I'm not the biggest fan of Apathy I've we're being one hundred, but the kid does have bars, a great ear for beats and gets some great guests on his record (just check the entire album he did with OC last year for example). On the first Friday of March (2/3) he is releasing "The Widow's Son" and based on the singles and credits this one will be worth to hear at least a couple of times. For the love of Hip Hop I'm posting all of the singles including the latest joint which features none other than Lil' Fame and Billy Danze over the appropriately titled self-produed "Stomp Rappers".
The real winners are the three earlier singles, produced by Nottz, Pete Rock (and featuring Pharoahe Monch) and DJ Premier's "The Order". Looking at the tracklist, it seems that as far as outside credits we have gotten all of the best shit aisde from the AG and DJ Mekalek-assisted "Never Fall Off".
You all know that D.I.T.C. released a brand new album, their first in 16 years not counting compilations, EPs and mixtapes. Although it was credited to D.I.T.C. Studios it was obviously a real crew album as it featured all new material from mainly Fat Joe, AG, OC, Diamond D with even Lord Finesse came out of retirement for a brand new verse. The Studios album was released as a joint venture by Slice-Of-Spice and the groups own album. Now the group is releasing their own version of the LP, entitled "Sessions" which drops today (October 28) on iTunes with hopefully physical copies to follow. The project features many of the same songs from the "D.I.T.C. Studios" album, either as-is or in remixed form, along with a few brand new cuts. Interestingly enough, the crews original classic "Worldwide" was met with a similiar fate. Due to members not being able to being on the same page the album was released in three different incarnations - "Worldwide" (CD), "The Official Version" (LP) and "All Love" (Japan). Either way I'm always down for some new D.I.T.C.!
Check out the video for the Diamond D, Lord Finesse and Fat Joe reunion on "Rock Shyt" (which also appeared on the Studios version) as well as the Showbiz remix of "It's Cold Outside" below. Cop the digital 12-track LP @ iTunes now.
D-Tension is an up-and-coming producer from Massachussets who's been working on his new project "The Violence Of Zen" for quite some time. The album will be entirely produced by D-Tension with the vocals coming from both esteemed legends such as Diamond D, AG and Tash as well as lesser known names. The first single is strapped with verses from D.I.T.C. alumni Diamond and AG and is a sureshot banger while the B-side features someone called Ghosts Of Jupiter. Check out and purchase music from D-Tension @ Bandcamp.
To be honest with y'all I wasn't blown away by the new D.I.T.C. album. The Crates is my favorite group in Hip Hop and I expect nothing but the best from them. So with that said the LP was still very good but compared to "Worldwide" and the likes it just didn't bring the same level of freshness to the table that I've come to expect from a crew of this caliber. OC and AG still brought it though and it was great to hear Fat Joe back in the fold again, but it didn't feel quite like the future classic I had my hopes set out for. To be fair though I only listened to the album a couple of times so far and it might very well be a grower.
One track that stood out for me on those early listens were the AG, OC and Fat Joe collaboration "It's Cold Outside" which is now getting the remix treatment courtesy of Showbiz and Motif Alumni. We all know Show is one of the most incredible beat masters around but the singles produced by newcomer Motif Alumni was truly a revelation. I really like how The Crates still give young cats (both producers and emcees) a chance at the spotlight with various D.I.T.C. projects. Titlted "The Test Session Remix" Show and Motif strips down the beat to its bare bones with thumping bass, boom bap drums and the occassional synth effect. Below you'll also find another headnodder that failed to make the final LP cut, "All Of That" - once again produced by Showbiz, this time featuring long-time associate A-Bless and the late, great Tashane. Visit DITC Ent @ Soundcloud for more exclusives and be sure to grab the pre-order of the new D.I.T.C. album from UGHH in your format of choice - 2xLP or CD.
I admit I am not at all familiar with Discourse but he has both produced this new AG banger called "Testimony" as well as directed the music video. Just like with his many excellent verses on the new D.I.T.C. album, here The Giant once again proves why he's one of the illest emcees of all time. Album coming mid-summer 2016 so be on the lookout and keep an eye on Close Cartel.
