New Jack City Soundtrack (RTR Version)

This movie was the one that opened my eyes up to the inner city NYC life and how it was. I mean it was real and fascinating. I was mesmerized on how Nino Brown established himself so quickly and just took over. Remember at the Carter this negro was making a million dollars a week.....A WEEK!! Thats insane!! But this dude was destined to fail, he had too many faults. #1 he already had a fine ass wife/ girlfriend (Vanessa Williams) she was fine and just treated her like another woman. #2 he never really gave his right hand man Gee Money his proper light. Gee Money felt like he could do more and he had his faults as well but it was brought on by Nino. He messed around wit his girl he was wit 1st and he relapsed on drugs that messed up wit his judgement. #3 Nino was too cold hearted, he would double cross anyone to get what he wanted. He did Gee Money wrong, he beat up that old man (he would have the last laugh on that one), plus when the mafia tried to kill him he used those little kids to shield him away from the bullets (now thats straight up reckless!). All those faults at the end doomed Nino. Gee Money's relapse on drugs messed wit his judgement to bring on Pookie in the Carter and he didnt do his proper background check on Ice-T before he brung him to Nino cause all he wanted was that money up front if the deal wit down. And that was money he was never gonna get from Nino the longer he was in business with him.
Ice-T did a incredible job in this film, if u asked anyone they would tell u that nobody thought Ice could do this. I mean he looked like a natural man! He nailed it and i felt his pain when Nino told him how he killed his mother with no remorse, and how Ice-T whipped his butt outside of the Carter i was right there with him wanting him to do it.
But the ending of this film was crazy cause Nino almost got away wit what he did! This dude was only gonna serve about a year for what he did! Thats insane! But like i said that old man got the last laugh and made sure he got what shoulda came to him. Crazy & Dramatic!
Now the soundtrack to this movie was a major success but im trying to figure out how?  It was only 1 hard hip-hop track on here and the rest was R&B!! They labeled this Sdtk contemporary hip- hop & R&B!! Can u believe that? Does this movie has any R&B attitude or flavor in it? Hells Naw!! But this Sdtk sold maddd copies, so remember what i told u before, hip-hop back then was simple and puttin together a Sdtk back then was simple. Just put some music on there from the label and get new acts out there. Thats it. So i had to do what i had to do on this. I only kept 2 songs from orig. Sdtk and scrapped the rest. I gave it that hard edge that this Sdtk. needed plus some melodic joints on there as well. I think i really nailed it on this one and i know if this was 1991 all over again my version would have sold just about as many copies for sure!! Please enjoy it yall!

New Jack City (RTR Version)

Recognize The Real presents The Best Of DJ Screw Vol.8

Im never tired of droppin music for yall, i keep pluggin away like the energizer bunny! Keep Screw's memory alive!

Screw Vol. 8

Recognize The Real presents The Best Of DJ Screw Vol. 7

I keeps it movin wit more Screw, and it dont stop! I told yall im like RBX today!

Screw Vol. 7

Recognize The Real presents The Best Of DJ Screw Vol. 6

I was gonna end this series wit that Vol. 5 i posted months ago. But since then i have accumulated almost 3x double of more Screw tapes, so its only right to keep this series goin. Alot of people supported this series in the past and i hope that continues!! This man is pioneer so please listen to this and see why he became so!

Screw Vol. 6

The Source Fat Tape- July 1993

July '93

Recognize The Real presents BET After Dark Pt. 4

Cmon fellas, u know what this is for......later on tonight when u wanna be wit ya ol' lady u can give her that special Christmas gift!! Now i can go on & on about this and add more to it but im gonna cut it at that. Yall know what I mean.

BET A.D. #4

Menace II Society Soundtrack (RTR Version)

I know some of yall is gonna clown me for this, but i didnt even see this movie until late '95! Ok, Ok, go ahead and laugh, go head. Yeah, i didnt see this movie until 3 years after it came out. Matter of fact when i saw this movie for the 1st time, i just saw the movie Friday (on bootleg!) the week before! Crazy right? But yeah, when I 1st seen this movie it was a shocker for sure. Now the TV i saw it on was kinda wack and it was a big screen but it didnt show well for some reason. So i had to deal with it, but man this movie was a great one! Its just sad tho on how many chances Caine had to get right, but he never did. His grandparents tried to tell him, his girl tried to tell him and even the girl he got pregnant tried to tell him (and her brother too face to face). But it was all to no avail. Being that young man, u just live too fast and do some ignorant shit. I mean we all done it, i have to, u hangin out wit ur boys and just do mischievous shit. You had to do it or boys will reject u as not being down. It just how things worked back then in those days. And this movie detailed all of that. But a major difference is that they live in LA and i lived in Texas. They take it to the tools while we stayed wit our hands. And in the end all of Caine's wrongs came back to get him, and he gave his own life save that little girl. Just straight up sad, but a great movie.
Now the soundtrack to this was already kinda good, but it was all over the place. And the mood of the Sdtk was very settle. So i wanted to re-work it to give it some edge and make it hard. Now i did keep some of the songs and added some new ones. I didnt want it to keep it totally west coast, cause i figured this movie kinda crossed over in the east coast as well. The only difference is lifestyles & location. So i did my best to blend east & west coast well on this Sdtk and to take it back to 1993. I think i nailed it personally, so if u have any opinions holla at ya boy and let me know! I told yall im droppin bombs today, and im still loaded!!

Menace II Society Sdtk (RTR Version)

Recognize The Real presents The Best Of Nashiem Myrick

Now right off top some of u cats are thinking who in the hell is this nigga? Yo Brandan u are losing it, WTF? What this nigga had done in the game? Well I wanna tell yall dudes right now... I will put this dude tracklisting up against anybody's in the game!!!! Thats right u heard me!! I will put this dude's body of work up against anyone!!!! This guy's produced some of the most greatest tracks in the golden era of '94-98 and a few in '99-00. I wish i can tell u guys exactly what tracks he done but i cant give it away right now, u have to listen to this to get the surprise. First of all he was a member of Puffy's most famous Hitmen production team! So that right there should answer most questions of what u have for him. To me, he was the diamond amongst all the other producers in that group. This man did the track by one of the greatest of all of all-time that inspired another greatest of all-time to get better (i hope i didnt give that 1 away). He did tracks for BIG, Jay, Nas, CNN, Black Rob, Mase, Shyne, Puff, Faith, Mary J, Lil Kim, Mic Geronimo.......just to name a few. Im a say one more time, this man produced some of the most important tracks ever in the golden era of hip-hop from '94-'98. I wish I can say more without giving it away, but i guarantee you that this mix will be in rotation in ur rides for a long time!! I had to go all the way in on this one as well, i couldnt sell it short, i had to bring u guys all the work this man has done in the game! This is a great treat im giving yall this Christmas, i hope u love it!! Enjoy & dont eat too much, u dont wanna get full, i have dessert comin next!

Best of Nashiem Myrick

Recognize The Real presents A Medley Of Clue Pt. 4

Aint nothing like a little Clue? to spice this up this holiday season!! Please enjoy and drink moderately!

