37 Rare HipHop Radio Show Archives - 1998 to 2003

I stumbled across this great collection of archived internet-radio shows while searching for a rare 12inch. There are a total of 37 archived shows, the first being recorded and broadcast October of 1998. Unfortunately they are only availabe in very compressed real audio but it's still worth it just to hear some of these quality and rare joints! I posted track listings to the first two volumes so you'll know what to expect. Make some noise and maybe we'll be able to convince Alex to do a new one, after communicating with him briefly it seems like he wants to and he might just need a little push! Link: http://web.telia.com/~u87601262/sidor/archives.html

Volume 1 October 24, 1998 01 - A Tribe Called Quest "Mr. Incognito" [1998 - White label] 02 - Funky Fresh Few (Feat Afu Ra) "Hip hop running through these veins" [1996 - Central Heating] 03 - Loop Troop "Flyers" [1997 - looptroop] 04 - Crash Crew "We are known as emcees" [1983 - Sugar Hill] 05 - Ultramagnetic MC's "Poppa large (east coast mix)" [1992 - Mercury] 06 - Diamond D "Best kept secret (Mark the 45 King remix)" [1993 - Chemistry] 07 - D.I.T.C. (Feat. A.G.) "A different world" [1998 - Next Level] 08 - Lord Finesse "Praise the lord" [1992 - Giant] 09 - Boot Camp Clique "Practice session with Steel" [1998 - DuckDown] 10 - Buckshot "Follow my lead (remix)" [1997 - White label] 11 - Hieroglyphics "Burnt" [1991 - Elektra] Volume 2 November 16th, 1998 01 - Common Sense "Resurection (Extra P. remix)" [1995 - Relativity] 02 - Kurious (Feat. Sadat X & Mike G) "Mansion and a yacht (Baja panties mix)" [1994 - Columbia] 03 - Casual (Feat. A-Plus) "That's how it is - Part II" [1993 - Jive] 04 - Organized Konfusion "Stress (Extra P. remix)" [1994 - Hollywood Basic] 05 - Younger Generation (Feat. Grandmaster Flash & Furious 5)"We rap more mellow" [1979 - Brass Records] 06 - Ultramagnetic MC's "Moe Luv's theme" [1989 - Next Plateau] 07 - KMD (Feat. Busta Rhyme, Lord Jamar, Sadat X) "Nitty gritty (Dog spelled backwards mix" [1991 - Elektra] 08 - Lord Finesse "Return of the funky man" [1991 - Giant] 09 - Unity Committee &Rebels of Rhythm (AKA Jurassic 5) "Unified rebelution" [1994 -?]

When Blackface Has No Face - Sasha-Frere Jones

Mr. Jones posted a transcription of his presentation from the discussion on "Blackface" at the 2005 Experience Music Project Pop Conference. His insights into the presentation of artists' music before and after striking popularity-driven record deals is great. It's a short read, well worth your time. s/fj post, .pdf file, pop conference Excerpt: Neither of the people I am talking about are rappers. Both are DJs and producers. Josh Davis is known professionally as DJ Shadow, and Wesley Pentz performs and records under the name Diplo. Shadow has been working for over ten years; Diplo just a few. But both began their careers as white DJs with an affinity for black music. One of Shadow’s first gigs in the early 1990s was providing a remix for a rap group called Lifers Group, black prisoners doing life sentences who had made an album for the Hollywood Basic label. His early songs and mixtapes showed a terrifying appreciation for the funk records that had been sampled to create hip-hop in the 1980s. Diplo first gained notice a few years ago as a member of the Hollertronix duo, a Philadelphia DJ duo who specialized in playing Southern and Eastern rap to club audiences and making skilled, funny mixtapes. Recently, Diplo has been one of the most visible European-American DJs playing the working class Brazilian dance music known as "baile funk," "funk," or "funk carioca." But when both Shadow and Diplo got signed and had to make proper albums people could buy in stores—and Shadow confronted this moment almost a full decade before Diplo—a similar tendency crept into the work of both artists. Though their DJing is firmly rooted in black music, Shadow and Diplo recorded songs for their albums full of white signifiers: electric guitars, slow minor-key melodies, sluggish tempos, cinematic strings. The crunk was in the trunk, at least some of the time. Live, as DJs, Shadow and Diplo still play music that most people, if pressed, would call black. But, under contract and in the studio, they move closer to signifiers of whiteness. Shadow, several albums into the game, is moving further and further from the hip-hop he started with. I am not pretending to be a mind reader: I have no evidence the music Shadow and Diplo make on record is any less dear to them than the music made by other people that they choose to play in clubs as DJs. I have no evidence that, like many artists, they simply want to keep themselves engaged and play with as many forms as they can master. But I also can’t pretend I don’t hear a significant difference between what got them in the door and what keeps them in the room, and that difference is a big one, out there in the world Blackface with no face SFJ 3 of consumers and producers. What makes this happen? Does political correctness, the condom of pop culture, prevent them from directly aping the music they love? Did they read "Love and Theft" and freak out? Do they make "whiter" records prophylactically, to forestall the wearying effects of being called cultural thieves in the pages of newspapers, on message boards and blogs? Do white DJs play black music out, but lean white in the studio because we’ve got hard evidence that your sales go up when you sound more like Depeche Mode and less like Ultramagnetic MCs? Or are they sick of having to justify their love? A hundred years ago, maybe Shadow and Diplo would have ignored the theft and made music only from love, showing their faces, perhaps with freaky social consequences. Maybe the language of cultural studies is impoverished now. Maybe there is no way to tell the love from the theft, except by looking at the difference between, say, Eminem’s and Devin the Dude’s royalty statements.

