Black Moon on the ride into work this morning....

Lately...



People Under the Stairs - 12 Step Program LP (Piecelock 70) 2014





^Always been a big fan of PUTS and like the last album I had a lot of high hopes for this one. And just like the last album (Highlighter) this one's packaging was cool as hell and fairly over the top. But music wise, overall the album is pretty forgettable. I wanna like it. I force fed it 3X after the initial listen trying to make myself like it, but it's just so damn par for course for them. Yeah, it's got a few good beats, but this theme of "We're fucked up all the time and need help and we're laid back Hip Hop not the hard shit" is getting a little played out. They actually say in one of the songs on this (paraphrasing) "Enough of that mellow shit, People know us by now, let's do something hard" and then they go into 2 bars of slightly harder sounding beats and then back to the same mellow shit after that.

Unlike all their OM years releases, the last few albums don't have tracks even remotely as uplifting as "Acid Rain Drops." was. This album ain't bad, it's just mediocre, which I guess is bad, and I kinda expected a little bit of growth from the previous album to this one but it just isn't there.

These guys need to take some time off, maybe a few years on vacation smoking some more exotic grass or something, and come back refreshed with a new improved formula cuz their same-as-it-ever-was sound is getting tired.



Melo-D (of the Beat Junkies) - The World Famous Beat Junkies Vol 3 (Blackberry Records) 1999



^As a huge Beat Junkies Junkie I had to get this cheap 2LP unmixed version of the mix. Melo D is amazing, but frankly this is the worst volume out of the three. Still, it's got some dope staples on it including a few harder to find indies.



Gang Starr - Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr 4LP (Virgin) 1999





^Massive! 4LPs of some of the dopest Gang Starr "hits" and quality B-sides along with some cool remixes to finish it off on the last side of the last LP. This one is kind of a no-brainer for Gang Starr fans who are just starting out and a cherry on the sundae for Gang Starr fans well versed and already owners of their albums. I have this CD, but I saw this locally sealed at a nice price so I jumped on it. I'm not a big "greatest hits" guy, I ususally avoid these kind of comps, after all, I can make my own with the albums and singles, but when they are done right, and songs are put in the right order, even unmixed it can have a profoundly different "feel" than hearing the songs on the album in the default album order. Can't really explain why, but I think when the tracks are compiled thoughtfully, like it is on this one, it thoroughly refreshes the music.

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“Lesser artists borrow... great artists steal.” - Igor Stravinsky
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Good stuff Rchecka !!!! Too bad you were let down with the PUTS joint . Nice score with the Gang Starr !!!

Right now...

Mista-B - Tape Haters : An All Cassette Bay Area Rap Mix @ Mixcrate

Quote
Mista-B
Here is the sequel to our 2009 mix, "Record Haterz". This mix project was created using recordings culled from some of our favorite old bay area rap cassette tapes (Analog to Digital Conversions straight from the tape player). Enjoy a mix of obscure heat and classic grooves, perfect for the whip or on the go. Warning: EXPLICIT Language! CDs/Cassettes available soon...

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“Lesser artists borrow... great artists steal.” - Igor Stravinsky
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Recently...



Jemini The Gifted One - Funk Soul Sensation 12" (Mercury) 1995



^A cheap but decent random rap\mezo backpacker rap from 1995. One of the songs on this has some beats way ahead of it's time.



DAS EFX - Rap Scholar 3X12" (Elektra) 1998



^As a huge DAS EFX fan, I had to have this when I spotted it. The titled remix Rap Scholar is pretty cool actually...

...but what REALLY makes this a good buy is the other 2 discs are all 100% remixed versions of their classics from this album and the prior. Getting this one 3X12" actually kills the need to have most other classic DAS twelves. Some of these remixes I've never heard before, many of them are really dope.



MOP - First Family 4 Life LP (Relativity) 1998



^Kind of a let down considering how much music is produced by Premo on this. Premo has his good and bad days too and this musta been the later. Warriorz IMO is MUCH better. Now I know why this was so cheap.



Redman - Dare Iz a Darkside LP Promo (Def Jam) 1994



^Nice, I got the one with the gold promo stamp! Speaking of cheap, this is not cheap on wax for some reason. But it's really dope. Well worth paying a little bit more for a great album. I still like his album Muddy Waters better but this is different, it's grittier and it's still a great album.



MC E-Rock - One The Hard Way 12" and Black A.G. - Fame Goes To Your Head EP (Dope Folks) 2013



^Bought a few Dope Folks records the other day. I found that Black AG at Discogs directly from the head of Dope Folks himself, Kid Millions. I figured if I was gonna buy that I might as well take a chance on one of his other ones so I bought that MC E-Rock on a whim. The title track on that is dope, so is the second track, but the rest of that single is mediocre. This Black AG, on the other hand, EVERY SINGLE TRACK ON IT IS DOPE. <Worthy of caps lock since I feel very strongly about it being so dope that no one would argue otherwise. It's very different from "A different Type of Drug Dealah!" on CMB v4, but its maybe even better than that! This one is limited so I highly recommend you get it while you can.

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“Lesser artists borrow... great artists steal.” - Igor Stravinsky
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