14 Years On...

R.I.P Eric 'Eazy E' Wright

7 September 1963 - 26 March 1995

New tracks from Q Strange!

To me, Rhode Island's Q Strange is one of the most under-rated dudes in the hip hop world. Although he made a name for himself as a horrorcore emcee, to pass him off as just another horror rapper is a massive oversight. Q has released 2 studio albums ('Creation 2 ExeQtion' and 'Strangeland') as well as a host of underground releases and 'Rare Cuts' 1 and 2.I just recently copped the aforementioned 2 releases and there are some really dope tracks on both, some off of his underground drops and a few that I aint ever come across before.

Q has just recently uploaded 3 new tracks to his myspace page - a couple of tracks with thoughtful 'grown man shit' sorta rhymes, and a horror track that should keep his loyal horrorcore fans on side. To go with this post I thought I'd upload a couple of tracks off of 'Rare Cuts II' - if you like them then go and support one of the underground's under-appreciated kings and buy his albums!!

MP3s:
Q Strange - Bettadenu
Q Strange - Final Note

>> DOWNLOAD <<

Ayayaya

Sir Mix-A-Lot Video Press Kit (1991)

R.I.P. MC Breed

Rest In Peace
MC Breed

Real Name: Eric Breed
Hailing From: Flint, Michigan
Born: 1972
Died: 22 November 2008
Cause Of Death: Passed away in his sleep as a result of kidney failure. Breed was already on the waiting list for an organ donor after having succumbed to kidney failure earlier this year while playing a game of basketball.

MP3s:
MC Breed Ft Bootleg - No Future
MC Breed Ft Tupac - Gotta Get Mine
>> DOWNLOAD <<

Brother Ali - Mr. President (You're The Man)

Brother Ali has uploaded to his website one of the first (of what will no doubt be many) post-election tracks dedicated to the new President. Download it directly off of his site at the link below.

MP3:
Brother Ali - Mr. President (You're The Man)

SPM Talks From The Belly Of The Beast

Myself and Bullant are massive SPM fans (hence his name being mentioned in various posts over time). This video surfaced online the other day of Carlos Coy talking for a couple minutes. It's only short, but a pretty moving/insightful video on his current circumstances. His new album 'The Last Chair Violinist' drops in a couple of weeks....




FREE
SPM

K Rino - The Blood Doctrine

Label: Black Book International
Release: November 18th

..:: Track Listing ::..
1. Intro (Opening Statement)
2. Too Far
3. The World
4. Look At Me Now
5. The Blood Doctrine
6. Forty-8 Lashes
7. The Debate
8. Never Come Down
9. Don't Like Mone
10. Aint Nothin' Changed
11. How Can I
12. Past Present Future
13. Long Lost Daddy
14. Gotta Get Better
15. Dominatin' The Game

Production By: Eddie 'Vibez' Thomas, K-Rino, Mike-B.,Muhammad 2g,Keyza Soze & Solomon...

More Info: SouthParkCoalition.com

>> MP3s <<
Never Come Down
Dominatin' The Game

Another Last Minute Post

Here's another one of those last minute posts just to ensure an extra month gets added to that sidebar on blogger. Shameless, I know.

For this post I've just uploaded 5 tracks off some somewhat under-rated gems, that although each do get respect, on the whole aren't appreciated to the level they probably deserve. If you haven't already heard them all then hopefully something is to your liking.

MP3s:
Brokin English Klik - Here Come Da Hoods [Fat Horn Mix]
Class A Felony - Black Rain
PHD - The Showdown
Tha Chamba - Hood Thang
Tony D - Check the Elevation
>>Download<<

Chamillionaire - Internet Nerds Revenge

MP3:

Chamillionaire - Internet Nerds Revenge

Paris - Acid Reflex (Out: 9.9.08)

Revolutionary Hip-Hop Icon Paris Preps New Album

San Francisco, CA - Bay Area rapper/activist Paris is preparing to release his latest album, Acid Reflex, on September 9th on his own Guerrilla Funk Recordings and Filmworks, LLC, distributed by Fontana/Universal. The rapper's first single, "Don't Stop the Movement," features newcomer T-K.A.S.H. and will be released early August.

