2011 Blog Year In Review & Beyond

This year runnin this blog was pretty satisfying. Earlier in the year i was seriously considering to shut this blog down. It just wasnt fun anymore and I felt the love wasnt there anymore either. But during the year the fire was kinda rekindled with new innovative ideas I came up with to keep this blog alive. Yall gotta remember im going into my 5th year of runnin this blog, and i posted all the mixtapes i had a couple years ago. So a person like me got to stay on his toes to come with new things to keep this blog alive. So my LP Thoughts was great idea to voice my opinions on albums that meant alot to me and give yall my review on them and i still have lots more to do. Then my write ups on certain topics about hip-hop that struck a chord wit me was another creation of mine that sparked a lot of talk. I had to let people know out there that there's certain MC's that was in game that didnt receive their just due and i felt i had to speak on it. Dont worry i have other topics im gonna speak on as well goin in to the new year.
The Source Fat Tapes was a lifesaver for me as well  because whats the use of having all the Source Magazines i have without puttin them to use. I knew that there was tons of people out there who always wanted those joints in there and i felt i had to give the people what they want. So going into this new year i will try to keep yall filled with more innovative ideas to supply yall with classic hip-hop that we know and love. Like i said many times before, if yall have any old classic mixtapes yall wanna provide me please feel free to e-mail me at dipsetgunit456@aol.com. I can convert them digitally if u want me to as well. Also if u are looking in my archives for past posts and the link is dead, please lmk what u lookin for and i will gladly re-post that for u if i still have it!
Shout out to some people that rided out wit ya boy this year for the support: Bully, Manifest, Tapemasta, SOUL, Jaz, Verge, ImStillMike, TonyStress360, For All Masters, Pipomixes & anybody else i forget im sorry but thanks for ur support as well! Thanks for hanging in there wit me and showin me mad love.
Its hard to believe im going into my 5th year doing this and all i wanted to do is share wit people classic hip-hop and mixtapes that wasnt out there. People might have had them but nobody was sharing the love so others can have them as well. I didnt realize how big this thing really was until i jumped in to do my part and im glad i did. Before me it was only Tapemasta & SOUL providing people classic mixtapes, so i consider them the forefathers. They gave me a blueprint and i just studied the manuscripts and drew out my own plan. And so far its been all good and hopefully it gets even better!

One more thing, my new mix for the month January will be up tommarow and it will be posted right above this as the new Joint of the Month! I wanna thank everybody for checkin that mix out, as of right now its almost over 480 views!! Thanks so much and i hope u like Sittin on Crates #2 comin tommarow!

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: May 1994

May '94

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: March 1996

Mar. '96

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: June 1997

Jun. '97

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: July 1996

Thanks to vincent for the pic.

July '96

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: February 1992

Feb. '92

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: December 1993

Dec. '93

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: April 1995

Apr. '95

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: September 1990

Ok so its not actually a fat tape but u get the point.
Sept. '90

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: October 1993

Oct. '93

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: November 1995

Nov. '95

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: May 1992

May '92

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: March 1993

Mar. '93

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: June 1996

Jun. '96

Thanks to Vincent for the pic.

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: July 1992

July '92

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: February 1991

Feb. '91

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: December 1991

Dec. '91

**Re-Up** Craig G & DJ Precise- Hot Like Fire Pt. 3 (1998) (Mixtape)

Here is a request from my man Jay. This is a Craig G special served up straight fresh for ya. Had madd success on this tape when I 1st posted it a couple years ago. Yall know what to expect on this..whole bunch of blends along wit new flavor from '98.
Like i said before if u have any requests for re-ups please lmk and ill see what i can do! Ok now lets take it to Top Floor!

HLF3

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: August 1996

Aug. '96

Thanks to Vincent for the pic.

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: April 1993

Apr. '93

LP Thoughts: Craig Mack- Project: Funk Da World (1994)

I know its been awhile since i did one of these but i been slacking and i know that, but now im back and ready to go!

Like i told yall before 1994 was start of the marriage between me & hip-hop 4 life! And this man played a origin part of that happening. Now i cant remember if it was on Rap City, Yo! MTV Raps, the radio or a friend of mine' s mixtape but it was anyone of those that i 1st heard "Flava In Ya Ear"! I cant explain the feelin I felt over me when I 1st heard that beat man, its hard to put it in words. The beat 1st of all is so simple but it knocks! I thought at that time in '94 that was the all-time best beat in hip-hip history, i didnt think it could get any better than that (as we all know this was only the tip of the iceberg). I cant tell yall how many times I jammed this song in a row, it was too many times to count back then.

