D.I.T.C. affiliate Eric Blaze is back in time for the Christmas holday with yet another installment in his great "For The Luv Of It" series. This time he's wrapped up twelve songs for our enjoynment, just ready to download and consume. SO enjoy ya'll, and don't forget to TURN IT UP!
I'm always hyped to hear new beats and/or tracks from DITC affiliated producer E.Blaze, so I'm glad to be able to post the latest single from his upcoming instrumental project "For The Luv Of It, Vol. 3". The song is called "Synth #1" and is a real HARD, thumping beats with a lot of emphasis on blazing horns. As I told E.Blaze I could really hear AG go in over this, that would be absolutely fantastic. The third installment in E.Blaze's instrumental series drops soon, so be on the watchout for that and in case you missed any of the previous installments be sure to check them out here and here, respectively.
Right in time for the holiday season Diggin' in the Crates affiliate E-Blaze lets loose of the second volume of his instrumental mixtape series, "For The Luv Of It". Released for free via DatPiff, the album features 15 certified hip-hop bangers for you to get your headnod on. Includes both beats recorded exclusively for this project as well as instrumentals E-Blaze laced for artists like KRS-One, D-Flow, Prospect, Ressa Excel, AG, Smiley The Ghetto Child. Turn it up LOUD!
As promised Bronx born and raised Prospect, who you'll remember for his many spot on verses on the Terror Squad projects back in the days, has hooked up with Grim Team to deliver his first official mixtape "First Blood". I've got the advance a couple of days back and been able to blaze this banger quite a bit, and as it's a bunch of different tracks recorded over the last few years some of the songs is a little differing in quality but one thing's constant, Prospect is ALWAYS on point with the vocals here! Add hard beats by E-Blaze, Lord Finesse and Chaze of GT and you can trust me when I say that a large chunk of this is truly worthy of that rewind button. TURN IT UP!!
Prospect, who used to rep Terror Squad, is back with a vengeance! Laced with blazing production by Lord Finesse, E-Blaze, Chaze and more, the Grim Team presented mixtape "First Blood" will be available for free download on July 30, and judging by the few leaks and the teaser above this will be pure fire. Just check the latest single "I'm Not Hiding" that E-Blaze just dropped on Soundcloud for a taste of what to expect, and check back here or @ DatPiff on Tuesday for the full meal.
The homie E-Blaze sent over this exclusive leak from "First Blood", the upcoming mixtape by Prospect, who used to be down with Terror Squad back when they were one of the rawest crews around. Both Prospect and producer E-Blaze brought out the big guns for this joint, which is called "I'm Not Hidin'", and shit's not even completely mixed down yet. The new project is presented by GrimTeam and will hopefully be available in just a few weeks. I got a feeling Prospect, who's been M.I.A. for a while, got a lot of ill shit to get off his chest and he's rounded up some very talented beatsmiths for the project so definitely keep your eyes and ears open. Stay tuned, and shouts to E-Blaze for letting The Lost Tapes have the premier of this one.
Some people might still not
know about E-Blaze, but that is rapidly changing. After immigrating to the US
from his native France around 2004, he quickly became one of the illest, yet
most underrated, underground producers lacing 12":s for Screwball's KL, and
Blaq Poet, which was soon followed by dope beats for Smiley The Ghetto Child,
Raze/Killah Priest, Big Noyd, and Infamous Mobb. His real breakthrough for
many, however, came when he officially linked up with the legendary D.I.T.C.
crew, being heavily involed in albums like Show & A's "Live
Hard", "Oasis" by OC & AG, the "The
Movement" compilation from D.I.T.C. Records, and so forth. One thing's
for sure, there's a lot of more good things to come from this good brother as
he has already managed to create his own sound and gained the attention of some
of the best emcees in the world, the Blastmaster KRS-One included. As far as I
know, The Lost Tapes is the first site to get an exclusive interview with
E-Blaze which is of course a definite read for any D.I.T.C. head. So first of
all I want to say thank you to E-Blaze for taking his time to thoroughly answer
my questions for this very informative interview. Read on and get enlightened!
claaa7: When did you first start
producing, and with what equipment?
