SPACEK Ft. BLACK THOUGHT, BAHAMADIA & SV - "Countdown"

I've been on the hunt for this rare B-side for the longest, and finally came across it a while back. Spacek is a british group lead by singer/producer Steve Spacek that has produced several underground classics that defies genre categorizing. Some call it just electronic music, but labels like neo-soul, broken beat and trip hop has all been part of journalists describing the progressive trio. The band has been around since 1999 but it was with their release of the excellent "Curvatia" LP that they truly had found their sound. The first single from that album, "Eve" was released in 2000, and is a true gem in every sense of the word - especially if you're big on the Detroit and Philadelphia hip hop scenes.

The A-side features the excellent "Jay Dee Remix" which not only features a banging Dilla beat constructed right around the time that he was leaving behind the lush, Rhodes infected grooves of his UMMAH and Slum Village productions for something more influenced by Motown's legendary techno and house scene. It also features the debut on wax by long-time friends Frank-N-Dank, whose "48 Hours" is an absolutely incredible album no matter what version of it you get your hands on. While we're at it, in 2005 Dilla gave another real banger to Spacek which was made into "Dollar" and if you haven't heard that one yet before be sure to dig it out - pure masterpiee...  But I'm getting off track here, the joint I want to talk about today is the B-side to the "Eve" single called "Countdown"; produced by Steve Spacek and Jeff Mann. It definitely has that Dilla influenced perfection-sloppiness and soulful filteres however and what makes it really interesting is that it's a posse cut between Philly's Black Thought and Bahamadia and Detroit's Baatin and T3. Check it out below... I also threw in a 320 kbps version of the "Eve" remix (could only get the other in 192 but it works) so ENJOY now!

SPACEK - "EVE" [JAY DEE REMIX] 
SPACEK / SV / BLACK THOUGHT / BAHAMADIA - "Countdown"

a Cat Called FRITZ / BAHAMADIA - "I Confess Remix"

A Cat Called FRITZ was a completely new name to me when I was introduced to his impressive jazz licks and sample manipulation via the LP he did with the homie Audessey called "Beats Per Minute". That was one of my favorite projects of 2014 so I'm obviously checking for this Cat from now on. His next project is a collection of remixes and unreleased tracks called "Nowadays" that should be out soon. So far FRITZ have uploaded two songs from the upcoming mixtape, including an absolutely mindblowing remix of Bahamadia's classic "I Confess" that fits the dope Philly emcees voice like a glove. Those two could make a classic album together, and that's the double truth, Ruth.

[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"

[Compilation] RON ESTILL - "Made in Detroit"

To those who know me it is certainly no secret that next to New York, the Motor City Detroit is my favorite place when it comes to knocking out slamming music. Of course J Dilla continues to be one of my all time favorites as his many sounds simply were out of this world, but even after his tragic passing the hp-hop scene has continued thriving with countless superb producers and spitters. Many of the city's finest was given a platform to evolve through Jay Dee and has continued growing following his passing over to the other side. I'm talking cats like T3, eLzhi and the Slum Village crew, mega talented soul singer Dwéle, rough voiced hardcore spitter Guilty Simpson, my man Phat Kat, Taa'rach, Beej, the always underrated Karieem Riggins, Frank Nitty and his partner Dankery Harv, Finale, Big Tone and many others. Then you got the producers who keeps the sound of Motown hip-hop alive and proving that the sound of the city are iller than most. Black Milk especially, but you also got NameTag, Apollo Brown and Bronze Nazareth from the Michigan area that's all definitely doing their thing. With all of these talented cats repping the "D" it's not at all a stretch to say that Jay Dee definitely were the true Godfather of Detroit hip-hop.

