Used CD Shopping Trip 2-27-07

First off, it's day two of "Reader Apperciation Week". One of our loyal visitors, Stag, nailed it on the first response, congrats Stag. Stag picked the Shadz Of Lingo LP, so it is now gone. Guess I need to pick something a little harder. Today's should be, but if you watched "Yo! MTV Raps" back in the day, you'll have a better chance at it. Just to review here is how it is working:

1. Each day this week, I'll ask a trivia question, Hip Hop related of course. The FIRST person to answer CORRECTLY in the comments section (MUST BE IN THE COMMETS OF THAT DAYS POST) will get their choice of CD's. There are three CD's left, the winner get's their choice. I AM THE JUDGE, THE JURY, AND WHAT I SAY, GOES....END OF DISCUSSION.

2. I will give the official decision by the end of the day. I will then have that person email me their address and their choice of CD and I'll send off the CD on Saturday or Monday. International is fine.

3. One question will be announced from today until Friday. I will try to announce the day before when I'll post the question for the next day.

4. You can only win once, keep it fair for everyone else (Sorry Stag).The four CD's that are being given away.

I personally vouch for all of them, or I wouldn't have bought them twice.

1. Cru - Tha Dirty 30 (Violator, 1997)

A slept-on album from the Violator crew. Features the majority of the production done by Yogi, who would go on to become a member of Puffy's "Hitmen" crew. Guest appearances by Ras Kass, Slick Rick, & The Lox. (yes, I do know what it's going for on Amazon, but seems like more of a hassle than it's worth, plus I know where to get another one if I wanted to sell it. All I ask if you pick this one, pick it for your own personal use)

2. Prime Minister Pete Nice & Daddy Rich - Dust to Dust (Def Jam, 1993)If you don't know who this is, you shouldn't have this album. 2/3 of Third Bass, with production from the Beatnuts, KMD (MF Doom), Sam Sever, and Pete and Rich themselves. Guest spots by Pyscho Les of the Beatnuts, Kurious, and a debut performance of Cage.

3. Barsha - Barsha's Explicit Lyrics (Bum Rush Records, 1990)Part of the First Priority music family. Production handled by Audio Two and the King of Chill. Ignore the bad cover.

Tomorrow, I will ask the question sometime in the morning. I'll make it a little more interesting and you'll have to guess when I do it. It will be sometime between 6am MST and Noon MST, that's all I'm saying.

Today's Question:

During Big Daddy Kane's birthday party in '91 or '92, a new and up and coming MC dissed Kane while he was freestyling on the mic. This was at Kane's OWN BIRTHDAY PARTY I mind you. Who was the MC?

(I had the tape, and I wish to god I could find it again)

Good luck! First to answer correctly, wins.

Used Shopping Trip 2-27-07: Second Spin, Denver, Colorado ($11.62)

It's been awhile since I posted one of these because, well, it's sucked the last couple times. I went two weeks ago and basically got shut out, at least on the used CD tip although I did bring home three new CD's. Seems like I've been pounding my usual spots a little too hard and the new places I've gone to check out have been very lackluster in any material to get me excited.

Yesterday I was out and about doing some errands after work and was driving by Second Spin. I figured "what the hell" and stopped by. It had been awhile since I hit it up. Once again, they are having one of their sales, "Buy two used CD's get the third half priced" and "Any CD under $3.99 is half off". After going through the regular area for the used CD's and not finding anything I really wanted or needed, I went to the bargain bins. They had filled them up since last time, which was a good sign. It's a time consuming and back breaking ordeal (I'm 6'2 or so and bending down to read the titles is a bitch). After digging through three different bins, I finally found somethings worth buying. I'm not saying this is the best batch of stuff I've ever brought home. There is actually some really wack shit in here, but when you aren't paying more than $2.00 for a CD, I can live with a few slip ups here and there. So here is the list.

