ERYKAH BADU x MADLIB - "Real Thang" / "The Healer"

Erykah Badu is without a doubt the undisputed modern Queen of Soul music. There's plenty of more talented young signers like Angie Stone, Jill Scott and Mela Machinko, but Badu is on another level as she is always pushing boundaries and has changed up with each new relase, and to gret effect to. To me she is up almost like a modern day Billie Holiday or Aretha Franklin. She's got a lot of love for hip-hop, often collaborating with producers and session musicians like Jay Dee, Madlib, ?uestlove & James Poyser, Karieem Riggins, Sa-Ra, Ta'raach, Rashad Smith, Bilal, Lil' Wayne and Common to name a few. On top of that she's got an incredible discography, with albums I strongly recommend any of y'all to pick up. It's hard to pick a favorite (though "Worldwide Underground" is easily her least fully realized project), but together with The Soulquarian's backed "Mama's Gun" I'd have to say my favorite proejct(s) of her is the two part album "New Amerykah Part One" and "Part 2". Between the two albums these saw Badu collaborate with Madlib on no less than four tracks, each bonafide classics ("The Healer", "My People", "Incense", "Umm Hmm"). 

Recently I came across a 2007 promo single for "New Amerykah Pt. 1" that I had previously missed out on, The two songs on the 12" single were both produced by Madlib. What's intersting is that the A-side "Real Thang" never made it to the album (save for a UK version where it appeared as a bonus track between "Telephone" and "Honey"). It's another slamming Madlib/Badu joint that would have fitted it perfectly on the LP so it's really a shame it didn't make the project, which either way happens to be one of the best releases of 2008. The single also include a nice remix by long-time Badu collaborator Rashad Smith who has plenty of hits under his belt dating back to the early days of Bad Boy. I will most likely hook up a Badu compilation sooner or later, she's just too good and has enough dope material that never appeared on an album so I think it should be appreciated. But for now, I uploaded the Madlib and Rashad Smith mixes of "Real Thang" as well as "The Healer" remix featuring Pharoahe Monch, although only the original version appeared on the "Real Thang" CD-single. Still, "The Healer" is probably my favorite 'Lib/Badu collaboration so far along with the dreamy "Incense"and with a slamming verse by P. Monch you know this is a must hear!

01. "Real Thang" [Extended Play]
02. "Real Thang" [Remix by Rashad Smith]
03. "Real Thang" [Remix by DJ Green Lantern]
04. "The Healer" [Remix] (Ft. Pharoahe Monch)

ERYKAH BADU - "REAL THANG" / "THE HEALER"

[12" Throwback] WIZDOM LIFE & MATT FINGAZ - "Fruits of Labor in the Sunshine"

It's been a while since I did a 12" Throwback post, so here goes one for a single I stumbled across in a used vinyl store about a year ago. I picked up on the strength of the DJ Spinna production who is easily one of my favorites to ever do it. For this single New York emcee Wizdom Life teamed up with Matt Fingaz (a.k.a. FingaTip), better known as a manager and the founder of '90s indie powerhouse Guesswhyld than a rapper, to drop this pretty fat 12" single on Wreck Records back in early 1998. This was their only release together, and Wizdom Life faded into obscurity after dropping a album produced by Shawn J Period, released only a year after this single while Fingaz decided to focus his talents in other aspects of the music biz. 

Both tracks found here features the production talents of DJ Spinna, who makes an exceptional job as always. The A-side, "Fruits of Labor in the Sunshine" marks an early collaboration with Talib Kweli who delivers a thought provoking verse much in the same vein to what was heard on classic Black Starr LP with Mos; the apperances that once and for all put him on the map. There's no question that Kweli outshines the other two emcees here, but the two main artists does a pretty good job as well. The production is a perfect compliment to the lyrics of the song, with a kind of laid back beat that still got a lot of drive, and beautifully chopped up soulful vocal and instrumental loops that even got a slight reagge vibe.

