[Comp] KEITH MURRAY - "Splitting Heads With Logs"

We all saw one of Def Squad's strongest artists and lyrical '90s sensation Keith Murray make 2013 Canibus look like a battle rap scientist when he got up to "battle" Fredro Starr of Onyx a couple of weeks ago. I can seriously say that it was an almost physically painful thing to watch as Murray went on to redefine words like cringeworthy and awkward. In interviews afterwards he has been saying that he got some complications from a medicine he was taking, but no matter what's the case the actual bars that he was saying (and rewinding and repeating at that) was straight up WACK! You don't talk about wearing gazoline drawers while walking through hell or threatening to beat your opponent with a log in 2015 battles. And you don't turn into fucking KRS-One, especially if you don't got anything clever to say while using that shtick. All in all it was a very confusing batltle but most importantly - it was absolutely HILARIOUS, some of that stuff in there is dangerously funny to watch and will be remembered as a classic clip from now on.

The thing is that no matter what went down in that battle, all of Keith Murray's previous achievements and sick ass back catalouge remains exactly the same. So while we clown on Keith for winning (at losing) perhaps the worst battle rap of all time, let us not forget "The Most Beautifullest Thing in the World" and "Enigma". Two terrific mid-'90s albums that gracefully married Murray's complex flows, spaced out concepts and commanding voice with the dark low down dirt funk of Erick Sermon. With that in mind I put together a little compilation of Keith's cameos, soundtrack apperances, B-sides and official remixes from the first part of his career, from his recording debut on "Hostile" (Erick Sermon: "No Pressure", 1993) to "Live Wires Connect" with UGK and Lord Jamar ("Don't Be A Menace" O.S.T., 1996). In trying to keep with the vibes of his LP:s of the time I have not included all available material from the era, instead I've tried to build something that holds up on its own and is based on the chemistry between an emcee and his producer. With very few exceptions all of the tracks here are produced by Mr. Sermon. So crank up the volume and just enjoy this funky set...

01. "This That Shit"

02. "Get Lifted" [Sermon Remix]

03. "Hostile" (Ft. Erick Sermon & Jeffrey Stewart)

04. ""What I'm After II" (Ft. Lords Of The Underground) [prod. by K-DEF]

05. "It's Goin' Down" 

06. "Cosmic Slop" (Ft. Redman & Erick Sermon)

07. "K. Murray Interlude" [prod. by Nashiem Myrick]

08. "Welcome" (Ft. Erick Sermon)

09. "Tell 'Em"

10. "Pay Per View"

11. "East Left"

12. "Breaker 1, Breaker 2" (Ft. Redman & Erick Sermon)

13. "Newark to C.I." (Ft. Shaquille O'Neal)

14. "Freestyle" (Ft. Redman) [beat by RZA - "Protect Ya Neck"]

15. "Swing It Over Here" (Ft. Erick Sermon & Redman)

16. "Dip Dip Di" [You Remix Me]

17. "Live Wires Connect" (Ft. UGK & Lord Jamar) [prod. by Lord Jamar]

KEITH MURRAY - "SPLITTING HEADS W. LOGS" 

[comp] ERICK SERMON - "A Platform of Brilliance"

People love and will always hold the early EPMD albums in the higest regards among other classic hip-hop albums, equally because of PMD and E's intricate front-to-back rhyming but also because of the duo's funky sample-heavy beats that solidified Erick Sermon as one of the best producers around (don't be completely fooled though, as PMD had a lot of production input as well - especially on their first album "Strictly Business" as revealed to Brian Coleman in his chapter on the album from his "Check The Technique"). Still The Green Eyed Bandit has proven time and time again that he's a super dope producer with or without EPMD, as he has produced at least two out of three classics for Redman (he was involved in "Dare Iz A Darkside" but the bulk of the beats was handled by Reggie himself). Reading Erick Sermon's name in the credits of a new hip-hop album was a true mark of quality However I do have to admit that past 2004 or something like that hes been more and more generic in his sound, though he ocassionally comes through with some real hardhitting shit that we all love.

