What the fuck happened?

Anyone remember the first time they heard the Dirty Weaponry album from Killarmy? It there that most people were introduced to a sick lyricist named Holocaust. His next appearance came on "Silkworm" from the Bobby Digital album, which he shreaded. In the next year he would drop some ill verses on his Black Knights guest spots and later on the Sway and DJ Revolution's Wake Up Show.

Then something happened. Most of us figured Holocaust used a lot of drugs, inferring as much was easy when one noted the depth and depravity of the imagry he used. The drugs may have taken their toll because he stopped rapping with his usual darkness and wit- first he changed his name (to Warcloud), then he took on a more "artistic" role refferencing fairy tales and nursery rhymes, a la MF Doom. The results were two bootleg cd's, Nightmares that Surface from the Shallow Sleep and Smuggling Booze In the Graveyard. Both of these albums were good in theory but poor in execution. Horrible mixing, terrible beats on occasion, and akward rhymes that really didn't rhyme at all. Still, Holocaust left us wanting for more- showing just enough promise and just enough glimmers of his old self to make us check for him.

Last year I saw a bootleg on eBay called Pro's Labratory, a CD which featured Warcloud on most of the tracks. The cd sold for something crazy, like 40 or 50 dollars. The next week I saw it again and copped it for 15. Well, lets put it this way- I felt cheated out of 15 dollars and I can only imagine how angry the poor sucker who paid 40 or 50 paid.

I assumed that Pro was a producer, but I get the idea he is a producer and a rapper. To be blunt, he sucks at both. It's a damn shame because Pro has some dope samples but he can't flip them nicely. Can Warcloud still rhyme? Yes, but I don't think he'll ever resemble a shaddow of his old self. The only thing that remains the same is his word choice and vocabulary- rhyming words together that I haven't heard rhymed before.

Sound quality is ass, beats suck for the most part (maybe like five are tollerable), and with the exception of the dude who rhymes last on track three every guest verse is terrible. Luckily, Warcloud does use some of the imagry that made Holocaust a favorite but the ferocity and overall quality of his rhymes are just not there.

I can't say that this album is 100% ass, this album isn't worth anyone's money but it's worth a download. I am sure that some people will like this album, as a matter of fact with the shit that comes out these days this album isn't that bad... it's just not what we know Warcloud is capable of. If one were to consider Warcloud's lyrical efforts as Holocaust as perfect tens, this album would rate six. A six from Warcloud is still better than anything you'll hear on Hot 97 or from Atmosphere right now...

Pro's Labratory

Sankofa
Still Means Something Album Review

I first heard of Sankofa in 1998. I was trading tapes with this guy in California and he laced me with a track called "Oughta 'Graph." The beat was a barrage of melodic brutality, the rapper's voice took over my ears and teamed with the grinding beat my senses were stripped of their autonomy. Sankofa's mechanized flow gave me the idea that he was a self-styled Hip Hop Robocop, programmed to put wack rappers on full blast. At the time I felt that this material offered the perfect answer to the southern bounce beats being made popular as No Limit made its rise and NYC regressed to keyboard beats and loops jacked from the last decades top-40 hits.

Today Sankofa is far removed from those humble trials on four tracks, pressing up his fourth professional release with Still Means Something. If you're expecting the hard-hitting, battle-oriented, Sankofa of his early days prepare for something much different.

Sankofa's latest effort is a partnership with producer Fangface and the result is a more musical and more mature sound. There are hints of lounge music, blues, and folk that bear the marks of Spearhead and Arrested Development. This time around, Sankofa's delivery and topics feel more like poetry at a rap song's cadence than traditional hip hop.

From the outset of the album Sankofa paints himself as an aristocrat of hip hop, an unnoticed dandy who struts about this far-reaching culture, unleashing a fury of acrobatic maneuvers on syllables as he furiously spits braggadocio raps, some of which he sings and some of which he flips traditionally. The albums opens with the track "Velcro Sneakers" and the genius of this song is in the details: listen to the sounds Fangface hides behind Sankofa. Angelic voices, the mellow guitar lick, and the saxophone which accompanies the beat to it end. The song seems to be stylized as a spoken word piece and, unbelievably, this formula works out well.

