When the world first heard The Brand Nubians 1990 debut album "One For All", notorious for being praised with the much hyped five mics rating in The Source, few would think that Derreck X would be the artist out of that trio to have the highest profile and largest catalouge in a few years. In fact "One For All" treated Lord Jamar and Derreck X as Grand Puba's back up band, and didn't even appear on half of the album. But sometimes the tables turn, through hard work and dedication Sadat X (as he soon after changed his name to) crafted a unique style with an unmistakable voice with lyrics that often dealt with personal feelings and surviving in a world where friends and lovers often turn out to be willing to stab you in the back when you least expect it. The only problem was that he might have started to put quantity over quality a little too much in the last ten years or so.
It's been a long time since I've been really excited about an X album, though I did like his "Love, Hell or Right" album from 2013. Now the New York artist is back with "Agua" sporting a pretty damn impressive cast list of guest producers and emcee partners. How about Pete Rock, Diamond D, Da Beatminerz, Nick Wiz, DJ Scratch, Easy Mo Bee, Fokis, Dub Sonata and Will Tell? What about Lord Jamar, Dres, Edo G, A-F-R-O, Rahzel, Cella Dwellas' UG, Milano, Shabaam Sahdeeq, RA The Rugged Man, and Wordsmith? That's a lot of features and producers and as I haven't had the time to listen yet I'm not sure how cohessive the X-Man has managed to make it sound but one thing's for sure, there's bound to be several real bangers on here to cherish. Probably more than any Sadat X albums in ten years or so. Released on Tommy Boy, the album is available for purchase in both physical and digital form now, and can also be streamed and purchased (both digital and on CD) in full via X's official Bandcamp. One thing though, the last I heard from Sadat X was that he's working on a full-length album entirely produced by Diamond D, and as usual we get one track to show for it. Well, I for one hope it's still coming. But what the hell, with Pete Rock, Da Beatminerz and Nick Wiz I sure as hell can complain. I also wasn't a fan of Will Tell on some earlier X albums, but the single/video "Murder Soundtrack" (above) with AFRO and Rahzel has convinced me has stepped his game up big time. You can also cop the physical from UGHH where you can also see the credits for each track. TURN IT UP!
Hell let's continue on this jazz trip here at The Lost Tapes with a very rare official Easy Mo Bee remix of "Blow" from Miles' final '91 album "Doo Bop". Throughout his entire career Miles never stood still, he always wanted to get involved with the stuff the young black kids listened to. Just listen to "On The Corner", "Big Fun''s "Ife" and tracks like "Calypso Frelimo" . But in early 1991 when Hip Hop was what all the hip urban radio stations was blazing Miles had a feeling he could do an excellent take on that by himself if he just had the right collaborators. He asked his friend Russel Simmons to gather up some contenders, one which was Easy Mo Bee whose work with The Genius and Big Daddy Kane really impressed him, one was Sid Reynolds, one was Public Enemy/The Bomb Squad.
Mo Bee's audition in Miles' Manhattan apartment was filled with producers, and in his own word he beat the competition through his perfectionism - "I'm a guy with an SP-1200 sampling drum machine and an Akai 950 rack sampler. What I do is I call it creative samping, not just plain looping like a lot of the guys do. I get really, really intense with my sampling. It has a lot to do with harmonics and everything has to be in tune". In other words Mo Bee came at it from a musician's point of view rather than the regular joe with a sampler and a bunch of records. "Blow" was originally a joint created for The Genius (he was also a huge fan of GZA's "True Fresh MC"), but whose gonna turn down one of the most prolific musican of the last five decades?
