Even though I posted this track already, this album has been getting constant attention in the car all week, and I couldn’t help but notice Prodigy‘s verbal swipe at his former boss at the start of his verse: ‘You outta your mind, you’re not feeling this hot shit/ Who got rich and stopped trying? You…
Author: Robbie Ettelson
Boo-Ya Tribe Stop Ram-Raid At DMC’s (1990)
Tony Prince (DMC founder), talking about the 1990 world finals at Wembley Arena in the UK (7000 capacity), and some ram-raiders trying to get in by driving a car through the stage door: “I’m just about to go on stage and introduce somebody and two of our guys came running up to me saying, ‘There’s…
Buyers Remorse
Back when you actually had to pay for new music, a trip to your local record spot was fraught with danger. Not so much in the sense of getting your new Nikes snatched off of your feet, but something much more serious – wasting you’re dough on a bullshit tape! Before the internets allowed us…
Started Off Good, Ended-Up Great – Rap’s Most Improved
It’s one thing to shit on all these over-the-hill MC’s that need to put down the mic, but what about the flipside of the equation? The fact is, there are a rare breed of rapper dudes who didn’t peak on their debut and have actually developed into better lyricists over the years. Crazy talk, right?…
Don’t Let The Door Hit You On The Way Out – Rappers Who Should Quit
With dudes who haven’t even dropped official albums almost retiring, as well as BS publicity stunts like Jay-Z pretending to throw in the towel after The Black Album, it begs the question: If you could force one MC to retire/quit today, who would it be and why?
Craig G – The Symphony, Duck Alert & Droppin’ Science (Live At The Apollo, 1988)
The Kingpin gets busy in front of an ever-rowdy Apollo crowd. Taken from the Special Edition of Marley Marl‘s In Control…Volume 1, out Aug. 4 via Traffic. As a bonus, Marley introduces each song from the original album in addition to the usual collection of 12″ versions that we’ve come to expect from these re-issues….
Combat Jack – The Unkut Interview, Part 2
Following on from Part 1, Combat Jack details some more tales from the front-line and discusses life after the music biz. Robbie: How did you find most of your clients? Combat Jack: The attorney I was working for, she let me build a hip-hop practice, ‘cos she saw the potential in me. I worked with…
Combat Jack – The Unkut Interview, Part 1
After some unforgettable inside-story posts at Bol‘s spot a few years ago – one of which gave me some great material when I interviewed Pete Rock – Combat Jack started his own site at the beginning of 2009. Having worked with hundreds of artists during his career as music attorney, CJ has behind-the-scenes tales for…
Eminem = Axl Rose?
Click to enlarge…pause! Quality comparison of two musical mentalists, taken from the Feb. 2003 issue of Spin.
The Story Behind Large Professor’s The LP
You might recall this from my interview with the artist once known as Paul Juice recently: Robbie: Is ‘Queens Lounge’ from The LP ever going to see a proper release? Large Professor: I’ll go back through the archives and try to dig that up and dust that off and get it right, man. I wanna…
Peter Rosenberg – The Unkut Interview
Here’s the first part of a new series talking to non-rapper dudes who still have a story to tell. After cutting his teeth as a radio personality and DJ in Washington, DC for years, Peter Rosenberg has spent the past two years in New York City, and stays busy with three separate radio shows, including…
No Country For Old Moufs – Over-30 Rap Record Round-Up
As time marches on, hip-hop is now at the stage where there are a significant number of rapper’s in their 30’s and 40’s releasing new music. No big deal, right? Except that now that internets record labels can release your album with a promotional budget of $50, all these characters who might have been left…