Monday, December 24, 2012
Joe Cool - Check Out My Jam
So I'm glad to say the Mayans threw us a bum steer and Christmas is here once more and I was thinking about a compilation of seasonal yuletide stuff, you know, stuff we could all sing along to but decided on this special treat instead. All the best for Christmas and the coming year mates and I'll no doubt see you in 2013 for more of the same. Probably.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Saturday, November 24, 2012
T La Rock - He's Incredible
An old friend traded this one with me in '86 and I still love it. On the picture sleeve we see 'T' - I'd call him Terry but only close friends call him that - in an all black combo complete with white gloves and rocking a name belt so we always know who he is. I had one of those name belts and looking at this picture I kinda wish I still had it now. B boys in their droves looked slightly out of place buying letters for their belts from a shop in the city that sold rock music type clothing if I remember right because of the overpowering smell of petunia oil that smacked you in the face when you walked in. It took me a few weeks to man up and step in there in my track suit and superstars complete with wide laces and be stared at by these stinking heavy metallers - sorry, but you did - and say my DJ name out loud to the bloke behind the counter. He got the letters out and placed them on the glass counter. 'Like that?' he said. 'No, there's an 'N' in it' I said. I can't remember the total cost but I think the letters were 50p and there were 8 in my chosen name. I do remember polishing it a few times as the letters lost their sheen over time and a tin of Brasso came to the rescue. I can't remember what I did with it but it more than likely went in the bin. Shame.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Ray Rock & KC - Rayrock Kick It
Massive beats were always my thing so you can imagine how ape I went when I first clapped ears on it in '86. It wasn't in the import box in the shop so I ordered it and it came the next week and I've had it ever since. Absolutely solid fuckin' record. Every home should have one.
Thursday, November 08, 2012
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
MC Drew - Take No Prisoners
Brilliant record this, thumpin' 808 bass on the A-side but the B-side, 'Big Nuts' is a bit of a let down. I don't know about you but the records from this era I heard as a kid are nearly all classics in my mind and almost all the ones that passed me by as a kid I find difficult to listen to even though I know if I had heard them back then they would also be considered classics, if you get me. For instance, I had 'Bad Boys' on just a few days ago and the missus heard it and said, 'Inspector gadget? What the heck is that?' and I had to try and explain it and struggled a little but I still think it's a fresh jam. However I had to ask myself if I would think it was dope if I'd never heard it in '85 or '86 or whenever it came out? The answer would be probably not but this one is an exception to that rule. 'I'm The Packman' by The Packman is another pretty odd record that I would certainly give the elbow today had I not been alive and well and b boying my best in '83. Enjoy this one though if you've not heard it 'cos it'll knock your socks off.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Wanted
I'm on the hunt for these if anyone can help, not necessarily the full 12"s just the vocal tracks would be a good start. It's all UK ruffness too :
Fixed Penalty - To You / Bubble Up
Pure Genius - Law Of The Land EP
Storm - Playing The Field
Original Offkey Yout - Goin' On Dark / So It Goes
School Of Culture - Detonate To Activate / Come On
Hard II Kill -You Can't Tell Us What To Do / This Is How We Do
Stinginteraction - Koncious Resistance EP
EQ - Turn The Flames Higher
Forward Intense - Stated / Imply The Calm
That'll do for now as they're all fairly unknown to many and tough to track down for a reasonable price. Thanks in advance if you can help.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Charlie Brown & The C.B. Girls - You Can Make It
Love this one.What a magnificent bastard of a record. Had it on a Mike Allen tape back in '86 and when we heard it - me and my 3 regular vinyl buying mates - we freaked out.Walked down the street once blasting it out to the whole neighbourhood. I thought they needed to hear it. As far as I know there was no positive reaction. I tried ordering it from Fon records in Sheffield along with 'Hip Hop Bystander' by Magnetic Force and 'Little Cezar' by Eliot Ness and the Untouchables - those were all on the same tape - but was told by the guy behind the counter that 'those sorts of records you had to buy first time around'. He may have been right but he didn't even try. Twat. Got 'em all now anyway.
