[EP] Dirty Art Club - "Hexes"

The production duo Dirty Art Club, consisting of Madwreck and Matt Cagle, recently produced Mattic's full-length album "The Abstract Convention". Now they're heading their own project with the just released "Hexes" EP on Phonosaurus Records. The record contains eight mindbending instrumentals that's rooted in hip-hop and breaks but lacks any fear of branching off into any direction the music requires. "A striking blend of electronic and analog music interspersed with dark, melancholy undertones", says the press release in a fitting description. Available now as a digital download, "Hexes" will also find its way to CD and vinyl releases. It's probably not for everyone, but if you liked Mattic's album, and love stuff like early DJ Shadow and RJD2, I strongly encourage you to peep this joint.

[Review] PRODIGY - "H.N.I.C. Pt. 3"

After serving his three year bid, Prodigy is back full throttle. In the last year he's been heard dropping some killer guest verses, and a couple of decent enough mixtapes, all building up to the release of the third installment in his beloved “H.N.I.C.” series. Up until this point, I have yet to be let down by a Prodigy solo, so despite the not so promising look of the tracklist, I was eager to hear the latest offering from the Mobb Deep veteran as soon as it became available.

”H.N.I.C. Pt. 3” starts out with a real bang, in the form of ”Without Rhyme or Reason”, where a re-energized and confident Prodigy announces his presence, reminding listeners why he's lasted this long in the rap game. Backed up by an equally sinister Alchemist beat where the aggressive drums, off key vocal samples and frenetic synthesizer lines compliments P’s vocals like no other producer can, besides Havoc. This is how you open up an album right here! From here we go to “Slept On”; another ALC heater where a real dark, grimey bassline takes sonic center stage. P’s flow is clear and crisp; and while it’s not his ‘90s self, his much slower delivery helps give weight to every word, and his voice is of course still one of legend. The two opening tracks undoubtedly sounds like classic P, and pretty much picks up right where “H.N.I.C. Pt. 2” left off.
However, from here the album takes a left turn, totally switching up from the classic Mobb Deep formula of hardcore rap, starting with the early single “Pretty Thug”. On here, P takes the “Me & My Bitch” route, spitting three verses that spells out like a love letter to his gangstafied chick. There’s nothing wrong with adding one or two a little more commercial records to your album, as long as it’s not feeling force fed and lack in quality. Thanks to producer Ty Fyffe, “Pretty Thug” actually works on a decent level. There's really not that many joints for the female crowd in P's back catalouge, so one for them is clearly not a problem. The beat is thumping and maintains a somewhat hard edge, that establish a balance with the two opening monsters. Following this, it would’ve been of essence to return to the classic rugged shit, but instead things goes terribly wrong with love song after party- and drinking track, each outshining the next in their general corniness and overwhelming wackness. 

“My Angel” is no question, the lamest Prodigy record I have yet to hear, and it's painfullfy obvious that this is not the type of music he need to make if he want to keep his fans. The worst thing you’ll encounter here, however, is “Get Money” and “Make It”, which appears back-to-back and are both “produced” by Young L. Both lyrically and musically, they lack anything even remotely close to substance, and are such lame, generic attempts at mimicking the typical mind-numbing commercial club joint of the day. I don’t know what’s worse here though; the clichéd, repetitive synth-driven beats, or Prodigy and his protégé’s Boogz Boogetz attempts to turn these into party anthems. Similiar failed attempts at catching the ears of a younger audience, attached to the worst era commercial hip-hop has ever gone through, returns in various shapes and forms throughout the 65 minutes running time.