This introduction also delivers this album's conceit: the existence of the living hip hop as it makes itself known while it's adherents partake in everyday life. He addresses his fellow rappers on "A Hand Full of Words" as he opens:

For the cats with mullets driving in by their IROCs
for little kids in strollers on the sidewalks
Step on a line and break your mommy’s spine
Or was it step on a crack and break your daddy’s back?
For the nights when the world of stress won’t slide off
For the homeless dead, buried in a pine box
For cub scouts getting badges for nine knots
And Cubs haters, yeah-fans of the White Sox
For Slick Rick when he idolized Cyclops
If you can’t afford Oreos, Hydrox
To 9-5ers, go ahead, take some time off
For weed heads with the dryer sheets and eye drops
Paranoid that they’re being trailed by 5 cops
And all the ladies with their 3 dollar dye jobs
and people trying to make their payments to a shylock
All the rappers sitting down with their minds blocked

While 101 critics might find different ways to tell you that hip hop is basically dead and 101 more will give you blow-hard accounts of the damage and irreversible extent of damage, Sankofa's album is a breath of fresh air. Using an eclectic mix of musical styling, Sankofa sees hip hop making itself known everywhere. White boys with mullets in cars that we normally identify with 80s rock now flock to our culture. We see rhymes at a young age through superstitious ditties, hip hop has become the general tendency of the status quo in our modern context. Hip hop is growing old with us, we can already see the generational differences and it's become something permanently fixed in our lives that we've come to dismiss because it's so passé. Listen to Sankofa- it can't be ignored, especially when the culture's disciples have to lead double-lives to ensure it's survival. Hip hop's truth, by now, is part of the everyday struggle.

The beats on this album are very organic. The down-home and folksy blues sound provided by Fangface is quite accommodating to the year. Aside from Sankofa, these kinds of beat are something I'd like to hear Mos Def on. I know that may sound ridiculous, but what Sankofa provides is the most fitting ornamentation to these tracks, as his lyrical effort reaches beyond conventional hip hop and encroaches into the realms of related forms of music. While many hip hop listeners abhor hooks being sung, Sankofa pulls it off without being corny or disingenuous. You can tell his song of songs is rooted in the inspiration of ancient rites- hooks as aboriginal and archetypal chants rather than a gimmick to get 14 year-old white girls to buy copies of your album.

What I feel makes this album unique is the fact that this album is about the experience of hip hop and why people fall love with its music. The music reflects a workingman's take on living hip hop- referencing the banalities and tedium of modern life as he fits battles, music making, and shows into a twenty-four hour day. You need to work to make money and survive, but to live and quench the life-thirst you need to perform.

I feel that this album is so cohesive that picking apart songs will not do this work justice. It is best enjoyed as a whole, a sonic voyage not unlike a long car ride through scenic areas. The down-home twang that I periodically hear reminds me of driving through the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. Considering that Sankofa is a veteran of the Appalachian Trail, I can see where this pioneering spirit in his music comes from. Sankofa's post-modern approach to rap dismisses the need for a focal point as he paints an ever-changing landscape which he draws the listener into, making the only point of experience the listener as he or she must understand and confront his new environs. There are no stand-out tracks on this stand-out album, just a journey to appreciate.

Aside from what I've already stated, there is a real throwback sub-plot to this album, as the work adopts many formal conventions of the old-school. On a minor level this reminds me of another album that I feel is fun to listen to, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince's He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper. For instance there is the instrumental track "Vicoden Popsicles" in which Fangface gives and admirable RJD2 impression that works quite well and this is reminiscent of times past where producers and djs had more opportunities to exhibit their skills.. Ongihs provides cuts on "Dumptrucks and Hummers." Sankofa provides a plethora of narratives with topics that could well have been rocked by Slick Rick. The reverence Sankofa and Fangface show their roots is quite deserving of merit. Much like Mos Def, he accurately describes his true surroundings as a miniature of the city's soul. Like Mos Def, Sankofa is every bit as affectionate in the romancing of his hometown. Lastly, the duo reps itself much the same way that crews in the 80's did, as a true team. Eric B. and Rakim, Eric and Parrish, G. Rap and Polo, Sankofa and Fangface; that old-school ubiquity of dropping the team's name comes just as easily for these guys. Hip hop's essence- originality, bravado, meteoric dreams amidst harsh realities, how it existed as a rouge sub-culture twenty years ago and how Sankofa and Fangface must take the same measures to make sure it isn't hijacked any further by corporate faces- is obviously what Still Means Something.

I'm not sure how Sankofa would feel about me posting full tracks from his album so I linked the album sampler from his site here

ASF, bitches...

The Arsonists are one of those groups who a lot of people have heard about but never really got into. Right now I doubt that people will be chekcing for their old shit because hip hop has become entirely too pussy. Everyone is dick-riding hip hop coming from the same part of the country that voted for George Bush. Fuck ya'll, only red state I fucks with is Cuba.

The Arsonists were once the most feared crew of MCs in NYC. Now only three members strong, the team was once 35-deep and featuring heavyweights from every borough. The Arsonists were famous for their energy and passion for hip hop, which came across quite fluidly in their music.

