Videos

And just like that, it's Monday. Oh well. Not much to say and I didn't finish the post I was working on last night, so I'm going the cheap way out and tossing up a couple videos that I found on that site with the DC Scorpio video. Enjoy!

Kwame - Oneuvdabigboyz (just because I know some of you love his music sooooo much haha)



MC Trouble - Gotta Get A Grip (RIP Trouble)

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid435563739/bclid1155327142/bctid433481165


Run DMC - The Ave



Smoothe Da Hustler - Broken Language



Vicious Beat Posse - Give The People What They Want



YZ - Tower With The Power

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Used CD Shopping Trip: March 29th and Amazon

If you read this blog at all, you know one of my favorite things is to go shopping for used CD's. Nothing is more exciting (that is legal and involves keeping your clothes on) than finding that rare diamond in the ruff at some CD store or pawn shop. Denver was a great place for finding used CD's. I had five different stores that I would rotate weekly and I found some great deals for some CHEAP prices. That all changed when I moved back home. There are five stores, but only one is decent, the others are all the Hastings chain, and what used to be a great place to pick up used stuff has turned into a overpriced glut of the same crappy CD's. Needless to say, I haven't even back to a Hastings since my last trip in February. With my new found job, meaning I'm getting money and actually getting my finances somewhat under control, I've had some extra money during the week. I haven't been drinking as much since moving back, so money that was going toward my bad habit of mass quantities of beer have been going to trying to get my CD collection back to its once grand standards before I started losing CD's over the years. With no quality stores to lean, I've been leaning on Amazon.com the past couple weeks. It's not as fun finding stuff. It's kind of like having someone telling you about a great new beer instead of finding yourself (yeah, shitty comparison), it just doesn't have the same satisfaction. Anyone could be buying these albums. But, I've been on a kick lately have buying music again, just like I said I would if I ever got money again to spend.

But there is still that one Mom & Pop record store here in town that I've been going to for the past twenty years, The Record Exchange. I hit that up tonight while doing some things. I was in luck, they were having a sale on used hip hop CD's. There was a lot of.....I won't call them good albums, but stuff that I picked up because they were only $2.99 a piece.

M-Boogie - Laid In Full 2 (Ill Boogie, 2001)

1. Intro - M-Boogie

2. A Different Design - Yeshua DapoED/J-Hon

3. Yeshua Representin' - M-Boogie

4. Someone To Hate - Born Allah

5. Buckshot Representin' - M-Boogie

6. The Real - Buckshot

7. Erule Representin' - M-Boogie

8. Mind Wars - ERULE

9. Hot Ya Hot (Remix) - Akbar

10. Triple Seis Representin' - M-Boogie

11. New York, New York - Triple Seis

12. World War I - Mykill Miers

13. Laid In Full - Born Allah

14. Rasco Representin' - M-Boogie

15. Can I? - The Honeydark

16. Jean Grae Representin' - M-Boogie

17. How To Break Up With Your Girlfriend - Jean Grae

18. Tellin' You - Sandman

19. Patience Intro - M-Boogie

20. Patience - Born Alah/DJ Melo-D

21. Patience - Grand Agent/DJ Revolution

M-Boogie was hot for a brief second around the turn of the century, but quickly fell off with a "Wanna be Primo" label. I didn't mind him, but he did do an excellent imatation of the Gangstarr DJ/Producer. Just not as good of course. This joint has a couple decent songs on it, namely Jean Grae's "How To Break Up With Your Girlfriend".

Wreckx-N-Effect - Rap's New Generation (MCA, 1996)

1		Intro: New Generation (2:11)
2		Tha Show (5:10)
3		Top Billin (5:09)
4		Criminal Minded (6:45)
5		Harlem (Interlude) (1:42)
6		Planet Rock (3:59)
7		Move Da Crowd (3:55)
8		Funky (Interlude) (0:40)
9		Funk Box (4:44)
10		Somethin For Da Radio (4:06)
11		Da Vapors (5:30)
12		Rap Acting School (Interlude) (1:46)
13		Boomin System (4:36)
14		Grandma (Interlude) (2:09)
15		Sucka Mc's (5:25)
16		It's Yours (Play On Playa) (4:22)
17		Outro (0:19)

This joint is straight up wack, but I bought it anyway. I have never been big on Wreckx anyway, even if it is for a stupid reason like they gave Q-Tip an eye jammie. But even if that never had have happened, it wouldn't change the fact that this LP sucks. Yet, I still bought it.

