[comp] PETE ROCK - "This is the NEW Shit"

Since I first heard ".T.R.O.Y.", "Shut 'Em Down", Pete's take on "Jump Around", "Nighttrain" and so many more, I've heald Pete as one of the holy trinity of Hip-Hop production. There's of course plenty of great rducers out there, but Pete reallt walked the extra mile putting together and layering something rottally original. This was the early '90s and songs like "T.R.OY", "The Basement" and basically the whole LP, there never was a qiuestion Pete Rock still got it. Simple as that. His sound might have changed quite a bit since the classic SP1200 days with CL Smooth and "Letterman" but though the man is still cranking out bangers on a semi-regular basis, he sure as hess stillgot,. In the last couple of years he served Hip Hop heads with serious dopeness on his full-length collaboration with Smif-N-Wessun ("Monumental"), brought out the ill instrumental grooves on "Petestrumentals II" and released two free digital mixtapes with Camp Lo that featured enough hot exclusives to make up a nice little album. One of the joys of being a dedicated Pete Rock fan, however, is not only checking for his LP releases and special projects but of course to keep eyes and ears open for whatever singles he's invited to produce or remix. While his work in the 2010s might not be as consistantly mindblowing as his early '90s years there's been plenty of Pete Rock heatrocks released on various albums over the last three years or so. Ron Carter was a bassic that Miles wanTed in his badn fot quote time -and thereS unodubtedly weak homes. "There Will Be Blood" is undoubtddly one of the best children's 

Last week I saw a GREAT concert performance by Pete Rock and CL Smooth in Copenhagen which really got me in a Soul Brother listening mode. Hence I dug up this compilation I made a while back for personal listening, but why not share the goods, right? This comp is basically an overlook of Stank for other artists between 2012 and 2016. I've tried to find all joints in the best possible quality as far as Mp3 goes (320 kbps) but a few of the songs is in lower bitrate as that was how they hit the internet in the case of some of these digital loosies. Either way it's a pretty cool front-to-back listen for anyone who still considers himself a Pete Rock fan... Check it out!

01. Torae - "Get Down"

02. Edo G - "Let Da Horns Blow"

03. Ill Bill - "Truth"

04. .38 Spesh - "Gone" (Ft. Sean Hayes)

05. Mack Wilds - "Duck Sauce"

06. Mac Miller - "Melt" (Ft. Schoolboy Q)
07. Robert Glasper Experiment - "Black Radio" RMX (Ft. Yasiin Bey)

08. Panda Bear - "Crosswords" RMX

09. NORE - "Vitamins" (Ft. Pete Rock)

10. Styles P - "Children" (Ft. Pharoahe Monch)

11. .38 Spesh - "Support" (Ft. Styles P)

12. Blu - "The Clean Hand"
13. Edo G - "2 Turntables & A Mic"
14. Ill Bill - "When I Die" RMX
15. Mack Wilds - "The Art Of Falling"
16. Smoke DZA - "Achieve"

 PETE ROCK - "THIS IS THE NEW SHIT"

[12'' Throwback] EDO G Feat. PETE ROCK - "Shed A Tear"

 In late 2004 one of Boston's illest and most entertaining lyricists enlisted his friend and super producer Pete Rock for several sessions that yielded the excellent "My Own Worst Enemy" album. Seven of the ten songs were produced by Rock (Diamond D, DJ Revolution and Supreme One) filled out the remaining cuts. Clocking in at only forty minutes yet filled with clever and well delivered lyricism, excellent soulful but hard hitting beats and lots of tasteful turntable work it was definitely one of the best LP:s of 2004 and holds up just as god today. What might come as news to some of y'all is the duo also released a 12" single featuring two additional bangers that I suspect were cut from the album but created in the same sessions. The A-side "Shed A Tear" uses a beat created for "Soul Survivor II" as it appeared in instrumental form on the semi-official Pete instrumentals LP "The Survivng Elments". To me Edo G has proven that he's one of the best to rock on a Pete Rock track, ever since they first worked together in an official capacity on "Situations" from Ed's 2000 album "The Truth Hurts". Of course mroe recently Pete laced Edo G with three straight bangers on the latter's latest release, the criminally overlooked "After All These Years". Check out the two joints from the 2005 single below... The sound quality isn't the best considering it's a vinyl rip in 192 kbps but it's well worth a few spins!