Monday, October 08, 2012
K.I.D. - Raw Flavours Volume 1
I dug this double LP out due to the recent sad news that K.I.D. of Nottingham duo 2wice The Trouble was found dead a few days ago. Up to press not much else is known about the circumstances surrounding the whole thing so we'll have to wait on more news so I won't dwell on that for now.
I will, however, tell you that I had the privilege of seeing him perform live at the Old School Reunion held in Nottingham about 20 odd years ago; he did 'Hey Hey, Can U Relate' - on his own as far as I can remember - and I have to say it was a a pretty uninspiring performance. He barely moved, just shuffled around on the spot and hardly made any eye contact with the crowd. I don't know why Carruthers wasn't there but I'm certain K.I.D. was solo on that day but it was a long time ago and my memory could be a little jaded. I can't find anyone else who was there apart from the 4 other people I went with and I haven't seen them for 15 or 20 years either so our stories can't be corroborated but it was a fantastic day overall and hearing that tune live was a real high point even though he seemed to want to be somewhere else. It's a real shame as he had talent by the bucket load and could easily have stood toe to toe with any other emcee, US or UK, at the time.
So that's it. I still can't believe it.
For further reading and downloadable content see here and here. If anyone has any further news or just any stuff I might not know then I'd be more than obliged.
R.I.P.K.I.D.
Monday, October 01, 2012
Schoolly D - P.S.K. What Does It Mean?
If ever there was a record that reminded me of The Limit club on a Saturday afternoon then this has to be it. I think it was Steinski who was talking about the first time he went to see the Cold Crush Brothers on one of those old school docs. I can't remember which one it's on but as soon as he described walking towards the entrance - he puts his hand over his mouth muffling the beats to try and imitate how it sounded as he walked towards the door - and he opened the door and the sound wave hit him in the face like a giant sledge hammer. He then goes on to say he went with his then girl and she wanted a drink from the bar so he gave her some cash or bought two or something and told her to knock herself out as he just wanted to hear the music. Well that's how it was in the Limit, except the bar was always closed. You walked down some steps from the street level door and you could hear the beats pounding as if there was a towel over the speakers or something and you opened the door and stepped inside and it was like 50 sledge hammers bashing the shit out of your whole body. DJ Mongoose had the baddest tunes around and when he played this one you could stand on the spot near the door and still end up getting bass pummeled to the other side of the room by the end of the track. Fairly disconcerting for a 14 year old who's never been to a nightclub before. It's still the loudest music I've ever heard and I'd give my left nut to go back just once more. One of my all time faves to this day.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
Spoonie Gee - That's My Style
Well I thought I might be doing something revolutionary here but the man like Stretch beat me to and by some years too. So, I'm not gonna bother with what I was planning to write as you can get the gist right here. Instead I will mention Marley's incredible scratching at the beginning and the end. It's been on heavy rotation for the last week or so and the scratching still blows me away. I always wanted to cut like that, you know like a long sentence from an acapella or whatever and break it down on time to the beat. In fact I tried numerous times, the most memorable being the acapella from Michael Jackson's 'Bad' over a beat from one of those Simon Harris looped break beat albums. I got high praise indeed from a couple of work mates who owned their own mobile disco - the type that play weddings and birthdays and only have Stock, Aitken and Waterman records - so their opinion was kind of valued. Anyone's was I guess. I don't have the tape any more so you're spared but I wouldn't if I did I don't think. Anyway, enjoy the record, the B-side track, 'Take It Off' is dope too, and I'll submit more cheesy memories when I remember 'em.
Sunday, September 09, 2012
Malcolm Mclaren - Would Ya Like More Scratchin'
Another re-up of a record I don't have any more. A 192kbps rip but a decent one so don't despair.
Sunday, September 02, 2012
Whistle - (Nothing Serious) Just Buggin'
Re-up as requested earlier on in the week.
