R.I.P. Str8Face

Rest In Peace:
Str8Face
(of the Shadow Mob)

Real Name: Michael Francis
Hailing From: Houston, Texas
Born: 1975
Died: 4 January 2008
Cause Of Death: Found dead inside the Fam Tide Records studios, it is believed that he shot himself in the head by accident while playing with a gun.

MP3:
The Shadow Mob - Fa Real
>> DOWNLOAD <<

R.I.P. OG Style

Rest In Peace:
OG Style
(aka Prince Ezzy-E )

Real Name: Eric Woods
Hailing From: Houston, Texas
Born: 1970
Died: 3 January 2008
Cause of Death: After being admitted into hospital with high blood pressure he fell into a coma due to a brain hemorrhage. He then became brain dead and was put on life support that was subsequently turned off.

For more info: XXL Mag <> HoustonSoReal

Albums:
OG Style - I Know How To Play 'Em (1991)
OG Style - I Still Know How To Play 'Em (2000)
OG Style - Return Of Da Game (2005)

Mp3's:
OG Style - Catch 'Em Slippin'
OG Style Ft Bun B & K Rino - Steppin' on Toes
>> DOWNLOAD <<

2007

Firstly, as I already stated a year ago when I posted my 2006 hip hop reflection, the albums I have chosen are the ten that I was lucky enough to have heard and that I appreciated the most in the past twelve months. Just as it occurred to me throughout the months following my 2006 wrap up, the list may have had some minor alterations if I’d heard certain 2006 releases previous to me writing the post…but that’s always going to be a factor so I won’t dwell on it. Also, just as I mentioned last year – the albums I have chosen, as a whole, would be a top ten unique to myself, and I’m well aware that certain releases will appear on everyone else’s lists but not mine, it all comes down to a matter of personal opinion, which in the end of the day is what music is all about. With all that said, here are my two cents on the year that was 2007…

10: Vents – Hard To Kill
It’s a great pleasure to be able to start my worldwide top 10 hip hop list with somebody from my own city, Adelaide, and I’m talking about Vents and his debut album ‘Hard To Kill’ that dropped earlier this year on Obese Records. Vents brings forth a raw and relentless rhyme style that I can't compare to anything I've ever heard, to me it seems unconventional but the thing is - it works. With the subject matter of his lyrics ranging from anti snitch raps, social and political commentary and general life rhymes it's the type of album that anyone can listen to and get something out of. Another thing I've got to mention about this album is that the hard hitting production care of The Funkoars' Trials is top notch all the way through, with dope beats and a nice amount of sampling that add's to the overall quality album. Although all but 1 or 2 tracks on this album made it straight to my iPod, the stand outs were the title track, 'Flatline' with Queensland's Robbie Balboa, 'Fuck Em Up' with Vents and 'Full Metal' with Mortar and Trials, the latter who spits what I rate as one of the dopest verses on the whole album. Seeing as alot of the people who suss this site are from outside Australia you probably wont ever hear this album, but the best way to describe it is staunch militant raps over instrumentals that you could listen to all day, I read an article that compared Vents to Paris and that although there's alot of obvious differences, he brings that saw raw energy to his music and that's what makes me love this album so much.

9: Menacide – Street Symphony
Hailing from Gun Rule, Michigan comes the murder mitten menace, Menacide, and this past September 11th he unleashed onto the underground scene his CD/DVD combo ‘Street Symphony’. I first learnt of Menacide on the forums over at Horrorcore.com but he’s a lot more than just a horror rapper, he provides a mix of real life raps, violent rhymes for violent times and drug songs, along with a whole lot more. Stand out tracks on this album for me are the anti-backstabber ballad ‘Sammy Gravano’, ‘Shoot First’ featuring Flint’s finest the Dayton Family, his dedication to his little daughter ‘Ballad Of Sara’ and also his dedication to his dearly departed little brother ‘See U Soon’, the latter two showing his ability to pull off emotional tracks to perfection. Aside from the stand out songs, his spoken word ‘Alumni’ outro also has to be mentioned, a fictitious but poignant address to his former peers, one that breaks down the bullshit and allows him to vent in regards to his views in life. If it weren’t for a couple of seemingly needless skits and 1 or 2 tracks that just didn’t do it for me, this album would have been higher in my list, but it’s still an excellent example of the supreme quality underground hip hop has to offer, and I definitely recommend it to anyone.

8: Haystak - B.O.S.S. Mixtape (Vol. 1)
While titled a mixtape, I’m not too sure why, as it was the follow up release to his ‘Crackavelli’ double disc that dropped earlier in the year I assume these are tracks that might not of made the cut or just didn’t fit into the structure he was looking for. No matter what the case, this ‘mixtape’ still burnt most albums I heard in the past twelve months and further addicted me to the music of a man who always releases the realness time and time again. This underground Tennessee titan has lyrics that anyone who has faced adversity can relate to, no matter your race or religion and irrespective of location and circumstance. This album starts with an introduction not only to the mixtape at hand, but one that also gives everyone an insight into where he has come from and what he is all about. No matter whether it’s a slower paced track to ride to such as the laid back ‘Rolling’ or a fast paced banger such as his anti police anthem ‘They Can’t Stop Us’, it can be said that Stak never puts out any music that is half hearted or lacks passion and meaning, and this has drawn me to his music above almost any other artist I’ve ever been introduced to.

