The FIRM - What's the verict?

The Firm album had a lot of things working against it at the time of its release. For one thing Hip Hop was just moving into the shiny suit era where popping cristal and living "the good life" was on constantly being flashed. Now granted a mafioso rap record inspired by Martin Scorse and "Scarface" could definitely get away with spending large money on champagne, fine cuisine and poppin' tags. but it was the shiny suit type beats that didn't work at all. Luckily for every "Firm All Stars" or "Fuck Somebody Else" there as a "Firm Fiasco" or a "Desperados". Secondly these were all New York cats, and some of the hottest cats on the streets at that particular moment at that, yet it was released and co-executive produced by Dr. Dre. This is not a knock on Dr. Dre but we all know that he was in between signture sounds from between his Death Row days and what would become his Aftermath/"2001" sound. That's not to say that Dre didn't deliver bangers but this was a point where everything he touched didn't turn to gold. There's excellent Dr. Dre productions on The Firm album, whcih in fact was the first Aftermath LP, such as "Phone Tap", "Firm Fiasco" and "Untouchable" and these is the type of records we wanted an entire The Firm album to sound like - nothng but street shit. Unfortunately that's only about 50% of what we ended up getting.

The other half of the production team and the co-execs were The Trackmaster who had a long standing relationhip with both Nas, AZ and Foxy Brown at this point but would also go on to manage Nature for his debut album on Colombia in 1999. Granted we can't lay the blame on The Good Doctor's doorstep, neither can we lay it at the extended Trackmasters family (Poke, Tone, L.E.S., Curt Gowdy and Dave Atkinson). Because both teams made great music for the project, and both teams made some equally weak music for the projet as well. If anything I think both the pros and cons should be shared equally between all the major players involved (Dre and his production team, The Trackmasters and their production team, Nas, AZ, Foxy and Nature).

What bugs me is that this could've been a true street classic that would be remembered to this day as a great follow-up to "It Was Written", but it just wasn't to be. Let's start with the negatives and build from there - while AZ absolutely murdered all of his verses, Nature did a good job and Foxy was being Foxy, Nas was occassionally phoning it in but to be fair he did have some excellent verses along the way. Second all the skits beside the intro and maybe one more could easily have found its way to the trash can. Biggie started the stupid sex skit on an Hip Hop album, but seriously who the hell want to listen to AZ or Foxy Brown fuck on record? Nature was dope on this LP so I'm not even going to mention the Cormega connection or what could have been as a negative. What I will mention is the several songs that were either delted from the final tracklist or appeared on B-sides or mixtapes and that could have made the LP a whole lot stronger. But we will get to all that later.

The album had the mafiosos concept set up all the way back with "Affirmative Action" ('It Was Written') and "La Familia" ('Ill Na Na') and the album starts of brilliantly in this fashion with the intro, "Firm Fiasco", the excellent "Phone Tap" and "Executive Decisions". This is quickly then derailed with sugar coated BS like "Firm Family", "Firm All Stars" and "Fuck Somebody Else". However for the first four songs we are on our way to a classic album, Dr. Dre really did his thing on "Phone Tap" and "Firm Fiasco" mainly working together with Chris "Glove" Taylor wo's been around since 'The Chronic' days. The drum programming is straight slamming, the guitar melodies and the occassional electric piano chords and female vocalizations make both "Phone Tap" and "Firm Fiasco" nothing short of Dre classics. And while "Firm Fiasco" is a great introduction to the crew by Foxy, Nas and AZ (god damn, did AZ not murder that verse) but it's "Phone Tap" that is the lyrical masterpiece with Nas and AZ going back and forth over a tapped phone, with the two trying to talk through the static without incriminating themeselves. Dr. Dre plays the phone-tapping fed on the hook here,

"Executive Decisions" is the exact type of shit this album should've sounded more like as it's similiar i vibe and style to both "Affirmative Action" and "La Familia". Nas has a sick opening verse and the hook is straight up crack over those lovely strings but it might just be Nature who shines the brightest here. That is until you hear AZ's unbelivable flow that is though. All in all a monster of a record and at this point people had all the expectations in the world that this LP would be solid as hell.