Now it started to get real when the remix to that record came out! I saw that video for the 1st time on BET and i was entranced and mesmerized! Entranced by the way the video looked... it was black & white!! But it was ill tho, it had the dope slow motion effects and all that and thats all because of legendary director Hype Williams. And I was mesmerized by that fine ass girl that was dancin next to Puff, and Puff always cracks me up in that scene cause of the way he was lookin at her then looks at the camera! Thats part always cracks me up, thats when I knew then that Puff is fool! To me that is one of the illest remixes ever made cause everybody brought their a-game to the track! Biggie ripped it, Mack did his thing, Rampage killed it (and i had idea who the nigga was), now LL shocked me wit his verse cause i didnt know he could go there like that but he did and Busta introduced to himself to everybody that he could do his thing solo wise!

So when Mack dropped his second single "Makin Moves Wit Puff" i was sold! Now many people kinda was like who dis nigga dressed in Versace dancin all in the video? Thats when i knew then that Puff was guy who didnt take himself seriously, he was willing to go out there do what he needed to get his label off the ground and jumpin. Me personally i miss that Puff but that person is long gone. But i loved this track and the video, i used to rock this joint hard! By the time Mack unloaded the 3rd single "Get Down" he had hip-hop by its ears at that time man. Easy Mo Bee provided this man with a certain sound that was just hard, and this song was just that....hard! The video was real nice for this as well with the ill slow motion effects brought to u by Hype! These tracks & videos is part of hip-hop history right there and set up Craig Mack for the ultimate debut anticipation for his LP to drop!

Back in '94 I was in the 7th grade and I wasnt buying albums yet, I was still recording songs on the radio onto tapes. So any LP that came out around that time i was borrowing from friends so i can listen to it and recorded what i liked. So when a friend of mine let me borrow the LP i couldnt wait to listen to it when i got home. And what i heard was a very nice & solid LP. "Funk Wit Da Style" was real dope, it has a ill sample in it that i like alot and it knocks. And my other joint on there was "When God Comes", man i love the horn sample in this one. I must have put this joint on repeat many times. But this song may have caused controversey between him and the label and most imporatntly Biggie. Ill get into that later. But this LP to me is pretty nice and it brings me back to great memories i had in '94 when this dropped.

But the questions i have is why this man faded out so quickly? So many rumors and stories are out there. Like why did he leave the label in '95? I heard that he left because Puff was so focused on Biggie and not him anymore that he packed up and left. But recently i heard from a source that on that track "When God Comes" he sent some shots at Biggie & Puff on what they believed in and what they were doing. I heard it was this song that put him on the outs wit the label and Puff booted him. Did Biggie & Mack really get along? I thought they did cause they was always freestyling together back in the early Bad Boy days and BIG was on Flava In ya Ear remix. But i have a interview featuring Biggie back in '96, and the interviewer asked him "Whats up wit Craig mack, yall still mess wit him?" Biggie said "Naw man, we dont fuck wit dat dude, we dont mess wit him." The interviewer said "But u was on the remix tho?" Biggie responded "I did that as a favor for Puff." So i was blown away by that, i think there's more to that story tho. The other rumor/ fact i heard was that after he dropped from Bad Boy it was hard for him to get another deal cause he being blackballed by other labels by Puff's doing. And it was Eric B. who helped him get a deal so he can put out his 2nd LP which came out in '97. But Eric B. said after he did that for him their relationship soured over somethin. So all & all there is alot of mystery of why Craig Mack didnt blow up the way he supposed to. The stardom he had was very short lived and its kinda messed up. But i tell u what, when i tried to grow my fro i wanted it to look like his! He had the illest 'fro back then!

I give this LP a 3.5 - 4 start rating, so whats ur thoughts on this LP?

The Best of Eric B. & Rakim (1997) (Mixtape)

C'mon now people, do i really need to go into what these guys meant to the game? Do i really need to get into what these guys brought to the game? Do i really need to get into how legendary this group is? If i do then everything we now about hip-hop is dead, but im assuming yall do know so i will keep hope alive. Yo man, there's no need for me to explain this post any further. Please act like u know and blast this joint on blazant levels!

