Queens-born producer Ayatollah has laced tracks for everyone from Tragedy to Screwball to Mos Def to Cormega. We caught-up last week to discuss his early days on the come-up, auditioning beat tapes at Rawkus Records and a random Happy Days connection. His latest project, Box Cutter Brothers 3, is out now with Drasar Monumental. Robbie:…
Category: Killa Queens
Download: Mobb Deep – Soundtrack and Compilation Cuts
Twelve non-LP Mobb Deep tracks that were officially released on someone else’s album, as opposed to the seemingly endless supply of stuff that never got a proper retail release. UPDATE: By popular demand, now available as a Zippyshare Records and Tapes download…
Psycho Les [The Beatnuts] – The Unkut Interview
Following on from last year’s interview with former Beatnut Al’ Tariq, I finally got a chance to speak with Psycho Les about the ups and downs of one of rap’s greatest groups. Turns out that Les’ history foes back even further than I thought, as he revealed he worked at Music Factory during high school…
Toney Rome [Large Professor associate] – The Unkut Interview
Toney Rome and Large Professor go way back, and share a lot more history than simply a production credit on the b-side of ‘Mad Scientist.’ Toney talks about growing up in Flushing, Queens, facing music industry hurdles and memories of having the hottest tape in school. Robbie: How did you first get involved in hip-hop?…
Meyhem Lauren – Fly Counterparts
Meyhem Lauren and Icerocks have teamed up for a new EP, More Cashmere, which you can grab on vinyl over at Chopped Herring. You can preview the rest of this extended play here.
CJ Moore [Black By Demand] – The Unkut Interview, Part Three
Concluding the three part interview with Black By Demand front man CJ Moore, he covers working with Paul C, Ultramagnetic MC’s and Super Lover Cee, the importance of engineering and chopping, getting ripped off on the ‘Rump Shaker’ single and his deep crates of unreleased material. Robbie: What was your involvement with Super Lover Cee…
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…
Download: A Salute To The Mighty V.I.C
Photo: Alexander Richter The Mighty V.I.C. has been a part of some great production teams over the years, as part of The Beatnuts, Groove Merchantz with Godfather Don and Ghetto Pros with Mike Heron, in addition to his own solo work as a producer and engineer. I recently uncovered an extensive interview I did with…
Download: The Dr. Butcher Production Collection
Dr. Butcher, who you may remember as the guy who did all the scratching on Kool G Rap‘s second album (as well as rapping at the end of ‘Jive Talk’), has also contributed a number of wonderfully brooding soundtracks for MF Grimm, Akinyele and G Rap to unleash speech over. Here are fifteen of my…
Video: Tragedy, Cormega and Royal Flush Live At Webster Hall
Lat night’s Saigon and Illa Ghee show was apparently this is the first time that ‘They Forced My Hand’ has been performed live.
No Country For Old (Rap) Men: G-Unit Is Still A Wash
Can Curtis Still Cut The Mustard In 2014 Or Nah? No Country For Old (Rap) Men: G-Unit Is Still A Wash
Meyhem Lauren – Silk Pyramids Album Review
Meyhem has just delivered the first of several collaborative projects with a single producer (next up is his DJ Muggs project), which thankfully proves to be a trimmed-down affair in light of his “everything and the kitchen sink” debut album, Self Induced Illness. His following two projects benefited from more focus, and having Buckwild at…