Followers of this site knows that I'm a huge fan of the work of Diamond D, a producer who I consider to be one of the five best hip hop producer in the business. Considering the massive popularity of Cypress Hill, perhaps one of D's most well-known remixes is his stripped down, hypnotic take on their single "When The Shit Goes Down" since it appeared on the West Coast trio's classic EP "Unreleased & Revamped" in 1996. Personally I never much cared for this particular Diamond mix which to my ears always sounded kind of hollow, like it certainly was missing some element(s). Well, it turns out I was right! When discussing rare and unreleased Cypress Hill material with huge Cypress collector Sickdog he told me about an alternative version of the Diamond D remix which he had only heard on a 1992 CD single edition of "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That". As he shot it over I was pleasantly suprised to find out that this Diamond D remix fleshed out the beat with all the elements that I felt had been missing. The drums are fatter with some additional percussion added, and most importantly an explosive saxophone blast fades in and out of the mix. This mix definitely sounds much more in line with Diamond's vintage early '90s remix catalouge, which really makes me wonder why someone (the mix engineer?, Muggs?, Diamond?) decided to strip down the beat to its bare skeleton for its wider release. Again thanks to Sickdog for the rip and upload!
Back by popular demand! I've been getting crazy requests for a reupload of the Call O' Da Wild compilation that me and the homie Pattch82 put together back in 2011. There's not any additional songs or different sequencing on here as I always felt that it flows just like an album and features each and every song ever released under the name of Call O' Da Wild, along with both sides from Barron Ricks only 12" single. Since its been a while since it was originally posted I'm sure a lot of Lost Tapes readers missed it the first time around and this is definitely one compilation/album that fans of Cypress Hill, DJ Muggs and Soul Assassins do not want to miss out on. The reason I couldn't upload it before was that I had lost all of the songs and been on a hunt for a while to find the best versions of each songs, striving for 320 kbps though some are between 192 and 256 kbps as well. The only tracks I couldn't find in better than 128 kbps are the two songs from the singles "Andrews Ave." / "Urban Wilderness", but I'm on the hunt and as soon as I find them I'll update it. This compilation flows fantastiic and plays just like the Call O'Wild album that DJ Muggs was supposed to executive produce but never materialized. Overall it sounds a whole lot clearer and better than the 2011 version that I uploaded so Merry Christmas all the Soul Assassins heads!
For those not in the know Call O' Da Wild was a Harlem duo consisting of emcees Barron Ricks and Angelo Campioni that DJ Muggs took under his wing in the mid-'90s and made them part of the Soul Assassins crew. Signed to the SONY label in '96/'97 after a series of soundtrack apperances and a trio of 12" singles, the plan was for Call to be the first group to record an album overseen and mainly produced by DJ Muggs outside of Cypress Hill. If you check out the booklet for Cypress' "Unreleased & Revamped" EP (which features the Call O' Da Wild collaboration "Intellectual Dons") you can actually see an ad fo their album with the text saying coming soon. As evident by this collection of all their released songs prove that they made extremely gritty, hardcore and dark music, and by the time '97 or '98 came around when the LP was planned for release, its very likely that a major record label like SONY got cold feet due to artists like Pappa Diddy Pop dominating the airwaves. However the relationship between the producer and the group eventually had soured as well. "Call O' Da Wild broke up right after their album was finished for SONY, and they thought their were superstars before they record was even out... I have the DAT tape in a storage somewhere", the super producer/DJ told the Los Angeles Time in an article published in 1998. It's a real shame though considering how fantastic these tracks sound together; I'm glad we at least got forty minutes of these guys getting busy over hardcore beats mainly by Muggs, with some additional input by The Alchemist, Jerome Foster and Knobody/Sean C. Barron Ricks did however appear on several songs on Cypress Hill's "IV", including the hit single "Tequila Sunrise" so it's possible that the main beef was with Campioni.
