New York, NY (November 19, 2008) - These types of conversations might be considered once in a lifetime, at least for a fan like myself.
Clark reaches into the Godfather bag for a minute in Part 3 and gets to discussing the performance skills of folks like Talib Kweli and Kardinal Offishall, revealing who the greatest West Coast rappers and emcees are and why any rapper would be kidding themselves if they thought they made a better album than Slick Rick. He also co-signs a dude you might be familiar with right now… the homie Curt@!n$.
Part 4 is all about emceeing and who does it best. Superman fleshes out his rationale behind tabbing Jay-Z as the No. 1 emcee and Biggie as the No. 1 rapper, the difference between emceeing and rapping, where Eminem and Andre 3000 fit in, and why everyone nowadays thinks they can rap.
New York, NY (November 20, 2008) - Courtesy of Shake & Meka. I was supposed to be at this event, but Pop was in town and we grabbed some dinner over at Frankie & Johnny’s. For all you steak lovers, that is the spot. La familia > all, anyways. It’s an Italian thing. Expect to see some more Jon Hope on the site though, dude is grindin. Be watchin for that Sha Stimuli blog today, too.
Download the Obama mix of “Destined To Shine” here and Statik Selektah’s “Stick To The Script” album version here.
New York, NY (November 20, 2008) - Voila. Aha. Yo, if you ain’t up on thangs… we like E-40. Check out the new mixtape “The Best That Ever Did It” from Earl and DJ Wicked Prince. Download this gem here.
Be sure to go cop “The Ball Street Journal,” in stores November 24th. And act like you know, get up on that E-40 remix contest, only from Loud.com. Fo shizzle.
New York, NY (November 18, 2008) - Props to Synthtopia for the video assist. FYI, the first buyer of the collection on eBay turned out to be a fraud.
Hip-hop is probably one of the only genres in modern music that still has a relationship with records. Records… you know, those UFO shaped pieces of vinyl that people used to use for music listening? Yeah, hip-hop actually still has love for vinyl, whether it’s the mixtape DJ who’s been spinning for years, or the diligent producer digging in the dusty record shops for a perfect sample.
Anyone that has any love for vinyl probably owes at least a little bit of it to Paul Mawhinney, owner of the world’s largest record collection, the 3 million strong RecordRama Archive located in Pittsburgh. Mawhinney started collecting in 1951 at the age of 12 and hasn’t stopped since; he’s devoted his entire life to acquiring every recording issued in the U.S. He also ran a RecordRama store for 40 years until it closed in February, and now he’s putting his entire $50 million dollar collection up for sale at the closeout price of $3 million, mostly because the economy is scaring him. More then anything else though, Mawhinney wants to find a single venue for his collection to prolong his legacy: “My goal is to find a home for the history of music,” the 69-year old Pittsburgh native says.
His archive actually began in 1968 when he opened a 16,800 square foot warehouse when his collection was only at 160,000 records. In the mid-70s he actually started cataloguing his music on computer, which at the time, was an idea that was light years ahead of any of his peers. “I created the Music Master database, which is the largest database in the field of popular music,” he explains. You can search for a track or keyword in the electronic database, and it’ll direct you to the record’s exact location on the shelf.
A real interesting aspect of Mawhinney’s collection is that 87% of the music can’t be found on the Internet, as determined in a study by the Library of Congress. This fact alone should make any hip-hop producer salivate just anticipating the endless rare gems Mawhinney has tucked away in his stash. On top of that, he’s literally had an effect on rock history. He single-handedly pressured RCA to re-release David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” to radio stations after it sat stagnate in their vaults for three years. Another amazing contribution Mawhinney has made is providing masters for record companies that want to reissue rare albums. “The manufacturers still don’t even understand what I did,” he says. “They don’t even have their own records. RCA, Columbia, Rhino — when they want to reissue a CD, they’ve come to me to get a master. Nobody was organized like I was.”
It’s also no surprise that Mawhinney opposes the big franchise stores like Walmart and Best Buy because of their low prices on music versus their independent competition. He makes a really good point in that the industry is partially responsible for its current state by cutting deals with the big distributors that eventually put the indie stores out of business; they couldn’t match their prices. Especially in 2008, it’s easy to forget people used to almost exclusively buy music from Mom & Pop stores instead of the behemoths that now occupy every street corner and strip mall.
It’s really cool to see there are still guys out there like Mawhinney who seem to really care about the preservation of music culture versus the possibility of monetary gains. “I think that saving my collection is going to have a real wonderfulness in 20 or 30 years,” he says. “If this collection gets broken up and sold as crap, everybody loses big time.” Its amazing that someone who humbly started an archive in the bedroom of their own home now has an organization like the Library of Congress contacting them for possible inclusion; that is, of course, if they can pony up the funds. “Every curator has wanted my collection there for the last 25 years,” he says. “But they don’t want to pay.” Is $3 million dollars for a copy of every record ever released in America really too much to ask?