My original idea for this post today was to up their first album, which I feel is not classic yet but should be in everyone's collection, and some demos. Then, two days ago, I came across something even better: footage of one of their infamous live shows. For all of you who were swept up in the buzz of mid and late 90s indie hip hop and never got the chance to see ASF rock a live show, here is your chance. Unquestionably one of the best crews to ever do it:

Arsonists Live Show pt. 1
Arsonists Live Show pt. 2
Arsonists Live Show pt. 3

Now, I was told that there is a fourth part to this video but I've never seen it. If anyone has it, hook me up and you know I'll hook you up nicely... if it even exists.

I also have something else for you guys, original samples from the Arsonists. One thing I always admired about this crew is the fact that they were a self-contained unit, rapping and producing their own records (and you wonder why Q Unique fucks with the likes of Necro and Uncle Howie Records, they have the same "do it yourself" mindset). Just after the crew released their second album, Q Unique and Swel 79 put out Arsonists Originals, a mix cd of their sample sources and some rough demos that detailed the hardships this once omnipotent crew now faces. Q even speaks on his upcoming move to Uncle Howie records and about how Bill reached out to him. One of the little details I like about this mixtape is that it reads "SRS presents..." SRS is an abbreviation for Self-Rightous Spic, Q's own moniker.

Arsonists Originals

How about some more Arsonists dopeness? Here is a little .zip file with some rare ASF shit and some of their freestyles. Here is the tracklisting and some information.

Arsonists, Tame One, and Non Phixion- Christmas Freestyle on WKCR. 1998 or 1999?
Arsonists and Non Phixion- WKCR appearance. I don't know what year this is from.
Q Unique and Sabac- It Ain't Safe No More. Mixtape-only or a b-side. I got my copy from a mix cd.
Nomaads- The Ultimate Underground (Q's first crew, 12' release from 1994)
Nomaads- The Ultimate Underground Remix
Arsonists, Kwest the Mad Ladd, and Poison Pen- Freestyle that never made it to an Eddie Ill and DL tape
Arsonists and some whores- Blacklisted (some female rap crew who bought an ASF appearance)
Arsonists- Pyromaniax (Original Mix, different than the album version)

Arsonists Rarities and Freestyles

Cormega Freestyle Madness...

40 Freestyles

Two large archives.

One Large Archive

The Other Large Archive

My favorite one is... fuck it. Too many dope ones in here. I do like the one where Cardan steals the show and the Drama King actually spits a verse over the 2000 BC beat... that joint was a nice surprise nit it's too bad that a few wack MCs fuck that one up a bit.

150+ megs of Mega.

This should take you all week to sift through.

-MGP

Music to Get High To... Volume Three.

Over the years the man known as MGP has been known on the internet for many things: threatening people, this blog, outrageous stories, a wealth of knowledge concerning hip hop music, and always having good taste in music.

It's widely known that one of my pastimes is getting high. Simply put, I smoke more trees than a forest fire. As much as I love rap music and spinning classic or obscure records, I don't have the patience or willpower to constantly change records when I get high. Some people who are familiar with me have already seen my solution for this: compilations of dope instrumentals and sample sources.

Over the past year I've put two of these compilations out there and I don't think I've gotten many bad reviews, although I will admit more people liked the first installment rather than the second- which featured more unknown producers. For volume three I decided to go back to what I know works best and I've gone back to using material from a lot of the artists that made the first installment so popular.

So without further adieu, I present to you volume three of my Music to Smoke To series. If you're unsure about this kind of thing, here is a quick track by track rundown of what's featured.

1.) Malak- Intro

Who the fuck is Malak? Well, years ago I was helping a friend put together beats for his album and I came across his beat tape. Some people who were feeling the Kae'daq Demo tape that I put out there a few years ago might remember his production on that release. Simply put, Malak is a producer from Toronto who I heard was caught up in the suspected terrorist sweeps just after 9-11 and is chilling at Guantanamo Bay. I've only heard that once but who knows, he hasn't put out anything after 2001 if that means anything. This joint has an Arabic feel to it, think of a more danceable Stoupe. The tone set by this track leads us to the next song...

Oh, by the way, a quick aside... I called Malak about buying beats in 1999. He asked me if I practiced Islam. I told him that I didn't and that while the religion fascinated me, and to this day it still does (I almost converted in 2001), he told me to go fuck myself and if he ever saw me I'd be decapitated with his Arabian sword.

"Thanks anyway," I said.

"FREE PALESTINE!" He screamed before slamming the phone down.

Eccentric, sure. Dangerous terrorist? Maybe. Dope musician, most definetly.