E-Blaze: I started producing in 1991,I
co-founded and was a member of the crew called ”Tout Simplement Noir” (Simply
Black in English).We didn’t have any equipment at the time, we were making beats
on the spot in the studio. I was rhyming and I was mostly the only guy
from the crew who was interested in picking samples to make beats. As a young
kid I always loved listening to all kinds of music. My older brother was a bass
player and used to play all kinds of style of music
like soul,funk,rock,reggae,punk,carrabean, etc… At the time I was getting
familiar with the Akai S1000, the rack version, a midi controller was needed to
trigger the samples. When I left the click, I started working with a
friend who owned the legendary Akai S950, from there I tried to develop my
craft as a producer. In 1995, I bought my first sampler, the Ensoniq ASR 10 (Rack
version) which had just came out and it cost me an arm and a leg!! The ASR had a
very warm sound but the sequencer sucked big time! Anyway,I learned a lot with
this machine.
c7: I know you are originally from
France; when did you move to the US, and was the move made solely with the
focus on building a music career?
E-B: I moved officially to the US
in 2004. I came for the first time to NYC in 96’ and from there on I started to
come more often and stayed longer each time. On each trip I met some interesting
people - for example in '96, I came and stayed for 2 months and met Chubb Rock who I
almost sold a beat to for the album he was working on at the time. The deal
didn’t happen due to my inexperience in the business. On this trip I also met
and chilled with the Boot Camp Click at their office,the A&R played me
the first Heltah Skeltah album which was not even out yet. I spent the all
afternoon at their office, they played me unreleased stuff and the vibe was mad
cool. Another day, I saw a Biggie show with Junior Mafia in Harlem, the
stage was in the middle of the street…incredible!
That was just a part of my
first trip to New York, so you can imagine how I felt at the time. It was magic
for me. Hip Hop was everywhere, it was a part of everyday life as a culture and
not a gimmick. When you are walking in the street, there’s a car passing by, blasting the first Biggie album and the woman who is walking alongside you, who
looks like she can be your mother at the time, sings along and knows all the
lyrics by heart, you realize the importance of the culture. From that trip
alone, I knew it was just a question of time before I decide to move to the US.
c7: Did you ever produce for any
French cats, before moving to the US?
E-B: Yeah I produced for the
Mafia K1 fry, a well known crew from Paris suburbs. The famous rapper Rhoff
comes from that crew. I also worked with Koma from the crew Scred Connection, and
other guys who were very active in the Hip Hop scene. I’ve done a lot of work in
the underground.
c7: Once in the US you produced
for some of the great underground QB rappers, like Screwball, Littles and
Havoc, right? How did that happen?
E-B: For Screwball, first I met KL
in a music store, he came to sell some mixtapes. I approached him, we talked, I
gave him a beat CD and he called me the day after. From there, we started to work
together and he introduced me to his cousin Blaq Poet. We did a 12" with
KL (Kamakazee) featuring Blaq Poet. It came out in 2004 and had a huge success in
the underground scene.It got so big at the time,Marley Marl remixed the 2 songs
and played all the versions everytime on his radio show Future Flavas. Me and KL
continued to record some tracks,sometimes with Blaq Po as featuring,until
he saddenly died from an asthma attack in 2008.
With Littles, it’s a lil bit
different. If I remember correctly, I met him trough my people the Grim
Team, Chaze just started to work with him and we linked up in a studio
session. Littles has always been known to be a hustler and about his
business…he’s not really what you call an artist. He’s the first one who
introduced the CD/DVD package to the game. He did it for his 2003 street album/mixtape
called “The Feeding” I think. He never released an album or was signed to a
label, he was always putting out mixtapes. He picked up a couple of beats from me, recorded on some of them and just the song he did with Havoc from Mobb Deep
got released so far. I didn’t even know he was on the track until it came
out, Littles was always in and out of NYC making moves…I was not at the session
when he recorded that joint. The first time I heard it, I was surprised and
thought that was nice to have a platinum artist on my shit!
c7: Considering how tight you and KL obviously were, do you have any unreleased tracks with KL still in the vaults? What are the chances of us actually getting to hear those sessions?
E-B: Yeah
i have some KL unrealeased tracks.At the time of his death, we were
working on an album, we have some unfinished songs.I have verse for that
song, 2 verses for that one etc...and i've got some completed too.Like
everything else i need to find the time to sit down and focus on it.I
want to release an album with all theses songs - the unreleased, remix the
ones already out and add some nice featurings.The world needs to hear
this...this is his legacy and it gonna happen!!
c7: WOW man.. to me KL was such an underrated dude, and it's such a tragedy that his life was cut short, although I didn't know him personally his music spoke a lot to me so I really hope we get to hear this one day.
Moving on, my first introduction to your
music was with 2007:s “Magic” on Show & A’s “Live Hard” project.
From that point on you really got involved with the D.I.T.C. crew, and
especially with Show & A. How did that hook-up come about, and what was the experience like?