So then we get to "Firm Family", a Dre produced collaboration between Nature and Dre. This isn't actually a bad record, but it's a Dr. Dre record, complete with the West Coast vibe and live instrumenttion by Sean Cruse (guitar), Kamara Kambon (keys), Jerry Moore (flute), Mike Elizondo (bass) and a summer-type cookout vibe interpolation of Sexy Mama by The Moments (1973). Both Nature and Dre does a good job but once again this should never have been on The Firm record. We needed beats like the three preceeding joints, "Affirmative Action" or "East Coast / West Coast Killaz". Oh well, at least it's a decent summer jam.

Well The Trackmasters sure ain't going to be worse for wear in producing something godawful that have absolutely no business on the album. Unlike "Firm Family" which was actually a tight joint on its own, "Firm All Stars" is The Trackmasters getting jiggy with it and though Nas is on the hook the verses comes courtesy of Foxy Brown and her little brother Pretty Boy. They had joints like "Time" and "State Vs. Sosa" and they thought this wa the way to go? What the actual fuck!

"Fuck Somebody Else", another Dre production, another Foxy Brown solo song. I don't know what the hell these guys were thinking here becasuse this is just wack. It's of course an interpolation of "You're Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else" by the Jones Girls from 1979. This ain't no Firm shit!

"Hardcore" is once again Poke and Tone getting jiggy with it while Esco and Foxy is going back and forth. While the beats are a little to radio friendly circa '97 for my liking I can dig this as Nas and Foxy got bars on here. And speaking of bars the next joint is really an interlude produced by Dr. Dre and Mel-Man called "Untouchable" featuring a verse Nas ghostwrote for Hose of The Bravehearts. Why the fuck didn't thiey give this the song full treatment, it's that ill.

"Five Minutes to Flush" is Nature solo song, and a concept song at that. As Dre was constantly doing around this time he made interpolations of classics (sort of like Puffy but way better) and here he and Glove is remaking "Five Minutes of Funk" into "Five Minutes to Flush". Basically the Feds are at Nature's door and he better make rid of that drugs he got stashed ASAP. I fuck with this cut, it got that slamming Dre funk, the Roger Troutman talkbox, and an excellent take by Nature. But should it have been on this album, that's the question?

"Desperados" on the other hand is vintage Firm shit, produce by Curt Gowdy, Poke and Tone who's guitar driven beat is instantly rewind worthy. The only fault here is that this joint was originally 6 minutes long as proven by the original leak on a DJ Clue tape. On this album version Nas and Foxy Brown's verses are nowhere to be found and as excellent as Canibus' verse is I'm not sure who actually took it between him, AZ and Nature. Now if we can only get perfect CDQ/NO DJ FLAC version of the original version.

Now we have reached the most commercil record on an album that already has too many of them. Even the producers Poke and Tone kind of dissed this record (in fact L.E.S. produced it while Dr. Dre mixed it and added some live instrumentation). The idea was to come out the gate with a commercil single but you had fucking Nas, AZ and Dr. Dre, what you needed was street singles and a a street album. What's funny is that the remix known as the "World Famous" remix and appeared on some versions of the 12" single was so much better on all levels.

Noreaga appears on "I'm Leaving" together with Nature, and brings a lot of that "War Report" style while Poke and Tone does an excellent job with the guitar heavy production and heavy drum programming. Nature's final verse is some heavy shit for sure. AZ and Haf-A-Mill did a lot of heavy records together and "Throw Your Guns" surely does not dissapoint as the album closer in any way shape or form. Drum programming and bass line is knocking and the guitar sample and the occassional cuts makes for an excellent album closer.

But god damn, is this album frustrting or what? It features probably 30 minutes of really dope music with excellent lyrics, strong beats by some of the best producers in the game, coool concepts, but the remaining 25 minutes is hardly what i would think anyone would wanted from a Firm album. And when you take into account that there's at least 20 minutes of unreleased material that never made the final cut it really tells you how dope this LP could have been. Download "Time" produced by Dr. Dre, and featuring Nas, AZ and Nature below as well as the World Famous remix of "Firm All Stars", featuring Mary J. Blige on the hook! 


Download @ ZippyShare
01. "Love is Love" (AZ / Nature)
02. "Affirmative Action Remix" (Nas/Cormega/Az/Foxy Brown)
03. "Firm Biz Remix" (The Firm)
04. "Time" (The Firm / Nas / AZ / Nature)

[Video] GHOSTFACE Ft. AZ, KOOL G RAP & TRE WILLIAMS - "The Battlefield"

While Ghostface's "36 Seasons" seriously lacked any replay value in my book, it did feature some great performances from everyone involved, and never as much as on the powerful album opener "The Battlefield". Supplied by the excellent crooning of The Revelations' original singer Tre Williams, three of the hip-hop games finest storytellers and all around emcees each paints a vivid introduction of the characters they are playing for the audio film. Produced by the great Fizzy Womack with Brooklyn based The Revelations providing the instrumentation.