"Doo Bop" received mixed criticism when it was first released, the jazz purist saw it another case of selling out (which it certainly wasn't), while some hip-hop purist was dissapointed that Mo Bee had given him rather too smooth and soulful hip-hop beats instead of the hardhitting neckbreakers. I can't find the interview new, but Mo Bee's answer was firm in that that was the type of sound Miles wanted for his album - the type of beat his horn would mesh best with, and he was most certainly right. "Doo Bop" is in fact a very underrated album - the main thing that marrs it is the two or three songs featuring horrrendous rapping by Mo Bee and his group R.I.F. Why the hell wouldn't he ask Kane or GZA do the honors? Anyway the long out of print 12" single of "Blow" features a much rougher and harder version of the song which might give you an idea how Miles would have sounded if Easy had given him his hardcore beats. It's definitely a nice piece, so check it out up top and also peep the DJ Vlad interview where the legendary producer reveals that "Doo Bop" is the greatest feat of his career!
Easy Mo Bee is one of those legendary greats that a lot of people seem to forget when talking about the greatest producers in the game. He produced about half of BIG's "Ready to Die" and Craig Mack's debut (including "Flava in Ya Ear"), he was both GZA and RZA's first producer on a major, he laced Kane with heat and even made a hip-hop/jazz record with Miles Davis, and the list goes on. Now he's hooking up with the charismatik Emskee for a limited run of vinyl of a new album called "Two For One" on Fresh Pressing Records. Check out the 11 minutes sampler up top (one minute for each song) and peep the first single "Black Radio" below. Damn I wish I had the $$ for this one, but you can't win them all. One thing's for sure, this will be a banger if I ever heard one. I believe my man Oxygen of Soundsci is also featured on the album.
The strangely underrated super producer Easy Mo Bee, who has produced some of hip-hop's most memorable hits, and worked with everyone from 2Pac, Notorious B.I.G., The Genius, Big Punisher, Big Daddy Kane, Miles Davis, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Wu-Tang Clan, Rakim, just to name a few, has just released a new album. Completely instrumental, "And You Don't Stop", is the second LP under Mo Bee's own name (following 2000:s "Now Or Never: Odyssey 2000)") and is another oddysey through vintage boom bap and classic hip-hop styles made up of 19 brand new cuts. To achieve the nitty gritty Mo Bee recorded the entirety of the album exclusively on three machines - the SP1200, an Akai S900 and its sister Akai S950. I haven't heard the album for myself yet but it does indeed sound very interesting and the title track and first single seen and heard above is indeed promising. "And You Don't Stop" is available exclusively in digital format now through digital retailers via SLAMjamz Records. Hopefully a physical release will follow. Thanks to FortyGlock for the heads up on this one. COP "AND YOU DON'T STOP" @ iTUNES
This is just incredible right here... Now, I know this joint has been out for a while but its producer Domingo has finally unveiled a full/CDQ version of this gem of a lost tape. Recorded in 1996 for "You Can't Stop the Reign", Shaquille O'Neal was hellbent on making a respectable album by surrounding him with all sort of legitimate talents. For "The Bigger They R" he invited Big Punisher and Fat Joe as well as Easy Mo Bee (!), and it's a real shame this never was heard back in the days because it's absolute killer. Terror Squadians!
Not too long ago I had a period where I went back and played both of The Notorious BIG's two albums religiously, and this month now marks the 20 year anniversary of that first classic LP. At this time I also collected most of his rarer demos, freestyles and guest apperances. Unlike 2Pac, his one time ally and contemporary, Wallace left us with only a small scattering of finished recordings to pick up when he tragically left us in '97. Instead of paying respect to the man's legacy by compiling and releasing the original music he recorded in his lifetime, the vultures at Bad Boy instead have opted to remix and completely alter his unreleased music. As it stands now BIG's musical legacy consists of two excellent solo albums ("Ready to Die" and "Life After Death"), the executive producing and career launching of Junior M.A.F.I.A. with "Conspiracy" and Lil' Kim with "Hardcore". Add to that something like an additional 40 loose tracks, studio freestyles and guest apperances left for us fans to compile and share. Despite the small output very few Hip Hop artists can be considered more influential and inspirational to both his own generation and todays up and comers - and that in itself is a damn impressive feat. BIG will always be remembered as one of the true greats, a musical giant who twenty years ago made waves with the release of his debut album. It's safe to say that "Ready to Die" has stood the test of time and should have a given place in the top albums list of any true hip-hop conniseour.