For this compilation I decided to focus more on E-Dub's earlier material, past the early EPMD albums and up until about 2000 (and mostly earlier). These tracks to me represent stands as a good compliment together with the classic albums Sermon has produced as the reason why he is still to this day considered a living legend in the game. Erick Sermon has always been very good at killing beats for both R&B and hardcore hip-hop artists, and even the ocassional ragga artist like Super Cat, so I decided to make this compilation pretty diverse within those categories. Featured on the compilation are a couple of Sermon solo cuts, Def Squad, Keith Murray, Shaquille O'Neal, LL Cool J, Redman, K-Solo, D'Angelo, Bahamadia, AZ, Jodeci, and more. As usual the Def Squad tracks on here (Red, E-Dub, Keith Murray) is non album tracks/soundtrack joints and such, basically stuff that you won't find on either of these guys albums. If you're not up on them yet, be sure to check out Redman's entire catalouge, Keith Murray's first albums, large parts of Erick Sermon's catalouge, and of course all the EPMD albums (yeah even the last one is pretty ill if you ask me)... and whatever you do, TURN IT UP!!!

01. Erick Sermon - "Maintain"

02. Bahamadia - "I Confess" [Erick Sermon Remix]

03. AZ - "Gimme Yours" [Erick Sermon Remix]

04. Shaquille O'Neal - "My Style, My Steelo" (Ft. Redman & Erick Sermon)

05. Da 5 Footaz - "Candidates"

06. Heavy D & The Boyz - "Take Your Time"

07. D'Angelo - "Me & Those Dreamin' Eyes" [Remix] (Ft. Def Squad)

08. LL Cool J - "Hey Lover" [Remix] (Ft. 112)

09. Erick Sermon - "Battle" (Ft. Sy Scott)

10. Def Squad - "Breaker Breaker, 1,2"

11. Warren G - "I Shot The Sherrif" [Remix]

12. K-Solo - "Rock Bottom"

13. Doctor Dre & Ed Lover Ft. Keith Murray - "It's Goin' Down"

14. Questionmark Asylum - "Lookaway" [Remix]

15. Powerule - "Rock Ya Knot Quick"

16. Dilated Peoples - "The Platform" [Remix]

ERICK SERMON - "A PLATFORM OF BRILLIANCE"

REDMAN - "Rockin' With Marley Marl"

Official new heat from Redman and Marley Marl! "Muddy Waters 2" still on the way, and it's looking like we're getting a prequel tape to boost.

SEAN PRICE & ILLA GHEE - "Enigma"

Sean Price and Illa Ghee goes for a sacral vibe on this short but interesting knock out called "Enigma" with Scram Jones on the beat. Below you can also check out another recent collaboration between the duo which I forgot to post when it first dropped on the Redman hosted mixtape "M.M.Rick Presents Sorry I'm Late" (which you can stream/download @ DatPiff). P!

[Comp] REDMAN - "The Best Kept Secret"

Despite Redman being one of the most cherrished emcees in the world, especially when taking into account his many classic LP:s both as a solo artist and with Meth, he's also a damn overlooked producer. While I will most likely do a Redman cameos compilation soon enough, for the latest Lost Tapes compilation I've choosen to focus on Reggie Noble's skills on the other side of the booth. Ever since releasing his first album in '92 with the classic "Whut?! Thee Album" Red cemented himself as a force to be reckoned with both on the mic and behind the boards. Many people take for granted that it's Erick Sermon's beats you hear on that album, and sure enough a large part of it but many joints are solely credited to Reggie Noble. This side of his musicianship was even further explored when he made "Dare Iz A Darkside" where he produced the vast majority of the beats. The dark, almost threatening atmosphere of those bass heavy, psychadelic funk blasters still stand out as one of the crowning achievments in a long and illustrious career. But by that time (1994) he had already spent many years molding his musical talents. It's hard to believe, given his effortless flow and knack for hilarious punchlines, that Reggie Noble wasn't always focused on being an emcee, but the fact is that he initially started his career as a DJ. And of course being a good DJ is a vital part to becoming a good producer for many of the illest beat constructers on the hip-hop scene. Add to that learning from certified genius composers such as Erick Sermon and The RZA, and it's easy to see how Redman evolved into a really dope producer in his own right... A fact still overlooked by too many!

