After a few false starts, I finally managed to get a recording of this track that didn’t skip every ten seconds. Did anyone ask for some Baby Salt ‘N Pepa? You’d be forgiven for mistaking this for Sandy and Cheryl or whatever the fuck Salt and Pepa’s government’s are, although the fact that they’re rocking…
Can’t Stop Won’t Stop – Book Review
Not so long ago, the only books on hip-hop I had bothered to read were David Toop‘s Rap Attack 2 and the Book of Rap Lists. This can primarily be attributed to the fact that many tomes covering rap don’t amount to much more than a chapter on Public Enemy, a chapter on NWA, the…
Classic Ignorance – Convicts
Many of you can no doubt recall Big Mike’s one-album stint as a Geto Boy, as he replaced Willie D on ‘Till Death Do Us Part. It proved to be enjoyable enough but lacked the abrasive Shout-Rap stylings we’ve grown to love from the "Clean Up Man". Mike later went on to a well-received solo…
A Remix Can Only Help So Much – Part 8
What happens when you combine Three Times Dope‘s squeeky-voiced weed carrier with a post-Furious Five Grandmaster Flash chorus (“Larry’s Theme”) and some cheesy keyboard noises? “Larry, That’s What They Call Me”, that’s what.
Ced Hearts B-Girls – Part 7
I had also planned to include Finesse & Synquis‘ “Soft But Deadly” as another example of Ced helping out some around the way broads, but I’ve only got it on 7″ and that shit kept skipping, so no dice. Nevertheless, Baby Doll and her brother deliver their own take on the classic battle of the…
The Other Bridge Wars – Rap Remakes Part 1
I was recently thinking about rap remakes, and the fact that – unlike almost every other form of popular music – hip-hop remakes and cover versions almost never work. Answer records and songs sharing the same loop could be viewed as “covers” in a way, but remakes in the more traditional sense usually spell disaster.
Workin’ The Ultimates – Part 6
Holdin’ New Cards – Scaramanga Interview
Scaramanga first emerged on the Beat Terrorists EP entitled Big Willie Smith, and went on to drop verses on the Dr. Octagon LP, which he followed-up with an apperance on Kool Keith’s Sex Style. Following these cameos, he released the “Physical Jewels” single on Rawkus. In addition, he put out the “Space Cadillac”/”So Intelligent” 12″…
Doo Wop’s ’95 Live Intro
To celebrate the new improved look of this site, here’s one of the finest moments ever to grace a mixtape – the intro to Doo Wop‘s ’95 Live. By extending the usual “couple of guests at the start of the tape” routine, Da Bounce Master assembled an all-star cast of New York’s finest to rock…
Jay-Z – Interview and Freestyle (1996)
Continuing the throw-back interviews from my tape vaults, today’s session features an excited Jay-Z as he chops it up with Westwood, shortly before the release of Reasonable Doubt. A lotta memories on this one – remember when Hov was talking about “this is gonna be my only album”? Speaking of broken promises, right after Ice…
The Search for TJ Swan
Rap Ballads. The curse of many otherwise spotless ’80’s hip-hop albums, in much the way that Hip House was in 1989 and the token “Southern” records are on many of today’s releases. If you think back to Big Daddy Kane‘s first album for example, you’ll find that every track is certified dope except for “To…
Jedi Son of Spock Interview
Written by Keir Johnson Jedi Son of Spock first came to light in the mid 90’s with the underground group known as The House Of Reps. The House of Reps to this day remain by and large a mystery due to their low profile insurgence of freestyle mastery and open-mic ascendancy. As a member of…