Waxpoetics Issue #12 and Cocinando! Release Party

Go celebrate the release of issue #12 of your favorite quarterly journal and the release of Cocinando, a book featuring 50 years of Latin album cover art. waxpoetics, cocinando product page

From Waxpoetics newsletter: Entire Evening of Latin Music from around the Globe with Special Guest DJs: Bongohead (Cocinando!) Monkone (Wax Poetics) Joe Claussell (Spiritual Life Music) Knox Robinson (Fader) Fredito Schmalz (Fader) Andujar (WMUA UMass) Jorge Irragori (Tropical Music Collector's Event) June 10th @ Savalas 285 Bedford Ave Brooklyn, NY 11211. Between Grand Street and S 1st Street9pm – 4am. No Cover. Album Cover Slideshow and Books will be available for purchase at a discounted price.

TapeOpCon 2005

I meant to put this up when I got the last issue of TapeOp. Luckily the last issue of earplug newsletter reminded me. TapeOpCon is a convention for audiophiles, engineers and all around music enthusiasts. They hold seminars and discussions on recording equipment and techniques. Check it out, this year it's going to be in New Orleans, from June 10th to 12th. Link

Bomb The System

First movie I've come across in a minute that focuses on graf-heads. It comes out officially tomorrow. Peep the trailer and other goodies on the site. All of the reviews I've read so far point out the unique style of cutting scenes the director employed, sounds interesting. Link (Thanks Mprove!)

Something to Ponder - Underground vs. Mainstream by Davey D

I think this article is an example of the shrinking divide between underground hiphop and mainstream hiphop. I would argue it is more acceptable nowadays to be a fan of indie artists and poppy artists at the same time without having to justify your tastes, although I know plenty of heads that never really understood the attempt to classify the two as different genres in the first place. Actually, I would probably argue it is more avantcore, especially if you're in the music biz, to be able to relate to and pimp music from both fields. If you're not familiar with the scene, there was a time when you could easily be made fun of for trying to buy the new Shadow or Sage Francis records instead of the new Nas (I remember those confused looks or loud "what?" I would get at Fatbeats). And I can just as easily imagine (and remember reading tons of posts) where the "other side" would look down at heads who never gave Company Flow or Anticon a chance. It seems part of the reason indie artists have gained acceptance in the industry is their success at becoming self-sufficient, I would have liked Davey-D to address that issue a bit more. Also, the differences between the production values is another issue which I think is important when discussing underground vs. mainstream. Anyway, it seems indie artists are gradually losing their reputations as non-touring bedroom producers and the more high profile artists under contract aren't just sell outs any more. You ready for that Ghostface and Doom album? Link to Davey D's post

Excerpt A couple of years ago I heard a song from Mystik Journeymen of Living Legends where Sunspot Jones was rapping about the underground and he referenced a conversation he had with MC Hammer. He noted that Hammer had said the ‘underground’ was the name people that hadn’t made it big used to describe their music. Needless to say Sunspot used the song, which unfortunately escapes me for the moment, to express his disagreement.However, I thought it’s worth looking at this concept of ‘underground’ and trying to figure out is there is a definitive definition and who within Hip Hop can claim it....