A. "Shed A Tear"

B. "Just Listen"

EDO G & STREET WYSE - "Sorta Way" (Ft. Reks)

This is just incredible news that just landed as one of my personal favorite emcees, Edo G, unleashes the first taste of his next album which is entirely produced by the two man team of Street Wyse. The latter guys are new to my ears but listening to "Sorta Way" which also features Reks doing his thing, you can tell that these guys got crazy chemistry with Edo. If this is an indiciation of what to expect, "Afterwords" will be a monster. Stay tuned for more info as the project progresses!

[Limited Edition] DJ CRUCIAL - "Retro Active"

DJ Crucial is a name well known to some of us hip-hop junkies that love reading those linear notes, you'll recognize the names from his production work on great tracks by MF Grimm, Jia Davis, Juice, Hi-Fidel, Black Spade, Count Bass D, and many more. My personal favorite is the exclusive 12" version of "The Gingerbread Man" that he made for MF Grimm back in 2005. 

Now the small label Trash Flow and F5 Records is releasing a very limited run of 200 double copies of an exclusive DJ Crucial tape, featuring vocal tracks on cassette one (black) and instrumentals on the second (white). "Retro Active" features a host of absolutely amazing artists and hip hop legends, all going in over DJ Crucial bangers, all previously unreleased and recorded between 1993 and 2014. How about MF Grimm, Large Professor, Capo, Sadat X, Black Spade, EDO G, Grand Puba, Jia Davis and many more. I would absolutely love to hear it, I really hope they drop it on wax or CD as I can't even play cassettes anymore and looking at the tracklist and hearing the first single it's easy to tell that THIS NEEDS TO BE HEARD! Cop the album and read more here - DJ Crucial's "Retro Active" page @ TrashFlow.

Side A

01. Alps Cru - "No Question" [SP Remix]

02. MF Grimm Ft. Large Professor - "United" [SP Remix]

03. Casual - "Essence Of Freshness"

04. Capo Ft. Jia Davis & Sadat X - "Struggle"

05. EDO G Ft. J. Davis - "Firepower"

06. Tha Grim Teachaz - "I Getz Summer" ['93 Remix]

07. Black Spade - "Sweetest Revenge"

Side B

08. Alps Cru - "Too Steep"

09. Count Bass D Ft. Black Spade - "Move Blocks"

10. MF Grimm - "Streets" [Ruff Demo Mix]

11.  Grand Puba Ft. Sadat X - "Top Shelf" [1200 Mix]

12. Jia Davis Ft. Gotta Be Karim - "The Suffer"

13. Deep Six - "Verb Burglar" [Lost 4 Track Tape Mix]

EDO G Ft. PETE ROCK - "Make Music"

EDO G and Pete Rock always does a great job together; for real, since CL Smooth I think EDO have probably the best chemistry amongst all of the many emcees he's ever worked with. They seriously need to do another album together, "My Own Worst Enemy", is a personal classic and so is the "Jus Shed A Tear" 12". In 2014 EDO G released one of my favorite albums of the year with "After All These Years", a front-to-back banger that I very highly recommend if you're somehow been sleeping. Among the albums 12 tracks Pete Rock collaborated with EDO on three of them - one being the single "Make Music" which is now getting the video treatment. TURN IT UP!

[Video] EDO.G - "Listen" (fFt. G-Dot & Born)

If you haven't heard legendary Boston emcee Edo G's latest full-length LP "After All These Years" you're really doing a diservice to yourself. With the concept lthat less is more "...All These Years" is an excellent album that is perhaps Edo's finest since "My Own Worst Enemey". The guest emcees are kept to a minimum; Guilty Simpson, Camp Lo, King Magnetic, G-Dot & Born, The Mighty Chuck D and a beauiful joint with his Special Teamz crew. Production wise you got Pete Rock (for three tracks none the less), Vanderslice, 9th Wonder, Marco Polo, Xplcit One, and more. The soulful "Listen" as you hear above are produced by Jas Productions. I can't recommend this album strongly enough and it's available on wax, CD and cassette so HURRY UP and BUY!

