The mere fact that Sean Price has gone from being “the other guy in Heltah Skelter” to a soloist with a nice underground buzz is a testament to how much work he’s been putting in for the last couple of years. Appearences on records by Black Moon, Jedi Mind Tricks and The High & Mighty, in addition to his Donkey Sean Jr. CD, have ensured that more than just diehard Boot Camp fans have been checking for the official “dolo” debut from the “ODB of the BCC”. (more…)

Share

Vividseats.com is your one-stop destination for all Concert Tickets, Theater Tickets, and Sports Tickets. We sell at the best prices Chris Rock Tickets, Cirque du Soleil Tickets, Wu Tang Clan Tickets, Artie Lange Tickets, and many more.

Everyone knows that Special K is T La Rock’s brother, but many of you may have missed their little-heard collaboration from 1994’s ill-fated Treacherous 3 album. With a title like Old School Flava, I wasn’t exactly expecting miracles from Moe, LA and K, but songs like “The Mic Wreckers” and “We Come Phat” were blatant attempts at imitating the trendy sounds of the time, resulting in some really bad songs from one of rap’s most lyrical groups. (more…)

Share

Throwing big words around has become a trend in recent years, as new jack rappers – lacking in flow, breath control and any kind of style in general – attempt to distract listeners. It wasn’t always that way though. There was a time when T La Rock and the Treacherous Three made a name for themselves as dope MC’s with the most advanced vocabularies in the game. (more…)

Share

I just came across this feature in the New York Times, which I was interviewed for a few months ago:

Hip-Hop’s Raiders of the Lost Archives

By Jon Caramanica

DJ Ivory discussed this issue when I interviewed him last year. I’ve also written a little something along the same lines.

In other news, Pritt from Nu-Skratch blessed me with a preview DVD of some documentaries that he’s putting out. The trailers for Men & Their Music looks like it’s going to bury all the other films covering hip-hop producers and DJ’s from recent years, and previews for the DJ Supreme (Hijack) film and the King of the Beats challenge are just as dope. Look for a detailed review when these projects see an official release. In the meantime, visit the Nu-Skratch site for some trailers.

Share

Having performed under a number of handles, from Build and Destroy to Grimm Reaper, which then evolved to MF Grimm and eventually GM Grimm (the full story can be heard in the interview snippets throughout the album), Percy Carey has endured a near-fatal shooting that left him in a wheelchair, extended jail time and major label woes without losing his passion for rhyming. (more…)

Share

You’ve no doubt caught wind of Jus Allah being welcomed back into the fold of underground powerhouse Jedi Mind Tricks, where he made a name for himself after joining Vinnie Paz on vocal duties for the groups break-through Violent By Design album. (more…)

Share

When Philly’s Tuff Crew combined forces with New Jersey’s Krown Rulers for the P.H.A.N.J.A.M. (PHilly And New Jersey All-Star M.c.’s) album which included electro-jams such as “Techno Tuff” and the bizarre “Art of Love”, they wisely connected with Ced-Gee and Kool Keith for some much-needed production help. Apparently, Ced schooled them on how to use the SP-1200, which is apparent when you listen to Danger Zone’s much-improved beats. (more…)

Share

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 over a tightly-programmed James Brown loop instead of those Herby Luv Bug shakers helps eliminate any possible confusion. (more…)

Share

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 rise and fall of MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice and thirty pages of Grandmaster Flash telling us how great he is. (more…)

Share

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 career, and made a serious of sensible, intelligent albums. It was his first release, as a member of the Convicts with rap partner 3-2, that Mike really shined. Their self-titled debut has stood the test of time as not only one of the finest Rap-A-Lot releases ever, but more importantly as a testament to the genius of ignorant rap.

(more…)

Share

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. (more…)

Share

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 sexes theme with “You Can’t Break A B-Boy’s Heart”, which is backed by an early Ced-Gee/Scott La Rock SP-1200 composition. (more…)

Share

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. (more…)

Share

The release of the Ultimate Beats & Breaks series in the late ’80’s had a major impact on the sound of hip-hop production, as it gave producers with limited vinyl collections access to some of the beats that used to rock early block parties and rec-room jams. While Ced unearthed his fair share of beats himself, he also didn’t mind puting his own signature spin on classic breaks such as “The Mexican”, which he used on several tracks. (more…)

Share

In my continuing efforts to rid myself of all things Blogger (aka the easy-to-use but exceptionally ugly blog tool), I’m merging my audio blog into my main site. If you just want to see the Bootleggin’ posts, then use this address:

http://www.unkut.com/category/bootleg
(more…)

Share