7: WC - Guilty By Affiliation
West coast veteran William ‘WC’ Calhoun returned in 2007 to drop yet another impressive release, this time on Ice Cube’s Lench Mob Records, and with Ice Cube handling production on the album. WC is renowned for his bellowing delivery and poignant rhymes about the west coast street life, and that’s exactly what he delivered once more in 2007. With hard-hitting Cube beats and the quality cuts care of WC’s younger brother Crazy Toones (who even gets a track of his own in the form of the dope ‘Crazy Toones 4 President’), this album is one that you can put on and enjoy from start to finish. Gangsta rap may be languishing in comparison to years gone by, and a lot of modern releases from the west coast seem to offer nothing exceptional that makes you want to listen to them over and over, but WC (along with a lot of other legends) can still drop heat in this day and age, this album being proof of that. Also worth mentioning is that features on this album are kept to a minimum with only Ice Cube and The Game springing to mind, and this helps to uphold the album’s overall cohesion, allowing listeners who pay for a WC album to get exactly that as opposed to a release resembling a compilation like a lot of other releases in this day and age.

6: Army Of The Pharaohs – Ritual Of Battle
2007 saw the release of the 2nd album from the super group Army Of The Pharaohs, this time around consisting of Vinnie Paz, Jus Allah, Outerspace, Chief Kamachi, Reef the Lost Cauze, Esoteric, Celph Titled, King Syze, Des Devious, Doap Nixon, Demoz and King Magnetic. As you would expect with any Jedi Mind Tricks affiliated release this album offers a lot of sinister sounding sample based production and nothing but raw rhymes, no bullshit. While this album falls just short in comparison to the first effort, I still pumped this album non stop when I first got it and continue to do so. One of the things that stands out on this album is the incredible production from the likes of Ill Bill, Celph Titled, Esoteric and DJ Kwestion. There are so many sick beats and choruses on this album that I wont even bother mentioning them individually, but each of them fit each of the rappers styles perfectly, and therefore forges a sound that you can automatically identify as that of AOTP. Out of the impressive cast of rappers on the roster, I’d have to say that Celph Titled and Vinnie Paz were the 2 standouts; Celph for incredible lyrics and Vinnie for the sheer ruggedness he always brings to the mic. It took me a while to stop sleeping on the music coming out of the JMT camp, but nowadays I’m wide awake and eagerly anticipating what they’ve got cooking up.

5: Chamillionaire – Ultimate Victory
I’m well aware that many cannot get into the music that Chamillionaire releases, but to me he’s one of the best rappers to ever get love in the mainstream, and more importantly he hasn’t changed his style for the masses, instead allowing for the masses to adapt their tastes to what he has to offer. With singles such as ‘Hip Hop Police’ with the legendary Slick Rick and the socially conscious ‘Evening News’, you’ve got to congratulate Chamillionaire on cracking the mainstream market with ‘Ridin’ and then following up his success by using the spotlight to release meaningful music, and not by spitting diluted bubble-gum bullshit, as this is the path so many others have chosen. When it comes to flow, Cham is one of the best in the game, and his ability to sing his own hooks so impeccably adds a great deal to his overall quality. Aside from the flow and hooks, it has to be said that Chamillionaire is often falsely labeled as a pop rapper with no lyrical ability, but anyone who takes the time to actually listen to ‘Ultimate Victory’ will know that he has a lot to say on a wide range of topics, he just does so with a unique rhyme scheme in a harmonious fashion and over the top of some extremely polished sounding production.

4: Damo – D-Classified Files
Australian hip hop continues to unearth some exceedingly talented artists, hence why this top 10 post features 2 Australian releases, both being debut albums and both being releases from Adelaide rappers. With this album Damo earned himself the title of Australia’s punch line master, and after one listen and you’ll understand exactly why. People outside of Australia would not ‘get’ or appreciate a large portion of Damo’s lines, nor would they probably be able to get used to his accent, but as an Australian listener this album grabbed me from the moment I first listened to it. If there was ever a release I could quote punch lines from all day long, this would be it – with the line share of tracks being a barrage of genius wordplay similar to what Chino XL and Celph Titled are notorious for, but with a more localized Australian attraction, and all rapped over top stellar Simplex production. In addition to the mind-blowing punch line tracks, there is also the autobiographical ‘Psych Profile’, a track that gives listeners an understanding of the man behind the mic, the socially observant ‘A Tear In The Ocean’ and ‘A Love Story’, a track in which hip hop is personified. All in all this is one of the most impressive debut album’s I’ve heard in recent memory, and yet another indication that Adelaide can produce emcees of a crazy caliber.

