Recently...
Public Enemy – What Kind Of Power We Got? 12" (Def Jam) 1994 and
Give it Up 12" (Def Jam) 1994
^Filling in a few blanks of my PE 12" collection. Give it Up is the stormer of these two. I could probably have gone without WKOPWG but given that it's PE I pretty much gotta have it.
UGK - Let Me See It 12" (Jive) 2001
^Slowly but surely I'm getting all my UGK promo blanks filled in. I wish this one had more than one song on it, it's kind of a bummer to get a double sided single with only one track sometimes.
UGK / Mil - Belts to Match / The Game 12" (Jive) 2002
^I'm not too familiar with this Mil guy on the flip but he definitely holds his own on this split 12"
Boog Brown and Apollo Brown - Brown Study LP (Mello Music Group) 2012
^Revisited this album I haven't heard since I got it last year. I was hoping that I'd rediscover something special in my shelves but it turns out this is just as forgettable as it was back then. Apollo did ayite on the beats, Boog just didn't shine at all.
DJ Design - Gather Round Remixes 12" (Look Records) 2003
^One of Stones Throws original DJs way back when it started, he must have pissed off Wolf at one point cuz he hasn't been with them in years. This one uses his instrumentals from Gather Round (which is a strictly instrumental album) and places acapellas of various rappers over them. I wouldn't normally get excited about TI's Pimp, but over this beat it seems almost perfect. Really, this is a pretty solid random remixes EP.
Ed O.G & Da Bulldogs - Life of a Kid in the Ghetto LP (Polydor) 1991
^The definition of a classic HH album. Just about every song on this front to back is dope. Even the slower conscious joints like "Be a Father to Your Child". This guy always has been one of my favorite rappers, he's at least in my top ten for sure and this album put him there.
Heather B - Takin' Mine LP ( Pendulum Records) 1996
^From Real World MTV to Pendulum Records, laced with choice beats by the Beatnuts, this slept on LP from 96 gets plenty of rotation from me. I thought she really held her own on this, she could have been something bigger. I never heard her "Eternal Affairs" album she dropped in 2002, I wonder if it's nearly as good as this is.
Mobb Deep - Shook Ones 12" (Promo) (Loud) 1994
^The original promo version! This OG version has such deep, dark grinding and driving bass, I know the remix was the ground breaker, but the OG held it's own for sure. I HAD to buy this. The Acapella is included, hello!!
Tragedy the Intelligent Hoodlum - The Posse 12" (Promo) (A&M Records) 1993
^This one's a sweet lo budget "cowboy" rap 12" from the move "Posse" staring Mario Van Peebles. Not fantastic but still pretty cool.
Artifacts - Dynamite Soul 12" (Big Beat) 1995
^Cheap and strong 12" single from the Artifacts on the wrong side of the tracks. I really dig some of these versions that aren't on the LP.
Lord Digga - K.I.M / Rug 12" (Bronx Science) 2001
^Another cheap single I copped recently. I don't know anything about this guy but I really dig the track RUG on the B-side.
Adagio – Promo Single Off EP (Som Recordings) Unknown Year
^Finally coughed up the dough for this old "Joe Buy" pile joint I had sitting down at Metrowax. It wasn't cheap, like 20 or so, but it was worth every damn penny. I found out about these rappers from the Jugganauts first album and this is along the same lines as that sound. Very hypnotic head-nodding simple underground beats on this.
Procussions - Leave Her Alone 12" (Procussion Sound) 2002
Decent Indie single here from 2002. Definitely worth the 2 bucks I spent on it for the caliber of beats on this.
Two Da Road & T.W.D.Y. – Wu-Chronicles Chapter II/ Nuthin' But A Gansta Party 2 Sampler 12" (Wu Tang Records) 2001
^The Re-up is a great song from these Wufiliates. Shyheim is really rhyming on point here. I can pass on the B-side, not nearly as dope as the Re-up.
Akrobatik - Remind My Soul 12"
^When tracks are this dope you gotta get doubles. The beats on this are designed to be juggled and the price is such where I can afford the doubles and feel no guilt when I fux wid em. I think Akrobatik is an unsung rapper, he's got quite a few dope singles out there.
CunninLynguists – Will Rap For Food (Boiling Point Distribution) 2002
^Saved the best for last. DOPE DOPE DOPE. What I like about this album is everything. I even like the Drum n Bass beats on the B-side. This is just real good Hip Hop. I had to pay a pretty penny, I don't wanna talk about that, but I feel like it was still worth the price for what'll be a cherished Hip Hop album.
“Lesser artists borrow... great artists steal.” - Igor Stravinsky
OP OP Blog CDC
Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Beat Junkies Blog