[Out Of Print] EDO G - "Dedication EP"

Having released classic albums and 12":s with his Da Bulldogs crew as far back as 1991, Boston emcee Edo G has truly proved time and time again that constant elevation and logevity can go hand in hand. This year he released one of the finest albums of 2014 so far, the short but straight to the point "After All These Years" which is unfortunately still ridiciously slept-on in many circles. For this post I want to bring back one of Edo's more unknown records, a Japan only EP that forms a bridge between his early 2000s solo catalouge and his early work as part of Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs. Most comonly refered as the "Dedication" EP, this piece of vinyl shows brilliant lyricismms delivered in Edo's unmistakable monotonous but heartfelt flow over a thumping but dark, and sometimes laid-back beats of the boom bap aesthetic - completely supplied by The Vinyl Reanimators (Joe Mansfield and Sean C on the production; DJ Shame and DJ Nestle Quick on the turntables). Released in 1996 on the small Japanese label Solid Records, it is sometimes known as "The Six Song EP" and are available in a few different versions - one with six tracks, and one that also includes two additional tracks towards the end. The latter one is the one I want to share with you here.

There's not a single weak or half-mediocre song on here, whether we're focusing on production or lyrical performance, and without no guests both Edo G and Vinyl Reanimators really gets to shine together as their chemistry is unmistakable. I'm a big fan of the EP format, as I'd rather take a near perfect six or seven songs outing than a fifteen track album where four of the songs straihgt up suck. And this is about as good an EP as they come - it's all here; that headnodding '90s boom bap esthetic where samples were always crisp, drums were pounding you in the head and artists put a lot of effort into their lyrics to really mean something. If you haven't heard this gem before do yourself a favor and download it ASAP, press play, sit back, TURN IT UP and let your head start nodding. And don't forget to cop Edo G's "After All These Years" as it's definitely an album worth to have in the collection.

01. "Dedicated"

02. "What U Got"

03. "304's"

04. "Acting"

05. "Showing Skills"

06. "Nights Like This"

07. "Get It Right"

08. "Get It Right: The Remid"

EDO G - "DEDICATED EP"

[Video] EDO G Ft. CHUCK D - "Fight"

I haven't heard Edo G's new album "After All These Years" in its entirety yet, but from what I heard the Boston legend and one of the most underrated definitely came correct in '14 with a solid album. One of the most important and illest track on the project from what I've heard so far is the first single, the Chuck D assisted "Fight". Getting it on over a powerful soul influenced yet raw hip-hop banger, Edo and the legendary Public Enemy front man goes hard on both their lyrics and their deliveries, creating a certified banger to say the least. It must have been an obvious choice for a music video which you can see above, so TURN IT UP and enjoy this great ass joint. I suggest you pick up the album which features no less than three Pete Rock bangers, plus production from Vanderslicec (who's responsible for this), 9th Wonder, Marco Polo and more. You can grab both the 2xLP set, cassette and the CD @ UGHH now so HURRY UP AND BUY!

EDO G / PETE ROCK - "2 Turntables & A Mic"

Here's one certified banger that totally slipped by me when it dropped about a week ago but as I often say, better late than never when it comes to stuff like this that I feel real hip-hop fanatics needs in their life. Ever since Edo G's 2001 solo debut with "Situations" and even more with the classic "My Own Worst Enemy" LP and the "Shed A Tear" VLS, I've always been super excited every time I see the names Pete Rock and Edo G together. Apparantly, Edo reached out to Pete to produce his latest single "2 Turntables & A Mic", the lead single from the legendary Boston act's upcoming next album. "After All These Years" drop August 9.

MASTA ACE / EDO G [prod. DJ JEAN MARON] - "It's Too..."

While Ace and Edo's collaborative full-length album was dope but slightly dissapointing there's no question that these two brothers pack an incredible chemistry and when they rock over hard beats they are one of the coolest duo's in hip-hop. There new track, produced by DJ Jean Maron, lifted from the French producers debut album "True School" which is out now on iTunes - grab it here! The song also features talented singer JTronius on the soulful hook. The dope ish!

[Album] AKROBATIK - "Built to Last"

Right from its first and up to its final days; I can't remember the last tme I almost exclusively listened to new hip-hop music in my IPod. On May 28 skilled Boston spitter Akrobatik released his third album as a solo artist, "Built to Last", and like its predecessor it's straight-up hardcore hip-hop filled to the limits with tight flows, knocking punchlines, sample-driven boom ba and a whole lot of turntable works. It's music from one hip-hop connoisseur to others, and the result is for the most part well worth several spins. Guests include Masa Ace, EDO G, Mr. Lif, Reks, Chilla and Dutch ReBelle. There's no question that its Akrobatik and his producers and DJ that are the real stars of the show though - providing production DJ Supa Dave, Reason, Paten Locke, Slopfunkdust, and a few others. Stream and/or purchase the dgital through Akrobatik's Bandcamp.

