GORE-TEX - Tracks prod. by DIAMOND D, LARGE PRO & DJ MURO [2004]

Nope this is not Gore-Tex from Non Phixion, but rather a Japanese rapper from the Nitro Microphone Underground crew. In 2004 he released an album on Columbia/Acehigh Records that features a lot of dope producers that any serious boom bap lover knows more than well. Diamond D provides three tracks, including "Mess-Age", Large Professor produced the single "Pyramid" and DJ Muro came through with three joints as well. On top of that it features cuts by the legendary Grand Mixer DXT (of Herbie Hancock "Rockit" fame) on all the Diamond D joints. I've seen it's Discogs page a couple of years ago, but could not find the actual album anywhere. You have to be in Japan to purchase it from iTunes unfortunately, so this was very frustrating for such a huge fan of both Diamond and Large Pro. 

Luckily we can now at least get a taste of what each of the three aforementioned producers brought to the table as kind YouTube users JapaneseHipHopChannel and John Woo, respectively, have uploaded three songs from the album. Up top you hear "Pyramid", produced by Large Professor, while below you'll find "Mess-Age" courtesy of Diamond D plus "Mirror Ball 2004" featuring Microphone Pager and Gore-Tex ripping a Muro beat. As a beat head and fan I thought this was interesting and I imagine a lot of people have missed out on it.. If anyone have the album please contact me!

[Throwback] RAKIM / NIGO / DJ MURO - "Once Upon A Rhyme in Japan"

Underground hip-hop has always been HUGE in Japan, and while I have never been there, speaking to Japanese hip-hop fans and reading interviews with some of the underground's finest  artists emcees like the D.I.T.C. crew, Biz Markie or even Swedish greats like LoopTroop are seemingly being treated as royalty amongst Japanese heads who knows what time it is. This has resulted in those very same rtists showing love back, releasing incredible albums, compilations and singles (on both wax, CD and cassette) for the Japanese market only that goes for absolutely ridciolous prices in the Western world on sites like Discogs. Good examples is the "All Love" and live album put out by DITC (the former being the third and final version of their '99-'00 debut that's just fantastic), 12" singles by producer Nigo featuring GZA/Prodigal Sunn ("Kung Fu Fighting 2000") and Rakim ("Once Upon A Rhyme"), exclusive mixtapes by Pete Rock and Lord Finesse, or the Next Level Recordings sampler EP which features exclusive music by Biz Markie/DJ Premier, OC/Lord Finesse, Showbiz/Zeebra, Da Beatminerz/Rino, Sadat X, Rhymester/Buckwild and Zeebra/DJ Premier. It's a beautful thing though of course you can get a bit jealous that you don't have a chance to cop these amazing records without shelling out a fortune.

This post focus lies on the aforementioned "lost" classic that is "Once Upon a Rhyme in Japan" (not to be confused with Ra's '95 song "Once Upon a Rhyme" as they have little in common beside the artist and the similiar title). Nigo is these days, since 2004, a founding member of the Teriyaki Boyz which is a bit suprising considering the vast differences in sound between them and Nigo as a solo producer. In 2000 he released a mini album called "Shadows of the Ape Sounds" via Toy's Factory, featuring collaborations with Biz Markie, Beatnuts, Flavor Flav, GZA/Prodigal Sunn, and of course Rakim. "Once Upon a Rhyme" makes use of some traditional Japanese/oriental instrumentation, the sitar, and most importantly agressively hard bass and drum combination that's absolutely perfect for The God MC. While I definitely don't feel his "The Master" LP is even half as bad as many people try to make it, this experience was unbelivable, this is that true headbanging shit you've been fiending for with Ra, through his commanding voice that are never drowned out by the loudness of the beat and lyrics so strong he really gives you that "Oh Shit" feeling, while hanging on every syllable Ra utters, It's a real shame this maxi-single was never released overseas