[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"

AZ - "Vintage"

Unfortunately not a joint from AZ's long-awaited "Doe Or Die II" project, but whatever all AZ is good AZ. I wasn't that big fan of Ghostface's "36 Seasons" (or rather I liked it very much first, but I found it to had zero replay value), but AZ's five verses in character was absolute hip-hop excellence. "Vintage" is a single from producer Rodney Hazard's upcoming "Victim Volontueer" which drops March 15. Cuts by DJ Mekalek.

[2014 Review] GHOSTFACE KILLAH - "36 Seasons"

There's no question in my mind anymore that Ghostface Killah isn't one of the absolutely greatest emcees alive. The criteria for that for me is a guy who has a rhyme style that has inspired loads of others emcees styles, is mad charismatic, has something that sets him apart like being a great storyteller, is great at picking beats, has a flow and delivery out of this world annd last but definitely not least their catalouge. Ghost without a doubt fills all that criteria without a doubt, and with each album he has released I'm constantly amazed that he managed to do it again. Sure there were "Bulletproof Wallets", but if you listen to the "original" version of that album you'll realize it's pretty much a lost classic. 

On December 9, The Masked Assassin returned with his tenth solo album (not counting Wu-Tang Clan, Theodore Unit projects, etc - damn this guy is hardworking), "36 Seasons". It is somewhat of a spiritual successor to his colaboration with Adrian Younge ("12 Reasons to Die") which I labeled as the best album of 2013 with its immaculate production that mixed the vibes spagetthi western soundtracks by Ennio Morricone and vintage RZA productions with a well-crafted story from Ghost that ran throughout the whole album. And just like that album, "36 Seasons", got a lot of similarities right off the bat. Tony Starks brings out another strong concept album with a sonic tour de force of ghetto life, set over nothing but live instrumentation. There's a lot of differences between the two albums as well though, but in a way it does feel like a spiritual successor. And what's even iller is that this will be sort of a unconnected trilogy as Ghost is currently working with the great jazz trio BadBadNotGood in the creation of an album called "Sour Soul", set for early 2015. It's easy to see that the once masked Wu-Tang member is willing to take a lot more risk once he went independent and left Def Jam.

"36 Seasons" is a very pleasant suprise, and one of Ghost's most coherrent projects in many years, and the main reasons for that is the story that runs throughout the entire album as well as the soulful backdrops produced and performed by the superb The Revelations. The live band, consisting of bassist Josh Werner, Wes Mingus on guitar, Borahm Lee on keys, drummer Gintas Janusonis, and vocalists Tre Williams and Rell, has already made contributions to two Wu-Tang compilations ("Legendary Weapons", "Chamber Music"), a remix album by Cormega, and several projects under their own name. I think their work with Ghostface here might be their finest and most refined work yet. As Starks always been a soulman, creating incredible hip-hop from classics by the likes of Delphonics, The Sylvers, Willie Hutch, and Otis Redding, The Revelations has long been terrific at playing soul with a hip-hop vibe, as evident by songs like their rendition of "I Forgot to be Your Lover" on "The Man With The Iron Fists" and their solo projects with Tre Williams and Rell. For Ghost they cook up a batch of tracks that packs plenty of that '70s soul shit, yet always infused with a raw hip-hop beat - agressive guitar, Rhodes, hard drums, and melodic basslines forms the center of this experience on a strictly musical level. The main thing is that it always sounds like a Ghostface record, even on the two songs that our main artist isn't even featured, and having worked with The Wu before The Revelations has really found their way into the Wu sound.

