Recognize the Real

Joint of the Month: Sittin on Crates #3

2012-03-01T14:18:00.000-06:00

U already know what its time for.....thats right its time to hit yall in the head wit #3 of this monthly series. Once again i wanna thank all of u for makin #2 a success as well. I cant say it enough that i appreciate all the love support yall show me for this series. If u have any questions on the name of some of these songs included in my mixes, feel free to ask me or make a comment on my soundcloud page and ill be happy to answer! So i hope u enjoy #3 and next month ill hit yall off wit #4!!And this mix features more of the same classic, old skool, underground hip-hop flavor! Yall know how i do!

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: March- April 1991

2012-02-06T00:22:00.002-06:00

Mar.-Apr. '91

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: February 1996

2012-02-01T13:34:00.001-06:00

Feb. '96

DJ Big Joe The Bully- The Hova Collection 1996-2004

2012-01-30T00:05:00.000-06:00

This one right here goes out to my man ImStillMike!! U know, im willing to let people shine if they have skills to pay the bills. I dont hate at all, i will always support a brother if he knows what he doin. And on this one my protege Bully took the reigns on this one. If u love the old Jigga like we all do then u will love this one. This compilation features many joints his career from '96-'04, my nig Bully even did a blend for u cats as well. Trust me this mix deserves my approval cause if it didnt i wouldnt post it, so please DL this joint and show my nig some love! This is the 1st of u will hear of my man Bully, but it wont be the last! Check it out!!

Bully & Hov

**Just a little reminder that my newest Sittin in the Crates mix will be up above this post on Wednesday! Its #3 in my series and so far the response continues to be great and i thank all of u for that! So be on the lookout on Wednesday as my newest Joint of Month will be posted above this one! Stay Tuned & Stay Thirsty my friends!**

Re-Up Hot 97 Future Flavas w/ Pete Rock & Marley Marl- December 1995

2012-01-25T20:47:00.002-06:00

Dec. '95

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: December 1996

2012-01-25T01:51:00.000-06:00

Dec. '96

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: September 1995

2012-01-23T16:19:00.001-06:00

Sept. '95

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: May 1995

2012-01-19T13:41:00.003-06:00

May '95

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: March 1997

2012-01-18T00:01:00.001-06:00

March '97

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: February 1993

2012-01-16T11:37:00.001-06:00

Feb. '93

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: December 1995

2012-01-14T12:38:00.000-06:00

Dec. '95

LP Thoughts: Capone N Noreaga- The Reunion (2000)

2012-01-08T00:23:00.000-06:00

It was this LP that introduced me to CNN. All it took was a friend telling me to listen to one song off this LP and thats when my long overdue love for CNN started. Now i know what u thinking...why? What the hell was he on? How come didnt like them when their 1st LP dropped back in '97? Hey, every story has a origin right? Here we go....

Back in '97 when these dudes 1st came out i had no idea they even existed! During that time in '97 i was in the process of moving from El Paso, TX to Cedar Lane, TX ( a hour away outside of Houston). During this time in the middle of '97 i missed out on alot of things hip-hop wise. The house we was staying at the time had no cable so i missed out on BET & MTV. I only may have caught like 2-4 episodes of Rap City at my aunts house who had cable. When we 1st moved down here Puff's "All About the Benjamins" was poppin off and i was capture a little bit of that. But i missed out on so many episodes of Rap City when some of the LPs i liked dropped that year. You know that when a certain hip-hop artist drops an album, Rap City will have a show with them describing whats goin on with the album. I missed out on shows with Jay Z, Missy, OC, Rakim, Puffy, Master P (cant front now), CNN, Big Pun, Big L, The Firm & many others. Those are all artists that dropped dope LPs in '97 and i missed all of those shows. Now some of those i kinda already knew about without the help of Rap City, but CNN is a group i had no idea about (wasnt up on Big L either, but i already explained that).

Lets fast forward to '98 when NORE went solo and came out wit "Superthug", like i said before i hated this record when it dropped! I seriously hated it!! Every time the video came on i turned the channel and waited for the video to end then turned back. I wanted nothin to do wit NORE just based off that song. As we all know his 1st LP is a classic but i never checked for it. "N.O.R.E" was another single i just didnt pay attention to. I seen it many times on Rap City but i just overlooked it. And as for "Banned from TV" i completely missed the boat on that 1. I really dont even remember catching that video on Rap City. "Superthug" was a record that just turned me off of NORE at that time. They played it so damn much and the song at time was annoying. I know if u are reading this u may think im crazy, and myself is thinking that now as im writing this. But if wasnt for my friend in 2000 letting me listen to one song off their new LP, my disdain would have lasted permanently.