Chris Cunningham's Rubber Johnny

For all you film enthusiasts out there, Chris Cunningham's latest short film was officially released on May 23rd. Cunningham's cutting edge work for Bjork, Aphex Twin and others has received much acclaim over the years and you would probably recognize it very quickly if you took a look (His work is featured alongside Spike Jonze's Fatlip and Pharcyde videos in the Directors Series DVDs). His latest project seems to be getting a good amount of positive press after a few screenings and since it's being deemed too offensive for printing plants in Italy, you know cats in the US can't wait to see it. It will be released on dvd later this year by Warp Films. Check the official site for the eerie preview, it's sure to spark your interest. official site, creepy still image #1, creepy still image #2. (jacked via boingboing!)

Synopsis Johnny is a hyperactive, shape-shifting mutant child, kept locked away in a basement. With only his feverish imagination and his terrified dog for company, he finds ways to amuse himself in the dark. Rubber Johnny is the latest creation from the UK’s most imaginative filmmaker, Chris Cunningham. Featuring music by legendary electronic composer, Aphex Twin, this nightmarish and hallucinatory experimental short film is accompanied by 40 pages of drawings and photographs - Cunningham’s first published book of original artwork.

Mobb Deep And MOP Being Wooed By G-Unit

Mobb Deep and MOP with the financial backing and distribution network of G-Unit Records? Hope it works out. Link

Freestyle The Movie: Release Party + Preview

Ian over at different kitchen points us to the release party for the movie Freestyle: The Art Of Rhyme. Peep the preview. .asx preview, freestylethemovie.com (via Notes From A Different Kitchen, thanks Ian)

Interview With Ceschi Ramos (bad translation)

Here's an interview with Ceschi Ramos of Anonymous Inc. It's been translated from Japanese using Google so you'll have to do some deciphering. Anyone well versed in Japanese, let us know. Also featured in their last update is an mp3 of Cash Yo Checks, from David Ramos' album Jesus Taylor Thomas. Also, a link to a live recording of a set Ceschi did with Icon The Mic King at a Buck65 show at SinE in New York, of course the one night out of his three or four performances that we couldn't make it. update, interview, live set, mp3

The Ceschi - as for my name as for " the Julio Francesco Ramos Tontora " family and the friend from the place, " FrancCesco " " The Ceschi " my thing is called. As ' the chess key ' with said, you pronounce this... We like of course to do the chess. To to to... As for my father with the Puerto Rican Santurce graduate,The mother is the Italian person of new heaven graduate. I to be born in New Jersey, Atlanta It includes, you have lived to many places, but you were brought up mainly with California Berkeley.Now the new heaven where the mother lives (Connecticut state) you have lived. As for Connecticut, New York There is a place about of the empty 1 hour half.As for beginning music at the time of 6 years old... Having lived in the Decatur of Georgia, you learned the violin.Beginning the guitar with 13 years old... As for reaching the point where the lap is done... At the time of 8 years old or 9 years old. I almost There is an interest in all genres, but especially fusion jazz, psychedelic of the sixties,Hard core and flat tire, サルサ and Latin jazz, in D lock and pop and progressive * hip hop,The electro- music (electronic music), and it is the modern mini- Mali strike composer.Presently, Spanish teacher is done in elementary school there is a new heaven... then web designer

Undergr(s)ound Mag Issue 10 - Joe Dub & OMID Interviewed

Undergr(s)ound released issue 10 of their online magazine. OMID and Joe Dub are interviewed alongside Cloudead and Kirby Dominant. Found this via the new Asitablog, check it out. Link (via Asitablog, thanks Anasarca!)