Although Redman of course produced many of his own tracks for "100% Redman" I have excluded almost all solo tracks by the man in favor of lesser known works for artists like Jamal, Dave Hollister, Mel-Low, Quo, Mother Superia and many more. The two exceptions are his contribution to the 1995 "New Jersey Drive" soundtrack, "Where Am I?" and the 1996 non-album single "Funkorama" - both really strong cuts. Other tracks includes classics by EPMD, Keith Murray and Artifacts. The end result is a truck load of dirty and raw FUNK that should be played LOUD or not at all. So I hope you  all enjoy this one and last but not least, this compilation was inspired by an idea from my homie Jaz over @ ColdRockDaSpot who posted a similiar comp at the T.R.O.Y. Forums a few years ago.. So much thanks to him for the inspiration and be sure to check out his site if you're not already familiar, a true hip-hop head!

01. Dave Hollister/Redman - "Ghetto Hymns (The Introduction)" (1999)

02. Artifacts - "Comin' Thru Ya' Fucking Block" (1994)
03. Erick Sermon - "The Vibe"

04. Redman - "Where Am I?" (1995)

05. Humanreck - "Tear Shit Up" (19999)

06. Shaquille O'Neal - "Shaq's Got It Made" [1994]
07. Que? - "Huh What?" (1994)
08. Mother Supria - "Most Of All" (1996)
09. Diezzle Don & The Governor - "So Know You Know" (1995)

10. Luniz Ft. Redman - "Hypnotize" (1997)
11, Mel-Low - "Return Of The Player" [Astronomical Mix] (1994)
12. Xcross-Breed - "Do Your Thing" (1995)

13. Jamal - "Fades 'Em All" (1995)

14. EPMD - "I'm Mad" [Redman Remix] (1992)
15. Redman - "Funkorama" (1996)
16. Keith Murray - "Escapism" (1994)

REGGIE NOBLE - "100% REDMAN"

REDMAN Previews "Muddy Watters #2"

Reggie Noble is by far one of the most consistent emcees out there, dropping dope abum after dope album (that horrendous "Reggie Noble" notwithstanding). Til' this day, his hottest LP:s are obviously his three first in my opinion, with '96:s "Muddy Waters" maybe the strongest of them all. There's been rumors about a sequel to "Muddy Waters" for at least two years, but now it seems that there's no more empty talk and that we're actually getting the album sooner or later. In fact, three "Muddy Waters" projects will be released in a near future - the actual album, an EP and a mixtape, so get prepared for a whole lot of dope music. In the video above you see Redman in the studio previewing a gang of the tracks from the mixtape. Sounding good; sounding great; how are you?

[Mixtape] REDMAN - "RemixXxes"

I have always held Brick City's finest to be one of the most consistent artists in the hip-hop industry, debuting with a classic verse on EPMD's "Hardcore" to his straight up classic debut album in 1992, followed by two abums that's if not better then at the very least just as good. "Doc's Da Name 2000", "Blackout! 1+2", "Malpractice" and "Red's Gone Wild" weren't masterpieces by any means, but they were all very solid LP:s that catered to both new fans and loyzl day #1 followers because they were all sill good. Then late 2011, we get a frisbee CD from Red called "Reggie Noble 9.5" which together with "H.N.I.C. 3" most likely stands as the worst album ever released by an amazing artist. I don't think it had a single redeeming qual9ty to be honest...

In other words, Reggie needs to bring something extraordinary with his next album to make us forget that sad affair. We've heard rumors about "Muddy Waters 2" forever, but no matter what it's called if he drops an album striving for a similiar sound while avoiding obvious clichés, he got my forgiveness, I tell you that. As a warm-up to whatever project's next,, Redman has put together this mixtape called "RemixXxes". Rather than the usual mixtape of the day where we get a mix of snippets, collaborations and a few exclusives from a forthcoming album, Red here brings brand new verses over a bunch of classic hip-hop beats and soul tracks which sounds interesting to say the least. Instrumentals borrowed include music by Nas, Jay-Z, Stevie Wonder, Eminem, Jadakiss, Justin Timberlake and KanYe West   Good news is that before we get the new album, Red wil also be releasing a free digital EP on us. Stream and/or download the tape for free @ DatPiff and Enjoy! '

01. "Intro"

02. "Just Don't Give A Fuck"

03. "Zip Lock" (Ft. Runt Rawg)

04. "My 2nd Lighter"

05. "Sourdeezel"

06. "Smoke, Drank, Fuck"

07. "WKYA Skit"

08. "Brick Intentions"

09. "Don't Want It Wth Us" 

10. "Smoke With Me"'

11.. 'Oour House"

12. "I'm Strait" (Ft. Ready Roc)