 

I won’t say that there are not some hot records on “H.N.I.C. 3” though, because it’s not a total disappointment. When P reunites with Havoc and Sid Roams on “Who You Bullshittin”, the music gets back on the right track. Sid Roams and Prodigy have a good history together, and this continues that trend, with a more traditionally melodic joint than the often extremely dark stuff they are known for. As so much of the album is fully digital- and synthesizer based, it’s great to hear the strong rhythm track and slick guitar licks that makes up the main part of the beat. “Skull & Bones” is another banger, and from a lyrical standpoint it might very well be the strongest effort of the album. Surprisingly, this is also the only track where P takes on the Illuminati, and its secret societies like Skull & Bones, which is something I would have expected this LP to be filled with. Here, he flips the knowledge he's been injecting on past records in an interesting way, which you absolutely should hear for yourself. Beat Butcha does a great job on the production tip here too; like the Sid Roams cut before it, he incorporates a few samples, giving it a nice warm analog touch that contrast much of the digitized bullshit we’ve heard so far. 

Even some of the more commercial songs manage to score some points, especially “Let Me Show You”, where Ty Fyffe cooks up a real smooth banger with a sample that hip-hop heads will most definitely find familiar. Both this, and “Smack That Bitch” is pretty much in the vein of classic soul, using strings, pianos, melodic basslines and, of course, themes of love. The emcee, however, sounds like he's struggling to find his place in this unfamiliar musical setting, and as a result both mentioned songs sounds very out of place on an album called “Head Nigga in Charge, Pt. 3”. “Smack That Bitch”, in particular, gives more time to guest singer Esther, who although strapped with a real nice, strong voice, makes Prodigy sound like a guest on his own record.

The main topics of “H.N.I.C. 3” is without a question those of love and sex. This is, to say the least, suprising for anyone familiar with the emcees back catalouge. More than half of the album is aimed at females, which to me feels like P is disrespecting his core fan base, considering how far off this is from what initially made him a famous and loved artist around the world. I can't imagine that anybody would want to hear anyone from Mobb Deep do an album full of love songs, enlisting Wiz Khalifa, T.I., and a bunch of R&B singers to assist. It clearly smells like a sell-out move; listen to "Return of the Mac" or "HNIC Pt. 2" - there's not a single track on either trying to appeal to radio or club DJ's. Not that it's anything wrong with growth, that's something every artist needs to strive for in order to keep their music true and living. However, the majority of the commercialized songs on this disc fails to even come close to feeling honest. In fact, a good chunk of this project basically embodies everything Prodigy would’ve dissed in a rapper anywhere earlier in his career; and, ironically, even in parts of this album.  

With 16 tracks, and about one hour of music, I’ll say it contains between six and eight tracks worth listening to more than once. That’s really not a good average, but what’s worse is that the remaining eight songs are not just boring; they are weaker, more bizzare and cornier than I’d ever dream I would hear P record. It’s both sad and pathetic, considering that Prodigy had a real good chance of reclaiming his spot as a rap veteran still going strong after his three year absence from the scene. Instead he tries to reform himself to cater to the same kids who buys records from Young Money, and Maybach Music, only resulting in an LP that will have many writing him off as a has-been. It’s the first Prodigy album I, in no way, will be supporting. And as the final insult to injury, two really strong tracks, possibly the album's greatest, (the Oh No laced “G-Up” and ALC’s “Serve ‘Em”) is simply left as bonus tracks for some deluxe edition of the album. Sigh……

Kensaye - "Original Classics"

London based producer Kensaye Russel, who Lost Tapes readers might remember from his B.I.G./Warren G tribute remixes, has dug into his crates in the process of creating "Original Classics" for The Find Mag. The mix features a ill selection of classic joints that heads will find familiar as the backbone of many sample based masterpieces of the '90s hip-hop scene. Here's of course a lot of vintage soul stuff, from the legendary likes of Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, The Temptations and so on, but there's also a bunch of different genres represented here. Worth checking out!

KENSAYE - "ORIGINAL CLASSICS" 

NAS - "Loco-Motive"

I can tell you right now that Nas' "Life is Good" will blow a lot of people out the water when it drops on July 17. When ALL singles from the project have been this hot, I can't really see this going wrong. For the latest leak, Esco once again taps No I.D. for production while Large Pro pops up on the hook.