Its November 2000 and CNN's The Reunion LP just dropped already for a week. Now did i actually know that back then? No. I went to my friends house one day during that week. We was over there chillin and he asked me "yo! that new CNN is out. u got it?" I was like nah i really dont check for them at all. He looked at me like I just murked somebody or somethin like that. He was like man u are smokin somethin not to like them! He popped the CD in and let me listen to one song which was "Invincible"! Once that song came on, i felt the hair standing on my arms. I felt a tingling in my body. Its really hard to describe the feelin i had when I 1st heard this record! Matter of fact i still feel this way when i hear that track today. He told me DJ Premier did the track and i was already a huge fan of his. I asked him does the whole LP has this same feel? He said "yup and then some!" He recommended that I go out and purchase their 1st LP as well. And it was at that moment when i went back in time and remembered how i never heard of this group back then and never liked NORE when he 1st came out. I knew then that i had to buy this LP and their 1st LP ASAP!! I wanna say about a week or two later i copped the Reunion LP on the low from a bootlegger ( hey I was in Philly at the time, what u expect?), and from what i heard it was all of that and then some!

In the beginning "Phonetime" hits u real heard with a dope beat and the song content is as real as it gets. Capone talkin about what he doin on the inside and NORE tellin him whats happening on the outside. Dope track and video is nice as well. Props to LES on the beat. Then "Invincible" is next, and like i said before every time i hear this song it makes me feel a certain way inside. That sample is crazy & holy, Primo just laced them with a heat rock that is timeless! I liked the fact that NORE says that his 2nd LP was half ass and thanks the fans for stickin wit him during his father passing. Then next is the track that caused a permanent dislike between Lil Kim & Foxy Brown which is "Bang, Bang". Im not even gonna go in the details surrounding this track and what happened at Hot 97 because of it, ill let yall read up on that. But i will say that Alchemist straight up made a classic on this one, this track was a mixtape banger as well!! It brings back memories every time i hear it! On to the next wit "Yall Dont Wanna", this track is just gutta! Its just a gutta hood track, the beat is just hard man and CNN did a great job flowin on this one. I love this record and i love the video for it, brings back alot of memories also! Now another track i think people sleep on is "Queens Finest", this track is hard and Havoc did great job wit the sample on this one. I must have put this song on repeat like 5x when I 1st heard it!

All & All this LP is rock solid yall. If it wasnt for my friend putting me on "Invicible" i would have paid this LP no attention. Now over the years i have a great newfound love for CNN. Also over the years i bought War Report & NORE's 1st LP and ill have write-ups on them soon. Its a shame this group broke up but the mark they made on hip-hop will forever be remembered. Another thing i want to mention is that i wasnt able to get mixtapes back in the days so i didnt hear "LA, LA", "Closer", "TONY", "Bloody Money" & "Illegal Life" before their 1st LP dropped. That explains why i never heard of them until "TONY" was on Rap City and i missed that because i was moving. Also i was barely lookin at Rap City when "LA, LA" came out so i missed that video back then as well.

I give this LP almost a 5 so im gonna say 4.8 out of 5! So whats ur thoughts on this LP?

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: April 1996

2012-01-06T13:20:00.002-06:00

Apr. '96

DJ Screw- Heavy N Da Game (1998)

2012-01-05T16:38:00.000-06:00

For all my Screw headz out there i didnt forget about u. I know, I know its been along time. Please stop crying, please....hey calm down. Its been awhile and im sorry for that. Here's a tape from '98 and its bangin! Hopefully this can make some things up. Cmon now wipe away ya tears and just take a listen. Thanks.

Screwston

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: September 1993

2012-01-05T00:35:00.002-06:00

Sept. '93

A Diplomats Flashback

2012-01-04T10:44:00.000-06:00

This joint is requested by man ImStillMike! As i stated before back in '02-'04 i was the biggest Diplomats fan out there! Me and my boys have actually gotten into arguments with others defending them! I was a huge Camron fan early on, i used to like Jim Jones a little bit, i thought Juelz Santana was nice and i used to ride for JR Writer & Hell Rell.
These guys did a whole bunch of nice records and u gotta give credit to Just Blaze & The Heatmakers for providing them with dope beats. They made hip-hop anthems that people loved everywhere!
But for me the dream started to be over actually in late '02 when Cam committed 2 sins that eventually sealed his fate for me. #1 was when he & Jim Jones started dissing Nas, even tho Nas started it (and looking back on it i dont blame him for doin it) and Nas & Jay was still goin at it. But Cam & Jim dissing Nas didnt sit well wit me but i swept it under the rug at the time. #2 was when Dame offered Cam the position to run the ROC when Jay was on vacation. Cam was gonna take it but he wanted more money plus Dame didnt run that decision by Jay to get his thoughts on it. And that to me stopped any kinda relationship between the two because the relationship they had was already kinda rocky before Cam joined the ROC. Then in '04-'05 Cam & Jim started dissing Jay on records.
By that point was I offically done wit the Diplomats as a whole and im glad i jumped ship when i did. Cam havent done anything since Come Home Wit Me, i dont listen to Jim Jones at all, and Juelz 1st LP was dope because of the beats and his 2nd LP was iight but that was back in '05 and havent heard nothin from him since.
But lets not dwell on the bad things about this group, lets remember the good times. This right here is a batch of Dipset goodies i cooked up that u can jam to and recollect ur memories on. Dont forget that they was a prominent group at one point.

