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Saturday, October 31, 2009

Cutmaster DC - That's Life

The mighty Cutmaster's debut 12" is not his best but worth a listen. It was released in 1983 and I would say that is is exactly what you'd expect a rap record from 1983 to sound like. The first record I bought of his was 'Night Before Christmas' and I will admit to only really purchasing this to complete my Cutmaster DC 12" collection. I do like his rap style though. At least he put some effort in to it and keeps to the beat, not like nowadays with these young 'uns.. Just a vocal and instrumental on here although there is an official release with a picture sleeve knocking around, not sure if there are extra versions on there. Pass is 'tothebreakofdawn'.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Live N' Effect Posse - I'm Getting Physical

Fantastic slice of the so called 'Golden Era' style of things produced by the famous among 'random' fans, Paul C. I have to admit to never having heard of it until the bootleg came about and I forgot I'd bought a copy until recently and decided to sell it a few weeks back where it sold for 5 times more than I paid, which was nice. Such is the power of The Man..

Friday, September 25, 2009

Three Times Dope - Funky Dividends 12" Single (1989)

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RE-UP

01 - Funky Dividends (Goin' For Broke Edit)
02 - Funky Dividends (Goin' For Broke Remix)
03 - Funky Dividends (Big Money Talkin' Beats)
04 - Funky Dividends (Modern Day Radio Mix)
05 - Funky Dividends (Great Groove Club Mix)

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Thursday, September 24, 2009

Spyder-D - I Can't Wait (To Rock The Mike) 12" Single (1986)



Re-Up

A - I Can't Wait (To Rock The Mike)
B - I Can't Wait (To Rock The Mike) (Instrumental)

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Public Enemy - Bring The Noise 12" Single (1987)

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RE-UP

Classic right here but you already know that. In my opinion this is one of the most important songs ever recorded. This was the track that launched The Bomb Squad's multi-layered noise on a world in need of beautiful chaos on wax. I could be wrong but I'm sure this dropped before Rebel Without A Pause which would be the next runner-up for supreme sonic assault on the masses in the work of Public Enemy. Either way I was extremely happy with both when they dropped and my life's purpose was complete at that moment in time - this is where I feel hip-hop can contribute to the spiritual path as well as the ego's - both tracks are now part of my energetic matrix and make me that much stronger in spirit. No shit. Originally released on the soundtrack for the film Less Than Zero, and as a 12 inch, here is where the B-Side doesn't win with a slightly altered version of Sophisticated Bitch but actually it's one of my favorite PE joints from their debut with sweet guitar by Bill Stephney & Vernon Reid from Living Colour. Enjoy!!

Somehow I have two different versions of this single so I compiled them into one zip but kept the folders separate. One is a limited edition release that includes Rebel Without A Pause.

01 - Bring The Noise (No Noise Version)
02 - Bring The Noise (No Noise Instrumental)
03 - Bring The Noise (No Noise Acappella)
04 - Sophisticated (Bitch)
05 - Sophisticated (Bitch) (Instrumental)

01 - Rebel Without A Pause (Vocal Mix)
02 - Rebel Without A Pause (Instrumental)
03 - Bring The Noise
04 - Sophisticated Bitch

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LL Cool J - I Need A Beat 12" Single (1984)

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RE-UP

A1 - I Need A Beat (Vocal)
B1 - I Need A Beat (Zootie Mix)
B2 - I Need A Beat (Instrumental)

Download (Multiupload)

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Eric B. & Rakim - Follow The Leader 12" Single (1988)

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RE-UP

A1 - Follow The Leader (5:33)
B1 - Follow The Leader (Acapella) (5:33)
B2 - Follow The Leader (Dub) (5:33)

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Mikey D & The LA Posse - Out Of Control 12" (1988)

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RE-UP

A1 - Out Of Control (Vocal)
A2 - Out Of Control (Instrumental)
B1 - Comin' In The House (Vocal)
B2 - Comin' In The House (Instrumental)

Download (zShare)

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Grandmaster Flash - Ba-Dop-Boom-Bang (1987)

Tracklist:

  • A1 Ain't We Funkin' Now (0:59)
  • A2 U Know What Time It Is (3:23)
  • A3 Underarms (3:09)
  • A4 Kid Named Flash (3:50)
  • A5 Get Yours (3:34)
  • A6 Them Jeans (3:16)
  • A7 We Will Rock You (2:46)
  • B1 All Wrapped Up (3:16)
  • B2 Tear The Roof Off (2:29)
  • B3 Big Black Caddy (4:03)
  • B4 House That Rocked (4:00)
  • B5 Bus Dis (Wooo) (3:07)
  • B6 I Am Somebody (3:34)
  • B7 Ain't We Funkin' Now (1:20)

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Arabian Prince - It's A Dope Thang

I first heard this whilst walking through the city centre in Sheffield (UK). Loads of b-boy types, writers and whatnot used to gather in a particular place and they happened to have this on the 'boombox' or whatever you want to call it and I loitered a little to try and catch any words I might remember to try and find it (no internet back then, how the hell did we live our lives?!) but failed until a mate of mine gave me the heads up after he bought his 'Brother Arab' LP when it first came out, (which he gave me later) and I eventually got a copy in 1999. The other 2 tracks, 'Hoggie Doggie' and 'Gettin' Down' are alright but the beat on 'Dope Thang' hits so hard it's difficult to give the others any time at all. B-side wins once again. Password is 'tothebreakofdawn'.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