Candyman - I Thought You Knew (Capital, 1993)

01 - skinz on deck
02 - sex it up
03 - wat eva u lyke
04 - do me right
05 - first date
06 - just like candy
07 - life goes on
08 - dont cry dry your eyes
09 - return of the
10 - i thought u knew
11 - get respect

Wow, looking back at these purchases, and I realize I was in a "buying frenzy". This too isn't that great. Candyman gets knocked for being pop rap, but I thought his debut album was much more in depth than alot of those "pop rap" albums from 1989-91. This though, isn't all that great.

Quad City DJ's - Get On Up And Dance (Atlantic, 1996)

1		C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)
2		Work Baby Work (The Prep)
3		Let's Do It
4		Quad City Funk
5		Hey DJ
6		Stomp-N-Grind
		Featuring - 69 Boyz
7		Get On Up And Dance
8		Summer Jam
9		Party Over Here
10		The Bass
11		Move To This
12		Ride That Bass
		Featuring - 69 Boyz
13		C'mon N' Ride It (The Train) (Dance Remix)

I told you I liked the bass sound. This joint isn't all that good either, but it did have that damn Train song that was one of my anthems for the summer of '96.

Three Times Dope - Da Sequel (Acknickulous Records, 1998)

1. Intro

2. Hell Yeah It's On

3. Off Da Head

4. Gimme Dat Beat

5. Answering Service

6. I Got Da Cash

7. Free Style Mania

8. Est Anthem

9. Da Sequel

10. Kick Dat Style

11. Sadly Missed (Intro, Tribute)

12. Sadly Missed

13. Tryin See You

14. Reel Skillz

The sadly medicore third release from Three Times Dope. They were hoping to come back to their fame they found on "Original Stylin'", they even apologize for their sophomore album in the liner notes, which wasn't ALL that bad. This has a couple shining moments, but nothing great.


Amazon Purchases

Apache - Apache Ain't Shit (Tommy Boy, 1993)

1. THE BEGINNING

2. TONTO

3. DO FA SELF

4. GANGSTA BITCH

5. A FIGHT

6. KILL D'WHITE PEOPLE

7. HEY GIRL

8. APACHE AIN'T SHIT

9. BLUNTED SNAP SESSION

10. WHO FREAKED WHO

11. GET YA WEIGHT UP

12. WOODCHUCK

13. MAKE MONEY

14. WAYZ OF A MURDERAHH - APACHE A

I always thought Apache was kind of a hack on the mic, but I still liked this album regardless. It has that Flavor Unit style from that era, with a couple dope tracks. Cheap as well.

Rumpletilskinz - What Is A Rumpletilskin? (RCA, 1993)

1		What Is A Rumpletilskin? (1:03)
2		Attitudes (4:12)
3		Hudz (3:39)
4		Mad M.F.'s (3:31)
5		I-N-I (3:35)
6		Sweet Therapy (3:37)
7		Snikslitelpmur (1:07)
8		Earthquake (3:49)
9		Mushroom Talk (3:58)
10		Is It Alright? (3:00)
11		Theramixx (3:17)
12		Dacumin (0:25)
13		Hi Volume (3:33)

This was one of those things I always meant to buy back in the day, but for some odd reason never did. It's nothing ground breaking, but good quality hip hop from that time period.

2 Too Many - Chillin' Like A Smut Villain (Jive/RCA, 1992)

1. Where's The Party
2. My Imagination
3. Me And My Monkey
4. If I Had
5. The Way It Really Happened
6. Life Is
7. Chumpie On The Flip Side
8. Pump Ya Fist
9. Rumors
10. Call Me
11. My Imagination (Afrhythmix Remix)

I don't remember much about this album, I think the cover kind of shied me away from ever giving it a chance. But Bust the Facts posted it up and I kind of liked it after listening to it. Sure it has a couple New Jackish R&B crappy songs on it, but also some dope shit as well.

Future Sound - The Whole Shabang Vol 1 (EastWest Records, 1992)

1		Intro (0:52)
2		This Is A Game (3:34)
3		The Function (3:20)
4		Flashback, Relay & The Whole Shabang (5:07)
5		Star Struck (Caterpiller Style) (3:53)
6		Thread (1:35)
7		The Bop Step (3:01)
8		Lady/What's A Bro To Do? (4:08)
9		Pixie Groove (4:00)
10		Scriptic Cryptic (4:15)
11		Primates In Stitches (3:48)
12		Flashback, Relay & The Whole Shabang (Wig Out Mix) (3:24)
13		Sucka Set (3:50)
14		Jungelo (3:37)
15		When The Ends Meet (Life Of The Futuristic B-Boy) (4:51)

Another album that I never got around to getting, although I always liked "What's A Bro To Do" when they played it on Yo! back in the day. Some smooth shit on this, almost Native Tongue sounding. I'm kind of surprised they didn't do better, especially with Dame Dash behind them.

