucked up and trying to find where your trees went and all that goodness. The beat is disgusting. I got this track on a white label last year and I must have bumped this shit for 5 weeks everyday.

5. M.F. Grimm - Get Down
This is the hottest track i put up today. Here is his bio off G.M.Grim.com

Born and raised in Manhattan, MF Grimm's name has been buzzing around the NYC hiphop circuit since the early 90s. Then known The Grimm Reaper, he was one half of "The Gravediggaz" (not to be confused with Wu-Tang's spin-off group with the same name). Grimm and his DJ, Roc Raida (of the X-ecutioners), reeked havoc in the music industry. Spitting fire alongside Kool G Rap and KMD, Grimm was a seasoned battle MC, placing at the World Supremacy Battle of 1993. That year, he released his first 12” single So Whatcha Want N----? and performed at the Jack The Rapper convention on Execution Night, sharing the stage with Lady of Rage, Tupac, and Dogg Pound, in Atlanta with Roc Raida as his DJ and Fat Man Scoop as his hypeman. He was approached by several major labels and about to embark on his superstar journey when he was shot several times in an attempt at his life the following year. The wounds blinded, deafened and paralyzed him from the neck down. Miraculously, Grimm recovered from most of his injury but remains confined to a wheelchair. During his hospitalization, he wrote the underground classic Scars and Memories. He went on to release several 12" singles on Bobitto's Fondle 'Em label and also collaborated with MF Doom on an EP released by Brick Records. In the late 90s, he founded his label/international distribution company, Day By Day Entertainment. Grimm put time and money into releasing independent artists. One of the projects he largely played a role in was MF Doom’s Operation Doomsday which is still recognized as one of the best underground hiphop albums of all time. Around the same time, he put together his Godzilla-inspired MC collective, Monsta Island Czars (M.I.C.). The year 2000 marked the release of Grimm’s own long-awaited debut album The Downfall of Ibliys: A Ghetto Opera. Grimm completed this album in 24 hours while out on $100,000 bail. He was sentenced to life in prison under the Rockefeller drug law. Inside, Grimm studied the law and filed suit upon suit and fought his sentence down to 3 years. Grimm was released in May 2003. He has since completed his sophomore album Digital Tears: E-mail from Purgatory under his M.I.C. moniker Jet Jaguar. With over a decade under his belt, MF changed his name to GM (Grand Master) Grimm. GM Grimm is currently juggling his business skills and his creativity: expanding Day By Day Entertainment to cater to Rock as well as hiphop while working on his next album

This track though is a dope party cut. Grimm just spits about a party and how he gets down. The beat is real laid back and mellow also. One of my favorites.

LINKS

Nottz interview

Vida's cell phone is the next victim of a hack. Thank God.

Kool Herc on NPR

Cormega Interview (thanks to Spine Magazine for the link)

Timbaland getting ready to enter a body building contest. What the fuck?

The Grape Lady This is pretty funny (thanks to Bravo for the link)

Edan and Insight live in Holland This is a cool 20 minute set with them rocking. Pretty tight.

Common speaks out on the leak of his album on the internet

Oh and join the forums for some free mp3s and older shit we posted reupped.

and thats it for today.