Juvenile Committee - Free Us Colored Kids (Grand Jury Entertainment, 1993) $2.00

I've never been big on the kids rap thing from past, but I didn't mind these kids on the "Juice" OST from back in the day. They were on Micheal Conecption's label, a former banger who was responsible for the "We're All In The Same Gang" movement on the west coast. I had honestly never listened to this LP before, but since it had a Bomb Squad track and a DJ Quik track, I figured I'd roll the dice. For two bucks, it's worth a listen.

Me Phi Me - One (RCA, 1992) $1.00

I know, what the hell am I buying this for? Well I remember someone desparetely wanting this a few months ago. Hopefully they still want/need it, because this is really horrible. I was hoping I didn't like because of my closed mindedness I possesed when this originally dropped, but no, it still sucks. I think it was when labels where trying to get the next PM Dawn....imagine that....

Kilo - Bluntly Speaking (Ichiban, 1993) $1.50

Honestly I wouldn't have bought this if someone had't put a previous Kilo album link in Bust The Facts blog the day before. I don't know much about dude, but people seem to be wanting him. Saw this for cheap, figured what the hell?

Proffesor X - Puss 'N Boots, The Struggle Continues (Polygram, 1993) $1.00

I seem to remember this flopping when it came out and judging by the production, I can see why. I've been eyeballing it for sometime and then someone said they wanted it, figued I might as well pull for it. It gets a little tiring listening to the preaching, but it is what it is

Kwame - Incognito (Ichiban, 1994) $1.50

As we know, I like Kwame. This is his last album. It's honestly not THAT bad, but nothing like "A Day In The Life" which is a favorite of mine. Yeah, it's corny, but so what?

Urban Dance Squad - Mental Floss For The Globe (Arista, 1990)
*Link Can be found on Bust The Facts*

Some more Spearhead type shit. I loved the song "Deeper Shade of Soul" when I was kid, so I had the tape. The rest of it is on some, rock/hippie/hip hop type shit. For a $1.50, I'll re-add it to my collection

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Trav's Personal Favorites: L.A. Dream Team - Kings Of The West Coast

Reader Appreciation Week

Back again with some more knowledge to be dropped. But before we do that, I have a little announcement. We've been doing this blogging thing for awhile now, a year and a half to be exact in March. Polarity and I came up with the idea while trouncing through the blogs that were out there at that time. The blogging scene was much different at that time. There were a lot more single track blogs and very few, if any, album blogs out at the time. Most of the blogs then had some sort of writing done on them as well. Since then, the number of blogs has exploded in quagmire of material that is just awe inspiring. You can find almost anything if you look for it hard enough. The blogs have taken over the forums, the file sharing programs, and even the torrents to some extent. I like to think we have a nice little thing going on here. I mean, sure, there are better written blogs. There are blogs with deeper crates. There are blogs that post up more material and more often. I still like to think we are in the top 10% of the blogs out there. I'm not trying to be arrogant, but I think we have a very good core of visitors that visit the site quite often and in turn make me want to keep doing this. Our numbers have held steady over the month of February at around 1000. I'm sure there are blogs out there with more visitors, but I'm happy with what we have. Sure, I've had some negative experiences, but the positives have far out weighed the negatives. I hope to keep doing this into the foreseeable future.

I've always said that I'd do this even if there was only 50 people reading this blog. Hell, I did for the first seven or eight months. But in all honesty, while I might do it for a while, if it wasn't for the people who visit this blog everyday, I'd give up on it after awhile. I've met some great people by doing this and have been introduced to just as much music as I have introduced to others.

When I was on one of my used shopping trips this afternoon (more on that tomorrow), I was digging through the bargain bin and ran across a CD that I thought was a true pity to be sitting n the bin, that a lot of people on the site would probably like to have. Then it hit me, why don't I buy it (it was cheap) and give it away on the blog as some kind of an appreciation thing, then I remembered three other CD's that I have duplicates of that I had bought thinking I had lost the original CD, only to find it later on. Yeah, it might come off as desperate attempt to "be liked" or some bullshit, but in all honesty if I sold them back at a store around here, I wouldn't get more than a buck or two at the most. I'd rather see someone who actually wants them have them. So all this week is going to be "Reader Appreciation Week".

