MC Shan – ‘The Bridge’ [Live] Shan runs through his timeless classic at a live show/park jam, with DJ Hot Day on the decks. No idea when this was recorded though – I’m guessing late 90’s?
Category: Tape Vaults
The finest in TDK-based memories
TJ Swan’s Lost Single
First there was The Search For TJ Swan, followed by the Tribute and eventually this: tj swan is my father…i mean sperm doner..he fell off and is gonna stay off..he doesnt take care of his daughter’s (he has 3) i am his 1st daughter n i want evryone to know he’s a liar and a…
Mobb Deep – Tha World [unreleased, 1996]
Most Mobb Deep fans would generally agree that The Infamous… and Hell On Earth represented Hav and P at the peak of their abilities. As luck would have it, a never-before heard track recorded for the Hell On Earth sessions has made it’s way into my possession, courtesy of the ever-vigilant GT CREW. Mobb Deep…
Is Jay-Z The Shakespeare of Hip-Hop?
So I was listening to some AM radio in the car for some reason (i.e. my ipod battery ran out) and caught the last part of a conversation with Adam Bradley, an Associate Professor of Literature at the University of Colorado who wrote a book called Book of Rhymes about the connection between rap and…
A Salute To Mr. Magic
Today hip-hop has lost one it’s true pioneers – Sir Juice, aka Mr. Magic, passed away after suffering a heart attack. Not only was Magic the first rap DJ to have an exclusive rap show on commercial radio on WBLS (The Rap Attack with DJ Marley Marl and Fly Ty) but his often brutal honesty…
The Importance of Being LL
Media Assassin Harry Allen loves him some Twitter. Good thing he drops some jewels like this: I don’t think LL Cool J’s legacy and value to the history of hip-hop has been, in any way, seriously addressed. Delete him, and much of hip-hop history vanishes, or becomes unfathomable. LL, in a very real way, may…
Craig G – The Symphony, Duck Alert & Droppin’ Science (Live At The Apollo, 1988)
The Kingpin gets busy in front of an ever-rowdy Apollo crowd. Taken from the Special Edition of Marley Marl‘s In Control…Volume 1, out Aug. 4 via Traffic. As a bonus, Marley introduces each song from the original album in addition to the usual collection of 12″ versions that we’ve come to expect from these re-issues….
Lord Finesse Live In Tokyo + Vintage Press Kit
Sure, I’m a Finesse fan. He’s the only rapper I ever asked to sign anything, so when I had a chance to get my hands on the original press kit for his seminal Return of the Funkyman, best believe I went in.
The Unkut Guide To: Top Choice Clique
As the seeds of New York hip-hop began to spread in the mid-80’s, nearby cities such as Philadelphia and Boston were quick to adapt their own unique take on the original recipe. While most people didn’t have the Bean on their rap radar until they heard Ed OG’s ‘I’ve Got To Have It’ (or former…
LL Cool J – The Unkut Interview
Photo: Janette Beckman I only got twenty minutes to kick it with LL, but who’s complaining? It’s safe to say he appreciated getting a quick break from answering questions about his favorite flavor of ice cream and how many stomach crunches he does every morning. In many ways he’s the blueprint that everyone from Biggie…
KRS-One – Outta Here (Mister Magic Diss Version)
KRS-One – ‘Outta Here (Mr. Magic Diss Version)’ Here’s the version where The Blastmasta really ethers murks Sir Juice. The album version and it’s cheesy video below:
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…