Battle On Wax - MC Eiht Vs DJ Quik

Man, this was about the longest beef on wax you'll probably find. It goes back to before either of them released a proper album. Quik apparently started the beef on an underground tape release when he called out MC Eiht's name along with Eazy E's, although later claimed it wasn't a diss, just a warning to other rappers from the CPT that Quik was coming. With Quik being a Blood and Eazy and Eiht being Crips, Eiht saw it as a diss and was only too happy to respond on the 1990 Orpheus CMW debut, 'It's A Compton Thang' with 'Duck Sick'. DJ Quik came back with another diss on a underground release. That's when Eiht started his 'Def Wish' series of disses with the first on the '91 Orpheus release, 'Straight Checkin Em'.


For some reason Quik didn't mention Eiht on his 1991 Profile release, 'Quik Is The Name' but came through on his '92, 'Way 2 Fonky' album. He dissed him on the title track before moving on to Tim Dog at the end of the track. Quik also disses Eiht again on the outro track 'Tha Last Word'. Not surprisingly Eiht came back on his next album, 'Music To Drive By' in '92. He dissed Quik on 'Duck Sick II', 'Dead Men Tell No Lies' and 'Def Wish II'. He probably gave Quik too much credit with 3 tracks and would have been better off keeping to one?


As Quik was busy with production with his crew and with Suge Knight's 'Death Row', he didn't didn't bring out an album for three years. In this time MC Eiht released 'We Come Strapped' in 1994 on 'Epic Street'. He didn't dissapoint with yet another Quik diss with the 'Def Wish III Intro' folowed by 'Def Wish III'. I'm a fan of both Quik and Eiht, but when Quik dropped his reply on the 'Murder Was The Case' soundtrack and 'Safe & Sound' in '95 it was all over, 'Dollars & Sense' was by far the dopest track out of all their diss tracks to each other. No doubt there will be die hard Eiht fans who'll diss me now but when I got this album in '95 that track was on repeat for weeks. With lines like "E-I-H-T, now should I continue? Yeah, you left out the G coz the G aint in you" that was it in my opinion. Quik also dissed Eiht on the very next track, 'Let You Havit'.

MC Eihts next album was 'Death Threatz' in '96, and the first track on it was 'Def Wish IV (Tap That Azz)'. This is my favourite Def Wish track as he goes through the past in a bit of detail in parts of the track rather than random disses.

Quik's outlook on the disses changed since his last record when he was drinking and performing at Club El Rey. One of Eihts boys showed up at the club throwing up Crip signs at him. After Quiks show he went over to the guy to see what his problem was, the guy pushed his girl out the way, put down his glass and went at Quik fists up. They went pretty hard before both being thrown out the club although one thing led to another and other fights started and someone got killed. In the media Quik got blamed for the murder even though he wasn't directly involved. On Quiks 'Rhythm-al-ism' in '98, Quik recorded the track 'You'ze A Ganxta' where Quik touched on the Club El Rey night and ended the track by saying......"And to MC Eiht, when you get your head together, maybe we can do a record?". Which can almost be taken as a diss. Somehow the two put years of dissing behind them and shook hands. The two even went in the studio together. By the way the two may have given each other a slight diss here and there on other tracks but as far as I'm aware these are all the main diss tracks. Please feel free to diss me in comments if I missed any out.

Here's a part of an interview Eiht did for Murder Dog Magazine.....

Will you and DJ Quik ever make any songs together?
I have been in the studio with Quik. We did a song about two years ago. Quik was working on a sound track for this independent movie called"100 Kilos". It was the Freeway Rick story. We did a song together for that. He did the production and I was on the song rapping. Mausberg was on the song too, so was I think Hi-C. Deals were still going on. They probably fucked Quik over and didn’t pay him his money, so he kept all the tracks.

So the beef is over with you and Quik?
Yeah, we cool. I seen Quik and we have shook hands. We have done interviews together and everything. It hasn’t got to the place to where the consumers or the fans would like to see it as far as us making a record or being on tour together. We handled the beef how it is done on the streets. It’s not on records or none of that shit anymore. It’s cool now.

I remember when you two were beefing, how did it all start?
We used to go at it back then. I don’t know how it started for him but on my end it started when I had my second album out. I had a song called "Def Wish". On the song I had the phrase that say "Biting me quick, will only mean you get my dick sucked quick". I never knew nothing about no DJ Quik, but there was an actual DJ Quik. He was a Blood affiliate and I was a Crip affiliate and we were both from Compton. People hyped it to say that he was dissing you. Quik had already been dissing me. I was already an established artist. I had two albums and videos. I considered myself in the game. He was trying to get in the game. He had been putting out underground tapes. Since his Blood affiliation it was natural to go after the Crip niggaz. He made a street tape dissing Eazy because Eazy was affiliated with the Crips. He also made songs dissing Compton’s Most Wanted. That was a way for him to symbolize with his Blood homies. It was a way for him to say fuck them Crip niggaz. That’s how the beef started on his end.

If you hadn’t heard of Quik, how did you know about the underground diss records?
I have never heard of this. My DJ Mike-T who was a Blood got a copy of the tape. He played it for me. This was after the Def Wish song was already out. Naturally people were going to take that tape and my song and combine the two. People were like" Oh he dissed you on a street tape and you turned around and dissed him on the record". It all got blown way out. Then he made a comment on his next record and I made a comment on my next record. It went crazy for awhile. I did a video about him.