As if the in-your-face punch of the original wasn't enough the always impeccable DJ Muro got the chance to remix the song for a single release, and the version which takes a totally different stand still manages to be just as good. DJ Muro is probably more of a strict hip-hop producer than Nigo, especially siince he almost since the beginning of his career, and still, has worked with a lot of US heavyweights. The BPM is much more laidback in typical hip-hop fashion, somewhere around 85-90, which manages to put Ra even more at the forefront of the composition. Muro cooks up a lovely Rhodes sample over a pounding, yet somber drum- and bass-combo that I'm very well familiar with, but at the time of writing I actually can't place it for some reason - it's definitely not something I have in my record collection but I believe I've heard someone else use it. It's a good thing how different these two remixes are, and depending on my mood, I could really go with either one of these bangers that NEED to be heard by any serious fan of Rakim. Both songs are in 320 kbps and ripped form CD sources; there's no instrumental or accapella though, unfortunately this was released as two separate singles both on vinyl and CD, with one containing the original (plus instro and acapella), while the other featured Muro's remix (plus intro and acapella). They sound great together though so pless play while we eagerly await new music from Mr. R to the M.

01. "Once Upon a Rhyme in Japan" [Original]

02. "Once Upon a Rhyme in Japan" [DJ Muro Remix]

NIGO / RAKIM - "ONCE UPON A RHYME IN JAPAN"

[Mixtape] DJ MURO - "Diggin' Black Jazz"

DJ Muro, the king of diggin', has created this beautiful mix out of 17 stand out selections from the vast catalouge of the Black Jazz records imprint, and it's both smooth and funky as hell. If you're still new to jazz, this hypnotic groove machine could be a great way to get introduced to The Music. Included in this set are tracks by the likes of Chester Thompson, Roland Haynes, Gene Russel, Walter Bishop Jr. and many more. And not only are the songs themeselves absolutely terrific, but as usual, Japan's finest does a great job on the 1:s and 2:s. Not to be missed out on!

 

Lord Finesse - "Slave to My Soundwave [DJ Muro Remix]" / "You Know What I'm About [Remix]"

A while back ago I posted the snippet of the latest limited 7" single in the Lord Finesse series over @ Slice-Of-Spice. Most likely a track made for the time and time again pushed back "Funky Technician: Remix Project", here's DJ Muro's full remix of Lord Finesse & DJ Mike Smooth's superb classic "Slave to My Soundwave" (1990). Japan's finest keeps the old school essence of the track in effect while adding some brilliant funk to the mix, complete with blazing horns that's sure to keep your head nodding. Pick up your copies here.

As if that wasn't enough, we are also treated to a stream of the full Lord Finesse remix of the original version (the one without Big L) "You Know What I'm About", heavy on the percussion and utilizing a sample that you should recognize in an instance. One thing's for sure The Funky Man still got it!

Lord Finesse's "Slave to My Soundwave" 7" in February

This apparantly made it's way on to the interweb a whole month ago, but I've been losing track of Slice-Of-Spice lately and I'm sure I'm not the only one this is news to anyway. As you should know, The Funk Soul Brother teamed up with indie label Slice-Of-Spice about a year ago which has resulted in lots of dope exclusive 7" singles of previously unreleased material, and the full "Funky Technician" instrumentals for the first time ever. But the run is not over, as the team is preparing more material for year 13; and first out is a new interpretation of the classic "Slave to My Soundwave", remixed by Japan's finest - DJ Muro who's giving it a mad funky touch up that's not cheap on the instruments, you got several horn instruments, turntables, bass guitar, vibes, pounding drums and of course Lord Finesse who's voice is no doubt an instrument in itself.  This sounds like it's got the potential of a masterpiece. Here's also the snippet for the instrumental and pre-order straight from slice-of-spice.com.

What's really interesting is that it seems that much of the ill-fated "Funky Man Remix Project" is finally being released, but spread out over various singles and compilations. The following listed five tracks would make a fucking deadly EP, but imagine a whole LP of this caliber.. It simply NEEDS to be released:
* "Here I Come" [Large Professor Remix]
* "I Keep The Crowd Listeninng" [DJ Premier Remix]
* "Slave to My Soundwave" [DJ Muro Remix]
* "You Know What I'm About" [Lord Finesse Remix]
* "S.K.I.T.S." [DJ Spinna Remix]