Also check out the first single off the "Megalomaniac" proejct, once again featuring a heavy guitar driven beat, a thumping drum and bass combo and some well placed cuts. The rapper here is a UK emcee (or is he Australian) called Lazy Grey, who doesn't hold a candle to AG if we're being honest with ourselves.
I am just as aware as you the lack of updates on The Lost Tapes the last six months or so, a place that once bragged about its daily updates and exclusive contents and again sorry about that. I hope some of you ocassionally check out what's happening here, because although I don't really have time for this blog at the moment (and to be honest the large amount of watered down music, even from the legends these days, have made me somewhat uninterested in any new hip-hop compared to just a couple of years ago). With that said I still will want to highlight some new releases that I feel are worthy of our time as well as the ocassional compilation and so on. So if you're still here, trusted reader, peace be upon you, and if not.. Well, so be it.
The first album that I want to talk to you about is Masta Ace's "The Falling Season" which dropped a week or so ago by now but as it has been a suprisingly low-key record as far as promotion goes I figure some heads might still have missed out on it. Ace used to be one of my favorite artists in this game for a long time, releasing some incredible album gems that I would argue are, if not masterpieces, then at least close to that classic status. I am of course talking about the two Masta Ace INC. albums as well as the undisposable "Disposable Arts" and the equally slamming "A Long Hot Summer". Nothing but bangers on those albums, excellent rhyming over excellent production that sounded fresh and cohessive despite featuring a multiple of producers and guest emcees sharing mic duties with Ace. If you remember, "A Long Hot Summer" was supposed to be Ace's final solo album, and as such he truly went out with a bang. Instead he was to focus the rest of his career touring and droping ocassional collaborative efforts with his groups EMC, Ace & Edo (G) and the MF DOOM produced (through recycled beats) concept album/mixtape "M.A. Doom: The Son Of Yvonne". All these albums had their joints to be sure, and Ace could still deliver hot verses, but I always felt that a large chunk of the production and overall themes left a lot to be desired on all of these albums.
Imagine then the hype when I found out that The Master was working on an official follow-up to "A Long Hot Summer", a real solo album with all original beats that told a story interweaving skits and songs into a cohessive concept album just like his last two highly acclaimed and aforementioned proper solo albums. That album is finally here - entitled "The Falling Season" which follows the young future underground star throughout his childhood years, all set to the production of newcomer KIC Beats. Of the latter, Ace has described the previously untested California beatsmith as a beatsmith that does not rely very much on samples but instead incorporates live instrumentations whenever possible. And this to me is the albums greatest weakness, although I suspect it might grow on me. But I really have a bug about these legendary emcees who on his recent projects got bangers upon bangers from some of the greatest underground producers in the industry (Domingo, MF DOOM, J-Zone, Beatnuts, Ayatollah, 9th Wonder, Khrysis, Dug Infinite, Marco Polo, DJ JS-One, and so on). While KiC Beats has some good tracks his best work hardly reach up to the levels of the great tracks supplied for Ace by the producers mentioned above, and it definitely hampers the project.
Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad album per se, just an underwhelming one when you consider how amazing music Ace can put out when the chemistry between producer and artist is on top. Still well worth checking out, and don't take my word for it because I've heard several people highly praise this LP so judge for yourself - you can stream the entire project below via Bandcamp before grabbing a digital copy from their site. More good news is that its available on vinyl, CD and cassette so if you dig this or just want to complete your collection I say go for it (check out HHV for prices and editions). Check out the EPK up top, and stream the album above - oh and one more thing guests include Cormega, AG, Your Old Droog, Wordsworth, Pav Bundy, Stricklin, Torae and The World Famous Supreme Team. Give it a spin below right away!