Of course, there were also local musicians that inspired James Yancey a great deal - most importantly his mentor and teacher, Amp Fiddler, the talented multi-instrumentalist/singer who used to play with George Clinton and Funkadelic. Another important person in Jay Dee's career that mostly figured in the shadows were Ronald "Ron E." Estill, a Detroit resident who was an early manager of Slum Village as well as for Yancey's close friend Dwele. Estill is also a producer, specializing in deep soul remixes with a hip-hop touch and listening to his music there's no question that he was heavily influencced by Jay Dee's production style - it's very possible that they both inspired each other. They at times appeared with one remix of their own each on the same 12" (such as Lucy Pearl's "Without You") and a few songs that have been credited to Dilla in the internet age are actually Estill's work (LSK's "Hate Or Love" and Jamiroquai's "Black Capricorn Day" especially). An interesting fact is that Ron "E" Estill was the first producer to have an original James Yancey verse on his beat, with his remix of Tami Heart's "If It Wasn't For You". So while Estill is far from prolific when it comes to releasing music, the few remixes and songs he has released are pretty much all interesting stuff that should be heard by every fan of that true Detroit soul/hip-hop sound. Much of the songs found here are co-productions between Estill and Dwele, while the final cut by T-Love is actually something he did together with Dilla himself. As far as I know this is about every production released under the name Ronald "Ron E." Estill (he did drop a 12" or two under the name Soulfingerz in the early '90s, but those were more in the vein of house music). If you're into the more soulful late '90s excursions of James Yancey and Dwele I think you will be pleasantly suprised by how terrific these tracks are, so press play, kick off your shoes and lay back but don't forget to TURN IT UP!!!

01. Bahamadia - "One-4-Teen"
02. New Sector Movements - "The Sun" [Dwele's Motor City Remix]
03. Luct Pearl - "Without You" [Aphrodisiac Mix] (Ft. Phat Kat)
04. T-Love - "Swing Mandidly"
05. Tami Heart - "If It Wasn't For You" [Detroit Demolition Mix] (Ft. Slum Village)
06. Dwele - "Money Don't Mean A Thing"
07. Bahamadia - "Pep Talk"
08. New Sector Movements - "The Sun" [Dwelogy Remix]
09. Jamiroquai - "Black Capricorn Day" [Slum Village Remix]
10. LSK - "Hate Or Love" [Caffe Latte remix] (Ft. Slum Village)
11. T-Love - "Long Way Back" [co-produced by Jay Dee]

RON ESTILL - "MADE IN DETROIT"

[Album] KID TSUNAMI- "The Chase"

Back in June 2013 Australian producer Kid Tsunami released his debut album "The Chase" as a digital download distributed by The Orchard and Fat Beats. CD and vinyl were supposed to follow shortly after but that never came to fruition... until now, as Slice-Of-Spice has gained the rights to release a nice 180 gram 2xLP set. Nostalgic fans of true school boom bap will no doubt love Tsu's sample heavy production and the guest cast which includes some of New York's finest emcees to ever do it. We're talking names like OC, Percee P, Jeru The Damaja, AG, Masta Ace, Kool G Rap, Bahamadia, KRS-One, Pharoahe Monch, and many more. The music is the same as on the original 2013 release (there might be some minor tweaks here and there), but the artwork by Fred Whyte is brand new and is looking a whole lot better, as well as the sequencing which has been switched around to make the LP flow better. The gatefold vinyl of "The Chase" is limited to 500 copies and is available @ Slice Of Spice now.

As nice as the guys at Slice Of Spice are they are also offering up the newly remastered version of the album not only for full streaming but you can also download all of the individual tracks in HQ Mp3 for free. Also check out the "No Guarantees" single which features banging remixes by Diamond D and DJ Bless. TURN IT UP!!

BAHAMADIA - "Paper Thin" [1996]

I've always been fascinated by the phenomenon known as the B-side, the non-album track that on occassion has outshined the A-side as more non-traditional tracks would be allowed. One such track is "Paper Thin", coming right off the heels of Bahamadia's excellent '96 solo debut "Kollage". There Philadelphia's "anti-gangster bitch" hooked up with her home team The Roots for the slamming "Da Jawn", one of the few released cuts not on that project to sport the "Illadelph Halflife" vibe. It's possible that the same session also gave birth to the MC Lyte cover "Paper Thin" which musical backdrop is produced and performed by The Roots and grooves on some real slow-moving head banger funk that's a perfect fit for Bahamadia's unmistakable voice. It's an excellent track that I bet quite a few people might have slept on so let's rewind to 1996 and the B-side of the "Biggest Part Of Me" 12". The song was also made available to DJ:s and radio stations on a limited 12" promo including the instrumental on the flip - grab it below.

01. "Paper Thin"

02. "Paper Thin" [Instrumental]

BAHAMADIA - "Paper Thin"