Random Rap?NY Times Article

batmon · June 2005

There's an article in today's NY Times about Obscure HipHop Compilations. Apparently cats are trying to collect/revive/document/highlight many acts from the so-called "Golden Era". My only concern with this is--- Not all hip hop from that era has merit. There was alot a doo-doo being made in the late 80's. Ask any record pool DJ back in the days. I understand alot of outsiders become custodians to the culture,but some stuff doesn't need to be appreciated. I notice some of the wants/trades even on this site make me say "What the Hell?".It's like somebody telling me that the number 54th ranked boxer should be thrusted up there with the the top 20 boxers. I know cats collect for a myriad a reasons, but shit is out of control. Let wack shit stay wack shit. I used to make tapes called specifically "wack tracks" just for fun/concept because of the abundance of trash on many albums/singles. I wouldn't think to bring that shit to a party a say "Check out this overlooked stuff". To each his own, and all that shit. Hindsight recontexturalizes.The art canon can always be challenged, but If a martian comes from another planet declaring that Tone-Loc is as good an Mc as Kool G. Rap, then I think "Houston---We have a problem!!".

djdaze · June 2005

shhhhhh....ixnay on the andomray

DocBeezy might hear you

PEK · June 2005

There's an article in today's NY Times about Obscure HipHop Compilations. Apparently cats are trying to collect/revive/document/highlight many acts from the so-called "Golden Era". My only concern with this is--- Not all hip hop from that era has merit. There was alot a doo-doo being made in the late 80's. Ask any record pool DJ back in the days. I understand alot of outsiders become custodians to the culture,but some stuff doesn't need to be appreciated.
I notice some of the wants/trades even on this site make me say "What the Hell?".
It's like somebody telling me that the number 54th ranked boxer should be thrusted up there with the the top 20 boxers. I know cats collect for a myriad a reasons, but shit is out of control. Let wack shit stay wack shit. I used to make tapes called specifically "wack tracks" just for fun/concept because of the abundance of trash on many albums/singles. I wouldn't think to bring that shit to a party a say "Check out this overlooked stuff".
To each his own, and all that shit. Hindsight recontexturalizes.
The art canon can always be challenged, but If a martian comes from another planet declaring that Tone-Loc is as good an Mc as Kool G. Rap, then I think "Houston---We have a problem!!".

Exhibit A - Rappin' Duke - I thought it was corny when it 1st dropped, I still think it's corny some 15 + years later... Just 'cause somethin' is old don't mean it's good - and this can be applied outside of music/hip-hop - I'm all for payin' homage and respectin' the historical precedents, but some of this ish didn't get shine not b/c they were obscure and/or limited runs/etc., but simply 'cause they SUCKED...

HAZ · June 2005

Hi,

Don't think obscure means good, but can't we just enjoy music based on its own merits? What do you specifically see as being wack? Do you see Tone Loc as an example of regional or obscure rap?

h

batmon · June 2005

There's an article in today's NY Times about Obscure HipHop Compilations. Apparently cats are trying to collect/revive/document/highlight many acts from the so-called "Golden Era". My only concern with this is--- Not all hip hop from that era has merit. There was alot a doo-doo being made in the late 80's. Ask any record pool DJ back in the days. I understand alot of outsiders become custodians to the culture,but some stuff doesn't need to be appreciated.
I notice some of the wants/trades even on this site make me say "What the Hell?".
It's like somebody telling me that the number 54th ranked boxer should be thrusted up there with the the top 20 boxers. I know cats collect for a myriad a reasons, but shit is out of control. Let wack shit stay wack shit. I used to make tapes called specifically "wack tracks" just for fun/concept because of the abundance of trash on many albums/singles. I wouldn't think to bring that shit to a party a say "Check out this overlooked stuff".
To each his own, and all that shit. Hindsight recontexturalizes.
The art canon can always be challenged, but If a martian comes from another planet declaring that Tone-Loc is as good an Mc as Kool G. Rap, then I think "Houston---We have a problem!!".