MFDoom's Dead Bent Music Video In Near-Dvd Quality (BitTorrent: The Grand Facilitator)

One of the grand dreams associated with the emergence of the internet involves the facilitation of media-distribution. Fantasies about the diminishing power of real-world distributors are experienced worldwide as online distribution models gain prominence. Nowhere is this effect more obvious than the music industry. Mega labels, indie labels and all kinds of artists have seen their worlds turned inside out. But one hurdle which remains in the path of individuals and smaller media organizations is the cost of bandwith. For example, if you want to host a radio show with a large viewership (think more than 3 people) or if you want to let people download your music you either pay for the bandwidth or get it hosted temporarily via sites like yousendit or myspace. That is, until now, I hope. BitTorrent, supposedly the most used file-sharing program in the world which accounts for somewhere upwards of 30% of all internet traffic, has released an updated beta version of their software which allows ANYONE with a computer and internet connection to create a .torrent file. What this means is that anyone can share media of significant size at practically no cost. As a test we decided to dig in our pathetic vaults and find something to share. After vetoing suggestions to release the bigfoot video we recorded in Washington last year we decided to share one of our favorite videos which we feel didn't get enough play - MF Doom's Dead Bent, directed by Piston Honda. This video is near-dvd quality (48MBs) and should be playable by the latest version of Windows Media Player, but if that doesn't work try Videolan. Please bare with us as this is our first time trying to host a .torrent file. Please keep in mind, the more people downloading the file at once the more bandwidth available for everyone so help spread the word if you can. Hopefully it works, here goes. download bittorent, download .torrent file

BitTorrent Goes Trackerless: Publishing with BitTorrent gets easier!

As part of our ongoing efforts to make publishing files on the Web painless and disruptively cheap, BitTorrent has released a 'trackerless' version of BitTorrent in a new release.

Suppose you bought a television station, you could broadcast your progamming to everyone in a 50 mile radius. Now suppose the population of your town tripled. How much more does it cost you to broadcast to 3 times as many people? Nothing. The same is not true of the Web. If you own a website and you publish your latest video on it, as popularity increases, so does your bandwidth bill! Sometimes by a lot! However, thanks to BitTorrent the website owner gets almost near-broadcast economics on the web by harnessing the unused upstream bandwidth of his/her users.

In prior versions of BitTorrent, publishing was a 3 step process. You would: Create a ".torrent" file -- a summary of your file which you can put on your blog or website Create a "tracker" for that file on your webserver so that your downloaders can find each other Create a "seed" copy of your download so that your first downloader has a place to download from

Many of you have blogs and websites, but dont have the resources to set up a tracker. In the new version, we've created an optional 'trackerless' method of publication. Anyone with a website and an Internet connection can host a BitTorrent download! While it is called trackerless, in practice it makes every client a lightweight tracker. A clever protocol, based on a Kademlia distributed hash table or "DHT", allows clients to efficiently store and retrieve contact information for peers in a torrent.

When generating a torrent, you can choose to utilize the trackerless system or a traditional dedicated tracker. A dedicated tracker allows you to collect statistics about downloads and gives you a measure of control over the reliability of downloads. The trackerless system makes no guarantees to reliability but requires no resources of the publisher. The trackerless system is not consulted when downloading a traditionally tracked torrent.

Although still in Beta release, the trackerless version of BitTorrent, and the latest production version are available at http://www.bittorrent.com/

Warring factions: Why hip-hop's cultural dominance is leading to burnout and dissension

Interesting article by Chris Parker, excerpt of Prince Paul's comments below. Link

"People just run the beat and let it go, and let the MC do all the changes - the changes for the chorus, the changes for the rhyme. People don't sit down, have a rapport going, hang out and have fun, then make the record when it has a vibe to it," Paul laments. "[Now a rapper] says, 'Send me the track. You don't have to be there. My man Merlin here is going to record me at the studio and I'll just send it back to you.' The camaraderie of getting together and making a record has totally been lost. It shows in the lack of arrangements."

Sean Price Interview

If you haven't noticed already, we like Sean Price's new Monkey Barz album. That's why we inluded two tracks off his new lp in our last audio post. Check this interview to see what he's up to, why he wants to do a track with someone from Defjux and why he's not recording as Heltah Skeltah anymore. Link (via Imageyenation, thanks El Keter)

Your first two albums came respectively, in 1996 and 1998. Why has it taken you so long to follow with your third LP ? Because nobody was checking for me that's why. Fuck you think ? It's not like muthafuckas were knocking my door down for contracts and shit and have a bunch of offerings for me. I had nothing. I had to grind my way up to make y'all muthafuckas believers. Even you. You probably thought Rock was nicer than me.