The story as plotted out here by GFK is the variation of a quite simple ghetto story that's been told many times before in both movies and on rap songs, but there's a bunch of interesting twists and turns in the story that keeps the listener on his toes throughout. Every guest apperance is focused and has a meaning, and every guest emcee and singer fills a purpose in playing a role in the story. I'm not gonna break down the entire narrative, but a quick overlook reveals that Ghostface plays a former hood star that's been on iron vacation for nine years and come backs to his neighborhood only to find that a new boss, played by Kool G Rap, has taken over the block and is involved in a lot of foul play like selling drugs to kids. Ghost's childhood friend, played by AZ, is now a crooked cop playing both sides of the fence, who still looks out for Starks. Other supporting players include Pharoahe Monch as somewhat of a mad scientist, Shawn Wigs and NEMS as members of Ghost and G Rap's posses, respectively, and singer Rell. In other words it's very much put together like a movie, both with the cinematic score, the main star, a supporting cast, a action-packed narrative and even the romantic interlude of the incredible The Revelations solo track "It's A Thin Line" that chills things down for a moment.

Ghost has always been revered as one of the greatest story tellers of rap, so it's extremely interesting to see him take on an entire concept album based on one idea, and he does so with energy and verses that always comes off as gripping. However as he is constantly tied to follow the narrative, you miss the old Starks that dropped verses filled with more slang than is humanily comprehensible. He's constantly solid though, although the best verses on the album undoubtedly belong to AZ who not only has the most interesting role but attacks it with such raw intensity, mad flows and unbelivably well written verses. Whenever "Doe Or Die II" finally drops, the rap game should definitely take cover. Talking about specific songs seems redudant as this undoubtedly is a project you listen to from start to finnish, but I do want to mention the agressive opening track "The Battlefield" which sets up the story by introducing each of its three major players - having AZ, Kool G Rap and Ghostface Killah on a concept track.. And on a ridiciously raw beat nontheless? Forget about it!

Undoubtedly one of the best albums of the year, and Ghostface continues to be the reigning champ of hip-hop catalouges. Salute!

[Album] GHOSTFACE KILLAH - "36 Seasons"

NPR is also premiering the new album from Ghostface Killah, called "36 Seasons", which has been one of my most anticipated joints of the year. Are there seriously people still questioning that Ghost got the best catalouge in the game at this point? This latest LP is no different as Ghost goes cinematic over straight up beautiful soul music provided by The Revelations, with additional co-production coming from Fizzy Womack and The 45 King. Add a whole load of guest apperances from Kool G Rap and AZ and you got one of the most exciting projects of 2014. December 9 is the date, Tommy Boy is the label, and the pre-order's up @ iTunes, UGHH or HHV. Seems to be only CD for now, but the disc comes packaged together with a 20 page comic book, and according to the HHV info it's a 2xCD which also includes all the instrumentals..

01. "The Battlefield" (Ft. Kool G Rap, AZ & Tre Williams)
02. "Love Don't Live Here No More" (Ft. Kandice Springs)
03. "Here I Go Again" (Ft. AZ & Rell)
04. "Loyalty" (Ft. Kool G Rap & Nems)
05. "It's A Thin Line..." (Ft. The Revelations)
06. "The Dogs of War" (Ft. Kool G Rap & Shawn Wigs)
07. "Emergency Procedure" (Ft. Pharoahe Monch)
08. "Double Cross" (Ft. AZ)
09. "Bamboo's Lament" (Ft. Kandice Springs)
10. "Pieces of the Puzzle" (Ft. AZ)
11. "Homicide" (Ft. Shawn Wigs & Nems)
12. "Blood in the Streets" (Ft. AZ)
13. "Call My Name"
14. "I Love You For All Seasons" (Ft. The Revelations)

GHOSTFACE - "36 SEASONS" @ NPR

[Album] J-FORCE Presents "Cadillac Respect"

When people think about The Future Flavas show they obviously  gonna think about the nr. #1 DJ:s Marley Marl and Pete Rock, and probably all of the incredible exclusive remixes and on-the-air songs that was played on air almost weekly. The Future Flavas remixes always stood for high quality, but the fact is that it wasn't Marley and Pete that was responsible for all these goodies though they often get that credit in the internet generation. Of course both of them put in a lot of work and created some still unreleased classics, but they also had lesser known but incredibly skilled beat wizards up there with them that was also responsible for some terrific remixes and exclusives. One of these guys were J-Force, who was down with Marley Marl for a long time, and released two now very rare self-released 12":s between 1995 and 1996 with "Bullseye" and "For All Thoze". Since then he has scored music for a lot of hip-hop films such as the "Beef" series, "Rock The Bells" and Bling" among others.