Diplomatic Alliance

Do U Really Know Ur Hip-Hop?

2012-01-02T17:45:00.001-06:00

Back then when i used to listen to rap, i didnt care how the beat was made or what they used to make the beat. All I wanted to do is jam out and get my rock on. But as I got older and really started paying attention to hip-hop's other aspects, my inquisitive mind wanted to know other things. Like who produced this? What machine did they use? Whats a sample? How they make the beat sound like that? There are people out there the same age as me and really dont give a damn about those type of things, they just listen to the beat and the artist and thats it. Kinda sad if u ask me, especially if they dont know what a sample is or how the producer came up with that beat.
So i know my people that ride wit me on this blog is hip to this aspect of our music right? U can recognize a sample and what record it is right? If u listen to a certain sample right now, u can name the record that used that sample right? U sure? Ok then... prove it! Down below is a sample mix i put together myself. If ur so hip to samples and know ur hip-hop like u say then can u name the hip-hop songs that used these samples while listening to this? Ok, dont speak about it be about it!! In the comment box below lets see where ur knowledge is at! For some of the samples in this mix i brought it back 2-3 times so u can hear it clearly cause some of them are really quick and u gotta catch it.
I know some of u might search the internet for some of the answers and i cant catch yall doin it. But thats shame on u if u dont know some of these joints straight up! Ok people, have at it!

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: October 1995

2012-01-02T16:03:00.002-06:00

Oct. '95

2011 Blog Year In Review & Beyond

2011-12-31T13:14:00.000-06:00

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

2011-12-31T12:12:00.001-06:00

May '94

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: March 1996

2011-12-30T19:07:00.002-06:00

Mar. '96

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: June 1997

2011-12-29T20:59:00.001-06:00

Jun. '97

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: July 1996

2011-12-28T21:45:00.001-06:00

Thanks to vincent for the pic.

July '96

Re-Up Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito Show on Hot 97- DJ Premier 3/24/97

2011-12-28T20:44:00.000-06:00

This is a re-up for my man d1laud1d1d0d1! For me this is a rare treat cause on this show Primo plays some records that til this day i have no idea what the names are. Primo always did that whenever he spins on a show, he will bring the underground to the light and play joints people dont even know is out. He always keeps his ear to the street and it never change til this day for him. But i love this show, Bobbito & Primo also share dope convo and some food for thought on this as well. Parlay on this one my nigs!

Stretch & Bob + Primo

Re-Up Jay Z & The ROC- Live at the Tunnel 1999

2011-12-27T23:58:00.001-06:00

This for my man ImStillMike! Back in the days of NYC, if u was a hot artist and u had a album coming out it was protocol to go to the Tunnel and promo it urself by giving a live show of what u got coming out! And thats what Jay did after his Vol. 3 LP was out for only a week! He took his crew wit him and did their thing this night back in '99. This was right when Jay was beginning his takeover on the game of rap. Its legendary stuff if u ask me cause people will never know what that energy was like in the Tunnel! Put this show on full blast in ur rides!

The ROC '99

Christmas Mini-Mix Treat

2011-12-25T00:25:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas yall!!! I hope u all have a good christmas and Run-Dmc (pic above) hopes yall do too!
Well on this special day, i cooked up a special little mini-mix to hold yall over until my new mix comes out on the 1st Jan! Yall will know when its posted cause it will be the 1st post above this one and it will be Sittin On Crates #2! I wanna say thanks for the love yall showed for #1, its been a huge success!
Ok on this mini-mix the recipe is one classic freestyle, plently of rare tracks, a dash of west coast flavor and a drop of some bay area funk! Enjoy and merry christmas everybody!

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: February 1992

2011-12-22T15:23:00.001-06:00

Feb. '92

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: December 1993

2011-12-20T18:09:00.003-06:00

Dec. '93

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: April 1995

2011-12-19T14:57:00.001-06:00

Apr. '95

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: September 1990

2011-12-16T16:56:00.001-06:00

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

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: October 1993

2011-12-15T16:37:00.001-06:00

Oct. '93

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: November 1995

2011-12-14T14:18:00.001-06:00

Nov. '95

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: May 1992

2011-12-13T16:46:00.002-06:00

May '92

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: March 1993

2011-12-12T13:33:00.001-06:00

Mar. '93

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: June 1996

2011-12-10T12:06:00.001-06:00

Jun. '96

Thanks to Vincent for the pic.