Exhibit A - Rappin' Duke - I thought it was corny when it 1st dropped, I still think it's corny some 15 + years later... Just 'cause somethin' is old don't mean it's good - and this can be applied outside of music/hip-hop - I'm all for payin' homage and respectin' the historical precedents, but some of this ish didn't get shine not b/c they were obscure and/or limited runs/etc., but simply 'cause they SUCKED...

Rappin Duke was a novelty record. Im talkin about stuff that local djs didnt even play at local parties. Stuff that didnt get on late night nyc radio show back then. Rappin Duke is like "Because I Got High". Im talkin about MC "TRYANDRAP" who didn't get burn nowhere, and someone from Iowa labels it as worthy obscure rap.

batmon · June 2005

Hi,

Don't think obscure means good, but can't we just enjoy music based on its own merits? What do you specifically see as being wack? Do you see Tone Loc as an example of regional or obscure rap?

h

Read the article. Im just responding to the article. Do you wear skippies or Nikes? Im sure you have taste boundaries.
Wack is the new jack swing song on the first Brand Nubian album. I wouldn't cop that if it was a single.
Wack is BIG BAD WOLF by LL COOL J.
Do you go to a museum and look for good things in bad pieces of art?

Ps.......I like Tone-LOc......dont get it twisted.

DocBeezy · June 2005

shhhhhh....ixnay on the andomray

DocBeezy might hear you

As long as you brought it up, why is "Random" attached to "rap" for the more obscure singles? This has always drove me crazy.

I mean a random rap 12" would be one that i picked out of my collection with my eyes closed, not knowing what it would be.

But these "random rap" singles seem like they were pulled out pretty intentionally.

but I dont know, if anyone knows, please to share with me.

HAZ · June 2005

Hi,

Don't think obscure means good, but can't we just enjoy music based on its own merits? What do you specifically see as being wack? Do you see Tone Loc as an example of regional or obscure rap?

h

Read the article. Im just responding to the article. Do you wear skippies or Nikes? Im sure you have taste boundaries.
Wack is the new jack swing song on the first Brand Nubian album. I wouldn't cop that if it was a single.
Wack is BIG BAD WOLF by LL COOL J.
Do you go to a museum and look for good things in bad pieces of art?

Ps.......I like Tone-LOc......dont get it twisted.

Is there a link to the article?

thanks

h

batmon · June 2005

shhhhhh....ixnay on the andomray

DocBeezy might hear you

As long as you brought it up, why is "Random" attached to "rap" for the more obscure singles? This has always drove me crazy.

I mean a random rap 12" would be one that i picked out of my collection with my eyes closed, not knowing what it would be.

But these "random rap" singles seem like they were pulled out pretty intentionally.

but I dont know, if anyone knows, please to share with me.

The description is suspect/Media crap. I'm just wondering about the artists that are being ressurected. And the taste of the custodians.

DocBeezy · June 2005

Also, I am currently doing a history of Fint rap. There are a lot of Rap singles that I have collected that are bad, but Im compiling them anyway just to showcase what was put out. Good or bad that is up to the listener.

But yeah, cats do go overboard sometimes, they think that this equation stand true:

Obscure+golden era=great rap.

batmon · June 2005

Hi,

Don't think obscure means good, but can't we just enjoy music based on its own merits? What do you specifically see as being wack? Do you see Tone Loc as an example of regional or obscure rap?

h

Read the article. Im just responding to the article. Do you wear skippies or Nikes? Im sure you have taste boundaries.
Wack is the new jack swing song on the first Brand Nubian album. I wouldn't cop that if it was a single.
Wack is BIG BAD WOLF by LL COOL J.
Do you go to a museum and look for good things in bad pieces of art?

Ps.......I like Tone-LOc......dont get it twisted.

Is there a link to the article?

thanks

h

I have no skills w/ the computer, so u might have to go to the New York Times/Arts&Leisure section.GOOGLE.