New York, NY (November 18, 2008) – S-K-Y-Z-O-O spits some bars with Bobby for the Internets. First verse you may recognize from the Loud.com Favorites we did with him, but the rest is all off the top. Good to hear that shit!
New York, NY (November 18, 2008) - Courtesy of OnSmash. Normally I don’t like posting just one track, but this has too much dopeness on it to keep it shelved. Alchemist’s new EP “The Cookbook” hits iTunes today. Download “Therapy” here. Go cop.
New York, NY (November 17, 2008) - DJ Clark Kent is a legend in the game. He put on Jay-Z, was one of Biggie’s best friends and has cultivated a respected niche in the industry as a tastemaker and astute businessman. He stopped through SRC not too long ago and chopped it up for a good hour. Much respect to Clark for taking that kind of time to build with us.
In Part 1 of a five-part series, Clark addresses the way the game has changed because of the web, the Internet buzz around artists like Charles Hamilton, how Joe Budden might be one of the best lyricists ever and why a guy that gets “super-busy” like Lupe Fiasco can still sell records.
New York, NY (November 17, 2008) - The homie TJ definitely understands the meaning of the 11th hour, aha, diggin that grind stee dukes!! This one hit the inbox two minutes before midnight, and what a welcome surprise it was this AM. Nice mix of new and oldish Bobby Ray, courtesy of DJ Scream and their various affiliates. Download “Who The F#@K Is B.o.B (Mixtape)” here.
New York, NY (November 16, 2008) - Over at Knitting Factory. Great line-up including the homies Majesty, Hasaan Salaam, hosted by Sucio Smash. Get your drink on. Possibly your smoke on. The rest I leave up to you.
New York, NY (November 16, 2008) - Spotted at 2dopeboyz last week:
…In anticipation of their upcoming album, The Takeover, the City of (2)Dope duo Zion I unleash a brand new mixtape! Featuring remixes, verses and interpretations of/by the likes of Santogold, Public Enemy, Talib Kweli, Mickey Factz and more. In classic cassette fashion the tape comes in 2 sides. The A-side has Zumbi and Amplive putting their spin on hip hop classics while the B-side reaches more towards the indie rock & electro territory. Again, The Takeover hits stores on January 27th!
Side A
1. Alien MC’s
2. The Rebel
3. Paper Thick f. Rakaa Iriscience & Richie Cunning
4. Til Tha Breakadawn f. Codany Holiday
5. Rawww f. Mr. Davin, Deuce Eclipse, and Bambu
6. Gotsta Chill (Temperature Remix) f. Talib Kweli
7. All Tha Jazz Interlude (prod. Headnodic / horns by Adam Theis)
8. Push the Button (prod. Sean Christian)
9. The Choice Jump Off
Side B
1. Juicy Juice
2. How Does It Feel f. KFlay & Del the Funky Homosapien
3. Mama Told Me (prod. Beat Camp)
4. MGMT vs MGMT f. Mickey Factz
5. The D Interlude
6. Santogold One (rmx) f. The Grouch
7. Weird Fishez f. Young Deuce
8. Fight for the Right (Muse Remix)
New York, NY (November 16, 2008) – Aha this is dope. Friends put me onto GCH years ago and I would get a mild case of hip-hop neck whenever their shit would come on, but that pop bullshit they started spewing out turned me off. Hopefully they go back to what made them different in the first place, cuz they go in here. Having Estelle on-hand definitely helps. The flick reminds me a little bit of “Sabatoge.”
New York, NY (November 16, 2008) – Spotted this over at Miss Info’s last night, meant to get it up after the Lesnar/Couture debacle. Yeah, I’m still pissed about it. Old man was winning the fight before that cheap behind-the-ear shot.
Anyways, this makes some amends and scores one for the old school heads in retribution. I saw BDK at the BK Hip-Hop Festival a few years back and was truly blown away by how he owned the crowd. Having a limited appreciated for the god up until that point, I was truly made a believer that night. If you’ve never seen him rock a show, let it be known: Ain’t No Half-Steppin. Dude goes in. Below is the proof:
New York, NY (November 14, 2008) – In the final portions of our convo, Bobby talks in Part 4 about the method of breaking records, his own personal style, how he broke Jim Jones’ “Certified Gangster” and the secret behind the now legendary story of how Flex broke “Hate Me Now” on Hot 97. In Part 5, he opens up about his Favorite DJing experience at Envy nightclub, the night the club closed and he went in for the hardest five minutes of his life. Woven into the story is midgets giving head, games of Dodge Bottle and grown men hanging off exposed pipes. Incredible!!