U Thought I Was A Doughnut, U Tried To Glaze Me

The Best of Gangstarr Pt. 2 (1999) (Mixtape)

As we continue on with this amazing group, did yall know they broke up after Hard To Earn came out? Primo up to that point got tired of Guru's drinkin and his attiude during it. Guru's problem had driven wedge in between the two and Primo had enough. So Primo decided to step and do his own thing. But sometime in '97, Guru had caught a case of battery or assault (either one). And it was a serious one, he was facing years if found guilty of it. It was this event that brought the two back together, Primo wanted to support his man in every way he can during this difficult time. Coincidentally during this time they was workin on the Moment of Truth LP. Guru's lawyer told the group that yall need to put this LP out asap and promote it while Guru's able to cause u never know what could happen at trial. So that is exactly what they did, and while doin that Guru went on wit his trial and was found not guilty. And the icing on the cake was that the Moment of Truth LP went on to give them their 1st gold plaque! Thats right youngin's, back then it was a major achievement to go gold! Ask EPMD they went gold wit every LP and boasted about it! Thats how much goin gold meant to niggas. Ok man let me stop, bang out this part 2 and realize real hip-hop when u hear it!

Gangstarr Foundation

The Best Of Gangstarr Pt. 1 (1999) (Mixtape)

Here's another group that i really dont have to say much about. To me they are one of the most unique groups of all-time cause of the way they incorporated jazz into their style. Heck, maybe because of them kids like me made us like jazz. Thats a feat all its self! I was 1st introduced to Gangstarr back in late '95 on a episode of 'Ol Skool Wednesday on Rap City. That was when I 1st heard "Mass Appeal", and that vid & track had me in a trance! It was from there i was checkin for everything these two did together. I love these brothers and everything they stood for in hip-hop. RIP Guru for life! Enjoy part 1!

Gangstarr.....One of the Best yet!!

Styles P- The Ghost In The Machine (2005) (Mixtape)

One more joint featuring my man Styles P. This tape was released back in '06 when rappers just started coming out wit mixtape LPs. For the artist, its a way to get their music out to the people to occupy time until their official LP comes out. For the mixtape game, things started goin from sugar to shit real quick, cause it was mixtapes like this that flooded the market. It went from mixtapes being an art form to now just a promo tool for industry. But i cannot bash this tape too much cause its like a LP and its from my nigga SP. I was kinda skeptical on joints like this at 1st but I was soon impressed by it especially by the beats. The beats on here is crazy, there's a couple on here i put on repeat many times. So i gotta give props to Panero on the production side of things on here. I hope yall like it and keep it locked here for more!

Holiday Styles

**Re-Up** DJ Capone- The Lox 10th Anniversary Vol. 1 (2005) (Mixtape)

I been a Lox fan since i 1st heard them on Bad Boy's Vol. 3 mixtape wit Stretch Armstrong back in '96. The track was "Thumbs Up" ft. Richie Thumbs. Man i used to bump that track all the time, i loved the flow and the beat! Then i heard "You'll See" wit Biggie and it was a wrap after that, i became fans of these cats for life!! Can u believe these guys almost got 20 years in the game!! Thats crazy, its rare nowadays that a solo artist or even a group being around for 20 years in this industry. But they earned to stay here. Everything they did they ripped it whether it was mixtapes, guest features, their own shit, solo shit and etc! They always went hard 100% of the time, thats why they are one of the best groups of all-time. That shouldnt even be debated, the crazy thing is that they only did 2 LPs!!? So enjoy this tape and rock out to one of the best collective ever to do it!!

L.O.X

Big L- A Freestyle History (1999) (Mixtape)

In our final session of this course, we gotta talk about a MC's ability to create songs. There were alot of MC's in the past that were super lyrical, battle ready and freestyle fanatic. But the one thing that plagued them was the ability to craete songs. Its like it was their kryptonite to do that. For whatever reason they couldnt transfer their amazing rhymin ability to create tracks people can get wit. For L, he had that ability to do both. He had it in him to battle a nigga on the block, go to Stretch & Bob and kick a outrageous freestyle then go to the studio and create tracks like "Ebonics" & "Size'em Up". I mean this man's style is damn near extinct nowadays. I kinda consider him a super hero with the abilities that he had. So on this tape check out his steez live on display for everyone wit a compilation of his best freestyles. And now with this class comin to a close i want everyone to just appreciate what this man brought  to game and imagine what he coulda done wit more time in his life! We miss u L!