Remember when Masta Ace retired from the Hip Hop with the one-two punch that was "Disposable Arts" and "A Long Hot Summer". Since then he got around that real retirement by dropping collabo albums with Edo G, his group EMC and even a short concept album with MF DOOM, but although all had their moments of magic nothing touched the original Ace discography. Lucky for us heads last years rumours about a new proper Masta Ace album started bubbling and today I'm happy to present the first official single / video from that LP - "Me & AG", produced by Kic Beats. Both AG and Ace are two favorites and I can't say for sure I heard them on a track before but their flows and voices really compliment each other so be sure to crank it up, enjoy and stay tuned for a release date for "The Falling Season".
D.I.T.C. camp is on FIRE right now - we haven't had this much Diggin' projects lined up in years. This atonal piano banger called "Gimme The Mic" is dominated by AG's usual smooth punchlines and similies while the late Party Arty adds adlibs and a vaulted hype verse. Ray West does a great job with this joint as he was been accustomed too by now. Apparantly this is from an ucpoming album from the duo called "Live From The Balcony", set off by an OC track, and followed by eight additional songs shared between Party Arty and AG, all set to the tones of Ray West.
And of course in case you have missed it, AG, OC, Fat Joe, Showbiz and the guys have actually spent the last year in the new D.I.T.C. Studos (following the demolition of the old D&D) recordig a brand new abum - the first proper release from the crew since "Worldwide" in early 2000. I'm gonna wait to listen til' the full project is available but you can stream a good 19 minutes sampler and several singles over at their Soundcloud page. The physical project will be available to purchase from D.I.T.C.'s own website along with some nice hoodies and stuff - check it out.
It's been quite a while since I updated this blog as I'm sure you know- The thing is that I don't have the passion to continue do daily updates for a few reasons. No. 1 I barely listen to hip-hop at the moment (it's all about jazz like the Mwandishi sextet, all Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, Coltrane and so on); No. 2 I still check for new hip-hop but i don't feel that there's been much music up to par recently; No. 3 I have been employed as a full-time librarian so the time is quite precious. But besides that I'm letting the site be up throwing some ill updates every once in a while.
My first thought was to make a D.I.T.C. blog/website and since the start of The Lost Tapes I don't think I missed any new shit from the Diggin' crew as well as posted interviews by Diamond D, Buckwild and E-Blaze. 2014 and 2015 brought us plenthy of dope new releases from Lord Finesse, Showbiz & AG, OC (with Apollo Brown) and most importantly the Slice-Of-Spice sponosred "The D.I.T.C. Remix Project" which featured incredible modern takes on some of the D.I. classics updated by some of the finest proudcers around (it even included a previously never before heard Big L verse on Finesse's "Thick" mix - is this the original?). A while back D.I.TC. dropped the news about an upcoming brand new album and dropped some ill snippets and a single or two on their Soundcloud.
Since then they have posted a brand new track each and every week, featuring all living members of the crew - including a slamming Fat Joe verse on the guitar heavy boom bap monster "Rock Shyt", also featuring Lord Finesse (first verse in a decade) and Diamond D. You got a short AG banger produced by Buckwild, several heavy OC joints, D.I.T.C. fam member M. Gage getting busy over Showbiz productions, the soulful O & A collabo "16 & Out" which Lord Finesse truly blessed with that boom bap we all love., If you open the Soundcloud page and press play on the first song you'll be able to hear all uplaoded tracks in chronological order - creating somehwat of a new D.I.T.C. mixtape so don't fucking SLEEP!
For the last couple of months we've been getting loads of new tracks under the D.I.T.C. name as well as the promise of some sort of a new album on Slice-Of-Spice has made headlines. Over the last ten days two new songs has been uploaded to the official D.I.T.C. Soundcloud, making the total of leaked songs to seven (excluding the dope David Bars joints). This indicates to me that many of these are more teasers than actual album cuts which to me is a promising fact that the majority of the tracks are dope but perhaps not up to the level we have come to associate with the Diggin' brand.