The album comes just in time for election year and contains commentary on a wide range of topics including black-on-black crime and violence, the ongoing problem of police brutality, war, politics and what Paris calls "the need for more of an equal balance between positive and negative influences in entertainment." Acid Reflex is the latest installment of cutting-edge funk-and-rock-inspired hip-hop in a career spanning the sale of over 3.8 million units independently worldwide. It features performances by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee and Parliament/Funkadelic frontman George "Dr. Funkenstein" Clinton, Public Enemy leader Chuck D and Paris-protégé T-K.A.S.H.

"There's no time like the present to speak out on issues and use the most popular form of musical entertainment to motivate and inform," says Paris, a seasoned multi-instrumentalist who also serves as the album's producer. "That's why I decided to call the album Acid Reflex - it's an aggressive response to what I see going on. There are a lot of people out there who feel like mainstream music doesn't truly reflect their concerns or how they feel. Our art form is being kept artificially young and artificially dumb. Listeners of all ages are noticing that there's more to what we do than what's given us on the radio and on t.v."

In other news, Paris has expanded his Guerrilla Funk brand to include a film division, with projects slated for release with featured contributions from multi-platinum Grammy™ award winner Common, multi-platinum Grammy™ award winner André 3000, multi-platinum Grammy™ award winners The Dixie Chicks, Talib Kweli, Public Enemy, George Clinton, The Coup, NOFX, Michael Franti, Anti-Flag and Tom Morello, among others.

More info: www.GuerrillaFunk.com

MP3:
Paris Ft T - K.A.S.H. - Don't Stop The Movement

R.I.P. Pretty Black

Rest In Peace
Pretty Black
(The Regime)

Real Name: Ayoola Matthew Odumuyiwa
Hailing From: Chicago
Born: 1983
Died: 30 May 2008
Cause Of Death:Found dead in an East Oakland appartment complex with multiple gunshot wounds.


^ Pretty Black performing with Yukmouth, Monsta Ganjah & Gangsta Ridd in Adelaide in 2006.

R.I.P. Camu Tao

Rest In Peace
Camu Tao
(S.A. Smash / Night Hawks / MHz Crew)

Real Name: Tero Smith
Hailing From: Columbus, Ohio
Born: 26 June, 1977
Died: 25 May, 2008
Cause Of Death: Passed away after a 2 year battle with lung cancer.

R.I.P. Frosty Freeze

Rest In Peace
Frosty Freeze
(Rock Steady Crew)


Real Name: Wayne Frost
Hailing From: New York
Born: 1962
Died: April 3, 2008
Cause Of Death: Died after battling a long illness at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York

Battlehoggs Vol.2 DVD

Insane Poetry on G4TV

Anyone who checks out this blog would know that we can never get enough of Insane Poetry, so I had to put this vid up for people to check out, it's a vid G4TV put up on their site featuring Cyco spitting some fire over a Messiaz beat...check out their article that went with the video on their website. >HERE<

R.I.P. Blu Crush

R.I.P.
Blu Crush
(aka Dozzieloc)


Real Name: Mark Stenberg
Hailing From: Portland, Oregon (Born: Han Yan, Korea)
Born: 2 January 1979
Died: 13 February 2008
Cause Of Death: Shot several times in the torso while staying in a Houston motel room while on tour promoting his new album 'Jail House Dreams'

Click to visit his myspace page.



^News Report About The Murder^

Fuck You!

Alright, this blog has all but gone down the shitter thanks to a total lack of motivation on my part (and likewise with Bullant), no excuses whatsover, we just totally lost interest, but after a few unrelated events that have led to this blog coming up in convo I felt like it was time for another post. This quick post was inspired by me watching Spike Lee's '25th Hour' recently, and it is a big FUCK YOU to myself and this blog for how far downhill it has gone...if anyone still checks us out, it's much appreciated, and here are some tracks for you to download and hopefully enjoy. I hope the next post wont be so far ahead in the future.

MP3's:
Apathy - Fuck You
Gangsta Boo Ft Three Six Mafia - Fuck You
Geto Boys - Fuck 'Em
Haystak - My F U Song
Pharoahe Monch - Fuck You
>> DOWNLOAD <<

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
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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
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