With his long brown hair, he looked almost more like a punk rock kid than a highly talented boom bap musician but looks can definitely deceive as both his work on Future Flavaz and his own records was more than proof off. Following him leaving Future Flavaz he kind of faded into the shadows, but as of last year the producing spitter has dug deep into his archives, releasing some previously unreleased solo tracks on a self-released 12" and even more exciting a 22 track remix compilation called "Cadillac Respect". It's the latter that I'm going to focus this post on, as it is an incredible listen that features several of his rare Future Flavas remixes that has never been released anywhere else, a long with some other exclusive mixes that is sure as hell going to make you respect this kid and his SP1200. There's also a few cuts featuring J. Force showing off his rhyme skills, and once again he's no joke on the microphone either, The remixes include revisits of classics by Kool G Rap, Inspectah Deck / Pete Rock / Kurupt, AZ, Nas, Ghostface, Nas/Prodigy, Black Moon, The UN, Mic Geronimo and more.

You can order a copy of "Cadillac Respect" a long with a T-Shirt @ Cadillac Respect.com where you can also read a whole lot more about J-Force, his past and his future endeavour. Below you can also stream the entire project for free, either via DatPiff or J-Force's official site mentioned above. You can also download the entire project for free via Hulkshare. Don't miss out on this sickness!

GHOSTFACE KILLAH Ft. AZ - "Blood On The Streets" / "Double Cross"

As you should know Ghostface Killah is not only on the wall for Wu-Tang Clan's soon-to-be-here "A Better Tomorrow" but he's also coming out with his own solo album on December 3. "36 Seasons" is something like a spiritual follow-up to "12 Reasons to Die", not only because it's produced around a live band but also because the entire album forms a crime narrative and even comes with a comic book. The last two singles from the LP both features AZ who does a great job as usual; "Blood On the Streets" is also produced by one of my favorites, The 45 King. You can pre-order the physical album on CD or LP from Get On Down or Amazon.

GHOSTFACE KILLAH Ft. Kool G Rap, AZ & Tre Williams - "The Battlefield"

Ghostface honestly pretty much never dissapoints - not only does he have talent out of this world, but he knows what his fans want to hear from him. As you should be well aware of The Masked Killer is releasing his new studio album "36 Seasons" on December 9, featuring live music by The Revelations and guests such as Kool G Rap, AZ, NEMS and Rell. The first single "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" set things off lovely, and now the second single is here - a pure hardcore jam featuring both G Rap and AZ as well as fantastic soul crooner Tre Williams. Peep "The Battlefield" above, get ready for December 9 (pre-order @ Amazon) and make sure to check out the recent Lost Tapes compilation "Still Killin' It" featuring the majority of Ghost apperances released the last couple of years. Man, this album is shaping up lovely!

GHOSTFACE KILLAH - "Love Don't Live Here Anymore"

Like I said in the post below, there's a lot of new Wu project to flood the market the coming couple of months. Only a few days after "A Better Tomorrow" hit stores, Ghostface Killah reveals that he is dropping his brand new full-length LP "36 Seasons" on December 9. Like he on his previous LP, the incredible "12 Reasons to Die", performed over music entirely composed and performed by Adrian Younge and his band Venice Dawn this time around the music is handled by the very talented The Revelations whom he previously worked with quite extensively on the albums "Legendary Weapons" and "Chamber Music". The guest list is quite heavy as well to say the least, featuring five apperances from AZ, Kool G Rap on three tracks, as well as cameos from Rell, Pharoahe Monch, Tre Williams, Kandace Springs and more. The first single is the soul infused groove "Love Don't Live Here Anymore", classic Ghost!

01. "The Battlefield" (Ft. Kool G Rap, AZ & Tre  Williams)

02. "Love Don't Live Here No More" (Ft. Kandace Springs)

03. "Here I Go Again" (Ft. AZ & Rell)

04. "Loyalty" (Ft. Kool G Rap & Nems)

05. "It's A Thin Line Between Love and Hate" (Ft. The Revelations)

06. "The Dogs of War" (Ft. Shawn Wigs & Kool G Rap)

07. "Emergency Procedure" (Ft. Pharoahe Monch)

08. "Double Cross" (Ft. AZ)

09. "Bamboo's Lament" (Ft. Kandace Springs)

10. "Pieces of the Puzzle" (Ft. AZ)

11. "Homicide" (Ft. Nems & Shawn Wigs)

12. "Blood in the Streets" (Ft. AZ)
13. "Call My Name"
14. "I Love You For All Seasons" [Instrumental]

In related news, Raekwon just dropped a remix to "All About The Money" which also features Ghostface. Check it out below, thanks to WTCFoLife Blog.