All songs execurtive produced by DJ Muggs for Soul Assassins Music. All songs produced by DJ Muggs except track #1, "Sometimes the Neighborhood", produced by Jerome Foster and Sean Matthews, track #4, "Harlem River Drive", produced by The Alchemist, and track #6 produced by Sean C & Knobody. All songs are from either Call O'Da Wilds singles, the soundtracks for "Gravesend" ("Ninth Symphony") and "Bad Boys" ("Clouds of Smoke"), respecitvely. "New York Undercover" and "Runnin' Wild" are lifted from the first DJ Muggs' "Soull Assassins" compilation (though the latter only appeared on certain versions of the LP). Last but not least, the songs "Harlem River Drive" and "Rags to Riches" was first released on a solo single by Barron Ricks, released in early ¨98. So what you're waiting for'? Even if you had the original download the sound quality is much greater here so press play and TURN IT UP all my Soul Assassins. Peeace to Pattch82 once again too, as well as Supreemo for the artowrk.
01. "Sometimes the Neighborhood"
02. "Rurterrain"
03. "Intellectual Dons" (Ft. B-Real)
04. "Harlem River Drkv
05."Andrew¨s Ave."
06. "Clouds Of Smoke" (Ftl Wayne-O)
07. "Ragsto Riches" (Ft. Cypress Hill & Self Scientific')
Wow, this kind of came out of nowhere as far as I am concerned but a new project spearheaded by DJ Muggs is more than welcome to say the least. His new collective calls themeselves CrossMyHeartHopeToDie and aims to combine music and art direction to the fullest. Behind the musical aspect of the group we find Muggs (production, turntables), Andrew Kline from LA Hardcore band Strife on guitar, and singer and emcee Brevi, with audio/visual technician Sean Bonner rounding out the crew. Add to this a group of creative directors responsible for assuring the music getting the proper visual effects, making them a true multimedia phenomenon.
Having released two EP:s as of yet, CrossMyHeartHopeToDie's sound isn't exactly hip-hop based though fans of Portishead, Massive Attack, Tricky and DJ Shadow should find something to like. Personally, I have just finished listening to both sets, "Hope to Die EP" and "Vita E Morte", and I can say that I am definitely looking forward to the official full-length debut which according to a new interview with Muggs is half done as of now. He also reveals that a new Cypress Hill LP is in the works and is 60% done, which is great news as it's coming from Muggs which should mean that he's a lot more involved this t0ime around. Be sure to check out the interview @ YourMusicToday, visit CMHTD @SoundcloudoriTunes.
DJ Muggs' been one of my absolute favorites since I first heard him on "Black Sunday" and "Temples of Boom" and "IV", and then of course the the first Cypress albums. And since then he has provided us with more incredible music than most producers, "The Soul Assassins" albums, his underrated "Dust", and so much of his catalouge will hold up for a long time to come.
We've heard some songs from his upcoming project, which is somewhat of a dubstep/very unorthodox project, and here's another really dope jam with Muggs on the board and none other than Rahzel from the legendary The Roots Crew. Despite the huge depature for Luggerud, this track is a must-hear an personally i have liked some of his straight forrays innto dub-step ifluenced material, but this one is one of the best so far. Check it out for yourself below!
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)
I totally have been sleeping on this release; I knew Muggs was going in a new direction and try out some new stuff on a forthcoming project, but apparantly it has already been released a couple of days ago. The result is the freEP "Sound Clash Business", distributed by Mishka Records. It's definitely a Muggs like you never heard him before, but I think after all the immaculate music he has delivered throughout the years he definitely has earned the right to experiment a bit. Read more about the EP here.
