To compliment the Flavor Unit Oral History I did for RBMA, here are my sixteen favorite tracks from the first generation of Flavor Unit MC’s through to passing the torch to Naughty By Nature for the second installment. Before anyone asks, no that 900 Number album never actually got released but apparently featured new verses…
This is the most complete Original Flavor Unit oral history I could put together without access to Queen Latifah or Latee. The Original Flavor Unit: An Oral History
My new editor over at Acclaim asked me to predict what Compton is going to sound like, resulting in a perfect example of the old adage ‘Be careful what you wish for.’ No Country For Old (Rap) Men: Can Dr. Dre Redefine The Sound of Rap…Again?
Some of you may aware that Doug E. Fresh has been a member of the Church of Scientology for the last twenty years or so. Thanks to John Safron‘s Music Jamboree series from a few years back, I can now bring you footage of ‘the world’s greatest entertainer’ using his talents to celebrate the power…
Time and time again I read claims that the reason why the producers who cut their teeth in the 12-bit sampling era aren’t bringing the same level of beat-making wizardry to the table is because they’ve moved on from their dusty old SP-1200’s, MPC 60’s and EPS’. I’m claiming bullshit. Sure, there’s no denying that…
Nothing worse than pouring your heart and soul into shitting on another rapper only to be greeted by deathly silence. No Country For Old (Rap) Men: The Pain of the Ignored Diss Record
Do you ever sit around and wonder ‘What the hell happened to that marginally talented rap crew who released an album in the early nineties?’ If so, I’m here to help. It turns out that some of your old favorites didn’t all go back to working ‘civilian’ jobs after the roller coaster ride that is…
There’s going to be a Sean Price album produced entirely by Lil’ Fame, which is a true reason for the CRC to celebrate since it means that we don’t have to hear Termanology waste any more Fizzy Womack beats for a little while, but also because they both continue to put in some fine work….
Hitman Howie Tee got his start as part of CD III, before laying down the demo version of ‘Roxanne Roxanne’ for UTFO and helping out Full Force with some material, before lending his talents to Whistle, Chubb Rock, Special Ed, the Real Roxanne and Little Shawn. Later in his career he branched out into reggae…
The NMS Battle for World Supremacy was the place to be if you wanted make a name for yourself in the late 80s. Here are some of those involved reporting directly from the front line… The New Music Seminar Battle For World Supremacy: An Oral History
As the WWF (World of [W]rap Fuckery) continues to flourish, I can’t help but pine for the days when rappers would make actual diss songs in between the theatrics. No Country For Old (Rap) Men: The Drawn-Out Demise of the Diss Record
Forgive me if this is common knowledge, but I only just realized that the group Whistle, best known for their 1985 hit ‘(Nothing Serious) Just Buggin,’ released four albums on the Select label. Jazzy Jazz, Kool Doobie and DJ Silver Spinner were the original line-up, with Kraze and Terk joining in ’90 after Jazzy Jazz…