Here is how it's going to work:

1. Each day this week, I'll ask a trivia question, Hip Hop related of course. The FIRST person to answer CORRECTLY in the comments (MUST BE IN THE COMMETS OF THAT DAYS POST) will get their choice of CD's. Today, there will be four CD's to choose from. Tomorrow three and so on. I AM THE JUDGE, THE JURY, AND WHAT I SAY, GOES....END OF DISCUSSION.

2. I will give the official decision by the end of the day. I will then have that person email me their address and their choice of CD and I'll send off the CD on Saturday or Monday. International is fine.

3. One question will be announced from today until Friday. I will try to announce the day before when I'll post the question for the next day.

4. You can only win once, keep it fair for everyone else.

The four CD's that are being given away. I personally vouch for all of them, or I wouldn't have bought them twice.

1. Cru - Tha Dirty 30 (Violator, 1997)
A slept-on album from the Violator crew. Features the majority of the production done by Yogi, who would go on to become a member of Puffy's "Hitmen" crew. Guest appearances by Ras Kass, Slick Rick, & The Lox. (yes, I do know what it's going for on Amazon, but seems like more of a hassle than it's worth, plus I know where to get another one if I wanted to sell it. All I ask if you pick this one, pick it for your own personal use)

2. Prime Minister Pete Nice & Daddy Rich - Dust to Dust (Def Jam, 1993)
If you don't know who this is, you shouldn't have this album. 2/3 of Third Bass, with production from the Beatnuts, KMD (MF Doom), Sam Sever, and Pete and Rich themselves. Guest spots by Pyscho Les of the Beatnuts, Kurious, and a debut performance of Cage.

3. Barsha - Barsha's Explicit Lyrics (Bum Rush Records, 1990)
Part of the First Priority music family. Production handled by Audio Two and the King of Chill. Ignore the bad cover.

4. Shadz Of Lingo - A View To A Kill (EMI, 1994)
They debuted on Erick Sermon's "No Pressure" album. Production by Diamond D, Erick Sermon, Dallas Austin, and Madness 4 Real.

Clear????


The Question for today:

What is Masta Ace's FIRST and LAST name?

leave your answers in the comment section for this post. First person with the correct answer get's their choice of CD. Good luck and play on..........I will ask tomorrow's question at 5:00 pm Mountain Standard Time

Trav's Personal Favorites: L.A. Dream Team - Kings Of The West Coast

This selection is probably some what of a sentimental pick on my part. Like most people my age and not from the inner cities on the coasts, I was introduced to Hip Hop through Run DMC back in 1986. They will always hold a special place in my heart as the group that turned me onto something that hold dearly in my inner soul. I can't totally remember who was the second group/artist I got into. It could have been Whodini, who I heard a kid in my math class in 7th grade listening to (R.I.P. Chris Jones). It might have been the 2 Live Crew. I remembered sneaking over to a girls house while her parents were gone with a friend and they played "We Want Some Pussy" for the first time. I think though, it was this group, the L.A. Dream Team.

I remember sitting by the stereo my parents had bought me for Christmas that had dual cassette player (that was a big thing) and I had the record button down and my finger on the pause button, ready to spring into action at a seconds notice. I'd do this three-four times a night. Where I was from, it was mostly the annoying 80's garbage, but one night, they played "Nursery Rhymes". It became a hit in my town and would be on the "Top 5 at Nine" for a month.

My friend and I had been introduced to Run DMC, but if I remember right, "Raising Hell" wasn't out yet, but we had "Kings Of Rock". When "Raising Hell" dropped, there was a song called "Peter Piper", and we sure they were responsible for "Nursery Rhymes". You have to remember, we were naive little white kids in the 7th grade. The radio station would soon start playing "The Dream Team Is In The House", which I want to say was released before "Nursery Rhymes" but our little town was a bit behind the times. That song would catch fire as well. I'm not sure how we ever figured out who was who as far as the groups go, but I would get this tape for my birthday and I played it OVER AND OVER AND OVER again. I even cut off the front cover of the tape and pinned it to my wall. I still have that tape, missing cover and all.