The five tracks heard here incorporates elements of DJ Muggs as we know, especially the way he programs his drums (although don't expect too much hip-hop patterns) and heavy bass, but mixed in with elements of dub step, and trap music with a lot of digital effects and a fascination for the synthesizer. Besides three instrumentals, the remaining cuts are performed by Chuck Inglish (of The Cool Kids), and ASAP Rocky. The joints with Dizzee Rascal and that other one didn't make the final cut, which is good news. Now this is hardly true school music, but Muggs is a true school artist in every sense of the word, and also one of my favorites, so I'm gonna at least post it. You can take it or leave it! ...Oh and please drop a comment on how you feel about Muggs' new path. Personally, I think it's cool that he want to expand, as long as it's a one-time thing only.
Damn, we need that "Mic Tyson" album right about NOW! At least he's keeping busy dropping hot shit like this single "Haraam" right here; not to mention those priceless Sean P's rapping school skit videos. This joint is lifted from the DJ Muggs / Supernatural hosted official "Rock The Bells 2012 Mixtape"which I have yet to fully peep but based on exclusive shit from KRS-One, RZA, Sick Jacken, Deltron 3030, Hieroglyphics and many others, it's a no brainer.
I haven't been able to hit you up with one of those Lost Tapes compilations many of y'all often request, but here is the first one for 2012. I've been listening heavily to Cypress Hill lately as they are one of my favorite groups of all time - the original Cypress that is, with DJ Muggs behind the boards, B-Real up front and Sen Dogg doing his thing (Eric "Bobo" is a cool addition too). Especially the first four albums are classic status in my eyes and although the later LPs haven't come close to that status there's always a bunch of gems on each that makes sure the group maintains their high level. The only one I was truly dissapointed in is "Rising Up", much because (to me) it is not even a real Cypress album considering Muggs is barely involved. Hopefully they will get back on track in time for the next round since all the joints B-Real and Muggs have appeared on together over the last five years or so have been crazy.
For this compilation I basically wanted to put together a majority of the non album cuts by the group that I know of or have heard. At first I was thinking about making it a strictly 1991 to 1999 affair and including the "Soul Assassins" tracks but at the end of the day I figured that they got enough hot unreleased shit from '91 up to last year. Therefore this 18 tracks collection now reflects the group's musical evolvement over the years and showcases a bunch of different styles. You got the blunted darkness a´la "Temples Of Boom" ("Da-Da-Da", "Roll it Up, Light it Up..."), the funkiness of their breakthrough ("Shoot 'Em Up"), early rock collaborations in the form of the songs with Pearl Jam and Sonic Youth from the "Judgement Night" soundtrack as well as the synthesizer driven sound heard on "To Death do us Part" ("Ready to Die", "Roll it Up") and much more. I even decided to include the three DJ Muggs produced tracks from "Rising Up", simply because I consider that more of a type of side project and this way I get to listen to these bangers in a real Cypress setting. All tracks on this sick ass "tape" are solely produced by Muggs except for "Scooby Doo" (T-Ray with Muggs on co-production), "Strike the Match", "Take My Pain" and "Pass The Dutch" (all three co-produced by DJ Khalil) and lastly the bonus track "Child of the Wild West" which is a production collaboration between DJ Muggs and Roni Size/Reprazent. So spark up a blunt, press play, lay back and enter the temples of BOOM.