How did you come up with the idea for the card board cut out of Quik in your video?
Profile was marketing his next album "Way 2 Fonky" and they had those posters out. They had the card board cut outs. I got ready to do the Def Wish 2 video and I said" we got to get one of those". We had Sony order one. My love for gangsta rap was just in me. You got to have a passion. If have to realize that you might not get paid for some of this shit. You got to have love for it. Sometimes this shit might be charity. Sometimes I might have to give this shit away. I might not make a dollar off of it. Now everybody that touches it is going to make money off of it. I have never heard a record company say that they have not made a profit off of me.


And a part of a Quik interview from Worldwide West Side Magazine....

You’ve been beefing with MC Eiht from 1991-1997. How did the tension start and is the beef squashed yet?
Yeah, that’s over, that’s really actually old, as a matter of fact, I just saw MC Eiht with a new record on the charts and I’ve been looking for it and I’m like “he put out another record” so I’m out looking for it and evidently it’s either hard to find or selling somewhere else because I tried to buy it to support him. That’s how I feel about it. We had our beef but technically we’re still brothers from Compton. We walked the same turf.

Would you ever work with DJ Slip from Comptons Most Wanted even though you had problems in the past with MC Eiht who was also a member of the group?
I don’t know, because I don’t know how Slip feels about me. I don’t want to force anything. I can easily slip and say yeah sure I’d work with him, but what if he (DJ Slip) put out a interview and said man fuck DJ Quik, we ain’t never fucking with him. Then I would look stupid, so, I’m willing to work with anybody who shares the common goal of making a hit record that inspires people, that keeps Hip-Hop fresh, not just to put out a record because it’s trendy. I’m not trying to go to Lil Jon, please give me a hit so I can sell some records and so I can pop my collar and drink Champaign and you know wear some platinum. I’m not trying to do that.


MP3's:
Comptons Most Wanted - Duck Sick
Comptons Most Wanted - Def Wish
DJ Quik - Way 2 Fonky
Comptons Most Wanted - Duck Sick II
Comptons Most Wanted - Dead Men Tell No Lies
Comptons Most Wanted - Def Wish II
MC Eiht - Def Wish III Intro
MC Eiht - Def Wish III
DJ Quik - Dollars & Sense
DJ Quik - Let U Havit
MC Eiht - Def Wish IV (Tap That Azz)
DJ Quik - You'z A Ganxta

>>DJ QUIK DOWNLOADS<<

>>MC EIHT DOWNLOADS<<

*I had to put these in 2 seperate files because Zshare kept fuckin' up when I tried it as 1 file. I have numbered every track in occurence of the track.

Gangs, Gangstas & Gangsta Shit

Ever since Schoolly dropped 'P.S.K. What Does It Mean?' back in about '86 and Ice T heard it and called him up to come over to the west coast to show him, Eazy and Dre how he made that gangsta sound, "Gangsta Rap" or "Reality Rap" was born. Ice T recorded '6 'N The Morning' and Eazy made 'Eazy-Duz-It' which although wasn't the first gangsta track recorded, it was the first gangsta album made and was followed by the incredibly successful 'Straight Outta Compton'. N.W.A.'s album gave every gangsta in L.A. and a heap of fake gangstas the hope and idea to make their own record. Some like MC Eiht and Quik actually could rap and produce quality beats while plenty were just N.W.A. clones. Over on the East coast Schoolly was still keeping it hard along with the legendary Mob$tyle from Harlem and some Kool G Rap & DJ Polo tracks, some Just Ice tracks and also P.H.D. (Poet & Hot Day).

Back on the west though things went crazy when the movie 'Colors' came out and showed the rest of America and the world what Crips and Bloods were all about. Even though gangs were always somehow involved in hip hop from the very beginning with all the hard New York gangs like the Black Spades etc and oldschool artist Afrika Bambaataa coming out of the 70's gang era, it wasn't until 'Straight Outta Compton' and 'Colors' that Gangsta Rap was a huge part of the scene. With all the gang violence going around the Boogie Down Productions released the track 'Stop The Violence', shortly after this a Self Destruction' 12" featuring a bunch of east coast kings at the time like Moe Dee, Stetsasonic and D Nice etc which was on the stop the violence theme. The west coast came out with their very own version called 'We're All In The Same Gang' that featured Ice T, MC Hammer, CPO and Cubeless NWA amongst others. A dope video came out for it as well as an entire compilation on 'Grand Jury' records that featured artists like the Latin Kings.

O.F.T.B. - Slangin' Dope (Video)

Every parent group and politician in America blamed the music for every murder and driveby in the late 80's and early 90's which caused incredible publicity for any rapper with a gun on the cover. Many artists themselves pointed the finger at gangsta rappers claiming they're ruining the culture. In about '92 / '93 things got real heated after the four cops got let off after beating down Rodney King which caused the LA riots that saw LA gangs terrorize streets like Crenshaw BLVD. Other movies came out like 'Boyz N Tha Hood', 'Menace II Society', 'CB4' and 'Fear Of A Black Hat'.


