Queens-born producer Ayatollah has laced tracks for everyone from Tragedy to Screwball to Mos Def to Cormega. We caught-up last week to discuss his early days on the come-up, auditioning beat tapes at Rawkus Records and a random Happy Days connection. His latest project, Box Cutter Brothers 3, is out now with Drasar Monumental. Robbie:…
Author: Robbie Ettelson
Download: A Salute To Ice-T
When I first went to high school, I remember I’d memorized the entire intro to Rhyme Pays and would recite it to pretty girls for reasons which now escape me. Let’s just say it was a simpler time. Ice-T‘s first four albums combined humor, slick talk and social commentary in a way which set him…
Lord Shafiyq – My Mike is on Fire [Unreleased Remix]
You Toober Umberto -Fab- Lampasona loves himself some test pressings, and this one is a doozy – a vaulted 1988 remix of Lord Shafiq’s debut single from the year before. We only get the first three and a half minutes, but it’s an interesting revision of the classic ‘Nautilus’ loop of the original regardless.
Fat Joe – Part Deux [Original Version]
Here’s the original version of ‘Part Deux’ from Fat Joe‘s Jealous One’s Envy LP, produced by Domingo and available on his Sessions and Lessons album.
Stream: Ultramagnetic MC’s Live On WNYU’s Club 89 [February 13th, 1989]
Grand Good came through in the clutch with this one – twenty minutes of the Ultra crew rapping on the radio. Wonder whatever happened to that Ced-Gee compilation that was meant to drop on Next Plateau?
Afrika Islam – The Unkut Interview
Rising up through the ranks from the ‘Son of Bambattaa’ to the DJ at The Roxy and launching the Zulu Beat radio show on WHBI, Afrika Islam went on to release the very first cut and paste record, help found the Rhyme Syndicate and produce the majority of Ice-T’s first four albums after moving to…
No Country For Old (Rap) Men: The Game – Talented underdog or world’s creepiest rap stalker?
A little from column a, a little from column b. No Country For Old (Rap) Men: The Game – Talented underdog or world’s creepiest rap stalker?
Best/Worst Live Rap Show?
I’ve been fairly vocal in complaining about shitty, boring rap shows I’ve attended in the past. While the infamous Ultramagnetic show of 2013 rates as perhaps the most soul-crushing disappointment of my adult life, picking the best one I’ve attended is a little trickier. It would have to be a toss-up between Public Enemy‘s 1989…
Download: A Salute To Eric ‘Vietnam’ Sadler
Eric ‘Vietnam’ Sadler was the Bomb Squad‘s secret weapon. It was his programming expertise that kept their ‘wall of noise’ production style in the pocket, assigned to translate Hank Shocklee and Chuck D‘s musical chaos into sharply welder tools of war. You can pick the tracks which have Eric’s heavy fingerprints in the way that…
Download: A Salute To The Least Awful Eric B & Rakim Remixes
For such an iconic group, Eric B & Rakim really had a rough trot as far as having shitty UK clun remixes tacked on to their singles. For reasons still I’m still trying to figure out, I thought it would be interesting to compile a collection of the least horrible remixes that were released over…
No Country For Old (Rap) Men: Lies That Old Rap Fans Tell You
A lot of the best rap music was made in the eighties and nineties, but some folks just get away with those rose-tinted Cazals. No Country For Old (Rap) Men: Lies That Old Rap Fans Tell You
Donald D – The Unkut Interview
Microphone King Donald D has had a long and varied career, spanning back to the park jam era, onto the downtown club scene, radio and then records, both as a member of The B-Boys and as a soloist with the Rhyme Syndicate. Now residing in Italy, Donald took some time out to detail some of…