Steady B - V (Jive/RCA, 1991)

1. Girl's Gonna Getcha

2. Warpath

3. How I'm Living

4. Journey Through Funky Sound

5. Pay Me Baby

6. Keeper of the Funk

7. Steady and Cool

8. U-Za-Flea

9. And U Don't Stop

10. Licence to Kill

11. Hustler Mac

12. Get on Down

13. I Ain't Goin' Nowhere

14. Funky One

I'm a Steady B fan, always have been. So I'm on a mission to get all his releases on CD. Now this could be difficult since some of earlier CD's (including the great "Let The Hustlers Play") are going for a pretty damn and I refuse to spend more than $20 bucks on a used CD. This would be Stead's last solo joint, and while it's not as good as some of his earlier ones, if you like Steady B, then you should like this.

Request

Mathematik - Ecology (Beat Factory, 1999)

1. Intro
2.Everyday Movement
3.Formation
4.Interlude
5.Industrilized
6.Plastic
7.Interlude
8.My Enemy
9.On My Mind
10.Ta Each Iz Own
11.Interlude
12.Rhyme Trainin' Remix
13.Step Lightly
14.Strive On
15.It Was I
16.Learn To Earn
17.Better By the Letter
18.Interlude
19.Following Goals f/ Bahamadia
20.Space and Time
21.Outro

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DC Scorpio - Stone Cold Hustler Part II Video

These days, it takes a lot to get me excited about something in hip hop. Don't get me wrong, I still love it, but most of the things I've been wanting, I've eventually ran into one way or another. One thing that has eluded me for the past four to five years has been a simple mp3 of a song. You'd think it'd be easy enough to find. Nope, no such luck. The mp3 I've been looking for is DC Scorpio's "Stone Cold Hustler Part II". I remember seeing this video once on "Yo! MTV Raps", it was the only time I saw them play it and I fell in love with the song. Lucky enough, I was recording the show at the time. I would play the video over and over again. DC Scorpio was from Washington DC and as far as I know, was more of a Go-Go artist than hip hop, but he did put out two versions of "Stone Cold Hustler". I have part one, but Part two has remained elusive in my quest to obtain. Lucky enough for me though, an anonymous person ("Hypersleep" was the email ID) sent me a link for the video, which at this point in time is more than good enough. It's just great hearing the song again.

I'm sure some of you will go "what the fuck does he see in that song", and I'll simply chalk it up to nostalgia. I loved this joint. Here it is in all it's goodness. Thanks for the video!

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Philaflava.com's 100 Greatest Obscure Tracks: Part Seven

Link For All Tracks


Money Boss Players - What U Sayin
Nas - Street Dreams (K-Def Remix)
Naughty By Nature - It's On (Beatnuts Remix)
Nine - Me, Myself, and My Microphone
N-Tense – Raise The Levels of The Boom
Nubian Crackers – Do You Wanna Hear It? feat. The Artifacts
O.C. - Born To Live (DJ Eclipse Remix)
Omnisence - Touch Ya'll feat. Sadat X
ONYX - Purse Snatchaz Part 2 feat. Smoothe Da Hustler & Trigga Tha Gambler
Penthouse Players Clique - P.S. Phuk U 2 feat. DJ Quik & Eazy-E

Money Boss Players – What U Sayin’ (

Classic shit right here from one of the most overlooked groups in hip-hop history. I remember bumpin MBP shit off Doo Wop mixtapes all throughout the 90's, so I was waiting for an album for the longest time. After dropping various singles, their Cop N Go LP ended up getting shelved in '98 leaving MBP fans stuck. Then I heard about their 1994 release, Ghetto Chronicle Daily. I couldn't find much info on it at all til Spine Magazine reviewed it in their Rarities section in '03. I remember hearing this joint and being hooked instantly, so I emailed the writer of the review begging for the the full song in mp3 form, he ended up lacing me with some crazy ass file type that I converted to mp3 which I spreaded online and the rest is history. This is one of those songs that gives you that unexplainable feeling that can only be elicited by great music. Criminally slept-on producer, Minnesota laces a creative 1920’s-esque but still hard-hitting beat to compliment the “I’m a G, I’m getting bitches and I’m living lavish” type lyrics. Make no mistake; this subject matter isn’t anything new nowadays, but remember this was made in the early 90’s before B.I.G. and Puff started the Shiny Suit era and before Jay was “Feelin It”. Lord Tariq, Eddie Chebba, Big Ah, C-Dub, Tre Bags and the rest of the MBP crew were truly ahead of their time and didn’t give a fuck whether you liked it or not cause they were gonna do their own thing regardless. They used to run with the infamous Pistol Pete from Soundview Projects (Google it kids) so that should tell you that they were true street niggas foremost with music coming second. Any fans of raw, NY hip-hop need to check out the rest of the GCD EP ASAP cause that shit is the epitome of grimy. - Original Philaflava post