3: Insane Poetry – Fallen From Grace
The name Insane Poetry is synonymous with hardcore hip hop, from the late 80’s until the present day Los Angeles’ Andrew ‘Cyco’ Holiman has destroyed microphones with his violent mix of vicious street raps, brazen battle rhymes and gruesome horror tracks, and in 2007 the world was treated with the newest installment in the form of ‘Fallen From Grace’. Rapping over the refined production work of Jason ‘JP Tha Hustla’ Pearl, Cyco delivers to the listener a broad array of tracks that showcase both his ability to bring forth his staunch side but also tracks such as ‘Jot My Life’ and ‘Can You Feel My Pain’ that delve into his personal struggles, dilemmas and aspirations both in regards to the music business and in life in general. Lyrically Cyco reached a higher plateau than on his previous albums, and this further demonstrates his ambitions to move away from the one-dimensional ‘horrorcore’ tag that many may place on him due to the cult classic ‘Grim Reality’ from back in ‘92. As a long time Insane Poetry fan this album didn’t disappoint as it followed the same formula as the other albums, just changing it up just enough to add a new element to the legacy that Cyco has created.

2: Haystak – Crackavelli
Not many artists constantly drop releases that are of an incredible standard, but 2007 was a big year for Stak as not only did he release the ‘B.O.S.S. Mixtape’ but he also came out with the double-disc dopeness that is ‘Crackavelli’. On this 30 track monster Haystak takes his listeners on a roller coaster ride, delivering both hard hitting bangers such as ‘Paleface’ and ‘Track 7’ combined with more mellow slow jams such as ‘Pray For Me’ and ‘Sail On’. I expected a lot from this release due to his recent efforts being of such a high quality, and I was more than impressed with what he came up with as he delivered an array of tracks the listener can appreciate when going through different moods. Rappers always talk about ‘keeping it real’, so much so that the saying has become a mere cliché that all but lacks meaning. However, if there were one rapper the phrase could adequately describe it would be this proud white overweight Nashville native. Haystak epitomizes the art of using music as a medium for expression of self, and as also can be said for his prior releases, on ‘Crackavelli’ he offers his fans an intimate insight into every aspect of the life lead by Jason ‘Haystak’ Winfrey.

1: K Rino - Book Number 7
It would come as no surprise to people who know my musical tastes that a K Rino release stands as my benchmark for the year that has just passed us by in hip hop. The word lyricist is much overused, but it is a word that perfectly describes what K Rino is all about, he defines what it is to be a pure lyrical genius. As with many of his previous releases this Houston native brings to the table a concoction of well told stories, tracks jam packed with word-play wizardry as well as deep, meaningful tracks that leave an everlasting impression upon the listener. One fault that many found in K Rino’s music prior to this release was a lack of creativity in terms of production, but this time round nobody can doubt the quality of the beats that K laces, thanks a great deal to the skills of German beatsmith Keyza Soze whose skills go a long way in making this album as incredible as it is. Although ‘Fear No Evil’ still holds down the title of my favourite K Rino album to date, this album’s quality is not far short and it would probably be the album I’d use to introduce people to K Rino, owing a great deal to the aforementioned elevation in production standards.

To close this post I'd like to give my condolences to all those in the hip hop world who lost their lives in the past 12 months- artists who's music will live on for years to come despite the musicians themselves passing on.

Now onto 2008!...

Trigga Gots No Heart

Earlier in the week we were hit with the news that Texas pioneer and legend Pimp C was found dead and less than 24 hours previous to this was the news that one of my favourite emcees, Spice 1 was shot a couple of times while snoozing in his ride. It looks like Spice will pull through. Infact, I'm pretty confident that Spice's record sales will improve after this due to the publicity of the story combined with the wack mentallity of some consumers..... much like the die hard pac fans who jumped on board around September 96'.

For me, I grew up listening to the Dangerous Crew rapper and pumped my '187 He Wrote' cassette on the bus so hard that the album has cemented itself as the soundtrack to year 8 and 9 in my life. I've ripped 5 tracks that feature Spice on them, I didn't want to just stick 5 tracks from his albums as anyone who would really appreciate Spice's unique voice and flow will probably already have the albums. So, I chucked on 'I'm The Fuckin Murderer' from '187 He Wrote' and tracks from various bay compilations as well as a feature track from Gangsta Profile's 'Fire Redrum' album which was a hook up from Skitzo who runs the dope blog 'Skitzo Beats' that has some of the dopest gangsta albums ever released on it, mixed with first hand knowledge from a dude who knows his shit.

HAYWARD — Hayward rapper Spice 1 is still recovering from a bullet wound he suffered shortly after midnight Monday while sitting in his car in the driveway of his mother's home.
The 37-year-old Spice 1, whose real name is Robert Green, described the shooting by phone from his hospital bed Thursday night.

"I was just sitting in my car," Green said. "I parked in front of my mom's house. I went to sleep because I don't like to wake her up that late."