The B-Side "Mad About You" is one of those booming posse cuts that we're so popular in the '90s, and it's great to hear some of those real underground emcees that totally faded into obscurity only a  couple of years later all ripping it on a track like this (although they all had a lot of material out in the '90s; mainly banging 12" singles). Over a somewhat harder Spinna beat than the previous, with pounding drums, hard kick and snares coupled with a shaking bassline guiding the talents of Craig G, Lace Da Booms, Mike Zoot and  the two main artists of the record. Five emcees showing their passion for rhyming over carefully chopped horns, and some vintage Spinna cuts is definitely one fan of '90s golden era hip-hop NEED to hear... This is just another one of those hundreds of cool underground singles that dropped in the mid-'90s but it's also a definite keeper that you should not sleep on, so grab the complete single below in a nice 320 kbps rip, and whatever you do.... TURN IT UP!

 
A1. "Fruits Of Labor in the Sunshine" (Ft. Talib Kweli)
A2. "Fruits Of Labor in the Sunshine" [Instrumental]
B1. "Mad About You" (Ft. Craig G, Lace Da Booms & Mike Zoot)
B2. "Mad About You" [Instrumental]

WIZDOM LIFE & MATT FINGAZ - "FRUITS OF LABOR IN THE SUNSHINE" VLS

[EP Throwback] SHOW & AG - "Unreleased Shit" - 1995

When Showbiz & AG found themeselves in the pressure of following up one of the absolute greatest hip-hop albums ever created, they went in the studio with a more stripped down sound, a real agressive sound, more self reflecting lyrics and more intense deliveries from AG's point of view. To me, '95's "Goodfellas", while being quite radically different from their impeccable debut, is still very close to a classic album. It's hard as hell, an furious minimalist approach and drums of death make for an incredible ride through the dark side of the mid-'90s hip-hop;: keeping the DITC formula while also getting heavy inspiration from KRS-One's '92-'95 albums, Wu-Tang Clan, and similair actss. The result is fantastic, and clocking in at 50 minutes (45 for the vinyl copy) makes for a damn near pefect album.

There were no less than five songs recorded for those sessions that Show and A decided not to include in the final cut; probably because it would make the album too long as it's banging music all the way through. The songs include the longer and original Show mix of "Time For" which Roc Raida remixed for the album; the slamming "Stand Strong", the original "I'm Not The One", with it's pounding drum programming, dark jazz undertones that makes it a standout on the bootleg EP that these songs were released on. There were no sample clearances issues or anything, but the duo simply decided the LP would be better as it is now and I tend to agree, although of course these songs are must hear for any dedicated DITC fans and have been bootlegged in the long run. Since the Diamond D collabo "You Want It" featuring Diamond D and Party Arty, is a fantastic cut and appears on the CD but unfortunately not on the vinyl release so it's included here, adding to the dopeness of the 25 minutes run time; especially considering how extremely banging the joint is in a front-to-back listen.

I'm sure most of y'all have heard this, but if you haven't, and are a fan of Show & A, don't sleep on this because this is a great insight into the making of "Goodfellas". All songs produced by Show; all vocals by AG besides track #5. Enjoy and BANG YOUR HEAD!

01. "Time For" [Original Mix]
02. "Stand Strong"
03. "Under Pressure"
04. "I'm Not The One" [Original Mix]
05. "You Wan't It"
06. "Ain't No Fun"

SHOWBIZ & AG - "UNRELEASED SHIT EP: BOOTLEG"

[12'' Throwback] LL COOL J - "ROCK THE BELLS"

Just a couple of weeks ago I finally found an original vinyl copy of LL Cool J's masterpiece of a debut album "Radio". From front to back, this is pure hip-hop at its finest; agressive and self-confident lyrics by a youngin' that truly embodied everything an MC should be, dope turntable wizardry on just about every cut from the appropriately named DJ Cut Creator, and rugged production as rock hard as minimalist; in fact Rick Rubin's beats here was so stripped down that he's credited for reducing the record, rather than producing it. Although recorded in 1984 and 1985, with cuts like "Rock The Bells", "I Need A Beat", "I Can't Live Without My Radio" and "You'll Rock", this album still doesn't sound the least dated and together with his catalouge up to 1995 has forever cemented LL Cool J as a true living legend and trend setter in hip-hop; no matter how many weak records and episodes of "NCIS" he ever makes.

