Last week I received a book in the mail to review, called The BeatTips Manual, by Amir “Sa’id” Said. I haven’t finished it yet, since I’m also in the middle of reading How To Wreck A Nice Beach, but one of the first sections I checked-out were the interview transcriptions at the back. One in…
Category: Features
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The Unkut Guide To Rap Battles That Never Happened
If there is one tried-and-tested topic of talk to get rap addicts animated, it’s imaginary battles. You know, shit like, ‘What would have happened if the Fu-Schnickens had squared-off against Das-Efx, yo?’ OK, maybe not so much that example, but you get the idea. Here are a few to chew over: LL Cool J vs…
The Long, Drawn-Out Death of Fat Beats…
Dallas Penn contributes this drop in the first of a series of guest spots while his site is on hiatus: Fat Beats was like your older uncle who you didn’t visit as often so that when you got the news of his death it was from the other folks who still brought him his wine…
Fat Beats Memories: Marco Polo
Yesterday saw the announcement that the brick and mortar stores of Fat Beats would be closing their doors in New York and LA after sixteen years: Fat Beats will celebrate the legacies of the stores, which are scheduled to close in early September (New York: September 4th, Los Angeles: September 18th) by throwing a series…
Are Weak Hooks Ruining Rap?
One of the many notable moments from the 2nd episode of The Combat Jack Radio Show was when the topic of ‘Verse of the Year’ came up. Dallas declared that Black Thought was the current holder of that title thanks to his rousing performance on ‘Walk Alone’ from How I Got Over. Despite being aware…
Searching For The Perfect Remix: Diamond D
Diamond D was never too heavily involved in the remix game, but in the early days he cashed some checks where he could, and the was able to lend his sound to some otherwise forgettable groups like the Private Investigators and The A.T.E.E.M. His work for Brand Nubian and Ras Kass, however? Effin’ incredible. Welcome…
Double J – The Unkut Interview
From his independent heater ‘Cannibal Town’, through to his The Hitman album and his work as a member of the Maniac Mob on The D&D Project, founding Flavor Unit soldier Double J has been doing his thing to rep Jersey City over the years without getting caught out by the music game. Robbie: When did…
Why Rap Doesn’t Age Well
“These kids don’t appreciate music from last week, let alone ten years ago!” This is something that a lot of people – artists in particular – like to complain about. It’s a valid point though. Any mention of ‘older rappers’ in the media draws the inevitable comparisons with the Rolling Stones, who continue to tour…
Chucky Smash From The Legion – The Unkut Interview
[left to right] Molecules,Chucky Smash & Cee-Low If you’re a fan of Showbiz & AG‘s Runaway Slave (and if you’re not, kill yourself) then you should recall your first introduction to The Legion, as they chanted ‘Who’s It On?’ in one of the skits. Soon afterwards they signed to Dres‘ One Love imprint and dropped…
Grand Daddy I.U. – The Unkut Interview
Grand Daddy I.U. dropped a superb album on Cold Chillin’ back in 1990, spawning the popular ‘Something New’, ‘This Is A Recording’ and ‘Sugar Free’. He also made a stand-out appearance on Big L‘s album with a tongue twisting Jay-Z and most recently contributed the ‘Da Veteran’ to Marco Polo‘s latest release. Currently working on…
Duke Bootee – The King Of The Linn Drum
Duke Bootee is made the mighty Linn Drum his bitch from 1985-87, providing b-boy’s with some of the loudest drums ever put to record after his stint as a session musician at Sugarhill. To the untrained ear, a lot of these records sound interchangeable, but they all hold-up surprisingly well thanks to the winning combination…
The Search For The Most Unnecessary Remixes On A Twelve Inch
Hip-hop was the music of the twelve-inch single up until the ’87-’88, when the rap album became it’s own animal, as opposed to a collection of singles. But the Maxi-Single wasn’t going to just lie down and take that shit lightly, and it struck back like CAP-One, “the object is more…not the biggest or the…