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: July 1992

2011-12-09T17:43:00.001-06:00

July '92

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: February 1991

2011-12-08T13:17:00.001-06:00

Feb. '91

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: December 1991

2011-12-07T13:30:00.001-06:00

Dec. '91

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

2011-12-06T19:41:00.001-06:00

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

2011-12-06T13:38:00.001-06:00

Aug. '96

Thanks to Vincent for the pic.

The Source Magazine Fat Tape: April 1993

2011-12-05T13:52:00.001-06:00

Apr. '93

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

2011-12-02T00:40:00.001-06:00

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?

Re-Up DJ Clue- The Great Ones Pt. 3 (2000) (Mixtape)

2011-11-30T13:07:00.001-06:00

Here's another request by my man Shane that im happy to upp for him. Like i said before, this is another classic tape from the catalog of DJ Clue. Everytime i hear this tape it brings me back to when i was living in NJ back in 2000. Great times and yeah the golden era of hip-hop was ending , but the early 00's provided some good music thats 100% better than the crap thats out now! Ride out to dis one yall!

Clue!

Re-Up DJ Clue- This Is It Pt. 2 (1998) (Mixtape)

2011-11-28T12:19:00.001-06:00

This re-up right here is for my man Shane. I orig. posted this a couple years ago and it was well received as it should cause its my man Clue. Yall already know how i feel about him so im not gonna go into it. But tis tape here is just another one of his many classics he has in the stash. Enjoy!

Question Mark Man

The Best of D&D Studios Vol. 1 (1999) (Mixtape)

2011-11-25T11:40:00.001-06:00

U talkin about a studio that holds mystique, that is what this place has! All ur fav. artists from all-time has worked here and thousands of classics was done here. This was a place where people kicked it at and lounged out, where people played pool, get their drank on and plus gettin ur graffiti artwork fix at. This place breathe hip-hop every day its open. In 2003 tho, the people who owned this studio was havin hard times financially and tryin to keep it open. So DJ Premier stepped up to the plate and purchased it. It was only right since Primo created so many classics in this building. He since renamed it HeadQCourterz in honor of a fallen friend of his. The pic u see to ur left is glimpse into Premier's room. It was formerly known as the B-Room, and everyone knew that was Premier's room and nobody was doin nuttin in there except for him. Let me ask yall question, have u ever seen any rare footage of Premier actually in the studio puttin a beat together? I mean we see other producers do their thing on the boards but have u ever seen Primo actually puttin a beat together in front of camera on TV or a DVD? Like i said, nobody was allowed in this room. Trust me, yall will love this joint!

Ghetto Like D&D

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

2011-11-25T11:32:00.001-06:00

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)

2011-11-24T01:23:00.001-06:00

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)

2011-11-24T00:34:00.001-06:00

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!!

The Best Of EPMD (1999) (Mixtape)

2011-11-23T15:32:00.001-06:00

Dont have to really say much about these cats. If u dont know who they are and what they did in the game then u need to check ur whole existence in hip-hop. This right here is a 'lil mix of their best stuff that should hold u down if feenin for the guys that always meant business! One thing i gotta say tho is that Erick Sermon dont really gets the credit he deserves as a dope MC & a talented producer. Check his resume on what he's done and you'll see what im talkin about. Thats all im gonna say about that. Ok yall, go head and rock on and always keep the Crossover!

Its All Business

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

2011-11-22T21:08:00.001-06:00

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 Big Mike- Styles P: Ghost Stories (2003) (Mixtape)

2011-11-22T19:14:00.001-06:00

We gon keep it on the Lox side of things and go into my man Styles P, SP, Styles Panero, The Ghost, The Phantom or etc. With lyrics like "The reason why they call me the ghost is because when i walk by niggas get up" or "You can catch Holiday in the Holiday Inn", he was able to build a name for himself and let people know that Jada's is not the only nice one in this camp. Styles P showed me somethin wit "Holiday" off of RR Vol. 2. That track was too hard, he had me hooked with that openin verse "U heard about P u ougtta know its the truth/ I get u kidnapped and raped and get thrown off the roof? U can nod ya head to this like its only a rap/ But when these sluggs hit ya ass nigga its only a gat!" That right there had me in shock, i was like yooooo! I didnt know Styles P had it in him. Ever since then Panero became one of my individual favs, then he further enhanced it wit "I Get High". Let me tell yall somethin, when that track came out it was on every rotation!! That song ruled Virginia for like a month, SP had the streets on lock!! Great times just thinkin about it. So here goes a nice treat for u SP fans out there with his 1st mixtape he released solo wise featuring many freestyles and other dope tracks. So like Styles says "Fuck you i dont give a damn what you spit, who u are, where u from or who the fuck u could get/ cause i got a record and i sell records, yall niggas say shit until i bare weapons!"