Of course, one of the craziest songs on "Radio" is the immortal "Rock The Bells" which still stands as one of the finest moments in both LL and Rick Rubin's respective careers. Released in various formats as a single by Def Jam shortly before the album was made available, the most interesting aspect of the 12" is the flipside which includes the original version of the track, clocking in at no less than seven minutes. Not only the length of this mix is different, but it's also a little less "reduced" in that it contains an array of percussive bells, adding to the theme. It's possible that this longer version was left off the final album due to time restraints, but however that may be we can all consider ourselves lucky that it didn't remain unreleased altogether. For this 12" Throwback, I borrowed a 320 kbps rip of the single from the sick blog page To The Break Of Dawn, so all praise and thanks goes out to them!

LL COOL J - "ROCK THE BELLS" VLS

12 Throwback: DIAMOND - "With The Dope Sound"

This was something of an obscure 12" release in that it appeared between Diamond's two retail albums, and didn't include any song found on either LP. Released in the mid-'90s via the D.I.T.C. producer's own Dusty Fingers imprint, the title track is a solo song apparantly recorded in 1994 - three years before "Hatred, Passions & Infidelity" hit stores. The sound is classic crate diggin' Diamond, dark and sinister, full of vintage samples and headnod-inducing rhyhm with Diam never losing touch of the beat. This is harder than the stuff found on both his official albums, and had he got the chance to release his sophomore I bet this would be closer to what we would have gotten to hear. D even adresses the situation here: "I'm trying to make a second album, but those geeks on 26:th street keeps giving me problems/ so what's a man's supposed to do?/ Let them talk to my lawyer, or talk to my crew...".

On the flip we find a posse cut that features more of Diam's trademark production though it lacks a verse from the man himself. Rather, he's assembled K. Terrible, John Dough, Big Red and even an fire apperance by Ras Kass who appears here as The Fantastic Four. "You're in the Wrong Place" has no recording year attached but it does sound as it's been recorded before the "Hatred..." LP; I would guess 1996. Though it's not quite as immaculate as the powerful A-side, the smacking drums and the chopped jazz bassline works real well to underline the four emcees raw skills. While three of these emcees have managed to impress me on various Diamond releases over the years, and do a good job here, it's no question that it's Ras who steals the show. Despite a relatively short verse, this is when Ras was one of the most promising lyricists in the game, and when backed up by one of the best producers in the game you know great things are upon us (think rhe "Soul On Ice" remix). 

Although this 12" is of course out of print by now, it's a must hear for any fan of good true school hip-hop and D.I.T.C. head. So if you ever come across a physical copy, don't hesitate to pick it up ASAP because I promise you that you'll live to regret it otherwise. I uploaded the main tracks on both sides below, but I somehow lost the instrumentals somewhere so you'll have to settle with the vocal versions, and since we're dealinng with HQ Mp3:s, that's pretty much all one need anyhow, right right? D.I.T.C. forever and a day... Enjoy!

DIAMOND D - "YOU'RE IN THE WRONG PLACE" VLS

A. Diamond - "With The Dope Sound"

B. Fantastic 4 - "You're In The Wrong Place"

[Throwback] DJ SHADOW - "DARK DAYS" CDS

Yesterday I saw Marc Singer's brilliant 2000 documentary film "Dark Days" which follows a group of people living as homeless in a set of underground tunnels in NYC. It's a great portrait, beautifully shot in black and white, and an important document of those who live on the outskirts of society. I remember hearing about DJ Shadow scoring the music for the film around the time it came out, but I never saw the actual film before. Most of the music comes from "Entroducing", with additional cues from "Pre-Emptive Strike" and "Psyence Fiction", and although the music was lifted from existing sources works absolutely perfectly with the gritty images. 