E-B: Working on the “Live Hard” EP was
great for me, it meant some Hip Hop legends were co-signing me as a
producer. For a European beatmaker,it means a lot. I first met Show, we hooked up
like KL, in a record store.We talked about music, I told him I was making
beats, he told me he was looking for producers since he had just opened his own
studio in DJ Premier’s joint HeadCQuarterz.I gave him a beat CD and we started
from there…That was back in early 2006. I started giving him tracks every week, one
day I played him one joint and he told me to hold it, he wanted to play it for
A.G. That became the song ”Magic” on the “Live Hard”EP. That was my first official
song on a D.I.T.C release.
c7: Of course, you then later produced
more than half of OC & AG’s collaborative LP, “Oasis”, crafting some of that album’s finest moments. Were those beats crafted specifically for O
& A or did they pick beats from a larger batch of pre-made beats?
E-B:For "Oasis",that was the same
kind of vibe. I was living in Canada at the time and sending beats [to Showbiz] almost
every week. When the idea of the album became a reality, OC & AG started to
listen to some beats from a lot of producers, including Evidence,DJ Statik Selectah, Alchemist, Ski Beatz, and more.They were looking for a special vibe at
the time, and I think they found in my music what they were looking
for. They picked one track from Statik though. I remember Show calling me one
week and telling me ”They want to use 3 of your joints for the album”, and "I was like
cool, I was just happy to be a part of it". 2 or 3 weeks later, he told me finally
they now want to use 5 tracks and in the end, as we know, they rocked over 8 of my
joints. That was a beautiful thing! For a European beat maker to be able to
produce eight tracks on an album by legendary American Hip Hop artists; we can say that doesn’t happen everyday. Even if it was not a commercial success by “industry standards”, it’s still a very nice Hip Hop album to this day!And I
insist on the term Hip-Hop, I don’t want to use the word Rap for a good
reason. It's 100% Hip-Hop from the cover, to the sound, the subject
matters, the D.I.T.C legacy, etc...
c7: One thing I wondered about the LP for some time regards the album closer "Pain". Some sources have claimed that this is actually a production made by long-time DI-associate Amed, yet the credit give you the sole prouction credit. What gives?
E-B:Let’s be clear on that one! Amed
produced the album closer ”Pain”, I’ve got nothing to do with that song. My man
Amed made that beat and he killed it! It’s just a misprint from the record
company, but sometimes things like that happen. Amed is a very talented producer
and he’s got some classics . c7: Since you moved to the States,
you worked with a large amount of legendary artists in a relatively short time,
which must feel incredible. Are there any artist that you are specifically proud to have worked with?
E-B: Have to say all of
them,because they are all part of my legacy.They all showed me love and
respect. It would be easy to talk just about the most famous ones but it doesn’t
work like that for me. Everybody had their own story,t heir own vibes, it was
always a learning experience. But if I had to choose one, it would be my man KL
because whatever I do or say, I will never be able to have another studio
session with him; never be able to exchange ideas with him about a verse or a
chorus, or maybe one day in Heaven you never know!
c7: There are a couple of songs
where you and Showbiz shared co-production credits; namely “Experience”
from the DITC compilation and “The Truth” from the Show/KRS album. How did
these songs come together from a studio session point and who did what for these two modern masterpieces?
E-B: This is an interesting
question. For “Experience”, me and Show were in the studio one day. He played me a
45 and told me he tried to flip it but was unable to do it the way he wanted. He
asked me if I wanted to try to do some with it,I was like “hell yeah”! The sample
was dope and as soon as I heard it, I already had an idea to chop it
crazy!! That's the way we work, sometimes we trade breaks, I can find a crazy
sample and I would give it to him because I didn’t have a vision for it, the
same for him.So at the end I made the beat with that 45, chopped the sample,put
the drums to it, gave it to Show and he took care of the arrangments and
structure of the joint.He put the spices on it!
For “The Truh”, it’s a lil bit
different. I was living in Canada at the time.Show told me he was working
on a project with KRS-One, he was supposed to produce an entire album for the
Blastmaster but asked me if I wanted to be a part of it…long story short,I
jumped on the occasion. KRS-One is part of the Hip-Hop history, his legacy can
never be challenged point blank!So I started to work on some beats with him in
mind. I knew I could make something hard, for him to spit to and deliver some
knowledge. I sent a couple of beats to Showbiz, they picked that track which
became”The Truth”.I was not in the studio with them but Show made a hell of a
job, he really took care of the production side. On that one I was more
like the beatmaker; I made the beat but he was at the studio session making sure
the song happened and come out crazy.A lot of people told me they like that
song, that means the combination worked well.
c7: Without a questionn, that was by far my favorite of that album. I would love to hear more work from you KRS-One and Show as a trio in the future, how crazy would that be haha!