Clue? Pt. 4

The Source Fat Tape- December 1992

Dec. '92

Recognize The Real presents The Best Of Just Blaze

Is it safe to say that Just Blaze is one best producers of all-time? Sure. This man became one of all-time greats in the 2000s!! U know what im sayin? Most of the all-time greats made their reps in the 80s & 90s. But its rare for a producer to b on that pedestal in this decade cause of how the game is now. But Just bucked all those trends and Blazed a new one. Gotta give props to Mase & Big Pun, they saw the potential he had and liked what they heard from him and gave him shot! Thats all u need is opportunity. Then Jay put the battery in his back to b great cause we all know Jay has been known to put pressure on the producers he's workin wit to create some hot music. Like he says "Dont be wastin my MF'in time!" (quote from Fade to Black) When the pressure is on from one of the all-time great MC's u have to perform and thats what exactly he did. Wit that intro on Jay's Dynasty LP, that put up him up there in the top tier of producers in the game at that time. Oh and please dont forget the heat rock he gave Beanie Sigel on "Who Want What"!!! Man when that dropped it was crazy!! What Just Blaze did to certify me in my book is two throwaway beats he made that he didnt expect to be big and they did, which was "Oh Boy" & "What We Do"! Those beats he said was some stuff he made on his free time and didnt consider them to be huge at all. I remember when that Freeway "What We Do" came out, man we wouldnt even start work at my job until that song came on every morning on the radio. The day wouldnt even b right until we heard it at least one time to get our day going. Those we the days. Now once again i could have over killed this mix as well cause JB has too many bangers out there, so i just took bits and pieces from '99-03. Once again some of yall might b surprised he produced some of these joints on here so b prepared to b enlightened! Just Blaaaazzzzze!!

Just Blazed

Recognize The Real presents The Best Of DJ Clark Kent

Everybody thinks this dude is popular just for sneakers. Everybody thinks this dude is just popular for fashion. You see those everybody's dont know nuthin about what this dude is really known for. People think he just popped on the scene in the mid 2000's! And just like Biggie they are DEAD WRONG! This man is considered a pioneer in someways for what he contributed to hip-hop and NYC hip-hop culture. Before everything he was a DJ who was the best around for a number of years in the mid to late 80's. His Supermen DJ crew used to take out all competitors at every DJ competition. He did alot of NyC radio in those days as well making his name known. But this man discovered one of the greatest mC's ever to do it and was great friends wit the other greatest mC ever to do it. I mean what other compliment and title can u be known for right? I mean dammmmn. Then behind the boards this man is one of the all-time greats. He has done many classics that many people dont even know he did. Like on this best of i made for him i couldnt even get all what i wanted on here without being over done. So i think i did a great job of doin this mix the way it should b done. And i know all peoples out there will love this! The man knows sneakers. The man knows nYC hip-hop. The man brought out Jay. The man was very great friends wit BIG. And the man did Brooklyn's Finest. Anything else u wanna know? I think that should cover it, please check out the mix!

Clark Kent Knows

Recognize The Real presents Who's The Best MC? Pt. 3

The question still exists! Who is it? Anybody knows? The trilogy continues....

Who's The Best MC #3

Recognize The Real presents BET After Dark Pt. 3

You already know what it is! R&B that u know to love from yesteryear! Enjoy and reminisce!

BET A.D. #3

Recognize The Real presents A Medley Of Clue Pt. 3

Yall already know, it dont stop. It just keep goin & goin! Keep ridin wit me!

Medley of Clue #3

The Source Magazine Fat Tape- October 1994

There is no remix of that Beatnuts joint, i just stuck with the reg. version.
Oct. '94

The Source Fat Tape- February 1997

Feb. '97

Boyz In The Hood Soundtrack (RTR Version)

When you young the only movies u wanna watch was kiddie movies like Walt Disney or some type of space galactic joints. Thats how we all were back then. But in '91 when i was in the 4th grade that changed. I always thought the world was peachy and all good. My neighborhood was a good one and barely no crime so i didnt think of any ill will. So when i 1st seen New Jack City, all that went out the window. That movie showed me that hey there are some messed up places out there thats not so peachy. It was called reality and it took me by surprise. That movie opened my eyes to see how things were on the east coast. Then later on in that same year u got this movie here. And this one threw me for a doozy. I had no idea the west coast was like this! Remember, this was before the LA riots and it was that bad. This movie again opened my eyes on how things were on the west coast and it wasnt a game out there. This was back then when gangs was too real and they wasnt messin around. Thats the 1st time i seen that in a movie. I mean when Colors came out in '88 i was still a little kid but i remember when i got a little older in '90 that movie was treated like a horror film, it was that real. But the acting in this film is was just top notch! Nobody knew Cube could act like that! He was a natural! A little tid bit tho was that they had to be careful filming in some areas in LA cause cats was jealous of Cube and the directors was fearful of somethin happening. Cuba Gooding did a great job as well, this was before his coonery ways. And we all felt bad for Morris Chestnut in the film. Til this day im still mad of what happened to him in the film.
Now unfortunately some people in this film arent here with us today. The dude that was Cube's homeboy with the baby sucker in his mouth is no longer here. How he died i dont know. And the dude that shot Cube's brother in the film aint here no more either. From what i read he was living out that role a little too much in real life and people out there already felt a certain way about him from what he did in the movie to Cube's brother. So he got caught up in that and was killed in jail i think (read up on that if u can but i think im right). So ya some cats got caught up out there like that over this film. This movie was powerful cause nobody seen a story told like this before, it was too real.
The soundtrack to this though was wack plain and simple, im not gonna sugar coat it. There is only like 3 tracks on it that was worth keeping. Back in '91 rap was simple especially for soundtracks. All u had was the one solo track that defined the movie and tons of fillers that had nothing to do wit the movie. So u know i had to spin my take on it. Its pretty much has a west coast feel to it '91 style with a drop of east coast (a drop as in 2 tracks). But i think my version coulda been sold in stores as the official version, im just sayin. Ill let u guys b the judge. Check it out!

Boyz in the Hood (remixed but still jingling)

Source Magazine Fat Tape- February 1994

Do not sleep on the Pos K & D.U.M.E joints....just sayin.

