Holding it down for angry loners & the unemployable
There’s nothing like pretending to rap like it’s 1985 (or better yet, 1977) well after the fact, or recruiting some veteran MC’s to kick some old styles. While some of these attempts have fallen flat (Ugly Duckling and People Under The Stairs being two examples that spring to mind), others have made an entire career…
To complete the theme that I’ve running with these past few weeks, here are fifteen rap songs which were either scrapped altogether, released as promo only or re-recorded for the album. It’s limited to one pick per artist, otherwise this would have ended up as yet another compilation of Ghostface and Nas songs that couldn’t…
Following on from last week’s Demo Versions comp, this is a collection of original versions of rap songs which had their beat completely changed for the album. Unlike tracks which have to get redone because of sample clearance problems, these tracks all seem to have been decided not to be musically strong enough and were…
Big Daddy Kane is one of the best to ever do it, and can still tear a stage up to this day. So why did his solo recording career end in the ninwties? No Country For (Old) Rap Men: Too Smooth, Too Soon
Cole James Cash was cleaning up his mom’s basement last week and found this old record which features not one but two rhymes which are ripped off word-for-word from other rappers. Apparently Lo Down had some connection with the Wu-Tang, with Islord from Killarmy contributing the final verse which is actually the Raekown’s rap from…
Shouts to ego trip for this classic cover which I’ve destroyed with my Extra Abstract Photoshop skills. Here’s last Friday’s episode of Abstract Radio, where Large and Pete join Tip in the studio to rap, play classic funk records and call up D’Angelo and Andre 3000. Grab it before it gets C&D’d.
This is the first take of ‘Jam On It,’ recorded on a four track tape recorder and sans the Wikki’s.
Until the demo tape which Ice Cube ripped off surfaces, these two King Sun unreleased tracks will have to tide us over. King Sun – ‘Mr Policeman’ A Jazzy Jay produced burner submitted for the Who’s The Man? soundtrack which rocks a loop that would later appear on one of Godfather Don’s Hydrabeats LPs.
As much as it’s always a treat to hear the early, unreleased demo efforts of great rappers, it’s also intriguing to be able to experience the early, rough takes of songs that would be polished-up, adjusted or paired back. Some of these demo versions feature different lyrics, alternative loops or sometimes simply looser deliveries, and…
Photo: richdirection Remember that time that A.G. fired shots at Arrested Development in The Source for not mentioning Show when they won the Grammy for ‘Tennesee’? Here’s the remix in question, alongside fifteen other examples of Show’s production magic, ranging from his early big band horn-stab style through to his incredibly sparse, stripped down period…
Some of my favorite rap sprung from Houston’s Rap-A-Lot Records, as the label incorporated organs, harmonicas and funk guitar with traditional breakbeats, creating a unique blend of east coast and southern hip-hop before everyone jumped on The Chronic bandwagon and started playing everything from scratch. Here’s a selection of my favorite moments from the early…
The qualification to make it onto this compilation requires that two or more of the rappers were never heard from again (( Prophet and Kwazi being the exception, they turned up on Shyheim’s first album)). Let us sit back and bask in the fleeting glory that is getting to rap on your pal’s album on…