Prince Paul Itstrumental Contest

Someone posted this giveaway on our board, being hosted by Vinyl Exchange. Answer the questions correctly and get a promo copy of Prince Paul's new cd. Link

1. What is Prince Paul's real full name? 2. List the times Vernon Reid and Prince Paul collaborated. 3. What do Black Rock & Ron and Prince Paul have in common? 4. Who were the other members of Stetsasonic? 5. Prince Paul did a remix for The Avalanches, what emcee did he throw on the track? 6. The Good, The Bad & The Ugly was rumored to be what? 7. What regular Prince Paul collaborator played keys on "Talking All That Jazz"? Deadline for entries is May 31, 2005. The ten entries with the most correct answers will win.

Tragedymovie.com

Looks like an interesting project featuring one of our favorite artists from QB. The synopsis is below but make sure to visit the site for more info. It seems like filming was interrupted when Trag got locked on some b*ls#%t. Link, clip (quicktime) [found via MJ's pyramids2projects]

TRAGEDY: THE STORY OF QUEENSBRIDGE is a documentary about the world’s largest housing projects, with the richest legacy in hip-hop – from The Juice Crew, to Nas, Cormega, Mobb Deep and the realest rapper of them all: TRAGEDY.

While still in his mother’s womb, Trag’s dad is shot dead. Thirteen years later, with his mom hooked on smack, Trag hustles to survive. But the kid’s a rap genius, and is signed to the world famous Juice Crew…til he’s busted, sent to Riker’s at 16!

Trag emerges political…releasing his Intelligent Hoodlum album. ‘Nuff respect, but he’s eclipsed by young MC Nas. Trag falls prey to the streets…where he discovers teen rappers Capone-N-Noreaga – CNN. And after dissing Snoop Dogg, they get a record deal. Trag is hailed as a genius for masterminding CNN’s geo-political War Report album.

Capone is busted and Noreaga finds stardom, leaving Trag to starve. Then Trag’s mom ODs. Trag turns to crime…then finds inspiration, transforming pain to beauty with underground albums Against All Odds and Still Reporting.

Trag meets Nore to talk about making a movie together…but cops pull up on ‘em, throwing Trag in jail. Out on bail, Trag is still reporting from the hood, still keeping it real in Queensbridge.

WBAI Fundraising

Underground Railroad is having a fundraiser tonight to support WBAI, the only radio station in the city with shows that I actually look forwad to catching. post, show, wbai, one of my favorite shows

Ra The Rugged Man - Lessons Music Video

I like this song and this video. Nice to see ra groovin to the music. Link (via 15 min)

Gza On Babygrande

Gza recently signed a deal with Babygrande to release his next project. It's going to be an official mixtape and will likely feature a lot of the clan and wu affiliates. He's also going on tour promoting the record and he will be featured on Jus Allah's next 12inch. I'm slightly excited at the idea of Gza on a semi-indie label that could possibly afford him and his crew greater artistic control. Maybe Rza can have more of a presence? Link, gza site

First Pubically Traded Hip Hop Inspired Company - H3 Enterprises, Inc.

Found some press releases regarding the first publically traded company dedicating itself primarily to the Hip Hop community. H3 Enterprises, Inc. is currently trading over the counter for 65 cents a share (OTC: FTCN). It seems to be concentrating on developing a franchise of restaurants and products with a Hip Hop theme including Halls of HipHop, HipHopSodaShops, H3Raps, H3WhiteTea, H3CyberSports, H3'sWorldSeries of CyberSports, and H30. They've enlisted the help of industry experts and popular sports figures and they have the support of their parent company, Ultimate Franchise Systems, Inc., that will be maintaining a 15% stake in the company and will be helping to get their products distributed to over 600 fast food stores. Tracking their progress should be interesting. They already signed a deal for 30 locations in Las Vegas. I think getting some artists to lend their popularity/notoriety would probably be a good idea, although I haven't read anything regarding that yet. Good luck to them. Link

Mambo To Hip Hop Film Screening

Mambo To Hip Hop looks like it's going to be an interesting film from the renowned urban photographer Henry Chalfant (don't ask me why his name is spelled differently in the credits). If you're lucky enough to be near the Bronx on May 31st you should seriously consider checking out the early rough-cut screening. Reservations should be booked in advance. Link, trailer

