Stumbled upon this nugget of rap trivia during a follow-up interview with Dr. Butcher earlier this year – the brief story of a New York MC named Lazy who was carving out quite the name for himself on the street level in the late nineties before some he vanished from the music game altogether. These…
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In-depth coverage
Download: A Salute To Noise
There was a brilliant period in hip-hop and electro records where the engineers seemed determined to warp and distort the original track to near unrecognizable forms, splattering echo and gated snares on the walls of some long-forgotten underground cavern. Let’s call it the Spelunker Period. The labels often provided not so subtle clues about what…
Eight Amusing Sugar Hill Records’ Performances
If in need of mild amusement, please proceed with caution as we look back at this selection of ten dollar videos and hooky live performances.
Does Record Label Interference Ever Make For Better Rap Albums?
The process of recording a rap album for a record label has often been fraught with artistic compromise, clueless A&R’s and misguided promotional campaigns. While what goes on behind the scenes has often remained a mystery, the arrival of the ‘Advance Promotional Cassettes’ in the early nineties offered a glimpse into ‘what might have been’…
Breakbeat Lou – The Unkut Interview
Here’s the full version of my Breakbeat Lou interview, some of which was used in my Ultimate Breaks and Beats: An Oral History feature. Robbie: How did you meet Lenny Roberts? Breakbeat Lou: Lenny I’d met at Saul’s Record Pool, back in the early 80’s. There was a feedback committee meeting that we had and…
Vote: Which of the Wu-Tang Clan has still got it in 2015?
The Wu-Tang Clan have been through more than share of ups and downs over the years, but there’s no denying that they brought back a much needed grit to rap music when they hit the scene in in 1992 with their self-released ‘Protect Ya Neck’/’After The Laughter Comes Tears’ single. RZA’s master plan to get…
Download: A Salute To The Sugar Hill Band
For a jam-packed four year stretch, The Sugar Hill Band was the most powerful force in recorded rap, providing the beats for The Furious Five, Funky 4+1, Treacherous Three, Crash Crew, Spoonie Gee, The Sequence and more. With it’s core membership consisting of guitarist Skip McDonald, bassist Doug Wimbish, drummer Keith LeBlanc, percussionist Ed ‘Duke…
No Country For Old (Rap) Men: How Mentally Ill Rappers Often Make The Illest Music
Rejected titles for this piece include ‘My Mind’s Playing Tricks On Me,’ ‘Mentalists Making Magnificent Music’ and ‘Insane In The Membrane: Great Rappers With Poor Mental Health.’ No Country For Old (Rap) Men: How Mentally Ill Rappers Often Make The Illest Music
That Shit I Don’t Like: Lyricist Lounge, Volume 1
My old drinking buddy Phillip Mlynar penned Lyricist Lounge: An Oral History this week, which reminded me of just how disappointing the actual album dedicated to that place was. As a record buyer during that period, I fondly recall that period in the mid to late 90’s when MF Doom, Juggaknots, Jigmastas and Scaramanga were…
No Country For Old (Rap) Men: The Selective Memory of Rap Fans
A.K.A. Where were the celebrations and think-pieces for the twentieth anniversary of To The East, Blackwards? No Country For Old (Rap) Men: The Selective Memory of Rap Fans
No Country For Old (Rap) Men: Fifteen Years On – Remembering The Marshall Mathers LP
Eminem‘s second major label album cemented him as a rap superstar. But does it still hold up in 2015? No Country For Old (Rap) Men: Fifteen Years On – Remembering The Marshall Mathers LP
The Avengers’ Age of Analog: The Power Records Story
If you’re nerdy enough to collect records and comics, then the Power Records catalog would be your holy grail. In my newest Cuepoint article, I’ve researched the label responsible for some classic childhood memories and some great samples for rap records. The Avengers’ Age of Analog: The Power Records Story