[EP] JASON DEAN - "Straight Out The Projects"

Jason Dean is a new name to me but his album "Straight Out the Projects" really is a reminder of why I originally fell in love with hip-hop. The Norweigan producer seamlessly blends smooth soul and hardcore rhythms which he attracts some of the illest spitters around. How about Masta Ace, Cormega, AZ, M.O.P, Ruste Juxx, Big Shug, Prop Dylan, and Rasco? With only six songs it's a quick but definitely satisfying listen, it will be interesting to say what this Scandinavian boom bap fanatic will bring to the table in the future. The entire EP is available to stream for free via Spotify below, and can be purchased from iTunes or Amazon so don't sleep!

01. "Da Ville" (Ft. Masta Ace)

02. "Bring it Hardcore" (Ft. M.O.P.) [Video]

03. "Sniper Scope" (Ft. Ruste Juxx) [Video]

04. "3rd of September" (Ft. Rasco)

05. "Blood Drip Drops" (Ft. Prop Dylan, Big Shug & Paul B)

06. "Not Too Late" (Ft. AZ & Cormega)

JASON DEAN - "STRAIGHT OUT THE PROJECTS" @ SPOTIFY

[Video] AZ - "Red Magic"

AZ's hot summer time vibe single "Red Magic" gets the visual treatment. I've dug this song all along, and the first video from "Doe Or Die II" of course means we're one step closer to an official release.

DJ DOO WOP - "Mixtapes Not Dead II: Anarchy"

Bronx's veteran DJ Doo Wop is back with a SLAMMING mixtape that is guaranteed to get a whole lot of spins these last Summer weeks. 77 minutes in length, Doo Wop seamigly effortlessly blends a wde array of different hip-hop/R&B/bounce styles; including both new tracks, classics and the occassional exclusive and freestyle. Highlights on "Mixtapes' Not Dead Pt. 2- Anarchy"include a mind-bending freestyles by AZ and Bo$$ Money, respectively, as well as music by MOP,  Ransom, Scarface, Action Bronson and many more. Perfect on a car or train ride, plus it's perfectly fittted on a CD-R.

01. "Twitter Thug Intro"
02. "DJ Premier Speaks"
03. "Doo Wop Freestyle"
04. "AZ Freestyle"
05. Fred The Godson/Reef - "Hustle Freestyle"
06. "Don Blaq Freestyle"
07. M.O.P. - "187"
08. Troy Ave/Maino - "Something Epic"
09. Cormega/AZ/Redman/Styles P - "Mars Dream Team"
10. Ransom/Joe Budden - "Vietnam"
11. BeenOfficial - "Why U Lie"
12. "Money Boss Freestyle"
13. Lord Tariq/Rick Ross - "Blow"
14. Scarface/Boaz - "Hard to Forget"
15. Rah Digga/Planet Asia - "Doomsday Preppers"
16. Busta Rhymes/Murda Mook - "I Ain't One Of Them Niggaz"
17. "Lenah Cane Freestyle"
18. M. Reck/Tony Yayo - "No Delayin'"
19. Po Gotti/Bo Thirst - "Paranoid"
20. NYG'z Ft. G-Dep - "G-Shit"
21. Cassidy - "Anybody & Erreybody"
22. Shawn Slugs - "Cookin' With Grease"
23. Starr Nyce - "MCM"
24. Delatini/D. Dolares - "DKN"
25. "Loch Freestyle"
26. Wais P (of Da Ranjah's) - "Freestyle)
27. Camron - "LaLaLa"
28. Action Bronson - "Easy Rider"
29. Raekwon - "When I See You"
30. Lil' Kim - "Hot Nigga Jackpot"

AZ - "Red Magic"

AZ's "Doe Or Die II" has been high up on most hip-hop head's wish lists for quite some time now so it's good to see a new sign of the upcoming release. "Red Magic" sees AZ delivering a classic example of why he is so highly revered, set over a smooth flowing track by previous Da Beatminerz's member Baby Paul together with Beat Fanatik. Nice!