Nas - Street Dreams (K-Def Remix) (

Does anyone remember the backlash that It Was Written received in 1996? I remember my local radio station DJ trying to be cute with his little "It Was Written wasn't hittin'" line. Nas went from describing the turmoil and harsh realities of his environment on Illmatic to writing fantasy rap about crimes he never commit and mafioso wet dreams on his sophomore LP. What many people saw as a lack of authenticity, hipster revisionists now see as Nas' own Kool G. Rap experiment- the master wordsmith penning artistically genius fiction over contemporary production. "Street Dreams" is a prime example of the jiggy-thug aesthetic that Nas apparently (to the critics) was not good at and as a single it received a lot of flack. I, for one, liked it but Cormega took issue with the pink suit. If the Eurhythmic’s sample wasn't already commercial enough to make purists puke bile, the even-more fluffy alternative with R. Kelly was worse and sadly more popular on radio and TV. K-Def, who is a legendary producer in his own right and could have had a spot on Illmatic now that we look back on it, saved the day with his remix, that for whatever reason I can only find being sold by the eBay nerds trying to run the price up. Equipped with better drums, the same dramatic pause around 45 seconds in, and a slew of classic breaks used by DJs on hooks of the early to mid 90s- the song comes off more hip hop than the 80s-rock sounding original. - Original Philaflav post

Naughty By Nature - It's On (Tommy Boy, found on the "It's On" 12 inch, which included the Kay Gee Remix, the Pete Rock remix for "Hip Hop Hooray" and this remix, 1993)

Once again my personal tastes force me to remain relatively mum on this choice. I have a love/hate relationship with Naughty by Nature in the first place. I liked them, but they had such a "formula" for things that it seemed like every album was just a remake of their last album. The Beatnuts on the other hand, I loved, both their music and their production. So you'd think their remix of "It's On" (which I did like in it's original version) would be something special. Well, not quite, at least in my humble opinion. The beat sounds like it might have been one of the Beatnuts "blue light" specials, as it's not really one of the better beats. It's just kind of drab. I mean, it's funky, but just lacking something. Lyric wise, most of the older heads should be familiar with "It's On", for some of the younger pups out there, the single wasn't one of their smash hits, so unless you were familiar with more than just "OPP", "Ghetto Bastard" or "Hip Hop Hooray", this might have sneaked by. It does lack the blueprint the other hit singles had, but as I mentioned, I'm perfectly okay with that. Notice the Sir Mix A Lot dis by Vinnie in his first verse. If it was from anyone other than Vinnie, it might be worth talking about..... -Trav

Nine - Me, Myself and My Microphone (Profile, from the "Watcha Want" b/w "Redrum" & "Me, Myself & My Microphone" 12 inch, 1994)

If you read this blog much, you know I'm pretty big on Nine's music and his two albums he released. Between his gruff voice (which yes, is probably gimmicky, but I've always found it dope) and his grimy, hardcore beats, he has just been that quintessential mid 90's hip hop for me. This joint popped up on the 12 inch of Nine's b-boy Jeep anthem "Whatcha Want" as a b-side and was listed as a "demo mix". That I can believe and I would be willing to bet it was recorded during his "9 Double M" phase as he refers to himself by that name often in the song and also mentions Funkmaster Flex, who he recorded with on at least two singles in the years leading up his debut release. The joint is typical Nine, meaning if you like him, you'll be down with this effort, if you don't, this won't change anything. Produced by longtime contributor, Rob Lewis (who produced "Whatcha Want"), it incorporates a piano sample that is sparse in nature over hard drums and employs a DMC vocal sample. Nine is Nine as far as the lyrical content. He uses his gruff voice and spits his hardrock rhymes, which is why you listen to Nine to begin with. - Trav