Bronx Based New Edge Theater is hosting a "rough cut" screening of the eagerly anticipated City Lore documentary film "MAMBO TO HIP HOP" on Tuesday, May 31st at Cafe Lous in the North Bronx with a Live All Star Show featuring El Extremes Electric Cabaret and Guest Stars 7:30 PM. Mambo to Hip Hop: A South Bronx Story features: Ray Barretto, Benny Bonilla, Orlando Marin, Manny Oquendo, Willie Colon, Africa Bambaata, Charlie Chase, Fabel, Luis Chaluisan (El Extreme), Kid Freeze, Track II, Trace, Bom 5, Sandra Maria Esteves, Bobby Sanabria and more. The schools and lunch tables were our drums; we played clave with the spoons.– Percussionist Manny Oquendo, student at PS 52 in the 1940s Mambo to Hip Hop: A South Bronx Story, a work-in-progress projected to be released in the fall of 2005, will be an hour long documentary produced by City Lore, Inc. and directed by Henry Chalfant.The film presents a panoramic view of the music that blossomed in the latin community of the South Bronx from the late 1940’s when mambo burst onto the New York cultural scene through the birth of hip hop in the 1970s. The film chronicles two generations who grew up literally on the same streets, and both used rhythm as their forms of rebellion - for the older generation it was the pulsating rhythms of Cuba; for their children it was the rhythms of rap. The film, designed for public television and possibly theatrical release, aims to bring attention to the Bronx neighborhoods and communities who, with few resources, transformed the world’s pop culture.

Cracked Out Hip Hop

Somewhere between funny, stupid and offensive lies Cracked Out Hip Hop. The group consists of MC Record Deal and Rapzilla. They rap about crack, sex and other subjects they're probably not familiar with over fun beats. I recommend "When I'm High Off Crack" to get a taste. You can also catch them live at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre...yes this is meant to be a joke, but is it funny? Link, UCBT

the-breaks.com

Interesting site that compiles information on samples and rap songs. Includes a search option which amongst other things brings up popular songs, the artists who sampled them and even the year of release. James Brown tops the list for most sampled artist and most sampled song (...that's right, 905 times for Funky Drummer). Obviously this started as a personal list/hobby for the webmaster but it seems to have evolved into something else. It is by no means complete and the keeper welcomes submissions. The older crowd might consider it heretical but others might just see it as useful (think publishers trying to cash in) and old news, what's your stance? Link, search

Beatbox Harmonica

Some dude stays on beat while freaking a harmonica. Link, via Dantrification

HipHop Appreciation Week

HipHop Appreciation Week is 8yrs young and it is supposedly gaining recognition by mayors and city officials across the country. According to the Teacha, the theme this year is Freedom. Ever since I can remember the event has been pushed by KRSone and the Temple Of HipHop without much support from other artists. Without getting into it, the reason why I never get excited about it is because the events and the "themes" tend to drift towards the heavens. Read this essay (The Milk And The Meat: An essay on Christ by KRSone) if you feel like being similarly alienated by KRSone's spirituality. Otherwise, check for the events in a city near you. Link

Prince Paul / Beatminerz Show Friday May 6th

If you're in the city tomorrow night, stop by the Rothko and catch live sets by Prince Paul and the Beatminerz. You might even bump into grandgood people chillin by the bar thanking Peter from Female Fun for finally throwing a show on a night we won't have to worry about our curfews. more info

ATTN: Studio Distribution / Female Fun / & others Present: For Immediate Release: "The Beat Masters"Feat. Da Beatminerz, Prince Paul, Nicolay, and Geology.Hosted by Cy Young

The release party to end all, a stellar lineup of incredible producers all celebrating their most recent releases. Da Beatminerz have their latest Fully Loaded with Statik out (Copter Records), reminding us that Brooklyn is a force. Prince Paul’s Itstrumental (Female Fun) is out to take you farther, if Handsome Boy Modelling School wasn’t enough. Nicolay is coming over from the Netherlands representing for The Dutch Masters (Hardboiled, BBE). Geology is a NYC constant who’s musical time has arrived with his first full length album Geology Plays Geology (Female Fun).