[EP] PHONIKS - "Summer Nights"

Portland, Maine producer Phoniks had me totally hooked when I had his funky blend of jazz, soul and hardcore beats on his remix EP "Autumn in New York" earlier this year. Since then he has released the equally impressive original project "Dephacation" with Virginia duo Awon & Dephlon, and this guy is definitely not sleeping cuz he's back with yet another crazy fat remix EP. Underlining classics by Jay-Z, Nas, AZ, Big L, 2Pac, Biggie, and Black Moon with what has already become his trademark sounds the smooth sounds of "Summer Nights" is definitely one you want to have in your earphones this summer.

[comp] AZ - "NO HOLDING BACK"

Considering that Anthony Cruz enterted the game with one of the most memorable verses of all time, as the sole guest artist on one of the top albums hip hip has ever released back in 1994, and continued hus career with an album almost every year, never losing his unique lyrical bravado, it's high time that we at the Lost Tapes brings forward an AZ compilation worthy of its name. I've been woking on picking out the songs, sequencing it and making sure it's a thorough reppresentation of A's work from his beginnings until tody. The idea was born when me and my homie Big Rob bought tickes to a Copenhagen Concert featuring Kool G Rp AZ, and DJ Doo Wop - a definite must go in other Words. Unfortunately, G Rap couldn't get a passport to enter the country, and for a time it seemed that the entire thing had been bown off. Luckily, AZ and Doo Wop eventually turned up for a 60 minutes set, wnich saw A running thtough both a new song from "Doe Or Die II" (whcih sounded absolutey marvelllous) and a vast Array of his crowd-pleasing classics. Material included amongst many others "Mo Money, Mo Murder", "Sugar Hill", "Rather Unique", The Format". "The Come Up" and so forth.. The thing is that the Concert really breathed new Life in my interest in AZ¨s Music, and since then albums like "A.W.O.L.", "The Format", "´Undeniable", "Pieces Of A Man" and of course "Doe Or Die"´. I also started digging through A's guest spots, B-sides and soundtrack joints, whih interestingy enough consists of way less material than people like Nas, Ghostface, Raekwon, Jay-Z or Pharoahe Mnch. But what he does have is almsot all quality, making for a really tight compilation that I think a lot of y'all will enjoy the shit out of!

There's no question that AZ is one of the best lyiricists we have had, whether it comes to flow, delivery, writing, cadence, ear for beats, catalouge, name, you name it... Therefore, it's extremely strange that A is often overlooked when discussing top 5 emcees, or even top 10, a list he definitely places on. I Believe many people listened to "Doe Or Die" and recognized it as the Classic i was, was slightly dissapointed by his next albums and might have lost interest but with albums like "A.W.O.L." and nn"The Format" , Cruz proved once and for all that he's still capable of dropping absolutely superior albums on a regular basis... 

With this compilation, that follows A throughout his entire career without making any use of retail album maerials, I want to present yet another aspect of what makes AZ such a great emcee. The comp consists of roughly 60 minutes spread over 18 tracks, featuring a wide range of AZ's different styles - from the ruff hardcore cuts like the rare "Quiet Money (Blood Money)" with Half-A-Mill and Animal, from The Union's 1999 LP; the high-profle remixes by Erick Sermon, RZA and Buckwild of the "Doe Or Die" VLS'; the more commercially tinged "Pieces Of A Man" style with the original lead single from that album ("Hey AZ") that ultimately were cut from the album due to a sample clearance problem, to some of the more recent material like Buckwild's "My Niggaz" and Wade Waters slamming "Speak On It". Other producers and rappers apperaring on this tape includes Cormega, Nature, Mack 10, Easy Mo Bee, Kid Capri, Papoose, Statik Selektah, A+, Raekwon, RZA, Common, etc. In other words this should be in your phone or iPod:s for a long while!

Last but not least, I want to give a big shout out to my main man Chris Moss for always coming through, as he here helped me edit the intro from 2:05 to 1:14, cutting out all the unneccesary stuff for an intro. I'm talking about the recently released freestyle that A did on the "Genesis" beat which I felt was the perfect into, not only because it' an amazing verse that represents where A's at right now, at the same time as it is set over the instrumental intro to "Illmatic" intro where of course the world got introduced to Cruz for the first time.. One last thing, since I don't have Photoshop anymore I have just used a picture of A without any text for the cover. Enuff on that now - while we all wait for the long awaited "Doe Or Die II", download this immaculate mix, press play and TURN IT THE FUCK UP!!

