Prime Time - So Damn Tuff

The TR808 is legendary as far as hip hop music is concerned and it appears to have made a comeback in recent years so why can't these new cats use it properly? Here's how it's done.

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Supreme Force - You Gotta Come Out Fresh

Always liked this one, had it since '86 too, this is my kind of record. Crews bouncing off each other before passing the mic, you know, the Cold Crush or Fantastic Five type of thing. Everybody around this time had to be influenced by those guys and it's evident here. Tough beats, solid rhymes, and they're called 'Supreme Force' so it was a no brainer for me. NIA was a decent label too.

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MC Chill - MC Story

I think MC Chill is under represented on these types of things. My first listening experience came via a tape one of my brothers got from a new kid at school - I think I made a reference before - and he presented it to me with marks out of 5 for each track and he gave 'Bust This Rhyme' a '2' which, I think is pretty unfair as he 'left' hip hop around the same year and now listens to anything from Pearl Jam to Bing fuckin' Crosby so I give him '0' out of 5 for that choice. Anyway, an online acquaintance showed me a youtube vid of a live performance of Mr. Chill upped by the man himself so I thought I'd dig this out to show some respect and enthusiasm I guess for a decent 12" from '86. My personal fave is 'Downbeats' so I might get around to that at some point if I remember. I really think ' The Prophesy' is one of his worst but, what the hell.

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Smitty 'D' & Rock Squad - Kic Kic

Won this earlier this week on ebay. Had it back in '86 but you know how it is when you're young and have no cash flow but I'd forgotten about it and had a lowish bid and won. It was a little different to a lot of tunes released that year due to the sampled beats which were a little strange sounding to my young ears. The B-side is more of an authentic '86 sound but I don't like it as much. A random factoid here; I think Smitty 'D' is PMD's brother although I haven't bothered to check. I think I read it in an EPMD interview years ago in HHC or summat. Cool record.

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