I got my first Mac Book in the fall of 2005, and immediately started recording songs on it using Garage Band and the internal, built-in microphone. It was liberating to be able to record on my own after years of having to depend on other people’s equipment to lay something down. I recorded like a maniac with that little PowerBook G4. I’m talking on the reg. I learned how to loop samples on that thing, and would just write to the loops I constructed and spit. I didn’t even really care if the sound quality was shitty, I just wanted to put my ideas down with the hopes that I could take the really good ones to a bigger studio and rock them correctly. And that’s what I did with some of them, and other came out crispy enough to put out as is. Most of the best ones I put on Bachelor Party, which is probably my favorite body of work I’ve ever put out. But even with Bachelor Party clocking in at over 20 plus tracks, I still had shitloads of material stashed on my computer. Some of them were favorites of my boys, and that gave them some life, and others I thought were dope ideas but didn’t necessarily like the recording so I would perform them at shows. And a few of them were so out there that I thought no one would really understand them.

It’s now seven years later, and since I’m not really actively recording and performing anymore, I thought it would be fun to put out a compilation of my favorites from this stash of music I’ve been sitting on. I’m calling it RESIN, which brilliantly stands for Really Excellent Stan Ipcus Nuggets. All you smokers out there know that resin is the tar shit that accumulates in your bowl after lots of blazing. In fact, resin is what they use to make hash. Well, this is my resin from seven years ago. It’s all the shit that I scraped up from the bottom of my bowl of bangers to make a nice block of hip-hop hash. And it’s actually pretty good shit, even with the recording quality on some of the cuts lacking a bit. Listen below, and read the stories behind each track as you listen.

1. “Pop It Off”- This is a Meters sample, and loop is bananas. I started my first album with a Meters sample, so figured it would be a good song to start with here, plus the title makes for a good starter too. I re-recorded this with The Wax Machine, who are the band that produced my “Westcheddar/Do Us” single that’s on iTunes and that I also used to perform with. I like this original version better though. I threw a couple jabs in the last verse at some random white dudes just fucking around. Funny references that make it a bit dated.

2. “Guest Artist”- My boy Timmy P loves feeding me samples. To this day, he still sends me shit. He played me this Frank Zappa song, and I thought it was ill, so I looped it up, and it flowed kinda nice. So I just started writing to it, and came up with the idea to write a song about coming out as a guest artist on stage at a rap show, which is something I had done alot at the time with Matisyahu. I wanted to do a song about what that was like for me. And I think this beat captures the feeling of the rush and excitement I got from hopping on huge stages for a verse or two with Matis and killing it in a totally different style than people were ready for, and then heading backstage or back into the crowd to chill. Not many people experience those type of moments in their life, and I wanted to put them on a record. This is probably the hardest beat to digest on RESIN, but if people can feel the flow of the loop, I think they’ll be able to fuck with it.

3. “Float”- God damn I love this shit. You can hear how amped I am off this beat. I found it on some weird 80’s compilation, and I remember being on Ogden while my parents were away, looping it up and writing to it. I love the rhyme pattern and the hook on this so much. This is one I always wanted to take to a big studio and do correctly. I think Max Bee and I tried to re-create it during the session where we did “Wifey Material,” but it just wasn’t working out, so it is what it is.

4. “Make Ya Feel Like”- I looped up this 80’s Stevie Wonder cut from a soundtrack he did the music for, and decided to write a fun song to it. It’s super breezy and sexual and a bit silly on the chorus, but the flow is ill. One thing I pride myself on is not rapping the same on every beat. Especially on this project, I feel like I’m giving you a lot of different styles in just seven songs. The last verse is especially graphic. At this point in my life, I was really getting it in, so the subject matter reflects that.

5. “Absolutely”- I dare you rappers out there to spit on this beat. I’m going in on this shit, fuck that. Keep up with me. I’m talking super, super reckless, and I love it. This song concludes a trifecta of 80’s samples. I got this from the same compilation I found the “Float” loop on. Seriously, don’t test me with this shit. This is that Ipcus quick shit that only I can do. Fall back white rappers, you don’t want it with this. Blacks, Puerto Ricans, and Asian guys too. And girl rappers. Eat it.

6. “Vacation Shit”- This is just a little story I wrote about meeting a girl on vacation in the islands. It’s a quick, awkward almost, fast flow, but I like it. Got the loop from an old Heptones CD I copped somewhere in my travels. I’d say 75% of the CD’s I’ve actually bought in stores in the past six or seven years are roots reggae music. I’m constantly looking for new gems in that genre, and I always respect a record shop that has a thorough reggae section. This one’s short, but irie.

7. “Big Time”- I wrote these raps in 2003, and had them on a different song, but I didn’t really like the beat that much. It was cool, but it didn’t do the lyrics justice. This is a real slow bouncer, which was perfect for the pattern of these verses. You might recognize the sample because Black Sheep used it on “Butt In The Meantime,” which is one of my all time favorite rap songs. I looped it from the original, and just used it for this. It’s slow, but the lyrics are pretty slick.

*BONUS*

David Roy, a true Stan Ipcus fan who has been paying close attention to my rap career for years, compiled his favorite Stan Ipcus songs and rarities for an exclusive Westcheddar release. There are songs on here that have never appeared on a Stan Ipcus project that even I didn’t have any more!! He pulled out some gems!! He also put together the track order, and created the artwork (did the cover for RESIN too). Thank you David Roy, you da man!

Is that enough vintage Ipcus for ya?!?!?!!?!? 2012 was the first year since I was 17 that I didn’t write or record a rap song. Been busy with the kids and my work, and doing lots of professional music writing, which I really enjoy. But I miss the mic, so look for me to make a comeback in 2013 with some new heat! For now, enjoy the oldies. Peace.