[12'' Throwback] EDO G Feat. PETE ROCK - "Shed A Tear"

 In late 2004 one of Boston's illest and most entertaining lyricists enlisted his friend and super producer Pete Rock for several sessions that yielded the excellent "My Own Worst Enemy" album. Seven of the ten songs were produced by Rock (Diamond D, DJ Revolution and Supreme One) filled out the remaining cuts. Clocking in at only forty minutes yet filled with clever and well delivered lyricism, excellent soulful but hard hitting beats and lots of tasteful turntable work it was definitely one of the best LP:s of 2004 and holds up just as god today. What might come as news to some of y'all is the duo also released a 12" single featuring two additional bangers that I suspect were cut from the album but created in the same sessions. The A-side "Shed A Tear" uses a beat created for "Soul Survivor II" as it appeared in instrumental form on the semi-official Pete instrumentals LP "The Survivng Elments". To me Edo G has proven that he's one of the best to rock on a Pete Rock track, ever since they first worked together in an official capacity on "Situations" from Ed's 2000 album "The Truth Hurts". Of course mroe recently Pete laced Edo G with three straight bangers on the latter's latest release, the criminally overlooked "After All These Years". Check out the two joints from the 2005 single below... The sound quality isn't the best considering it's a vinyl rip in 192 kbps but it's well worth a few spins!

A. "Shed A Tear"

B. "Just Listen"

[Future Flavas Throwback] PRODIGY & BIG NOYD

I've been going through a lot of classic moments from Pete Rock and Marley Marl's legendary Future Flavaz show in the late '90s and might very well post one of my favorites every now and then. First out is this absolutely mindblowing Prodigy and Big Noyd killing it over an unreleased Pete Rock or Marley Marl instrumental. This was most likely recorded in early '99 as P's first verse would later turn up on "Murda Muzik", the real gems here are the superb Noyd verse and especially the final Prodigy verse where he heartfelt touches on his sickle cell disease. To my knowledge none of these verses have never been released on anything before or since despite themd definitely needing to be heard. A big shout out and major thanks to my man Brandon aka Crates of Jr. for the upload, be sure to visit his excellent blog Collector's Item as well!

[Live] ROYCE & PREEM as PRhyme (2014)

I don't know how the fuck I managed to sleep on this video for so long considering I really liked these two hip-hop giant's first official full-length collaboration as "PRhyme" last year. Especially being a huge fan of Adrian Younge's work it was amazing to hear how creative Preem was flipping some of those while managing to create beats that suited Royce like the perfect suit. In this video from late '14, the trio let loose of a highly impressive set at the intimate NYC club, Boiler Room. If anyone have missed this like I had do yourself a favor and press play above. The chemistry.... Man!

Panda Bear - "Crosswords" [Pete Rock Remix]

This is a pretty cool remix by the one and only Soul Brother #1 that I think some of y'all will love and many of you will hate, but fuck that I'm gonna post whatever Pete Rock's got poppin off. Comin' on the heels of his artistically sucesfull "PeteStrumentals II" and his free album with Camp Lo, Pete Rock lends his legendary remix talents, suprisingly enouh to a single by Panda Bear the singer of the experimental indierock group Animal Collective. The song is called "Crosswords" and while it's not a hip-hop track per se the beat do knock and reminds me of Pete's early remixes for acts like Basic Black when he was still a part of The Untouchables production crew. The Soul Brother version will appear on an upcoming remix EP of the "Panda Bears Meets The Grim Reaper".

J. ROCC Mix of PETE ROCK's "PeteStrumentals II"

The legendary DJ J. Rocc of The Beat Junkies always deliver straight heat when he gets on the turntables and crossfader, and this latest free mix is certainly no exception. As you know Pete Rock hooked up with Mello Music Group to finally release the long awaited sequel to his classic "PeteStrumentals" project (2001), an album that he's been promising in interviews since at least 2011. While the project fails to live up to it's predecessor Pete certainly didn't disappoint and at the moment it's one of my most played LP's. J. Rocc certainly liked it as well as he takes his favorite instrumentals of it and creates a seamless 20 minutes mix that stands on its own as a real smooth head nod inducer. Check it out below and make sure to cop "Petestrumentals II" if you haven't already!

[Blends/Mixtape] DJ MONEY MIKE & LT. DAN presents NAS x DJ PREMIER (2006)

Now I rarely check for blends as I mostly listen to albums and official releases but there are definitely a few mixtapes of this kind out there that's absolutely brilliant. One such release is "PreMatic", a mix put together of classic Nas accapelas expertly mixed with classic DJ Premier instrumentals, and for the most part it works really well thanks to some very talented DJs. The four DJ's at work here are DJ Money Mike, Lt. Dan, King Smij and Wiz Hoffa, though the ones that really grabbed me were the mixes by DJ Money Mike and Lt. Dan who thankfully gets the most time on this tape. Nas and DJ Premier sounds so fucking incredible together even on a remix tape like this that none of the artists had anything to do. Don't sleep on this one as you know I don't recommend any wack shit... TURN IT UP!! [Additional Link]

KRS-ONE / AG / TRAGEDY KHADAFI - "Modern Day Gangsta"

Such a sick single! KRS-One grabs Andre The Giant and Tragedy Khadafi for a lyrical extravaganza with a lot of meaning behind it. I'm not sure what project this joint will appear on but it's definitely a real banger so be sure to check it out right now.

[Stream] GHOSTFACE KILLAH - "12 Reasons to Die II"

 With the help of super ill composer/producer/instrumentalist Adrian Younge, Wu-Tang Clan's most shining star Ghostface Killah delivered his best album in several years with 2012's "12 Reasons to Die". Now the duo team back together for more of the same formula - following the concept of their first meeting so closely they have choosen to call it a proper sequel. While the album isn't released to stores in another week, the New York Times have been given exclusive rights to stream the project to listeners for free so be sure to head over to the link below and press play.'

01. "Powerful One (Intro)"

02. "Return Of The Savage" (Ft. Reakwon & RZA)

03. "King Of New York" (Ft. Raekwon)

04. "Rise Up" (Ft. Scarub)

05. "Daily News"

06. "Get The Money" (Ft. Vince Staples)

07. "Death's Invitation (Interlude)" (Ft. RZA)

08. "Death's Invitation" (Ft. Scarub, Chino XL & Lyrics Born)

09. "Let The Record Spin: Interlude" (Ft. RZA)

10. "Let The Record Spin" (Ft. Raekwon)

11. "Blackout" (Ft. Raekwon)

12. "Resurrection Morning" (Ft. Raekwon & Bilal)

13. "Life's A Rebirth" (Ft. RZA)

STREAM @ NYTIMES.COM