The L.A. Dream Team were actually very instrumental in the West Coast's early hip hop scene. Before the gangsta phase that put SoCal on the map, L.A. and the surrounding area was heavy into the Electro scene, which was kind of a spin of dance and hip hop. You could credit it to the early Kraftwerk and the Soul Sonic Force of Afrika Bambaataa fame.

The Dream Team was composed of Rudy Pardee, who was a Cleveland native and Chris "Snake Puppy" Wilson. Rudy Pardee passed in a scuba diving accident in 1998, while Snake Puppy was is still involved in music and video production.

The album might sound dated to the younger listeners out there, but for the most part, the album is filled with early West Coast electro goodness. The two big songs for them were "The Dream Team Is In The House" and "Rockberry Jam", that I want to say appeared on a movie soundtrack of some sort. "Nursery Rhymes" as mentioned was a hit in my neck of the woods. I'm sure that the song, along with probably most of their stuff, was a regional thing. I found interesting that Tracy Kendrick and Courtney Branch also had a hand in producing this album, as they can be found producing for AMG and 2nd II None later on in the whole west coast area.

They would go on to release "Bad To The Bone", but the whole electro sound was fading by that time. Thanks to Dread at Bust The Facts for hooking me up with a digital copy of this. "Bad To The Bone" was also posted up on Bust The Facts with in the past week.

L.A. Dream Team - Kings Of The West Coast (MCA, 1986)
http://sharebee.com/2efa278c

1		Kings Of The West Coast (2:52)
2		The Dream Team Is In the House (5:13)
3		Nursery Rhymes (3:41)
4		You're Just Too Young (5:19)
5		Hollywood Boulevard (4:59)
6		And The Orchestra Plays (4:02)
7		Rockberry Jam (5:14)
8		Calling On the Dream Team (4:32)

9 The Dream Team Is In The House (Extended Version)
10 Rockberry Jam (Wicked Mix)

Re-Ups: Do a search in previous posts for any additional info you might want.

Ali Dee - Bring It On
http://sharebee.com/ec8ae672

1. Batter Up

2. Bring It On

3. How Ya Feel

4. Hit Em in da Head

5. Who's da Flava

6. Tap Skinz

7. Flip Cassette

8. Da Mann

9. Styles upon Styles

10. Take It Back

11. Dee Swings Jazz

12. Got 2 B Real

13. Crazy Swift

14. Murder at Midnight

15. Stompin' Committee

Smooth Ice - Smooth Ice
http://sharebee.com/214697d4

1		Do It Again (4:13)
2		Smooth But Def (4:05)
3		Without A Pause (2:53)
4		Gettin' Smooth (3:27)
5		Trunk Of Funk (3:48)
6		Pay Your Tickets (4:15)
7		Twice As Hard (3:53)
8		I'm Coming (3:42)
9		Now It Sounds Like A Record (3:59)
10		Rock Til Ya Drop (2:59)
11		Shout Out (3:04)

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Sunday Lite & The Week That Was

My day started with me rolling my hungover ass out of the rack around noon. I then spent about an hour surfing the net, reading up on my favorite subjects of hip-hop, weather, sports and fantasy baseball. My mojo just wasn't there yet. After a fairly calm and uneventful weekend, I helped a buddy celebrate his new house by breaking it in with a BBQ last night and I am paying the price today. Well after a shower and an infusion of ice tea and a Subway sandwich, I'm not sure if I feel better or worse, but I'm finally sitting down to pound this Sunday post out. Like last Sunday, I'm lacking in the motivation department, but hopefully like last weekend my ass will catch fire about half way through and I'll end up writing a decent enough post.