Somehow in '92/'93 some sets of both Crips & Bloods had a truce which led to tracks like 'Peace Treaty' by Kam and 'Gotta Lotta Love' by Ice T. Around this time Kelly Park Crip, Tweedy Bird Loc and Ronnie Ron brought out the Bloods & Crips 'Bangin On Wax' compilations, the 'RIP Ridas' albums and the 'Damu Ridas' albums. These got dissed by alot of Bloods & Crips claiming they were sellouts for appearing on record with oppisite sets and colors. As well as having some first time rappers show they got skills on the mic some slightly experienced rappers like Nini X (Under World Connection) who was known as Bloody Mary (R.I.P.) and Domino who was known as Genuine Draft also featured on the project, as well as rappers like B Brazy, Green Eyes, Lil' Stretch, Red Rag, Blu Rag and Fo' Clips amongst plenty of others. Since the Bloods & Crips project came out, alot of them have been killed. Of course while everyone was going on about the Crips ans Bloods people forgot all about Surenos and Nortenos and Latins who run alot of the west coast.

KAM - Peace treaty (Video)

Hip hop is filled with gangstas that rap, former gangstas that now rap or rappers that pretend they were or are gangstas to sell records (like the fairy tale gangsta O'Shea), Although the whole crips & Bloods part of hip hop has pretty much faded out of the scene they are still aroung both on and off the mic. It's just unfortunate that alot of hip hop fans and artists try and knock down this part of the culture, just because they don't like it and wish it didn't exist doesn't mean it's not hip hop. Hip hop started in the ghettos and has emerged into a world wide culture of millions of people rapping about THEIR background, upbringing and life experiences. So, if artists like South Central Cartel rapped about anything other than gangs and gangstas they'll be just as fake as someone from a nice neighbourhood trying to act like a gangsta. Fuck anyone that tries to disregard 'Gangsta Rap' or 'Reality Rap' as not being hip hop, if you don't like it don't listen. For those that do, here is a few gangsta tracks I hope you enjoy.

I didn't put any of the Bloods & Crips stuff up because I'm going to do a 'Dangerous Records' post soon. Nailing this post down to just a handful of tracks was near impossible, missing out Schoolly's 'PSK' Ice T's '6 N The Morning' and 'Colors' and Eazy's 'Boyz N Tha Hood' which are all pioneering gangsta rap tracks was hard but I thought everyone would already have them. Even so, there are so many incredible gangsta tracks that I think I might just put up 5 at a time every now and then for the fuck of it.



MP3's:
*Stop The Violence Movement - Self Destruction
*West Coast Rap Allstars - We're All In The Same Gang
KMC - Gangsters
Ice T - Gotta Lotta Love
Gregory D - Gangsta Life
>>DOWNLOAD<<


*Featuring - KRS One, MC Delight, Kool Moe Dee, MC Lyte, Daddy-O, Wise, D-Nice, Ms Melodie, Doug E Fresh, Just Ice, Heavy D, Fruitkwan, Chuck D & Flavor Flav.

*Featuring - King Tee, Body & Soul, Def Jef, Michel'le, Tone Loc, Above The Law, Ice T, DR Dre & MC Ren, JJ Fad, Young MC Digital Underground, Oaktown 357, MC Hammer & Eazy E.

(Rap Pages April '93 - Click To Enlarge)

* If anyone's after Bloody Mary's 'Day Of Resurection' album or other dope gangsta abums check out Pimpin' On Wax. This guy's got some dope shit and has given us nothing but respect for a fuckin' long time now. Check his blog out, bookmark it or link it...... and get some nice beats.

Masta Ace Remix Vinyl Rips

To me Master Ace's 'Slaughter House' is one of the best albums to come out of the east coast ever. I have heard alot of people say that 'Sittin On Chrome' is their favourite Ace album, but to me there is no competition, 'Slaughter House' burns it. The 'So Now U A MC' track is from the 12" pictured below and the other 3 are from the 'Slaughter House' 12 pictured above, which by the way has one of the dopest record covers I have ever seen. Although I'm definately not Ace's biggest fan (Travis and the boys at Wake Your Daughter Up have already taken that spot) however I fuckin' love his original style and unique voice on the mic.


Masta Ace MP3's:
So Now U A MC (Creators REMIX)
Slaughter House (Death REMIX)
Slaughter House (Murder REMIX)
Style Wars (REMIX)
>>DOWNLOAD<<

O.C.U. - Penitentiary Bound E.P. (Vinyl Rip)

These guys have appeared on our blog a couple of times already with tracks from their 'Stronger Than The Mafia' album. That album is pretty def but at least in my opinion doesn't match their debut E.P. they dropped on cassette and vinyl back in about 1990. There's no year on the cover or record but their album came out in '91. O.C.U. (Organized Crime Unit) are an underground group from South Chicago that consists of Homicidal MC, Impact, Murder 1, Sudden Death and DJ Tragic. The E.P. is on Kapone Records and is a must if your into underground 90's gangsta hip hop. The track 'Cocaine' reminds me of Mix-A-Lots 'Im Your New God' that came out a year later on 'Mack Daddy'. I hope you guys love this shit as much as I do.