However, Shadow also composed one original piece for the soundtrack, which is the "Dark Days Theme". This was his first released studio recording following the often underrated UNKLE album, and both mixes of the song has that dreamlike, epical quality that made Shadow's earlier stuff stand out so much and made him such a loved character on the underground scene. The single was pressed up on limited edition CD:s and 7" singles, but are of course out of print these days, but you can check out this fantastic soundtrack to a strongly recommended movie below.

A. "Dark Days" (Main Theme)

B. "Dark Days" (Spoken For Mix)

DJ SHADOW - "DARK DAYS" CDS

[Classic CDS] CYPRESS HILL - "Throw Ya Set In The Air"

Cypress Hill during the "Temples Of Boom" era around 1995 was not to be fucked with. They were pretty much the perfect group from all aspects and '95 was their absolute peak, and say what you want but from the atmosphere, beats, samples, lyrics, the chemistry between the three members, "Cypress Hill III" is trio's undisputed masterpieces; one they never came close to duplicate neither sooner or later. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of "Cypress Hill", "Black Sunday", and "IV" as well, but the aforementioned LP is up there as one of the best hip-hop albums of all time; it sold multi-platinum, making it commercial in a sense, but at the same time it's as uncompromising as any album ever was.

The 15 songs on the project are all masterpieces, but as if that wasn't enough the B-sides and remixes found on the promotional single were just as incredible. Today I will focus on the first single from the LP, presenting you with a 320 kbps rip of the original maxi-CD. We are all familiar with the main version of "Throw Your Set in the Air" but it's a powerful, unforgiving and haunting song that introuced the group's new sound to a world still unknowing what Muggs, Sen Dog, and B-Real would unleash on Hallowen, 1995. From here things get REAL interesting, as DJ Muggs gives the heads not only one but two remixes of the track; both so slamming it's not an easy task picking a favorite of them - basically they are just as good as the original, though completely different. 

The "Club Remix" is hardly something you would expect to hear in a club these days, I'll tell you that. It only saves the slightest element from the original version, putting the focus on a powerful bassline that thumps along throughout the entire song while Muggs inforces it with another haunting female vocal sample, and the slightest horn excerpt. This is powerful shit though it's a smoother joint than the original, no question. Smoother is also my personal favorite version of "Throw Your Set in the Air", the "Slow Roll" remix. The BPM is greatly slowed down to some real low rider cruiser music, once again emphasizing a mighty bassline, background vocal sample, an mesmerizing rhythm track and most of all a beautiful guitar loop that gives the joint a lot of personality. B-Real sounds fantastic over this beat; in fact this is Muggs and B-Real at their finest. There was in fact also ANOTHER remix of the title track, which appeared on another version of the single than the one I'm presenting here, but you can find that on the "Unreleased & Revamped" EP from 1996 as well. That mix is closest in its musical setting to the Club Remix heard here, but is retitled "Throw Your Hands in the Air" and features the always brillaint MC Eiht, Redman and Erick Sermon alongside the power trio (watch the video below).

After the slightly more chilled out remixes, the hardcore ish is back in full effect with the album version of one of my personal favorites: "Killa Hill". Produced by The RZA for Wu-Tang Productions, the song has a beautiful mixture of the vibes of Wu and Cypress at their absolute peak; it don't get much better than this. The way B-Real's voice is repeated for a hook while Sen Dog screams about the coming revolution in spanish over this agressive murder music is as classic as it gets. Of course, The RZA and U-God both makes outstanding performances as well. With all these factors, the single is rounded off to be one of the strongest of 1995 which is saying a whole lot. If you have yet not heard the remixes, make sure to grab them below and if you don't got "Temples of Boom" in your collection.... Shame on you!!