DeeRock · June 2005

"Exhibit A - Rappin' Duke - I thought it was corny when it 1st dropped, I still think it's corny some 15 + years later... "

I was talking about that shit the other day, because I remember he came here and was on tour and did a concert. He performed that one song for about 30 minutes! The kicker was he did two shows. Lol!!!!!!! Just think, he went around the world doing that shit and got paid.

HAZ · June 2005

Hip-Hop's Raiders of the Lost Archives

By JON CARAMANICA
Published: June 26, 2005
FOUR years ago, DJ Ivory issued a challenge. He had long been a collector of rare American rap records, particularly those from the era commonly referred to as hip-hop's golden age - the late 1980's and early 90's. It "was a terrible year for music," he said, recalling 2001 in a phone interview from his home in Nottingham, England, "so I found myself revisiting a whole bunch of rare 12-inch singles I'd bought over the years that weren't getting any attention." He decided to compile his favorites on a mixtape, "Hear No Evil," which he released that same year with a twist - no track listing.

Aficionados viewed it as a challenge and scrambled to identify the songs. But some of them were so obscure that it took two years for anyone to name them all. In the interim, however, the buzz created by the mix helped jumpstart a movement, broadly called "random rap." Until then it had been a private affair, the preserve of a small group of D.J.'s, collectors and writers. But through mixtapes, articles and, in the past year, a proliferation of Web sites, random-rap acolytes have begun to create a parallel history of the genre in which artists who were shunned - or completely ignored - finally get attention.

Hip-hop has never been much for institutional memory: there is no museum devoted to this relatively young genre, and many early recordings, released on regional independents and in limited supply, are now all but impossible to locate. Others, relegated to warehouses for years, were simply ground to bits. Paradoxically, the first efforts at preservation arose in Britain and Japan, where collectors, working at greater distance and cost, were less likely to take rare records for granted. "People overseas have long appreciated what America finds disposable," says Jefferson Mao, who compiled Ego Trip's "Big Playback" (Rawkus), one of the first licensed compilations of rap obscurities.

Kohji (K-Prince) Maruyama, who has been a collector for 15 years, says that random rap, still fairly new on these shores, has experienced several waves of interest in Japan. "A lot of the old records went to Japan," he says. "Unlike here, they don't grind records over there, so they're still in circulation. And expensive."

After "Hear No Evil" started attracting attention, other D.J.'s began to issue their own random-rap mixtapes (which, despite the name, appear on CD's). In 2003, Maruyama teamed up with DJ Muro to release "The Golden Era of Hip-Hop" (11154 FM WKOD), which resurrected unheralded groups like the Freestyle Professors and New England Massive. Around the same time, 7L/Tall Matt of Boston released "We Drink Old Gold," which featured rare remixes of notable tracks by artists like 3rd Bass and Tim Dog. Last year Tony D, a producer from New Jersey, entered the field with two volumes of a series called "The Indy Years," and the electronic music pioneer DJ Shadow released his own mix, "Diminishing Treasures."In addition, a number of compilations built around a particular theme - like J-Zone's "Ig'nant," a collection of particularly lewd tracks; Edan's "Sound of the Funky Drummer," which explores variations on a common hip-hop sample; and the self-explanatory "Fast Rap" - have also become prevalent.

Unlike "Hear No Evil," these mixes identify all the songs and artists they include. That's good news for rookie collectors looking to learn more about the field. For DJ Ivory, who cites a long hip-hop tradition of one-upmanship (early D.J.'s like Afrika Bambaataa would soak the labels off their crucial pieces of vinyl so that a rival wouldn't be able to copy their ideas) doesn't think that's necessarily a good thing. "I don't like people trying to buy into hip-hop," he says.

To Freddy Fresh, however, who has been at it as long as Ivory has, the more attention random rap gets, the better. So he set out to write a collectors' guide, a complete catalog of all rap vinyl released from 1979 to 1989. "It bothered me that Beach Boys and Elvis collectors have a wealth of resources at their disposal, but we had nothing," Fresh says. Released last year, "The Rap Records," a self-published guide, is a vast compilation of might-have-beens and never-weres, overflowing with minutiae and scanned images of original pressing-plant markings, to help distinguish real articles from attempted forgeries. "Once the labels folded, there was no paper trail for a lot of these records," Fresh says. "If it didn't get documented properly, and quickly, it was going to disappear forever."