2.) Zeb- Suffism

I heard this song when I was in an art gallery in Montreal, but it wasn't the first time I had heard it. I believe it was used as a sample in a Bahamadia song and I know a remix of Sankofa's "Disposables" utilized this a portion of this as well. Anyway, it's this up-tempo Arab sounding song and I asked the attendant at the gallery what CD this was from and she told me is was Buddah Bar 3, which is more or less a compilation of electronica songs from Europe and the Indian Subcontinent. This isn't your usual electronica fare, but it's a great song in its own right.

If there are any budding producers reading this I highly suggest you pick up the Buddah Bar cds, tons of great samples can be picked from this shit... especially disc one of volume three, which is more or less organic sounds as oppossed to the dance/house/electronica-themed material on disc two. Warning: all of the Buddah Bar releases are expensive.

3.) Kae'daq- Born Alone Die Alone Instrumental

I remember that a lot of people we're pleasantly surprised when I put the Kae'Daq demo on the net. One of the things I held back was the instrumental of the track "Born Alone Die Alone" becuase I felt it would have been out of place on the album. Here's the instrumental, and it's legit... not some some loop put together on the MPC.

4.) Sindustry- Irish Nightmare

Sindustry is a guy who scores television commercials and made for tv movies. I featured two of his productions on my first compilation and a lot of people were feeling his atmospheric vibe. Irish Nightmare is the first song I ever heard from him and I was digging it immediately.

5.) Sindustry- Unknown Joint One

I have no idea what the title is for this, it was on a beat cd I was sent from him in 2000.

6.) Sindustry- Unknown Joint Two

Ditto. Dope.

7.) Tayo- Broken Collarbone

Tayo is another name you should be familiar with if you have my first volume of Music to Smoke To. Hailing from Jamaica, Tayo has become infamous for making tons of dope tracks and rarely releasing them outside of the usual MP3 format. His only release, Glass Head, is a personal favorite of mine. I chose Broken Collarbone for this compilation because of the precussion and swooning samples that really can pick you up off of your feet. The pounding piano samples that cycle along the track also add a feeling of rapture and movement to this piece, another reason why I am such a fan of Tayo's music. There is only one complaint... MAKE THESE TRACKS LONGER, TAYO!!!

8.) Tayo- But I Know

The vocal sample and the rhythm of the string sample; so light, so smooth- nirvana for your eardrums as perfect harmony is achived on thie piece. Really, I have nothing but good things to say about this man's work and beating a dead horse could never be more productive when talking about Tayo's musical genius.

9.) Kae'daq or Malak joint?

I have no idea which guy produced this. I know both men worked closely together and really you could make a case that either guy produced this. I have no title and no source for this, I got it in 1999.

The drums and intermittent chimes really make this come alive for me. Short, but you know what they say about wit, genius, and brevity.

10.) Goblin- Non Ho Sono

This is the sample source for one of my favorite songs ever, "Canarsie Artie's Revenge" by Q-Unique. The guitar riff is one of the most disgustingly pleasurable sounds I've ever come across, the piano chords are equally fitting, and the synths make the hair on the back of my neck stand with the posture of a plebe being diciplined by his drill sargent. As you can tell by the breakdown somewhere between the two and three minute mark, this is from a movie score.

I've featured Goblin on my first Music to Smoke To compilation and everyone was a fan, I think this song was a wise choice for volume three.

11.) Jigsaw- Pete

If you've read this blog before you might know Jigsaw. He came here and posted some not so nice words about me because I asked a simple question about a rumor I heard. Anyway, he's a dope producer and this song came from a beat CD he gave Ill Bill in 2001 or 2002.

Jigsaw has a gift as a producer but I feel his real niche is finding great samples and great records. No one can fuck with him when it comes to digging up the good shit in my opinion. The strings on "Pete" are some of the best I've come across, ever. The vocal sample is sick as well. Big ups to Jigsaw, one of the most underated and slept-on producers out there. If you haven't copped the Goretex "Hated" 12' I advise you pick it up, Jig's work on that is also pretty dope as well.

12. Jigsaw- Silently Listen

It's no secret that most of the Psycho+Logical and Uncle Howie artists are big into rock music. Another dope string sample, this time from a guitar, and two more great vocal samples... closes out the cd very nicely. The sound is quite gentile yet moving at the same time.

Music to Get High To Volume Three

And for those who missed out on the first two go 'rounds:

Volume One

Volume Two

Yeah, I've been busy...

I'd like to take this itme to appologize for the lack of updates last week. Real life has been uber-hectic but I do have some great news:

Things are starting to pop off for Mustafa Goodprose. There is a lot of stuff in the works, all of which is much bigger than this site. I am so eager to tell everyone what's coming up but right now I can't. I'll give you all a hint:

We are shooting a DVD to be released this summer. Shit is grimey and very hectic.