Styles Panero

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

2011-11-22T18:18:00.001-06:00

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

The Best Of Organized Konfusion (2005) (Mixtape)

2011-11-22T01:47:00.001-06:00

The 1st time i got exposed to this group was back in late '95 early '96 when a friend came to my house. He also brought somebody else wit him and he was rockin wit his walkman on. I asked him "what u jammin to?" He replied "Organized Konfusion". I had that look on my face like who the hell are they? He then asked me "U never heard of them?" I said "naw". He then responded back saying that i wasnt underground. And at that point he was right cause i only knew what i heard on TV or the radio.
So later on that year i peeped the America is Dying Slowly LP cause i had to get that Wu-Tang "America" joint (at that time that was a hot track that people that was into hip-hop knew about). But while i was listening to the LP, a dope track came across my ears. It had a dope rhyme plus ill lyrics! The track was called "Decisions" and it was by guess who.... Organized Konfusion! I now know what duke was talkin about wit this group. The crazy thing is this was the 1st track i heard from them, i didnt hear "Stress" until some time after.
When I went on my journey back in '08 to educate my self on real hip-hop, i sat down and listened to their 1st 3 LPs and i knew then that this group was an elite one with many classics under their belt. So hopefully this mixtape can give u more insight on what this group was about which was reality & tribulations that people go through in life.

Lets Get Organized

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

2011-11-21T13:45:00.001-06:00

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

Re-Up DJ Roz- Big L: Harlem's Finest (2004) (Mixtape)

2011-11-20T13:26:00.001-06:00

Class is still in session people. To anaylze this cat's whole style & flow requires a 3-course class. I want yall to imagine one thing, lets go back to late '98 early '99 when rumours ran rampant that this man was gettin ready to sign wit Rocafella. At that time Jay & his crew was on the verge takin over this rap game and L was gonna do nuthin but enhance it! I know some of L's style rubbed off on Jigga, hell Hov used to make trips down to Harlem just to hang wit L and rhyme wit him in cyphers. So Jay knew what kind artist L was and the things they was gonna do together woulda been crazy! Now check this out, if L was around when Cam & his crew went to the ROC how would that have worked? Would Cam came in between Jay & L's friendship? Would L have made Jay & Cam's relationship a little smoother? Just think about that and listen to this tape for more Big L treats. Part 3 of this course comin next! Enjoy & Still Be Educated!

Big L Corleone

Re-Up J- Love- Big L: In Memory Of...Vol. 2 (2003) (Mixtape)

2011-11-20T13:08:00.001-06:00

This brother had big plans man, many things to do on the way to becoming a great MC. Its just a shame that it was tooken away like that. Like i said before, i dont wish what happened to him to nobody. The way this man passed away is a tragedy, i dont want to go into details about it, i leave that up to u to read about.
But for me, it took until this brother passed away to recognize his work. When he was alive, im gonna be honest wit u that i didnt really any attention to him because i didnt know much about him. That tho was the old me before i sat down and read the manuscripts to where im at now. On this tape u will get a insight to see just how legendary this MC is. Listen & Be Educated!

Flamboyant Entertainment

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

2011-11-18T13:09:00.004-06:00

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

AZ- Decade 1994-2004 Pt. 1 (2004) (Mixtape)

2011-11-18T11:24:00.004-06:00

Now u know that if i gave yall some Nas treats i gots to follow that up wit his patna AZ. The 1st thing that comes to mind wit AZ is: precise, sharp, meticulous, flawless & on point. Everytime u see him he always keeps a sharp haircut and clothes always stay fly. He's that type of cat in the studio as well. I read stories that everytime he's in the studio he always make sure his rhymes is nice. He always does a re-take if it dont sound right, he dont want any slip-ups. And i like that cause he dont want any bullshit leaking out plus that shows he cares alot about his craft.
On this tape its features many of AZ's pretty impressive work over a 10 year career up to that point. Most emcees cant even last a year, and this man is goin on in year 18. Brooklyn stand up!

SOSA

Re-Up J-Love- Nas' Finest Pt. 2 (2003) (Mixtape)

2011-11-17T18:02:00.002-06:00

Also u cant fault Nas for puttin niggas on while some enjoyed success like AZ. There's others that failed like Nature. But then u have some that started cool and turned sour like 50. And again u have some that no matter what u will be forever linked wit like Cormega. Nas opened the door for alot of cats. Now as im saying that, no this tape is not full of features. Its just a continuation of this man's legendary catalog of joints. This tape is stockpiled full of dope tracks, also this disc shared a crazy rotation in my system in my car when i 1st copped it.
One more thing i wanna say about this man is that he moves at his own pace. When he feel like puttin out a LP he will, when he feel like doin a interview he will. You dont barely see him out at all those industry parties and all of that nowadays since he gotten older. Like i said many times, when u are a legend at this game like he is, u can do things when u want to cause u are already established. You can do it for the love of music and dont have to follow what the label tells u to do.