Fresh's book anticipated the emergence of a full-fledged collectors' market for random rap. "It used to be where I could name the people who were looking for these types of records," says Dave Tompkins, a Brooklyn writer and collector. "Now, the information is out, and loads of people are using it." The influence can be seen on eBay, where listings for rare (and sometimes not-so-rare) pieces of vinyl often use Ivory's name, much to his dismay. "I definitely never thought it would blow up the way it has," he says. "It's a bit sad."

Fresh's catalog generated controversy among random-rap fans because it grades records on their rarity - a scale that some say values availability over quality. "I know a lot of people were irritated," Fresh says, "but I don't feel guilty at all. I had to do something to differentiate myself."

In any case, thanks to the book's visibility, he says he has received "hundreds and hundreds of e-mails from all over the world, filling in gaps I had." He is now planning a second edition. And after Mr. Tompkins published an in-depth history of Paul C, a highly regarded but little known hip-hop producer, in the British magazine Big Daddy in 2001, collectors unearthed over 15 more songs by Paul C, who died in 1989.

As random rap's profile increases, though, prices for crucial records are beginning to soar. A copy of "Pelon," by the Bronx group 360?? - a highly sought-after Paul C production - recently sold on eBay for more than $700. The fervor has even spilled over into the world of CD's - out-of-print titles on Rap-A-Lot, a Houston label, can trade for over $100, as do gangster rap obscurities from cities as unlikely as Denver and Dallas.

Over the past year, random rap has received a lift, thanks to the emergence of more than a dozen specialized audioblogs, essentially catalogs of record reviews with accompanying audio available for downloading. (Though the sites are of dubious legality, the Recording Industry Association of America has yet to crack down.)

Andrew Nosnitsky, author of the site Cocaine Blunts and Hip-Hop Tapes (www.cocaineblunts.com), says that 90 percent of the songs he posts are out-of-print, including one recent track by High Potent, "HP Gets Busy," which featured the first recorded appearance of a then unknown Jay-Z. "I was told that Jay and Beyonc?? checked it out and got a kick out of it," he says.

Audioblogs can get particularly specialized. For example, Can I Bring My Gat? (www.abitnice.com/canibringmygat) focuses on hip-hop producers; The Rap Nerd (rapnerd.blogspot.com) specializes in lost tracks from the 90's. On Steady Bootleggin' (www.unkut.com), Robbie Ettleson tackles different themes from week to week - a recent one unearthed songs that were never released because of legal conflicts. "There's so much stuff that people totally ignore," Mr. Ettleson said. "Now I get e-mails from the people I'm covering thanking me for keeping their names out there."

Traditionally, vibrant bootlegging indicates a significant untapped market. "Maybe a lot of these mixtapes and bootlegs and MP3's have to be out there before the scene becomes legit," speculates Eothen Alapatt, producer of one of the few licensed obscurities collections, "The Third Unheard: Connecticut Hip-Hop 1979-1983" (Stones Throw).

And some companies are beginning to capitalize on random rap's higher profile. Traffic Entertainment Group, a Quincy, Mass., distributor, has recently begun brokering deals with long-shuttered labels to put their crucial material back into print. "Records that used to be worth 99 cents are now selling for $150," says Matt Welch, a sales representative at the company. "If people are willing to spend that much money, why not put it back into circulation?"

For the most part, though, these records will remain rare, relying on these makeshift historians to memorialize them. "I'm a reporter, but I make tapes to do it," says Edan. "At some point in the future, these records will be seen on the same level as the Delta Bluesman, like the Dead Sea Scrolls of hip-hop."

Mr. Alapatt says, "We all hope that some day our record collections will be put in a museum somewhere and properly archived. But even if that doesn't happen, we can always say we did our part."