New York, NY (November 14, 2008) – Get you a backstage pass into a Lupe show. The rockband steez is ill, fits his personality more than I would have imagined. Having seen this, I’d say Mickey Factz’s stage show is very similar, minus the band.
Nothing really of note is said lyrically, but I’ve seen Fiasco several times and each time he gets better. Props.
New York, NY (November 12, 2008) – Got this video featuring AJK and 6th Sense getting busy down in NC on the boards and such, shosheemi’ing up one of the three joints they did (yes, I used a word for sushi and turned it into a verb). Be on the look for more Camp Lo ish from Juice in the coming weeks!
For a special AJK remix to Ron Browz & Busta Rhymes’ “Pop Champagne + Barack Campaign (Kenyan Remix),” get over to KNOWxONE’s spot. The history of how it came together is cool. Ron Browz’s people hit Juice up off the strength of the NMC contest and asked him to flip a remix. Being that Barack has Kenyan lineage… it only made sense. Holler.
New York, NY (November 12, 2008) - Thanks to The Smoking Section and 2Dopeboyz for the assists here. Some good music in this bunch, Graffiti put the shit on smash! Gonna up a GRIP of DJ Smallz joints that have been percolating for a hot minute, so stay tuned during normal business hours for that, too. And uh, FYI, Tanya Morgan is a group, not a girl. Anyways…
01 introduction
02 players!
03 web 2009
04 all day hell (f/ Donwill)
05 so supreme
06 the bubble (f/ Che Grand)
07 peagreenery
08 main jawn
09 starstruck / WHAT?
10 options (the great escape)
11 love (f/ Median & Elucid)
12 one man circus (co-starring Ilyas)
1. Buff1 - What Does Hipster Mean? (exclusive)
2. Intro
3. Jessica Tonder and Proton - The Bee Rmx
4. Mickey Factz - Light
5. 6th Sense & Wildabeast (Both Nice) - Arcade Fly
6. Sir-Mix-A-Lot - Posses on Broadway
7. Black Moon - How Many MC’s (Cool Kids G-Fix)
8. Eazy E (NWA) - Boyz in the Hood
9. Beastie Boys - Paul Revere
10. Black Milk - Stupid
11. Masta Ace - Born To Roll
12. Rahsaan - Sneaker Store Terrorist
13. Pacific Division - Taste
14. O.C. - Times Up G-Fix
15. Cool Kids - Dreams
16. Cepia - Ithaca
17. J Dilla ft. Ayah - Like This G-Fix (exclusive)
18. Heralds of Change - Work That
19. C.R.A.C. (Ta’Raach & Blu) - Love Don’t
20. The Grouch ft. MURS - The Bay to LA
21. N.E.R.D. ft. Kanye West & Pusha T - Everyone Nose (Remix)
22. Devin The Dude - I-HI
23. Outkast - Spread
24. J*Davey - Mr. Mister
25. DJ Assault - Let Me Bang G-Fix
26. Kid Cudi ft. Pitbull - Day N Nite Rmx
27. Born With It ft. B.o.B - Stack My Paper Up
28. Hollyweerd - Weerdo
29. Kenna - Say Goodbye To Love G-Fix
30. Common ft. Pharrell - Universal Mind Control
31. Cybotron - Clear (Interlude)
32. J Dilla - Trucks
33. August Darnell - Friendly Children (Todd Terje Edit)
34. Mickey Factz - Up High
35. Santogold - L.E.S Artistes
36. Yelle - Les Femmes
37. Ghostface Killah - Cherchez La Ghost (DJ Illo Rmx)
38. Prince - When Doves Cry (A Ghost In Detroit Mix)
BONUS MIX
39. Cool Breeze - Cre-A-Tine G-Fix
40. John Legend ft. Andre 3000 - Green Light
41. Drake - City Is Mine
42. Now On - Unwind
43. Outro
44. Buff1 - For You (M Phazes Remix)
New York, NY (November 12, 2008) – Two retardedly awesome cipher sessions for the price of one, courtesy of the homie Bobby Trends and DJ Enuff. The Kweli joint surfaced the other day, but the joint with Grafh is new and very dope, so why not include both?
New York, NY (November 7, 2008) – We continue our conversation with Bobby Trends at SRC, and in the second part, he talks about how his Saturday night radio show “3 The Hard Way” came about. Definitely an interesting story. In Part 3, Bobby gets into his new Internet radio destination, “A-List Radio,” working with some of the illest to do it, as well as his blog DJBobbyTrends.com and why he’s working to develop a personal bond with the people who check it out.
