Ceasar & PStarr - "War Music" [Free LP]

How about a free project featuring new tracks by G Rap, Saigon, Lil' Fame, Styles P and Smif-N-Wessun amongst others? Sounds good to me, lets hope the music lives up to the illness of the cover. I don't think I ever heard about Ceasar and PStarr before leaks from this project started hitting the net though. Any word on these guys?

Shouts to FreeOnSmash for the link.

01. "Intro"
02. Styles P – "Where The Angels Sleep"
03. Grafh – "Heartbreak"
04. Saigon – "Married To The Game"
05. Starsky– "Still Standing" (Ft. Melo*V)
06. Red Cafe – "G’s Over Here"
07. Lil’ Fame of M.O.P. – "Get Down"
08. B.G. – "Closer"
09. Mysonne, Al Doe, Skrilla Kid Villain – "Say Hi To The Devil"
10. Kool G Rap – "I Am"
11. Various Artists – "War Music"
12. Mista Raja – "Hood"
13. SAS & Corte Ellis – "Selfish"
14. Mistah FAB – "California Dreamin’"
15. Avery Storm – "Best Friends"
16. Smif-N-Wessun – "2 Minutes NY Banger"
17. Parlae of Dem Franchize Boyz – "Believin’"
18. Serious Jones – "Victory Lap"
19. Darkangel – "Round and Round"
20. "Outro"

CEASAR & PSTARR - "WAR MUSIC"

Classic Clips: A Tour @ The Hansome Boy Modeling School

"So... How's Your Girl?", the wonderfully twisted first collaborative album by fashion industry moguls Nathaniel Merriweather (Dan The Automator) and Chest Rockwell (Prince Paul) as Handsome Boy Modeling School still gets spins from me every now and then. It's as weird as you would imagine an album by Prince Paul and Dan The Automator back in the late 1990s and despite the guest apperances coming from everyone from DJ Shadow to Sean Lennon, from Brand Nubian to Alec Empire, the end result is a front-to-back banger tailor made for hip-hop connoisseurs. In short, if you haven't heard the LP and tends to like hip-hop that defies clichés, you should consider sending 60$ to the institute of Handsome Boy Modeling School yourself. It might just happen to be the best 60$ you ever spent.

The video above was made and released in promo for the album back in '99 and is a hilarious watch that encapsulates the theme of "So... How's Your Girl" well. Besides the expected tour through the school's principles by the founders themeselves, you'll see cameos from El-Producto and Razhel amongst others. Below is a bonus clip from the original episode of the series that inspired the project in the first place, 'Get A Life' featuring Chris Elliot, set to the tones of "Look At This Face (Oh My God, They're Gorgeous)". As a second bonus, I added the H.B.M.S. remix of The Beastie Boys' "Negotiation Limerick File", released in 1998. It's an interesting track as it's one of the few times Automator and Paul worked together outside of their two full-lengths together.

BEASTIE BOYS - "NEGOTIATION LIMERICK FILE" [H.B.M.S. MAKEOVER]

K-Def signs with Redefinition Records

Redefinition Records today officially announced that their latest artist is none other than legendary New Jersey producer K-Def. A new home like Redefinition means that he will be able to get alot more of his new material out to the public. This should get any beathead excited as K-Def has blessed the game with countless classics (Tragedy, Lords Of The Underground, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Ghostface, LL Cool J, etc.) and is still going as strong as ever. It's extremely rare to come across anything average from this guy if you want my opinion.

To prove that they aren't all talk and no game, the first release from K-Def on the label is just around the corner. Three recently produced instrumentals will make their way onto a 7" vinyl single (as well as digital form) that will be available from August 9. Having had the fortune of getting a preview of these tracks I can assure any fan of the man that you'll be absolutely blown away by these three gems. Matter of fact, even if you aren't that familiar with Def since before this might very well make you a believer. Head over to the label website to check out an exclusive snippet and keep checking The Lost Tapes for some exclusive K-Def shit, coming soon!

