Pretty Tone Capone in the studio with Real Live, 2004. Photo: richdirection The infamous Pretty Tone Capone from Harlem’s Mob Style is about to return to the rap game. While I haven’t heard his new material yet, his work with the group and as a soloist has given us some of the most authentic street…
Category: Features
In-depth coverage
No Country For Old (Rap) Men: DOOM and the art of rap re-recordings
MF Doom is one of the few rapper’s who releases different vocal takes of his songs. It’s a great idea… No Country For Old (Rap) Men: DOOM and the art of rap re-recordings
Rap Guest Shots That Featured No Actual Rapping
Nothing worse than seeing the names of rapper’s on the back of a hip-hop album and thinking to yourself, ‘Sweet! Looking forward to hearing this dude rap on this shit!’ Then you get home and it turns out that the ‘feature’ is just the MC in question performing the hook and doing a shout-out at…
Forgotten Beefs: N.W.A. vs Romeo & Master Rhyme
DJ M-Walk, who you may remember as Tone Loc’s DJ, produced a song for Romeo & Master Rhyme in 1987 which sampled ‘To Be Real.’ It was picked up by Delicious Vinyl and remixed by the Dust Brothers, and contained some lines which were seemingly aimed at another local LA crew: M-Walk don’t dig dirty…
Tom Silverman [Tommy Boy/NMS] – The Unkut Interview
Here’s the complete transcript of my talk with Tom Silverman, who created the Dance Music Report and Tommy Boy Records in addition to co-founding the New Music Seminar, home of the MC and DJ Battle for World Supremacy. There’s a lot that I couldn’t fit into the NMS oral history piece from last month, so…
No Country For Old (Rap) Men: A Quick History of Rap Fads
Some things just aren’t built to last… No Country For Old (Rap) Men: A Quick History of Rap Fads
Devin The Dude – The Unkut Interview
I kicked it with Devin The Dude about how he came up in the rap game while somehow neglecting any direct questions about getting high. With a discography that stretches back to 1994 and a discography that features an impressive roster of big names including Dr. Dre, DJ Premier, Scarface and Nas, Devin has seen…
Awesome Dre > Eminem
I always wondered why Detroit’s Awesome Dre had a song going at Kool Moe Dee on his highly enjoyable 1989 album, You Can’t Hold Me Back. Now that I’ve heard his second single, it makes a little more sense. It appears that Dre took it upon himself to fire shots at both LL Cool J…
The Original Flavor Unit: An Oral History
This is the most complete Original Flavor Unit oral history I could put together without access to Queen Latifah or Latee. The Original Flavor Unit: An Oral History
Video: A Salute to Doug E. Fresh – Scientologist
Some of you may aware that Doug E. Fresh has been a member of the Church of Scientology for the last twenty years or so. Thanks to John Safron‘s Music Jamboree series from a few years back, I can now bring you footage of ‘the world’s greatest entertainer’ using his talents to celebrate the power…
Using Old Drum Machines Won’t Bring Back The Nineties
Time and time again I read claims that the reason why the producers who cut their teeth in the 12-bit sampling era aren’t bringing the same level of beat-making wizardry to the table is because they’ve moved on from their dusty old SP-1200’s, MPC 60’s and EPS’. I’m claiming bullshit. Sure, there’s no denying that…
No Country For Old (Rap) Men: The Pain of the Ignored Diss Record
Nothing worse than pouring your heart and soul into shitting on another rapper only to be greeted by deathly silence. No Country For Old (Rap) Men: The Pain of the Ignored Diss Record