Things have been pretty busy around here lately. Between the normal everyday workings of this blog and some other side projects I have going on, my writing skills are certainly being tested. We still have an interview lined up as soon as we can work a time that can work with everyone involved. I'm pretty excited since it's my first interview and who it's with, but I'll leave it at that. I also have my first "guest blogger" slot coming up. I will be writing a guest post for a blog that I have much respect for, but we won't let the cat out of the bag on that either just yet. I will also will be involved with another site that is opening it's doors this spring. It's not hip hop related, but it might spark some interest for the regular visitors none the less. More on that when the site's opening gets closer. So I'm definitely not at a loss for work. All I know, is the smell of Spring is in the air. About freaking time after the winter we've had here.

They always say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, so I guess I should be flattered. Thursday night after a few beers while playing Madden with a buddy, I hopped online and floated around some of the hip-hop forums. I usually tend to stay away from sites like SOHH and UGHH, cause it just disturbs me at some of the shit I read on those sites. Well I was feeling a bit adventurous and decided to check out UGHH's forums. As I was looking through the posts, one caught my eye. This internet radio "D.J." was promoting his playlist for Thursday night. It consisted of The New Music Seminar from 1987, a Dr. Dre Roadium Mixtape and two albums from DJ Spinna.......hmmmmm. That sounds awful familiar, very similar to my Wednesday post. I'm not big on internet "beef" or confrontation. It's just stupid in my book and a waste of negative energy. But as I mentioned, I had a few beers in me and I'm known to be a lot more mouthier after a few pops in my system, plus dude seemed kind of conceited in some of his posts I had read, so I left him a little note saying it looked awful familiar to what a blog posted up the day before. Of course I got called a hater and a herb, and he had all the stuff on wax and his radio station was responsible for all the hip hop blogs. Whatever...I find it funny, but if you are going to use my ideas, at least give me credit for them and not act like you are the all holy savior of the Hip Hop radio movement. I'm glad I can influence people like that.....I'm truly flattered.

On to.....

Sunday Lite

After posting up Del on Friday, someone brought up a b-side to one of his singles off of his album, "Burnt". Del was great for putting out unreleased B-sides in his early years. Who can forget one of my favorite songs in "Undisputed Champs". As mentioned, "Burnt" song is more "Hiero sounding" in nature, it was also one of the first on wax appearances for the rest of the Hiero crew, with Opio, Tajai, Casual, and A+ all appearing on the track. All of them bring it on the mic and is just another example of the the b-side winning again.

Del feat A Plus, Opio, Tajai, & Casual - Burnt
http://www.zshare.net/audio/del-burnt-feat-opio-tajai-casual-a-mp3.html

I probably haven't said it much on here, but I'm a big fan of the Blastmaster, KRS-One. Sure he is hypocritical, condescending, and arrogant but I find it nearly impossible to question his achievements and contributions to hip hop. The man is probably up there in the top 5 MC's of all time. Yes, his image and legacy has been tarnished with some of his later releases, although last years "Life" release was his most enjoyable album since "I Got Next". I found this remix of "Questions & Answers" back on Cocaine Blunts waaaay back in the day. I can't find much info on the origins of this release. No history, no story, no nothing. I'm assuming it was produced by Pal Joey, who is almost more of a mystery than this song. He did a handful of tracks for BDP on Edutainment, Sex & Violence, and also did "Black Cop", a track on Cooly Live's album and a track for MC Lyte on her "Act Like You Know" release. I always thought he was the quintessential of the "Boom Bap" sound. Then he kind of just vanished. Regardless, this track is kind of cool. I'm not sure if I like it more than the original, but it's still fun to listen to.