N-Tense - Raise The Levels of Da Boom (Phat Wax Records, on the 12 inch "Raise The Levels Of Da Boom", 1993)

I don't know much N-Tense or this joint. N-Tense did do a track on the first D&D All-Star album and would appear later in the 90's under the name Blu Warta and did a few tracks under that name. That said, this track is a great obscure joint that will give any old school head a woody, like some b-boy Viagra type of shit. I'm not sure who produced it and I'm not sure if I did that would mean anything, but this in the vein of some of the classic music coming out in '93 and '94. Crazy horn sample along with some dusty boom bap drums, toss in some scratching and put some crazy lyrics with a hard flow and you have yourself a song that should have been a classic during this era. Unfortunately it didn't quite work out that way. - Trav

Nubian Crackers - Do You Wanna Hear It feat The Artifacts (Big Beat, on the "Do You Wanna Hear It" 12 inch, 1993)

As much as I hate to admit it, someone is going to have to school me on the Nubian Crackers. I've heard of them a million times, but I think I confused them with another group that I didn't care for and never paid much attention. I'm doing my homework, as I've downloaded most of their "Cracker Beats" volumes they put out. I'm assuming they were a production crew? I didn't hear anyone else other than the Artifacts on this track. The production is fucking insane on "Do You Wanna Hear It?" It samples the same bassline that is in Professor Griff's "Pawns In The Game", and just comes off as the rugged rough shit that was so popular in the mid 90's and made it probably the best run in hip hop history. - Trav

O.C. - Born 2 Live (DJ Eclipse Remix) (Not sure if this was released or not, 12 inch single was released on Wild Pitch, 1994)

Not up on this release much either. Not sure if it's the same DJ Eclipse that was in Non Phixion or what. Regardless, a dope beat comes fully equipped on this version, with strings and keys providing a soothing melody that combines with the a little sampling of horns during the hook that just sets the mood lovely. I think I like this version more than the original. - Trav

Omniscience - Touch Y'all feat Sadat X (East/West Records, on the "Touch Y'all" single, 1995)

Omniscience sounds like (voice wise) a mix of buckshot, canibus, and someone else I'm still trying to put my finger on. Lyrically he's pretty nice with his. He drops lot's of one liners ("I'm not Denny's, I serve many brothers") guess thats why he calls himself the "Funky One Liner". Production wise, the track was produced by The Rhythm Fanatic and it was released as 12 inch that had a few remixes on it as well. This was the best of that batch. There is some nice smooth shit and there is some funky ass shit. It's very well produced. - Trav

ONYX - Purse Snatchaz Part 2 feat. Smoothe Da Hustler & Trigga Tha Gambler (Def Jam, on the "Evil Streets" b/w "Purse Snatchers Pt2" 12 inch promo, 1995)

All We Got Iz Us is one of the darkest albums in all of hip hop. A rainy day in your cd player, shit is just that real. Depression and drug abuse, unpaid bills that stack up to heights that block the suns golden rays- what starts off as a fleeting bit of melancholy in your ears becomes very real to the rest of your senses when your listen to Onyx's sophomore album. We have friends that die violently every day, a police force that is killing us off into extinction, cold and damp living quarters cramped with us, lots of us. And you know what? It's all we got, so we stick together. Every storm breaks. The grays and blacks part ways and the streaks of light that make their way down to us in little slivers give us just enough hope to give the next day a chance. When it comes to Onyx and the depressive All We Got Iz Us era, that hope was "Purse Snatchaz Pt. Two." Angry at the world? Do you have bills need to be paid? It's time to go purse snatching! All of us, who stick together through this tempest of turmoil have found a way out, even for only the most brief of moments. When the chips are down, everyone waits for the day that their fortunes change, for the day that a well-deserved opportunity will arrive and to capitalize on it. A tiresome task in itself, anticipation can get the best of people and this track by Onyx has plenty of that in it's history. This song was a reality that began as a rumor. Lyrical content aside, "Purse Snatchaz Pt. 2" didn't quite fit in to the sonic vibe of the rest of the album. People wanted this song so badly that an incomplete and unmastered version was jacked from someone in the Onyx camp and released on a mixtape before Onyx’s own DJ had a copy. The production is jazzy, Trigger the Gambler loans his voice to the hook and the result is a vibe of upliftment and spirituality. If this made it's way onto the LP it would have made a fitting song to close out the album with. Sticky, Sonsee, Fredro Starr, Smoothe and Trigger- a disgruntled "us" who are fed up with their lot have an epiphany that reveals to them that the only way out of their misery is to blaze their own trail the Rob and Vic way. - Original Philaflava Post