Are u feelin Nastalgic?

Re-Up J-Love- Nas' Finest Pt. 1 (2003) (Mixtape)

2011-11-17T16:21:00.005-06:00

Nas is one of the most intriguing MC's of our time! He can rhyme about different aspects of a person's life or he can switch it up and talk about street life then he can always go back to the ice, the cars, the 'cris and the ladies. He's versatile as they come. It was Nas who got me to take hip-hop serious back in '94 and i will never forget that.
People talk about how 'Pac was always in the studio knockin out tracks, u know what? The same can be said about Nas cause his tracklist runs long like a marathon! And on this tape u get this mans best work raw & uncut plus some rarities! When i 1st got this tape, it was in my cd player for a good month, its that ill son! So cruise in ur ride and listen to the sounds of God's Son!

Nasty

Re-UpDJ Dub- Nas & DJ Premier: NY State Of Mind (2006) (Mixtape)

2011-11-16T13:44:00.004-06:00

I usually dont fool wit blend tapes unless its Ron G, Doggtyme or DJ Juice. But when i read about this tape in a issue of Scratch magazine (not the one pictured), they gave it a Hood rating which is pretty high. Have yall ever wondered what Nas would sound like on other Primo beats? Have yall ever wondered how Primo other beats sound like with Nas' vocals on them? Well on this tape u get a chance to experience that. And i would say i was very impressed with this one, and thats saying alot considering this is not a tape done by the previous DJ's i listed earlier. I cant wait to hear what these 2 are cookin up on Nas' new LP. Until then, blast off wit this tape and love true hip-hop again.

Esco & Primo

DJ Keys- Top Of The Game: Radio Freestyles Pt. 1 (2005) (Mixtape)

2011-11-16T12:25:00.003-06:00

Well all know MC's do their work in the booth, thats where they are comfortable and thats where the magic happens. But a true MC can showcase his talents anywhere, and that sometimes is where a star or a legend is born. Over the years many MC's had done some classic sessions on the radio. And mostly the ones that turn out legendary always a had a back story on how that radio freestyle came about. We all remember where we was at when that radio freestyle was done.
On this tape it features dope & classic freestyle sessions from such radio shows like: Funkmaster Flex, Angie Martinez, DJ Clue, DJ Envy, Tim Westwood, DJ Enuff, Cipha Sounds, Sway & Tech. So go back down memory lane and relieve these classic moments. One warning tho: there is a Lil Wayne sighting on this, dont let it scare u off this tape please. Enjoy People!

Rockin on the Radio

Best Of 50 Cent (2002) (Mixtape)

2011-11-14T19:08:00.002-06:00

The 1st time i heard 50 Cent on record was i think How To Rob on Madd Rapper's LP. Listenin to that i was like wow this dude is pretty brave but clever. Then later on that year i heard a track on Clue's Perfect Desert Storm mixtape he had on there called "Good Die Young". I was like hey, this dude got somethin. I loved that beat and the lyrics. But i think 2 events put this man's name on a national level. 1 was the infamous fight he had wit Murder Inc at the recording studios in 2001 when Ja & Co. ambushed them at the studio. I remember seeing Ja on MTV's TRL on crutches talkin about how he hurt self on a skiing trip. Wrong! He got hurt in that fight. Thats when people start finding out about it. 2 was when Jay Z dissed him at Hot 97 Summer Jam in 2000 when he said "Im about a dollar what the fuk is 50 cent." That right there put his name out there and thats where the journey to stardom begins.
I copped this tape in late 2002 when 50 was starting to take the game over and i needed somethin from him to jam. And this tape catered to those needs. People out there wonder will 50 ever be hot again, but my friend said it best. When u are comfortable ur rhymes changes and ur work ethic changes, when u are hungry u willing to do whatever it takes to make it and be hot. 50's comfortable now and been that way for a few years now. So only time will tell if that hunger can resurface.

Its 50!

Notorious BIG- The Hits & Unreleased Pt. 1 (1999) (Mixtape)

2011-11-14T16:10:00.004-06:00

I know what u thinkin, "hey what else that i dont have of Biggie?". Well trust me there is some unreleased stuff out there from him that still havent seen the day of light. And i think Puff has a part in that cause he still has stuff on Biggie that hasnt been out there yet like that Machine Gun Funk Remix wit Nas on it. But on this tape u get some hits and some rarities that i think most of u never heard. Trust me on that! Remember to always Think BIG!