JVC Force - Big Trax 12" (1992)

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RE-UP

A1 - Big Trax (Vocal)
A2 - Big Trax (Instrumental)
B1 - 6 Feet Back On The Map (Hardcore Mixup)
B2 - 6 Feet Back On The Map (Instrumental)
B3 - 6 Feet Back On The Map (Bedside Manor)

Download (MultiUpload)
Buy at Discogs

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Public Enemy - You're Gonna Get Yours 12" (1987)

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RE-UP

PE really broke new ground on this single with Rebel Without A Pause, recorded after Yo! Bum Rush The Show. The most notable part of the song was Hank Shocklee's sample of the trumpet glissando from The J.B.'s The Grunt and is easily one of the most memorable sounds on the planet. A quote from an interview with Shocklee reveals some interesting tidbits behind the making of the track: "’Rebel’ is interesting because that was originally done with the only sampler that I had at the time which was the Mirage. And the Mirage, if you know the Mirage, it’s a 4-bit sampler that gives you three seconds of sample time and that’s it. And it was [as if] the stars lined it up for me. I was doing this thing again, and I was trying to catch it and I caught the right piece of it in three seconds. Because one thing about the Mirage is when you have three seconds, and you know you only got three seconds, and your piece is really three and a half seconds long, but you really want to catch the best three seconds out of that, well, you got to keep doing it until you catch it right the way you want it". Another very interesting fact is the drums. At first listen it seems like just the Funky Drummer chopped up a little with another programmed beat for the chorus. "That record has four different beats, one is the change beat, one is the original verse beat, the other is the short verse beat, and the fourth being the ride on the beat. And it has ten different turnarounds, all those little kicks, all that stuff is programmed, you know, each one does not repeat itself. So it gives you the illusion of the record is constantly getting better as opposed to it just staying linear". Also noteworthy is Terminator X's rock 'n' roll scratch (yes that's really him this time). "When he first did that piece, you know, the Rock 'n' Roll part, when Chuck said: ”Terminator X“ I was expecting, something (shows something huge with his arms). And then he came in and he would - (makes very small moves with his hands) and then he came up with ’tchgtchgtch’ – I was disappointed when I first heard it. You know, I took it home and I listened to it. And then I said: ”There is something in here that I like but there is something that I didn’t like about it.“ And so, when I went back to the studio, I had the engineer pull off the bottom on it because there was a lot more bass in it. And it just sounded muddy to me. Once Steve pulled the bottom of the whole shit popped out like crazy and it was my favorite piece in life. And even to the point when he took the ’Pee Wee Herman’ ’Get-a-get-a-get’ (scratches in the air) to give it a extra like (waves with his arms) – oh shit – I thought that that was probably the most brilliant piece of scratch work on a record to me ever".

Quotes from the Red Bull Music Academy interview with Hank Shocklee

A1 - You're Gonna Get Yours (Vocal)
A2 - You're Gonna Get Yours (Dub/Terminator X Getaway Version)
A3 - Miuzi Weighs A Ton (Vocal Mix)
B1 - Rebel Without A Pause (Vocal Mix)
B2 - Rebel Without A Pause (Instrumental)

Download (Multiupload)
Buy at Discogs

Leaders Of The New School - The International Zone Coaster 12" (1991)

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A1 - The International Zone Coaster (Re-Remix Edit) Remix - Stimulated Dummies
A2 - The International Zone Coaster (Remix) Remix - Stimulated Dummies
A3 - The International Zone Coaster (Ultra Shandilere Tango-Trixx Mix) Remix - L.O.N.S.
B1 - Too Much On My Mind (Vocal)
B2 - The International Zone Coaster (Zone Flight Z9ZU Mix) Remix - L.O.N.S.
B3 - The International Zone Coaster (Radio Edit) Remix - Stimulated Dummies

Download (Multiupload)
Buy at Discogs

Lord Alibaski - Lyrics In Motion / Top Gun

Excellent effort from a relatively slept on flavor unit emcee and produced by you know who. I heard 'Top Gun' on a 45 king comp originally and I picked this copy of the 12" up a couple of years back for £2.99 and it was sealed too. I passworded the file, you need 'tothebreakofdawn' to get in there.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

3XD - Greatest Man Alive 12" (1988)

Won this on ebay last week, 99p was the winning bid and you can't sniff at that. I'd buy almost anything for a quid. B-side wins again though, 'Straight Up' is a corkin' tune, proper heavy hip hop beats.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Big Daddy Kane - Raw / Word To The Mother (Land) 12" (1987)

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A1 - Raw
A2 - Word To The Mother (Land)
B1 - Raw (Dubapella)

Download (MediaFire)

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Intelligent Hoodlum - Back To Reality 12" (1990)

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A1 - Back To Reality
A2 - Back To Reality (Marley's Mix)
B1 - Back To Reality (UK Remix)
B2 - Back To Reality (UK Dub)
B3 - Live & Direct From The House Of Hits (Feat Craig G)

This single is worth grabbing just for the non-album track Live & Direct From The House Of Hits with Craig G. It's one of my all time favorite tracks. Grab it!