Green's mother, Jean Green-Craven, a medical assistant at Kaiser Permanente, said her son had been at a photo shoot all day Sunday and had eaten dinner at a friend's house before driving to her house on Chiplay Avenue late Sunday night.

Green was sitting in his black Cadillac Escalade listening to music, eating a plate of leftover spaghetti and probably talking on his cell phone, Green-Craven said.

She said her son often parked in front of the house and sat in his car while talking on the phone.
Green said he had dozed off, but then heard a jiggle at the passenger-side door. "So I woke up. I see the dude and I start banging on the window. He got scared and ran and fired the pistol while he was running away."

The bullet went through the passenger-side window, grazing Green's chin before striking him in the upper left side of his chest.

"I was going to go after him, but he ran," Green said. "I stuck my finger in the (bullet) hole. I said, 'Damn, that was a bullet wound!"


SPICE 1 MP3's:
Spice 1 - I'm The Fuckin' Murderer
Gangsta Profile Ft Spice 1 - Killas Don't Talk
The Luniz & Spice 1 - Chrome Wheels
Spice 1, DSP & AK - Addicted To Drama
NKPz Ft Spice 1, Tay Da Tay & Tony Mendoza - Forty Fourz
>>DOWNLOAD<<

R.I.P. Pimp C

Rest In Peace:
Pimp C
(UGK)

Real Name: Chad Butler
Hailing From: Port Arthur, Texas
Born: 29 December 1973
Died: 4 December 2007
Cause of Death: Found dead in his room at the Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood, California. Cause of death currently unknown but believed to be natural causes.

Albums:
UGK - The Southern Way (1988)
UGK - Banned EP (1992)
UGK - Too Hard To Swallow (1992)
UGK - Super Tight (1994)
UGK - Ridin' Dirty (1996)
UGK - Dirty Money (2001)
UGK - Side Hustles (2002)
Pimp C - Sweet James Jones Stories (2005)
Pimp C - Pimpalation (2006)
UGK - Underground Kingz (2007)

MP3's:
UGK Ft. Z-Ro - Trill Niggas Don't Die
Chamillionaire Ft. Pimp C - Welcome To The South
>> DOWNLOAD <<

Masta Ace @ HQ

Masta Ace @ HQ

Friday 30 November

Last night Masta Ace hit Adelaide along with Wordsworth, Stricklin and DJ Flo Fader to rock a set as part of the 'Walk This Way' show which also featured Z Trip, MC Soup of J5, Swollen Members, Jungle Brothers and Brycon. We turned up as the Jungle Bros were starting up and to be honest from the moment they got on stage I couldn't wait for them to end, I'm pretty sure they even pulled out the same track twice in their set. Next up Swollen Members (who I'd previously totally neglected) actually left a heaps positive impression on me, and I'm definitely keen to check their stuff out in the future. Anyway, the name that most of the people filling the club were there to see was Brooklyn icon Masta Ace who didn't disappoint, most notably to me (and most others no doubt) pulling out 'Born 2 Roll'. Z Trip and Soup then closed out the night, from what I saw of Z Trip he puts on a good show with visuals to accompany his set, but it was already past 2 in the morning at that point so the crowd started to dwindle as the man they'd all come to see had already left them feeling like they'd got what they paid for.

Here are a few pics I took of the Masta Ace, Wordsworth, Stricklin and DJ Flo Fader set.

Cocaine: It's A Hell Of A Drug (Streets On Beats Vol 5)

Cocaine: It's A Hell Of A Drug
(Streets On Beats Vol 5)

...::: TRACKLISTING :::...
01 - Richard Pryor - Cocaine (Intro)
02 - Kool Moe Dee - Monster Crack
03 - Dre Dog - Powda 4 The Hoes
04 - Donald D - F.B.I.
05 - Q Strange - Coke Slut
06 - Gregory D - Crack Slangas
07 - MC Twist - Cocaine Bizniss
08 - Grandmaster Melle Mel - China White
09 - LOWC - Back 2 Tha Lab
10 - O.C.U. - Mr Cocaine
11 - Immortal Technique - Peruvian Cocaine
12 - UGK Ft Rick Ross - Cocaine
13 - Esham Ft TNT - Brick
14 - Sir Mix A Lot - I'm Your New God
>>> DOWNLOAD <<<

Review: Insane Poetry - Fallen From Grace

INSANE POETRY
The background:

Hailing from the streets of Los Angeles, California comes the notorious underground entity, Insane Poetry. After bursting onto the scene in 1988 under the name ‘His Majesti’ and releasing the ‘M.M.O.B. Is Loose’ EP on Egyptian Lover’s Egyptian Empire imprint, IP then left their mark on the hip hop scene with the horror rap classic ‘Grim Reality’ released on Nastymix Records in 1992, an album that pushed 35,000 sales despite their record label self destructing at the same time due to unrelated issues. In 1998 Insane Poetry came back with a more street orientated feel with the ‘Blacc Plague’ release, with Pope replacing EmDee as Cyco’s partner in rhyme. Cyco then enjoyed a brief stint on Ill Boogie records where he released the ‘Let Em Know’ EP, a battle 12” against Iriscience of Dilated Peoples, and featured on compilations. In 2003 Cyco came back to claim his status as one of the most hard hitting emcees in the game with the politically charged follow up to ‘Grim Reality’, this time entitled ‘Faith In Chaos’. In his career Cyco has gone from being a pioneer of horror rap, dropping rugged rhymes about life on the streets of Cali, lyrically blazing up the mic over Ill Boogie beats and then dropping a politically motivated masterpiece inspired by 9/11.