The internet is of course swarming with various tributes and articles in honor of the ocassion. For my own contribution I have put together a compilation of non-album tracks that I feel reaches a very high level of quality. As always I've tried making this compilation form a coherrent listen that focuses on a specific time or style. The goal here was to create something like a companion piece to "Ready to Die". That means that I'm limiting the inclusion of songs to material recorded between 1993 and 1995 (the time in which between "R.T.D." was recorded and final single with B-side released). Additionally, I wanted to focus on BIG's lyrical skills and writing genius, given as much space as possible to solo tracks. In the end I maybe used a little too many posse cuts and such as I originally intended to only use 10 songs, but one thing's for sure - there's no half-assed material on here. Below you'll find the tracklist, download link and a little info on each song, it's producer, origin and relevance for the compilation... TURN IT UP!!!
01. "The Wickedest: Freestyle Intro"
This exclusive freestyle makes for a perfect intro and the epitome of Biggie's style post-"Ready to Die". Recorded by DJ Mister Cee (who of course was an integral part of Big's career) as an exclusive for his "The Best Of The Notorious B.I.G.", released in 1995.
02. "Party & Bullshit"
It felt natural to kick things off with "Party & Bullshit", seeing how this hardcore party starter was both BIG's first single ever and was left off his debut album. This also marks the first time Biggie worked with Easy Mo Bee, who would become one of the most important players in crafting the Notorious sound. The song were also featured on the original soundtrack to the 1993 flick "Who's The Man?".
03. "Dead Wrong"
Another early collaboration with Easy Mo Bee who's hard hitting boom bap shit in com"bination with the dusted flow of BIG stands as a superb representation of everything great about the early '90s East Coast bap. An Eminem remix of course turned up on '99:s posthumous "Born Again", but the version for the real heads is this one, recorded during the early Uptown sessions for "R.T.D." in '93. This clear rip from a DJ Craig G tape was borrowed from NahRight's excellent BIG article.
04. "Come On Motherfuckers" (Ft. Sadat X)
"Come On" is another cut that was cleaned up and modernized by The Hitmen for "Born Again" but the original, superior version sees BIG rocking hard as hell over a dusty Lord Finesse break, complete with intense horn stabs. Sadat X and Biggie Smalls definitely makes for a very interesting combination, and this '93 joint (another recording from the Uptown sessions) is about as tough as they come yet was left to the mixtape circuit until just a few years ago.
05. "Dreams (Just Playing)"
"Dreams" is nothing short of classic BIG as he invites listeners into his nasty dreams of all the R&B singers he'd like to fuck. And it's done with more wit and charisma than most emcees at their best moments too. Built around a crazy addictive guitar loop, "Dreams" was produced by the underrated Rashad Smith of Tumblin' Dice, this was included as a bonus track on the 2004 remaster of "Ready to Die". It's first apperance dates as far back as 1993 when DJ Doo Wop put it on his "Spring One" tape, which indicates that it might have been recorded for BIG's Uptown debut.
06. "One More Chance/Stay With Me" [Hip Hop Mix]
The smooth video version of "One More Chance" (see above) is definitely one of Biggie's most famous songs, though it bears little resemblance to the version that appeared on the album. The 12" single included two remixes of the song - the famous Faith Evans version which was about as R&B as BIG would ever get and this one labeled The Hip Hop Mix. Using the same verses as the video mix but adding a differet hook by Total, Biggie's sexual themed flows sounds perfect over the pounding drums, guitar stabs and scratches - once again produced by Rashad Smith / Tumblin' Dice. An interesting fact is that this version of the song replaces the original Bluez Brothas version on the clean version of "R.T.D.".