MP3's:
O.C.U. - Penitentiary Bound
O.C.U. - Don't Give A Bitch An Inch
O.C.U. - Murder In The 1st Degree
O.C.U. - Cocaine
>>DOWNLOAD<<

Conseps & Patti - The Ice Breaker

...:::Spirit Kitchen Recordings Presents:::...
CONSEPS & PATTI
THE ICE BREAKER
...:::Mixed By DJ Kansel:::...

....:::Tracklisting:::...
1:The Ice Breaker
2: Force The Content
3. Resident Records Exclusive
4: Take Caution
5: Just Visiting
6: Positively Negative
7: Brain Dump (Original)
8: Office Space
9: The Insult
10: Suss Character (Original)
11: Headshots
12: B Sharp Records Exclusive
13: No Edicate
14: Clinic 116 Exclusive
15: Moeshzilla & King Kongseps
16: Bonus Scratch Mix

>> DOWNLOAD <<

Whatchya Sippin On??

Whether it be a 40 of Old English, a styrofoam cup of lean, a swig of hennessy or a sip of crunk juice - rappers have been rhyming about sipping liquid since the early stages of hip hop's creation. Artists such as Tha Alkaholiks and Drank-A-Lot of The Luniz emerged over time fully embracing the art of drinking up big, both in their names and in their music. Tha Liks debut album, '21 & Over' not only pictured the trio reaching to a fridge packed with 40's on the cover, but also played host to tracks such as 'Only When I'm Drunk' and 'Last Call'.

Fellow Likwit Crew member and mainstay of the Compton rap scene King Tee recorded the short yet funky DJ Pooh produced 'King Tee's Beer Stand' which featured Ice Cube and was recorded as a marketing jingle for the St. Ides Malt Liquor company for a mixtape but was soon withdrawn due to controversy, instead it found its way on King Tee's 1993 'Tha Triflin Album' release. St Ide's also pursued promotion of their product through various other rappers including the likes of Snoop, The Geto Boys, Nate Dogg, EPMD and the Wu Tang Clan who all featured on various commercials for the company.


Various 40 ounce bottles of brew have made their way on to countless hip hop album covers over the years, for example on Jay Tee's (CEO of 40oz Records) 'So Cold' album, Street Military's 'Next Episode' which also has a disc resembling a 40oz label, the aforementioned Alkaholiks covers, the insert of Sir Mix-A-Lot's 'Mack Daddy', Duce Duce's 'A Sip Of The Duce' and quite possibly the most well known example, Eazy E's classic 'It's On' EP, which pictures the late Compton legend pouring out some liquor while standing up against a brick wall to resemble the death of Dre's career. Subsequently, Eazy E's 1996 posthumous release 'Str8 Off Tha Streetz of Muthaphuckin Compton' featured the 40 Oz. themed 'Sippin On A 40' featuring BG Knoccout and Dre'sta.


Aside from the malt liquor variety of drinking tracks there is one of the Vallejo hip hop scene's most celebrated icons, E-40 from The Click, who named himself after his favourite poison. 40 Water also gives various mentions of his love drank in numerous tracks, not in the least 'Carlos Rossi', a dedication to that top of the line wine off of his 'Federal' album. Cypress Hill's 'Tequila Sunrise' off of their 'IV' release is another track that comes to mind when thinking about drink tracks, the track features Barron Ricks and the single's cover is a picture of a custom made Cypress Hill bottle of tequila. The Coup I'm not even going to bother trying to list all the Chicano rappers and their lines about Corona's, but needless to say there's alot of them.

The promo campaign for Esham's 2003 album 'Repentance' consisted of various iconic alcohol labels (Corona, Jack Daniels, Budweiser etc) customized with his album info on it, with the actual album cover following suit. In terms of Australian hip hop there have been a fair few drinking tracks, mostly yobbo raps about drinking VB's etc, but the one to stand out of the crowd for me is Trials' 'Bottleshop', a remix of 50 Cent's 'Candy Shop' that features on a couple of the BattleHoggs mixes. Back to the US and you have Kansas City's Tech N9ne is known for going on about his love for Caribou Lou, even dedicating a whole track to it on his latest album 'Everready: The Religion', really there are just far too many examples to mention but you get the point. You also have the style of tracks that are just a generally about drinking, and not a beverage in particular, for example C Bo's 'Liquor Sto' off of his 'Gas Chamber' album. Also worth mentioning is the age old tradition of pourin' out some liquor for those who've passed on, not merely just a rap thing but still another affiliation with alcohol and hip hop.