01. "Roll it Up, Light it Up, Smoke it Up" [1995]
02. "Shoot 'Em Up" [1992]
03. "Champions" (Ft. PMD) [1998]
04. "U Know the Rules (Mi Vida Loca)" [2000]
05. "Roll it Up" [2004]
06. "Pass the Dutch" (Ft. Evidence & Alchemist) [2010]
07. "Strike the Match" (Ft. Tom Morello) [2010]
08. "I'm Still #1" [1997]
09. "I Love You Mary Jane" [1993]
10. "Scooby Doo" [1992]
11. "Da-Da-Da" [1995]
12. "So What'cha Want" [S.A. Remix] (Ft. Beastie Boys) [1992]
13. "Real Thing" [1993]
14. "Rags to Riches" (Ft. Barron Ricks & Chace Infinite) [1998]
15. "Can I Live" [2001]
16. "Ready to Die" [2004]
17. "Take My Pain" (Ft. Everlast) [2010]
18. "Child of the Wild West" [Murder Dem Remix] (w. Roni Size) [*]
Call O' Da Wild was a duo consisting of Harlem rappers Barron Ricks and Angelo Campanioni who were active for a short number of years in the mid-'90s. The group were closely affilliated with DJ Muggs and part of the Soul Assassins, appearing on the first S.A. album with their track "New York Undercover". They only got to release two exclusive 12" singles, in '95 and '96 respectively, as well as appearing on the soundtracks for "Bad Boys" and "Gravesend" roughly between the same time before fading into obscurity. Barron Ricks, however, released a 12" of his own in '98 including the B-Real and Chace Infinite featured "Rags to Riches" as well as the Alchemist laced "Harlem River Drive" on the flipside. Most people probably knows him best for the many cameos on Cypress Hill's "IV" from that same year, even making an apperance on the classic hit single "Tequila Sunrise". Following a few other guest roles on records by DJ Hurricane, Princess Superstar and The Baldwin Brothers (?!) he too seems to have left the rap game alone, for what reason I'm not sure.
The group of Call O' Da Wild were signed to the SONY label and worked on an album with DJ Muggs as the executive and main record producer. If you look in the booklet of the CD version of the "Unreleased & Revamped" EP, there's even an ad for the LP with the text saying "coming soon". Eventually completed sometime between 1996 and 1997 the trio handed in their material to SONY who deemed to album to hard to sell since it didn't have any possible radio singles. This seems like an incredibly idiotic idea on the labels part, considering that DJ Muggs was a huge part of it and The Hill were one of the biggest rap groups around - despite not putting out commercial joints. Reminds me of the Sylvia Rhone situation that Pete Rock faced at Elektra when he tried to pich his groups InI and Deda, but that's another story. Following this, Call O' Da Wild broke up and their album were left definitely shelved. DJ Muggs said on the group and the shelved album, "Call O' Da Wild broke up right after their album was finished for SONY, and they thought they were superstars before they record even came out... I have the album on a DAT tape in storage somewhere".
Every song the group released were compiled and uploaded by the homie Pattch82 over at the Wu Corp Forum a while ago, and with permission I'm putting it here on The Lost Tapes. Really the only thing I did was arrange the sequencing a bit differently and replaced a few tracks to versions with higher bitrate so all props goes to Pattch82, thank you man! Included are all the singles and B-sides, soundtrack joints, two unreleased tracks that were put up on MySpace a while ago plus the two tracks from Barron Ricks solo 12". If you're a fan of the DJ Muggs sound around "III - Temples Of Boom" (and who the hell ain't?), you're definitely gonna enjoy this one. So crank up the volume, sit back and let Ricks and Campanioni take you on a ride back to the '90s.
All songs produced by DJ Muggs except track 1 (Jerome Foster & Sean Matthews), track 4 (The Alchemist) and track 6 (Sean C & Knobody). A couple of the tracks are also solo songs by Barron Ricks, since they are lifted from his 1998 12" single "Rags to Riches" with the flip side "Harlem River Drive". But even official group albums often include at least one solo song from each member, so in my opinion it really don't take away anything frm the overall experience. Last but not least, shouts to the forum poster Supreemo for designing the cover/artwork you see below. Aight, 'nuff talk, dowload, press play and LET IT BANG because this shit really, really KNOCKS!
01. "Sometimes The Neighborhood"
02. "Ruffturrain"
03. "Intellectual Dons" (Ft. B-Real)
04. "Harlem River Drive"
05. "Andrew's Ave."