01. "Genesis (Intro)" [2013]

02. "Quiet Money" (Ft. Half-A-Mill & Animal; The Union) [1999]
03. "VI: Professional Style" (Ft. Cormega & Nature) [2011]
04. "Good Life" (Ft. Mack 10; Easy Mo Bee) [1999]
05. "Gimme Yours" [Erick Sermon Remix] [1995]
06. "Doe Or Die" [RZA Remix] (Ft. Raekwon) [1995]
07. "Gangsta Shit" (Ft. Doo Wop) [2003]
08. "Serious" (Ft. Nas) [2005]
09. "Holla Back" (Ft. Kool G Rap; Nawz & Tito) [2002]
10. "No Holding Back" (Ft. Cormega; Statik Selektah) [2007]
11. "Life Goes On" (Ft. Common, Case & Kid Capri) [1998]
12. "A+Z" (Ft. A+) [1996]
13. "Hey AZ" (Ft. SWV) [1997]
14. "Knowledge is Freedom" (Ft. Papoose) [2009]
15. "My Nigga" [2012]
16. "Burglar Rap" [2003]
17. "Speak On It" (Ft. Wade Waters) [2006]
18. "Your World Don't Stop" [Buckwild Mix] [1995]

AZ - "NO HOLDING BACK"

[Album] GUMMY SOUL - "Bap City: The Video Remixes"

A lot of cool new albums up for free streaming today, which is always welcome and if you have a calm night at home just listening to new music this is a great night for sure. Next in line is the new project from producer Gummy Soul a.k.a. Amerigo Gazaway, who since he first entered the scene with immaculate remix projects for De La Soul vs. Fela Kuti and Souls Of Mischief, has continued his fast-rising career with both original material and more remixes and mash-ups of classic '90s hip-hop. 

"Bap City: The Video Remixes" is available as an eight track digital audio album where you can name your own price for download, as well as a DVD release featuring all the videos for the remixes from the project - which you can check out here. The DVD is available for $10 USD and starts shipping out tomorrow. The mini album features Gummy Soul's blending his vintage sound of jazz and funk samples, knocking drums, well placed cuts, and melodic interludes with vocals from some absolute hip-hop classics such as AZ's "The Fomat", M.O.P./Heather B's "My Kinda Nigga", "Wrong Side of the Tracks" by Artifacts, Teflon's "Get Mine", G Rap's"It's A Shame", The Beatnuts' "Hit Me With That", "Hustllin'" by Smoothe Da Hustler and last but not least an immaculate version of Tha Liks / Diamond D collaboration "The Next Level" - in other words a great front to back listen,, so what are you waiting for?!

[EP] DEF DEE - "The Throwback Remixes"

Following Def Dee's cooking introduction to the world with last month's "33 And A Third", the Seattle producer keeps rocking with a brand new EP. 7 tracks deep, Dee shows off his remixing skills by touching up classics by Jay-Z, AZ, Da Bush Babees, Kane, InI, Brand Nubian and Nas. Free download via MMG, check it out!

[Mixtape] AZ - "LODB: Last Of A Dying Breed"

While we're enjoying the two recent, straight fiery singles from AZ's forthcoming "Doe Or Die Pt. II". The Brooklyn born-and-bred emcee gives us a NICE prequel mixtape entitled "L.O.D.B.  - The Last Of a Dying Breed" to hold us over for the final product. And as such it does a great job; hosted and out together by AZ and DJ Mr.FX of The Untouchables. Anthony Cruz delivers a great mix of previously unreleased material, a few exclusives, and some Classic material which creates a banging tape that are best played in front-to-back fashion. Baby Paul, formerly of Da Beatminerz, has been said to be one of the producers of "Doe or Die II" and has also had a hand in crafting this tape with AZ and host DJ MR.FX. While you are likely to have Heard at least a chunck of what's on here, this is a real dope listen as not only the 8th wonder known as AZ rips it to the best of his ability, but tracks include ameos from Raekwon, Twista, DJ Doo Wop. ners Ray J and Dwelé, as well as the two prreviously released singles from the LP, A must-hear for any dedicated fan of Cruz. Below you can stream or even/download the entire project below thans to the good guys over @ DatPiff, so let the rhyming begin!
 

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[Video] AZ - "We Movin'"

Here's the first video from AZ's super anticipated "Doe or Die Pt. 2" which hopefully will be out this year. "We Movin'" is the second single from the project, and this Statik Selektah production got AZ all fired up since his performance here is nothing less than outstanding.