[Stream] Alterbeats - "The French Revolution"

We recently saw the promising tracklist for Alterprod producer Alterbeats brand new LP "The French Revolution". Over a bunch of ill, dense, hard knocking tracks, emcees like Sadat X, AG, Reef Tha Lost Cauze, Main Flow, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Chief Kamachi, Verbal Kent, Freestyle, Bekay, Sicknature and more all makes apperances. The album is available via iTunes now, and to give it a more than fair preview you can stream the entire project below.
 

[Compilation] DE LA SOUL - "More Sweet Stakes"

Not really much happening right now, though I think we got a lot of real good recent ish to listen to for the moment. There's always room for some classic De La Soul in our ears however, so why not take this time to present the sequel to my previous compilation, "Three The Soulful Way". Last time the focal point was the Prince Paul era, with a look at the B-sides, outtakes and remixes spanning the three first albums, from about '89 to '94. This pretty much picks up where the last one left off as far as the time line goes, yet the latter half of the '90s saw the Long Island trio making a definite change in sound. "Stakes is High" adapted a more serious tone in both vocals and production, featuring more straightforward narratives and far more stripped down backdrops. 

"Stakes..." still divides De La fans, but fans of the album will undoubtedly found equal joy in the non-album cuts from the '96-'98 era; the vast majority of which I have compiled into "More Sweet Stakes". From Jay Dee and Spinna remixes of one of De La Soul's finest hour, to classic collaborations with producers like DJ Honda, Da Beatminerz, and Pete Rock, on to reunion cuts with Prince Paul and The Native Tongues, this one is filled to the limits with sweet SOUL.

01. "Stakes is High" [Jay Dee Remix]

02. "Trouble in the Water" [prod. by DJ Honda]
03. "The Hustle" [prod. by Da Beatminerz]
04. "I Can't Call It"
05. "Chanel No. Fever"
06. "Gettin' Down @ the Amphitheater" (w. Common)
07. "Itszoweezeee (Hot)" [De La Remix]
08. "Sweet Dreams"
09. "How You Want It, We Got It" (w. Jungle Brothers & Q-Tip)
10. "The Love Song Remix" (w. Da Bush Babees & Mos Def)
11. "Stay Away" (w. Pete Rock & Rob-O)
12. "360* (Oh Yeah)" [prod. by Propellerheads]
13. "More Than U Know" [prod. by Prince Paul]
14. "Stakes is High" [DJ Spinna Remix]

DE LA SOUL - "MORE SWEET STAKES"

La Coka Nostra / DJ Premier - "Mind Your Business"

God damn, this goes HARD!! The La Coka Nostra crew hooks up with DJ Premier for this smashing single called "Mind Your Business". Be sure to check for "Masters Of The Dark Art" in stores on July 31.

Showbiz & AG - "Do It 4"

I've lost count of how many times I've played "MugshotMusic: Preloaded" through since it's release, but I can tell you that it was pleasing news to see that D.I.T.C. Records are running a limited vinyl run of remixes. Set for a July 17 release,  "MugshotMusic: Preloaded - Remixes", looks like it will feature a combination of remixes from the original release and brand new cuts. The single below, "Do It 4" sees AG going in with style over one of my favorite instrumentals from Show's "Still Diggin' Vol. 1" LP.

SHOWBIZ & AG - "DO IT 4"

[Mixtape] M-Phatik & Illegal Promo w. J-LOVE Presents "ON THE VERGE"

Observant readers should be aware that you already have been warned of this monster a few times, and now it's here; what is most likely the hottest mixtape of the year! M-Phatik Sounds & Illegal Promo presents "On The Verge", mixed and hosted by the seasoned DJ veteran that is J-Love. Featuring 31 tracks, the tape features a large host of the absolute best underground rappers on the scene right now. If you think that hip-hop is dead in 2012, with the possible exception of the already well established lyricists who's still putting out hot shit, prepare to get your mind completely changed about that (together with the just released "Formula=99" by Soundsci). "On the Verge" is chock full of true school esthetics, gritty, analog sounding sample based HIP-HOP beats, crazy turntable work, and headnod material. In other words, to sleep on this would be a big disfavor to yourself.