FALLEN FROM GRACE
This album:
Cyco himself has stated that ‘Fallen From Grace’ is his most personal album to date and the one that most accurately reflects his life, and that is evident from the get go with Cyco letting his fans know how his life stands and how much hip hop means to him on the ‘FFG Intro’. The more subdued feel of the introduction is then swiftly altered with ‘Kill You’, a vicious return to his horror rap roots that will leave his day one fans hitting the repeat button over and over. Cyco then flexes his lyrical skills on both ‘Boyz In A Box’ and ‘Next Dimension’, dropping lines such as “When I’m blazing the burner- homie you know we come amp, you couldn’t be dope if you was born from an opium plant”.

Next up listeners are greeted with the infectious production skills of Jason “JP” Pearl that Cyco laces by relentlessly ripping rhyme after rhyme with enough conviction to tear the listeners ears to pieces. This is followed up by 2 dope (but unfortunately short) tracks in ‘Suspect Zero’ and ‘Revenge’, the latter a ruthless tale of retaliation featuring Lowdown. Tre Dizzle then shares the spotlight with Cyco on the aggressive ‘Peekin’ Thru Ya Back’ where, amongst other things, Cyco speaks about the current state of hip hop with such offerings as “Nothing but lyrics – but then the guns came, Fake thugs and fake killas – that shit is dried up like cum stains”.

Top draw production care of Big Tango Slimm then paves the way for Cyco to ferociously spit violent murderous raps on ‘Murderland’, one of my personal favourites on this album. This murder anthem is then backed up by the album’s title track, ‘Fallen From Grace’, a quality personal track that gives listeners an insight into the Cyco’s reflections on life. My only slight complaint about this track is the beat sometimes slightly steals your attention away from the lyrics unless you are totally focused, however in saying that, it’s still a dope beat and fits the track like a glove, maybe the levels could have been altered with a bit though.

On the next track Cyco teams up with Menacide from Michigan for ‘Jot My Life’, a track that continues the personal theme that is developed on the previous track. Cyco talks emphatically about a range of issues from growing up in the hood to family child support issues. The murder mitten menace, Menacide, adds to the high standard of this track dropping some personal rhymes of his own and in the meantime demonstrating to the world that his future project with Cyco is going to be insane. ‘Let’s Ride’ features the Grim Reality Entertainment line up of Spark, Lowdown, JP Tha Hustler and Freaks, and while all hold their own, it’s Cyco’s verse that really stands out with lines likes “I heard ya hot little mamma got a Cajun twat, she thinks I’m crippin’ out in Thailand the way I Bang-the-cock”.

JP and Big Tango Slimm team up on production to create the outstanding beat for “Heat”, a track that Cyco brings his A game out on, and therefore one that rates highly amongst my favourite IP tracks of all time. ‘Black Widow’, Cyco’s metaphorical description of the music industry ensures the standard is kept at a soaring height, while at the same time dissing Vanilla Ice about his career mistakes (1 of which would have to be not giving Cyco his due song writing credits for material off a lot of V.Ice’s tracks). Cyco drops some gangstaism on the next track in the form of ‘Game of Life’, an incredible track that is brought down only by its irritating hook.

As I mentioned before, this is IP’s most personal effort to date and the vibe is reiterated on ‘Can You Feel My Pain’, a track in which Cyco raps about fatherhood, living a monotonous working life and how hard it is to maintain his sanity while thinking back to the days he was tearing up stages for a living. I also have to give credit to Mindy Patrick for her singing efforts on the hooks as it really adds to the overall feel and quality of the track. Cyco then launches into the reflective ‘Is It Good’, an ode to the good old days of hip hop that sees Cyco giving props to a whole lot of artists he came up listening to. Following this track all that is left is the ‘FFG Outro’ and a commercial advertising future releases.

To finish up this review, anyone familiar will IP will agree that as years and releases have been added to the timeline, it is evident that whenever IP unearth from hibernation, they, or rather he (as Cyco himself IS Insane Poetry) surprise their fans by putting out something different to previous releases. What has stayed the same since day one however is that throughout the years Cyco has always maintained his precise delivery and hardcore rhymes, assets that make his albums instant purchases to those who are familiar with the IP dynasty. For me, this new IP release was well worth the agonizing 3 year wait as IP again switch up the formula just enough to keep the fans guessing while not deteriorating in terms of the quality of product. Overall, I think if you are down with IP you would have to agree that this is another stellar effort. On a hip hop level, this is one of the best albums of the year and showcases lyrical skills not matched by most in the game commercially or underground. I will say that if you are strictly a staunch follower of horrorcore and are still holding out to hear more of that classic ‘Grim side’ killer shit, then this release wouldn’t completely offer what you are looking for.

