Cold Crush Brothers - Fresh, Wild, Fly & Bold

My second CC4 12" and the only other one I ever owned and it's my all time fave. I remember seeing a the best b-boy crew in the city, Smac 19,  on the local evening news around '84 which is when I was still breakin' but the interest in the music and desire to get the records was beginning to take over. They were dancing to 'Cold Crush: It's Us' and it blew me away, loved it instantly. Didn't cop this copy until I got a job and was earning though, probably around '87 or '88 courtesy of Beat Street records and I still have it today. 1984, what a year.

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Cold Crush Brothers - Heartbreakers Party

Just finished watching a four part series on Sky Arts over here in Blighty called 'Hip Hop Evolution' which was originally shown on Netflix I think. I was expecting a lot of time being spent going over the same old ground, same folk interviewed, etc. but it was pretty surprising, Kurtis Blow, Grandwizard Theodore, even Schoolly D made a brief appearance, too many to mention really but GMC himself was the most entertaining for me, proper old school emcee that's worth listening to. So, obviously I dug out my CCB rekkids - I only have the two- and ripped 'em at three twenny for y'all so here's the first of the two. B-side col' rocks the hardest yo.

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Ninja Crew - We Destroy / Baby T. Rock

Another one I had on an old Mike Allen tape that I loved when I first heard it but it was the b-side he played and never the a-side, to my knowledge. I often wondered if he listened through the records before broadcasting his show or if he just played the b-sides by accident. Still, nice accident if that was the deal. I only got my copy about three years ago and it sounds decent considering the 4sight pressings were pretty average. I like 'We Destroy' but it's the b-side that kills it for me.

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King Tee - Paybacks A Mutha

This is another Mike Allen sure shot I bought in '87 after hearing it on his show but by then hip hop was on the rise and it was now National Fresh so no need to make trips down to that London any more. I bought this one a few weeks ago as I traded my first copy as was the norm back then. Tee's debut I think and it's a corker.

Smell my cheese you mutha

Easy Mike - The State We're In / It's Too Political

There's some talk on discogs re this 12" about it being the first time the break from James Brown's  'funky drummer' was heard and I would certainly concur with that. The record itself for me is not that exciting but I have it only for the memory of hearing that break for the first time and being blown away. I don't think I really knew what it was after being bombarded for a couple of years with ball bustin' drum machine beats. I got in to breaks not long after this record and bought all the UBB LPs over time which I still have today. This is ok really. Reminds me of Mike Allen's radio show too, which is nice, God bless 'im.

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MC's Of Rap - Domination

If you're looking for a firin' bass heavy electro banger then you're in the right place. Been after this one for a bit but no UK sellers had it on offer until a few weeks back where I stumbled upon this little beauty for just shy of a fiver. The sound of '86 is back y'all. Well, it should be.

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Jazzy Jeff And Fresh Prince - The Magnificent Jazzy Jeff

Another heater from JJ & FP from '87, his killer transforming styles made me wanna worship him like a god. Looks as though Jive didn't pay him the respect I did though; check the spelling of his name on the instrumental version. Never mind, tune's pure fire!

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DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince - A Touch Of Jazz

Been feeling this one over the last few weeks, a brilliant record and a very easy pick up these days if you never managed to bag one in '87 like I did. Jazzy Jeff was like some kinda god to me when I was trying to perfect the transformer scratch, made it sound super effortless and very easy. I bought one of those Gemini mixers that him and Cash Money used and it made the job easier but the crossfader wore out quite quickly and getting a hold of spares was difficult, especially if you lived in the UK and the internet wasn't invented yet. Never had a mixer as easy to use since that one though.
Have a listen to this if you've not heard it for a minute.

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Roxanne Shante - Roxanne's Revenge

I watched that Netflix drama about Shante's early life, rise to ghetto stardom, etc and I thought it was ok but I wouldn't watch it again, kinda like an early evening drama that might appeal to soap opera fans maybe but I remembered I had a copy of this which is supposedly the version recorded in Marley Marl's bedroom as depicted in the movie. UTFO or their record company complained due to copyright infringement so they re-recorded it as the version we all remember that was on Streetsounds Electro 6 (what a record that is!). This here was recorded directly from Mr Magic's radio show and is certainly not a home recording as you can hear Mr Magic start to speak on the fade out at the end. Not the best version but worth having if you can pick up a cheap copy and also if you're a fan of here early stuff and that I am.

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Skinny Boys - Awesome

Some debut Skinny Boys action right here. This is my second copy as the first, as I've mentioned many times was traded years back. I bought this one in April 2016 and it's in a lot better condition than my first one and was pretty cheap to boot - only one for sale in the UK at the time of posting and he wants £35; best of luck mate - I paid £8. On the flip is 'Skinny Boys' which is similar to the A-side cut but it's still dope. '85 was a great year for me, lots of stuff on offer and no money to buy it with. I'll get there eventually..

'We need weight'..