06. "Clouds of Smoke" (Ft. Wayne-O)
07. "Rags to Riches" (Ft. Cypress Hill & Self Scientific)
08. "Urban Wilderness"
09. "New York Undercover"
10. "Ninth Symphony" (Ft. Cypress Hill)
11. "Runnin' Wild"
This excellent DJ mix appeared as a limited edition bonus disc on early pressings of the vinyl and CD versions of Cypress Hill’s “III: Temples Of Boom” in ‘95. It works great as a companion piece to that LP, which happens to be my personal favorite in the Cypress catalogue, as DJ Muggs shows off some ill turntable wizardry while mixing together eight standout cuts from the group’s earlier career. The result is 20 funky minutes of the classic, groove heavy Cypress Hill sound that’s guaranteed to enhance any smoking experience, hence the name. The whole mix was mastered onto one long track, taking up one side of a LP or one disc of a CD. Since all versions of the album including it are however long out of print, I thought it was fair game to upload it for anyone who might’ve missed out on it. The mp3 below is ripped in 192 kbps from my own collection, if you’re looking for a higher bitrate rip let me know in the comments section. Joints featured are as follows:
Classic Clips is a new entry in the book of The Lost Tapes which I will try to update every once in a while. The idea is to, rather than just linking to a music video, post rare, vintage moments that represents the hip-hop culture and some of its most legendary artists. The clips will be at the very least ten years old in time. I was originally gonna kick things off with a different clip but as I stumbled across this awesome video yesterday, I decided it was perfect for this section.
The clip features an entire set of DJ Muggs, or Grandmixer Muggs as he was known then, performance from the DMC Championship Finals back in 1989 (that's the biggest DJ competition there is for those who is not initiated). Back then Muggs was of course part of the 7A3 trio and Cypress Hill/Soul Assassins was still in incubation. He's displaying some heavy skills on the tables here for sure, although the beat juggling might not be up to par with todays best turntablists. It makes me wonder why he doesn't incorporate more cuts on his records these days however. Last but not least I wanna give a big shout to the YouTube user Asn0910 for uploading this incredible lesson in hip-hop history!
This is some great news right here! Ever since Muggs came out with Cypress Hill in 1991 to his collaboration with Ill Bill last year he has proven to be one of the most lethal producers to ever grace an MPC. Alot of hot producers create a few classic albums then drops the ball heavily, but Muggs has constantly proven that he never ever fell off, especially considering his recent Vs. series.
In this recent interview that my man Angry! put me on to the veteran speaks on two upcoming releases that both sounds like they could be serious contenders for albums of the year. The first one is a DJ based record called "Bass For Your Face" which will be a fusion of electronics, glitch and hip-hop; from what I gather it will mostly be instrumental but will feature guest verses from RZA, Bun B and Razhel. The second project he announced is a straight hip-hop album and another installment in the Muggs Vs. series - a full-length collaboration with Ill Bill, Vinnie Paz and Muggs. Now how fucking dope those that sound?
As a related bonus I uploaded a track that was scrapped from 2008s "Pain Language", the DJ Muggs/Planet Asia. The track is called "Top Shelf" and features The Blastmaster KRS-One.
Ill Bill and Vinnie Paz is finally releasing their long planned collaboration, 'Heavy Metal Kings'; the album is supposed to be nothing but pure hip-hop and the title of course come from the amazing Jedi Mind Tricks / Ill Bill record from 2006. Both artists have released really good solo projects leading up to this, Vinnie's 'Season Of The Assassin' had plenty of impeccable songs both lyrically and especially beatwise (what coulld you really expect with tracks by Lord Finesse, Lil' Fame, Madlib, 4th Disciple, DJ Muggs, Da Beatminerz, etc.).
Ill Bill went a different route with his solo last year, having DJ Muggs produce, score, direct and oversee the album front-to-back and what a chemistry the two showed together. 'Kill Devil Hills' was one of the best albums of 2010 and it also featured Vinnie Paz on the masterpiece title track. The track below could be seen as a continue of that, as it's DJ Muggs sole contribution to the album and is a great track. ORDER 'HEAVY METAL KINGS' HERE.