That's all I can tell you for now and that is only the tip of the iceberg. I will be setting up another site with a store too and if you like this blog I am certain you're going to like what's ahead for MGP and my company.

So today I'd like to start with part two of the Celebrity C-List.

Gentile Jones- Adult Language












If you've were ever on the internet from 1997 to 2001 you surely heard of Gentle Jones. I remember his mp3.com page and I remember some big deal about going to Ireland to perform. When I went to school in Gentle's home state of Delaware I relented and copped his second album though I hadn't heard or downloaded a single song of his. I was too close in proximity to the "internet" charicter in real life to not see what the big deal was, plus he was doing shit in Ireland and that to me is a big deal... it's the fucking homeland!

Adult Language has one of the dopest covers I've even seen, feauring a well-endowed woman sitting on to of a gigantic mushroom sharing a houka with some kind of caterpillar/human hybrid that for whatever reason reminds me of Bill Bradley (you should read his memior if you get the chance, just finished it).

What stands out most about this album is the heart involoved with its creation. I can hear Gentle's passion for what he does in his flow and voice. On "All World," the first track of the album, Gentle comes through as genuine- honestly talking about how he feels about himself. No, he's not a gangster, he's just trying to make music. The beat sounds like a loop from a toy-piano and it works well. The passion for rap that Gentle has is easily identifiable from the jump-off and "All World" serves as a great intorduction to who he is.

One of my favorite cuts on this album is the third track, These Trees. Dedicated to one of my favorite pastimes, the listener is introduced to Gentile's friend Delorian, a fellow Delaware resident who is quite dope on the mic. Delorian comes dopest on the cut "Hijack," a topic that was provoked by the terror attacks in 2001. Delorian raps about being on a plane that is hijacked by Islamic militants as he talks to his wife on the phone as the drama unfolds. While a great concpet, the track could have been longer and the beat underwhelms (though the chatoic noise is perfect in many ways for this topic), but it's solid and entertaining throughout and doesn't in any way preach the mantra of the Bush/Cheney administration. It's a song about being terrorized, and the terror comes through loud and clear.

The next track is "Emerald City Wizards." This is my favorite beat on the album and while the content is a bit out of bounds for hip hop I for one can appreciate an acid trip through the time of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Some people won't be able to get into this but the drum work on this track is stoooopid fresh. In case anyone here was unaware, Wilmington is the Emerald City and Gentle's theme makes him a Merlin of sorts- an anasuming being who looks out of place (especially in hip hop) but possessing of powers far beyond what every other mortal with a mic can imagine. I think the infamous Fuse One is featured on this track as well, by the way.

The track "Afterlife" does not display any rapping but it is a beat that stands alone on its own merrits and sounds like something from El-P's We're All Going To Burn In Hell Mixtape. I like it.

Perhaps my favorite song on this album is the track "I Hate Love Songs." The beat is simple and the message is cliche, but the outcome is somehow original. Gentle croons about why he hates love songs, "I hate love songs, because I hate to hear another man talking to yooooou/ The one's in them love songs don't really love you." Really, this is dope as fuck for what it is and is one of the only songs about this topic that I really dig (I put it in the same class as Alas' "Roll Down The Hill With"). To make the total package even more dope, I think the attractive woman on the cover is Gentle's wife, I think I read somewhere that he married a black woman and the woman on the cover appears to be everything Gentle is rapping about on "I Hate Love Songs."

So, if I have such glowing things to say about this album why is Gentle Jones a C-List Celebrity? His style is not easy to get into, which doesn't mean he isn't good it's just that he isn't for everybody. Also, Gentle is quite imaginative but as gifted as he proves himself to be with his concepts, it's not always hip hop in a classical sense... but hey it's still good music and you can't be a C-List Celebrity without being a celebrity of some sort, so props to Gentle for getting his name out there on larger level.

For obvious reasons I am not going to upload the entire album because I don't know how Gentle would feel about that but whether he likes it or not, I'm uploading my favorite tracks. A lot of you are bound to like this and to be truthful, as a thug from Jersey I didn't think I'd like this shit myself but it was certainly an unexpected stroke of luck that I did like it because I've bumped this shit too many times going to and from Camden picking up halves and burners with this in the deck.

For your enjoyment, my favorite tracks from Adult Language.

Some fucking Heat and some fucking ill shit...

Sorry for the time between updates this week. I've been quite busy working on some projects I have coming out in the near future... shit is about to pop off big time.

Today I uploaded a few things for you all that you should enjoy.

