Solo Sounds - We're Chilly

Some old school party style pressure for you now. My poor quality mp3s were deleted forever in favour of a fresh 320kbps rip of this re-press after it hit the streets a few months ago. There was an original for sale on ebay at the time (went for $85.00) but that's way too much for my budget so buying this was a no brainer. There's only the two cuts one here, vocal and dub and I can't really tell you anything about Solo Sounds that you can't already find out for yourseves so we'll leave it at that. It's only ever about the music anyway. For me at least.

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Steady B - Just Call Us Def

Whatever happened to that word, def? It had quite a lot of use in the mid eighties but it kind of fizzled out and 'dope' seems to have taken its place. 'Mos Def' is probably the most recent use that comes to mind but I'd like people to go back to using it as an adjective. I don't think I ever used it out loud. When we were kids everything was 'bad' (meaning good of course). 'That's a bad tune' or 'that's a bad move'. You get the idea. A lot of slang words went mainstream, the most obvious being 'chill out'. I heard my mom say that to one of her friends on the phone just the other day and she's in her mid sixties. Her friend is even older and I'm sure she knew what it meant. The power of the media, eh? I think old words like 'def' and 'fresh' should make a comeback so I'll start it off today with this power house of a record which is still a personal favourite so I did a def 320kbps rip so it'll cave your chest in if you play it at the required volume. 'Fly Shante' is on the flip which is another thumping, drum machine driven track, not to be confused with the later release on the same label by Shante herself that was produced by the real king of the beats, the man Marley Marl. I bow to thee, oh great one.

'Don't Mean He Can't Hear When I Say He's Def'

Roxanne Shante - Runaway

Roxanne Shante rhyming over a solid Marley Marl beat is just what the National Centre for Runaway & Missing Exploited Children needed. I wonder if they were approached to do it and if all proceeds went to that particular charity? You wouldn't have thought a lot of cash could be made off the back of an indie rap record from '85 would you? Well I don't know if my purchase contributed anything towards it but I kinda hope it did. Lyrically it's a step away from the norm as far as your average Shante records go but the beats are still rock hard. I got it from the record fair when it came to town around '88-'89 for 2 quid, still sealed too as were the other three I got at the same time; 'Queen Of Rox', 'Bite This' and 'Roxanne's Revenge' all equally banging records, all still sealed and cheap at half the price. I still have all four to this very day too. Sweet vinyl. Hard to let go. Must hang on. Must. Will.

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Stetsasonic - Just Say Stet

I always thought this was Stet's best record. When I first heard it on Streetsounds Electro 11 I thought it was dope. None of my friends at the time liked it and turned their nose up at it, thought it was a joke record with no street credibility whatsoever and that's always puzzled me. It was all about the beat in those days and it's as hard a beat as any so it can't be that. They're shouting the lyrics too which is good, controlling the mic like MCs did back then. Prince Paul doesn't disappoint on the flex either so what's the problem? I think the problem was that all of those so called friends stopped being bothered about hip hop music and started listening to eighties pop music instead so in my opinion they were never that interested in the first place. One of 'em (I only found out about this just before Christmas last year) traded a tape of mine full of dope jams which I could never afford to buy myself for one by Simple Minds. Simple Minds? I don't hold a grudge 'cos it was a long time ago but what a nice twat. I always wondered where that tape went an'all.

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Street Kings - Gettin' Fresher

Been listening to this one for a bit now and I'm lovin' it. I haven't had it all that long, four years, maybe five and the ad didn't mention the label being destroyed by a five year old either. Still, five quid's not too bad and the vinyl's mint and it still sounds dope, much better than all this golden era stuff. There. I said it. '83-'86 was my golden era anyway. Download this if you're curious as to what hip hop used to sound like. It's these kinds of records that got me into all this in the first place.

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Point Blank M.C.s - Hard To The Body