Put Your L's Up

AZ- Decade 1994-2004 Pt. 2 (2004) (Mixtape)

When AZ spit that verse on Life's a Bitch, we all was like "who's this cat?" And its even more crazier that he was able to get a deal off that verse! Legendary. To me his 1st LP is a classic (a LP thoughts is comin soon on it), brings back great memories just thinkin about it. Now when his 2nd LP was gettin ready to come out i was amped cause the 2 singles he had for it was "Hey AZ" & "Whats The Deal". Those are bangers to me. But that LP didnt do well at plus it hurt that Hey AZ wasnt even on the LP. So for 2 years my man went hidin. Nobody didnt hear from him at all. But in 2000 i remember a mixtape that was spreading like wildfire called AZ- S.O.S.A. And it was pure crack of new joints from him and thats when he made a dope return to the game. Then he dropped 3 straight solid LPs: 9 Lives, Aziatic & AWOL. So its safe to say this man's place in the game as one of the best MC's is solidified. As we continue on this tape, its just more dope cuts and more flavor from this guy's extensive catalog. Give this man his props cause he is Rather Unique!

Aziatic

Jay Z- The Hits & Unreleased Pt. 1 (1999) (Mixtape)

Here is another dope little Hova mixtape from '99. It features his hits & rare tracks he had out up to that point. To me, in '99 thats when he started staking the claim as the top MC bypassing Nas. Cause like i said before when Jay 1st came out in '96, BIG was #1 and Nas was #2. And for some it was vice versa, but in '99 thats when Jay Z started his rise. So lets go back to the god hour wit the god MC Jay-Hova!

Jiggaman

Bad Boy Entertainment- The Hits & Unreleased Pt. 3 (2003) (Mixtape)

Ok, we still on that Bad Boy ish! And we make a return to the hip-hop side of things on this tape featuring Biggie, Puff, Mase, Black Rob, Shyne & G-Dep. Just imagine how powerful Bad Boy woulda been if Big was still here....imagine that. Puff woulda stayed focused on music and not Hollywood, Mase would have not retired & the Lox would not have left for Ruff Ryders. I always think about it and wonder. We all saw how strong they were in '97 when Puff took over, and Big wasnt there but look how powerful Bad Boy was! Just imagine if Big was around for the rest of '97, man it woulda been too much! Remember how DMX & Jay took over '98 and 50 took over '03, it woulda been bigger than that. Damn.......

Bad Boy 4 Life

Bad Boy Entertainment- The Hits & Unreleased Pt. 2 (2003) (Mixtape)

Now its on this tape that sets Bad Boy apart from other labels. R&B!! Puff did a great job of filling a great R&B roster!! On this tape, it features tracks from Bad Boy's R&B family tree such as Faith, Total, 112 & Carl Thomas. And not only Puff did a great job on his own R&B roster, do not forget all the tracks he remixed for other R&B artists during that time. They are all classics now.
This was during a time of when R&B was R&B, now its considered pop cause nobody sings anymore. Peep the flavor yall!

Bad Boy 4 Life

Bad Boy Entertainment- The Hits & Unreleased Pt. 1 (2003) (Mixtape)

We all know what Russell Simmons did with Def Jam Records, he sort of built a template of what a label is supposed to be like.
So Puffy took that template and revamped it into a empire. Yall can diss Puff all u want but Bad Boy set the standard on what a label is supposed to be like. Nobody had a street team before he did it, Nobody was makin mixtapes promoting their label before he did it, no CEO's was puttin them selves out there before he did it. To me Bad Boy was the label to be, i loved them niggas.
On this tape, its on the hip-hop side of Bad Boy. With tracks featuring Biggie, Puff, Mase, Lox & Black Rob.
If Rocafella promoted the hustle side of the game, then Bad Boy promoted the playa side of the game with the designer clothes and poppin 'Cris. Sometimes i wish Puff was still focused on the music like he was back then.

Bad Boy 4 Life

DJ Rob N Hood- Best Of Scarface Pt. 2 (2002) (Mixtape)

Another thing about Scarface is the relationships he built with other MC's in the game and the respect he earned for being a dope MC. He did tracks wit Jay, Nas, Beanie Sigel, X & 'Pac to name a few. Then Def Jam says "hey we need u to run our Southern label", ok boom he signs Ludacris who now has a 10+ year career! Cmon man, this dude is legendary for many reasons. So please enjoy pt. 2 of this man's majestic work!!

Mo 'Face

DJ Rob N Hood- Best Of Scarface Pt. 1 (2002) (Mixtape)

Back here in Texas, this man is a legend. He's right up there wit DJ Screw & Pimp C as part our hip-hop legacy in Houston. Scarface to me is in my all-time top 5 mc's list. He dont rap like ur typical down south rapper, he is a mc who speaks the truth. He tells u this is what happens if u choose this route and this what happens if u run these streets. He's a narrator and observer. When i 1st heard & seen the vid for "Never Seen A Man Die" back in 7th grade, that shook me and made me straighten up cause i didnt wanna end up like the dude in the video.
So this is part one of this man's amazing work, part 2 coming next. Enjoy & learn!