Great article. Nice to see Noz & cocaine blunts get some shine.

If this article was bigging up crap, I could understand complaints. Paul C, Freestyle Professors & Mao & Ivory are all good in my books. The Third Unheard was a not a bad comp either.

Peace

h

Delay · June 2005

i gotta say, you're right. some of these shits never got play for a reason, but i like hearing small portions of them mixed well. i also really like the hand drawn logos on the labels. now go buy medium: rare II, dammit!

batmon · June 2005

i gotta say, you're right. some of these shits never got play for a reason, but i like hearing small portions of them mixed well. i also really like the hand drawn logos on the labels. now go buy medium: rare II, dammit!

What's medium rare II? DUH!?!

Soulhawk · June 2005

Mr. Alapatt says, "We all hope that some day our record collections will be put in a museum somewhere and properly archived. But even if that doesn't happen, we can always say we did our part."

does this strike anyone else as arrogant?

I understand the urge to document artistic endeavours from the past that have been 'overlooked', but this can be taken waaaay too far - where is the real relevance to future generations? I seriously wouldn't put obscure CT rap up there with the Dead Sea Scrolls...

---

Artifactor · June 2005

Weak. Like if he has the almighty collection. Why put the records you dig for out of ciculation? Wouldn't that be the whole point of digging? If no one put records out there where would digging be.

Delay · June 2005

i gotta say, you're right. some of these shits never got play for a reason, but i like hearing small portions of them mixed well. i also really like the hand drawn logos on the labels. now go buy medium: rare II, dammit!

What's medium rare II? DUH!?!

I did a random rap mix that they sell at ttl. I just finished part 2, so i was sayin, keep your eyes peeled for it...

aint scurred to give you a playlist either:

Hater Intro
Masked Demolition Lover - Choke (DJ Vesion)
Condition Red - Don't Get Caught Slippin
Dee Rock -Sexy Dexy Inst.
B.O.S. - The Mic Terrorist (Ran's Funky Touch)
Frozen Explosion - Cold Kickin
Top Secret - It's a Warning
OC - Word Life (Celory Remix)
Rodney O & Joe Cooley - Nobody Disses Me
The Ultimate Choice - How I'm Livin
IRM Crew - I Dream of DJs
Positive Sound - We're Def
B Ice Cool - Toothache
Funkmaster Wiz - Bellvue Patient
MC Jay - Slow and Mellow
MC Breeze - Your Craniums Cracked
Born 2wice - Child 4 Freestyle
Heartbeat Brothers - Time to get Paid
Nu Reign - Coolin
G Slim & Them - Let the Knowledge be Born
Koas & Mystro - Call for Revolutionaries
Big L - Devil's Son
Diamond - Best Kept Secret (45 King Remix)
Gangstarr - Code of the Streets (Kenny Dope Remix)
The Microphone Prince - Rock House / Loose J and the Masters of Wax - Sissapella
Noel Rockwell - The Wop Sensation (Remix)
MC Clay Luv & DJ Leader 1 - Silver Suckers
MC Candy Man - Money Talks Inst.
Jewel T - Ride the Crossfade
West Coast Crew - Jealous People
Sir Fresh & DJ Critical - Sir Vere
Lifers Group - The Real Deal (Thumz Mix)
RC Nucleus - Liquid Music
Mr X & Mr Z - We Drink Old Gold (Thumz Mix)
Chrissy C - Get Fresh Boy
Percee P & Ekim - Lung Collapsing Lyrics
Super Lover Cee & Cassanova Rud - Romeo
Business Partners - So Smoove
Hardnoise - Untitled Inst.
Antoinette - Take it from the Top
Queensbridge Outro

Lamont · June 2005

does this strike anyone else as arrogant?

I understand the urge to document artistic endeavours from the past that have been 'overlooked', but this can be taken waaaay too far - where is the real relevance to future generations? I seriously wouldn't put obscure CT rap up there with the Dead Sea Scrolls...