Eddie Ill and DL- A Long Rhyme Coming pt. 2

This compilation of freestyles includes guest spots from the following:

Rubix, Hazadus, Rise, & Eddie Brock (Double Edge) [prod. by J-Rawls]
Wordsworth, Punchline, MFW, Heroine (Juggaknots), & Invincible [prod. by Panik (Molemen)]
Ace Lover (2for5), Stelph Index, Blowout, & Phase-One [prod. by J-Rawls]
Tone Deff, Pack FM, Substantial, Rok-One, & Ocean [prod. by Fat Jon of the 5Deez]
Vakill, Cwel, Prime, & Mass Hysteria [prod. by Panik]
Swave Sevah (CVees), Kwest, & Percee P. [prod. by Emile]
Oktober (2for5), Ike P (CVees), & Diabolic [prod. by Fakts One]
C-Rayz Walz, Guage, Breez Evahflowin, & Loer Velocity (Writer's Guild) [prod. by Emile]
J-Live, Choclair, Etcetera, & Mr. Complex [prod. by J-Live]
Hafeese, Labba, Big Twan, Matt Fingaz, & FT [prod. by Ayatollah]
Brooklyn Academy (Will Tell, Bishop, Icon, Mr. Metaphor, Pumpkinhead & Block Mcloud) [prod. by Will Tell]
I.G. Off & Supernatural [prod. by Joe Buddha]
The Demigodz (Celph Titled & Apathy) & Louis Logic [prod. by DJ Cheapshot]
A.L. Skills, Avatar, Overbite, Mazzi, AP & J-Treds [prod. by Chris Jarvis]
Eastern Conference (Mr. Eon, Copywrite & Cage) [prod. by Mighty Mi]
Ken Bugaloo, Subconcious, Kahiem, Yeshua dapoED, L.I.F.E.long & Many Styles [prod. by Fat Jon]
Jane Doe & Ray Rip Ya'll [prod. by Grap Luva]
Eddie Ill Outro [prod. by DJ Static]

I've also included a second link, again props to Liv3One, for the Bonus Disc

The next thing I present to you comes courtessy of the same board.

Heat- They Don't Call Me Heat For Nothing

Who is Heat? South Jersey MC, formerly signed to Game's Black Wallstreet label. I think he's dope and the production is pretty dark on a lot of these tracks.

Props to Davey Dips for this, I copped the album but neve3r got around to bumping it until he told me how dope it was. Here is the track list:

1)DJ Radio intro
2)Da Introduktion
3)Buzzing
4)Hol Dat
5)***** Pleeze
6)Wreckless pt. 2
7)Fake Luv
8)Piling Bread
9)Robberz
10)Go 2 NC
11)Unda a kandle
12)Kalm down
13)Sweating Bulletz
14)50 barz
15)Babygirl
16)Do Dat There
17)Wanna Ryde
18)Outta Yo Mind
19)Shining Real Hard
20)Shining
21)Unseeable
22)Driveby
23)I aint going gold
25)DJ Radio outro

As for what I have coming up that is preventing me from doing big updates this week, please stay tuned! It'll be worth your while!

-MGP

Tribute to Jersey pt. 3

Channel Live

Today I bring to you the very last installment of my feature Tribute to Jersey. In 1994 the legend known as MGP was starting his first year in Catholic School. I previously attended a diverse, albeit slightly dangerous, public instituion where I was exposed to all kinds of different cultures.

Then came 1994. I was in the seventh grade and all I wanted to do was play basketball and listen to rap music. The very next year I was to dunk a basketball for the first time, all 5'8 of me in a pale, caucasian, glory. Well, I had a red afro but that was besides the point.

Every single day on the bus I would listen to one tape, one tape only. Was it because my family was suddenly poor? No. It just happened to be the best hip hop I'd ever heard in my life. I was picked on. Sure I could ball, but I was a race-traitor to all of my classmates. I was a good student, but my teachers warned my parents that if I kept listening to rap music I might end up a drop-out. What was it that kept me relativly sane?

Channel Live.

"You fuckin' nigger-lover. You got big nigger pussy-lips on your beautiful white face."

Tim was holding me down with his foot, reminding me that God must have had a bad day when he was assembling me. It was recess and I was playing basketball and Tim just walked up behind me on the blacktop and choked me out, rolling me on the ground where he pressed all of his 200 lbs into my chest with the sole of his steel-toes boots. His friend Bob was poking my face with the pointed end of a compass, trying to cut a swastika into my jawbone. I felt each layer of skin tear and burn in pain as he dragged it across the bone.

"You're lucky you're white... I'd rip those nigger lips right off you and use them for fishing bait, but I can't stand to hurt a member of my own race... no matter how much you may deserve it."