Feb. '94

Recognize The Real presents The Best Of Buckwild

Now here is a producer who's production pedigree is up wit there with anyone! He's done tracks with all the greats u name it..from BIG, Jay, Nas and etc. He's done it all. And dont forget he is a disciple of Lord Finesse. Finesse taught him the art of producing but Buck took it to the next level with his own style. Also this man has classic mixtapes he put out in the early 90's that are considered collector's items. I remember when I 1st heard Mic Geronimo's "Masta IC"!!! I was blown away by that song, i never heard a beat like that, it was very entrancing. It was very dark and gloomy but that was NYC hip-hop at the time at its finest plus Hype did a great job on the video. I bought that single after like 2 weeks of hearing that joint, and I read the credits and it said produced by Buckwild. At the time I had no clue who that was cause my hip-hop knowledge wasnt that up to par yet. Heck, i just discovered who DJ Premier was that same year after i heard & saw the D&D All-Stars "1, 2 Pass It" video. So '95 to me was very great year in hip-hop cause i was discovering new acts and producers that brought great stuff to the game. Buckwild to me is a very prestigious producer in the same categorie as a Premier & Pete Rock cause his catalog is damn near flawless with hip-hop gems! This man did "Whoa" for god's sake, thats right this man produced "Whoa"! And guess what, Black Rob was not the first person to get that beat. It went from Jay Z to Memphis Bleek to etc. and they passed on it!! They passed on it!!! So im kinda glad BR was able to get that joint cause to me thats one of the last NYC hip-hop anthems to come out. That track has so much energy and electricity behind it its crazy! Ask anyone and I bet u they can tell u a story behind that song and what it does to people or a crazy scene in a club behind that record. I bet u!
On this Best of i kinda went in a different direction with it cause so many people out there has a Best of from this producer and i didnt want to repeat what they done. So some tracks i chose are familiar but others are joints I bet people didnt know he did. U will be surprised that this man has many bangers u probably never heard. So trust me u will love this mix and it be in rotation in ur car!

Gettin' Buckwild

Source Magazine Fat Tape- August 1993

Aug. '93

Rhyme & Reason Soundtrack (RTR Version)

The previous hip-hop doc. The Show brought you a inside glimpse of how hip-hop was in late '94- early '95. And it opened up alot of peoples eyes of how the game was back then, especially when Wu-Tang got into that heated argument that prompted people saying they was gonna break-up (i know yall remember that rumor!). I love that documentary and this hip-hop doc. takes it a step further to show how the game was in '96. It takes u even deeper into many issues in hip-hop that was never really spoken about or broken down. I remember when I 1st saw this and it had me blown away to how the game was workin at that point. The hip-hop game was still pretty simple at this point in '96 even tho it was starting to grow in to a money making machine.
The doc. dives into many topics which includes the 5 elements of hip-hop (yall should know that), art of freestyling (which was critical at that time that u should b able to do), record companies (this was the 1st time i actually saw how the corporate world works in hip-hop, to where now that they have a huge impact on), hip-hop blowing up ( in '96 hip-hop was on the cusp of blowing up and money being flown everywhere and they elaborate more on this), marketing (back then hip-hop was pretty simple in marketing, all it was is magazines and commercial ads every now and then), promotion (how many of yall remember Jack the Ripper convention in Miami back then? You wanted to promote ur shit? u had to go there and pass out flyers and demos and talk to radio stations to put urself out there to b known. There was no internet or intricate cell phones back then, u had to go out and grind) & violence in hip-hop (u know hip-hop didnt have major tours for the majority part of the 90s, the way u made ur money was doing shows at clubs or small venues. And most cities didnt want to do that cause hip-hop was just too violent back then. We didnt know how to act. Unlike today where we have more sense back then we just didnt get it and the game was hurt for a bit cause of it).
Now this soundtrack was pretty solid and certain tracks stood out more than others. But to me once again it coulda been more hotter tho. So i had to put my spin on this and revise it a bit. Some tracks i kept and others i discarded. Now every artist on this soundtrack has a tie into this movie somewhat or another, its all related. I hope yall liked what i did and if u havent seen this movie please go and check it out. Rock on yall.

My Rhyme & Reason

Backstage Soundtrack (RTR Version)

This movie every time i see it brings back very great memories. It reminds of a time when hip-hop was hot & exclusive and still capitalizing off how huge '98 was. This tour took place in my senior year in '99, everybody was hyped about it and couldnt wait for them to visit their town. But there were naysayers saying that the violence would ruin it or the rappers will ruin it cause they couldnt get along wit each other. Well those rumors were put to rest cause this tour brought the house down to every town they went! It was a huge success! When they went to Denver after that shooting happened in Columbine, they donated the money to that cause. It was this tour that showed people that hip-hop can be marketed and be a huge money maker. So all those tours u see now are all birthed from this. Before this, no huge tours was being made in hip-hop since the 80's cause of violence. But this tour just shattered the mold.
Also this tour was a reminder of how cool everybody was wit each other and how dope everybody was at that time. But man o man how have times changed. Jay is still Jay but not the Jay of that time if u understand. Red & Meth arent as relevant anymore. X is self explanatory, plus him and Jay arent as cool anymore either. Beans fell off completely and blames Jay for it.Memphis havent been relevant in years since! Ja ruined his own career. Even Eve fell off and Busta who made a small appearance isnt no where near what he was. So boy how has the times changed, but when i watch this every time it brings me back to that '99-00 time frame when it was all good and the music was great!
Now this soundtrack was a huge success sales wise, it did great numbers. But for me it coulda been way better & hotter. There wasnt even a Method Man or DMX track on this joint??? Aint that crazy? So i had to revise this joint a bit and do my own version of it. Some tracks i kept and the rest i dropped but the tracks i added fit perfectly for the theme of this soundtrack. Its pretty much '99-00 all over again but in a well sequenced way! Hope yall enjoy it and rock out to it! One!

Backstage Pass

Recognize The Real presents The Dapper Dan Era ('86-'88)

You know for a certain time in hip-hop the rappers didnt dictate the latest styles, the hustlers and the gangsters did. In the mid '80s hip-hop was still trying to figure what the main style was, whether was it was dressing like rock starts like Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five or dressing like Run-DMC with the leather pants & jacket wit the hats. I mean it really wasnt set in stone yet. But around '86 things started to change and it started in Harlem. If you are familiar to the game and know hip-hop like u should, we all know in Harlem around that time Alpo & Rich Porter plus AZ was running thangs in the streets. They was moving that weight and was considered kings in the hood of Harlem. As u know, if u living large like they were at the time u was definitely gonna flaunt it. I mean u have to dress the part to be the part. And where they did they go? A local designer in Harlem on 125 St. named Dapper Dan had his own store there. And he gave the opportunity most people in the hood never had, and that was for us to actually get major fashion design labels to wear. Back then labels like Gucci, MCM, Louis Vuitton & Fendi was costing astronomical prices plus they wasnt catering to us black folks.
So Dapper Dan was able to get madddd bulkloads of  Gucci, MCM, Louis Vuitton & Fendi print material sent to him from Korea using his connects. And he was able to design custom clothing outfits to cater to the masses of NYC. He was ahead of its time in sort of ways cause those labels wasnt making clothes like this yet, they was still years away from doin anything even similar to this. Dapper was even takin it further by customizing interior of cars using the same print plus wheel covers! So as Dapper Dan was doin his thing making these pieces, the streets was watching and hustlers & gangsters was peepin game. They knew this was the dude to go to get that fly shit that showed others that they was the don dada in the hood. Dapper Dan's store was open 24 hrs a day!! Thats crazy to even think about, but he had people workin around the clock at all times. The hustlers & gangsters of Harlem used to come at all times of the day to get custom pieces of clothing made for them. So now the word of mouth has spread and it caught the hip-hop world's attention. And the 1st MC to put his stamp on it was Rakim & his partner Eric B in the "Paid In Full" video. Once Rakim did that in '86 it was on and poppin from there. Every rapper from the 80's damn near, went to Dapper Dan to get their outfits done. It was only right for this man to outfit you and Mike Tyson knew that too, thats why he hired Dan to be his personal tailor. So that endorsement right there is a official stamp to let u know how big this dude was in the 80's.
I made this mix inspired by that brief time in hip-hop '86-'88, cause that was a time in hip-hop when it was making the move to big time and everybody was being creative. And Dapper Dan was the man leading the way. I tried to create a mix to kind of recapture what the hustlers & gangsters was listenin to in their rides driving up to Harlem 125th St. going to Dapper's coppin their pieces. Thats what i tried to do with this, im pretty sure they was jammin these joints during this time plus every rapper in this mix wore Dapper Dan in some point of time during that period. I hope yall like this joint. I love this mix myself and i will be jammin this alot and i think u will do the same!