Black Frank White

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

2011-11-13T12:23:00.003-06:00

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. 4 (2003) (Mixtape)

2011-11-12T13:06:00.003-06:00

In this final part of the Bad Boy series we go back to the R&B side of things. On this one we have more tracks from Faith, 112, Total & Carl Thomas. Now if the hip-hop side had lots of promise then R&B has its share of blame as well. I cant fault Faith at all, she was still releasing LPs at a steady rate and i cant fault 112 at all either. But Total only had 2 LPs and thats it? Cmon now, i heard many stories on what happened to them but its a shame either way. And the one that still befuddles me til this day is Carl Thomas! How u gonna come out with a classic 5-star LP in 2000 then dont release another til '04-'05!!!! He ruined his own career when he did that. U cant take that long of a break, u have to take advantage of what u have and run with it. Its very tragic in my eyes on what happened wit his career.

Bad Boy 4 Life

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

2011-11-12T03:01:00.002-06:00

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)

2011-11-11T19:25:00.003-06:00

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)

2011-11-11T13:46:00.004-06:00

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)

2011-11-10T11:46:00.003-06:00

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)

2011-11-09T21:45:00.003-06:00

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 Keys & Big Mike- Entourage (2003) (Mixtape)

2011-11-08T22:16:00.002-06:00

U gotta love MJB, the queen of hip-hop soul! She can sing on any beat u give her! "The What", "One More Chance", "Im A Hustler", "Survival of the Fittest" are just to name a few. She's like a female MC just on the vocal tip cause she does her thing on hip-hop beats.
On this tape, it features all the remixes & other tracks she's done wit hip-hop artists. Its a great tape for people who love Mary goin off on those type of tracks!
What people needs to know is that on MJB's 1st 5 LPs she had remixes for whole lot of tracks off them. Credit to Puff for producing many of them, they turned out to be classics.
So please let this Hip-Hop Songstress soothe ur soul on this one!

Queen of Hip-Hop Soul

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

2011-11-08T11:53:00.002-06:00

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

Re-Up DJ Nobody- Best Of Jadakiss (2002) (Mixtape)

2011-11-07T23:40:00.003-06:00

JADA got mad footage in the game press replay! And he's not lying wit that line, this man been in the game for 15 years!! Kinda hard to believe that. This is a re-up of a tape that i put up years ago that people loved.
Now in Jada's case, he's a MC that stayed hot for a number of years. He's never tailored off his lyrics, they always stayed on point. His 1st LP is a classic and he set the bar high with that one, his 2nd LP was ok and i never even heard his 3rd one yet (i think). But this is a MC that has outrhymed Jay, X and etc on their own joints. This is a MC who received the best on the job training u can get from Biggie, who also shouted ur name out on tracks and was a fan urs. I mean what else can u say!?

Montaga Jada

Re-UpDJ Nobody- Best Of Beanie Sigel (2002) (Mixtape)

2011-11-07T11:47:00.004-06:00

This is a re-up that i orig. posted 3 years ago and it received a great response. This tape features tracks he did all the way up to '02. I always thought Sigel was a dope MC's when he 1st was in Rocafella. His rhymes was off da chart, but to me he underachieved. His last best LP was the B. Coming, which was back in '04. Then after that he just went downhill and it didnt make matters worse when he started to diss Jay Z, the man who put u on and stood up for u in certain situations u put ur self in. The same man who was goin to court to support u when u was threatened to go to jail back in '04. Let me go ahead and stop ranting, but from '99-'04 B. Sigel was a elite MC and that shouldnt be forgotten.

Broad Street Bully

World Famous DJ Supreme- Best Of Mase (1997) (Mixtape)

2011-11-07T10:26:00.003-06:00

This is a re-up for my man Bully. Now i didnt orig. post this on my blog, my partner Tapemasta did on his back in '08. My man Bully asked Tape to re-up it but he no longer has it so thats why im doin it. So fashouts to my man Tape for orig. posting this gem.
This right here is a dope mixtape featuring everything Mase did all the way to up to '97. Yall already know how I feel about my nigga Mase so im not even gonna go in to that. Just check this joint out and roll wit the M A dolla sign E!

Ma$e

DJ Screw- Graduation '99 (Mixtape)

2011-10-29T14:19:00.009-05:00

The Screwman is back again with another banger from '99. I have been gettin some great responses from these tapes so its only right to continue on! So take time out on this lovely Saturday and let this tape bang in yall systems! Remember, im here and aint goin nowhere.

Dj Screw

Remain Anonymous Mix #48 (Instrumental Edition)

2011-10-26T13:06:00.003-05:00

Uh huh....u thought i forgot about this series right? U had me messed up huh? C'mon now people, im always focused and i never forget. This right here is sort of a bridge until i have more Fat Tapes ready to go.
Also remember if u have any requests for any re-ups let me know.
I hope u enjoy this mix i put together wit nuttin but raw beats. Rock on!

