Prince Be of PM Dawn passed away on 17 June, 2016. While best remembered for Whisper Rapping over a Spandau Ballet loop by most music fans in the nineties, rap fanatics most commonly associate him as the victim of KRS-One being pushed too far by the disrespect of his peers. He was also an avid…
Category: Steady Bootleggin’
Holding it down for angry loners & the unemployable
Kool G Rap and DJ Polo – Keep It Swingin’ [Original Version]
This was a tip sent in by Michael, via a Philly Flava forum rip taken from a Crates of JR post – the original version of Kool G Rap and DJ Polo’s ‘Keep It Swingin’,’ a track that wound up as an inferior remix on the Rated XXX compilation in much the same way as…
Download: A Salute To Easy Mo Bee
Against all odds, producer Easy Mo Bee was able to overcome being a member of Rappin’ Is Fundamental to become THE sound of 1994, as he helped usher the Bad Boy label into the hearts of minds of rap fans everywhere, before the excess of the Shiny Suit era and Puffy’s insistence on stamping his…
And the winner of the Biggest Waste of A Grand Puba Cameo Award Is…
What. The. Actual. Fuck? Mr. Freeze is able to get not one but two verses out of Mr. Maxwell in 1993 for what I can only assume was a giant truck full of loot. Fortunately he refused to don a cowboy hat, ride a horse or carry a pitchfork around, unlike the rest of the…
Download: A Salute To Kool G Rap Guest Verses
Outside of his own incredible solo work, Kool G Rap had provided some of the most memorable cameos in rap. His run of guest spots in the late nineties was so impressive that it prompted Rawkus Records to pay him a lot of money to record an ill-fated album for them. Here are eighteen examples…
Re-evaluating The Classics: Pete Rock & CL Smooth – Mecca And The Soul Brother LP
For a new regular feature, I thought it would be interesting to revisit some albums that were originally lauded as classics in their time to see how they still hold up, or have the sands of time dulled their shine? Peter and Cory’s first full-length was feverishly anticipted following both their enjoyable debut EP and…
Da Buze Bruvaz feat. Alcachaz – Gun Powdah Rezidue
Him Lo sez: ‘When Him Lo n Clever One come together with Alcachaz we are known az BERMUDA TRI·ANGLE. This iz first track from upcoming EP.’
Download: A Salute To Mobb Deep
After a highly scientific process involving going to the pub and eating Vietnamese take-out, I’ve finally determined my favourite eighteen Mobb Deep songs at this exact point in time. Resisting the urge to focus too heavily on their peak period, I’ve attempted to include something from all of their albums over the years to provide…
Download: A Salute To Roc Marciano
Roc has a new solo album dropping this year titled Rosebudd’s Revenge. If he’s able to match the quality of Marcberg and Reloaded then he will have delivered a true classic rap trilogy. In the meantime, I thought I’d revisit his back catalog and select what I consider to be the sixteen definitive Marciano records…
Download: A Salute To Rapping Intros
The introductions to rap albums have traditionally been the arena of poorly-executed impersonations of Al Pacino movies or just general shit talking. These eighteen examples, however, feature intros where actual rapping has been utilized to make them worthwhile. Good job, everybody! Download: A Salute To Rapping Intros [re-upped]
Download: A Salute To Story Raps, Volume One
The only conditions for this are that the story is fictional (which eliminates classics such as ‘Ever So Clear’) and that it’s one consistent narrative (which means that ‘Vapors’ isn’t eligible). This first volume is a mixture of obvious standards, unorthodox yet brilliant narratives and straight forward tales. Download: A Salute To Story Raps, Volume…
Download: A Salute To Scaramanga
Sir Menalik aka Cyclops 4000 aka Scaramanga aka Jabbar El aka Chewbacca Uncircumcised first made a name for himself reading out technical manuals on Dr. Octagon, but it was his Scaramanga material that really made an impression on CRC-minded rap fans as he delivered wordy jiggnorance over outstanding beats. Both versions of ‘Mind I.C. Mine’…