So here we are, at the cusp of another year, looking back at which rap songs still resonate with us up to twelve months later. If anyone is foolish enough to release an incredible song in the next three says, I’d like to extend my apologies. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy forty Conservative Rap Coalition…
This is a bit of a mixed bunch. The requirements being that the beat or loop changes at least three times in the track. In the case of the Pete Rock song, it’s a case of the loops changing over the drums, but most of them change the entire backing track. Elsewhere, tracks from the…
This is an update of my 2009 salute to the late Tony D, now with extra Zippyshare. Yet another example of how important New Jersey has been to the rap landscape. Download: A Salute To Tony D Track listing:
As promised, here’s the first part of the Eighties Edition. This period is a little trickier, as for much of it rap was still a ‘singles’ medium, so many artists never even got to release albums at all, which opens the playing field pretty wide. To keep it manageable, I’ve stuck to crews and soloists…
AZ is a great rapper who also made his mark as a Conservative Rap Coalition style icon thanks to his affinity for sweater vests, polos and sensible shirts. While he had to work a little harder than most to escape Nas’ shadow (I’ve deliberately excluded anything involving him here), when he has the right beat…
By popular demand – and because there were so many tracks that I had to leave off the first volume – here’s part two of the nineties edition of Non-Album B-Sides. Thanks to everyone who suggested some of the stuff that I forgot about the first time around, and I hope you appreciate that I’ve…
After reading through the responses to the ‘Death of the b-side’ article, it was clear to me that the streets were fiending for a ZR&T collection of b-sides. There turned out to be so many great songs to choose from that I’ve had to split it up by the decade to fit everything on. Expect…
This is a slightly different approach to the usual ‘A Salute To…’ series, in that it’s a collection of face-offs of two tracks that flip a well-worn loop in a fresh new way, plus a couple of bonus instrumentals that rework classic breaks. It’s worth noting that Diamond D beat Salaam Remi to the punch…
After cutting his teeth over at Big Beat with The Artifacts, Mad Skillz and Junior M.A.F.I.A, EZ Elpee made important contributions to the catalogs of Queens artists such as Royal Flush, Capone-N-Noreaga and Mobb Deep. Equally adept at delivering smooth joints with R&B hooks as he is constructing traditional street records, EZ put his stamp…
While we now consider the Trackmasters to be just Poke and ‘Red Hot Lover’ Tone, it originally included Alex Richberg and Frank Nitty in the early days. After cutting their teeth on Finesse and Synquis, Tone’s first solo album and working with Chubb Rock, the crew really put themselves on the map when they added…
The career of The Jaz aka Big Jaz aka Jaz-O is tricky to summarize. On one hand, he had to deal with being eclipsed by his young protege, which is always going to be a blow to the ego. On the other hand, Jay-Z did seem to attempt to repay the favor by offering to…
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…