'Face

DJ Keyz & Big Mike- Show You How To Do This (2003) (Mixtape)

Well for all of the Hova fans out there, this is a rare treat!
This tape features all of Jay's rare tracks and freestyles! There is some tracks on here that is just hard to find anywhere else. It has many gems on here and for people trying dig up those endangered joints of the Jiggaman, this tape right here caters to ur needs! Thank me later yall!

Young Hova

LP Thoughts: Common Sense- Like Water For Chocolate (2000)

In '97 Common dropped a LP i thought was one of the year's best! I was jammin it daily and i was thinkin man, this dude Common is a real artist people need to take notice! Well in 2000 he would get just that.

After his last LP Common was doin guest verses on alot of peoples records garnering alot of attention! With classic rhymes on "1999" & "Respiration" his name was starting to get out there. And people was wondering what he was comin wit next. In 2000 a new wave of music was starting to come forth called neo. People like Erykah Badu, D'Angelo & Bilal started a new wave of R&B called neo-soul. It was a very warm & soul sounding music that is incredible. Common was very into that alot and hooked up with a new production team called Soulquarians (Questlove, J-Dilla & D'Angelo) to try to bring this new style of music into hip-hop that they brought to R&B. Who knew that this new marriage would work so well?

Common's 1st single was "6th Sense" which was produced by my nigga Premier! Man, i remember hearing this record for the 1st time and was just happy as hell that Common did a track with Premier! It was a smart move cause he represented a song for the street and showed them that he didnt forget them. It was a nice set up for his 2nd single which was the now classic "The Light". This track to me put him up there in a another level across the world cause this track resonated with so many people. It was a feel good record! Plus this put the spotlight on a producer named J-Dilla, and people needed to take notice on this talented beat maker. When this joint was spinning it brings back great memories cause at the time i was livin in NJ and Hot 97 was on fire back then! I never thought that a radio station could be that dope but thats another story. Ok, so now Common had the people's ears and people was feenin for that LP to drop and i was one of them. What i didnt expect was that i would be soon conflicted about this album.

I copped this LP the day it dropped and i guess i was going into it that this LP would sound exactly like his last. I was expecting the same type of beats and everything. So when i listened to it for the 1st time i was mad dissapointed. I didnt like it at all. I loved "6th Sense" & "The Light", those were a given but everything else i wasnt feelin. And i was mad, i thought Common had let me down. This LP was sittin in my CD book for 4 years and i never took it out until 2003 when i gave it away. I never listened to it other than those 2 songs and that was it.

But that people was the old me music wise. Back in '07-'08 i had to go back re-do my whole thinking of hip-hop music and read the manuscripts. There was alot of things that i never heard that i had to hear and re-access music i thought was wack. So in '07 i re-bought this LP. And man im glad i did cause i just overlooked this LP. I realized that the music is different cause he was going neo hip-hop. Plus J Dilla played a huge part in LP with the beats. So when i re-listened to it my ears was opened. One of the songs that i now love is "The Questions"! I love this record, its like Common did a Jadakiss "Why" before Jada did it. The beat on this track is lovely man. I can repeat it all day. So i want to admit i made a mistake on this LP 11 years ago, but i made up for it.

Sometimes when u buy a LP u expect too much from it and when it doesnt meet ur expectations u give up on it. Then once time settles in and ur viewpoints changed u realize "hey that LP wasnt that bad at all". Just anaylze a LP the best u can and if u come to the ultimate conclusion whether it dope or wack is up to u, but just take the time out and think it over before u make judgements about it. Learn from me.

Ill give this LP 3 out of 5. This was the LP that put Common in the spotlight and he ran wit it ever since (exclude Electric Circus). Whats ur thoughts on this LP?