01. "Throw Your Set In The Air" [Album Version]
02. "Throw Your Set In The Air" [Club Mix]
03. "Throw Your Set In The Air" [Slow Roll Mix]
04. "Killa Hill" [Album Version] (Ft. RZA & U-God)

CYPRESS HILL - "THROW YOUR SET IN THE AIR" CDM

[Comp] RAWKUS - "Soundbombing II: The Singles"

I've been collecting a few of the infamous "train car" series; the five singles that were released in compination to the Rawkus Records classic "Soundbombing II". The 27 songs on the mix CD was beautifully mixed by The Beat Junkies' Babu and J-Rocc, which of course was a strong point of the project. But sometimes you want to hear the songs in their full versinnsk with no DJ shouts, blends or virtuosic turntsblism. Luckily, there were quite a lot of singles released from the project by Rawkus between '98 and '99 aside from the 'train car' singles with their double-A sets; Thirstin Howl III's "Brooklyn Hard Rock" appeared more of an interlude on the mix but even at that,I used to hold it as one of the most powerful cuts of the entire joint so that it's actually turned out to be a four minute Brooklyn rhymes extravaganza. The final single from the mixtape to been released as a single is the classic "1-9-9-9" by the impeccable combination of underground heroes Sadat X and Common Sense. It was available for a short time on a promotional 12", as well as the A-side to a single backed with the Dug Infinite produced "Like They Used to Say".

I've been wanting to do this compilation for quite some time but since I don't have all the 12":s, and have no program to rip my vinyl at the moment, and could not find the majority of rips of the singles. Very thankfully, Lost Tapes friend Fritz, like so many times before, came through and really blessed me with several of these vinyl rips that allowed me to put together this amazing compilation. Mad thanks to you Fritz, you are truly the man, and though I have sequenced it and birthed the idea of the compilation, the main brain behind this compilation, which I have choosen to call "Soundbombing II: The Singles", is Fritz so once again mad props. On a side note, the one single neither me or Fritz mangaged to find were the "On A Mission" (Reflection Eternal) / "Every Rhyme I Write" (Shabaam Sahdeeq with Smif-N-Wessun). Since both of these tracks appear in full on "Soundbombing II" and only the latter songs have a three second vocal outro I decided to include them any way. 

So there you have it - Rawkus in their hey-day, dropped "Soundbombing II" with The Beat Junkies, still one of the finest mixtapes ever released. However, it's always nice to hear an often played joint in a new way, and I strongly recommend y'all to listen to these 13 classic tracks in their complete form from front to back. Trust me when I say that you won't be dissapointed. At least if you don't forget to TURN IT UP!!

01. Mos Def - "Next Universe" [prod. Hi-Tek]
02. Company Flow - "Patriotism" [prod. El-P]
03. High & Mighty / Mos Def / Skillz - "B-Boy Document '99" [prod. Mighty Mi]
04. Pharoahe Monch - "WWII" [prod. Lee Stone]
05. Eminem - "Any Man" [prod. Da Beatminerz]
06. Thirstin Howl III - "Brooklyn Hard Rock" [prod. Smitty]
07. Diamond D - "When It Rains It Pours" [prod. Diamond D]
08. Reflection Eternal - "On Mission" [prod. Hi-Tek]
09. Shabaam Sahdeeq / Cocoa Brovaz - "Every Rhyme I Write" [prod. Nick Wiz]
10. Common / Sadat X - "1-9-9-9" [prod. Hi-Tek]
11. Sir Menelik / Brand Nubian - "7XL" [prod. DJ Spinna]
12. Pharoahe Monch - "Mayor" [prod. Lee Stone]
13. Reflection Eternal / Bahamadia - "Chaos" [prod. Hi-Tek]

'SOUNDBOMBING II': THE UNTINTED VERSION'