The two latest songs are called "Get With The Program" and "16 & Out", respectively. The former is a OC solo joint in the vein of the previous "My City" though the production this time is handled by relative newcomer Duck Dodger. The latter is a guitar heavy boom bap interlude with AG (rhymes) and Lord Finesse (beats). As the title indicates it's only a strong 16 over a solid beat but it might still be my favorite out of all the singles released so far. This is the type of vibe I'm looking for on a new D.I. project. Big up to the crew for this one!
Ray West has undoubtedly been one of the most prominent producers in the Hip Hop underground for the last few years, supplying heat for full projects by John Robinson, Kool Keith, AG and OC as well as his LUVNY compilations. Back in 2014 he released a cassette called "The Snake Tape" exclusively on cassette, featuring emcees such as AG, Lord Tariq, L-Fudge, Kool Keith, Kurious and Dave Dar. The cassette featured selections from a compilation that a lot of heads unfortunately slept through on its initial release - "LUVNY" was originally marketed as the release of a super group of the same name, mentioning each featured artist (who appeared on a two song average) as a member of the crew. I personally see it more as a Ray West production album with the help of some dope emcees and close friends (Roc Marciano, AG, OC, Kool Keith, Kurious, Lord Tariq, etc.).
Both the original "Snake Chamer" and the "Snake Charmer Part 3" posted up top (just posted to Dave Dar's YouTube channel) both appear on a new reissue of "LUV NY" pressed up on a new 2 180 grams vinyl set. Looking at the tracklist it looks as all the fat has been trimmed (as those remixes), and some strong new cuts. If you're a fan of rugged New York hip-hop, DITC, great lyrics and beats, be sure to order the 2xLP @ FatBeats ASAP. You can also stream the full alubm below. A big shout out to the homie Ray West!
Beneficence is a rapper from New Jersey who has been putting in work for a long time, gaining the respect of many of the hottest rappers and producers throughout the East Coast due to his skilled rhyming and down to earth persona. Though he put out his first 12"s in 1994 and 1998, respectively, it wasn't until he hooked up with Ill Adrenaline Records in 2010 that I and many with me really came across his work. On his debut album "Sidewalk Science" for the label he worked extensively with Diamond D on the production while Roc Marciano, Truth Enola, Rob-O, The Legion, Diamond D, Lord Tariq, Prince Po and Frank-N-Dank shared microphone duties. His follow up, "Concrete Soul" was released a year later in 2012 and was even more packed with big names that had a lot of underground fanatics drooling. I'm talking beats and rhymes from Buckwild, K-DEF, InI, Lord Tariq, DJ Doo Wop, Gensu Dean, Confidence, Roc Marciano, B1, Herb McGruff, Da Beatminerz, AG, El Da Sensei, Nature, Masta Ace and many more. A true '90s hip-hop extravaganza if I ever heard one and funny thing is that it all worked in bringing back that sound we all love and cherish.
Now Beneficence and Ill Adrenaline is back for round three, and as they say if the formula ain't broke, don't fix it. "Basement Chemistry" is a little lighter on the guest features but still manages to pull some impressive rhymes and beats from Inspectah Deck, DJ Spinna, Da Beatminerz, AG, Masta Ace, MC Eiht, El Da Sensei, L'Orange, Chubb Rock, MindsOne, Confidence, Black Sheep + The Legion and more. The latter two appears on the single and accompanying video for "Make It Hot (Jingle Jangle v.2)", the sequel of Dres and Legion's classic 1993 single. You can peep the video above and stream the entire album below. The LP is available on CD, cassette and vinyl and can be purchased from UGHH now.
Another day, another solid D.I.T.C. single on deck as we're all getting ready for whatever project the legendary crew is working on for Slice Of Spice. This is the fifth single so far and if we add to that the additional 1:30 snippets sampler we've heard full songs, or excerpts from, seven songs recorded for the project so far. Now of course we don't know if this will actually end up on the album; for example for "MugshotMusic", Showbiz & AG dropped 5 or 6 singles from the album but instead put those on a mixtape as they continued recording so that in the end none of the original singles actually turned up on the vinyl and CD editions of the proper album. Either way I'm happy with as much new Diggin' I can get - its a damn group album from the best Hip Hop crew arond; legends in this game is a gross understatement.