Artists featured on the tape include Super N.E.S., Rasheed Chappell, Rashad & Confidence, Smif-N-Wessun, J-Quest, Tragic Allies, Relentless, The Audible Doctor, Chino XL, J-Love, ASN, G.Dot & Born, Edo G, Ace & Hustle, Price Stylez, J-Love, Bambinoo, Crucial, T-Max, Tony Moreaue, Red Eye, Singapore Kane, Born Unique, Agallah, Hell Razah and Tokyo Cigar as Heavenly Cartel, and many more. And we haven't even got to the producers yet, so here goes... The main lacers are Tokyo Cigar, Confidence, Nick Wiz, Purpose, M-Credible and Cyrus The Great, but additional contributed bangers comes courtesy of the great ThoroTracks, Tha Audible Doctor, P-Solid Connection, DJ Grazzhoppa, The Breaks, Crucial G and Cuzzo Sosay. 31 tracks, including both slamming posse cuts and outstanding solo tracks, all expertly mixed and cut up by J-Love with virtually no DJ shouts for those of y'all who strongly dislikes that. "On The Verge" is basically a 90 minutes smorgasbord of gripping, authentic hip-hop of today's illest up-and-coming US rappers and producers - many of who might become the legends of tomorrow - mixed with a few cameos from some of the already well-established greats for good measure.

But don't take my word for it, the mixtape is totally free and if you like the content of this site, I can guarantee you will love this as much as me. Check out the back cover with tracklist and producers below, if you can't get a full size even when you click on it, try this instead. Much props to everybody involved for making this incredible project happen, it will make a lot of haters shut up about the state of hip-hop in 2012. There's only one rule though once you hit that play button... TURN IT THE FUCK UP!!!!

 

M-PHATIK & ILLEGAL PROMO's "ON THE VERGE"

[Article/Compilation] BIG L's - "Lifestylez..."

As my loyal readers surely have noticed, I have always been greatly fascinated not only by true school hip-hop music, but also by any trivia, interviews and information about those classic recording sessions that resulted in all these legendary albums. Another thing that is of high interest to me is alternative mixes, cut records, original sequencing, and all that. In this respect, Big L's short but powerful discography is one to be heavily discussed even today, 13 years after Lamont Coleman's tragic murder.

Almost one and a half year ago, I revisited L's posthumous "The Big Picture", putting together a version that I personally felt better represented what that album might've sounded like if L was still alive to complete it; cutting out many, but not all, of the after-the-fact remixes, etc. For this post I am taking a look at his groundbreaking 1995 debut, "Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous", but since that's already a complete LP, released along L's and his producers vision, I am obviously not gonna disgrace it by trying to change it or give you an alternative version. Instead, I will bring you high quality rips of all the cut tracks and alternative versions from that album, which equals to about 30 minutes of classic Big L rhymes and D.I.T.C. beats. As a bonus, I also included all the official remixes of songs from the albbum released on their original singles. Some of these have been rather hard to find in full versions, with no DJ mixing and in excellent quality, but over the years I've managed to track them all down; some ripped fromm my own collection, but most of the huge thanks to the fantastic BigLOnline.com and its webmaster ThaBigSleep, who originally provided many of these rips.The "Gorilla in a Phone Booth" rips are courtesy of the ever mangificent T.R.O.Y. Blog, so many thanks to y'all brothers as well.