^Menacide/Cyco^

MP3's:
Insane Poetry - Can You Feel My Pain
Insane Poetry - Heat
>> DOWNLOAD<<

Rating:4.5 Daytons out of 5.

Big Moe (S.U.C.) On Life Support

Houston hip hop icon and OG Screwed Up Click member Big Moe is currently on life support in hospital after suffering three heart attacks and a seizure the other day. It was rumoured that the soulful hip hop heavyweight had passed away but thankfully these rumours were unfounded, however news isn't all good as obviously his condition is critical. For more information and updates on his condition check out HoustonSoReal as he is keeping the world updated as news comes to him. Best wishes to Moe and his friends and family, hopefully he can pull through.

^Big Moe - Purple Stuff^

Carson City Kings

There isn't a great deal I can say about the Boo-Yaa Tribe except they're west coast hip hop royalty. Maybe not to in many peoples heads, but in mine. I grew up in the era when Boo-Yaa dropped 'New Funky Nation' (I know you remember the 'Raid' video) but when these crazy Piru ex-gangbanging Samoans (quit gangbanging in 1987 after their young brother 'Youngman' was shot and killed) released their second album 'Doomsday' with that gangsta mentality to it, they became one of my favourites. The Tribe consists of Samoan brothers, Ganxsta Ridd, Kobra, Monsta O (O.M.B.), Godfather, Murder One, E.K.A. and Gawtti who joined later. They had another album called 'Good Times, Bad Times' that was meant to come out in '92 that was never released, I think most of the tracks ended up on 'Doomsday'. Boo-Yaa also released 'Mentally Disturbed in '96.

Boo Yaa Tribe featured on Cypress Hills 'Hole In The Head', a track on Kid Frosts 'East Side Story'. In '92 Boo-Yaa Tribe did a track for the soundtrack of 'White Men Cant Jump' (soundtrack called 'White Men Cant Rap') called 'Area Code 213'. In '93 they teamed up with Faith No More for the Judgement Night soundtrack with the metal/rap track, 'Another Body Murdered' (track was better than the movie). In '95 the album 'Ocupation Hazardous was released, I have the vinyl which goes under the banner 'Ganxsta Ridd & The Otha Side' and Emvee has the cd version that goes by the 'Boo-Yaa Tribe' banner... fuck knows?


They dropped an album called 'Angry Samoans in 1997 which was a heavy metal album and returned with the hip hop album 'Mafia Lifestyle' in 2000 and 'West Koast Nostra' in 2003. Ganxsta Ridd did feature on Caz' album 'Goin Head Up' in 2002 and on 'Legends' from the 'True Crime soundtrack (also appeared on West Koast Nostra). It's a rare thing to hear a Boo-Yaa Tribe feature on someones album. The Boo-Yaa Tribes history isn't the average background of a hip hop crew, their music career started in Japan as the 'Blue City Crew' before returning to the U.S. to start their Boo-Yaa Tribe career (which stands for Too Rough International Boo-Yaa Empire) I've read stories about them getting in a gun fight with Tone Loc after a music awards night and that classic story of Dee Barnes hiring Boo-Yaa to get Dr Dre after Dre beat on Dee for playing that Ice Cube, NWA diss to NWA when they were on her show. I'm eagerly awaiting the new album by Ganxsta Ridd and Regime member, Monsta Ganjah called 'wesperados' that will be dropping in the coming months.

Here's footage of the Boo Yaa Tribe (then known as the Blue City Crew) from the 1983 Rainbow West Coast hip hop documentary 'Breakin' N Enterin' (best documentary ever made and also features Ice T, Egyptian Lover and Chris The Glove Taylor)

Boo-Yaa Tribe MP3's:
Boo-Yaa Tribe - Area Code 213 (1992 from White Men Can't Rap)
Boo-Yaa Tribe and Faith No More - Another Body Murdered (1993 from Judgement Night)
Boo-Yaa Tribe - Gang Related (1994 from Doomsday)
Boo-Yaa Tribe - Chilling On The West Side (1995 from Occupation Hazardous)
Caz ft Ganxsta Ridd - N A Real Way (2002 from Goin Head Up
>>DOWNLOAD<<

Ice T - Return Of The Real (Original Version)

Alotta Ice T fans rate 96' 'Return Of The Real', one of Ice's worst albums, I personally find it up there with his best. It's got alotta hard tracks like 'They Want Me Back In' and 'The Lane' and has dope production by Rhyme Poetic Mafias JEL. Recently I was shocked with the news that back before Priority/RSR released the album there was actually another version put forward to the label that got turned back. A label called 'Boo Muzick' has the rights to the original version and has 500 individually numbered promo copies in circualation. EMVEE is the proud owner of number119.