Aside from alcohol you have rappers like Lil Jon brining out their own energy drink, in his case 'Crunk Juice', Nelly has his 'Pimp Juice', Esham and co rapping about chugging down embalming fluid and then you have ICP, who have proudly promoted Faygo soda pop throughout their careers, a cost-efficient soft drink that originated in Detroit. Sprite has used hip hop as a tool to promote its product down the track, with the likes of Crazy Legs, Kid Capri & Afrika Bambaataa (see below for full list) promoting the Coca-Cola company drink. Moving the attention to the southern states of America and you have lean, made famous by people like DJ Screw, Three Six Mafia, UGK, Paul Wall, which is a concoction of cough syrup containing codeine and promethazine that is mixed with one of a number of other liquids to create a slowed down sensation for the consumer. The slow motion effects caused by the purple drank spawned the Screwed-&-Chopped phenomenon that was created by the late DJ Screw who would stop playing his normal DJ set at 3am and switch to the slowed down set which is where the name came from. Although the details of DJ Screws death are still a bit sketchy it's believed he O.D.'d on lean. His legacy keeps growing through his crew the S.U.C. (Screwed Up Click) and many other DJ's and producers who have made millions of dollars off of Screw idea and keep bringing out 'Screwed & Chopped' versions of most albums that are coming out of the south, even alot of the classics have been re-released Screwed-&-Chopped, my knowledge of sizzurp is minimal so I'll just leave it there.

So, to wrap this post up, you can see (and would of already been well aware) that drinks have got a fair share of representation in hip hop, especially when it comes to alcohol. I know that what I've mentioned is really only the tip of the iceberg, so feel free to let me know any of the many things I left out. Below are a few tracks about alcohol for your listening pleasure, enjoy.

MP3's:
E 40 - Carlos Rossi
Eazy E ft BG Knoccout & Dre'sta - Sippin On A 40
The Alkaholiks - Only When I'm Drunk
King Tee ft Ice Cube - King Tee's Beer Stand
Tech N9ne - Caribou Lou
>> DOWNLOAD <<

Check Out The Flavour (Vinyl Rips)

If only there were more semi-bootleg companies like the Dutch company 'Rapture' that released this gem. It's filled with 20 gangsta tracks all with 'Ichiban' distribution. It features groups like Insane Poetry, DCP, Success N Effect, Black Jack, Huggy, Criminal Nation, Madrok, MC Rod, Detroits Most Wanted, 44 Max, Father Dom, Kilo as well as The Hard Boys, Gangsta Pat and Capital Punishment which are the three MP3's I put up for download. If there are any wax fiends checking this out into the gangsta shit, this record is a must as I'm sure you'd know how hard it is to find some of these tracks on vinyl.



MP3's:
The Hard Boys - Armed Robbery
Gangsta Pat - My Neighbourhood
Capital Punishment - Murder (STRING MIX)
>>DOWNLOAD<<

KRS ONE (1988)

Finally got around to uploading some footage to youtube, fuck I didn't think it was gonna take 5 hours. Anyway, I'm not sure exactly what show this was taped from as I got a dub of it but the documentary it's from starts with this footage of KRS One from his BDP days in '88 and also features a short segment about people against the making of 'Colors', some footage of Kool Herc, Bambataa, some graf bits and pieces amongst a heap of other oldschool footage from 1988. I'm not sure how often I wanna be uploading shit to youtube because of the time factor but we'll try and put some more up now and then. Hope you enjoy the few minutes of KRS.

R.I.P. Nini X

Rest In Peace:
Nini X
(A.K.A. Nina Ross/Bloody Mary)

Real Name: Unknown
Hailing From: Steubenville, OH / Los Angeles, CA
Date Of Birth: Unknown
Date Of Death: 19 November 2006
Cause Of Death: Nini X was riding her motorbike and unintenionally became involved in somebody elses high speed chase. Nini's bike was hit by an Escalade trying to outrun the police, and as a result she was placed into a braindead state and subsequently her life support was pulled.

Nini X released a solo album titled 'She's Dangerous' in 1994 and she was also a part of the 'Bloods & Crips' releases, also featuring on Tweedy Bird Loc's work. Nini also appeared on Assassin's 'Hitworks Vol 1' under the alias Nina Ross/Bloody Mary.

Thanks to 7-11 for bringing this tragedy to our attention, for more info you can check out Assassin's post on Street Hop and Nini X's myspace page.



MP3's:
Tweedy Bird Loc ft Nini X - A Hoe Is A Bitch
Bloody Mary AKA Nina Ross - Nine Double M.M. / 9MM
>> DOWNLOAD <<

Hard To Obtain Vol 4 (Vinyl Rips)

Although I grew up on alot of the typical east coast stuff like Run DMC, Public Enemy, Moe Dee, Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, Donald D, Masta Ace, Schoolly, Eric B & Rakim etc etc, over the 90's when most people went crazy over Premiere production and all the "classics", I was mainly listening to west and south beats and I know most hip hop heads will disagree with me, alot of those head nodding east beats from the mid 90's put me to sleep. I still love all those old school artists I grew up on, some 90's artists and alot of the new stuff coming out now like Q Strange and Thirstin Howl the 3rd but just can't seem to get anything out of alot of the stuff most people love. Anyway, seems not to much east stuff gets put on here I have decided to chuck up a couple of rips from this compilation on 'Vibe' Records called 'Hard To Obtain Vol 4' that I picked up on wax a while back.

I have no idea what so ever if these tracks are "Hard To Obtain", or if every blog and site have these for download all the time? I'll be curious to know though if anyone wants to enlighten me.

MP3's:
Tragedy, King Tee, Grand Puba, Def Jef, Chubb Rock - Keep Control
Red Hot Lover Tone ft Notorious BIG, Pharoah Monch, MOP - This Is For My Niggaz
Lord Finesse ft Big L - Yes You May (REMIX)
>>DOWNLOAD<<

For Your Bitch.... With Love

With Valentines Day only days away, we thought we'd put up a few romantic tracks for you to download, burn and put on when you and your special lady are alone on the 14th. Nothing will get your bitch in the mood like a Q Strange cut. No thanks needed guys..... we do what we can.

