NAME: The Rap Bandit. AFFILIATIONS: Grew up with The Source founder Jon Schecter in Philly. Part of the original Mind Squad at The Source magazine, where he also penned the ‘Media Watch’ section under the name Pistol Pete. Later moved the column to Vibe magazine. CLAIM TO FAME: Pioneered the art of making fun of…
Category: Features
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The Other ‘Scenario’ Demo Surfaces
This is pretty epic…first of all Bol passed on this link to the audio of Q-Tip on Juan Epstein, which features Tip discussing the two demo versions and doing a hilarious impersonation of Busta: Q-Tip: “It was just too many people. I called niggas back, told niggas to come back the next day. Nobody came…
Masta Ace – The Unkut Interview
Having retired from solo projects, Master Ace was touring with his EMC crew when I caught up with him at the end of 2007. While he waited for his meal he held court at the hotel bar and gave me the chance to pick his brain on a number of topics, both relevant and trivial….
The Eric B. Mystery Deepens
Recently I highlighted a clearly embellished Wikipedia entry about Eric B. The thing is, I was pretty sure that at least some of it was based on reality (‘vehicular menagerie’ excepted). Part of that stemmed from Dr. Butcher‘s comments: Is Eric still involved in music? Eric is always involved with something! [chuckles] Eric is a…
Forgotten Etherings – Erule Overrules Ja-Rule
And you thought KRS vs. Nelly was a one-sided battle? It seems Erule took exception to Jeffrey Atkins nom de’plume and decided to set the record straight. It didn’t exactly set the world alight back in 2001 but dude’s flow is impeccable as always. Erule – ‘One Rule’
Searching For Siah
By Idris Intifada By the mid to late-’90s, the hip-hop landscape became a Staten Island garbage dump filled with the shards of tossed out CDs, rather than the block party, powered by the streetlight, next to a burnout building in the South Bronx. This isn’t a diss to the Wu, but a description of the…
‘Scenario’ (Unreleased Version)
As he promised in the comments of the last post, Peter Divito from 2020Proof has come through in the clutch and laced me with one of the original takes of ‘Scenario’ featuring the whole Native Tongues crew. Turns out there’s another version according to DJ Johnny Juice: “This is NOT the version I had. Pos’…
Tracks That You’d Sell A Kidney For
Consider this less a ‘wants list’ and more of a dream team of obscure tapes that will most likely never see the light of the day.1 The whole issue of the fabled Rakim salvo ‘Break The Wrath in Half’ / ‘Cut The Kane In Half’ reminded me of some of the shit I’ve heard of…
Where Are They Now – Eric B.
You know how you’re always hanging out, wondering out loud, ‘I wonder what Eric B. is up to these days?’ No? Maybe it’s just me. But thanks to the wonders of Wikipedia, this question has been answered: Eric is now the owner of 47 restaurants throughout the U.S. including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida,…
Dr. Butcher – The Unkut Interview, Part 1
You might know the name but there’s a lot more to Dr. Butcher‘s story than I ever imagined when I first tracked him down for a talk. This first part focuses on his production and DJ work with Kool G Rap, Akinyele, MF Grimm and more. Robbie: What was the difference between what you and…
The Search For The Biggest Douchebag In Hipster Rap
Who’s to blame for this unfortunate development? NERD made looking gay and yelling “ironic” lyrics hot for a minute, while Missy Elliott made shitty rapping over 808’s all the rage, before Kanye ‘Liberache’ West made fruity sunglasses blow-up…combine them together and you’ve got “Party Rocking”. Let’s take A-Trak‘s description of The Cool Kids when I…
DJ Johnny Juice and Son of Bazerk – The Unkut Interview
The original Kings of Pressure Public Enemy and The Bomb Squad were ahead of their time in more ways than one. Beyond the sonic innovation and hardcore lyrical content, the crew also pioneered the kind of self-sufficient work-ethic and forward thinking that would later be repeated as part of the RZA‘s Wu-Tang master plan. The…