PRODIGY mural pops up in Queensbridge

On June 20 we lost one of the true legends in this Hip Hop game as Prodigy, real name Albert Johnson, lost the fight with his sickle cell disease. Heads over the world has been mourning as his words has touched people all over, and with one of the illest flows and voice nonetheless. Graffiti was always an integral part of the culture and memorial pieces has been an important statement and a tribute. The other day, the first of many, super dope memoral pieces of P appeared in his stomping ground of Queensbridge, on the corner of 13th and 40th street. The artists behind the mural are curator/artist Eli-Eos and portrait artist Jeff Hernandez. Check out more info about the piece and see pictures of the piece in the making over @ The Fader.

If there's anything like good news coming from this terrible event is that at the beginning of the year P told media that he was about to drop one album in three volumes during 2017. In late January he dropped the first "book" of "Hegelian Dialectic" subtitled Book of Revelations. The second part was to be called Book of Heroine and Part 3 to be titled Book of the Dead. Originally the trilogy was supposed to drop in a pretty narrow time frame and each volume would explore three distinct traits of P's personality; the occult knowledge, the party type joints as heard on "H.N.I.C. III" and the straight street shit that he built much of his career off. So Prodigy fans, its very likely we haven't heard the last word from the Hempstead emcee turned Queensbridge representative. My prediction is that we will have all books of "Hegelian Dialectic" within a year so stay tuned. And The Lost Tapes will most likely drop a solo P compilation as well. Check out this freestyle from better times and rest in power Albert Johnson, you'll never be forgotten.

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[Freestyle Session] Prince Rakeem, Teach & Tony D in 1991

Laze, the man behind RawDealRadio (a site which comes highly recommended) has a great collection of rare gems from old radio shows and what not. Recently he dropped something that will have fans of the Wu-Tang Clan and early Naughty By Nature salivating. Recorded on June 27, 1991, for a collecge radio station the theme is a promo for Tommy Boy as it showcases some of the new talent on their roster. Remember that this is before either Treach (or Naughty By Nature) or RZA (who was still going by Prince Rakeem by this point). 

Perhaps the most interesting thing here is Rakeem's revelation that he already has completed eight songs for his Tommy Boy debut which was supposed to be coming out soon. It's unclear whether or not the three songs from his original EP is included in that number, but my guess is that only the title track ("Oh We Love You Rakeem") would be considered an album cut. RZA has talked many times about how Tommy Boy tried to change his sound and image to have more crossover appeal so it's probably for the better that the album never happened. I can't say I wouldn't be tempted to listen to a bootleg of that unreleased material though. Either way this is a historic show, and a huge thank you goes out to Laze and Raw Deal Radio . I also want to give a shout out to Brandon of Crates Of Jr. for putting me on to this bomb and peace to Lost Tapes reader Daze for correcting me on where this show came from. The good stuff is on Side B and Side C of Laze's cassette recording, especially Side C has the real heat.

Check out the tracklist and a full stream of the three sides ripped by Laze from 103.3 WPRB Princeton.

RAW DEAL 1991 TAPE RIP w. RZA, TREACH & TONY D 

WU-TANG CLAN - Pre-"36 Chambers" Interview + Freestyles

Lurking the Wu-Tang Corp. forums (whcih is close to dead right now but there's still somee good heads representing) member Soob found and posted an absolutely excellent radio interview predating the release of "36 Chambers". Recorded and sent out through the airwaves on March 1, 1993 this is an absolute must hear for any hardcore Wu fans (and you know I'm one of them, as I know many of my readers are). Of course the real props for this shining gem goes to YouTube's Wu-Tang Messiah number #1, Mister Hezakayah who has uploaded the full 25 minutes segment on to the Tube for free streaming and enjoynment for heads all over the world. Hosted by legendary DJ's and hosts DJ Ritz and Steve Wildman this is like an extended skit from the "Enter The Wu-Tang" LP, with Ghostface, Raekwon, Method Man and U-God holding it down together with Ce Style and Kamal Bee of Total Pack. This been up for a few months but I and many with me has been sleeping so in the words of Sunz Of Man and Killarmy - Wake The Fuck Up!! As some interesting bonus footage check out this very rare clip from Prnce Rakeem doing a short freestyle for Music Video Box in 1990, now that's a Lost Tape. Again tahnks to Hezakaya, you're definitely the man!

[Future Flavas Throwback] PRODIGY & BIG NOYD

I've been going through a lot of classic moments from Pete Rock and Marley Marl's legendary Future Flavaz show in the late '90s and might very well post one of my favorites every now and then. First out is this absolutely mindblowing Prodigy and Big Noyd killing it over an unreleased Pete Rock or Marley Marl instrumental. This was most likely recorded in early '99 as P's first verse would later turn up on "Murda Muzik", the real gems here are the superb Noyd verse and especially the final Prodigy verse where he heartfelt touches on his sickle cell disease. To my knowledge none of these verses have never been released on anything before or since despite themd definitely needing to be heard. A big shout out and major thanks to my man Brandon aka Crates of Jr. for the upload, be sure to visit his excellent blog Collector's Item as well!