When US 12"s first arrived in Sheffield they were £6.49 each. That was quite expensive for a school kid on a £1.50 a week paper round. The only way I could raise the other much needed cash was to starve myself and save the £1 my mom gave me for my school dinner. OK, I wasn't exactly starving but it used to do me considerably in if I remember rightly. Back then it only cost two English pence to ride the bus in to town as Sheffield had the lowest fares in the country until privatisation smacked the council up the side of the head and it all changed forever. Virgin (pre 'mega') was the only outlet stocking fresh new US wares and even then they didn't advertise it. I must've been informed 'cos I can't remember how I found out but you had to ask to see the 'imports' and the bloke behind the counter would plonk a scabby looking cardboard box in front of you with about a dozen records in it. As you just sifted through you had to make a judgement by picking out stuff with colourful looking names as you hadn't heard of most of the them unless the late, great John Peel had spun it at some point. Times were hard. If you became a regular at the shop then the 'import bloke' would break the seals sometimes and play a snippet to help you decide. I still remember holding 'The Bridge' by MC Shan in one hand and 'Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble' by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince in the other and I'd not heard either so guess which one I chose? Anyway, this one was in there and I kept it all these years as the beat is dope and it makes parts of my house vibrate if I play it loud enough. Oh, and it's my guess that it's the only hip hop record to mention one time king of the jungle, Tony Blackburn near the end. Oh, and I did return some weeks later to buy the MC Shan record.

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Run-DMC - Sucker MCs / It's Like That

It's 1983, school holidays I think. I leave my house to see who's out and about. We all seem to congregate around the newsagent's shop at the top of the road as there's lots of room for b-boying (the new thing that's taken over from the BMX craze for a lot of folk). No-one's there. I can hear music so I start to walk and eventually see the son of the owner of the newsagent on the other side of the road singing along to the whatever song it was on his 'ghetto blaster'. He had the largest portable hi-fi system on the street. Massive it was. He was loaded too. Always got the newest stuff, best BMX, best trainers. His dad even built a mini BMX track but we were all allowed to use that, which was nice. He himself was massive too. He was a year younger than me but he was freakishly tall, stood 6'6" and had size 12 feet when he was 13 years old. I asked him where everyone was and he blanked me totally and just sang along to the record that was on. I pulled a face and watched him as he looked straight forward, never acknowledging my presence for a second and I became impressed as he appeared to know all the words. And he wasn't singing, he was rapping. 'champagne, caviar and bubble bath...' 'take that and move back, catch a heart attack...' I turned my attention from him to the music and was immediately hooked. I fancied myself as a bit of a drummer (I had two old cricket stumps that I used to hit my bed with in time to my punk records) so the pounding beat mesmerised me. I was already heavily in to breaking, hadn't ridden my bike for weeks but this was my first taste of hip hop music. I sneaked a peek at the tape and it was 'streetsounds electro 4' and that was my first purchase at the record stall in the market when I mustered up enough cash. No more punk records for me. A transition had occurred and there was no looking back.

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The Boogie Boys - You Ain't Fresh

This is the first US import 12" single I ever bought. Got it from the Virgin store before it became 'mega' on the high street (it's a pub now and not a very good one either. It's one of those crappy wine bar types where you're not allowed to wear your football shirt on match day). Anyway, I first heard it on a tape one of my brothers brought home from school and I remember 'The Show' by Dougie Fresh was on there and 'Don't Fess' by Sha-Quan too and also that he'd given all the tracks on it marks out of 5 and for some reason he gave this the shamefully low mark of 2 out of 5. I didn't agree of course and bought it the following week and played the hell out of it. The sound of the kicks and snares always astounded me and I built a picture in my head of this enormous wall of machinery making this brilliant drum sound that was virtually unique to hip hop music at the time. The best mix for me was always the extended 'High Noon Mix' as around halfway through there's a part where the drums get super heavy and almost knock you sideways. I still think it's a dope record and it's definitely a keeper for me if only for nostalgia's sake. Oh, and I can't remember what mark he awarded Sha-Quan but he gave dougie fresh 5 out of 5.

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The Almighty El-Cee - We Have Risen

I bought this around September last year. It was on my wants list for a long time but I kept pushing it back in favour of other stuff I wanted more. A friend of mine bought a copy in '87 because he got to the rack before I did and there was often only one copy available and some wax never got re-stocked so I was stiffed by a few seconds (and 20 odd years) until now. He traded his a few years later for some shitty house record 'cos he was/is into that crap when it blew up in the late eighties. I tried to like it but failed as it's obviously aimed at girls. Dope record this though, in perfect, unplayed nick too. I paid a tenner, which might be a tad over the odds for some but I think it was a fair price for the condition it's in. I've invested in a few old/new slices recently including this, this and this and pre-ordered this as the desire to buy vinyl refuses to leave me even though I've got less money now than I had back then. That would be the privelege of living with my mom then..

