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…
Category: Great Moments In Rap
Dr. Butcher – The Unkut Interview, Part 3
For the final part of our interview, Dr. Butcher offers a behind-the-scenes look in the creation of the first Main Source album and Large Pro’s The LP. Now based in Texas, Butcher just released new music with an artist called Understanding on the vocals, and is working on an album of instrumentals for the Vintage…
T La Rock Interview Pt. 1 – The Story of It’s Yours
T La Rock is so entrenched into the history of hip-hop that he actually attended Kool Herc‘s first parties. After nine years of deejaying, breaking and emceeing locally in The Bronx, as well as introducing his brother Special K of the Treacherous Three to rap, T finally decided to take the next step and begin…
DJ Vicious Lee (Def IV) – The Unkut Interview
Even though Rap-A-Lot Records is closely associated with Houston’s 5th Ward, most of the groups on the early roster were originally from New Jersey or New York, which resulted in some interesting blends of styles. The Def IV’s Nice & Hard album is a perfect example, as it introduced an upbeat, sample-heavy sound that was…
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…
Great Moments In Rap Pt. 3 – Mikey D Vs Melle Mel
Photo by D-Nice MIKEY D VS MELLE MEL DATE: 1989 VENUE: New Musical Seminar Battle for MC Supremacy @ the Marriot Marquis THE COMPETITORS: Mikey D, the young upstart from Queens who went on to work with Paul C and replace Large Professor in Main Source; Melle Mel, the pioneer MC who had a worldwide…
Great Moments In Rap Pt. 2 – Kane and G Rap Head To Head
Another snippet from the Dr. Butcher sessions, detailing what could be argued is the greatest “unofficial” rap song ever recorded. Robbie: It seems like even G Rap and Kane had a friendly rivalry. Dr. Butcher: Absolutely! I’m sure you’ve heard the version of ‘Raw’ with G Rap and Kane freestylin’ on it. The story behind…
Kool Moe Dee vs. LL Cool J
Rounding of the look at songs going at Kool Moe Dee is impossible without the contributions of LL Cool J. For anyone not familiar with this epic war of words, Moe took shots at LL for what he saw as biting his style. Not only did he attack LL verbally, but his album cover spelled…
Dr. Butcher Could Care Less About Run-DMC
Last December I was lucky enough to speak to Dr. Butcher for a couple hours, and he blessed me with some amazing stories about everything from his work to Kool G Rap, Akinyele and MF Grimm, plus a whole lot of shit I didn’t even know he was involved in. I’m not quite ready to…
Percee P – The Unkut Interview
To call Percee P – the “legendary lyricist of the subterranean” – ahead of his time doesn’t even begin to do justice to his legacy. Even though Perseverance is his first album, it was nineteen years ago that he first blessed vinyl with his brain-melting rapid-fire rap style that many still haven’t caught up to…
Great Moments In Rap Part 1 – Raekwon, Nas and Mobb Deep
As if “Verbal Intercourse” wasn’t ill enough, the Gods connected again for the little dunns incredible third LP. For some reason which I can no longer recall, I was a little disappointed with Hell On Earth in the wake of the awe-inspiring (not to mention very influential) The Infamous album. Truth be told, this was…