Penthouse Players Clique - P.S. Phuck U 2 feat DJ Quik & Eazy E (Priority Records, on the "Paid The Cost" LP as well as a promo 12 inch "Trust No B-----" b/w "P.S. Phuck U 2", 1992)

"P.S. Phuck U 2" goes against my not including tracks from full albums, but....I think this album is horribly underrated in today's scene and it's probably my favorite track on the album, so I guess I would let this one slide. PPC were down with Quik's 304 Posse and had that Pimp music down to a "T". As a youngster when this dropped, I was pretty infatuated with the fact that two of the biggest Compton players were on this album. This might be one of the only times that DJ Quik and Eazy worked together. It makes for an interesting collaboration. The music is funky, with a common sample used. DJ Quik comes of the best, mainly because someone pissed in his Cheerios that morning and he came to the studio a little pissed. "Yo! MTV Raps", "The Source", Tim Dog, and basically all of the East Coast catch Quik's wrath on his verse, which honestly is when I've always considered one of the first shots fired in the whole East/West war. Eazy is more of adlib person, introducing each MC before they spit their verse. Regardless, this will always be one of the west coast classics in my book. - Trav

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New J-Zone

Trav's Note - Happy Friday! Since I started with a "real" job again, Friday's mean so much more. I have to admit that I didn't finish the post last night, too busy watching the NCAA's, so your stuck with some advertising. I'm usually against digital downloads, but not if it's the only way I can get some new J-Zone material.....

From J-Zone.....

I bumped into Ice-T, Luke and the ghost of Notorious B.I.G in an alley last week. We ate some Popeye's chicken and had a beatbox competition. I won. Haha, nah, I was bored in the crib listening to some Ice-T, Biggie & Luke and decided put together a few remixes for my fun/your listening pleasure. Threw in a bonus beat for good measure. Now available for digital download maxi-single via hiphopsite.com now! Only $5. I do Gator$-n-Fur$ Mixshows monthy for free, so don't be cheap like me! My car just went in the shop and the struts need replacing. Everytime I make a left turn it sounds like the intro to "Thriller". Help!

All of the songs included available for listen in my myspace audio player (Bust A Nut Remix, Colors Remix & Gimme A Hit). Instrumentals of both remixes Included! Artwork attached (good lookin on the short notice James)

Here's a direct link to order if you're interested in putting this in your ipod

And if you're cheap as hell, have no fear. The FREE Gator$-n-Fur$ Mixshow for April comes next week.

Peace

Jay aka J-Zone aka Mr. Don't Holla aka $ir Charge aka Gargamel Jone$ aka The Fax Phone Giggolo aka Help Me Get My Mazda Out The Shop aka No Requests Because You Can Hear That Song In Any Of The Other 334 Clubs In NYC So Get Out My Face B**ch

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Re Run Thursday's: Things That Go Boom, The History Of Miami Bass

Trav's Note - When you've been doing this for almost two and a half years, you build up quite the "portfolio" of posts. I realize that the visitor base has changed through out that time. I have some regular visitors at one time I see much on the site and I know there are some new heads just now checking out the site lately. I like to think I had some pretty good posts in those early days when we were still starting out that might have been missed. So when I'm feelin' a little lazy and don't feel like spending the two to three hours after work to crank out post for the next morning, I'm going to toss up one of the old school posts. Tonight, I'm bringing back one of my favorite topics, the Miami Bass sound. I was a big fan of the Miami Bass sound. I loved to hear my little Jetta go "BOOM". So in effort to bring some more attention to a post I did in September of 2006 (we'd just started building up decent numbers) I figured I'd post it up one more time, along with some of my favorite albums of the genre.

You know the feeling, your car rattling so damn bad that you can't see out your rear view mirror. You could feel it in your chest and in your gut. You would tie something on your mirror just to see how much you could get it to jump when the 808 kick drum hit. Little kids would run and hide when you came rolling down the block. Old men would shake their fist at you. Cops would pull you over just to tell you to turn it down. As the Masta himself would say in Jeep Ass Nigguh:

"Black boy, black boy, turn that shit down/You know that America don't wanna hear the sound/Of the bass drum jungle music/Go back to Afrika/Niguh, I'll arrest ya if you're holding up traffic/I'll be damned if I listen/So cops, save your breath and/Write another ticket if you have any left.."

