Continuing my interview with Kool-Ass Fash, we discuss him leaving The Beatnuts, meeting Kanye West, forming Missin’ Linx, getting beat-jacked by Dr. Dre and his ill-fated experience signing with Dante Ross. Robbie: At what stage did you decide to do a solo album? Al’ Tariq: While we were out on tour doing The Beatnuts joint,…
Category: Features
In-depth coverage
Al’ Tariq aka Fashion – The Unkut Interview, Part 1
The artist formerly known as Fashion aka Kool-Ass Fash took some time out to discuss the ups and downs of his career as both a soloist and as a member of The Beatnuts. This first part focuses on his early days, revealing that the Intoxicated Demons EP could have been completely different had fate not…
No Country For Old (Rap) Men: Sorry M.O.P, I’m Finally Tapping Out
I wrote this shedding a river of ice-cold thug tears. No Country For Old (Rap) Men: Sorry M.O.P, I’m Finally Tapping Out
The Mighty V.I.C. – The Unkut Interview
Photo: Alexander Richter Not sure how my extended interview with The Mighty V.I.C. from 2008 slipped through the cracks, but after using a couple of parts of it I never got around to transcribing the entire three hours that we spoke over a couple of days while Vic ran errands. As before, the full version…
Lord Finesse – The Unkut Interview
At long last, I got around to interviewing the great Lord Finesse officially. I’m also deep into completing the first proper book of Unkut interviews, so I’m saving the second half of this piece for print, along with a whole bunch of recent follow-up interviews that I’ve been doing. That being said, I didn’t want…
No Country For Old (Rap) Men: The Worst People Associated With Hip-Hop
My latest shit-list of people who deserve to be shoved into an active volcano. No Country For Old (Rap) Men: The Worst People Associated With Hip-Hop
Buckshot – The Unkut Mini Interview
Once again I found myself subjected to indignities of a press day, where you have ten or fifteen minutes allotted to talk to a rapper who has already bored themselves to death speaking to the twenty other jerks before you and some herb always messes up the schedule and as a result that fifteen minutes…
Record Labels Are Stupid
Remember how the music industry decided that vinyl was more trouble than it was worth and that the profit margins on tapes and CD’s were far more lucrative so they began cramming 70 minute albums onto one LP? The thing that really grinds my gears is that even when they did bother to press double…
Rap Sequels That Win
In response to this Work of Mart, here are some more follow-ups that are worthy of the originals. Please send all complaints to the usual address.
The Influence of X-Clan on West Coast Rap
While EPMD and Heavy D had already scored hits by looping ‘More Bounce To The Ounce,’ the sound of the first X-Clan album really brought the most out of the whole Parliament Funkadelic movement in terms of flipping it into a entirely new context. Their combination of jazz and soul samples with the heavy funk…
The Triumphs and Tragedies of Larry Smith
Please head over to Medium where you can read my first piece for Cue Point, a collection of long-form music features curated by Jonathon Shecter aka Shecky Green. The Triumphs and Tragedies of Larry Smith ‘Best of Larry Smith’ playlist:
Great Moments In Rap: LL Cool J Sons Run At The Roxy
A great moment in rap – the time that LL Cool J went at Run at The Roxy: Dr. Butcher: That was not Jam-Master Jay, that was [Jay] Philpot [the second Cut Creator] his DJ on the turntables when he was rhyming. Run-DMC was performing after him, so when he’s freestyling he’s talking about Run…