We need to Kickstarter this joint so that P.A.P.I. will release this documentary. Here’s how he described it to Life Sucks Die magazine years ago:
NORE: It’s nothing to say I’m doing my own movie. What! What! The Movie. You know why? When I came in and got involved with hip-hop, a lot of people was fake. But now, as we keep doing this music, there’s a lot of real individuals that’s ex-crackheads, ex-cokeheads, ex-robbers and ex-murderers and ex-hustlers that’s doing rap right now. This game has gotten a lot realer. That’s why you see people having cases and having shootouts. So I felt like I should be the one to express it because I’m the one that’s seen it. So again, that’s What!What! The Ghetto Documentary. I got Chris Lighty spazzing on Foxy Brown, talking about he bought her a Benz. I got Nas Escobar talking about The Roots is faggots. I got Snoop Dogg talking about Kurupt was wrong for making that record calling out names. I got Puff Daddy talking about the Ruff Ryders. I got The Lox dissing Puff Daddy. It’s all beef, that’s all I’m about, baby. I got a whole bunch of good shit. I got Jay-Z in Jamaica…
Update: NORE talks about the trailer in this interview with Peter Rosenberg and the crew: (more…)
Watch Black Rock and Ron drive around in a limo and rap over “To Be Real.” Please note the extra deep V-neck sweaters, Ron Scratch’s portable drum machine and their dancers sporting the world’s most colorful overalls. Just remember kids, “When it comes to skeezers, I lay pipe like a piper!”
RA discusses the pro’s and con’s of Big Daddy Kane‘s third album. In retrospect, Looks Like A Job For was a lot better as a whole, but I still rocked this when it dropped.
MF Grimm has survived many trials and tribulations during his life and career, having barley survived multiple gunshot wounds which left him in a wheelchair for the past twenty years, missing out on his spot on “Live At The BBQ” after a run-in with a taxi driver and having the master reels of his first album stolen from a recording studio. Returning to music after an extended hiatus, Grimm spoke to me about his new project Good Morning Vietnam, developing his rhyme style, rolling with King Sun, forging his reputation as a serious battle MC in his younger days and the importance of the New Music SeminarBattle For World Supremacy.
Robbie: It must be exciting to release some new music.
MF Grimm: This time around with Drasar Monumental, I feel like I’m just starting my career now, working with him. I’ve never been able to work hands-on with a producer like I’m working with him. It’s more than music, we get along like brothers. It’s not about profit margin, it’s about making quality songs and music. I have so much to learn that it’s fun to be around him, we’re both students of the game. Every song we did was created on the spot, was written that same day.
What else are you doing these days?
I’m currently the president of a multi-media company called Arch Enemy Entertainment. We work with USA Today, which goes out to 11.9 million people, so I’m in film and television. I’m responsible for a lot of writers, illustrators and animators. Music is something which I can only do when I make time for it. I started working with them in 2008 in marketing, and I made president in 2011. (more…)
Proof that more rapper need to wear suits with gold chains. Kool Keith, Ced Gee, TR Love and DJ Moe Love rip shit at Dingwalls Camden Lock, London back in April, 1990. Great work Timmy!
Kool Kim and Hass G began as the UMC’s (The Universal MC’s), a duo from Staten Island. Best remembered for the hit single ‘Blue Cheese’ and the under-appreciated Fruits Ov Nature album, the UMC’s poster was also a regular fixture on the lounge room wall on Martin Lawrence’s character on his classic 90’s sit-com, Martin. Their Wild Pitch debut was co-produced by RNS, who would later work on projects for Shyheim and GP-Wu. Hass went on to produce “Apollo Kids” for Ghostface and “Magic Stick” for 50 Cent, while Kool Kim re-invented himself as NYOIL and released the Hood Treason album in 2008.
Robbie: How did you meet Hass G?