MP3's:
Q Strange - Smack That Hoe
Poison Clan - The Bitch That I Hate
Esham - Ex-Girlfriend
Insane Poetry - Til Death Do Us Part
Bushwick Bill - Dirty Bitch
>> DOWNLOAD <<

MC Mr Tink - Quest For Survival (Vinyl Rip)

I have absolutely no doubt that you can't judge the quality of an album by it's cover alone but when your digging through crates at a record store you can sort of tell what style of hip hop something is by the cover. For instance, if there is a couple of guys on the cover holding gats and the track listing looks pretty gangsta you don't have to be a genius to work out that there is a large body count tally over the dozen tracks. This doesn't mean it's gonna be a quality album but fuck it, I love that gangsta shit and will definately be trying it out. That's exactly what happened a couple of years ago when I was sussing ebay out for a rare record and came accross this interesting cover......

I bookmarked it and waited until the last second to put in my sniper bid and won the auction for a sweet fuck all. I had no idea what to expect from this album but when I finally got it and put it on it was definately worth tripple what I paid. I have never heard this guy mentioned anywhere before or after I grabbed it and I know absolutely nothing about MC Mr Tink except he's from Compton and apparently he's a part of the "Dirt Clan", whoever the fuck they are?

MC Mr Tink Vinyl Rip MP3's:
Victim Of The System
Rhymes Over Flowin'
Ball Yo Ass To The Grave
>>DOWNLOAD<<

Dope Duos

With 2 rappers having to share the spotlight on an album, the key to success is both artists having styles/deliveries that compliment each other well, and both also need to be able to transcend between each others verses at ease. There have been numerous quality duos that have graced the hip hop scene over the years, as well as many who are still currently active. I haven't set out for this post to be a broad overview of all the dope duos that have put out a record, instead I'm just going to touch on 5 that I listen to a fair bit and who possess the aforementioned attributes, this is really just the tip of the iceberg but it's a starting point none the less.

Twin Beredaz
(Coast & Quota Key)
Few duos I've come accross have had the same level of cohesion as these two Houston emcees, and surprisingly enough, these two artists didn't even grown up together. Both artists gained the attention of Dope House Records and were doing their own thing for the label until they started hooking up and doing some tracks together, once Coast had been offered a record deal he insisted that the label sign Quota Key as well, and in doing so Twin Beredaz came into effect. Coast, who hails from Epsom Downs, and Quota Key, who hails from 1st Ward, have an uncanny chemistry on record and both flow flawlessly, therefore enabling their music to sound so free-flowing and incredible. In 2002 the two Texas emcees dropped their debut album, the self titled 'Twin Beredaz' on Dope House Records, an album that showcases their ability to record a diverse range of tracks and still come off sounding sick on all of them. Both have since released solo albums and a follow up Twin Beredaz album simply titled "Coast & Quota" has been set to drop for sometime.

BG Knoccout & Dre'sta
There isn't much I can say about this Compton gangsta rap duo that Bullant hasn't already mentioned in his review of 'Real Brothas', so if you've read that then this paragraph is probably going to sound pretty familiar. They gained a lot of attention by appearing on Eazy E's Dre/Snoop diss 'Real Muthaphukkin G's' and later went on to drop the aforementioned album on Outburst/Def Jam in 1995. The fact that these two are actually real brothers goes along way in explaining why they sound perfect with each other on record. With BG Knoccout's fast and funky rhymes and Dre'sta's raw delivery lacing top notch Rhythm D beats, there aren't many albums out there than can match this release's smootheness. Sorry for just rehashing what Bullant has already mentioned, but I couldn't do a post on quality duos in hip hop and leave these two guys out, to me, they possess all the characteristics that make a duo dope. Also if you didn't know B.G. Knoccout was recently released from prison after about a decade inside and is teaming back up with his bro to hopefully drop another gem.

UGK
(Bun B & Pimp C)
Underground Kingz Bun B and Pimp C are long time friends from Pt Arthur, Texas, who formed in the late 1980's and who have gone on to forge successful careers both as a duo and with their solo efforts. Both halves of this duo sound totally different, with Bun B bringing his dominating delivery to the table and Pimp C offering his unique southern swagger, UGK's contrasting styles go together perfectly and from their early work up to the latest solos from both, I've yet to hear a UGK release I haven't liked. Although, without taking anything away from Pimp C, Bun B is definitely my favourite emcee of the two, his 2005 'Trill' album is (along with GB's 'Foundation') my favourite Rap-A-Lot album to have dropped in the new century. With their first release dating back to 1987 and with a highly anticipated self titled album due to drop in the coming months, the Texas tandem have established themselves as figureheads of the dirty south hip hop scene.