That's humble magnificent Edan-speak methinks, there is no real relevance in record geekery. I find this random rap thing mighty interesting as I was playing with Legoblocks when those records came out. Sloppy White what what what !

Weak. Like if he has the almighty collection. Why put the records you dig for out of ciculation? Wouldn't that be the whole point of digging? If no one put records out there where would digging be.

---

Blurry private mind garden you have.

He has a mighty collection.
If you collect rare records, you sorta put 'em out of circulation.
He works at a recordlabel that puts out re-issues & compilations, hence the music is back in circulation.

UMAD · June 2005

Im talkin about stuff that local djs didnt even play at local parties. Stuff that didnt get on late night nyc radio show back then.

Props to Jon for the article, because I think this random rap shit is an interesting phenomenon, more on the collecting tip than on the good music tip. I'm completely with Batmon on this though: around 11 or 12 years ago I started trying to find all of the records that I heard on Red Alert, Operating Room, Awesome 2, etc. when I was a little kid, records ranging from Sugar Bear to "They Call Me Puma", "Champion of Love", etc. To me these weren't "random" records, they were actually kinda underground radio hits that I heard over and over again when I was like 7 or 8 years old. I hate seeing these records lumped into the "random rap" category by ignorant dudes who were into raves or Pavement two years ago. I mean some (if not most) obscure records are obscure for a reason: because they sucked and no one wanted to hear them. I see shit going on ebay now that is really like beat third-rate copycat rap from Deleware or whatever and fools are salivating over because it's "rare". So? I think it's dope that dudes like Tom Delay are trying to put out CD's and shit that put people on to cuts they might have overlooked, but alot of fools are getting carried away and trying to annoint new "classics" that never were.

lotusland · June 2005

kind of a wierd attitude to have about the music you love. gotta say. the whole point of being a digger is to look through piles and piles of shit to find a gem. it isn't about finding tunes that will be instant unknown classics, the bigger picture is more about finding music of quality that you wouldn't have found out about unless you spent x amount of time in the crates. who said it was just about partying??

but even on the party tip...... ever heard phil most chill's "on tempo jack"??? tracks like that make you want to buy those comps you're talking ill about. ask phil how much he's charging for an original 12"

lotusland · June 2005

(CRATE DIGGING REVEALED)

is the name of this forum btw, not crate digging gets dissed.

PEK · June 2005

To me these weren't "random" records, they were actually kinda underground radio hits that I heard over and over again when I was like 7 or 8 years old. I hate seeing these records lumped into the "random rap" category by ignorant dudes who were into raves or Pavement two years ago. I mean some (if not most) obscure records are obscure for a reason: because they sucked and no one wanted to hear them. I see shit going on ebay now that is really like beat third-rate copycat rap from Deleware or whatever and fools are salivating over because it's "rare". So? I think it's dope that dudes like Tom Delay are trying to put out CD's and shit that put people on to cuts they might have overlooked, but alot of fools are getting carried away and trying to annoint new "classics" that never were.

An old Red Alert Kiss-FM cassette I used to have had him mixin' Bobby Jimmy's 'Big Butt' (which was unusual at the time given its Southern California origin) w/ Midnight Star's 'Curious' - evident back then that the standard criterion for judgin' was the quality of the music - as it should be now as opposed to the obscure factor... I remember when I used to be part of Steve Fournier's Rap Pool of America (based out of H-Town) and would get sent all sorts of unheard of independent labels and joints - a lot of 'em weren't good back then and sure haven't aged well since (when I occasionally pull some out to listen now)...

UMAD · June 2005

To me these weren't "random" records, they were actually kinda underground radio hits that I heard over and over again when I was like 7 or 8 years old. I hate seeing these records lumped into the "random rap" category by ignorant dudes who were into raves or Pavement two years ago. I mean some (if not most) obscure records are obscure for a reason: because they sucked and no one wanted to hear them. I see shit going on ebay now that is really like beat third-rate copycat rap from Deleware or whatever and fools are salivating over because it's "rare". So? I think it's dope that dudes like Tom Delay are trying to put out CD's and shit that put people on to cuts they might have overlooked, but alot of fools are getting carried away and trying to annoint new "classics" that never were.