RAM #48

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

2011-10-24T01:33:00.002-05:00

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

2011-10-23T00:49:00.003-05:00

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

2011-10-21T01:11:00.003-05:00

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

2011-10-20T01:47:00.003-05:00

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

Jun. '99

The Source Fat Tape: July 2002

2011-10-19T11:29:00.002-05:00

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

2011-10-17T13:12:00.003-05:00

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

2011-10-17T00:44:00.003-05:00

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

Dec. '98

Re-Up DJ Envy- Live 2000 (Mixtape)

2011-10-15T19:42:00.004-05:00

Once again im back with another fullfilled re-up request! Takin yall back to 2000 with this jam packed tape. Envy to me had a good run in the late 90s to about 2003. He made some dope tapes in his career plus it dont help to learn from the best which was the Clue man himself. Ok yall, time to get ur nod factor on and jam out!

Dj Envy

Re-Up DJ Clue- This Is It Pt. 1 (1998) (Mixtape)

2011-10-10T23:58:00.003-05:00

Another classic re-up for u guys that was requested! This is Clue when he was in beast mode and rulin the mixtape game (go back and check the facts its true). Like i said before, '98 was a year when hip-hop was real hot and exclusive! I miss those days man. Hope yall rock out to this one! Im here and aint goin nowhere!

Dj Clue

LP Thoughts: Clipse- Lord Willin (2002)

2011-10-09T13:13:00.003-05:00

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?

Re-Up Rochester NYC DJ's- Tales From The INC. (1997) (Mixtape)

2011-10-09T12:15:00.002-05:00

Like i said before the 1st time i posted this years ago, i dont know nothing about these dj's. This tape has no talkin which is a good thing and also very little turntableism which is ok. This tape features all the hottest joints in '97 at that time, mainstream and underground. Its a very solid tape and i think u all will enjoy it!

Rochester NYC

DJ Screw- Hail Mary (1996) (Mixtape)

2011-10-08T15:52:00.003-05:00

Hey man, it only gets more intense as i continue to hit yall with these classic buttahs! Its Mr. H-Town himself back with another treat. Its sprinkle with some 'Pac and some other cookies on this dope tape. Sit back and enjoy the riddims people!!

Dj Screw

DJ Clue- Platinum Plus (1997) (Mixtape)

2011-10-07T15:24:00.003-05:00

Well i was say gonna this is a re-up but with a little research i realize that i never posted this tape. I just hope nobody else did either cause i dont be copying posts like other people be doin. But this a rare treat right here by my man Clue.
To me, Clue is that dude when it come to tapes and right up there wit him is Kid Capri.
Ok yall, its '97 all over again and its time to get it poppin! Lets Go!

Dj Clue

The Source Fat Tape: September 1999

2011-10-06T12:16:00.001-05:00

Sept. '99

DJ Screw- Drankin On A Gallon (1996) (Mixtape)

2011-10-05T12:30:00.002-05:00

Hittin u in da head with another Screw from '96! Jam packed tape as usual. And most of u probably gonna be drinkin on a gallon while listenin to this, so rock on people!

Dj Screw

Re-Up Tony Touch- #54 (1997) (Mixtape)

2011-10-02T15:39:00.002-05:00

Tony Toca is back for da '97! This tape is real nice and once again people ate this up when i 1st posted it years ago! Here's another treat for u people, thank me later!!
Hope yall love it!

Tony Touch

Re-Up Craig G- Summer Jamz '97 (Mixtape)

2011-09-29T23:31:00.002-05:00

When i 1st dropped this tape a couple years ago people ate it up! Well here's a second helping for u all. All the joints that was blazin in the summer of '97 is on this tape!
No split tracks, straight tape deck era continues!

Craig G

World Renown- How Nice I Am (Video)

2011-09-28T02:43:00.002-05:00

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

2011-09-28T01:34:00.004-05:00

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

2011-09-22T22:26:00.002-05:00

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!

Status of Re-Ups

2011-09-20T18:11:00.002-05:00

I know that since i started this blog in '08, alot of my tapes that i have posted the link no longer work. And i havent gotten the time to re-up them in a timely fashion. But now its time to do that.

So if anyone of u all see any tapes on here that needs a re-up that u want just let it be known in the comments box or chat box, and ill try to do them one by one in the order as they come.

Ill do my best to pump them out as fast as possible.

P.S.
More Source Fat Tapes still to come, still puttin some together.

DJ Screw- Da Return (1995) (Mixtape)

2011-09-20T18:07:00.003-05:00

As i continue on....another Screw tape for my Screw headz out there. This is another dynomite mixtape by the man himself. So please get ur rock on and jam this tape. More to come from this pioneering DJ!

Dj Screw