PRE-ORDER "FOR DEF'S SAKE" 7'' @ REDEF

Remembering Too Poetic (1964-2001)

10 years ago, on June 15, 2001, the hip-hop community faced the loss of another incredible emcee to the tragic faith of passing away far too soon. He was born as Anthony Berkeley but came to be more known to the world as Poetic, Too Poetic or Grym Reaper. 

Growing up in Long Island, New York, with roots in Trinidad and Tobago, Anthony Ian Berkeley found himself in love with the exploding hip-hop culture. By the late '80s he had honed his skill into the art of a wordsmith while building a name for himself as a vicious battle MC in the streets of Wyandanch, Strong Island. Berkeley would go on to rhyme as part of several different rap crews, finding himself in groups along future legends like Rakim and Teddy Ted.

Together with two local DJ friends, DJ Kaos and Woody Wood, he formed the group Too Poetic while taking on the alias of Poetic for himself. The trio would soon catch the ears of an A&R at Tommy Boy Records who signed them for an album and single deal in 1988. Together with co-producer James Nathaniel Tinsley, who would later form Island Noyze Productions, they transformed their given studio time into the full-length album "Droppin' Signal". Preceeding the planned LP release, Tommy Boy Records tested the waters with the Too Poetic single "God Made Me Funky" / "Poetical Terror" in 1989. While the Paul C. assisted "God Made Me Funky" has grown into a classic on the low over the years, at the time of its release the single didn't make the noise Tommy Boy had hoped for. The label got cold feet and decided to temporarily shelve "Dropping Signal'", causing the trio to request being dropped from their deal. The '88-'89 LP was left unheard by the world until only one or two years ago, when freelance writer Jesse Serwer managed to get his hands on the project through DJ Kaos. Head over to Serwer's blog to check out the album in full and read the extensive interview with DJ Kaos.

Although the deal fell through, leaving Poetic's career in limbo, the situation with Tommy Boy would turn out to be a crucial moment for the future of Poetic as an artist. Being signed only to be burned by the record industry, and by the Tommy Boy label in particular, was an experience that he shared with three other current hip-hop cats; Prince Paul, Prince Rakeem/RZA and Frukwan. Around '91 this quartet combined forces to form the "horrorcore" group The Gravediggaz who instantly started to work on a demo tape. The result was a deal with GeeStreet Records and the biggest record of Poetic's entire career - Gravediggaz's 1994 debut LP "Niggamortis" (later retitled, and more commonly known as, "6 Feet Deep"). The years that passed between "Droppin' Signal", the bitterness of being dropped and surrounding himself with the talent of his new crew helped transform the Long Island native into one of the most unique and original MCs the hip-hop world has yet to see. His unorthodox style of flow and array of outstanding lines urged producer Prince Paul to often use Poetic to set songs off, to great effect.

The rest is somewhat, "as they say", hip-hop history. After another succesful group album on GeeStreets in '97, "The Pick, The Sickle & The Shovel", the quartet was reduced to a duo; leaving only Frukwan and Poetic on the mission of digging up the graves of the mentally dead. Despite lacking the presence of the more famous RZA and Prince Paul, Gravediggaz continued being a force to be reckoned with which was proven with their third and final album. "Nightmare in A-Minor" was completed and first released in 2001. It didn't make half the impact either of the two previous joints did, but it's still very worthwhile material that features tons of amazing verses on the behalf of both Frukwan and Poetic.

Around 1999, Anthony Berkeley was diagnosed with colon cancer and given an estimated time of four months left to live. Even after such a devastating blow to him and his family, Poetic continued to record music and grow as an artist; sharing his pain and the truth about his condition on "Burn Baby Burn" (Gravediggaz) and "One Life" (Last Emperor). He beat the doctor's original estimation with over two years but finally returned to the essence on June 15 of 2001. His spirit continues to live through his memory and all the music he left behind although it remains a travesty that he hasn't been inducted into the "hip-hop hall of fame", so to speak. Chuck D of Public Enemey commented: "Here's a cat that recored terminally ill, for his love for life, his family and music. How it must've sounded silly when he saw and heard cats complaining about dumb beefs, fame or some little insignificant hood problem ... No, this rapper wasn't shot in some hood brawl, didn't pass on some wreckless auto accident and didn't self inflict harm. He was taken by the misfortune of fate. We should think about how lucky we are and stop sweating the small stuff and appreciate life. Too Poetic should remind us all of how precious this life is".