The latest drop is a Showbiz produced knocker called "Gotta Be Classic" which continues Show's now signature sound of digital technology meets real hard hitting boom bap. As for the vocal part of the song the Oasis brothers (OC & AG) gets busy together which is always a good sign. While I haven't been truly blown away by everything they have released so far there's enough here to warrant a copy of the album to be purchased (Fat Joe is back in the fold, Diamond, Show, Finesse is making beats, and hoefully Buckwild will get involved) and there's even a new producer delivering crazy goods in true D.I. fashion - meaning that they have always been looking for new talented artists and producers and helping them get their shine on. If you have missed any of the previous singles head over to DITCEnt @ Soundcloud, press play and let it roll. And of course stay tuned for more info as soon as more information becomes known.
A few posts down I talked about hip-hop and the celebration of mediocricity and how it is bringing the culture down like never before. One of the artists that is the very definition of quality and original hip-hop music that's still heavily rooted in the musical traditions is New Jersey's finest producer, K-DEF, a producer I have championed probably more than any other since I started The Lost Tapes back in 2010. I've been a fan for years and as much as I love his classic sample based boom bap production of the '90s as part of the House Of Hits team with Marley Marl (the LP that truly put me on to his work was Tragedy Khadafi's underrated sophomore album "Saga Of A Hoodlum"), I must say that his huge output of both instrumental and vocal projects that his signing with Redef Records back in 2011 has showcased has really become the heart of his long career in my humble opinion. The way he manages to create some of the most musical and best orchestrated/arranged hip-hop productions entirely without the use of samples is nothing short of mindblowing and is the ultimate proof of the old question of man or machine when it comes to lacing banging shit.
Though I miss his production for other artists (which throught the years have included classics and overlooked gems for Ghostface Killah, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Lords Of The Underground, LL Cool J, World Renown and many, many more) his solo output with records such as "One Man Band", "Night Shift", "The Exhibit", the "Sneak Shot" and "For Def's Sake" EP that has really solidifed his place as one of the top 10 hip hop producers of all time. Following in the footsteps of all those aforementioned albums and EP:s, heavily arranged and well thought out original instrumental compositions that avoids the reliance of samples (and live instrumentation too for that matter!), 'Def and Redef has again teamed up for what sounds like a future classic of an album that dropped today. "Double Gemini" includes no less than 20 instrumental joints that flows together very well as a proper album, and includes an excellent bonus vocal cut featuring AG and Damu The Fudgemunk. Available on vinyl, CD and digital (including a free preview stream which you can check out below) as I'm listening now, and with the risk of sounding like a dick rider, I can't find enough good things to say about this...
And as if that wasn't enough the label/producer is also releasing a second full-lenght project at the same time (both are available on separate vinyl/digital and as a double CD featuring both)! The second project is entitled "The Way It Was" and is an inspiring look to the past, featuring never before released instrumentals mostly conjured up in the '90s when K-Def was still working the MPC and sampling jazz, soul and funk. Aside from classics like De'1's "Uneke", World Renown "How Nice I Am", Mic Geronimo's "For The Family" and a never before heard instrumental that was considered by KRS-One for inclusion on "Return Of The Boom Bap" the compilation also comes strapped with three (to my knowledge) previously unreleased 2010 tracks with Blu. Head over to Redefinition Records to order the CD including both albums or the separate vinyl editions of each LP while you stream the projects through their Official Bandcamp.
As you, my loyal readers, noticed in the last half of 2015 I really became somewhat disillusioned with hip-hop (and still am to a degree) and I will expand on this theme on an article I intend to write called "Hip Hop and the celebration of mediocricity" which I feel is a huge problem with the musical aspect of this culture right now. But as you notice by many updates today I feel that several artists are coming back out with that real shit that I've been longing to hear and provides a much needed counterbalance to the extreme wackness of the mainstream artists like Young Thug, Slim Jesus, Stitches, all that drill music bullshit and so on as well as the so called "underground movement" which I feel rehash old tried and tested formulas that have been done so much better in the past, without saying nothing new.
