$amhill - ‘X’s Up’

I dropped a one of $am’s joints a while back, he’s another winner from this South Bronx MC who you might have caught on the last track on that P Bros album.

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Word to the wise: Sony tapes sucked.

Some more independents that still stand-up…

Mister Voodoo – ‘Lyrical Tactics’

With a voice that bares an uncanny resemblance to a young KRS-One, this Natural Elements MC showcases advanced ‘vocabulary spill’ over a chaotic backing track. This is the kind of record Company Flow wished they’d made.

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Nature feat. Doo-Wop and Scram Jones - ‘Flashback Freestyle’

Any song with Doo-Wop rhyming gets a co-sign from me.

Ah, the 90’s. It was really the best of times and the worst of times for rap. For every Stunts, Blunts and Hip-Hop you had ten shitty Naughty By Nature knock-offs. Then there was the much touted indy/underground explosion that saw thirty to forty new 12″ singles dropping every week. I actually knew a kid who spent every cent he had copping everything that Beat Street and Mr. Bongo stocked as it dropped, so I’d go and fill-up a 90 minute TDK every couple of weeks with those shits and cop the best of the bunch myself. The thing is, there’d usually only be one or two tracks on every tape that were actually worth owning - a fact that many indy fans seem to forget when they reminisce over that era. Regardless, the good stuff was effin’ great, so I thought I’d dig into the shelves at Unkut Dot Com HQ and throw you some of my sure shots from the time.
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Boss Money - ‘The Boys Is Doin It’

New E.C. and Bago material, produced by Show. Taken from the new D.I.T.C. album, The Movement.

Photo: Janette Beckman

I only got twenty minutes to kick it with LL, but who’s complaining? It’s safe to say he appreciated getting a quick break from answering questions about his favorite flavor of ice cream and how many stomach crunches he does every morning. In many ways he’s the blueprint that everyone from Biggie to 50 has followed - hard street records for the fiends mixed with pop tunes for the broads. He’s also responsible for some of the greatest songs ever…but you knew that already, right? You can catch my feature with L’s mentor Silver Fox in the new Hip-Hop Connection if you want the whole story.

Robbie: You sound pretty invigorated on the new tape with Kayslay.

LL Cool J: I had a lotta fun doin’ that. We’re just getting’ it in. The last couple of projects, with me doin’ TV and movies, I think it really took away from the music. My heart was a hundred percent in but my focus wasn’t, so this go round I moved all the movies and the TV to the side just to really focus on trying to make some hot music, and I made the mix-tape to just get it started. I might make another one! I’m enjoying that, though.

You used to be in a group called The Extravagant 3 with Dr. Butcher and Royal Rich when you were in high school. Can you tell me a bit about those days?

Absolutely. Me, Royal Rich and Drew were a very real group. We might’ve been a group for two, three years – maybe four – I’m not sure but it was a long time. We had a lotta routines…I think we all got better as artists, Drew got better as a rapper and a DJ, Rich got better as a rapper. Rich’s brother played the keyboards – his name was Professor KB. He used to make the music and everything. We were young kids trying to make it in hip-hop, without a doubt. I still have a lotta respect for Drew and Rich and his brother. Those were some good times, it was fun.

Drew was saying you would have twenty garbage bags of rhymes at the crib. You must have had quite an appetite for writing.

I definitely did. When I get like that…I’m like that right now. I’m driving the people around me in the record company crazy, ‘cos I keep makin’ new songs but they wanna lock it in and master it and be able to say they finished – but I keep workin’! When I’m in the zone, man, I just love writing! I love creating songs, I love creating concepts, I love the whole idea of trying to make great music. I don’t take it seriously, I have a lotta fun with it. I found a picture of me recently with a whole bunch of rhyme books on a ironing board, and I’m like seventeen or fifteen – something like that – sittin’ there with a pen, writing. It’s crazy.
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Krohme feat. Kool G Rap, Chino XL, C-Rayz Walz, Sean Price and Hell Razah - ‘Goon Opera’

That ‘Murder Goons’ break gets another go-around.

A couple of Friday’s ago I spoke to Kyron aka Solo from Screwball/Kamakazee, and was lucky enough to hear a track from the new Screwball album - safe to say, shit was nuts. Screw also has a couple of new members (including Ty Nitty from Infamous Mobb, who was Louis ‘Screwball’ Chandler’s younger brother). I won’t be dropping the full interview for a while but here’s a new cut which may or may not be on his forthcoming solo project, as well as the video for his ‘Caution’ single (aka the mandatory club song).

Kyron aka Solo - ‘Rebel’

Kyron - ‘Caution’ video:
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Royce Da 5′9″ - ‘Promise Land’

Produced by Nottz. Royce has come a long a way since his mediocre Bad Meets Evil days, huh?

Artwork by Tony Bones

Last week I threw together this compilation focusing on the best uses of Bob James’ ‘Nautilus’, which I consider to be the greatest break ever. Just to make shit official, I called upon Elliott Wilson (who’s currently preparing to launch his Rap Radar site on Jan. 20 of next year) to drop his thoughts on my selections. Full download link at the end of the post.

Bob James - ‘Nautilus’

Makavelliott: Eternally soothing on the ears. Make a better break! We dare ya.

Robbie: Pretty much any record that uses this or ‘UFO’ is pure win.
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Black Milk feat. Pharoahe Monch, Sean Price & DJ Premier - ‘The Matrix’

Taken from his new Tronic album, which will be selling for under ten bones at Fat Beats. I still think half of his beats sound like he’s recorded them off his old Sega Genesis games, but I like some of his shit.

Lord Finesse & DJ Mike Smooth - ‘Bust A Move’ (Demo)

Is there anything better than hearing a dope, hungry MC getting busy over live breaks being cut-up? This kind of shit reminds me why I started messing with rap in the first place.

Thanks to the hard work of the Vinyl Addicts crew, an EP of Finesse demo’s was pressed-up a while back. If you didn’t score one of the 200 copies pressed, here’s what you missed out on.