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’
Roc Marciano – The Unkut Interview
Even a cursory glance at the history of Strong Island reveals that it’s produced more than it’s fair share of innovative verbal technicians over the years. One of the most original MC’s to hail from it’s shores in recent times has been Roc Marciano from The UN crew. Initially put on by fellow L.I. resident…
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. Actually that’s pretty much the same thing, only it sounds slighty less lame.)) The whole issue of the fabled Rakim salvo ‘Break The Wrath in Half’ / ‘Cut…
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…
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 2
Continuing my talk with Dr. Butcher, we discuss Rakim, LL Cool J and the legendary Silver Fox. Robbie: Have you got any DAT’s of G Rap, Ak or Grimm songs that were never heard? Dr. Butcher: I think Grimm has released a lot of the material on his indy label. G Rap, a lot of…
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 Return of Rapsloitation
If you’ve ever had the misfortune of having to sit through Breakdance 2: Electric Boogaloo, Rappin’ or even Posse, then get ready for more cinematic horrors in the not-too-distant future. Yeah, you guessed it – they started shooting the effin’ Biggie Smalls movie. After holding a nation-wide audition for the lead, the producers (I’m assuming…
T La Rock Interview Pt. 2 – The Lost Tapes
Continuing my talk with “Super Rapper” T La Rock, we discuss the origins of his name, working with Mantronik, bootleggers and unreleased recordings. T is currently developing a biopic called ‘The T La Rock Story’ with “a very powerful producer from Hollywood” named Bonnie Timmerman (who was the Casting Director on Man On Fire, Carlito’s…
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…