Lookin very Dapper!

Recognize The Real presents Who's The Best MC? Pt. 2

The Argument continues.....There is really no cut clear answer for some. For some it changes by the day to the month to the year. So hopefully by listening to this series ur mind can be made up or it still might not. But dont worry, there is still more volumes to this series and many more chances to make ur decision.

The Debate Continues......

Belly- The Soundtrack (RTR Version)

This movie to me gave me a insight into how New York life really was. I mean i saw it all the time in videos and that nature but never in a feature film for our generation of '98. And thank god Hype Williams was able to put this together for the masses. I remember when this movie 1st made it to Dish Network i begged my moms so i could order it and watch it. When i did, i recorded it on vhs and that is my only copy of this movie til this day! This movie gave birth to so many lines in hip-hop such as "One", nobody was sayin that it always keep it real or one love not just "One". But DMX started so many trends in this movie its not even funny. But who knew X could act like that? He was great! And I dont care what nobody says, Nas did a great job as well. I mean nobody even thought Nas could act at all and for him to do this was great within itself. I just deep down love this movie to death!!
Now when the soundtrack came out for this film it was sellin madd copies everywhere. And it was very successful, but to me somethin was missing. To me it wasnt all that great that people thought it was. Now because soundtracks sometimes come out on major labels, the major labels is gonna flood it with tracks by their artists whether they are established one or ones that are brand new and introducing them. If u look on the tracks on here, some of these artists had very short careers if any. So i was thinkin let me flip it. Like pops said on Boomerang, "u gotta flip it!" (i aint gonna say all that he said but u know). Now some of the songs on here i kept, but the others i dropped off and replaced them with tracks that i felt should have been on this soundtrack. This will really bring u back to '98 when everything was poppin and hip-hop was risen to a level to where a movie like could come out. I always say '98 was the final golden year of hip-hop, ever since '99 its been a slow decline to where we at now. I hope yall enjoy this re-working of this soundtrack i put together and bang out to it!! And no there is no Stan Spit tracks on here....smh.

Belly Soundtrack revisted

Recognize The Real presents The Best Of Easy Mo Bee

Before i really knew who DJ Premier & Pete Rock were and what they did, Easy Mo Bee was my fav. producer comin up listenin to hip-hop. This man's sound was like a sonic explosion but he flipped it in many ways. Back in '94 when i 1st heard Craig Mack's "Flava In Ya Ear", i lost my mind!! That was the 1st song i can remember that i just fell heard over heels for. I thought at the time that was the hardest beat i ever heard!1 I must have jammed that repeatedly back in those days. Now the crazy thing is that Craig Mack wasnt the orig. recipient of that beat, Lost Boys was. Lost Boys was givin that beat and Craig Mack had "Lex, Coupes, Bimaz & Benzes" beat. Now the story goes is that both couldnt really do nothin wit was they was givin so Puff was able to work out a trade that worked for both parties. And speakin of Puff, he should give this man a lifetime's check for gettin his label off the ground with a distinct sound. He gave them a sound that propelled them to where they at now. Over the years this man's work been kind of overlooked but hopefully when u listen to this mix you will see he deserves to be mentioned with the all-time greats! Oh and it dont hurt that he produced tracks for BIG & Pac, and did a track with both of them together. I mean thats legendary status for me, i dont know whats higher than that!! Please give this a listen and give this man his props!

Easy Mo Bee

Recognize The Real presents Houston: The City I Repp

Even tho i will always have that NY State of Mind & I know more about NY Hip-Hop than most New Yorkers...I still have to repp the city where im from which is Houston!! This is a city which is very diversified with many races but there is one common thing....the music. In every town in the city u can hear cars passin by jammin Screw. Whether its a tape by DJ Screw himself or new music that just came out that is Screwed or etc, that is what u always hear. Or its just music that is by rappers from our city, we always support our own. Our city is the one of the few that u can go platinum in it alone and thats incredible. Look, it took me awhile to accept this music from down here. I came up listening to music that was on Yo! Mtv Raps & Rap City when i was younger. Thats all i knew at one point. Then when i moved to El Paso, TX in late '95 i became fully engulfed in east coast music. That was what all my friends listened to was east coast music, thats all i knew. Only 'Pac from the west coast was gettin played & Outkast from the south was gettin played. That was it point blank period. But when we moved again in '97 to where im at now which is a hour 1/2 outside of Houston, things changed. The whole music scene was a change for me and the culture down here as well. It was a 360 turn. It was real slow living down here, people just like to chill and relax down here. But the music caught me off guard. When i 1st heard Screw music i thought the person's tape deck broke!! I was like whats wrong with ur tape player? They was like aint nuthin wrong wit it, thats Screw! I was like what? My 1st year of high school down here (11th grade) people was looking at me as the guy who dont like Screw music. They thought i was crazy, but i rebelled against it cause it was somethin new to me. But low and behold during the end of of that school year the music grabbed a hold of me and i learned to accept it. I learned i can still listen to NY hip-hop and love it but still repp my city at the same time. Like DJ Premier said "Im a Texas New Yorker"!! Now this mix i made pretty much sums up Houston hip-hop as a whole, these are Houston classics in which is the foundation of the culture. Some songs on here are Screwed & some aren't. But please just give it a chance and listen to it and u never know..u might like it. Hey it took me a couple months to accept it but i learned to love it and now i cherish it. This is my city and i am proud of what we have built down here hip-hop wise. We have many legends down here responsible for laying the bricks to build this up to where it is now, but unfortunately they are no longer wit us. People like the legendary DJ Screw ( the originator), Fat Pat (arguably the greatest MC to come out of houston), Big Moe (the harmonizer flower) & Big HAWK (Screwed Up Clik member). May they R.I.P. Ok yall, play this joint in ur rides or whatever and let ur boy now how u like it!! H-Town represent know what im talkin bout!

My City: H-Town!

Recognize The Real presents BET After Dark Pt. 2

Once again yall thought i was gonna stick wit just 1 of this series??? Once again somebody done told u wrong. Im in it for the long haul! And I keep things movin wit part 2 of this R&B series. Trust me, this would b perfect for u just riding in ur whip or if u wit ur ol' lady or if u trying to impress an lady. I got u covered with this, just stay tuned and im gonna hold u down!

