Got a major Flavor Unit interview ready to drop soon, so I’m going in extra deep (pause) on their extensive catalog. Here are ten of sure shots from the greatest collection of MC’s that New Jersey ever produced.
Category: Steady Bootleggin’
Holding it down for angry loners & the unemployable
Ron Delite [Priority One] – The Unkut Interview
One of the lesser-known albums released through Aaron Fuch‘s Tuff City label was Priority One‘s Total Chaos, which featured Bronx-born MC Ron Delite and Louie Louie doing their thing with claim “Featuring Mixes By The 45 King” scrawled across the cover. As a result of internal conflicts and label pressures, the project was’t everything Ron…
Unsigned Skype: Cole James Cash
Although I ignore pretty much everything that turns up randomly in my email, the notes for this album caught my eye: “Shoutout to New York for giving me my entire style of production that I essentially ripped off from producers much better than myself. Shoutout to my worthless deadbeat of a father for abandoning my…
MC Uptown Recalls Growing-Up With Biggie
Seems like the perfect time to revisit Uptown‘s memories of his friendship with Biggie Smalls… Uptown: I was about 10, 11 years old. I grew up in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, New York – about three blocks from where Biggie Smalls lived. Me and a whole bunch of friends would go around in the neighborhood and do…
Spyder-D – The Unkut Interview, Part 2
Continuing my talk with Spyder-D, we discuss his relationship with Sparky-D, the saga of Kool Moe Dee ripping-off his song, record label headaches and why Run won’t talk to him anymore. Robbie: Was the Tuff City compilation of your early work an authorized release? Spyder-D: I wouldn’t be surprised if Tuff City didn’t have something…
Spyder-D – The Unkut Interview, Part 1
Photo: Talib Haqq Spyder-D has quite the forgotten legacy. He was the first MC to release a record on his own label (“Big Apple Rappin’”, 1980), was sporting the pork-pie hat that inspired Run-DMC, helped “The Smurf” dance spread across America and stalked Vaughn Mason, all before 1985. He later had a song ripped-off by…
Black Rob – The Unkut Mini Interview, Part One
When I caught Black Rob on a patchy phone line this evening, he was in the studio recording new material for Life Story 2, and as a result was only able to spare ten minutes. Nevertheless, I was able to fill in a couple of the blanks in regards to his history in the rap…
Dante Ross Responds To The Uptown Interview
Since he was the topic of much of the Uptown interview posted yesterday, it’s only right that Dante Ross should be able to give us his version of events. This is what he just left in the comment section for those of you who already read the piece: Ok now there’s a lot of inaccuracies…
Uptown – The Unkut Interview
After he read my interview with Dante Ross, former Tommy Boy artist Uptown reached out to tell his side of the story: “A lot of people don’t know the reason why I was a one-hit wonder, so I just wanted to share that”. Turns out there was a lot more to his story than a…
Bobbito Ethering Ricky Powell On WKCR, 1993
The clear highlight of the reunion show was this timeless interaction between Bobbito Garcia and Rickey Powell during a 1993 episode of The Stretch Armstrong Show. I couldn’t resist but upload it to YouTube for prosperity posterity.
Snaggapuss – The Unkut Interview
Bronx-bred MC Snaggapuss got his start with the Trackmasterz before joining DJ Doo Wop’s Bounce Squad and landing a solo deal with Virgin. After some false starts, Snaggapuss has returned with Black Rob and Doo Wop for a second go-round, this time balancing his Snaggapuss character with Snaggadon. Robbie: Why are you calling yourself Snaggadon…
No Country For Old (Rap) Men: Worst. Show. Ever.
I made the mistake of seeing the Ultramagnetic MC’s 25 years too late. This is what happened as a result: The age-old saying that you should never meet your heroes proved to be a bitter, brutal truth last weekend. News that the legendary Bronx Bombers themselves, Ultramagnetic MCs, were touring in honour of the 25th…