07. "Runnin' From The Police" (Ft. 2Pac, Stretch, EDI, Khadafi & Buju Banton)
"Runnin' From The Police" have always been one considered as of the strongest songs in both BIG's and 'Pac's respective catalouges if you ask me. There's so many quotables in here that it's not even funny, and hearing 'Pac, BIG and Stretch all on one track is truly powerful, and Easy Mo Bee did a masterful job in creating the backing track. This classic was originally recorded around 1994 in a 2Pac session for inclusion on his "Thug Life Volume 1" album, even appearing on a rare promo cassette of the project. The song was ultimately replaced by "Stay True" and it would take another year before fans got the chance to hear "Runnin'" on the compilation album "One Million Strong".
08. "Real Niggaz"
"Real Niggaz" is another huge record with a West Coast connecction, as it's common knowledge that Biggie had a lot of love for LA and the music the city produced in the early to mid-'90s. It's unbelivable this was never given more exposure because not only does Biggie sound phenomenal over these Death Row tracks like "Deep Cover", his verses here displays the same type of top notch storytelling that he would perfect on future masterpieces like "Somebody's Gotta Die". This was originally heard as a two part piece on a DJ Clue tape back in '95 before Mister Cee collected all verses for his incredible "The Best Of Notorious B.I.G." tape.
09. "Jam Session" (Ft. Heavy D & Troo Kula)
One of a couple of collaborations between Biggie and Heavy D, produced by Jesse West who really brings the funk on here with an affective heavy bass melody and slick guitar. Heavy D and BIG made a few songs together (all featured on this compilation), and there's no denying that there's a lot of chemistry to be found here. Something that not everybody knows is that the duo even had plans on developing a clothing line for men with a larger build called BIG & Heavy. "Jam Session" also features Troo Kula (at the time a member of Jesse West's group 3rd Eye) and is lifted from the otherwise forgettable compilation album "NBA Jam Session".
10. "Let's Get It On" (Ft. 2Pac, Grand Puba & Heavy D)
This somewhat forgotten posse cut features some of the greatest emcees of the '90s (Grand Puba, 2Pac, BIG, Heavy D) getting it on over a relatively smooth headnodder that packs influences from the New Jack swing era. Taken from the album of the same name by DJ Eddie F. and The Untouchables, a crew of DJ:s and producers from the Mt. Vernon area which originally mentored and included Pete Rock (who didn't have anything to do with this joint however).
11. "Watchu Want?"
"Watchu Want" was a late deletion from "Ready to Die" and is another one of the Easy Mo Bee/BIG recordings from the earlier recording sessions of the LP before Puffy was dropped from Uptown and took Wallace with him. This is a very powerful cut, with Biggie at his most hardcore and I still have a hard time deciding whether or not I would have prefered it to have been left on the LP. I have a (possibly false?) memory of reading somewhere that Biggie really wanted to keep this one but Puff insisted that the quota for rugged hardcore jams had been filled.
12. "Who's The Man?" (Ft. King Just & Todd1)
The 45 King has produced some of my all time favorite records and hearing him produce for BIG is pure bliss. Unfortunately Wallace only kicks one verse here but that's a verse that makes the tracks inclusion on this compilation an absolute definite and leaves little question to who the man in this case is (King Just comes correct though). I guess the reason this isn't remembered for the great battle record it is, is because it came out on a very forgotten album called "Back Up Off Me!", the only LP released under the names of Doctor Dre and Ed Lover.
13. "A Buncha Niggas" (Ft. Heavy D, Guru, Busta Rhymes, 3rd Eye & Rob-O) The Heavy D & The Boys albums from the early '90s always had a ton of underground gems on them and "Blue Funk" might just be the illest. As far as posse cut goes this one has one of the more jaw dropping line-ups - Heavy D, Guru, Busta Rhymes, Rob-O from InI, 3rd Eye (Jesse West also produced this banger) and of course The Notorious B.I.G.