BET After Dark 2

Recognize The Real presents A Medley Of Clue Pt. 2

Cmon now guys, u thought i wasnt gonna keep up on this series? U thought it was over wit part one? U know i wont let u guys down, i dont do that to my people out there! Im happy people enjoyed Pt. 1, i hope it brought people back to the times when mixtapes was fun and exclusive. Thats all im trying to do is making it fun again with new concepts and ideas!! More of the same wit this one, let ur feelings know down below of what u think. And sorry people no tracklisting, it would be daunting to know the names for these joints but if u a real mixtape head then u should already know if u memory is good. I know mine is. Rock on yall!!

A Medley of Clue Pt. 2

The Source- Rap's New Generation: Class Of '98 (Mixtape)

People think XXL started that whole Freshman Class thing of new rappers coming out for that year, but it was the Source who birthed that whole thing way back in '98. Hip-hop was comin off a very successful year in '97 when albums was flying off the shelves and in '98 Hip-Hop just went to another level man. In '98 albums was swooping off the shelves and commercial success was coming everyone's way. I remember when this issue came out and i still have Orig. copy in the archives. As u look at the cover it seemed it was a whole new batch of MC's that was gonna take us into the 2000s and beyond. U know sometimes u think certain things will go on the right path and with no hitches, and with this batch of artists it seemed they came out of nowhere whether it was fate or self-inflicted or just their time of hotness just worn out.
In '98 Silkk da Shocker was sellin LPs like hot cakes & No Limit was a label to be reckoned with. Kurupt at this time had built up a nice solo rep displaying very ill rhyme skills and a very solid dope 1st LP Kuruption (which was a double album). DMX was competing with Jigga & Nas for status as #1 MC in the game, he was everywhere in '98 and his 1st LP was flying off shelves. Peter Gunz & Lord Tariq had the whole NY on smash wit 1 record "Deja Vu", this was gettin radio play every 10 seconds it seemed like. And they was the 1st ones to get Jay & Nas on the same record (thats a great feat to me at the time). Cam'ron had all ladies & niggas goin crazy over "Horse & Carriage" then he took it to the streets wit ".357". He showed huge potential and and gave reason to why Biggie made sure he got signed before he passed. The legendary Big Pun was making soundwaves in the game with his spit fire rhymes and puttin boriquas on the map! He was the 1st latino rap artist to have a LP go double platinum! Cappadonna was branching away from the WU and got heads open wit "97 Mentality" which led to his 1st LP The Pillage to receive positive reviews. Eightball went solo and released a platinum plus double album Lost. Noreaga blew heads away wit "Superthug" which was the new anthem worldwide, released a classic solo debut and was featured on so many tracks its way to many to count! Then u have the young neophyte Canibus, an MC who came out of nowhere the previous year who in '98 decided to go against the legendary LL Cool J and damn near ended his career!
Fast Forward to 2012, Silkk made all of his money and disappeared. Kurupt was still kinda relavant thru the years but nowhere near where was at solo wise. DMX is kinda self explanatory, if u would have told me back in '98 that he would fall off i would have laughed at u. Its a damn shame what happened to X. Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz 1st LP flopped and went their separate ways. Cam'ron had showed potential thru the last decade and was making strides, in 2002 u could argue he was that dude for a hot minute. But many bad decisions ruined his fate like wearin pink (many people did as well but cmon), beefin wit Jay, beefin wit Nas, beefin wit 50, nursery rhyme style, no longer wit the Diplomats, goin on national TV talkin about he wont never snitch even if the killer is livin next door.....as u can see many decision just killed this dude. The sad fate of Big Pun, just wished he could of watched his weight a little better but we miss him! Cappadonna went from the WU to drivin taxi's! Eightball is a legend wit MJG so his status is pretty much set. Noreaga is very sad one for me, this dude from '98-'01 was one of the most elite MC's in the game. I mean he was star!! But after 2002 he just slowly declined man then in '04 he went reggatoni and look where that went. He started a couple of years ago to get back in the rap game but his audience is much different now. Just very disappointing. And finally Canibus, the 1st bad decision he made was runnin wit Wyclef! That is the worst pairing ever, two different styles that didnt mesh. 2nd bad decison was going against LL, he was winning at 1st then LL dropped "The Ripper Strikes Back" and preserved his career. 3rd bad decision was going against Eminem in '02, he was never gonna win the battle in the public's eye. His albums never sold madd copies and its a shame Def squad or another crew never took him in.

As u can see this class showed mad potential in '98 and couldve been mentioned up there with the class of '86 & '94, but it didnt happen sadly. So i present u a little short mix of the class of '98 to give them some light and u can see what made them so promising! Enjoy!

Freshmen of '98 

Recognize The Real presents....Who's The Best MC? Pt. 1

1st off i wanna thank Mister Cee for puttin the battery in my back for this series. His was dope but only lasted a hour, so u know he couldnt get in like i know he could (pause). But im gonna pick up the baton and go from there. Its a great question tho huh? Who is the best outta these 3? I mean when u mention these guys names i only think of: greatness, legends, rarefied air and in some way pioneers of my era of hip-hop. These 3 all brought things to the game that made me love it, each one played their part and did things most MC's wish they could do today.

Biggie to me was the first nigga i seen that was just cool to b him. He was one of the 1st to dress up and brought fashion to the game. I was only in the 7th grade when he came out and i wasnt on that level yet of stylin but he let me know what it meant to dress like that. His lyrics was crazy, i mean i remember when he said "Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, when i was dead broke i couldnt picture this!" Me being in the 7th grade and hearing that in a rhyme was crazy to me!! He seemed like a really cool dude even tho at a young age he was accumulating power. What i mean by that is, when u have a whole coast respecting you for ur artistry is the ultimate form of respect. I mean niggas knew he was #1 and u couldnt say anything about it. I miss him period all the time.

Jay to me came along and had all the skills that was needed to succeed in this game. But he did it quietly and let his words do the talkin. When i 1st seen the Dead presidents video and i saw Biggie in it, i was like ok this nigga is official if Biggie co-signing him. Now i did not buy his 1st LP when it came out, my cousin did. I wasnt ready to go all in just yet. But when i heard it for myself when i borrowed it from him, i was impressed with his word play. So i was thinkin can he keep this up or b a one album wonder? Well he proved me wrong wit In my Lifetime Vol. 1, when i heard this i was all-in sold. Also Jay knew he was always in control, i call it a silent leader. People that was in his camp knew he was the head nigga, then later on other rappers knew he was #1.