Two related gems that you might, or might not, have seen upon their original publishing is two extremely informative articles on the making of "Lifestylez..."; straight from the two main producers of the record, Lord Finesse and Buckwild. Back in July 2010, HipHopDX posted a long interview with Lord Finesse about the original recording sessions, and events around the release of the album, especially focusing on the tracks he, himself produced for the LP. Unfortunately, Buckwild, who had agreed to do the interview, could not be reached and therefore was never featured in the final article. However, in celebration of Big L's born day, on May 30 of this year, XXL posted a shorter but similiar track-by-track breakdown of the Buckwild productions from "Lifestylez...", as told by the producer himself. Both of these are essential reading to anyone who, like myself, hold Lamont's earliest recorded work in the higest regards. It's also recommended to read them both before listening to the EP provided, and shortly explained, below.

 01. "Devil's Son"

This was as you know Big L's solo debut to the world, as it was the song on his demo tape that caught Colombia's interest, due to it's bizzare horrorcore content. Released as a promo only on the label in 1993, the track quickly gained a lot of underground buzz and together with several mindblowing cameos around the same time, definitely had people wanting to know what was up with his crazy rhymer. As Lord Finesse mentions in the interview above, "Lifestylez" was basically completed in 1993 but got caught up in limbo. Evidence of this can be seen on the original promo 12", where ithe credits listed are those of the album producers (Showbiz, Buckwild, Lord Finesse and Craig Boogie). For this reason, this song have often mistakenly been thought to have been a production collaboration between these four, when in fact the actual sole producer is Showbiz.

02. "Let 'Em Have It L" [Original Mix]

Craig Boogie produced the album version which with it's rugged uptempo production and L's agressive flow, was the perfect album closer as it truly ended the experience with a bang. The original version is completely different in many aspects, not only does it feature many never before heard Big L lyrics, 0but they are placed over a Showbiz beat that's much more mellow and laid back, though definitely thumping, with a classic D.I. bassline groove and a mesmerizing keyboard sample. In fact, it's kinda hard to choose which one I like better since they are both so different, but as far as outro tracks goes, the Craig Boogie mix is definitely the obvious choice.

03. "Timez Iz Hard..."

I don't know why this failed to make the final cut of the album, despite appearing on a promo LP, sequenced between "Da Graveyard" and the title track. This is definitely in the same key as the rest of the album and, to me, is the one song that would have helped to improve the album even more. The rhymes are classic hardcore storytelling mode L, where he rhymes about his extended robbery crusades over a jazzy backdrop, complete with stand-up bass, saxophones and well placed cuts; presumably handled by DJ Roc Raida as he often helped out on the early D.I.T.C. albums. The track is a co-production between Buckwild and Lord Finesse.

04. "School Daze"

 "School Daze", together with the aforementioned track, appeared on a 1994 cassette only promo for the album, that also featured a totally different sequencing from the finalized retail. According to Finesse, this was possibly the first track they even recorded for the album, and compared to the songs on the retail, it may sound a little dated in comparision, which is most likely the reason it was cut. That does not mean that it's not a banging cut though, rhyme and production wise. I'm pretty sure 'Ness hooked this up for L.

05. "No Endz, No Skinz" [Original Mix]

Similiar to track #2, this is a completley different take than the "Lifestylez..." version, featuring many alternative lines from L as he obviously re-recorded the vocals for the second version, rather than just placing the original vocal over a new beat. Showbiz produced both versions, and while they both bare his trademark, they are still completey different. The chorus over the horns section is amazing, but otherwise I'd personally think they made the right choice going with the LP version. This was unearthed as recently as 2010, when the supreme Freestyle Professor Records on the very limited "Gorilla in a Phone Booth". There's still a few presses leffor those who are interested, but considering how pricey it is and diggers will definitely buy the EP whether or not they already heard the song, I decided to include both tracks from thee EP.