The Source Fat Tape: October 2002

The tracks replaced off of this was:
Shade Shiest- Act Like You Know Me w/ Murder Inc.- The Pledge Remix
E-40- Automatic Remix w/ Loon- How U Want That

Oct. '02

The Source Fat Tape: November 1999

The tracks replaced off this was:
Rascalz- Cant Relate w/ Warren G- I Want It All
Young Bleed- I Could See It w/ Terror Squad- Whatcha Gonna Do
The Roots- Rocky w/ Made Men- Just You & I

Nov. '99

The Source Fat Tape: June 1999

The tracks replaced off of this was:
Rahsun- I Aint Missing You w/ Redman- Da Goodness

Jun. '99

The Source Fat Tape: July 2002

The tracks replaced off off this was:
The Columbians- You Cant Stop Me w/ Jaz-O- Love Is Gone
Red Cafe- BK Sports w/ AZ- Fan Mail

Jun. '02

The Source Fat Tape: December 2001

The tracks replaced off of this was:
Jermaine Dupri- Jazzy Hoes Pt.2 w/ Noreaga- Grimey
Beatnuts- Who R The Beatnuts w/ Shabaam Sahdeeq- Straight Like That

Dec. '01

The Source Fat Tape: December 1998

The tracks replaced off this was:
Too Short- Cocktails '98 w/ Brand Nubian- Dont Let It Go To Your Head

Dec. '98

LP Thoughts: Clipse- Lord Willin (2002)

During the summer of 2002 i was in the middle of my 6-month deployment in the US Navy. And during this deployment i was gettin the newest mixtapes sent to me by a local VA (Virginia) music store back at my duty station. I made a agreement with them to send me the newest joints so i can stay in the loop of whats goin on in the music world.

So when i started gettin these mixtapes i was noticing a trend in some of them. All the rappers on these tapes seemed to be freestyling over this certain beat 90% of the time. Now when I 1st starting hearing this beat, it went hard! It was just a hard knocking beat that alot of rappers seemed to be goin off on. Now up to this point i didnt even know that this beat came from a song or what, i thought it was just a hard bangin instrumental.

When we got back from our cruise by the end of the summer, alot of songs was bangin at that time, but 3 seemed to stand out. 1 was Nelly's "Hot In Herre". 2 was Styles P " I Get High" (crazy story about this song and ill get in to that on SP's Lp Thoughts). And about the 3rd one, when we got back me and my boys immediately gathered around a Tv and turned it BET to see what was hot and thats when I heard that beat again with actual lyrics to it! This was when i was introduced to the Clipse! And the name of the track was called "Grindin", and remember my duty station was at VA and they are from there so just imagine how much this song was in rotation!! The Clipse at this time owned VA and The Neptunes was as much part of it as well. So when word got out that the LP was comin out by the end of the summer i was more than ready! Plus the Neptunes was on production and this was during the time they was takin over on how hip-hop was sounding at the time. I was very curious to see how they was comin!

It was a no-brainer that i picked up this LP the day it dropped! Right away the LP starts off hot with "Virginia", a very slow sounding track but hard as well and they tell u about where they come from. Then "Cot Damn" gets u groovin a bit with those dope horn samples and some tight verses by Roscoe P Coldchain (anyone know where this name originated from? a rap group invented this name.) Next is "Ma, I Dont Love Her" with Faith Evans' soultry singin on it, i love this track! The beat compliments it well. Then the next track is always etched in my mind because of a hot video "When the Last Time", this is a club banger indeed! The video is always etched in my mind cause back then Rap City used to come on at night and this video always got me hyped on those late nights! "Comedy Central" is a nice selection as well, the beat is kinda different but i like it and Fabolous represents on it. On "Gangsta Lean" the Clipse let Pharrell get his thing off on the track. I used to repeat this song like crazy because the beat is so nice and Skateboard P's vocals go hand & hand with the song. Last but not least is the Grindin Remix with NoRE, Lil Wayne & Baby, now if u exclude Weezy & Baby the track is nice. I love NORE's verse but thats it. So there u have it, this was very nice LP in my opinion with alot of nice tracks on it.

Its just a shame that The Clipse couldnt capitalize from this LP, i know they had label trouble and all of that and thats sad. They didnt release another LP until 2006! 2006!!! Thats 4 years! And this is way too long. I was mad dissapointed that it took them so long to release another LP, this group should of had more success than it did. But as i look back in '02 it was a great time man. Living in VA and seeing how "Grindin" impacted a entire city and how The Clipse made a huge mark in hip-hop in how they rapped was great memories for me. I wish i can go back at times and relive it. This LP to me is about a 4 out of a 5!

So, Whats ur thoughts on this LP?