And look, it really is a whistle.
Well, whistle shaped.
Paid five quid for that off a dude called Dominic who was in a graf crew from Sheffield called TDK.
I bought the best of Techno Hop LP off him at the same time.
It's rumoured that he sold his Roland 808 drum machine to Ruthjoy but I don't know how true that is.
He let me have a go on it while I was there checking out his wax for sale.
True story.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Mighty Ethnicz - Harmony Hall
Time for some UK action I think and this being my fave 12" by the Mighty Ethnicz I thought I'd share it with you. Another reason is the forthcoming shirt design by the excellent 'Style Warrior' which is available for pre-order right now so get your orders in before September 16th for a unique piece o' kit. The Ethnicz made some pretty decent records over all and a lot of them, quite possibly all of them went under the radar for most people but I think they deserve some props and interest in their short career needs a bit of reviving. 'Harmony Hall' uses a killer loop and one which I'd really like to know the origin of if anyone can assist. Blade use to have a forum and I asked there years ago and someone knew one of their crew and said he would ask but the forum went off line soon afterwards and I was back to square one. In truth I never really left square one. Still, the record is dope and well worth picking up especially as you can find it for next to nothing and the other two cuts on the flip are none too shabby either. 'Murder' makes great use of the Meters classic 'Just Kissed My Baby' and 'From Da Mind' is a funky mid tempo head nodder that makes this all in all their best record in my most humblest of opinions.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Roxanne (Fly) Shante - Payback
Nothing wrong with a bit of Shante on a Tuesday evening. I got this on a London trip in '87 - Red Records on Beak Street I think - and traded it once but got it back soon after. 1987 was a bit of a mixed year if memory serves but the beat was what it was always about for me and the beats on here hit hard. I never really liked 'Freestyle Live' on the flip because I think it tries, but fails to sound like 'Def Fresh Crew' however the kick drum will make your floor rumble so it's not all bad. I say to Shante 'please come out of retirement and make some more records like this'. Everyone would buy it. Everyone.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Nottingham's Finest 1988 - 1992
I feel I must enlighten you to the existence of this little beauty I discovered over at the excellent 'Fear of a Wack Planet' blog a few months ago. Most of the stuff is unreleased as far as I'm aware a lot of it is absolutley firin', especially my personal fave, 'Serious-DJ quick Club Remix' by 2wice The Trouble; K.I.D should have had a stormin' career but he never hit the big time which is a real shame. I had a few of these on a tape back in the early nineties through a friend of a friend of a friend who knew DJ Mink but the tape was 'borrowed' and never returned - it had a couple of my own demos on there too I did with an aspiring rapper called MC Fame and it was him who I lent the tape to. I saw him a few years back in B & Q but he got in to his car before I could catch him. Errol if you're reading this mate I've got these back now but our demos might (not) be worth a listen if you still have them. Massive thanks to Mike Check over at FOAWP for the initial upload and if the link's dead he'll up it again for you if you ask him nicely. Pay him a visit anyway. He's got some interesting and in depth posts on all things hip hop. Worth a few minutes of anyone's time.
Poor Righteous Teachers - Time To Say Peace
Another re-up, another classic tune and one which I don't own any more so this is a 192kbps rip, a good 192kbps rip mind you.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Public Enemy - You're Gonna Get Yours
Re-up of this classic 12" (I assume this is the one you meant?) and the only PE 12" I have left in my collection. An interesting point to note is that Johnny Juice was responsible for the mind blowing scratching on the 'Terminator X Getaway Version' and I didn't find that out until I read this.