A while ago there was talk
about a joint album between you and Showbiz called “Born Lords”. Is that still
going to happen, and if so how much of it have you recorded so far? E-B: The "Born Lords" album is in hiatus right now, we really never had a chance to sit down and focus on it. The idea of the LP came came about a couple of years ago. We started to work on concept, the cover, but we never finished due to the fact that we switched to other projects all the time. We lost focus. It still can happen, but we really need to take the time to work on it.
c7: What was it supposed to be?
E-B: The idea was to make an
instrumental album with different parts, like a mini series with a different
concept for each volume.
c7: Sounds like a real cool idea though, a little reminiscent of Madlib's "Beat Konducta" series. But wasn't Born Lords originally a
production duo of Showbiz and Lord Finesse back in the mid-‘90s that had a couple of productions on some B-sies. Is that group back with you as a new member?
E-B: I really don’t know, we
never talked about it that way, at the time we just wanted to release an album
with that name.It never was a question of to be or not to be a part of a
group. It was never that serious, it was just about putting out good music and
having fun with it.
c7: You recently released a free
digital mixtape of 20 instrumentals called "For Tha Luv Of It, Vol. 1". Any similar projects you’re planning to
release in the near future?
E-B: Yeah,I’m gonna release “For
the luv of it part 2” very soon. It was already supposed to be out by now, but my
graphic designer took a lifetime to finish the artwork.It’s the same guy who
took care of the first one;he’s my man, he’s very talented and I wanted to keep
the same team for the second part as well. On that one,you’ll find the instrumentals for the
Krs-One, the songs I produced for D-Flow (D.I.T.C.), Prospect (ex-Terror
Squad), D-Shade (Canadian MC) , some talented newcomers from
everywhere (France,Canada,Japan…) plussome exclusive beats. After that one I’m
gonna release an instrumental album with only exclusive beats, this one will be
for sale on iTunes and other digital platforms.
c7: Any other projects or productions that you are you currently working on? E-B: Right now on I'm working with Prospect (ex Terror Squad), we just finishe his mixtape which will be available soon for free download. It's a collection of work he recorded betweeen 2008 and now, basically. The mixtape is to let people know that he's still at it, on his grind and working. I shared the A&R duties on that one and produced two songs. We gonna start work on a new one from scratch with only new songs and little by little start to work on an album. I'm also working with my little bro Ressa Exxel, a French rapper who lives in Brooklyn. We just finished his EP "It's HIP HOP"; raw with no concessions. It's gonna be available for free download soon, and gonnna help build his buzz and let people know how nice he is on the mic for real!! We gonnna start to work on his albums too. I'm working with Show, we're trying to get some beats placements with different artists, and I should be involved with some of D.I.T.C. new projects as well. I'm sure I'm gonna work with D-Flow on some more stuff.. I'm involved in a couple of more things, and you should be able to find my work on releases from talented new artists from all around the world (US, France, Japan, Cnnada....).
c7: A lot to look forward in other words! Goo luck on all your projects and much future success to you fam. Again, much thanks for this interview and really taking your time with some really thorough and interesting answers. And keeep pumping out that dopeness for us man! E--B: Thanks for your support and
I’ll try to keep the music coming... Peace
* if you're not yet familiar with E-Blaze and want to check out more of his music, check out his official instrumental mixtape "For The Luv Of It Vol. 1", as well as my 20 track compilation "Born Lord Vol. 1". . And of course head over to iTunes and buy his tracks if you haven't these albums in your record collection already.
D.I.T.C. heads should consider themeselves very lucky this Monday as we're getting a brand new mixtape from D-Flow, the superb spitter of Ghetto Dwellas fame. I've always been a big fan of his cameo verses on albums by Show & AG, OC, and so forth but I believe "Paraphernalia" represents the first time I've heard a full project from the man, and with production by Showbiz, E-Blaze, and Drawzilla you know it's gonna be a mad interesting listen. Also featured on the project are Milano, AG, Majestic Gage, and the late, but always great, Party Arty... TURN IT UP.... A LITTLE LOUDER!!!!
Erick Blaze was born and grew up in Paris, France and grew up around music all his life. His brother was a bass player, and a wide array of different styles were constantly around the young Erick. It was only a matter of time, before he himself started dabbling in music production and other musical ventures, especially after the rising hip-hop scene were starting to make its impact felt on France and its European neighbors. It didn't takle long until the young Blaze made a conscious decision that this was something that would have a profound impact on his life.