01. Too Poetic -  "God Made Me Funky" [Paul C's Funky Mix]
02. Too Poetic - "Poetical Terror" [Funky Mix]
03. Gravediggaz - "1-800 Suicide" [Poisonous Mix]
04. Gravediggaz - "From The Darkside"
05. DJ Honda / Gravediggaz - "We Run Shit"
06. Celestial Souljahz / Poetic / R.H. Bless - "Ghetto Apostles"
07. Celestial Souljahz / Poetic / Yogi - "Angels Of Death"
08. Maxim / Poetic - "Worldwide Syndicate"
09. Poetic - "Savior"
10. Last Emperor / Poetic - "One Life"

"REMEMBERING POETIC" [RECORDINGS '89 - '01]

Big Shug / DJ Premier tribute to GURU

The remaining members of the original GangStarr Foundation just released this heartfelt dedication to their fallen comrade GURU a/k/a Keith Elam. Produced by DJ Premier and performed by Big Shug, the song is called ""We Miss You" for what would have been Guru's 50th birthday on July 17. I've said it before and I'll say it again, rest in peace GURU; you truly blessed hip-hop with your presence, and as the track title states, you surely are missed. Thanks to The Preemo Blog for the link.

BIG SHUG & DJ PREMIER - "WE MISS YOU"

[Comp] A Tribe Called Quest - "Completing the Quest"

I already did the De La Soul and Black Sheep tapes, so it's only right that A Tribe Called Quest is next in line (never been much of a Jungle Brothers fan, so don't expect a comp with them). The dynamic trio consisting of Q-Tip, Phife Dawg and DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad hardly needs any further introduction. Their succesful run, resulting in 5 albums, continues to spread joy and getting heads nodding. I recently watched the Michael Rappaport documentary on the group, titled "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest" which I strongly recommend to any hardcore fan of The Tribe.

Another thing I can recommend to any hardcore ATCQ fan, besides picking up all of their albums, is to download the compilation presented below. As far as I know this tape has pretty much all the material the group ever released that didn't make their LPs (not counting remixes). From B-sides such as "One Two Shit", "More Jazz (We've Got)" to soundtrack joints like "Glamour & Glitz" (The Show), "Peace, Prosperity & Paper" (High School High) as well as a few rare goodies, including the full Phife Dawg featured "That Shit" (thx to and the unreleased "Love Movement" intro. The songs are all from the period of 1990 and 1998 (when, of course, the group broke up) except for the last track - "I C U (Doin' It)" which was supposed to be the first single from a new ATCQ album in 2003 that obviously never materialized. Most of the songs on here are produced by Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad with a few contributions by J Dilla; these guys are extremely talented in that department too, you might see additional tapes collecting outside productions from Tip and Ali. I was too lazy to make a cover so I used one for a limited Jive EP that dropped in the mid '90s as promo for "Midnight Mauraders".

01. "Introducing the Quest" (Ft. Mos Def)
02. "Jazz (We've Got): Re-Recording"
03. "If The Papes Come"
04. "Bonita Applebum Pt. 2" [a.k.a. The Hootie Mix]
05. "One, Two Shit" (Ft. Busta Rhymes)
06. "The Chase (Bound to Wreck Ya Body)"
07. "Same Ol' Thing"
08. "Mardi Gras @ Midnight" (Ft. Rah Digga)
09. "Glamour & Glitz"
10. "Sh.Fe.MC's" (Ft. De La Soul)
11. "Peace, Prosperity & Paper"
12. "Wild Hot" (Ft. Busta Rhymes)
13. "The Remedy" (Ft. Common)
14. "The Night He Got Caught"
15. "Check The Rhime" [Skeff's Mix]
16. "Lyrics to Go" [Tumblin' Dice Mix]
17. "That Shit" (Ft. Jay Dee)
18. "Scenario (7 MC's Remix)" (Ft. Kid Hoods & Leaders Of The New School)
19. "I C U Doin' It" (Ft. Erykah Badu)