The album which is to be titled "D.I.T.C. Studios" is set to be released via Slice-Of-Spice (the same label who handled the remix album and all recent Lord Finesse releases) definitely seems to be an official follow up to 1999's excellent, yet somewhat underrated "Worldwide" LP on Tommy Boy. All active emcees is participating again (AG, Fat Joe, Diamond D, OC) with at least one apperance by Milano promised. Judging by the four singles released thus far the main difference seems to be that the crew has turned to more outside producers this time around which might be a wise move since interviews throughout the years have revealed that the main problem the members had with the direction of the debut was that the four D.I. producers wanted to stray in somewhat different directions. Following the soulful "Make 'Em So Proud" and my personal favorite "My City", the last week has seen two more singles from the album being unleashed on the highly anticipating public. "Diggin' Number" features AG, OC and Fat Joe and is produced by J. Clyde while Diamond D handles beats and production on "Brolic" which sports verses from AG, OC and Diamond himself. This ish is shaping up lovely so be sure to check out the joints below and be sure to support the real once this album drops - I know I will, and I barely bought a single hip-hop album in 2015.
Anyone who follows AG on Facebook knows how serious he's been taking his"Taste Of Ambrosia" project, an album he has worked on for years and that finally is about to drop this year. Following the single "Blow", The Giant has now come through with the second single off the project - complete with a music video. The track is called "Price Of Fame" and is another highlight for A's calm but potent flow and his knack for writing lyrics that's direct and piercing with a lot of emotion. Stay tuned for more info on the album as it progresses.
Now this right here is a true treat that I know a lot of real hip-hop heads like myself have been awaiting for years upon years by now... and that is the official reunion of D.I.T.C. as an actual group rather than a loose crew. There's been talk of a new album in interviews for a long time by now but I remember OC somewhere saying that for it to happen everybody would need to be on board and on the same page - meaning that without Fat Joe the chances of a new Diggin' in the Crates LP were slim to none. I had my doubts as if Joe would ever return to the fold as I haven't heard him claim D.I.T.C. since 1999 or somewhere around that time. The great news is that the whole group have been back in the studio recording brand new material that will be unleashed on the world sometime during 2016.
Not much information has been made available at this point but I've seen it mentioned as both an upcoming album and an upcoming compilation so we'll see were we will eventualy land. The one thing I do know is that the release will be a Co-Op between D.I.T.C. (the label) and Slice-Of-Spice, much like the excellent remix project that dropped back in 2014. This means that it will be available on both vinyl and CD which of course is fantastic news. So far one full track has been made available to the public - "Make 'Em Proud (Hold Up)", a collaboration between Fat Joe, AG and Diamond D over a Lord Finesse production (speaking of 'Ness it will be interesting to see whether or not he will be rhyming again). Just as I was writing this and going on to get the links for the music I noticed that a second single has just been released - a joint called "My City", produced by a to me unknown cat by the name of Motif Alumni (peep his Soundcloud - SKILLS!). In addition to the two singles the group's official Soundcloud page also holds 90 seconds snippets for an additional three songs. Most exciting news in quite some time, don't you think?!
Slamming new single from Andre The Giant, produced by The Last Genius. "B.L.O.W." is the first single from AG's upcoming album "Taste Of Ambrosia" so stay tuned for more A... Full track below.
Crazy Power Cypher from Tony Touch's Sirius XM show back in 2013, incredible line-up of some of the illest emcees around and now is as good time as any for a rewind. Loved the part when they start killing the "What's The Deal" beat, not to mention the "Say It" session at the end!
Such a sick single! KRS-One grabs Andre The Giant and Tragedy Khadafi for a lyrical extravaganza with a lot of meaning behind it. I'm not sure what project this joint will appear on but it's definitely a real banger so be sure to check it out right now.