[EP] FIRST DIVISION - "The Critical Path Pt. 1"

This slamming eight track EP went straight over my head when it was first released as a free download a few days ago, but I'm real glad I found it because this is exactly one of the many different types of hip-hop that I absolutely love with no holding back. First Division is an Ontario, Canada duo consisting of Shylow and Expertise, and besides Shylow's many DJ apperances on Marco Polo's album the duo also appeared on the stand-out cut "The Long & Winding Road" with Large Professor on Marco's immaculate "Newport Authority 2" (if you read my review you'll know that I hold that premix even higher than the more official "PA2: Director's Cut". On the "The Ciritcal Path Pt. 1" the duo gives an amazing performance both beat wise, lyrically and on the turntables - pretty much hip hop at it's finest. This is the pre-cursor to their upcoming official album "The Critical Path 2" which drops later this year. Scroll up a bit to find the two first singles from this album and a big shout out to this duo for making this incredible music available for free - if they are just pressing up this on vinyl, I'm sold!

[EP] V/A - "Hip-Hop Underground's Finest" (1999)

Now this is a real underrated underground gem that was released on the always trustworthy Hydra Entertainment back in early 1999, highlighting some of the artists or producers half-affiliated with the label around that time like Prince Po, Godfather Don (of course), L Swift of Natural Elements, Edo G, Sir Menelik and more with production supplied by Don, Nick Wiz, Alchemist, Prince Poetry, DJ Spinna, and Rich Boogie so you know this is a quality release that you need to get up on if you haven't heard it before. It was released on both CD and 2x12" on Hydra Entertainment, and this rip features all the six main tracks from the CD edition; unfortunately excluding the instrumental and clean versions however. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do, pure underground hip-hop at it's finest with some of my favorite producers of the era and some very impressive vocal performances as well (and some not so impressive - High & Mighty I'm looking at you, but with a dope Alchemist beat to back them up it gets a pass). Download, TURN IT UP!! and enjoy!

01. Godfather Don, Sir Menelik & Mic L - "No Competition" [prod. Godfather Don]

02. Matt Fingaz w. Punch & Words - "Just Ask Us" [prod. Nick Wiz]

03. L Swift & Eddie Brock - "Meltodown" [prod. Rich Boogie]

04. High & Mighty - "The Conflict" [prod. by The Alchemist]

05. Ed O.G. - "You All About Nothin'" [prod. by DJ Spinna]

06. Prince Po & Boku Rule - "Hot Syrup" [prod. by  Prince Poetry]

HYDRA - "HIP-HOP UNDERGROUND'S FINEST"

[Video] EDO G - "Fight Off The New"

Fittingly enough, considering that I just announced a new Ace project in the post below, here's the brand new video from Edo G's upcoming June release "After All These Years" and it's fucking TOUGH. If Edo G truly gets this album right then this could definitely be a best album of the year consideration. TURN IT UP!

EDO G preps "After All These Years" through Kickstarter

Pretty much any true hip-hop head absolutely love the ruff voice, sharp lyrics and social and personal commentary of Edo G, but unfortunately that love has never really transformed into record sales. With ten retail albums behind, the Boston emcee now turns to Kickstarter to let help fans bring his upcoming "After All These Years" to life. "I've been working on this new album for the last year, and it's brought me back to that original Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs conscious boom bap rap ... It's time to go back to the very beginning, to the essence of what hip-hop is", Edo says in the video embeded above before going into how he found four of '90s Pete Rock beat that he never got around to using that'll be included here (!). Sounds like a crazy project no doubt, especially as The LP will feature production from 9th Wonder, Xplicit One, and Pete Rock as already mentioned while Guilty Simpson, Chuck D and Camp Lo all are slated for vocal apperances. If the album (which will be pressed up on a very limited 2xLP set) isn't enough you'll also receive a cassette of "My Own Worst Enemey" and an iLL book documenting the writing process of 10 of Edo's personal favorite tracks. How iLL is that?  