A TRIBE CALLED QUEST - "COMPLETING THE QUEST"

Diamond D tells it All @ Complex

One really got to hand it to the guys over at Complex Online Magazine as they keep blessing us hip-hop heads with incredibly interesting and informative interviews with legendary producers and artists. Previously we've seen this type of feature on Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Raekwon and many others and now the time has come for Diamond D to break down some of his most classic records. One of the founders of D.I.T.C., Diamond has long been one of my absolute favorite producers; probably making it in my top 5 producers of all time, at least definitely top 10. For any fan, like myself, interested in trivia and stories behind the scenes of those classic joints we all love to play, this is a real blessing. Head over to Complex and check out Diamond breaking down no less than 42 tracks.

DIAMOND D TELLS IT ALL @ COMPLEX.COM

Blaq Poet / Roc Marcy / Wais P

The official Stu Bangas remix of Blaq Poet's "Bushmaster Music" from his recently released "Blaq Poet Society". This take on the single includes new verses by Poet, Roc Marciano and Wais P; especially Roc Marcy and Poet sounds incredible together. I gotta say that it's incredible to see Marciano's work ethic as he pops up on a new banger about every week, always spitting certified fire. I will most likely do another Roc Marciano compilation soon, following "Caviar: The Album".

Apperently this track is taken from a forthcoming remix EP of the "Blaq Poet Society" album, which will also be put out through Brick Records. Besides Roc Marciano and Wais P, the EP will include features from Big Noyd, Meyhem Lauren, Reef The Lost Cauze and Blacastan. Sounds dope!

BLAQ POET / ROC MARCIANO / WAIS P - "BUSHMASTER MUSIC PT. 2"

4th Disciple reveals tracklist for "Best Of 740"

Anyone familiar with the Wu-Tang Clan should know a little something about producer 4th Disciple. He was one of the only producers beside RZA to get several beat placements on the classic Clan albums and first round of solo projects from the generals between 1993 and 1997. He hasn't been very prolific in recent years though, as not as far as releasing his stuff to the public, but that is about to change. A few years back he dropped a very limited mini album called "Best Of 740" which featured rare and unreleased work from the MC/producer. I know alot of people slept on that, but it's a truly banging release, and luckily 4th has decided to release a Vol. 2 of the project, tie it up with the original and sell it as a 2xCD package. Each CD will include ten tracks, displaying both 4th Disciple's skills as a producer and a rapper as well as several guest apperances from little known but often dope MCs. Check out the tracklist below (click to enlarge) and stay tuned for more info about this project. Shouts to Jammin for spreading the info.

DJ Jazzy Jeff & Ayah's "Back For More"

It's time for some sweet, relaxing, vintage soul music on The Lost Tapes as veteran DJ Jazzy Jeff and his new protogé Ayah unleashes their collaborative effort "Back For More". This is of course far removed from the computer generated, dead music passed off as soul and R&B on commercial radio and MTV these days. Personally this is a project I've been waiting on for quite a while now as you might've noticed from the multiple posts on it. Anyone who's familiar with Jazzy Jeff knows that he's equally capable of creating amazing jazzy hip-hop and incredible straight soul joints; and from what I've heard so far the beautiful voice of Ayah is a perfect match for Jeff's blend of hip-hop and soul.

A little suprisingly, "Back For More", has been made available for free download via Bandcamp and who can complain about that? The 13 tracks are all produced by DJ Jazzy Jeff and features vocals by Ayah, but there's also contributions in the beat section from James Poyser (The Roots) and Demien DeSandies plus guest verses from S.T.S. (Money Making Jam Boys) and Tona.

01. "Press Play"
02. "Back For More"
03. "Notorious"
04. "One Life" (Ft. Tona)
05. "Hold On"
06. "Make It Last"
07. "Forgive Me Love"
08. "Tables Turn"
09. "Maybe We Can Just" (Ft. S.T.S.)
10. "Telephone"
11. "Baby"
12. "The Game (Somebodies)"
13. "Be Alright"

DJ JAZZY JEFF & AYAH - "BACK FOR MORE" LP