To me these weren't "random" records, they were actually kinda underground radio hits that I heard over and over again when I was like 7 or 8 years old. I hate seeing these records lumped into the "random rap" category by ignorant dudes who were into raves or Pavement two years ago. I mean some (if not most) obscure records are obscure for a reason: because they sucked and no one wanted to hear them. I see shit going on ebay now that is really like beat third-rate copycat rap from Deleware or whatever and fools are salivating over because it's "rare". So? I think it's dope that dudes like Tom Delay are trying to put out CD's and shit that put people on to cuts they might have overlooked, but alot of fools are getting carried away and trying to annoint new "classics" that never were.

An old Red Alert Kiss-FM cassette I used to have had him mixin' Bobby Jimmy's 'Big Butt' (which was unusual at the time given its Southern California origin) w/ Midnight Star's 'Curious' - evident back then that the standard criterion for judgin' was the quality of the music - as it should be now as opposed to the obscure factor... I remember when I used to be part of Steve Fournier's Rap Pool of America (based out of H-Town) and would get sent all sorts of unheard of independent labels and joints - a lot of 'em weren't good back then and sure haven't aged well since (when I occasionally pull some out to listen now)...

I'm desperately trying to find some tapes of Red playing R&B. I have him doing doubles of "Curious" (funny you should mention it") on a tape, righ before it cuts off. Reminded me of how hyphy he was with the RnB records. I have good quality hip-hop portions of his show on CD to trade if anyone is interested.

batmon · June 2005

This is how history gets rewritten. If Jay-Z isn't acknowledging his own rookie output what does that say about the product. Yeah, its important as an object, but if he just jumped into the studio,on some ole,"ok, I'LL kick a little somethin'"..........I dont know about that single. Its has to be put in its proper context.

meatyogre · June 2005

I just met Kohji at one of my spots last week, dude is mad cool and puts in fuckin work. I've spoken with Ivory as well, and I beleive these guys all have the same attitude... they don't care if its "random", they just want the dope shit they haven't heard, and so do all of us. Its like when dudes are like "I don't like 45s, only LPs" or "fuck that funk 45 craze shit". Good music is good music dudes, don't be a close minded idjit. And I saw nothing arrogant about that Egon quote, isn't he just sayin that this music should be properly documented? Not a damn thing wrong with that.

PEK · June 2005

I'm desperately trying to find some tapes of Red playing R&B. I have him doing doubles of "Curious" (funny you should mention it") on a tape, righ before it cuts off. Reminded me of how hyphy he was with the RnB records. I have good quality hip-hop portions of his show on CD to trade if anyone is interested.

I wish I still had some of those cassettes - Marley + Magic on 'BLS, Alert + Chuck Chillout on Kiss; I used to have some Latin Rascals radio material as well where they just went off on the edits...

Just a short note/clarification -
Bobby Jimmy (small independent Macola-distributed label)
Midnight Star (S.O.L.A.R. which was a considerably larger outfit)

Red's filter -> just GOOD sh*t...

I'm w/ Bat though - yes, it's nice to have some of those titles for historical posterity, but as certified, unequivocal JAMS? Uh, no... Funny what the contrast is b/w not bein' there in that time + place and havin' lived through it...

noz · June 2005

This is how history gets rewritten. If Jay-Z isn't acknowledging his own rookie output what does that say

that, if anyone is rewriting history, it's jay, not me.

UMAD · June 2005

I used to have some Latin Rascals radio material as well where they just went off on the edits...

I think I might have just come up on some of these. They used to get buck with it!

batmon · June 2005

There's a quote in here about Bambattaa washing his labels to prevent biting. And the dude responded to that action as being wrong. That's the Game,son. Biting is prohibited.

batmon · June 2005

Damn, I'm going home right now to check the tape archives for some gems.

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Random Rap?NY Times Article

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