12" Throwback: MILANO - "Show 'Em VLS"

Right before D.I.T.C. dropped their amazing '99 debut "Worldwide", Rudy Mogan (better known by his stage name Milano, sometimes Milano Constantine) was taken under the wings of the D.I. producers, especially Lord Finesse and Showbiz. Now, more than ten years later, he unfortunately has yet to release a proper retail album (not counting 2009's free mini album "Sidewalk Stories)". However, he became an honorary member of D.I.T.C. and appeared on no less than two songs on "Worldwide" alongside Big Pun, Cuban Link and OC. In 2000, Morgan released his masterpiece of a debut single, "Deal With A Feeling" B/W "Rep For The Slums". The single didn't make that much noise, though it got played on a lot of underground stations and was beautifully produced by Showbiz and Amed, respectively.

When D.I.TC. temporarily disolved and changed their name to Wild Life Entertainment, Milano became a full blown memeber of the new crew; dropping hot 16s on several slamming 12" releases such as "Rap Game / Wild Life Theme" and "Done in Vain". The latter was released in 2005, and so was the Show produced "Hope You're Listening", and it's immediate predecessor "Show 'Em", a three track EP, that showcases Milano's distinct flow and sharp lyrics over production by Lord Finesse, Showbiz and T-Ray. Not to be slept on in other words, so make sure to check it out below...

I'm not sure about the following, but some time ago rumours said that Milano was no longer a member of either D.I.T.C./Wild Life after a falling out with Lord Finesse and Showbiz. This might just have been rumours though, and if not everything seems to have worked out in any case, considering he used two Show tracks on his official 2009 release "Sidewalk Stories". And even more, his recently released "The Hurt Locker Mixtaoe" both carries the DITC logo and is largely produced by Amed. Look out for that one here soon as well! Last but not least, major thanks goes out to my man Ant for the hook up of the "Show 'Em" EP. And in case you missed it, you should of course check out my Milano ccompilarion, "BarBury'n Wildlife"! Download, enjoy and TURN IT UP!!

01."Show 'Em" [Street] (Showbiz)
02. "Show 'Em" [Instrumental]
03. "Morir Sonando" [Street] (Lord Finesse)
04. "That's Milno" [Street] (T-Ray)
05. "That's Milano" [Clean] (T-Ray)
06. "That's Milno" [Instrumental]

MILANO - "SHOW 'EM" VLS

12" Throwback: SUPERNATURAL - "Buddah Blessed It"

MC Supernatural is obviously best known as one of the most mindblowing and natural freestyle artists ever heard, though his ventures to recording studios has resulted in some very impressive material as well. In the mid-'90s, he was signed to the Elektra Records subdivision EastWest, for whom he by 1995 had recorded his debut album - "Natural Disasters" (a.k.a. "Supernatural - The Album"). In promotion of the LP, EastWest released the single "Buddah Blessed It"; a dark, thumping joint aimed at the ganja heads. The gripping production work came from Djinji Brown, with the B-side "Mind Tricks" concoted by KRS-One. 

All three songs featured on this 12" single were lifted from the forthcoming album, but once Sylvia Rhone took over as CEO and president of the label, the album was shelved and Supernatural found himself with no major label back-up. The whole Elektra thing around '96 is pretty much a tragedy, as EastWest had one of the most interesting label rosters around at the time. Besides Supernatural, projects by Juggaknots, InI, Deda, Agallah, Lin Que, Omniscience and many more left a premature grave. Luckily many of those have later been recovered in one form or other, and I will post "Natural Disasters" in a near future for those of y'all who haven't had the chance to hear it. Until then, light one up and check out Supernatural's one and only official '90s release - "Buddah Blessed It".

A1. "Buddah Blessed It"

A2. "Buddah Blessed It" (Instrumental)

B1. "Mind Tricks"

B2. "Flashbacks"

SUPERNATURAL - "BUDDAH BLESSED IT"