The label is 5th & UNION, an imprint formed by Edo together with Jamieson Grillo. It's a Kickstarter project though, which means that the release of it is based on fan demand. The goal for the label is to gather $12,500 which of $9,276 is already in the can. Please show your support for this, even if it's just $10 dollars because we need to see this happen. I know I will donate and I really don't have the money for it but by doing this you cut out the middle hand - no money to shady A&R:s and non-musical bitches, just simply  cash to create, complete and distribute an album - 'nuff said... Also check out the snippet of the Chuck D track below, sounding serious!


SUPPORT THE CAUSE @ KICKSTARTER

DJ NEFARIOUS Ft. Edo G, M-Dot & U Kati - "Ground Up"

Hip-Hop producer DJ Nefarious comes through with "Ground Up", a blazing posse cut featuring the always stellar Edo G alongside New England spitters M-Dot and Undu Kati. With DJ Diaz on the cut, this is some real smooth soulful hip-hop shit right here mate.

[Video] EDO G - "Of Course I'm Fresh"

When you mix legendary emcee Edo G and the addictve headnod production of Confidence you are sure to have a banger on your hands. That's the case with Edo's latest single (and viceo) "Of Course I'm Fresh". The track is lifted from the Confidence presented and produced "G. Dot & Born Feat. EDO G" which is out now on iTunes. FAT!

[Video] G. DOT & BORN - "Manhunter"

G. Dot and Born is preparing an album presented by producer Connfidence, and heavily featuring Boston veteran Edo G. Following the incredible first single, the Pete Rock dedication "Living Legend", the trio (including Confidence) is back in business with single no. 2 - another dope cut titled "Manhunt" that packs more of the laid-back, soulful but boom bapish sound that we are starting to associate this group with. The track is called "Manhunter", and does not feature Edo G this time, but is still a very ill cut, indeed. Check it out above and enjoy, while we wait for the LP to drop very soon.

CONFIDENCE Presents G.DOT & BORN Ft. EDO G, Rob-O & Grap Luva - "Living Legend"

Boston legend Edo G joins his young apprentices G.Dot & Born in recording a hauntingly ill dedication to Living Legend Pete Rock. Edo G and Pete of course created the "My Own Worst Enemy", the "Shed A Tear"/"Jus Listen" 12" and a couple of loose tracks togethher. To add even more authenticity to the cut, if you want to call it that, is that the trio alwso invites former InI members Grap Luva and Rob-O who of course worked extensively with Pete all the way back from the early '90s (and in the case of Grap, way, way earlier as they are of course cousins). To top it off, producer Confidence proves once again why he's a name to be reckoned with, building a beat that could've just as well comen out of Pete's own archive wih a piano driven theme,the longing sounds of a tenor saxophone fading in and out, and of course crisp clear but real hard drums. A well performed sick scratch hook separating the verses are the big red cherry on top. We are not even two weeks in into 2014 yet, but as of now this is most likely the best song I've heard so far,

As you can see by the cover this is actually lifted from a complet forthcoming album by G.Dot, Born, Edo and produced by Confidence. Word is, if i understand the e-mail drop rightly, G.Dot & Born wil handle about half of the tracks while Edo G will carry the rest - though there's three songs where Edo G appears on the half "not his". The album should be very dope, and is out on January 28 via Redline Music Distribution (click to pre-order).

[EP] THE AUDIBLE DOCTOR - "The Summer Tape"

Despite consisting of only four songs, there were few releases out this past winter that got me as excited as The Audible Doctor's brilliantly executed "The Winter Tape". With every track the good Doctor managed to catch and construct the vibe of a cold, winter day and/or night and I loved having that EP blazing in my headphones during train rides absorbing the freezing weather outside the window. Now, he's back with the second installment in his Seasons themed EP series, and as it's a strikingly warm summer this will be the perfect addition to your music library for the coming month. As usual there's a bunch of interesting guests joining in on the all produced Audible Doctor sessions; amongst others we are treated to Edo G, Kurious, Guilty Simpson, Oddisee, Hasaan Mackey and more. Just like, or should I say in contrast, with the previous tape I'm amazed me how well he caught the feeling of a nice warm summer day with that one... The project will be released on actual cassette and later this week on iTunes, but for now you can check out the entire project for free.99 below. I can only hope we will get more additions to this series, and even if the Winter/Summer EP:s are released as a double feature on wax you can bet your ass I'm cashing in!