Finishing up the tributes to Sha Lumi, here are some memories of the man and his music from his good friends J-Love, DJ Phantom, Thorotracks and DJ Peter Parker.
UPDATE: Added a quote from Ayatollah.
J-Love: It was maybe 2000 or so when I was doin’ the old Stretch & Bobitto Show – me and Lord Sear took over when Bob and Stretch left. Sear and Killa Sha were always real close, so he started coming to the show and we just clicked and we built from there. It was funny too, ‘cos you know I’m the kind of cat I snap on a lotta niggas – I don’t really give a fuck. So he went at me first – we was on the air, he called me, ‘Jason Giambi’ or some funny shit. I was like, ‘Yeah? Nigga, you look like a rapping Webster!’ We just always had that chemistry, that bond. We could just joke around, have fun – lock you in and make some banging music. He was a worker like me – he was the type like, ‘Yo, son, let’s bang this out’. Sha was like money. Writin’ a verse on the spot, goin’ in, knock it out in one or two takes. He definitely had his craft mastered. I feel like Sha was one of the nicest cats outta Queensbridge that just got overlooked, because he wasn’t ‘industry popular’ or whatever. That nigga was motherfuckin’ perfectionist, too. He would be in the booth ‘till he gets it right. I might have a hundred songs with Killa Sha that people never even heard yet. (more…)
Late last week I was contacted by DJ Phantom – who it turns out was Sha Lumi’s right-hand man in the music game – and I was fortunate enough to have him share some stories about Sha. For those of you not familiar with Phantom’s resume, he’s been involved in the mixtape game heavily for years, and was responsible for bringing the world the debut mixtapes from artists such as Consequence (Take ‘Em To The Cleansers), Saigon (Warning Shots), Trife Da God and Streetlife to name a few. Here’s here’s the Killa Sha story according to Phantom:
DJ Phantom: Killa Sha was more than my friend – that was like my brother. I met Sha in ’99 through Trag, ‘cos that’s when I started working with Trag. Trag told me to come to Power Play Studios and I said, ‘Yo, I wanna meet Killa Sha’. He’s said, ‘Why you wanna meet Sha for?’ I said, ‘Cos the nigga’s the nastiest outta your whole group!’ I’m imaging Killa Sha to be some 6’2”, tall-ass dude from Queensbridge…I get to the studio, he calls me and goes, ‘Yo, Sha’s here, yo, so let’s get up’. So I go to the control room, open the door and I say, ‘Yo, where’s Sha at?’ He says, ‘Sha’s in the lounge.’ So I’m in the lounge room, chilling out, and I see mad people in there. So I go back into the control room like, ‘Yo, I don’t know who Sha is, man’. So Trag brings me back in the lounge room and says, ‘Yo, Sha! Come over here!’ So I see this 5’5” dude come next to me, and I look at Trag and I say, ‘You aren’t Killa Sha, son!’ He’s like, ‘Son! I’m Killa Sha, son! I’m Killa Sha!’ I’m like, ‘Word? Son, you my nigga!’ He started laughing, then Trag is like, ‘I’ll be in the control room, see you guys later’. From there, me and him became friends. (more…)
Just got word of this from Chairman Mao of the ego trip crew:
UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF EGO TRIP is a documentary film series we’ve co-curated at the Maysles Institute in Harlem USA. The series runs one night per month – last Thursdays of January, February & March & kicks off this Thursday, on January 28th, w/ a screening of the seminal South BX gang doc, 80 Blocks From Tiffany’s (1979, director: Gary Weis).
In addition, we’ll be screening the film Shotgun (1982, director: Steve Goodman) – an even grittier depiction of the SBX gang era originally filmed for educational purposes. It’s rarely, if ever, been shown in a public cinema.
After the film screenings, we’ll have a discussion with both filmmakers as well as Ponce Laspina, former 5th Division President of the Savage Skulls and Detective Robert Werner of the NYPD (who is featured in 80 Blocks), and additional special guests.