"Luckily for Hitler, I don't have a problem with that," Bob said as he worked the compass on my face.

I waited for the right moment and when it arrived it was the cartoonisih sound that ushered in one of my favorite Channel Live songs that brought me to my feet in a fit of rage.

"Down goes the devil, down, down, goes the devil."

I punched Bob on his face and twisted Tim's ankle with my hands so hard that I dislocated it. I got up and stomped his face into the ground so badly that his mother had to take him out of school and use the money set aside for tuition to fix his face. At the local public school he didn't show up on picture day for the next two years.

"Booyaka, Booyaka, down goes the devil, down, down, goes the devil."

I was a misunderstood being, just like hip hop as Hakim and Tuffy would wax so eloquently on "Free Mumia." I had to take up arms and resist, just and Channel Live's music instructed. Because of their music I found the inspiration to be myself and not compromise.

What became of Channel Live's career? They didn't compromise and in the corporate world of music that doesn't work. After first striking it "big" with "Mad Izm," which got play on MTV and BET, Channel Live released Station Identification- a 90s classic- on Capitol Records. The production was handled by KRS One, who tried to get Channel Live into BDP in the early 90s before that whole thing collapsed, and a young Salam Remi (who would later make a bigger noise with Nas). The atmospheric soundscapes, if you listen to it today, set the mood for a typical day in the life of mid-90s hip hop. There isn't one bad track on this album.

For two years The Source kept reporting that Channel Live was working on thier major-label follow called Illegal Broadcasters. They were eventually dropped from their label and it took them five more years to release their sophmore album Armaghetto. Their sophmore effort, which I didn't think was that bad, was panned everywhere. Hakim and Tuffy still had great writing skills but people were really upset with the beats and overall tone of the album, which I believe was released on Flavor Unit Records.

For those of you who didn't feel that Channel Live's sophmore album didn't live up to expectations you will be happy to know that Channel Live also put out close to thirty or so other tracks via white labels, indie 12s, and features on other people's abums. I've archived 11 of the ones I have and uploaded them all for you. Here is a run down and some background information on each of the tracks:

Six Cents- This came from a 12' put out on Beyond Real Recordings in 1998. Great production and Hakim and Tuffy do a great job on the mic.

Broadcasting Live- This was originally a white label release but the song was included on DJ Cam's The Beat Assassinated lp.

For the Right Price- Collaboration with Diaz, of Tee Productions, found on the 2050 LP.

Mad Izm Remix- Buckwild remix found on the B-Side to the 12' single.

Sex for the Sport Remix- Found on the B-Side to the Sex For the Sport 12', features totally different lyrics than the album version.

Raise Up- On the Boradcasting Live white label, also featured a few months later on DJ Cam's LP.

Free Mumia (Alternate Version)- This version was found on the KRS ONE release D.I.G.I.T.A.L.. The original, as you should know, was on KRS' self-titled (and highly self-congradulatory) Lp from 1995. The beat is the same but Channel Live's lyrics are just a bit different for whatever reason.

Heads Get Split- Uh, there was some wack-ass compilation that featured NFL players and rappers doing songs together. Most people remember that record because of Ghostface's contribution but Channel Live came through with a dope feature of their own.

Illegal Broadcasters ft. Benny Boom- From The Union compilation. This instrumental should sound familiar.

Kill It- One of the latter D&D 12s. Feautures Agallah, Craig G. and RA the Rugged Man as well. Alchemist on the beat, dope shit as usual.

Unbound/Mumia 911- Not sure of the title. Mad MCs from Last Emperor to Wise Intelligent and PEACE as well as Black Thought and Channel Live on this joint. My copy is from a vinyl bootleg.

So there you have it, 11 Channel Live joints that weren't on any of their albums. Download it here, and let's not forget about the joint that set it off for everyone in 1994, Mad Izm

In more recent time (2004) Channel Live released a 12' on Brick Records called "Dear Mr. President." I haven't heard it but I sure would love to. I saw it in a store once for 10 dollars and figured I'd buy it the next go 'round. I don't think anyone could imagine two streetwise dudes from Montclair, New Jersey, who won props on a local level by beating the likes of Chino XL at tallent shows, would be putting out records on a label known for its upstarts. Regardless, it's always good to hear new music from the duo.

