I’m on the hunt for gems this holiday weekend, so here’s the first of what will hopefully amount to a decent handful. Check out Stevie Wonder’s in-studio demo version of “I Can’t Help It,” a song he wrote for Michael Jackson’s classic Off The Wall album that was also sampled on De La Soul’s hypnotic Buhloone Mindstate single “Breakadawn.” Awesome.
The Good Old Days
Summatyme Shootout (1996)
Mixtape Memories, Music, The Good Old DaysHere’s a #ThrowbackThursday tape for your listening pleasure, courtesy of the one and only DJ Clue. It’s jam-packed with classics circa ’96 by Jay Z, Nas, Biggie, Wu-Tang Clan and more that many hip-hop heads still have in rotation today. Thanks to the homie DJ E-Feezy for the upload. Listen above and peep the original mixtape artwork with tracklist below.
Cymande on KCRW
Late Pass, Music, The Good Old Days, VideosThe self-titled Cymande compilation is one of my favorite discs ever. It infiltrated our crew during our early college years, and became the soundtrack to our late teens and twenties. From winter cyphers to summer road trips, it got extended burn throughout—I even sampled one of the songs on my first Stan Ipcus album. And I still listen to it all the time. In fact, I was just talking about them with my boy Matis the other day.
Anyway, pardon the randomness of this post, but last night I came across a couple sweet live Cymande videos from an in-studio session at KCRW earlier this year that I’d like to share. Check them out performing “The Message” up top, and “Bra” below. Enjoy, and watch the full performance HERE.
Turtle Ten
Events, Fly Spots, Music, My Book of Rhymes, Stan Ipcus, The Good Old Days, Videos
10 years ago today—legendary night for our WP family at the Thirsty Turtle.
No Half Steppin’
Books & Mags, Fly Spots, Music, The Good Old Days
Wax Poetics is behind this new oral and pictorial history of the Latin Quarter, which was one of the original hip-hop nightclubs in New York City back in the ’80s. The book features over 175 color photographs and flyers, and interviews with hip-hop legends Special K and Teddy Tedd, KRS-One, MC Shan, Eric B., DJ Kool Red Alert, Fab 5 Freddy, Just-Ice, Positive K, DJ Clark Kent, Kid, Dana Dane, TR Love, MC Serch, Chuck D, Grand Puba, Sadat X, Pete Nice, Prince Paul, Kurtis Blow, Mike Gee, Daddy-O, Wise, Ced Gee, Big Daddy Kane, Queen Latifah, Kool G Rap, and many more.
Cop HERE.
Knicks Row
Gear, Music, Sports, The Good Old Days
Singles, Radio Freestyles / Tape Rips
Mixes, Music, The Good Old DaysHere’s some super-duper underground rare rap shit I spotted on egotripland. I’ll let the man behind the mix TCOR explain…
“all from my old tape collections and a few choice 12”s i’ve collected throughout the years but the general theme is radio/mixtape “Freestyles” as in written verses not yet released or never before heard.. Some rare shit in here. Enjoy!”
Here’s the playlist…
Butterscotch – Black on Black crime
Crime Fam (Loon from Badboy) – Bottle of scotch
Bugsy & Snake – Came In The Door (Paper Thin)
Herb McGruff – A Train Uptown (“Freestyle”)
Smoothe The Hustla – Tony Touch “Freestyle”
RA The Rugged Man – Sandman “Freestyle” The Whizat
RZA – Future Flavas “Freestyle”
Shakespear – DJ Mike Nice “Freestyles”
Sugafree – CM Fam-a-lam “Freestyle”
Rapordy with Catchwreck Tribek (From DJ Next Mixtape)
MF Doom – Rhymes Like Dimes Verse to Greedy Fingers Instru
Willus Drummond – Special Purpose
Adeem -Dawn of Change Ft. Alias and Mayo
Sage Francis – Radio “Freestyle”
Yeshua, Bad Seed and PH (Pumkinhead) – “Freestyle” on CM Fam-a-lam show
Yak Ballz – First Appearance on Bobbito (CM Fam-a-Lam / WKCR)
The Iron Age
Music, My Dudes, The Good Old DaysBack in August, I sent my man Ev Boogie of UpNorthTrips this crazy Hot 97 Tapes: Summer of ’96 Mix that these dudes Its Overture linked me on Twitter. Like me, he was instantly bugging off not only the rare selections but the quality of the mix, and asked me to connect him with the creators.
Now, two months later, UpNorthTrips and ItsOverture have tag-teamed on a brand new mix titled The Iron Age, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Ghostface Killah’s debut album Ironman. And it does not disappoint, especially if you’re a true Wu head like me. My favorite moment is definitely how they blended RZA’s “Assassination Day” verse with the “Verbal Intercourse” instrumental—crazy.
Check it out above, and while you’re at it, go pre-order Ev Boogie and Stretch Armstrong’s new book of classic NYC hip-hop/nightlife flyers.
Bonus Mix: DJ Rhude – You Can’t Stream This On Spotify Vol. 2 (R&B Remix Edition)
The Oral History of Baseball on Seinfeld
Articles, Comedy, Interviews, Sports, Television, The Good Old Days
The Best Last Plane Ride Ever
Events, My Dudes, Sports, The Good Old Days
Here’s a new Victory Journal animated short about the ’86 Mets’ celebratory plane ride home from Houston after winning the NLCS. Produced by my cousin Chris Isenberg.
Click the link below to watch…
Westcheddar 