14. "Who Shot Ya"
"Who Shot Ya" marks the first time BIG worked with Nashiem Myrick who would come to be a major contributor to the sound of "Life After Death", making this something of a transitional record. An interesting fact is that the song originally was incepted as an interlude for Mary J. Blige's excellent '95 LP "My Life". Word is that the content was a little too violent for an R&B album and in the end the interlude verse were recorded by Keith Murray. Being label mates and old friends, Puff and BIG secured the beat and put it on as the B-side of the "Big Poppa" single, causing all kinds of controversy. You can check out the original demo version with both Murray and BIG, liberated by DJ S&S and uploaded by NahRight. NOTORIOUS BIG - "THE ANNIVERSARY"
"Resuecction" might not be the bonafide classic that '96 debut is, but it's most certainly a very good album. Lyrically Ras is as on point as always it's a blessing listening to his wordplay, serious lyrics and his voiceaddictive cadence. Add to that the majority of beats that really knocks for the most part, and when you take these two concepts Add a bunch of hot guests from both the East and West and you can't deny that you have a hot album on your hands. The only downside was that it's slightly too long and a bunch of he tracks didn't hold up to the high standard of the best mateial here. Deleting about four tracks Ras Kass had created an incredible album that I still play from-time-to-time a long with his debut two years earlier.,
So how come I'm making a post and nini-article on this particular 1998 album, it happens that I do it when I have just listened to an older album that I love and want to revisit its strengths and wealnesses. Here though, Ras Kass has just released an updated version of the album (digital only it seems), which is available for stream and/or download in HQ "mp3:s from Ras' Bandcamp.. I'm not sure if it has been remastered but the most interesting thing about the release is that it is a deluxe edition featuring three previously unreleased tracks recorded during the making of the project, and they are all iLL too; "DJ Red Alert Drop" as you would've gussed is just a thirty second drop from Red Alert over a funky, thumping beat; "Game Face" is perhaps the most interesting joint, recorded in 1997, it features Ras and Xzibit going back and forth; last but not least you got "66-Sicks", a smooth beat where Ras Kass goes into storytelling mode and takes on the topic of how fucked up the world can, and often will be. This would have been perfect on the album, I can't understand why he would ditch it. It would've been perfect as the closing song if "The End" didn't already do that job marvelously. Oh well, at least we are now finally able to hear this gems as well as revisit Ras last classic album if you ask me. In case you're new to this site, be sure to check out two next two albums following this, that unventually got shelved after competion and thought was lost for years. Luckily the incredible Lost Tapes contributer ANT hooked me up with full, mastered versions of "Goldyn Child" and "Van Gogh" so we should definitely THANK HIM for thosse gems. Ait, time to get your Ras Kass on!
Back in 2008, DJ Semi and The Mixtape Marvel released "Ready to Die: The OG Edition", a highly impressive collection of demo versions, alternative takes and original uncleared versions of almost every song found on The Notorious B.I.G.'s classic '94 debut. Of course the sound quality was a bit lacking but the quality of the actual music made the collection one of the coolest drops of its year - who can get enough of Biggie, right? Therefore, I was pretty much knocked out when stumbling across the official Soundcloud page of DJ Semi and a new, updated mixdown of The OG Edition which sounds a whole lot better than the original release. Since then I've really been back on my Biggie shit and this tape has really been going warm so of course I want to share it with y'all. I also been working on a new B.I.G. compilation that should be up within this week so be on the lookout for that 1.