13. "Smoke N Henessy"

14. "We Gon' Take It There" (Ft. Icadon & Mr. Cream)

15. "Can't U See" (Ft. Tubi)

16. "Brick City Gangstas" (Ft. Ready Roc & Doggmann)

17. "My First Brick City Song"

18. "You're So Gangsta"

19. "Smoke All Day" (Ft. Melanie Rutherford)

20. "Outro"

DOWNLOAD @ DATPIFF.COM

[Album] TONY TOUCH - "PIECE MAKER 3"

"Piece Maker 3: Return Of The 50 MC's" works as an installment in two of Tony Touch's best and most memorable mixtape and/or album series. Released today via Soul Temple Records, Touch has choosen to premier the entire project through free streaming on always trustworthy DJBooth. Kicking things off with the DJ Premier produced collaboration with D-Stroy, you know you are in for a treat with this one.. Other highlights (at least on paper; just started listening myself) include tracks with Liknuts (Alkaholiks x Beatnuts), M.O.P., B-Real, Wu-Tang Clan, AG & Masta Ace, Rah Digga, KRS-One, Fat Joe & Sadat X, D-Block and many more; a good amount of the beats are produced by Beatnuts too, which is real exciting in its own right. Check out the tracklist for yourself if you're still not convinced to press that link, or head over to UGHH and order the CD.

1. Tony Touch / D Stroy – “Touch And D Stroy”
2. Rah Digga – “Freestyle”
3. A.G. & Masta Ace – “Double A”
4. Busta Rhymes, J. Doe, Reek da Villian & Roc Marciano – “Hold That”
5. M.O.P – “You Know You Love This”
6. Too Short, Kurupt & Xzibit – “V.I.P.”
7. B-Real – “Hit This (Freestyle)”
8. Papoose & Uncle Murda – “Brooklyn’s The Borough”
9. Sean Price & Guilty Simpson – “Random”
10. Black Thought – “Thought Process”
11. Styles P, Sheek Louch & Jadakiss – “B.A.R.S.”
12. Liknuts – “World Premier”
13. Raekwon, JD Era, Ghostface Killah & RZA – “Unorthodox”
14. Twista & Bun B – “Bounce”
15. Thirstin Howl III – ‘One Person Thirstin’
16. Willie The Kid – “Power Cypha”
17. Action Bronson & Kool G. Rap – “A Queen’s Thing”
18. KRS-One, Fat Joe & Sadat X – “Take It To The Bronx”
19. Termanology – “Aw Shux”
20. Joel Ortiz, Royce Da 5’9” & Crooked I – “Slaughter Session”
21. Eminem – “Untitled”
22. Redman, Method Man & Erick Sermon – “Let’s Go”
23. Prodigy – “Untitled”
24. N.O.R.E., Al Joseph & Reek da Villian – “Questions”
25. Gob Goblin, Starvin B & Spit Gemz – “Untitled”

"PIECE MAKER 3: RETURN OF 50 MC'S" 

Redman Ft. Mr. Cheeks & Doitall - "Hands Up"

This god-banging new Redman single was actually released on 4/20 to celebrate the annual weed day. However, I totally forgot to post it, but considering how dope Red, Doitall and Mr. Cheeks goes in over this smooth Easy Mo Bee knocker, better late than never. The cover art is crazy too!

12" Throwback - "THE POINTS"

Today the world remembers and honor the memory of Cristopher Wallace AKA The Notorious B.I.G., who tragically was gunned down 15 years ago to the day. Later today you'll be able to check out the compilation "Larger Than Life" here at The Lost Tapes, but first I want to drop a 12" Throwback post for one of my favorite posse cuts of all time - "The Points". Back in the '90s posse cuts were the big thing to do for remixes, soundtrack joints and compilations. However, not many of the countless posse cuts can match up to the epic nine minute hardhitter that is "The Points". The song was recorded for Mario Van Peebles' flick "Panther" which was released in 1995; a film set in the late 1960s about the Black Panther Party. "The Points" was the lead song from the soundtrack and I believe they wanted to pack as many emcees on one track as possible to mirror the militant army mindstate of The Panthers.