Now Nas to me is the reason why i even took hip-hop serious. Yall know the story, back in '94 in the 7th grade i came home from school and turned the channel to BET. And there it was Nas' It Aint Hard To Tell video was on and it changed my life. I never heard a song or beat like that. I looked for that song for a year!! I didnt even know the name of the song, i just knew it was Nas. I remember i asked a friend of mine if he had Nas' Illmatic. He said he had no idea if he had it or not he had to search his house. So i was like damn, fast forward like a month or two i was over his house one late night chillin. And i was walkin thru his house and i stumbled over a tape. I didnt know what it was until i picked it up....and it was the Nas' LP. I was like yo!!! is this it right here?? He said ya thats it, cant believe u found it!! Now still i didnt know what the name of the song was until i came home and popped it in and i realized it was the last song on the album. I clearly must have jammed that joint all day that day and the next!! It was crazy. Nas to me is a great story teller but also a lyrical wizard!! Remember when he came out people was callin him the second coming!! He was the next nigga to take over the game and he did. From '94-95, almost every MC sampled his voice for a track, i mean what else can i say!

Who's the best MC?, I mean we argue all day about this!

Recognize The Real presents....BET After Dark Pt. 1

You know my mind races with ideas, and sometimes u cant keep them to urself u have to let them out and let them flow. I read a Eminem interview and he said he has rhymes comin out of his head everyday and he jots them down wherever he's at so he wont forget them. And in this blog game, its kind of the same way. I have to stay with constant refreshing ideas to keep my name out there. Im kinda already at a disadvantage cause i already posted all the mixtapes i have and thats because i been in this game since '08!! I mean i dont have 4 years worth of tapes to put out, the only person that i know who does is Tapemasta and he been in the game long before i knew what mixtapes was. So for me i gotta constantly stay fresh with new concepts thats why i been around for this long.
So this is a start of a new R&b series im doin called BET After Dark. If yall are OG BET heads like i was then u already know what it is. Yall know if the music is right and u wit ur ol' lady after dark u already know whats goin down, so i figure that title is appropriate. Plus this is a R&B series, R&B, as yall may know R&B dont exists anymore! Its Pop now, Pop music rules the airwaves now. R&B music requires true talent and a passion and somewhere after '01 i believe that was totally lost. I dont know what or how it happened but R&B music slowly began to vanish to now where its extinct. But thats OK, im gonna do my part to keep it alive! And look, all u young cats out there i was once the same way, i didnt pay attention to R&B when i was young either. It was strictly hip-hop all the time, but remember kiddos u get older and ur tastes change. It took me i guess when i went to high school to realize the true passion for R&B. It grew on me and i love it, my preference for R&B is around '84-85 to about '01. Thats the timeline for me, now i got nothing against older R&B before '84 but its just a little to old for me, i was born in '81 so '84-'88 is when i started hearin my mother playin R&B around that time so thats sticks to me. Hopefully yall will enjoy these mixes man, i put alot into it. I really dont care if i get major DL numbers off of this as well, its some thing i love to do to provide people with music and i will continue to do that no matter what. Enjoy! Oh, and as a added bonus there is another mix i added to this as well. So u gettin 2 for 1!!

BET After Dark pt. 1

Recognize The Real presents.... A Medley Of DJ Clue Pt. 1

Yall know me, i have to stay creating. The minute i dont do that then i signaled to others that i have fallen off and i cant do that, i been in this game too long to fall off. And yall read this right, its A Medley of Dj Clue joints. What i did was i went thru all my Clue tapes i have and created mixes with songs from them. Now the 1 criteria i had was that the song can not b on a album. Cause if i did that it would have been too much. So i just picked freestyles and those rare songs u only find on mixtapes. None of these songs on these mixes u can find on an album (or soundtrack), only on mixtapes (at least i tried, 1 or 2 have might slipped on me). These mixes features some of ur fav. mixtape artists from yesteryear like Fabolous, Joe Buddens, The Lox, Paul Cain, A-team, Foxy Brown, some Jay, some Nas, some 50, NORE, and many many others! Trust me these Medley's are hot and they will bring back memories of when coppin mixtapes was a joy to do to hear those exclusives freestyles and other hot tracks!! Please check this and let me know what u think, many more to come!! William M. Holla is in the building.....Early!!!

Clue? pt. 1

Recognize The Real presents...The Best Of Trackmasters

U wanna talk about a powerful producing duo! The Runners? yea right. Cool & Dre? ha ha c'mon son! The Neptunes? after 2003 not so much. This duo right here got mad classics under their belt!! They make that quality hip-hop & R&b that lasts for a lifetime! They have worked wit some of the all-time greats like Big, Jay, Nas, Mary J, R. Kelly and etc. And gave Will Smith a temporary hip-hop license wit some joints that sold mad records. These cats did it all man, and u will never get the extent of what they did until u hear this. They did Who Shot Ya (helped Nasheim put it together), they did I Shot Ya, One More Chance, Be Happy, Come Home Wit Me by Foxy.....and the list goes on and on. Please people just listen to this and u can grasp what im talkin about cause im runnin out of superlatives to say about these cats! Just open your ears and listen!

And little tidbits to pass along, did u know Big didnt like Tone when he was a rapper (Red Hot Lover Tone), but went on work wit him when he was a producer? "Jigga My Nigga" was intended for MC Lyte not Jay? "Did U Ever Think" by R. Kelly was almost scrapped cause R. Kelly was hours late for the studio session? Nas was sketchy to work wit them cause he didnt know if they could identify wit him but that changed once they played "The Message" beat for him? just some fun facts for u.

It Aint a Track Unless its Mastered

Recognize The Real presents....The Best Of Genovese

 

U know i think its my responsibility to shine light on people in hip-hop that was nice that the public might of forgotten about. I did that with Sauce Money mix, the Large Pro mix, the Ski Beats mix & recently wit the Mic Geronimo mix. These cats to me was some of the nicest in the game that people sometimes dont recognize. And im here to do that again wit this cat. This dude here has a very intricate story that i think has to be told. Now all my official mixtape niggaz know who he is and dont need no introduction but the rest of you needs to be informed. He's from the YO out in Yonkers. He was from a crime orientated family that was notorious out in NYC, but he branched away from that to the rap game. He came up wit the LOX, he knew DMX when he used to roam the streets wit his pit bulls. He was there in LOX sessions while they was doin their 1st LP. He met & became cool wit Biggie. Biggie wanted to put him in Junior Mafia to add that true italiano feel to them. During those sessions he was cuttin tracks wit the LOX and other underground cats like Mo' Money & Richie Thumbs. DJ Clue used to come out to the studio to get tracks from them to put on his tapes. Genovese Thesis blew him up in the underground scene. People thought he was black when they met him and didnt wanna even believe he was him! Clue kept pumpin him up on his mixtapes wit dope tracks. Nas told him he's one of the nicest out and tried to get him a deal at Columbia. Jermaine Dupri told him he was a very talented MC that he's heard. Around '98 there was a bidding war for him between many labels and Dr. Dre caught wind of him for Aftermath. Dre had to make decision to either sign him or Eminem. We know how that went, but Universal stepped up and signed him. He was put in many ads like the Source & XXL for his album promo. He had a video that was on MTV & BET back in 2000. Then 3 weeks before his LP was supposed to come out, Universal dropped him. They said his name was too controversial and couldnt deal wit him, rumor was he was blackballed after that. So man, as u can see this man has a crazy ill story. I 1st heard of him matter of fact way back in '96 on that Thumbs Up joint wit the Lox & Richie Thumbs. But at that time i didnt know he was on the song. So fast forward to 2000, and at a flea market back in NJ i copped DJ Self's Best of the Lox and heard Genovese's Thesis and the rest was history. I must had that joint repeat and jammed it 20x straight. I never heard a track like that and the beat was crazy! Its time to find out for urself the real deal on this cat and see the skills that earned him many acclaim but also backlash. Peep the flavor yall!