For those of you who might have missed this version of "Ready to Die" there's some truly mindblowing shit on here. While many of the tracks only differs in the slightest from their album counterparts (tbh with some of them I don't hear any difference at all) listeners are treated to the original, uncleared versions of "Me & My Bitch" (produced by The Bluez Brothas) and "Ready to Die"; The album versions of "Machine Gun Funk" and "Juicy" are replaced by fat ass remixes by DJ Premier and Pete Rock, respectively; the demo version of "The What?!" featuring two completely different verses from B.I.G.; another vintage Easy Mo Bee/B.I.G. collaboration from the earlier recording sessions for the album called "WatchuWant?" (replacing "Unpredictable" since that was the last recording made for the LP); the uncensored version of "Gimme The Loot". The bonus tracks consists of "Come On" featuring Sadat X as well as three early Biggie demos and a previously unreleased freestyle. All in all this set is on some other shit and is obviously a must hear for any fan of Chris Wallace, and especially as it's now available in pretty damn decent quality. DJ Semi uploaded the album in one large track which is avialable for stream and/or download up top, but Andyman187 from the Philaflava forums has provided us with the tracks separated so a huge Thank You goes out to him! Much props to everyone involved in this project and keeping the legacy of The Notorious B.I.G. alive.
01. "Intro" (Original w/ Uncleared Samples)
02. "Things Done Changed" (Demo)
03. "Gimme The Loot" (Uncensored Version)
04. "Machine Gun Funk" (DJ Premier's Version)
05. "Warning" (Demo)
06. "Ready to Die" (Original Version)
07. "One More Chance" (Demo)
08. "Fuck Me: Interlude" (Demo)
09. "The What?!" (Ft. Method Man) (w. Original BIG Verses)
10. "Juicy" (Pete Rock's Version)
11. "Everyday Struggle" (Demo)
12. "Me & My Bitch" (Original Version)
13. "Respect" (Demo)
14. "Friend Of Mine" (Demo)
15. "WatchuWant?!" (Unreleased)
16. "Suicidal Thoughts" (Demo)
17. "Come On" (Ft. Sadat X)
18. "Who Shot Ya?" (Original Demo)
19. "For The Macs & Dons" (Unreleased)
20. "Pepsi Freestyle" (Unreleased)
21. "Biggie Got The Hype Shit" (Unreleased '91 Demo)
Why Easy Mo Bee isn't mentioned as one of the greatest producers of all time too often these days is absolutely beyond me. From producing Miles Davis latest album, lacing both first Wu-Tang solo releases ever, crafting much of the illest classics for both BIG and Craig Mack, and it ain't exactly like he fell off either as we just recently heard the boom-baptic weed anthem "Hands Up"with Redman, and so on... His latest offering is another knocking joint called "Sometimes" for a rhyme slinger who goes by Cheech LaMotta; Statik Selektah on the 1s and 2s... Spotted @Kevin Nottingham.
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!
Miles Dewey Davis (1926-1991) was and still is one of the most important figures of American music. He was all about pushing musical boundaries throughouthis his entire career and to this day his influences can be heard in not only modern jazz but in everything from hip-hop productions to rock music and drum n bass. Davis was always at the forefront of every major progressive jazz style since he first broke through under Charlie Parker as one of the key players of the Be Bop movement in the early '40s. Soon after Miles was the leader of the band that's credited for inventing the Cool Jazz style, was one of the definite innovators (and arguably the master) of Hard Bop to heading the jazz-fusion movement with his increasingly psychadelic/surrealistic jazz-rock that still stands as innovative today. As a true artist should, the influential trumpeter and bandleader were never able to musically stand still and looking back at past accomplishments didn't interest him. In that sense he was always looking to push jazz and American music as a whole forward and that's exactly what he did through the majority of his 60+ full-length LPs.
So, why are you reading about this great trumpeter and bandleader on The Lost Tapes you might wonder. Although he is one of my absolute favorite artists all categories but this is still a hip-hop blog. Well, Miles was arguably one of the pioneering forefatherss of hip-hop and he was without a doubt one of the first jazz artists to fully embrace hip-hop aesthetics to his music. These accomplishments mainly boil down to two specific LP:s of his career which I will here discuss further. Already back in 1972, Davis was looking to create something that would resonate with the young black kids on the corner who's big thing for the day was hard funk music like James Brown, George Clinton and Sly Stone. The resulting album was the aptly titled "On the Corner" which has influenced generations to come and still to do as it was something truly groundbreaking. The music on the disc was all about the groove; hard repetitive breakbeats with loads of percussion and screaming horns that pointed towards the hard instrumental hip-hop beats of the future and is arguably the first Drum N Bass record ever created... and for those of you who don't know, D&B is bascially ultra-fast hip-hop beats! "On The Corner" were a severely misunderstood piece when it was first released but has over time become recognized as the groundbreaking and influential masterpiece it really is.