Featured on the song are many of the shining stars of the mid-'90s like Notorious B.I.G, Redman, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Coolio, Buckshot, Heltah Skeltah and Busta Rhymes. The 12" release that followed the O.S.T. featured no less than three different versions of the song, two of them stretching out close to ten minutes in length and all incredibly dope. We got Easy Mo Bee's boom bapish New York mix, which is also the original version if my memory serves me correctly. We got DJ U-Neek's rugged mix, which with it's sinister keys and overall dark mood sounds much like one of the rawer cuts from BTNH's debut album (which he of course produced). Last, but not least, Black Sheep's Mista Lawnge, a truly underrated producer, brings his version down to a five minutes edit, highlighting his favorite parts over some bass-to-your-face FUNK. Considering the amount of talent repsented here, it's amazing how little known this track really is. If you haven't heard this one or its remixes before you are definitely in for a treat right about now. 

01. "The Points" [Easy Mo Bee's Points Dirty]
02. "The Points" [U-Neek's Points Clean]

03. "The Points" [Mista Lawgne's Points Dirty]

V/A - "THE POINTS" VLS

SAMPLE WARS: "Smilin' Billy Suite Pt. 2"

The Heath Brothers was a US Jazz group that was active between 1975 to to 1998, with a few reunions after that to top it off. For hip-hop heads and beatmakers they are most recognized for the '75 classic "Shiny Billy Suite" which Q-Tip would use the main part of to create the mystical sounding "One Love" for a young Nas' debut album. Considering the immense street succees of that joint, Jimmy Heat's composition would clear several other hip-hop joints with his record. In this post I focus on samples that have been used by at least two artists to great success and asks my readers which one y'all think is the hottest. Let me know in the comments section. I will have both YouTube videos for streaming plus download links to the songs in question. Oh, and this great idea originally came from WuTangCorp Forum's own GHOSTLACED so I hope he don't mind me using this as a section on The Lost Tapes. Aight, here we go:

 

"Smilin' Billy Suite" appeared on the Heath Brothers duo debut in 1976, ""Marchin' On", which was released on Strata-O. In fact the eight track long LP's B-side was entirely dedicated to "Smilin Billy Suit" (hence the name), it's a four part suite. The one us hip-hop junkies are mostly interested in is Part 2 (seen in the video above and downloadable below) which was been borrowed and re-flipped for records by artists like Dr. Dre, Q-Tip/Nas, Amy Winehouse, The Beatnuts, Erick Sermon/Redman and Leschea to name a few. I'm going to focus on my three favorites though. Check it out!

Redman's third full-length, "Muddy Waters", might have been Red's redemption album; showing these fucks he's still one of the most lyrical and funniest emcees to ever grab a mic. Not that "Dare iz a Darkside" is a bad album at all (I actually think it's pretty damn sick) but at the time he was catching some flack for the way-out-there lyrics. The following offering in 1996 was more of a back to basics LP, with dirty funk-king Sermon once again handling 85% of production duties, and filled with the humorous top of the line lyricism.Red was officially back no matter who you were, even those who loved "Dare Iz...", most agrees that "Muddy Watters" is the best album in Red's catalouge. "Soopaman Lova 3" samples the Heath Brothers track in its beginning part, but after about half the song the beat switches up totally. And since the credits says both Red and Semon produced it, it might be so that Sermon produced the first part and Red the last one or vice versa. Either way, it's am incredible track and my personal favorite in the "Soopaluva" series,

This is the classic opener to the masterpiece that is The Beatnuts self-titled debut (personally I call it "Street Level" since I think it sounds better). This is one of the rare US productions by Lucién (real hip-hop heads know who he is) who lived in the country in early to mid-'90s and worked a bit with the Native Tounges Posse; he later moved back to Paris where he changed his name to Papalú and worked with the likes of Afro Jazz. On here, Lucien incorporates the "Shiny Suit" sample into his beat much more subtle than the two other producers. You can clearly hear vibraphone part floating in and out of the bacground of the beat which is pretty cool in it's own right and perfect for the record.

 

Last but not least on this three-tracks countdown is one of the most classic hip-hop song of all time, and even if The Beatnuts did it first, it was really on "One Love" that the Heath Brother's track really got to shine. Q-Tip's sole composition on Nasty's album heavily borrowed from the original song, addding some harder drums but mostly keeping it true to the formula.The mysterious production, amplified by the vibes, was the perfect backdrop for the young Nasir to spill his thoughts to and the overall record stands as a classic, still to this day.

Download all four songs in High Quaity below

SAMPLE WARS VOL. 1