If you have ever heard DJ Aladins, '$port Your Vest In The West' compilation you'd be familiar with the dope Ice T & L.P. track 'Down With Us', well this is the album it was originally intended for. It also contains a different intro and another 7 tracks that differ from the final version, although one track has the same lyrics to a track that made the final version with a completely different beat, and I'm way too lazy to check which track that is at the minute.

This post is for any Ice T fan who like me a couple of months back was oblivious to this existing. and now can click a button and hear some dope tracks that has evaded us for over a decade. Note, the tracks I put up are all the tracks that didn't make the final cut, the promo version still has another 5 tracks but are on the final version.

Ice T MP3's:
File # 143 (Intro)
To Live And Die In L.A.
Groups Of Ghetto Bastards
Press Your Luck
Down With Us
Here I Go Again
Ballin Bitch I Knew
Fuck That Shit
Victim Of The Criminal Zone
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Insane Poetry - Fallen From Grace

First up sorry for the lack of posts (or none for that matter) over the last 4 weeks. Between Emvee's uni, me catching up on some tax returns, us going interstate for a small holiday, trying to organize some more important shit etc, there's been no time to do anything on the net except check my emails and myspace.

For anyone who knows the deal about Insane Poetry (and you should if you've been checking us out for a while) you'd would know that Cyco is not to be fucked with when it comes to murdering a mic, well after a long wait since the 2003 'Faith In Chaos' comes his new album 'Fallen From Grace'. Seriously I would never ever even think about promoting someones album on here or anywhere for that matter that I didn't think was a crazy fuckin' hard album. I've heard 9 tracks from this so far and have my copy hitting my letter box any day now, every single track is hard and real and is no doubt Insane Poetry at its best. Both the lyrics and the production are top notch.

I've chucked up 1 track from the album, 'Can You Feel My Pain' this track is sick but I've heard 3 or 4 tracks from 'Fallen From Grace' that are better (for me anyway), but seems as this was the track that Cyco put on his myspace for download that's the only one I feel comfortable putting up ('Heat' and 'Heartless' are crayzeee!). I've also chucked up a handfull of others that vary over the years, but are all non-album tracks. The 'On Deadly Ground' I put up is the 'Ill Boogie' version from his battle 12" against Dialated Peoples with DJ RIP One as his DJ, not the 'Blacc Plague'.


Hope you enjoy these tracks, check out Insane Poetry's myspace to get more of a feel for the new album and if you like what you hear, support a REAL underground artist and cop that shit!

INSANE POETRY MP3's:
On Deadly Ground (Ill Boogie 12" version)
Can't Flow With Us
Conversatan (ft. KGP)
Fatal
Great Day To Die
Strange Days
Can You Feel My Pain (Fallen From Grace - 2007)
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New Jersey Rhymes

Bordering New York it is no surprise that New Jersey is huge for hip hop, and without going into the history of their scene (as I don't know enough about it), I've decided to focus on 5 dope releases that come to mind when I think of the garden state. Some of the artists hailing from the east coast state that I haven't featured but are worth mentioning are Naughty By Nature, Redman, Joe Buddens, Lords of the Underground, YZ and the JVC Force (no doubt I've missed alot out but they're some off the top of the head).

Tony D - Droppin' Funky Verses
First up I'm placing my attention on a guy who needs no introduction, but primarily due to his production efforts with the likes of the Poor Righteous Teachers rather than for his own music. I'm talking about Italo-American Trenton native Tony Depula, better known simply as Tony D. In 1991 Tony D dropped his 'Droppin' Funky Verses' album on the 4th and Broadway division of Island Records, an album that for whatever reason is slept on by alot of people. Just like he claims in the title, Tony drops funky verses throughout this album, all rhymed over the top of his own top draw sample-based production that made him famous and the album's also packed with quality cuts. It was hard choosing a track to put up with this post because there's just so much quality on this release, but seeing as we've uploaded the 3rd Bass diss for another post, I've gone with 'Tony Don't Play That'.

Krown Rulers - Paper Chase
Secondly, here is a release that many people rate as one of the definitive hip hop classics of all time, I'm talking about Krown Ruler's 1988 album 'Paper Chase' that dropped on Warlock Records. With quality cuts from DJ Royal Rocker and hard hitting rhymes courtesy of Grand Pubah (not Brand Nubian), this Camden, NJ hip hop duo managed to leave an everlasting legacy on the hip hop world with their relentless energetic style that grabs you by the balls as soon as you press play. Krown Rulers were down with Phillie's Tuff Crew back in the day and although I prefer the Phildelphia crew, these dudes held their own and the only downside I can think of is they didn't drop enough material, however that might explain for their high standard of quality control? The track I've put with this post is the 'B-Boy Document' that High and Mighty remixed a few years ago.

