This one was a surprise. Thanks to some bizarre Puma/Yo! MTV Raps cross promotion, I recently got to kick it with the one and only BDK for a local magazine. As you might expect, he’s not trying to talk about the etchings in the run-out grooves of his singles, but I managed to get a…
Author: Robbie Ettelson
Great Moments In Rap Part 1 – Raekwon, Nas and Mobb Deep
As if “Verbal Intercourse” wasn’t ill enough, the Gods connected again for the little dunns incredible third LP. For some reason which I can no longer recall, I was a little disappointed with Hell On Earth in the wake of the awe-inspiring (not to mention very influential) The Infamous album. Truth be told, this was…
NYGz – Welcome To G-Dom Album Review
In theory, this should be the best shit ever. Panchi and Shabeeno kicking that Bronx hustler shit over Premier tracks, right? That’s what I thought when I got this advance CD in the mail a couple of weeks back. Turns out that this is more of a mixtape/street CD type of complilation (which explains the…
Ced Gee Special: Bonus Beats
Bet you didn’t see this coming, huh? A few additions to the Ced Gee Special I ran alast year. Thanks to Tuff City‘s repress, I can now bring you the Ced’s two contribution’s to Funkmaster Wizard Wiz’s catalog. “Grand Concourse & 183rd” is a quality BX anthem set to the reworked drums of Ultra‘s original…
T-Ray – The Unkut Interview, Part 3
Courtesy of Elemental Mag via SLurg The final chapter…of course I’ve saved the best ’till last. T-Ray covers working with Big L, Nas, Cypress Hill and Milano, and fires back at Mike Heron. Robbie: Then you did “Yes, You May (Remix)” and all that stuff with Finesse. T-Ray: Yep, and that was Big L‘s first…
T-Ray – The Unkut Interview, Part 2
Continuing on from Part 1, Todd discusses being a white guy in rap when Public Enemy blew up, working with Big Beat Records, producing Percee-P, skateboard connections and “Lost Tapes” tragedy…. T-Ray: I’ll never forget walking down the streets of New York City with a fuckin’ red bomber jacket that had a big logo on…
T-Ray – The Unkut Interview, Part 1
This one’s been sitting in the stash for a long time. I actually got into contact with Todd Ray after he dropped a comment in defense of DJ Ivory of the P Brothers, who had upset a few Outkast fans during my interview with him way back in December of 2004. By the time I…
AZ – Memphis Sessions: The Remixtape Album Review
While A.W.O.L. was the shit, The Format was musically underwhelming in many spots, which was disappointing considering the quality of AZ‘s bars. I guess he realized this himself – hence this official remix album which follows in the recent tradition of “themed” blend projects, except that instead of being some bootleg internet crap it’s actually…
KRS-One – The Unkut Interview Part 2
Note: This wasn’t included in the first version since it was meant to be used for a print mag. Turns out they didn’t run it anyway! You know how there’s always a guy you know who just never stops talking when you’re trying to enjoy a beer and annoy some dames? KRS-One is sort of…
Percee-P – Perserverance Album Review
On paper, this is a bad idea. Legendary Lyricist Percee-P heading out West to get his Madvillain on? At the same time, it’s moronic to dismiss the first real album from the guy who gave us “Lung Collapsing Lyrics” and stole the show on “Yes You May”, so I attempted to shrug-off any preconceived ideas…
The 45 King – The Unkut Interview
As one of the most influential beat-makers of the late 80’s, The 45 King brought horns up front like no one had thought to do before him, setting the stage for Pete Rock to flip them for his own signature style during his ’93-’94 takeover. But where he really made his mark was on full-length…
The Underdog’s Manifesto – Book Review
In a bizarre twist of fate, I was recently sent a couple of books to check out from an indy publisher, and the first one I tackled appeared to be one of those corny “rap business guides” at first glance, but actually turned out to have a major connection to my on-going series looking at…