Deshawn killed shit on Showbiz & AG‘s “Represent” way back when. Remember this?
“Cuttin bitch-niggaz down with a hundred pound axe, like I was raised by psycho-crazed lumberjacks/
So in a battle I be stabbin, choppin MC’s like trees, piece-by-piece buildin cabins!”
He changed his name to Sunkiss and was rolling with the Terror Squad for a minute, now he’s resurfaced with a new Premier track. T La Rock also used to roll with dude as he revealed when I spoke to him last week:
Blu is pretty decent for a non-New Yawker, and the songs he did with Exile like “So Amazing” worked. Here’s the best (actually, maybe the only good) track from his new album with Ta’Raach (whoever that is). The rest of it is a way to “progressive” for my liking.
I forgot how good this song is until Marc Davis reminded me on the last post. Keith goes beyond mere taunts and shits on Moe Dee’s entire legacy on this one, while using a Kool Moe vocal sample on the hook! Now that’s classic Ultra.
Kool Keith once described Kool Moe Dee as “the fuckin’ Space Invader of Rap”.
This is one song where it pays to have the lyrics in front of you in order to catch the barrage of disses served up by Rhythm X (courtesy of DJ Flash from OHHLA).
Ya man Paul Juice really doesn’t dig the ol’ idiot box much, as he dedicated the better part of two vaulted tracks to vent on the boob tube.
Bad things that television might make you do, according to the Large Professor:
1. Wonder if Theo got good grades.
2. Discover who’s the next millionaire to get AIDS.
3. Make you think you’re in Florida, catching the breeze.
4. Drop a kid on a field made of tar – head first!
5. Sop up some brain rot.
LP battles evil cathode rays
The original, unreleased version of “Front Door” and “How My Man Went Down In The Game” offer us the chance to hear Xtra-P get vexed about trifling broads, who piss him off almost as much as that darned time-wasting Tell-Lie-Vision. Tell ‘em why you mad, P!
Last December I was lucky enough to speak to Dr. Butcher for a couple hours, and he blessed me with some amazing stories about everything from his work to Kool G Rap, Akinyele and MF Grimm, plus a whole lot of shit I didn’t even know he was involved in. I’m not quite ready to drop the whole session on you just this minute, but I couldn’t resist leaking this section where he shares his feelings about Run-DMC, which are not unlike some of the things I mentioned in this post.
Robbie: Being a Queens dude, did you see the backlash against Run-DMC?
Dr. Butcher: The funny thing – me coming from Queens – I was never a Run-DMC fan. I was probably the most anti Run-DMC fan anybody had known. I just did not like Run-DMC. Mainly, I think a lot of it had to do with that I was such a fan of Grandmaster Flash and the Fearless Four – Tito and DLB – those dudes were like my idols and stuff. Run-DMC kinda took a lot of their spotlight, and I think I took it personal. [laughs] It was a funny thing. They kinda crushed the careers of a lot of those old school dudes. I wasn’t really too crazy about Run’s lyrics or nothin’ like that – he just seemed too cocky to me – so I just never liked him. I just felt ‘Oh man, the Fearless Four should be where y’all guys are. Y’all suck!’ But LL was always a huge Run-DMC fan, because he was from the neighborhood – he could frequently see Run riding around. But I didn’t care. He actually wrote some songs for them that he didn’t get credit for. I’m not gonna say which ones they were, but if you listen to around the Raising Hell material you may be able to pick it out. If you go back and listen to LL’s songs I think you’ll be able to notice the similarities in the flows and the writing. But he was so excited to be around those guys and be with Def Jam and Russell Simmons and them, I think he was helping them write and stuff. (more…)
Beastie Boys bring the speaker-smashing noise back in their classic “brat-attack” mode with Rick Rubin doing his finest to ruin and reduce. When they stopped having girls in cages on stage they fell the fuck off.
In some ways, the latest Pete Rock project is more of that same old timeless PR sound, but the thing that sets it apart this time around is the varied line-up of guests on board to lend vocal assists. While both of the Soul Survivor LP’s (and even Petestrumentals to a lesser extent) gave us some of the finest MC’s of the time, on NY’s Finest we find a selection of forgotten and slept-on rappers joining the current favorites and still-active veterans. Pete is also a little more aggressive in the booth, as he addresses the doubters and snakes that have tried to test him in his trademark style that’s occasionally awkward but more hit than miss. (more…)
The answer-record craze was still going strong in 1987, as no-name hopefuls jumped on whatever bandwagon them passed by in an attempt to make a little noise in the ever-crowded rap world. The crabs in a barrel, if you will. Kool Moe Dee‘s “How Ya Like Me Now” was a big record, so it’s no surprise that some rocks were thrown soon afterwards.