Download (MediaFire)
Download (DepositFiles)

Thursday, August 06, 2009

Futura 2000 - The Escapades Of Futura 2000

The Clash were my favourite band when I was a kid, heck, they probably still are. They met Futura in New York when they went over to play the now famous 17 gig stint at the Bonds club, or casino as the flyers said but it was just a club, (I think they added the casino moniker in an attempt to add a touch of class), as it was oversold. 'A' graffiti artist made a banner for the show (I assume it was Futura but can't be certain) and they obviously got together to collaborate on this gem of a 12". The Clash did make a couple of attempts at 'crossing over' and doing the hip hop thing and could possibly be the first white non American group to record a rap record but we'll discuss that another time. Overall, I would say that this is one of the best hip hop records ever made by a group who's primary musical genre wasn't hip hop and an emcee who isn't an emcee. Note: The band got Futura to reproduce the lyrics on the inner sleeve of 'Combat Rock'.

Monday, August 03, 2009

Run-DMC - Hollis Crew

I would credit 'sucker mcs' as being the record that got me into hip hop music back in 1983. I used to break (thanks to break machine!) before I knew rap music existed. I remember seeing the video to 'The message' on top of the pops but I never thought much about it, (I do now o' course), but run dmc were the best hands down in my opinion. I bought streetsounds electro 4 just for 'sucker mcs' as US imports were impossible to get a hold of in the north of England. This, however is my fave record by them. I'm not sure but I think it's a promo only 12" single and I only bagged a copy about 18 months ago for a fiver off ebay. The B-side is listed as the instrumental but it's slightly longer than the vocal version and is more of a dub style affair.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Witchdoctor & The Dominating 3 MCs - Kickin' It Live

When I was a young 'un I listened to the late great John Peel's radio show every night religiously just to hear the hip hop as he was the only DJ playing it at the time, amongst other oddities and weirdness of course. I heard this one on that show and managed to get a copy some days later from Roulette records in Sheffield (which is now a sandwich shop) and it cost £12.99. I know this because I still have it today and it's a dope piece of wax, one I'd never want to sell, firin' on every level. 'Rock The House' became my personal favourite mainly because of the rhyming style but also the beat is off the chain, very experimental, no-one would do such a thing today. The cover's good too. One of them has a red shiny coat on and white moon boots. Also very experimental, no-one would do such a thing today and he probably shouldn't have back then. the password is 'tothebreakofdawn'. Didn't mean to do that, force of habit.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Boogie Down Productions - Stop The Violence 12" (1988)

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A1 Stop The Violence (Extended Mix) (5:41)
A2 Stop The Violence (Single Edit) (3:42)
B1 Jimmy (4:11)
B2 Stop The Violence (Instrumental) (5:02)

Download (MediaFire)

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Anyone want to contribute to my blog?

I just wanted to apologize to everyone that I haven't posted anything new and haven't gotten to any re-ups. I would like to give the usual excuse that I've been so busy and have lost interest but I'll save that for some other dickhead. Soooo.....

If there's any of you out there that would like to contribute to this blog I would really appreciate the help. I'm not even sure if people still visit but together we can hopefully bring it back from the dead. If I don't get any responses after a week or so I'll probably end up re-upping every dead link and still add albums so don't worry about me shutting it down. If anyone's interested I personally try to stick to out of print east coast shit from 84 to about 94 but wouldn't mind stuff outside of that but I do want to try and stay true to out of print for the obvious reasons of not getting shut down and to the artists & labels who actually make some money on retail sales.

Just post in the comments and I'll see about getting you onboard to make some noise.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Hip Hop is alive

I just recently came across a few really nice blogs that I thought I'd pass on if any of you haven't discovered them yet. Ain't It Good To You is run by DJ Dee-Ville and features old school mixes that he throws together and man this dude knows his history on hip hop. He also makes his own covers that look fantastic. MOOVMNT! is a site that posts newer hip hop but from my first visit it looks like it's mostly underground shit that I like and he has great write ups along with the music links. Another quality site is Check The Rhime run by Breezilla and I'm pretty sure I've visited it before but came across it again today. Lot's of new hip hop releases and info, so be sure to bookmark these sites and check regularly.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

MassMirror can suck my balls

Looks like most if not all of my Massmirror links are down. Somebody could have snitched me out to them so from now on I'm gonna be using ShareBee and possibly ShareOneAll since they've been around longer and are reliable. There's another one called UploadJockey but they're newer so they may not be as good. I know I've said I'll get to all the dead links in the past but now I'm forced to either get to em or shut this bitch down which I don't want. So hopefully in the coming weeks I can get to every dead link.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Whistle - (Nothing Serious) Just Buggin' 12" Single (1985)

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A1 - (Nothing Serious) Just Buggin'
B1 - Buggin' Much Harder
B2 - (Nothing Serious) Just Buggin' (Radio Beats)

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