Feb & March screenings will feature Beat This!, the rarely seen b-boy doc Electric Boogie, Big Fun In the Big Town & footage from LL & PE’s 1987 European tour.
Apache, a founding member of the original Flavor Unit and cousin of Latee has passed away after years of poor health. Lord Ali Ba-Skidiscussed his unfortunate condition a couple of years ago:
‘Apache is on permanent disability now. He has a bruised heart. He got his bruised heart from when he was with that label [Tommy Boy] and making all that good money, ‘cos Apache got the biggest shine – not including Naughty By Nature and Latifah and all the rest of ‘em – but as far as the original Flavor Unit cats? He got the biggest shine outta all of us, as far as money. I mean he had a $250,000 budget with his label, see. And Apache did show after show after show. He was getting triple what Chill Rob was getting for a show. He used to get anywhere from 7 G’s to 20 G’s a show! He went through some money. This guy used to get so high and drunk – his whole thing was a big ‘ol party. Then he bloated all the way up to 300 and something pounds, and mind you he’s like only 5′9″, 5′10″. He blew up to 300 pounds and the guys almost bed-ridden from getting so big, and then he went up and down.’
Another sad loss for the hip-hop community… (more…)
In case you’re not familiar with Killa Sha’s legacy for some reason, here’s a quick run-down of his history in the rap game:
Prince A.D. was a true student of the rap game. When he was eleven, he was down with The Super Kids – a group of young upstarts put together by Marley Marl which featured Tragedy and Craig G. He wasn’t rapping at this stage, just hanging out with his boys. Years later he applied his quickly developing skills as a DJ to help out his friend from school Havoc and his rhyme partner Prodigy, who had just started a group called the Poetical Prophets. After winning ‘Unsigned Hype’ in The Source magazine and landing a deal with 4th & Broadway, they changed their name to Mobb Deep and recorded Juvenile Hell. DJ Prince A.D. performed the scratches on the album and spun for them at live shows. (more…)
Sha Lumi did a lot of radio work over the years, as he was both a talented DJ and a real character. He worked with DJ Stretch Armstrong on The Xtra Large Radio Show from 1998-2001, and also co-hosted Rhyme Time with DJ Peter Parker, who had this say in memory of his friend:
I was fortunate to work closely with Sha for many years. He was the epitome of hip hop. On the mic he was a beast and he more than held his weight on the turntables. On a personal note, Sha was one of the funniest cats I ever had the pleasure to be around. His wit and magnetic personality are clearly demonstrated in the 46 episodes of Rhyme Tyme we co-hosted together.
He’s also pulled a dope old episode of the show from his vaults called ‘The Killa Sha Hour‘:
I’ve decided to dedicate the rest of this week to the god Sha Lumi, since he was criminally under-appreciated while was here. To set things off as we celebrate how he put it down, here are ten of my favorite Killa Sha solo moments…
Very sad news that Queens veteran Sha Lumi has passed away due to complications with his diabetes.
He’s survived by his daughter Princess Sharnia Larkin. Look out for a full tribute to the man shortly, but you can read about his legacy here in the meantime:
It’s amazing what you can find when you hack someone’s Gmail account. This just arrived in my inbox thanks to an anonymous tipster – the rap handles that didn’t make the final cut for the worst-named n00b-School rapper ever (who, ironically, is one of the better trendy new rappers out there):
1. Joe Garage
2. Jimmy Techno
3. Jeff Reggaeton
4. Jerry Crunk
5. Jack House
6. James Trip-Hop
7. Jason Folktronica
8. Jeremy Jungle
9. Graham Grime
10. Alex Acid-Jazz
11. Derek Dubstep
12. Ian Industrial
13. Harry Hip-House
14. Henry Hi-NRG
15. Harold Happy-Hardcore
16. Eric Eurobeat
17. Terrance 2-Step
18. Gary Ghettotech
19. Steven Speedcore
20. Eddie Electroclash