Eightball & MJG
Hailing from Orange Mound (Memphis, Tennessee), Eightball and MJG met each other in 1984 while attending Ridgeway Junior High. Both had a desire to get involved in the hip hop game, and after years of honing their skills they dropped their debut LP 'Comin' Out Hard' on Suave House Records in 1993, they have since followed up with various other additions to their discography, both as a pair as well as solos. Eightball and MJG, whose music consists of interlacing gangsta rhymes rapped over funky southern beats, is often credited as the inspiration for a lot of rappers who came up in the south throughout the 90's and into the new millenium. Eightball himself doesn't mince words when speaking on his personal opinions of himself, he has been quoted as saying "The difference between us and the other groups people would compare us with is that those groups grew up on us". In 2004 the duo went in search of mainstream appeal signing for P Diddy's Bad Boy label and they went gold with their 'Living Legends' release. Following such high record sales, Eightball and MJG have stuck with Bad Boy and their new album, 'Ridin High', is slated for release this month.


Night Hawks
(Cage & Camu Tao)
First off, I'm aware that Night Hawks is really a one off project rather than an established duo, but I've added them into this post anyway because of the dope concept behind their 2002 self titled release that dropped on Eastern Conference Records. Cage Kennylz and Camu Tao (MegaHertz) take the positions of Det. Sgt. Deke Da Silva and Det. Sgt. Matthew Fox, two fictional characters from the 1981 film 'Nighthawks" starring Sylvester Stallone and Billy Dee Williams in the respective roles. Unlike the movie, in the audio version put forward by Cage and Camu Tao, the two New York cops are crooked as fuck and with each track they outline their antics. Cage and Camu Tao are on point throughout this album, and with quality production work from High And Mighty's DJ Mighty Mi and Camu Tao himself, this album successfully recreates the same sinister feel that the movie brings about.


MP3's:
Twin Beredaz - The Best Man
BG Knoccout & Dre'sta - Real Brothas
UGK - Protect And Serve
Eightball & MJG - Pimp In My Own Rhyme
Night Hawks - Night Hawks
>> DOWNLOAD <<

Remix Vinyl Rips Pt 3

I was up half of Friday night ripping tracks from my wax to Mp3 and still have a fair way to go, but for now I have over 30 rare B' side tracks/remix tracks and a few other rarities. To start off the third vinyl rips post, I've put up 3 more remixes. The first is a "G-Mixx" of Above The Laws 'Livin Like A Hustler' off of their Ruthless Records 'Vocally Pimpin' E.P.

Secondly is from San Jose's, M.C. Twist. The track is a remix to 'Step Off' from the B' side to 'Smoking C.O.K.E. This track is nowhere near the dopest track from M.C. Twists 'Bad Influence' album that came out on Lethal Beat Records in 1990. M.C. Twist started out on Luke Records with his debut album with The Def Squad and I think recorded another album a few years ago.


The last remix is by Rhyme Syndicate's, Toddy Tee. The track is 'I Need A Rolex' and it's original version is on the Rhyme Syndicate 'Comin Through' compilation from '88. Sire Warner released a double sided 12" from it that featured Domination on one side and Toddy Tee on the other which features the Rolex remix that is very different from the original and two other tracks that don't feature on the compilation including 'Hip Hop Gangster' that will be making it's way on a post somtime. Hope you enjoy these.


MP3's:
Above The Law - Livin Like A Hustler (REMIX)
MC Twist - Step Off (REMIX)
Toddy Tee - I Need A Rolex (REMIX)
>> DOWNLOAD <<

Short And Sweet

...::: EP's :::...

Extended Play's have existed since the early days of the LP age, however the format became a massive part of the music industry in the 1950's/60's thanks to the likes of Elvis (who moved 16.5 million EP units) and RCA who used the format to release a range of soundtracks for Disney. As far as I'm aware, EP's don't have any specific time frames or a distinct track quantity but the title usually fits releases with four to seven tracks. There have been alot of hip hop artisits and groups who have dropped EP's in the past, and although many are sick, the obvious let down is that when you listen to them you are often left wanting more once the final track finishes. When I start to think of EP's in hip hop, NWA's classic "100 Miles And Runnin" pops straight into my head, closely followed by all the oldschool Street Military EP's that I feel could of got alot more exposure if they had an extra few tracks on each. I think that doing complete reviews for EP's is a bit pointless because it's hard to write alot about each one, so I've decided to just briefly talk about 5 at a time in various posts, with this being the first.

Ray Luv - Who Can Be Trusted?
First up is the EP that actually inspired this post, Ray Luv's 'Who Can Be Trusted?' EP that dropped on Strictly Business Records in 1992. San Francisco's Ray Luv came up in the game under the wing of legendary West Coast producer Khayree in the early 90's and was once rap partners with Tupac Shakur (who he also ghost wrote for). Although once known as Roc-T, Ray Luv was inspired by Tupac to change his name before he dropped this EP and created alot of noise in the Bay Area. This release features cuts courtesy of DJ Cee and production from Khayree, and its duration runs just short of the half hour mark. Although I only bought 'Who Can Be Trusted' recently, I've given his first full length album 'Forever Hustlin' alot of play over time, and although I wouldn't say the EP is of the same standard, it has a raw feel to it and some quality tracks, for example "1 Fo Ya Ass (Raymond's Dead)" that I've put up here for you to download.

