MC Lyte - Paper Thin

Re-up.

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DJ Black Steel - The Original Wild Style Breakbeats

Re-up.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Standing Ten Feet Tall

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.

I came first in a Schoolly D sound-a-like contest

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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'.

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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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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 but he's not credited on the label, at least not with his b-boy name. It's a bit crackly in parts but it'll still knock your socks off, especially if you've not heard it for a while.

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The Russell Brothers - The Party Scene

The most recent bootleg to hit the streets is this one and about time too. At least I think it's a bootleg as I can't see it being re-issued after all these years. I'd like an OG copy one day but until then this'll do. Being my second favourite track on the streetsounds LP, 'Crucial Electro 2' (second only to 'One For The Treble' by Davy DMX) I feel it's a welcome addition to my collection of golden oldies. Nothing more need be said about this true electro classic except I thought I knew all the lyrics but apparently not.

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Twilight 22 - Electric Kingdom

I was never the poppin' and lockin' sort. This tune is perfect for that kinda thing. A friend of a friend 'back in the day' used to cite this as being his all time favourite (and this was in '83). He was pretty decent at the old poppin' and lockin' thing but something always bothered me about him. He used to hang his keys on one of his belt loops on this jeans and he was fairly expressive shall we say whilst electric boogalooing and they used to jangle like hell and really irritate me. Not to mention actually hanging them there in the first place. And why do you need so many keys at your age? I had one key. I was about 13 or 14 and it was always in my pocket. This is the 7" promo version by the way which I got off ebay about 5 or 6 years back for a quid. Never had the 12" but it's probably the same tune only shorter. I have loads more keys now I'm a grown up so there's only one thing I can think of doing as an homage to someone I didn't really know. In fact let's all do it.

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Lil' Jazzy Jay & Cool Supreme - B Boys Style

I think I mentioned in a previous post the after school club I went to when I was a wee boy to practice my b-boy moves. Well that's where I heard this for the first time. I had stopped going because in my mind I was approaching the end of my dancing 'career' and the music itself was becoming the most important thing. An obsession some might say. Some people did, (hi mom). Anyway I started going back 'cos there was a new guy in town, from the West Midlands I think 'cos we thought he talked funny. Absolutely no offence intended at all to any folk from the Midlands but it was the eighties, we had no cash and we never went anywhere except Skegness or Bridlington so I guess we were 'sheltered' somewhat. Anyway he had a tape. A different tape. Rubbish quality but new tunes on it all the same. I remember this one being a stand out track and also 'Don't Fess' by Sha-Quan. He had the whole of 'Don't Fess' on there, bonus beats and all which was great. My brother eventually got a copy of the tape off this new kid as he was in the year below me, as was my bro and I was obviously overjoyed. I then made it my life's mission to get this 12" and I did. For nowt. My house music loving mate let me have it 'cos he'd played it to death. He got it off Beat Street Records, (remember them) in the late eighties. I obviously went for it too but he beat me 'cos his postman delivered way before mine did. Still, not to worry, eh..

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...

'Keyboards, Keyboards'.

(It does sound a bit like that. If you didn't know.)

The Boogie Boys - Break Dancer

Another classic old school banger that I bought from Beat Street Records around 1987-88. I saw the excellent Mancunian b boy crew Broken Glass dancing to this on the telly, (I'm pretty sure it was the early evening news) when I was an aspiring breaker myself and wanted it so badly it almost hurt. Now you have to try and imagine a time, if you aren't as 'mature' as I, before the internet, before CDs and before I had enough money to even buy a record never mind travel to Manchester or London in order to get 'em. So when I saw Broken Glass's single in my local record store on Morgan Khan's Streetwave label I figured it had to be that tune so I bought it. Without listening to it first 'cos they didn't let you do that until later on. And I was gutted. No disrespect to Broken Glass intended in any way whatsoever because they were one of the best crews around at the time but their attempt at a hip hop tune paled in comparison to the The Boogie Boys' superior drum machine sound hammering the hell out of your eardrums and making you want to break. That's maybe why they chose it to dance to on TV. Rather than their own record. I don't have that one any more. I still have this one though.

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.

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Fearless Four - Dedication

Re-up, re-ripped it too at 320kbps. Have a nice day now.

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Fantasy Three - The Buck Stops Here

When I first heard Streetsounds Electro 5 I couldn't decide whether I liked 'B Boys Breakdance' or this the best. Volume 5 is filled with classics and is arguably the greatest of the whole series. I had every one of those on the 12" vinyl format at one time or another but the aforementioned two beauties are the pick of the bunch for me. It's the B-side again too. The A-side track, 'Summer' is almost the same but has a bit of singing and is a bit less heavy. I didn't appreciate singing on hardcore b boy tunes in 1984. I'm not too bothered nowadays either but I've mellowed a little. We probably all have. It's these kinds of records that bring 1984 back though. Spinning around (not like Kylie) on a piece of cardboard on the side of the road while your 'JVC vibrated the concrete'. Everyone was into it and it was great. There's only me left now and you lot of course. Everyone else fell off and started listening to Boyzone or Elvis. I can't do that. Apart from wanting to stab myself in the eardrum I don't feel anything when I hear groups like that. This is a regular on my ipod along with all the early eighties classics and I never get tired of hearing them. It's in me all the time and I'm certain it'll never fade. Happy days.

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