Sunday, July 08, 2012
2 Live Crew - What I Like
I traded something for this around '85 or '86. I had another mate who liked to buy records and he didn't buy this he got it in a trade before me. He used to really badger me to trade records and I would almost always give in just to get him off my case but I think I came out on top with this one. Our musical tastes differed a bit too; I liked the electro style but favoured the heavy, thundering beats and he would lean more towards Pretty Tony or Miami bass style stuff. He loved Pretty Tony. We were both interested in DJ cuttin' up style tracks as we were both aspiring DJs ourselves but our styles were different again; he would perfect his mixing skills and I would just stand there scratchin' to a beat until I thought I'd perfected that.I was surprised when he put this up for trade because it was right up his street musically speaking and I can't remember what I gave up for it. I don't ever remember instigating a trade either. The wax is a little knackered in parts dur to me scratching sounds off it, in particular the 'fresh' sound right at the end but it still sounds stoopid def, even today. 2 Live Crew's best record? I think it might be.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Doctor J.R. Kool - That's Deep
Not much needs to be said about this one so I'll keep it brief. The late great John Peel played this first (as far as I know) and I've only just bagged a copy after all these years. The B-side is cool too, same beat, no reverb, more scratchin' and all comin' at ya in a 320kbps stylee. 'Yo Jazzy, bring it BACK'.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Rock Master Scott & The Dynamic 3 - It's Life (You Gotta Think Twice)
When I used to shop at the Virgin record store on the High Street most of the time you had to get in quick or lose out. Some records however were in the import box for months on end and I used to see them each week and pass them up for more desirable slices of dope wax. Anyway, after I started making a bit of money, (got my first job when I was 17 and was paid the handsome amount of 65 quid a week after tax) I could get some of the 'unwanted' records that were doing some serious time in that box. One of which wasn't this 12" but it was the first volume of Mr. Magic's Rap Attack and this was on it. I'd only ever heard 'The Roof Is On Fire' before and wasn't that keen on it really and I still think this one is the best they did. I eventually copped the 12" from good old Beat Street Records so here it is in full 320kbps glory. I'm pretty sure Beat Street never used to mention if there were markings on the labels in their monthly catalogue but that's never really bothered me too much as it's the tunes I was after but this one used to belong to some nightclub, the name of which I can't quite make out.
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Insane Macbeth feat. The Legendary Icepick - True Heart
The early or electro years will always be my own personal golden years if you like but I did evolve with the scene up to a certain point and in particular got hooked on the UK style. Not just because I'm a native Brit but I think the US were releasing anything and everything regardless of the quality but before I get myself into a hole it was probably applied to both camps. I think 'Hold No Hostage' by Hijack was the turning point for me and the whole 'Britcore' thing followed. One of the records I can remember buying (from Warp Records, Division Street, Sheffield) is Kinetic Effect's 'Borderin' Insanity' on green wax and a photo of Insane Macbeth on the back wearing big boots and holding a meat cleaver in his hand. This might have been indicative of what kind of music was contained in the package so I bought it without spinning it first and wasn't disappointed. I don't have that one anymore (was made an offer I couldn't refuse) but I do have this. The Icepick is very well known among UK heads and made some excellent records over the years and this 12" stand with them as an example, if you needed one, of the UK sound at it's very best. The relentless, sledgehammer-like beats created by Insane Macbeth carry the early UK style in to the 21st century and he even plays live piano along with bass by legendary engineer 'No-Sleep Nigel'. If you're in to the UK scene and haven't heard this you can check it out here and there are still some available via the man himself. Contact him at insanerecordings@aol.com and if you're lucky you might still have a chance of a red vinyl copy like mine here. Also there are still some copies of the very dope limited Kinetic Effect 10" clear vinyl single 'A Physical Excorcise' with dope beats by Insane Macbeth that was released earlier this year which is well worth the money. Both records come with excellent packaging, full colour glossy pics on 'True Heart' too. Proof that hip hop is not quite dead just yet.