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Black, Rock & Ron - Stop The World (1989)

Hailing from Hollis Queens, Lord Black (David Cootryer), The Ruler Master Rock (Gregg Walsh), and Ron Scratch (Ron Walsh) released their first single "Hard Rap" on Next Plateau in 86 under the name the Vicious Four. Released during the emergence of the "New School" where samplers and drum machines such as the Lynn Drum and the SP-12 hit the market, producers and hip-hop artists were better able to create a less expensive and more complex structure to tracks that wasn't previously available without having connections or a backing band. In 1987 Black, Rock & Ron hooked up with Jazzy Jay who produced their next single "That's How I'm Livin" also on Next Plateau. At the request of LL Cool J they then went on to be managed by the one and only Russell Simmons' Rush Town. Then getting signed to RCA Records and featuring co-production by Tony Sims & Thomas Davis and executive production by Jurggen Korduletsch, Black, Rock and Ron put together the material for their debut album "Stop The World". With legendary engineers Paul C, DJ Doc, and Skeff Anselm at the boards they put out an underrated classic, a few 12 inch singles, and a couple videos. They were even involved with the Hip-Hop Against Apartheid - Ndodemnyama (Free South Africa) anti-apartheid song, but like some of the unfortunate rap artists of the time, Black, Rock & Ron just seemed to fall off the face of the Earth into obscurity.

I'm posting the US version along with some of the German release and 12" tracks as a "bonus disc".

320kbps CD Rip
01 - Intro
02 - Stop The World
03 - You Can't Do Me None
04 - True Feelings (True Rock Mix)
05 - Black Is The Word
06 - That's How I'm Livin'
07 - To Hear Black & Rock Rap
08 - Getting Large
09 - Rap Life
10 - Act Like U Know
11 - I'm Tired
12 - 3 Brothers And Yvonne
13 - Black, Rock & Ron (Video Mix)
14 - My Hometown
15 - Who's Got Next

Bonus Tracks
16 - You Can't Do Me None (Prince Paul Remix Vocal Mix)
17 - Tired Of All This
18 - True Feelings (Paul C Hip Hop Remix)
19 - We Be Wilin' (Wild Things)
20 - Black, Rock & Ron (Radio Version)
21 - You Can't Do Me None (Prince Paul Remix Beat Mix)
22 - Pieces I / Pieces II

RE-UP
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Help me compile an old school hip hop love song compilation

This is something I've been wanting to do for a long time but just never got around to it. Got any good ideas for an old school hip hop love song compilation? Please post your contributions in the comments and when I get a decent list going I'll post it up. I'd like to keep it before 1994 and more along the lines of slower R&B hip hop but post up whatever you can think of.

The obvious song is I Need Love but if you can think of songs in this vein I'd appreciate it.

Songs compiled so far:

Big Daddy Kane - The Day You're Mine
Three Times Dope - Funky Dividends
Da King And I - Tears (and the Darp Vibe Mix)
Stetsasonic - Float On
The Real Roxanne - Oh Darlin (Like We Used To) and Infatuated
Red Hot Lover Tone - Lil Boy Blue
Tim Dog - Secret Fantasies
Positively Black - Quiet Storm
Chi Ali - In My Room and Age Ain't Nothing But A #
Yomo & Maulkie - For The Love Of Money
K-9 Posse - If My Heart Could Speak
Kings Of Pressure - Call Me On The Telephone
Davy D - Feel 4 U and Ooh Girl
Chubb Rock & Howie Tee - Girl I Love You
Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde - A Rapper's Love Song
Pete Rock & CL Smooth - Lots Of Lovin
Slick Rick - Teenage Love
MC Shan - She's Gone
MC Shan - Left Me Lonely
LL Cool J - I Need Love
World Class Wrecking Cru - Turn Off The Lights
Whodini - One Love
MC Hammer - Have You Seen Her
LL Cool J - I Want You
Hi-C - Sitting In The Park
Fila Fresh Crew - I Wanna Know What Love Is
Fat Boys - Falling In Love
Fat Boys - Love You Down
bvsmp-i need you
dj magic mike-come back home
doc box & b fresh slow love
sir mix a lot-romantic interlude
Heavy D & the Boyz - I Can Make You Go Oooh
Heavy D & the Boyz - The Lover's Got What You Need
Akienely - Put It In Your Mouth
Doug E Fresh - The Plane
Big Daddy Kane - To Be Your Man
Mantronix - Love Letter (Dear Tracy)
Steady B - Cheatin Girl
True Mathematics - For The Lover In You
Black Rock N Ron - True Feelings
EDO. G & Da Bulldogs - Love Comes and Go
Xtracts of Slang - Makin Love
Massive Attack - Any Love
Yaggfu Front - The Love Scene
Little Shawn - I Made Love (4 The First Time)
Lakim Shabazz - Need More Lovin
Brand Nubian - Love Me Or Leave Me Alone
King Sun - Hey Love
King Sun - Undercover Lover
Baritone Tiplove - I'm A Lover
Baritone Tiplove - A Luv Song
Bizzie Boyz - I Think I'm In Love
Slick Rick - A Love That's True
Mellow Man Ace - B-Boy I Love
Mystidious Misfts - Misfit Love
Heavy D & The Boyz - Nuttin But Love
Heavy D & Eclipse - Fools In Love
Strugglin Souls - Who's The One You Love
E.S.P. - Tell Me You Love Me
Crusaders For Real Hip Hop - We Love The Hotties
Top Choice Clique - Made For Love
Bush Babees - The Love Song
Treacherous Three - Love Rap
Kwame - Hai Love
Foundation 7 - Love Aint Like This
Biz Markie - Young Girl Bluez
Digital Underground - Whassup Wit The Luv
Digital Underground - Digital Lover
DJ Quick - I Got That Feelin
DJ Quick - It'z Your Fantasy
DJ Quick - Tha Ho In You
EDO. G & Da Bulldogs - Bed Partner
EDO. G & Da Bulldogs - Me And You Girl
Father MC - I Come Correct
Father MC - Red Lace Lingerie
Father MC - Close To You
Father MC - One Night Stand
Kool Moe Dee - I Like It Nasty
Kurtis Blow - Daydreamin
Little Shawn - I Got What U Need
Little Shawn - I'd Love 2
Positively Black - Ebony Princess
Red Hot Lover Tone - Pussy's All That
The Audio Two - The Freshest Slowest Jam
Grandmaster Melle Mel & the Furious Five - Yesterday
Kaos - Let's Do It Again
King Sun - Hey Love
Heavy D & The Boyz - Don't You Know
BVSMP- I Need You
III Most Wanted - My Love Is True
UTFO - Fairy Tale Lover
Hard Knocks - Ghetto Love
Grand Puba - Baby Whats Your Name
MC Shy D - I Dont Want To Treat You Wrong
Donald D - Letters I'll Never Send
Geto Boys - I Tried
Kaos - Lets Do It Again
Rated X - Be Cool To Your Girl
Devin - Unity For u & Me
Eric B & Rakim - Keep The Beat
Maestro Fresh Wes  - Private Symphony

Junior Gee - Caveman Rock

I probably mentioned elsewhere on this blog to not really knowing about the existence of rap music until 1983 when this record was released and even then it was just the b-boying thing; the undying interest in the music didn't come until the year after. I bought this only last year for a fiver and it's fine example of the influences US hip hop music was having on us lot on this side of 'the pond'. It's a long 'un too clocking in at just under 11 minutes for the vocal track which is really just vocal and instrumental tracks joined together to make one long disco party cut with a proper instrumental on the flip credited to the Funk Masters whoever they are. I remember seeing him performing live on the Electro Rock video and as far as I'm aware the only other record JG went on to record was 'The Terminator' in 1987 which is alright. I've got a copy. And a copy of the remix too.

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Poor Righteous Teachers - Time To Say Peace

RE-UP

1. Time To Say Peace (Remix)
2. Time To Say Peace (Original Version)
3. Butt Naked Booty Bless
4. Butt Naked Booty Bless (Instrumental)
5. Word Is Bond

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Bill Deal & The Rhondels - Tuck's Theme

A monster of a break that, to my knowledge was first used by People Under The Stairs on the the track, 'A.S.S.H.O.L.E.' on the debut LP 'The Next Step' which is possibly their heaviest work to date and I think they're excellent. Others that come to mind are a UK cut called 'French Guitar Lessons' by Beats In Progress which came out in the mid 'noughties' and more recently check this post here as one of the tracks samples it to great effect. There must be others but those two are the inspiration for this. I'm not sure of the release year as there isn't one stated on the label or the picture sleeve, (which features Bill and his five Rhondels looking pretty dapper I have to say) but I'd take a guess at very early seventies. This is actually the B-side and there's no mention of this on the sleeve at all as 'Swingin' Tight' must've been the style of the day but unfortunately there's nothing special about the A-side offering so you'll be glad it's only a couple of minutes long. I know I was. I didn't pay too much for this, maybe a few quid some years ago now but it's a decent track overall especially when you know what's coming around the 2:10 mark. If it's new to you then strap yourself in 'cos it's likely to knock you sideways.