Lifers Group - Lifers Group
When it comes to real lyrics, I can't think of any album (or EP) that can claim to bring the reality than the Lifers Group 1991 self titled EP that dropped on Hollywood Basic. Formed by inmate Maxwell Melvins and with support from Hollywood Basic CEO Dave "Funken" Klein, life sentence in mates from New Jersey's Rahway Prison put their wealth of experiences down on track to let the world know what goes on behind bars in the belly of the beast. The EP only has 2 real tracks, 'The Real Deal' and 'Belly of the Beast', however both are nearly six minutes long each and resemble posse cuts in their format. In 1993 the Rahway lifers returned with a full length album titled 'Living Proof' that is also well worth checking out. A documentary also came out about the Lifers Group but unfortunately I've never been able to find a copy to check it out.

End Time Warriors - Let's Stay Together
Hailing from South Trenton comes ETW, a Christian rap trio consisting of Johnnie, MC L King and MC Free. They droppedthe 'Let's Stay Together' album in 1993 on Forefront Records, who you may know as the label that unfortunately unleashed DC Talk's music onto the world. Anyway, this is ETW's 3rd album and although it definitely has an abundance of religious messages, it also brings with it the feel of classic funky sample based hip hop and can be listened to without feeling your getting bible bashed, which is my main issue with alot of religious hip hop. The track I've uploaded for the post is simply titled 'South Trenton' and serves not only as a track to rep where they're from, but it also sees the trio put forward that everyone goes through their own struggles and that you've just got to keep on keeping on to get ahead in life. This is by far my least favourite release mentioned in this post, but I added it for something different and due to it being a good chance to mention an artist that wouldn't fit into many other topics.

Chino XL - Here To Save You All
Finally, the lyrical jesus himself, former Art of Origin member Chino XL and his 1994 American Recordings release 'Here To Save You All'. What this certified MENSA member lacks for in quantity he more than makes up for in quality, and listening to this album a whole 13 years after it dropped, you think to yourself how crazy it is that his lyrics back then burn 99% of what rappers can come up with today. With dark sinister production providing the backdrop for wordplay wizardry, it's not a big surprise that this album wasn't a mainstream success, but more importantly it blew up in the underground scene and raised the bar of lyrical standards. Chino gained notoriety in the hip hop world due to his habit of using other rappers in his punchlines, which was the cause for his well publicized beef with 2Pac who in turn dissed Chino back on the 'Hit Em Up' track. The only downside to this album is that the production doesn't really do it for me at all, but the lyrics are what take centre stage on this album and it's those lyrics that seperate Chino from almost all other rappers dead or alive.

MP3's:
Tony D - Tony Don't Play That
Krown Rulers - B Boy Document
Lifers Group - The Real Deal
ETW - South Trenton
Chino XL - Many Different Ways
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You Are Now About To Witness The Death Of Street Knowledge

In the last couple of weeks I've been listening to my old Ice Cube records a fair bit, I rarely put any Cube on these days. However, Ice Cube, WC and DJ Crazy Toons are heading to Melbourne next month and as a huge WC fan we got tickets and airfare to checkout the show, should be interesting for me seems the last (and only) time I saw Cube was in 94 which in my opinion was when his music stopped being enjoyable (even that 'Lethal Injection' was average except 'Ghetto Bird'). Anyway, like I said I've been listening to his old shit again and it just reminds me on how much better early 90's west coast hip hop was then than it is today.

Looking back at that early 90's west coast feel, I remember the Nitebreed ontop of their game, Ice T was running shit, South Central Cartel were fresh out, Quik and Eiht were battleing it out on wax, the king of Gangsta Rap still had breath in his lungs and Ice Cube and his crew were dropping quality albums. Ive titled this post under the banner of 'Street Knowledge' however infact their were fuck all albums that actually got the Street Knowledge label on the back, so this post is actually Street Knowledge/Lench Mob Records etc. Although their really wasn't that many artists and releases for that brief moment in time the 'Street Knowlege' posse were dope.


Kam who dropped 'Neva Again' in '93 ended up beefing with Cube and dissing him for various reasons such as accusing Cube of stealing his 'W' sign that stood for 'Watts' before Cube modelled it for his 'West Side Connection'. He dropped the track 'Whoop, Whoop' on DJ Pooh's 'Bad News Travels Fast' album. Not sure what happened with Yo-Yo, but when was the last time you heard her name mentioned? Kausion who released 'South Central Los Skanless' ended up beefing with Cube for some reason too and had Gonzo put out the track 'Fairy Tale Gangsta' which is the continuation to Cubes 'Gangsta Fairy Tale' tracks (with a difference). Lastly was Da Lench Mob, Take a guess how that ended.... I've put up 5 tracks from the golden era of Street Knowledge, They only had three or four of years but some real good quality music was released in that time.

MP3's:
Ice Cube - My Summer Vacation
Kam ft Ice Cube - Watts Riot
Yo-Yo ft Ice Cube - What Can I Do?
Da Lench Mob - Who Ya Gonna Shoot Wit That
Kausion - What You Wanna Do?
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