Genovese

DJ Mystery- Best Of Mic Geronimo (Mixtape) (2001-02)

 

Man, i still remember when I 1st heard "Masta IC" on Rap City! It had me in a trance, i never heard a track like that before. The beat was hypnotic! The video was awesomely shot by a unknown director at that time...his name was Hype Williams. The slow motion views in the video was dope! It bring back crazy memories. I was a instant fan of this cat when this dropped. I remember my moms taking me and brother to the record shop shortly after that and i bought that single! I must played this joint like 10-15 a day for minute there. But because of him i was able hear Jay Z, Ja Rule & DMX for the 1st time. He put alot of cats on like Royal Flush. But he received flack caused he teamed up wit Puff for his 2nd LP, look i dont give a damn, he made the right choice at that time. In '97 Puff coulda ran for president, he was da shit and u gotta ride that wave anyway u can and thats what he did. Its a shame things didnt go well career wise after that but he had a great run in the game. Now this DJ who put this tape together i dont know much about, but its all tight tho! Enjoy this joint and remember he is always gonna b the Masta IC!

Shits Real

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: October 1992

 

People seem to forget that DJ Quik was a dope rapper in early 90s plus is nice producer as well. His 1st 2-3 LPs are considered classics. He was one of the 1st west coast rappers to rock a perm! Before Snoop & Dru Down, Quik had that perm goin! Heck he even put on Fab 5 Freddy to get one when he came to the west coast to interview him on a episode of Yo! MTV Raps! Now back then i really didnt pay attention to Quik, but i did know he was apart of that gang culture and back in my younger days that was no joke so i stayed away from that. But as i got older i heard some of his early joints and i was impressed! He can say also that he produced a track for Pac & Jay Z, not too many people can say that.

Oct. 1992

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: November 1992

 

Nov. 1992

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: July 1991

 

Around this time in '91, hip-hop wasnt pretty much on my radar. It was very casually at this time. We was all jammin Hammer, i dont care what yall say back then Hammer made u want to dance. You just couldnt resist it. And yes i liked Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice when it 1st came out. We was all singing it at school when it 1st came out but over time it became evident not to be liking him and i remember u would clowned if u did. Plus me and my friends was comin up wit our own versions of OPP and still wondering what the hell it meant. Last but not least, it was around this time when I was 1st introduced to Tribe Called Quest. I was over my dads friends house, and i was chillin wit his son in his ride (he was older than me), i asked what was he jammin in his car? He handed me over a tape and it was The Low End Theory . He said they were dope and he let me hear "Butter" and the rest shall they say is history!

July '91

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: January 1993

 

 

The year of 1992 was a memorable one to me. It was my 5th grade year and all i wanted to do is play basketball, watch the Chicago Bulls on WGN (only certain cities was gettin this channel back then and i lived in Tx! Far away from Chicago huh?) and chill wit my friends at the Rec Center. But this was the year i started picking up on hip-hop music. What i mean by that was actually gettin a walkman and jam a tape. The 1st tape i begged my mother to buy was Kris Kross' 1st LP that came that year. At the time if u was in my age bracket, we was all jammin Kris Kross! I learned how to dance a little bit from them (just that one dance move they did all the time, watch the vid for Warm It Up and u know what im talkin about), and i got saggin from them. I abused saggin my pants back then man, i used to do it hard all the time until my moms caught me one time and it stopped momentarily but i was right back on it soon after. But i never, i repeat, i never wore my clothes backwards! No sir, not ever. Around this time everybody kept the tag on their Starter hats & kept the Nike tags on their sneakers, it was mandatory style back then. But the music of hip-hop changed me that year and it wasnt only Kris Kross, "TROY" by Pete Rock & CL gave me a certain feeling. Das Efx came out wit a crazy style that was just too ill, i remember thinking to my self i never heard nothing like this before. Redman came wit "Time 4 sum aksion" and if u watched boxing back then Tyson came out to this record, and u know what that meant for the opponent! EPMD had my head bobbin hard to "Crossover"! That track had me goin nuts, that bassline and that Troutman sample had a nigga feenin. I remember when that track came on the radio i begged my parents to leave it there so i can listen to it then tell them to scan the stations so i can hear it again. Man '92 was a memorable one for me no worries and loads of fun. I miss those days! On a side note, while i was making this Fat Tape my PC was actin up so i apologize for any pauses during this tape. Im sorry but i couldnt scan the tracklisting for this tape from the issue i have but trust me its a dope one! Enjoy!

Jan. 1993

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: May 1993

May '93

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: November 1988

So as we continue on we keepin it in '88. Just look at the songs in this #2 issue of the Source, yeah there are some one-hit wonders in there but why people who did one-hit wonders in the 80s & 90s always more remembered than the 00s or present? I mean its crazy to think that those one-hit wonders from the 80s & 90s became classics that would last forever, u cant call it, its just how things worked out. So its all good, i love the 80s and im still on my hunt to own all of the episodes of Yo! MTV Raps from that era as well. If u can, help a nigga out, u know my info! Peep the tracks yall!

Nov. '88

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: August 1988

There are times when i wish i would have went to high school in the 80s. I know it would have been ill cause hip-hop at that time was crazy! I know would have been making mad tapes just off the radio! I remember how my uncles loved hip-hop around this time when i was just a young dude, thats how i got the hip-hop bug from them around '90. So here's the hottest joints that was out in Source's 1st issue!

Aug. '88

Recognize The Real presents The Best Of Ski Beats

The average fan of hip-hop just listen to the songs and never read the credits or etc. So when they like a song by a certain rapper they never know who produced it. So sometimes when i ask do u this like this producer? They answer, i never heard of him who is he? Then I tell them what they did and they b like really? He did that? And i think that same scenario can b played into this man career. Ski has done some of the most phenomenal production a producer can do. He can do hardcore gutta joints, some uptempo club joints and just some jazzy joints with a swing to it. I mean this man can cover all formats of hip-hop! Would Jay's 1st LP sound the same with out him? would Camp Lo 1st LP sound the same without him? Think about that for a second. So as u take a listen to some of this man's production, you will see for urself that this dude was certainly underrated. And i know for a fact that while u listen to this u will b askin urself .....wow he did that???!!


Ski!

LP Thoughts: DMX- Its Dark And Hell's Hot (1998)

Man....where do i begin with this one?!! Well 1st off i want to say that if u would have told me back in '98 that DMX would fall off i would have laughed at u or thought u was crazy! A rapper this talented I thought wouldnt even come close to that. But i guess we all know good things dont last forever sometimes. But moments like this one, u dont think about the bad times, only the good. And this LP brings about alot of good times. Lets go.....