Friday, May 25, 2012
The Rapologists - The Hip Hop Beat
I don't know about you but I thought the Streetsounds UK Electro LP was pretty dire. I only bought it to complete the collection but rarely played it all except for this track. I eventually got this copy from good ol' Beat Street records in the late eighties. I must admit it does sound a little dated and there's not a lot of expression, if you like, in the way the lyrics are delivered but it's still a decent 12". The UK scene was still in it's infancy in '84 and I would say it went on to much greater things, particularly in the '88-'92 period. I don't think this is any different to the UK issue on Billy Boy but please feel free to let me know if you own a copy.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Newcleus - Automan
Not much to say other than this is my fave Newcleus cut and there's not even any rapping. In 1984 I was a bit of a purist and any singing or musical instrumentation, in my eyes was a bit lame so I guess this was a guilty pleasure. Incredibly catchy tune though and I was a little disappointed with their version on the recent Street Sounds reunion DVD but what the hey, I still have this.
Saturday, May 05, 2012
Crazy Eddie & Jazaq - Come On Party People
I traded something for this around '86-'87, can't remember what but an excellent trade don't you think? My mate (at the time; stole my PE 'Public Enemy no.1' 12" and a compilation video of stuff I'd recorded off the telly) got it off someone he knew and I ended up with it. I'd like to know the provenance of it as promos were really not around much due to there being no internet and what have you. I don't ever remember buying one in the shop so I'd say this is a pretty scarce piece of wax. And a killer track too with some firin' vocoder action to boot. There's also a glaring typo but let's not discuss that.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
DJ Red Alert - Hip Hop On Wax Volume 2
I wasn't that keen on this at one time. DJ Red Alert wasn't a big deal for me. Chuck Chillout's effort was much better, the cuttin' and scratchin' much heavier and harder, more to it altogether. I would have even said that this was slower and less interesting but I would be wrong. It has a darker sound to it, what with the sirens and that sinister sounding BT Express bass line he keeps dropping in. I love that. It was in the crate for a heck of a long time until I heard the P Brothers 'Zulu Beat' mixtape and I got an urge to spin it again. And I would say that both volumes are roughly the same tempo. Funny how you remember things. We use to b-boy to this one in my mates basement in '84. Didn't get my own copy until about 2003 and then I nearly didn't due to a dodgy ebay seller trying to tell me it had been 'on a shelf in the post office' where he'd mailed it and 'they'd forgot about it'. What kinda story is that?
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Roxanne (Fly) Shante - I'm Fly Shante
Kids these days think they know big beats but they've no idea. I don't think Marley Marl even made a beat as big as this. Earth shattering. Had it on my ipod on the walk to work this morning. Killer. Steady B makes an appearance too
Sunday, April 15, 2012
The Russell Brothers - The Party Scene

Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Twilight 22 - Electric Kingdom

Sunday, March 25, 2012
Lil' Jazzy Jay & Cool Supreme - B Boys Style

On another short side note I used to play on a pirate radio station in Sheffield called Sheffield Community Radio (SCR 101.5FM) and the guy I was paired up with, (I didn't know him until then) also had a tape with this record on it and because you almost never got a track list with any tape he thought the voice on the vocoder was saying...
(It does sound a bit like that. If you didn't know.)
Sunday, March 18, 2012
The Boogie Boys - Break Dancer

On a a side note there was a jam in Nottingham around 1990 ish called 'The Old School Reunion' and I went with a few mates and Danny from Broken glass was there too and did around 30-40 windmills like he was still about 16 years old. Don't know if anyone else might have been there but it was a great day out, DJ Pogo was there 2wice the Trouble, Goldie, Trix from Nottingham's Rock City Crew was the MC and I remember he offered a tenner to anyone who would get off their arse and do something and it was Deano from Sheffield's Positive Force who was the first to bust a move. And he gave him the tenner. A few beer tokens later and it fully kicked off and everyone, me included just got loose and did their thing, maybe for the first time in 4 or 5 years for some of us. The last time I 'windmilled' was about 12 years ago at my brother's wedding. I'd had about 7 pints and a three course dinner so it wasn't a happy ending. My suit was ruined.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Fantasy Three - The Buck Stops Here

Sunday, February 05, 2012
Fresh Gordon - Gordy's Groove

Sunday, January 22, 2012
Ultimate Choice Feat. Finesse & T.L.C. - You Can't Front