Kool Kim: We used to all work at the Statue of Liberty – it was me, U-God, Meth, Deck and Hass – that’s where I met Hass. Me and Meth used to go to public school together, back when he was just Clifford Smith and I was just Kim Sharpton. Me and him used to play trumpet together, and he modeled his trumpeting style behind Clifford Smith, the trumpeter, because our band teacher used to tell him that he reminded him of him – which was pure bullshit. When I heard the real Clifford Smith I was like, ‘Get the fuck outta here!’ Son used to enjoy Clifford The Big Red Dog books. But son was in Stapleton – I wasn’t no hood dude like that, so I wasn’t gonna rock with him in Stapleton. I knew Rakeem (RZA) from back when he used to rock with this dude Forest, who calls himself Ishem now. Rakeem and Forest, they used to have they thing, ‘cos Rakeem ain’t no MC. He wack! He a wack rapper, kid. Capadonna, who used to be Original God at the time, he was ridiculous. Back then, Cappadonna was the Slick Rick of Staten Island. (more…)
‘Cules, Chucky Smash and Cee-Low return with more Bronx flavor from the vaults as they flip the loop you might recall from Mobb Deep‘s “Still Shinin’”, which seems fair considering that the sample Havoc and Prodigy rock for “The Realest” was used by The Legion first…
Both this and “Street Truth” were recorded at D&D Studios in 1995 and are available on iTunes now and 7-inch vinyl soon.
Best known for his two independent singles and involvement with Marley Marl’s Future Flavas radio show, Staten Island’s J.Force revealed that he has a long history in the rap game dating back to the late 80′s when he sat down to share his story with me recently.
Robbie: How did you start in the music game?
J. Force: I made a record in 1993 called ‘Bullseye’. I sampled Black Moon ‘How Many MC’s’ and I mixed in Special Ed ‘Think About It’. Came out with a single in ’94, pumped it out my trunk, I wound-up selling to two major retailers in the city of New York – one was Fat Beats Records, the other one was Beat Street in Brooklyn – and it was all history from there. A lotta overseas people came to those stores and bought the record. I had a logo of a jester on the sticker. I also mixed it at the House of Hits with Marley Marl. I was fortunate enough to get Marley to mix the first record. Then I put out a second record in ’95, called ‘For All Thoze’ and ‘Runnin’ On E’, and Marley mixed those as well. I sampled Deathwish on ‘For All Thoze’, and for ‘Bullseye’ as well. That was my favorite soundtrack for a long time. (more…)
File under ‘Stuff I Missed in 2011′. Turns out Scaramanga returned from a four year bid last year and promised a bunch of new material, as well as announcing plans to shoot videos for a lot of his older material.
Here’s the clip of Scara from last June where he gives out his email address, Twitter handle, Facebook link and mailing address. Also features a cameo from A-Butta. (more…)
Another 90′s rapper has decided to throw his hat back into the ring. Omniscence had a couple of well received records out but his LP got shelved by East West, resulting in a sixteen year hiatus. This new release is produced by Debonair P, and captures that classic 90′s Brag Rap feel effortlessly. Vinyl available here.
This came out a while back but it’s worth grabbing regardless, especially since I just interviewed J.Force this week. Until I transcribe that, for those unfamiliar, he dropped a couple of singles in the 90′s and worked with Marley Marl in the studio and was part of the Future Flavas radio show crew. This is a collection of ‘revisits’ he did for the show and stuff that’s never been released, pieced together with some choice movie samples and interludes. Strictly SP-1200 status.
Big Fun In The Big Town director Bram Van Splunteren shared his VHS collection with the Acclaim crew recently, one of which featured this Q&A he conducted with O’Shea in his Jherri curled prime while on tour in Rotterdam.
Hardknocks delivered something unique when they dropped the School of Hard Knocks album in 1992. It stood-out both musically and lyrically as a sophisticated blend of hardcore rhymes and groove-heavy beats that sounded nothing like any other record of the era. Then they promptly vanished…leaving a lot of unanswered questions for rap fanatics who knew little about the crew itself, save for their earlier incarnation as 3 Da Hard Way. While I’d always assumed that The Spearchuckas, who were credited as the producers, were in fact Hardhead and Stoneface, it turns out I was wrong. When I had the chance to speak to J-1, who was half of the Spearchucka team, I jumped at the opportunity to fill in some of the blanks regarding this outstanding album.
Robbie: How did you start out?
J-1: I’ve been involved in music ever since I was 9 or 10. I played drums, my father played drums, played bass guitar…my family was musically involved. As far as hip-hop is concerned, I was in New York deejaying from 1978 all the way until about five years ago. I grew-up in Long Island. We did all those block parties. The C.B.S. crew. I moved to Atlanta in 1984. I started meeting people and this guy Mike California knew Henry Lee, who was from Noon Time Music. He helped us get started. Now he does Jazzy Pha and Ciara and that kind of stuff. (more…)