1. Swingin' Tight
2. Tuck's Theme

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EPMD - You Gots To Chill

I read a recently published interview with Erick & Parrish in the latest Waxpoetics magazine and from the not over revealing Q & A session I was reminded of two things. One, I only ever bought two 12"s by EPMD, 'Crossover', (for the B-side) and this one right here. Two, this is a arguably one of the best records made during the so called 'golden era' of hip hop music. Erick Sermon was no bomb squad type. He found a good break and just looped it, nothing fancy and that's probably why their first and second albums were so good because he kept it simple. I personally still appreciate them as much as when I first purchased them in Warp records on Division Street in Sheffield (now a costa coffee shop, yay..). I'm pretty sure this is an easy acquisition so my advice would be to get it got if you don't have it. It'll be fine, it says 1988 on the label.

1. Club Version
2. Radio Version
3. Dub Version
4. Acapella
5. Dubapella

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Akinyele - Ak Ha Ha! Ak Hoo Hoo? 12" Single (1993)

Requested by Jamal

Classic 12 inch here from a classic album with dope production by Large Professor and scratches by Rob Swift.

A1 - Ak Ha Ha! Ak Hoo Hoo? (Clean)
A2 - Ak Ha Ha! Ak Hoo Hoo? (Instrumental)
B1 - Ak Ha Ha! Ak Hoo Hoo? (LP Version)
B2 - Dear Diary (LP Version)

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Red Hot Lover Tone - Pussy's All That 12" Single (1992)

Re-Up for Jamal. Enjoy!

A1 - Pussy's All That (Dirty Mix)
A2 - Pussy's All That (Clean Vocal)
A3 - Pussy's All That (Dirty Instrumental)
B1 - D.I.Y.M. (Dirty Vocal Mix)
B2 - D.I.Y.M. (Instrumental)
B3 - D.I.Y.M. (Clean Vocal Mix)

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Ray Rock & K.C. - The Incredible Ray

It's Sunday once again so I've picked a crate of records I haven't looked at for ages and decided that this one is in need of a little exposure in case you forgot about it. I don't remember paying much for this, probably about 3 or 4 quid a few years ago but it's a solid tune, nothing fancy, just hard rockin' drum machine driven old school niceness.

1. The Incredible Ray
2. Freestyling
3. Voices without Music

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Duke - Recorded Delivery-The Royal Male EP

Decent effort by one of the UK's most well known MCs after he dropped the 'MC' of course.

1. The Dog Catcher
2. I'm Comin'
3. Night Train

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Def Tex - Herbs & Verbs

'Tales Of What Daddy Did' was always a fave of mine although the subject matter is not, I guess you could say, anything to like. I don't know if all these came with the lyric sheet to said track but mine did.

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Def Tex - Tutorial Sessions

Superb first installment of the instrumental mini LP series from UK undergrounders Def Tex. I have all three but this is the most scarce and the best I think. Yeah, it is..

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Arthur Baker - Breaker's Revenge

I had a go at Beat Street just recently for being a bit rubbish but I think this record, albeit not by any means a hardcore hip hop record, is a corker.A bit of a boring Sunday was on the cards yesterday so I grabbed a crate of records and this was the pick of the bunch as I hadn't heard it for a long time. 1984 eh, those were the days my friend..

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Jimmy Dockett - You Need Lovin' (So Do I)

Once upon a time I was a budding DJ. I started off just mixing the records I already had but then came the breaks and I was hooked. The UBB series was the only commercial source where you got 8-10 tracks with a decent and often well known break on each cut so that seemed to be the way to go. I bought 'em all first time around including the elusive first press of volume 8, (which is not this one or this one) which was pulled almost as quickly as it was released due to copyright infringements or something, not sure of the whole story there. After I quit the deejaying thing due to lagging interest I carried on buying the wax as that's a more difficult habit to kick and I came across this little beauty. I'm pretty sure it's never been used as a base on any release to date, maybe on the odd DJ set,(which is where I first clapped ears on it), at some b-boy throwdown type thing as it's certainly one for the breakers. I'm not sure if attempting to share my enthusiasm for breaks is going to go down well and I hope Mach is ok with me posting such records but we'll give it a go shall we. Your comments both positive and negative are most welcome.

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JD Krush - Krush Style

Here's a record I bought in '86 that I haven't played since '86, probably. It's alright I guess, not a standout track by any means but the beat was (and still is) the thing and this has a large one. Just three cuts, Radio, Long and Instrumental versions. I prefer 'Rappin Insane' and will get a copy one day I'm sure.

The JD Krush Groove

Gang Starr - Code Of The Streets

My favourite record by one of the best hip hop groups of all time. Respect is due.

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