Back in '97 was the 1st time i heard of a rapper called DMX. When i heard Mase's 1st LP for the time, up came track #3 "Take Whats Yours". To me til this day that is one of the best tracks Mase ever did but i digress....As im reading the back of tracklisting i see a appearance on the track by somebody called DMX. Im thinkin who in the hell is that? So as im listening to it i can tell his voice is very raw & hard. Plus he was only on the hook on the record so i dont have alot to go on to form a opinion. Basically for me, he became a after thought and i didnt expect much from him. Then about a couple months later I copped LL's Phenomenon LP (dope album to me, i dont care what yall say), and thats when i heard him again on the "4321" track. Now i get a chance to actually hear this man rhyme! And boy he didnt dissapoint, he completely ripped that joint! We all know thats a classic record and X made sure people knew who he was! Now another question for me arose, what the hell this man look like? How does his style look? Is he that grimy? That question would b answered soon enough.

A couple weeks after the LL album came out, my family went to go visit my grandma's house to visit and chill. Me and my brother went to the back guest room to look at TV. As we was flicking thru the channels it crossed my mind that yo! Rap city is on, lets check that out. So i turn it to BET and i was able to catch it. I dont remember who on the show but they was talking to somebody then they went back to showin vids. When they did the vid for "4321" came on. I was like oh snap, they made a video for this joint!! I was very happy & amped for this cause this was my 1st time seeing it! So im watching and i see Meth's part then Redman's part then.....X's part came on! I was like now i know what this nigga look like! And he looked hard and those pit bulls he had wit him was no joke (and that would soon b a common theme of his)! I was like his style is tight and he sounds dope, i hope i hear from him again soon. Little did i know the next time i would heard from him will b a game changer for the whole entire hip-hop world!

Fast forward to early '98, i came home from school and straight to my room to catch Rap City (it was a daily ritual people!). So im sittin there watching it and once again I forgot who the guest was but they finished talkin to him and they went back to the vids. All of a sudden next vid was filmed in black & white, you can hear a sound of a heartbeat goin in the beginning, then certain clips start comin up like a welcome to Yonkers sign-X standing next to a little kid-a Tunnel Flyer saying DMX performing tonite. Then next the screen blacks out and all u hear is "Lets take it back to the streets mother beeeeeeeeep!! BAM! the beat kicks in and the vid starts! For next 4 minutes and 3 seconds im locked in watchin this vid! I never heard a record like that with that much energy in it!! It changed my life, i didnt think hip-hop music can b that hard!! Plus the vid was filmed at the Tunnel. Up to that point i only read about the Tunnel, i never knew what it looked like or anything so it was good to see that! After that vid, everybody's fav phrase was "Get At Me Dog" or "Where my Dogs at?" Niggas was doin dog noises and the whole nine, barking and everything! DMX brought that out of niggas, he represented for all the hard rocks. It was a connection there that he tapped to that up to that point only Pac did & Ja Rule attempted to do (hate to bring that up but its true). Remember this was only his 1st single and people was foaming at the mouth waiting for that LP to come out! He was featured on countless tracks after that and his buzz was at a all time high! It got only higher when vids for "Ruff Ryders Anthem " & "Stop Being Greedy" came out. When word got out that his album would b coming out in May '98, i circled that on my calendar and was ready for it!

Here comes May, and I made a b-line straight to my local music store "On-Cue" (store no longer exists) to pick up this LP. Back then if u cop albums the day they came out it would b on sale for like 11.99 or 12.99, then after a while it will b 16.99 or somethin like that. So u had to get the joints the day they dropped it to get the best price (do any of yall remember that?). When i made it back home, I popped that CD in with the quickness and began my musical journey. The LP gets u goin right away with the intro! The beat to the intro is very eerie like u watching a action drama or something like that! And X killed the beat to it so i love it!! And Tyson loved it too cause thats the same joint he played as his intro when he entered the ring during that time! The next track i love is "Hows It Goin Down", I jam this still til this day. I love the beat and everything about it. X lyrics on this joint is straight real with no filler. Plus the vid to this joint is real dope. Hype did a great job on it! Then we move on to "Crime Story", on this X just tells a story that u have listen closely to see what he talkin about. The beat is basic but perfect for what he talkin about. Movin on wit "I Can Feel It", Dame Grease did his thing on this one. He sampled Phil Collins' track very nicely and X went in on this as well. I love the way this track flowed very smoothly! Now we got the closers of closers! I cant think of another LP that closed the way X closed with "Niggas Done Started Something"!! 1st off every nigga killed this track!! I couldnt believe Mase can go that hard!! That was Murder Mase on that 1. The beat to this is crazy! I must have lost my mind when i 1st heard this! I repeated this song so many times that i remembered the lyrics to this very quickly!! Now for a tidbit that i didnt know on this track, did yall know this track orig. came in 1996???!!! I have this on a Clue tape from '96!! When I found out about this a couple years ago it completely blew my mind!! Im thinking this track was a new track that came out in '98 not '96!! Crazy right??? But this this track has to go down on the list as one of the best posse tracks ever!! No question!!

When i think back to '98 when this album came out it brings back memories of hip-hop that I once new. At that time hip-hop was hot and exclusive, everything was just on fire! Back then people was selling mad records, like u was gonna go to the record store and cop that album no matter what! Some of us didnt even make it home to listen to it, we just take it out the plastic and pop it in our rides and jam it right away! I still have my orig. copy of this LP from '98! Yes its scratched up but it still works and im keepin it!! The memories from this LP are countless. Like my senior year our basketball team had a whole pre-game routine wit "Ruff Ryders Anthem" You know what i mean? They all had white t-shirts with the sleeves cut, with the Ruff Ryders logo drawn on it in red on the front  and with the players last name and # drawn on the back. My boy John Brinkley (R.I.P)  had a vision and put it all together! But the energy for all that was DmX, he brought that out of us back then. It was crazy, i miss those times man. They just dont happen like that anymore.

I give this LP the complete 5 star rating!! Hands down!! Whats ur thoughts on this LP?

Chubby Chubb- Goin All Out (1998) (Mixtape)

My experience with Chubby Chubb is that his tapes have alot to offer! Especially his tapes that came out during '93-'96 cause they had plently of rare Jay Z demo tracks before Jay had a deal. But on this one we take it back '98. Very nice tape i have for yall right here, i hope u enjoy it!

Chubby Chubb

Undergroud Hip-Hop Movement: Lord Finesse Interview

Now if yall remember about a year ago, i wrote a piece on one of my fav. all-time artists/ producers Lord Finesse. The work this man put in is pretty much legendary, and his knowledge for the history of the game during the golden era is impeccable! Check out this interview he recently did wit the Underground Hip-Hop Movement, in this he explains many topics hip-hop wise according to him. This interview is a must listen, alot of jewels being dropped here!

For All Masters: DJ S&S Interview

 

What this is, is a history lesson on how tapes was done during the golden era! This DJ has put out some of the most incredible tapes in mixtape history, and also some of the rarest! Just pay attention and take notes! Thanks for the shout-out Nick!!