Your trunk was useless with all the speaker equipment in it. A box with Twelve's or Fifteen's, an amp big enough that you needed two batteries to run it, if you didn't, your headlights would be dimming to the sound of the bass. Sure you could play your boom bap shit, but if you were like me in the late 80's and early 90's, the music of choice to get the trunk rattling was any Miami Bass artist that had the type of bass that could wake the dead with in a block when you rolled by. Miami Bass, that type of shit every cat had to show off his system.

History Lesson
Now, I'm definitely not the one that should be doing this little write up. Yes, I was into the whole Miami Bass thing for a few years, 89'-91' or so, but I'm by no means an expert on the whole genre. Even then I was into the more accessible albums such as MC Shy D, Gucci Crew II, 2 Live and those type albums. Only the past year or so, I've been trying to catch up on some of the genre that I forgot, missed, or passed over back then, thanks to a lot of help from Tommy B of Miscreant Productions.

The Roots Of Miami Bass

The roots of the Miami Bass movement are very debatable and depending on what source you read, the genre could have had its start in a number of ways. The common perception is that you can trace the Miami Bass sound through the early days of electro grooves of Kraftwerk in the late 70's and Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force in the early 80's. Kraftwerk was a German group that is kind of hard to put a label on, but they are credited with influencing a major portion of the NY music scene in the early 80's including Bam and his crew along with George Clinton and the funk scene along with soul and dance music of the time as well.

The Miami bass sound's backbone is the high BPM's (beats per minute) and the Roland TR-808 drum machine. The first hip hop influenced song credited with using the 808 kick drum was Afrika Bambaata's monumental hit, "Planet Rock" that dropped in 82'. Rick Rubin & DJ Jazzy Jay would also feature the heavy bottomed kick drum on T La Rock's "It's Yours" in 83' along with Run DMC's "Together Forever (Krush Groove 4)". Rubin would go on to use this blueprint in many of the early Beastie Boys, LL Cool J and Run DMC productions in later albums. The sound started catching a hold around the country as producers/musicians such as NY's Mantronix, Miami's Amos Larkin, and the little known west coast group 2 Live Crew started to use this formula in their music in 84 & 85.

The Beginnings

South Florida was in the electro mix from the get go in the early 80's. Producers such as Pretty Tony, DXJ, Larry Dermer, Freddy Stonewall,Michael Sterling, Eugene Cooper, Noel Williams, Dwayne Omarr and the x-rated Clarence Reid aka "Blowfly" who would go on to serve as influence to 2 Live's x-rated lyrics. Which Miami artist is credited with first using the 808 in a song is debatable as well. It is thought Double Dose's "Commin' in Fresh" in 85' is often cited as the first Rap album to use the 808'. Miami legend, Amos Larkin produced the song, and by mistake used the 808 and after releasing a test copy to a select few, was convinced to keep the sound. It is said this was the blueprint for the Miami bass sound in the future.

Adrian Hines, son of label/record store owner Billy Hines is also said to have the first "true" bass record with his 12" Bass Rock Express also in 85'. Billy Hines ran 4-Sight Records out of his record shop which released regional rap and electro acts. For Adrain's sixteenth birthday, Billy Hines secured studio time for this son, who along with Amos Larkin, would produce "Bass Rock Express" under Adrian's MC moniker M.C. A.D.E. (Adrian Does Everything). It was styled closely "Planet Rock" and the electro style, but it's the first to reference the bass in the track and the title.

Trav's Note - This next part came in form of a comment from a reader. I found it very informative, and although it differs from my account in some ways, I will be the first to admit I don't know anything. This person might be more on track as of its roots so I thought I'd post it as well......

PappaWheelie said...