MEYHEM / BUCKWILD - "Freestyle 1" / "Freestyle 2"

You already know that Meyhem Lauren is one of my favorite emcees out of the younger generation and that Buckwild is one of my all-time favorite producers, so it came as no suprise that their collaborative effort "Silk Pyramids" represent some of the best work both artists has put in in some time. The album which is released through Chopped Herring Records, is available in a few different versions - you got the ordinary CD and digital release which features the 13 tracks that have been made available for streaming on various sites. You got the high priced 2xLP set which omits "I Need It All", "Q.U. Cartilage", and last but not least you got the (order the vinyl set @ Chopped Herring while they last and you have a lot more money than me.

Instead of the aforementioend tracks on the CD the vinyl features the joints "French 75" and "Rep The Streets" (and possibly "Friendship is Priceless"). The Extras EP includes instrumentals and accapellas of these joints, but also "Q.U. Cartilage" (undoubtedly one of my favorites from the album), and the Sonnie Carson guested "ODA" in addition to two untitled freestyles. These two freestyles have been unleashed to the net by Buckwild himself via his Audiomack account (along with "Q.U. Cartilage"). The illest of these sounds like Meyhem going crazy over what I think is an original beat while the other is a freestyle over Buck's classic '93-'94 beat for "Ozone" from OC's "Word...Life". Enjoy!

J-Live - "Heaven Freestyle"

J-Live always brig the heat, whether its through his many solo albums, his live shows, and his many cameos and of course his very skilled prouctions. I've been a fan of J-Live since he debuted with "The Best Part" and "All of the Above" and has continued to be so throughout the years. Following his somewhat overlooked "S.P.I.T." LP, he's been a lot of HQ "cover songs" of hip-hop classics. I'm talking his personal takes on masterpieces by Diamond D, Brand Nu, The Roots, and Gang Starr. For his first entry in his classic freestyle series this season comes with a more recent track; here J takes on Jay-Z's recent "Heaven", produced by Timbaland and J-Rocc. A diferent sound for the former teacher turned lyrical rapper but I strongly recommend a listen. This will appear on 'Live's forthcoming mixtape "This is Chess not Checkers" so stay tuned for more info + download.

Kendrick Lamar rips "Nas is Like" & "Keep It Thoro"

Kendrick Lamar's "GOOD Kid M.A.A.D City" was one of the freshest and most original debut album to drop in 2012, no question. Beside a few tracks I couldn't care less for, the album packed plenty of heat, and innnovative lyrical concepts and mad interesting flows. So now that the young MC is back in the states after an extended European tour, Lamar visisted Funkmaster Flex show and tore down two classic East Coast beats with a lot of finesse. Check out his take on the DJ Premier produced Nas classic "Nas is Like" up top, and scoll down a bit to see him rip The Alchemist produced "Keep It Thoro" (Prodigy's "H.N.I.C.) of course.

[Tracklist] EDO G - "Intelligence & Ignorance"

I wasn't too impressed by Edo G's last release "A Face in the Crowd" save for a few cuts. I got higher hopes for his fourth solo album "Intelligence & Ignorance" after hearing the powerful single/video "POWER", seeing that the Boston emcee's opted for just ten tracks which hopefully means that he's opting for quality over quantity this time around, and finally the guest apperances from Freestyle, Noel Gourdin and production by Oh No. The LP, which is distributed by Envision Etertainment, is another album that's been given the release date of February 5. Check out the tracklist below, though no production credits available yet:

01. "Done Talking"
02. "What They Say"
03. "Power"
04. "Easy"
05. "Love I Need" (Ft. Freestyle)
06. "Bags & Shoes"
07. "Give It To Me"
08. "Can't Wait" (Ft. Noel Gourdin)
09. "Change" (Ft. Noel Gourdin)
10. "Hold U"

Freestyle Session - Homeboy Sandman x I Am Many

Queens and Brooklyn representatives Homeboy Sandman and I Am Many recently visited Dharmic X's The Culture Never Dies which airs every Saturday between 11 PM and 1 AM. Towards the end of the show this dynamic duo decided to bang out a blazing off-the-top-of-the-dome freestye session; something that's sadly become a way too rare ocassion in rap music these days. This is discussed briefly before the verbal assault on the microphone begins. Homeboy Sandman has just released the "Chimera" EP via Stones Throw and I Am Many dropped his Logik Proof assisted debut LP "S.I.N. (Strength in Numbers)" last month so if you enjoy the session below (and who in their right mind wouldn't) be sure to support those projects as well. Many thanks to Dharmic X and be ready to tune in on WNYU for his The Culture Never Dies show every Saturday.

HOMEBOY SANDMAN x I AM MANY - "THE CULTURE NEVER DIES FREESTYLE SESSION"

RAW Freestyle by Inspectah Deck

Nas's latest solo single, the Salaam Remi produced "Nasty" is THE track that everybody and their mother's dropping freestyles over lately. The latest one, and possibly the illest since Nasir's original version, comes straight from Shaolin's Rebel INS. It's great hearing Deck absolutely tear up this banger, especially considering some of his more recent guest verses have been pretty hit or miss imo. Once again, thanks to Jammin for scooping it up.

INSPECTAH DECK - "NASTY"

Wu freestyle session @ Westwood

Just had to post this gem right here. Method Man, U-God and Masta Killa with DJ Allah Mathematics took some time between their UK concerts to spit some straight heat on Westwood's show the other night. Meth's first verse was amazing, makes me hype for "Crystal Meth"!