Further albums like "Agharta", "In Concert", "Pangaea" and "Dark Magus" took an even harder approach. In fact Q Magazine ranked the latter in their list of the 50 heaviest albums of all time which speaks volumes on where the man behind "Kind Of Blue" was at in the late '70s. The music on these four live double albums were dark, experimental and groove based and holds up as mindblowing masterpiece to this day. After these mentioend releases, and the fantastic studio album "Get Up With", the trumpeter withdraw from the music scene for several years, mostly staying inside his house in a drug infused state of paranoia only to make a rather sub par comeback in 1981 with The Man With the Horn".
Similiar to his experiments in the mid-'70s, the late '80s saw him becoming more and more intrigued by the expanding hip-hop movement that was now the new big thing on the streets. With Davis' love for African music and heavy rhythm there was only a question of time before he had to fully embrace this new black movement. Between 1988 and '89 his friend Quincy Jones put together an album titled "Back On The Block" which gave the opportunity for Miles to work with Big Daddy Kane and Kool Moe Dee on the song "Jazz Corners Of The World". This was only a small taste of what was to come though. The great musician passed away in late 1991 but before that he recorded one last project which happened to be a full-length collaboration with up-and-coming hip-hop producer Easy Mo Bee. One story goes that Davis was sitting in his apartment with the windows open, hearing the sounds of rap music blasting on the streets below his home and he instinctively know that it was the direction he wanted to take for his next project. When calling up his friend Russel Simmons and requesting him to hook Davis up with some young musicians able to create that sound he was introduced to Easy Mo Bee whom he instantly foun a connection with. Another story goes that Miles had heard Mo Bee's work on The Genius' "The Words From the Genius" and was so impressed that he had to work with him.
Whatever the circumstanses leading up to this collaboration was, the resulting music was incredible and released in early 1992 as "Doo Bop". The LP was made up of typical early '90s hip-hop beats based around chopped up samples and heavy on bass and rhythm allowing Miles to absolutely blow his ass off and proving to any naysayer that he was still just as fierce on the trumpet as ever. Besides Mo Bee and Davis, about half of the tracks also features uncredited live keyboards by Deron Johnson and three of the eight songs had Easy Mo Bee and his original crew Rappin' is Fundamental spitting a few verses. This was the only real flaw of the LP if you ask me; not that it's not a good idea to put emcee tracks on there but the producer and his friends J.R. and AB-Soul are just not good or entertaining rappers and each of those three songs had been a lot more interesting as instrumentals (compare the title track's instrumental in the link below to the one you can hear in the video to get my point).
The fourty minutes LP features 8 songs and a reprise of the slick opening joint; six of which Davis worked on in the studio with the young producer and two additional tracks that Easy Mo Bee composed around previously unreleased trumpet solos following Miles passing. Even those two remixes are very much in the same key as the other music and I would imagine Davis would've been very pleased with them both. "Doo Bop" won the award for Best R&B Instrumental Album at the 1993 Grammy awards and sold close to gold (it was around 300,000 copies a year after its original release but it could very well be a lot higher now). If you're into '90s hip-hop and not-so-traditional jazz this is defnitely an album for you and I also believe that it would be a good starting point for hip-hop fans that want to get a glimpse into the music of one of the greatest artists of our time. "Doo Bop" is still available in stores but I will make an exception from my usual standard so I uploaded it for you below. But if you like what you hear then please support it @ (for example) Amazon.com. Enjoy!