The motivations varied from blatant jocking of Moe’s rival LL (“Moe Dee Get Mad”), hilarious answer songs (“Fuck Me Now”) to genuine grudges (“Try To Bite Me Now”). Spyder D at least has a case – he released a single called “How Ya Like Me Now” shortly before the shiny Teddy Riley version, and also mentions that Treach 3 used his “Smerphie’s Dance” beat years earlier. Both he and the Incredible Two also seem to have taken offense to the “Rap Report Card” that was on the back of KMD‘s LP, but they’re likely just mad that they weren’t graded). Willie D flips the whole shit in classic H-Town style, turning the song into a classic sex joint which is easily the best of the bunch in my book. (more…)
What exactly was it about “How Ya Like Me Now” that inspired so many diss and answer records aimed at Kool Moe Dee? Was it his squeeky clean New Jack swing beats, his trademark shades or just his super-arrogant attitude (even for ’87)? Unkut Dot Com will be taking a look at some of the numerous anti-Moe Dee songs that emerged in it’s wake.
Awesome Dre was a Detroit hardrock who wasn’t feeling what “Kool Moe She” had to offer, insisting that he “take off the glasses, the sun is not glaring/You look like a welder – nah, Darth Vader!”
Awesome Dre & The Hardcore Committee - “I Don’t Like You (Kool Moe She)”
You can’t go wrong with this compilation, since even if you own most of the B-Boy Records discography on 12″, it’ll save you the trouble of ripping all them shits onto your hard drive. Not only that, but the Traffic crew have mined through some of the original reels to provide us with some unheard exclusives. This collection is reflective of the nature of the B-Boy catalog – some true classics (Waxmaster Torey‘s “Duck Season”, Levi 167‘s “Something Fresh To Swing To” and Busy Boys‘ “Classical”), some forgotten gems (“911 Volts of Noise”, Kay Gee’s “No One Cares”) and some stuff that was best left in the vaults (JVC Forces‘ House mix of “Doin’ Damage”, BDP member Castle D‘s solo shot).
The question is, will rap fanatics weaned on 90′s material want to bump this? Tough call. Other than the novelty of hearing some lesser-known BDP and Ced-Gee beats, if you were raised on Main Source and Diamond D you may find two discs of drum machine beats and rough scratching to be hard work. For all us old fuckers (anyone over 25 apparently), this collection provides equal parts speaker smashing satisfaction and often amusing vocal work. It also serves as a timely reminder that for all the shitty rap monikers currently doing the rounds, you’re hard pressed to find a worse nom-de-plume than Spicey Ham!
Here’s one from the vaults – an interview with Brother J from the end of 2006 that was published in Modern Fix. I lost the original transcript where we discuss his production but until I get a chance to re-type it this will have to do. His comments on the BDP situation are especially interesting. I’ve also included the X-Clan Vs BDP tracks that preceded them recording together.
X-Clan hit the rap world hard when they unleashed their sound in 1990. They were one of the first groups to heavily dig into the vaults of Parliament-Funkadelic, which in itself set them apart from the fast James Brown-based sound of many New York groups of the time. Beyond that, they brought a hard-line pro-Black message that was so powerful that they had the most pasty-faced teenagers throwing on leather Africa medallions. Years later, front-man Brother J continues to bring his distinctive vocal technique and uncompromising message to the table, regardless of whether or not anyone’s willing to lend him an ear.
Robbie: It’s good to hear you guys back in action. What’s the new line-up?
Brother J: I extended the group from the first generation. We had four members in the beginning. Two of our brothers’ passed – brother Sugar Shaft and brother Professor X. Professor just passed in March and Shaft passed in ’95, and from the hiatus between the last album and this one, I’ve been putting together the team that will be able to help me tackle the new millennium.
Are they any of the same guys from the Dark Sun Riders project?
Two of the brothers from the Dark Sun Riders project – Ultraman Ra Hanna and Master China – are still involved with me and the X-Clan now. The Dark Sun Riders are going to be an extended family of lyricists and producers that I’m gonna introduce in the later part of 2007.
Wasn’t Professor X once the manager of the Latin Quarter?
That was Architect – Paradise. He used to bring me and Shaft to the back door to see what was really going on in hip-hop. That helped me mature in the kind of style that I developed into. It was when hip-hop was so young and everybody was into it for the love. There was no money involved, because nobody knew what their worth was, including the promoters that were doing it. All they knew was that it was a good crowd every night they threw an event. Everybody that I saw on that stage from Mele Mel to Ultramagnetic, the first shows of Public Enemy, KRS-One… there’s so many people that performed there at the Quarters. And MC Serch, too. [chuckles] (more…)
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