06. "Clinic (Shoulda Used A Rubba)"

"Clinic"  also appeared on the 1994 cassette promo, but for some reason it didn't make the LP. I love this song, it's classic L/D.I.T.C. with a rugged, yet very jazz beat that has lots of interesting layers to it; I believe this was produced by Finesse as wel, but it could also possibly be Njckl. Once again Lamont is in storytelling mode, and his verses are full of hilarious quotables as it deals with a fictional story about how he catched an STD forom some trick. The outro monolouge is funny as hell too. I could absolutely see this on the retail, although I's not really as hard as the majority of the album which might be why it eventually was left off.

07. "I Can't Understand It" [Original Mix]

On the retail, Show had two beats, "No Endz..." and the album mix of this. As seen with all these joints that were left off or changed, it's easy to see that Show played as large a role as Buck and 'Ness when it came to producing for the album (he also made this original mix).  This is probably the alternative mix with most different verses, as it features an entire never released classic L verse. I can't place the sample right now, but I know it's something I have in my record collection; I got strong a feeling it's from on one of my Weather Report records. However that may be, it has a very jazzy feel, much more so thna finalized version. Once again, it's accoustic bass, agressive drum patterns a, saxophone hook that fades in and out throughout. It's a cool track for sure, but the album version is much, much beter.

08. "Eiht Iz Enuff" [Original Mix] *

* I really wasn't sure if I should include this on here or not, since the dark Buckwild beat is exactly the same, Big L's verse is actually the same (even exactly the same take). The same goes for five of the other verses featured on the reccord. The difference is that Terra's and Herb McGruff's verses are both different, although they incorporates some of the retail's lyrics as well. Also there's no intro or outro from Big L. But whatever, people might not have heard it, and it is an early version of a track from "Lifestylez...", and of course a bonafide classic, so it might as well be included. This was first unearthed as late as 2008, on the limited Herb McGruff vinyl, "The Demo" on One Leg Up Records.

09. "MVP" [Summer Smooth Mix] [*]

In the Finesse interview, it's implied that he wasn't too happy that Columbia decided to use the 12"'s "Summer Smooth Remix" for the video rather than the original. It's alot smoother and features some R&B-type vocals by a girl called Indigo. As he say, a remix will never appear on an artists record unless it's been approved by the artist, which of course Big L had done, and it was a decision on both L's and the labels behalf to use this one for the video. I personally don't like it nearly as much as the original, but it's most def a nice, and very different take on the record which gives it another sound. Proudcer Salah is not exactly prolific, but prior to this he had remixed records for Super Cat, Diana Kang, Coolio, a cut on the "New Jersey Drive Soundtrack" and even released a solo album in 1993 called "Caged Bird". In 1998 he also produced a pretty dope jam for MC Lyte, but that's pretty much all he's ever released.

10. "Put It On" [LG Street Mix]                  

I've been thinking about putting together a LG Experience compilation one of these days, because he's done a lot of hot shit, which seems to run in the family (he's Easy Mo Bee's brother for those that didn't know). This is a lot darker and more "L"-like in it's approach, and seems to have been a lot more in Finesee's mind according to the HipHopDX breakdown. Totgether with the "MVP" remix, this is the only B-side exclusive to any of the singles from "Lifestylez...", and appeared on the "Put it Down" VLS in 1995.   

11. "MVP" [Buckwild Remix]

In 1995 Buckwild also remixed "M.V.P.", not only once but actually in two totally different versions. They remained unreleased until 2007, when he put it out himself on the unbelivably fat 2xCD compilation "Diggin' in the Crates: Rare Studio Masters ('93-'97)". However, I only included one of the remixes here and the reason is that it was, in a way, released in 1995 on a "M.V.P." promo 12". I say in a way, because it was a mistake on the label's behalf to incude it; the DJ promo single was to include the original version and the instrumental on the flip. Rather than the expected instrumental, what later turned out to be the Buckwild remix, turned up in instrumental form instead.                              

BIG L - "LIFESTYLEZ... THE OUTTAKES"