Where is Channel Live today? You're guess is as good as mine but I can tell you one thing, Tim and Bob are both dead- shot to death in Idaho running meth for neo-Nazis and Station Identification is still in my walkman, and that's real talk:



I hope you all enjoyed this segment giving light to some of the great rap acts to come out of New Jersey who never made it the way I feel they should of (even though it was out of their control). It was a lot of fun for me, going through old tapes and records to dig this stuff up for you guys. It made me realize how much dope music I have, and in the case of Channel Live how much dope music I may not have. If anyone has the following Channel Live joints in any format (vinyl, cd, or mp3) I would reward them greatly for a copy:

Channel Live and KRS One- Live at Rocksteady (there is one from 1995 and one from 1999, the one from 1999 was pressed on vinyl and the 1995 is Maxell tape bootleg).
KRS One and Channel Live- Happy Verse Day
Channel Live- Maintain
Channel Live- Hardcore
Channel Live- Live for Hip Hop
Channel Live- Red Rum
Channel Live- It's a Dream (From the One Million Strong compilation, which I had and lost)
Truck Turner, Channel Live, and Benny Boom- Spark Dat
Heltah Skeltah, Channel Live, Das Efx, Glaze Ny, P Dap, Substantial, Loose, Agallah, Masta Ace & Misery- Game Over
Defari ft. Channel Live- Club Etiquette

Ok, I don't know what to make of this shit but I'll let you know what I know about this record.

Too Much Trouble- Bringing Hell On Earth
Rap-A-Lot
1992

This CD was never re-issued and goes for 30 dollars used on Amazon.com

The Geto Boyz appear on track two, "Only the Strong."

A lot of people feel that this is a Southern classic but I feel that its scarcity has done this for its reputation more than the quality of the actual music.

Content wise, this shit is sick. Raping women after snatching their purses, check. Home invasion, check. Running from the law, check. Yeah, this is some really gutter shit. Horror-core rap came out of the NYC scene in 1994 but it was a reality in the South a couple years earlier.

Too Much Trouble- Bringing Hell On Earth

Atack of the C-List Celebrities Pt. 1

Today I am begining the first chapter in a new series here on by blog called "Attack of the C-List Celebrities." The vast mainstream market of hip hop gave birth to an underground scene just as ubitquitous, and even then some really dope artists never got heard.

Orko the Sycotic Alien

If you post at Philaflava.com and you've read one of history's more scandlous top-fifty MCs lists by a poster in California then you might have heard this name before. Right not he works with former Company Flow member Big Juss for group NMS. They've just put out their second album. Orko is one of a number of West-Coast rappers who've been putting in work for quite a while on the local level in San Diego. He portrayed himself as a master of beats and rhymes, producing his own songs to rap over and also including productions with no vocals for his tape-only albums. In the late 90s this may have appeared too "old-school" for most artists outside of San Diego who weren't familiar with Orko to relate to.

I don't know for sure how many albums Orko put out before teaming-up with Big Juss, but the vinyl pressing of "Walkman Terrorist" does very well on e-Bay. I fetched mine for 15 dollars in 2000 but I've seen it sell in upwards of 30 in more recent years. It's a very solid track and the other two tracks on the EP are dope as well. I've uploaded the single in its entirety with instrumentals and radio edits. I think the title track uses the same sample as the RZA-produced "Run." This similarity will mean a bit more by the time you read the rest of this entry.

The other Orko release that I own is called Doomsday Prophet, and LP he released on cassette sometime in the late 90's and rereleased on CD in 2000. I must say the overall quality of this release is flawed, but I like it for the same reason I like Wu Tang Clan demos- that spirit of belief in one's art no matter how primitive it's means- and it shows how many other people were thinking on the Wu's level in the early and mid-90's before they blew up. Orko was also on the Wu's wavelength on niche topics: for the Wu it was martial arts, for Orko it was aliens; both also asked important questions about how to change the world. There are also similarities in darkness and deathly imagry and a doom that awaits those who don't have the right knowlegde on how to avoid it: both shouted out for revolution, albeit in different terms.

Please note that I did not say Orko was on the same level as the Wu, he just thought on their level without knowing it and it's reflected in the art, not the art's quality. This does not mean that Orko sucks, he doesn't, infact he's quite good if you can aquire a taste for him and go out of your way to understand. I find some of his music to be either quite rewarding or quite puzzling, never anything else. I'd like you all to have a listen for yourselves:


Walkman Terrorist EP

Doomsday Prophet

What is it that makes Orko a C-List celebrity and not an underground favorite or a lesser contemporary to the Wu Tang Clan? Tallent isn't what separated Orko from success in the past- it was relatability. At this point in his career Orko has found a more-accessable platform: the anti-globalist movement and the more-affluent market of "rebellion rap" fans. Because of this shift in approach Orko has now garnered a respectable amount of fans but I still feel that he has the tallent to be embraced by a larger scale of underground fans than his niche provides. He has too many of the RZA's good qualities to be ignored and I feel that fans of the old Wu sound would like his early material a great deal.