As for what the roots of Miami Bass are, my research suggests it's multi-pronged. The first element is simply the end of Miami's massive TK Records in 1981, yet, the continuation of Tone Distribution. Henry Stone (the man behind both) knew the dollars sold on Planet Rock in 1982 since he helped distribute it -- so he hired guns (Joe Galdo, Freddy Stonewall, Larry Dermer, et al) to recreate something similar for the next couple years to be released on his new label Sunnyview. The second element was when the never-released B-Boy film Cry of the City came to town in the Spring of 1984. They (former mob boss Michael Franzise and company) were the first to hire Amos Larkins as a record producer (rather than session man as Henry had been doing prior) for the MC Flex & The FBI Crew release (Rockin' It). Henry distributed that too, knew the numbers sold, and gave Amos an outlet at Sunnyview's sublabels in 1984 (leading to Double Duce, which was a string of singles, not an album). The third prong was the success of Rubin's sustained 808 jams that led to the *Top 40* success of LL's Rock the Bells in 1985. That hit inspired Amos & Henry, and subsequently MC A.D.E. (who denies the 16th b'day point now). ADE and his dad were selling tons of Amos records from their Royal Sounds store, so he hired Amos to produce a 4-Sight single (Bass Rock Express). That record caused a national trend for bass (Rodney O in LA, Original Concept in NY, T La Rock in NY, etc). Technically, that was the beginning of Miami Bass - but the elements as we know it today all came together as a result of South Florida park DJs in 1985/1986, who knew the crowd wanted the tempo of 1984 era Electro, and the sustained 808 kick of 1985 Amos/Rubin tracks -- so they played sets of both. Once 2 Live Crew was beginning to relocate to Florida in 1986, they brought the elements together in one song (Throw the D). Luke was just a DJ/promoter with Ghetto Style DJs at the time (and he invested in/managed 2 Live by then), and his success playing Throw the D at his Pac Jam club showed other producers what to do. By August of 1987, the SP1200 sampler came out changing Hip-Hop to sample based music, however, nowhere outside of NYC was part of the pedigree that produced and used Breakbeat Lenny's Ultimate Breaks and Beats series of samples -- so South Florida (and the West Coast) used the SP1200 differently, giving us "Give it All You Got" and the remainder of the 2nd wave bass (through 1991)[this means Lyn Collins' "Think" was not part of the Miami Bass palette as that was from UB&B initially]. Once 2 Live broke up, Mr. Mixx moved to Oakland leaving Luke Records without an inhouse producer (this is also when the MPC60II took hold to replace the SP1200). Without Mr. Mixx creating hits for Luke, and with Magic Mike having moved onto Hank Shocklee inspired Hip-Hop, the scene needed new inspiration in late 1991/early 1992. That was the reason for Devastator's extreme uptempo "booty shake" sound (think I Wanna Rock/Doo Doo Brown & Shake Watcha Mama Gave Ya). By 1992/1993, everyone copied Devastator's sound (and JT Money's vocal cadence) for the next so many years (or came from outside South Florida, such as Tag Team or Quad City DJs). Later, Luke alumni such as DJ Toomp and other ATL Bass producers such as DJ Smurf (now Mr. Collipark) went on to produce huge HUGE top 40 new school rap hits for T.I. and Ying Yang, which brings us up to date. Despite these clarifications, it's nice to see much of my sentiments coming back to haunt me though...

MC A.D.E. - How Much Can You Take (4-Sight Records, 1989)

01 Go A.D.E
02 How Much Can You Take
03 To The Fan's
04 Sex, Crime, Drugs
05 Hit Harder
06 Da 'Train
07 A.D.E. Got It Going On
08 Lyric Licking
09 Money Hounding Ho's
10 Physician
11 It's Crazy
12 Control

This album is my favorite of the genre. Hard hitting bass, possibly the hardest I've ever ran across (I never listened to those car audio joints, so those might have more) that would just roll so hard, but would be so clear. Maybe it was the way I had my system set up or something, but this was the CD I'd use to test out any car stereo. "Hit Harder" was my shit, but "Control", "How Much Can You Take", and "Da' Train" all had crazy crazy bass. Some of the other tracks were traditional hip hop tracks, but still had that kick behind them.

I remember my best friends cousin was visiting from Vegas and he played this for us. I fell in love with it. It was something that we couldn't find in my little ho-dunk town at the time, so I think I ended up trading him a 12 pack of beer (as seniors in high school, getting beer was a bit of a chore) for the CD itself. Somehow over the years I lost it, but it was pretty beat up anyway. I finally got the hook up from my man Tommy B over at Miscreant Productions. This is an ebay and amazon treasure with people paying around hundred bucks and more for the CD and wax versions.

Gucci Crew II - So Def, So Fresh, So Stupid (Gucci Records, 1987) (**VINYL RIP**)

A1		Gucci Bass
A2		The Cabbage Patch
A3		Till The Day We Die
A4		Sally "That Girl"
A5		We're Def - Yall
B1		Gucci Broke
B2		Get'em Girls
B3		And The Beat Goes
B4		Dating Game

Miami Boyz - Getting Off (On Top Records, 1988)

1. Do You Want to Party

2. For Ever Stand by Me

3. Get Off Miami Boyz

4. Love Signs

5. Miami Boyz Ready to Go

6. Bug Out

7. Let's Get Down

8. Get Stupid

9. Who's Running Things

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Summary only...