The Source Fat Tape: September 1999

Sept. '99

World Renown- How Nice I Am (Video)

Back around i wanna say '05-'06, i was scrolling thru Youtube finding old school or rare hip-hop joints i never heard yet. Trying to find some hidden gems was my goal and i stumbled on a few and they was ok. But then i scrolled up on this group and i saw 2 videos for them, "Take A Ride" and the track that is featured. I clicked on that 1st track 1st and was bangin that 1 hard (pause). I never heard of this group at all and i never heard this song either up to that point and these joints dropped way back in '95! So im jammin "Take A Ride" like crazy then i decided lets take a listen to the next track.......and to say when i 1st heard this song i was in heaven is a understatement! I just fell in love with this track man. It quickly became one of my all-time fav. hip-hop tracks instantly, like i was ranking this song up there wit Group Home "Supastar"!

Thats how i feel about this track! The crazy thing is, back then some artists was releasing tracks with videos but had no albums to ever come out. But the tracks they released was classics tho! Its different from today when someone released a track with a video and its just another ho-hum track with no album. World Renown never officialy released a LP, it was put on the shelve but u can now get it thru the internet and its a great album. Its a shame it never came out. And i gotta give props to K-Def & Marley Marl on the production of the LP! That Phife sample is crazy! I love this record, i once listened to this 15x straight and never got tired of it! Thats ill!

The Source Fat Tape: August 1999

The tracks replaced off of this was:
Willie Stubs- MONEY w/ Heavy D- On Point
Capone N Noreaga- N 2 Deep w/ Noreaga- Oh No RMX
The Lox & Eve- Shotgun Style w/ Lil Cease- Play Around

Aug. '99

What Stretch & Bobbito Done For Me

When I 1st started taking hip-hop seriously back in '94, i was fully entrenched in it. Even tho back then i was still young and ripping around i still tried to make time to watch Rap City, Yo! MtV Raps and recording the newest hits on radio.

And when u look at it, I was fully immersed in mainstream hip-hop. Whats mainstream hip-hop? Everything that is played on the radio and on TV. Thats all I knew that was out. Also what i read in the Source magazine kept me updated as well. So from '94-'99 which to me was the golden era of hip-hop, thats all i knew which was being played on the radio & TV.

Now Stretch & Bobbito had their show from '90-'98. And during that time i didnt even knew they existed. Being from texas, had no idea who they were or what they did. But in '99 i read a article of them in the Source magazine in which they voted them the top radio show of all-time! Now im thinking wow, who are these brothers? What made them so special for a radio show? Well in '99 their show didnt even come on no more, they broke up. So im thinking will I ever get to hear any of their shows?

Fast forward to '08 when i 1st started this blog, i expected this blog to do big things for me but i didnt expect it to open doors musically the way it did. In '08 i also discovered other blogs postin up classic 90's hip-hop mixtapes and radio rips. And i wanna give props to Dirty Waters for providing me the opportunity to actually hear one of their shows. As i was listening to their shows one thing stood out to me....Underground hip-hop!

Stretch & Bobbito did not play mainstream hip-hop, they specialized in underground hip-hop. Its like a whole new world of hip-hop music that existed all throughout the golden era that i had no idea about. So now as i look back during my childhood years of '94-'99 listenin to mainstream hip-hop, Stretch & Bob was playin these underground joints i didnt even know existed. Just thinking about that is crazy!

As the years gone by since '08, my Stretch & Bob collection as grown and im still amazed that people are looking for joints Stretch & Bob played on their show thats damn near hard to find. They was playin joints on their show that they might of played one time and thats it. They introduced a whole 'nother world to me, and there was alot of classic music to go round during the golden era that people dont know about. That is what made the golden era so golden, its still giving us gems now in 2011!!

Stretch & Bobbito opened my mind and gave me a greater appreciation for underground hip-hop and what made it so great. I never knew that kind hip-hop existed back then, no clue about it. But as i look back now, it was always there just wasnt able to hear it. I remember Bobbito saying that 20 years from now (back in '93) he wishes people would appreciate what they done for hip-hop and people will remember them. Well its been 20, and people still love them for what they did. They earned their own niche in hip-hop for life! With many Aye-yyyyo's to follow!

The Source Fat Tape: June 1998

The tracks replaced off of this was:
Souljah Boy- Mighty Mo Thug w/ Mo Thugs- Ghetto Cowboy

Jun. '98

LP Thoughts: Camp Lo- Uptown Saturday Night (1997)

Just another regular day of me coming home from school and flippin the channel straight to BET to watch Rap City, then a new video comes on and im likin the vibe right away. The year was mid '96, and this video does has some early visions of Big Williezms in the infant stages but im feelin it tho. The beat to the track is real laid back and its knockin! And this group's flow is very complimentary to each other. "Coolie High" was my introductory to the duo known as Camp Lo and ill never forget it.