Beginning around 2004, he encountered interest from several Queensbridge veterans, and in 2004 E-Blaze produced both tracks on the underground classic "It's All Good"/"Right Here" by Kamakazee (feat. Blaq Poet), shortly followed by the rugged Screwball antghem "Fuck Y'All Niggas". The QB connection continued with bangers for Littles/Havoc, Infamos Mobb and one of the final tracks recorded by KL.
What really made him a household name though, was when he became an affiliate of the D.I.T.C. camp, trough legendary producer Showbiz, who was a big fan of Blaze individual sound. Not only did he soon get the chance to produce two classic Show & AG records, but also got the chance to produce half of the highly anticipated OC/AG collabo "Oasis", and many other unforgettable pieces by the likes of Smiley the Ghetto Child, KRS-One, Raize/Killah Priest, and Verse. If you're still not up on Eric Blaze catalouge, now is the time to check it out for yourself; The Lost Tapes present a 20 track compilation featuring 60 minutes of various E-Blaze cuts, which I'm sure you'll enjoy. Aight, let's get down to business - TURN IT UP!!!
01. Infamous Mobb - "Capital Q"
02. KRS-One & Showbiz - "The Truth"
03. Kamakazee - "Right Here" (Ft. Blaq Poet)
04. Smiley the Ghetto Child - "Close to 30 G's"
05. Marwan - "Yes My Son"
06. 950 Plus & AG - "Does My Thang"
07. Adanis - "If I Was You"
08. Kamakazee - "I Hold Mine"
09. D-Shade - "Get That"
10. Show & AG - "Magic"
11. Raize / Killah Priest - ""Whales"
12. Screwball - "Fuck Y'All Niggaz"
13. Littles - "If Niggas Only Knew" (Ft. Havoc)
14. Ressa Exel - "So Real" (Ft. AG & Smiley the Ghetto Child)
15. Adanis - "Black"
16. Smiley the Ghetto Child - "Battlestar Galactica"
17. Wille Hen - "Love My City"
18. Verse - "Hello Morning"
19. Kamakazee - "It's All Good"
20. Show & AG - "Experience"
Eric Blaze was born and raised in Paris and in fell in love with hip-hop music in the '80s and while attending high school he started producing for local acts. As his love for beat-making grew he realized New York was the place to go to make a name for himself. Eventually becoming a resident of the mecca of hip-hop he slowly but surely started to make a name for himself; landing production on records by Screwball, Smiley The Ghetto Child, Infamous Mobb and Littles. Eventually Blaze caught the ear of D.I.T.C. virtuoso Show which led to him being the only guest-producer on Show & AG's brilliant 2008 EP "Live Hard". The relationship with the Diggin' In The Crates Crew continued to escalate as E-Blaze produced roughly half of OC & AG's collaborative album "Oasis" in 2009. Be on the lookout for E-Blaze in 2011 as he and Show has started a production company called Born Lordz and he certainly will get hired on a whole bunch of future releases. Visit E.Blaze's myspace for more info while you listen to the 20 instrumentals presented on the first installment of "For The Luv Of It".
01. E-Blaze - "Sad" (UNRELEASED)
02. OC & AG - "Put ir in the Box"
03. OC & AG - "Contagious"
04. Infamous Mobb - "Capital Q"
05.Kamakazee & Verse - "New Ball Game"
06. Show & AG - "Magic"
07. OC /& AG - "Against The Wall"
08. Kamakazee & Blaq Poet - "Right Here"
09. OC /& AG - "Everyday Life"
10. Kamakazee - "It's All Good"
11. OC /& AG - "Think About It"
12. Show & AG - "Experience"
13. Smiley The Ghetto Child - "Battlestar Galactica"
E-B: For "Oasis", that was the same
kind of vibe. I was living in Canada at the time and sending beats [to Showbiz] almost
every week. When the idea of the album became a reality, OC & AG started to
listen to some beats from a lot of producers, including Evidence,DJ Statik Selectah, Alchemist, Ski Beatz, and more.They were looking for a special vibe at
the time, and I think they found in my music what they were looking
for. They picked one track from Statik though. I remember Show calling me one
week and telling me ”They want to use 3 of your joints for the album”, and "I was like
cool, I was just happy to be a part of it". 2 or 3 weeks later, he told me finally
they now want to use 5 tracks and in the end, as we know, they rocked over 8 of my
joints. That was a beautiful thing! For a European beat maker to be able to
produce eight tracks on an album by legendary American Hip Hop artists; we can say that doesn’t happen everyday. Even if it was not a commercial success by “industry standards”, it’s still a very nice Hip Hop album to this day!And I
insist on the term Hip-Hop, I don’t want to use the word Rap for a good
reason. It's 100% Hip-Hop from the cover, to the sound, the subject
matters, the D.I.T.C legacy, etc... 