Al-D - Mind At Ease
As the brother of late Houston pioneer DJ Screw, Al-D's Screwed Up Click membership is a given. After coming out with the 'Home Of The Free' album in 1995, Al-D followed up the next year with his 'Mind At Ease' EP on Jam Down Entertainment. Although it goes for almost 40 minutes, the run time is deceiving as the last track of the EP is an instrumental and the 2 tracks prior are just radio edits. With that already pointed out, I'd say the remaining 5 tracks make this EP worth owning if you're a fan of the SUC sound coming out of Texas. For me, the highlight of this release is the title track, 'Mind At Ease', featuring Act, Shorty Mac and Houston hip hop heavyweight Lil Keke. In 2001 Al-D came back with the '4 Da Green' album which is also available in a screwed-n-chopped version, he can also be heard on various Texas hip hop mixtapes and albums from other Screwed Up Click representers.

Eazy E - 5150: Home 4 Tha Sick
Although the cover clearly says that this is a 'Maxi-Single', I'm going to include Eazy E's 1992 '5150: Home 4 Tha Sick' into this post any way because it has 4 full length tracks that don't feature on any of his other original releases. Obviously Eazy is far from at his best on the repetitive Naughty By Nature produced 'Only If You Want It', but I've got to admit I still enjoy the track a fair bit, although the following 3 tracks are what make this a must have. 'Neighborhood Sniper' featuring Cold 187um is the jewell of this release, when you combine Eazy's ruthless gangsta lyrics with a hook that is as dope and original as the one on this track, you can't lose, the video for this track is also top notch as well. 'Niggaz My Height Don't Fight' allows Eazy to do what he did best, drop straight gangsta rhymes without playing around. To close out this short release, Eazy wishes the listeners a 'Merry Muthafuckin Xmas' with the help of a range of guests, including Will 1X (now Will.I.Am), who actually sounded pretty sick back then...damn, things have changed! R.I.P. Eazy E.

Rasheed - Livin' In D Ghetto
Philadelphia native Rasheed was an already accomplished battle rapper before he moved to Houston, Texas and dropped the 'Livin' In D Ghetto' EP on Lil Troy's Short Stop Records in 1994. For me, the stand out tracks on this grimey 33 minute release are: 'Skinny Nappy Nigga', 'Mr Fingers' and 'Boom Boom Bye'. After his stint at Short Stop, Rasheed later went on to sign with South Park Mexican's Dope House Records and established himself as an integral member of the Dope House family, as well as releasing the 'WetBlack' album alongside Low G. In comparison to his latest efforts, Rasheed's 1994 EP has a more rough, rugged and raw vibe to it, and although I prefer his newer stuff, the old Rasheed sound was still pretty sick. In the last couple of years Rasheed has released an array of different mixtapes etc that I'm still trying to catch up with, he's also got another album titled 'Street Corner Hustler' that he's ready to unleash, so it's safe to say he's been prolific in recent times.

3X Krazy - Sick-O
In 1995 the Oakland trio 3X Krazy (consisting of B.A, Agerman and Keak Da Sneak) dropped their debut EP, 'Sick-O' on Str8 Game Records. The EP, which runs for over 36 minutes, doesn't showcase the best of what the group had to offer, but it still proved as an effective introduction into the game, with the group since going from strength to strength both as a trio and in terms of forging solo careers. The stand out track on this EP is the title track, 'Sick-O', which features Gangsta P and Rap-A-Lot Records artisit Seagram (R.I.P.) from the 69Ville. For me, Seag grabs all the attention on this release with his solitary verse, and although 3X Krazy themselves hold their own, there is something about them that fails to grab me. The Bay Are trio followed up this EP in 1997 with their much requested 'Stackin Chips' album, which I think does the group alot more justice and is well worth listening to if you're into Bay Area hip hop.

MP3's:
Ray Luv - 1 Fo Ya Ass (Raymond's Dead)
Al-D ft Act, Shorty Mac & Lil Keke - Mind At Ease
Eazy E - Neighborhood Sniper
Rasheed - Boom Boom Bye
3X Krazy ft Seagram, Gangsta P - Sick-O
>>DOWNLOAD<<

Mixtape Drama

This post is more just a filler to get us through the next few days as we've just got a new computer and are getting software etc all sorted out. Hopefully this will improve the quality of this blog as so far it's been running on an oldschool computer from around '99, running on WindowsME and incompatible with most programmes. When we get it sussed we'll be able to rip a heap of rare vinyl tracks that we've been itching to put on since we started (Afects did hook us up with a couple of dozen that he ripped off of Bullant's wax). We'll also be looking at uploading various bits of footage to youtube and posting them here.

As for the "Mixtape Drama" title, you've probably already heard that DJ Drama & DJ Cannon are in custody after their mixtape lab got raided and thousands of mixtapes along with computers and recording equiptment were seized. Instead of me rehashing a story that's already on other blogs I'll just link you up to Certified Hip Hop and especially the HoustonSoReal blog for more info as Matt Sonzala keeps updating the world with more info.

While we're on the topic of mixtape DJ's, here is the first bit of DVD footage we've ripped, it is a short segment of DJ Kansel's (BattleHoggs) set from the KB Da Kidnappa Oz Tour in August 2006. On the right side of the screen you can download a range of BattleHogg Mixtapes.