Now my mission was that i have to find this song! By any means neccessary! I bugged my friends at school to see if anybody had the single or somethin and nothin came up. But really it did and one of my close friends had the single but told me he didnt have it! Why? Cause he got tired of people borrowing his singles and not givin it back. And he had a point cause guess what? Right after he told me that, a friend of his stole the "Coolie High" single he had. So now im back at square one, but the word got out that this track is on the Great White Hype Soundtrack! It was just my luck cause a another friend of mine had the joint right down the street from me! Man once I got the track, I was jammin that joint like 10x straight a day! It was that real!

Fast forward to beginning of '97, it was another day back from school and im watching Rap City and again a new video is playing. It has a 70's ish vibe to it and im like whats this? But then that beat strikes outta nowhere and the sample is knockin! By this point im jammin my ass off and once again this same duo is killin the track wit exquisite rhymes! It dont hurt that the other track in the video is jammin too wit Ish (from Digable Planets), he had the ill line "I play my cards shark style: kings, queens and aces, welcome to New York the illest of all places!" I was like Yo!!! he ripped that joint!! Its safe to say "Luchini" & "Swing" had me amped man! I was ready for Camp Lo LP to drop!! Also it was brought to my attention that the same person who produced "Dead Presidents" by Jigga also did "Luchini" and the majority of the LP, he go by the name of Ski! So i ready to hear some new flava.

Later on that January of '97 the LP drops. Now at this time i wasnt buying LPs like that, i had to find a friend to borrow it from. And if my memory serves me correctly, my boy Nate let me borrow the joint in our Home Economics class! Once i took it home and got my jam on, I was like wow this LP was on some other shit!! It was melodical, the samples was great and it all flowed together! "Killin'em Softly" was a hard joint. "Sparkle" was a very melodical joint. "Black Connection" had a sample that i never even heard before or even thought of. "Say Word" is a hard joint as well with a little swing to it. And "Sparkle (Mr Midnight Mix)" had somethin i never knew that could rock, all it was is a bass line & the sample!! No beat or hi-hat or none of that, and joint jammed!! It tripped me out but it was live tho! Thats a couple joints that i was rockin on the regular on this LP. Yall better be glad that Jay Z didnt rape all these beats on this LP cause he wanted alot of them! Matter of fact, he did take some for his 1st LP. The beats that was done by Ski on Jay's 1st LP was for Camp Lo except "Dead Presidents" (i think). Jay even wanted "Luchini"!!! But Ski had to draw the line somewhere!

So this album is a 5-star classic in my book. They introduced a new vibe to hip-hop, which was a 70s style even down to the clothes they wore and the old vintage samples they used on they records! Its called being innovative and coming up wit ur own style and not biting off something else and re-using it. Back then everybody was innovative and creative! I still remember that feeling I felt when I 1st heard Luchini and dying to get the single! Its times like that u dont forget man!

So, Whats ur thoughts on this LP??

The Source Fat Tape: May 1997

The tracks replaced off of this was:
Gutter Ratz- Cops & Robbers w/ Dr. Dre & B-Real- Puppet Master

May '97

My New Mission

When i 1st started this blog back in '08 i just wanted to provide people with classic music and hard to find mixtapes. And i done that.

In doing so it became a mission of mine to start hunting for other hard to find mixtapes by DJ's that i liked or heard of but never actually listened to any of their tapes. And i done that 10 fold.

Then Stretch & Bobbito became my new passion, i wanted all the shows i can get from them. And i done that with alot of help and assistance from others!

Now a new challenge is on the horizion. I want to consider myself i a classic Hip-Hop preserver. I want to obtain or try to obtain damn near every episode of BET Rap City from 1994-2001 and Yo! MTV Raps from 1994-1997. I had minor success in doing this for the past 10 years obtaining some episodes from local friends here and there.

But now i need my friends help that i made on this blog and worldwide, i know there is people out the sitting on goldmines of VHS tapes full of what i need. I am willing to pay or make trades to obtain the episodes i need. Please people i need ur help in this, i have confidence that u can help me and not read this over and pay it no mind. I have provided alot of material for u over the years for the love of hip-hop now i hope u can give it back.

So please if u have any BET Rap City episodes from 1994-2001 & Yo! MTV Raps episodes from 1994-1997, please e-mail me at dipsetgunit456@aol.com or leave a comment at the chatbox below. This is my next mission right now to do this and i have faith that with the help of u the people, i can do this.

Much Love & thanks. I will not rest until i can make this happen!

The Source Fat Tape: February 1995

Feb. '95