Boogie Down Productions - Questions & Answers (Remix)
http://www.zshare.net/audio/bdp-question-and-answers-remix-mp3.html

If some asks me my favorite hip hop producer, I answer the same way probably 50% of the real hip hop heads would answer: DJ Premier. Primo's top accolades are amazing and some of the people he has worked with are the "Who's Who" among the hip hop world. But unlike a lot of producers that let the fame go to their head, he'll still do something for some unheard of MC. This cut comes from someone so unknown, I'm not even sure if I have the right name for this MC. I can't find nothing on the track, not on discogs, not on google, nothing. It doesn't sound like a trademark Primo beat, except the bassline sounds Primo-ish in nature, so I'm assuming it still is. It's a pretty tight beat, some nice horns and as I said, the bass line is nice. I found this on Soulseek way back in the day, so who knows what it really is. If anyone has any info, fill me in.

Mr. Dong (?) - Catch Wreck
http://www.zshare.net/audio/mr-dong-catch-wreck-mp3.html

This might become a Sunday Lite tradition, we have another live track for you. This from ruler, MC Rickey D aka Slick Rick and Doug E Fresh, doing a live rendition of "Treat Her Like A Prostitute". Doug is on the beat box and Rick is spitting the lyrics, ala "La Di Da Di". I have no clue if this is an old school, back in the day joint, or if this was after they got back together to do some stuff together later on. Regardless it's kind of a fun listen and definately worth putting in your "Live Hip-Hop" folder.

Slick Rick & Doug E Fresh - Treat Her Like A Prostitute (Live)
http://www.zshare.net/audio/slick-rick-doug-e-fresh-treat-her-like-a-prositute-live-mp3.html

Last but not least, is something I sent over to Jaz at "Cold Rock Da Spot", which I'm sure he'll be putting on one of his excellent compilations in the near future, but I thought I'd share it with whoever might have missed it. It's known by now that Polarity and I are both fans of Red Hot Lover Tone's hip hop material that he released in the early 90's. I also like the early Trackmasters stuff, while Polarity has a near unhealthy obsession with all their material. This is a Diamond D remix of his single "Give It Up", from his self titled debut LP. The beat is very fly and a prime example of why Diamond was killing it during this time period. It's edited, which is kind of a bitch, but still worth a listen, for the beat alone.

Red Hot Lover Tone - Give It Up (Diamond D Remix)
http://www.zshare.net/audio/red-hot-lover-tone-give-it-up-diamond-d-remix-mp3.html

Trav's Top 5 Spins of the Week

It was kind of an odd week as far as my listening habits went. I didn't really key on any one thing. I was out of blank CD's, so I didn't download much of anything new (I download shit at work, then burn it to a blank CD as mp3's, sly, I know). I was just listening to a variety of shit, but I'll try to sort it out as best as I can.

1. Cunninlynguists Discography -
This was the week the Juggaknots finally fell from the top. This week, I was more into familiarity, listening to some of my favorites, I guess I wasn't into a exploratory mode. I had the 'lynguists in my headphones quite a bit at work this past week. I also go to sleep every night with music on, and I usually prefer something I'm familiar with since if it's something new, I'll stay awake analyzing the shit. Cunninlynguists are probably my favorite post millennium group, with "A Piece Of Strange" still getting regular spins a year after it's release. I have an MP3 disk with all their releases, including their two "Sloppy Seconds" releases.

2. The Roots Discography -
I owe this all to the EXCELLENT post on The Roots by Eliko B over at Rapaholic/In The Name of Allah. This is one of the well written posts I've ever seen on a blog. Well after reading about The Roots, I popped in my Roots MP3 disk that has my favorite albums from them, they don't all fit on one disc, which is true sign of their legacy.

3. A Tribe Called Quest Discography -
More familiarity and another mp3 disk of albums. Tribe is on the same level as De La for me. I actually had the privilege to serve them at a "Chili's" when I was bartending there back in '97 on what would be their final tour before breaking up. Phife and Jarobi came in first and sat down in the bar. I knew they looked familiar, well at least Phife, and when I took their order, Phife ordered a Dr. Pepper and I knew right then who he was. I was pretty excited since I had tickets to the show the next night. I'm not one get gassed when I see someone famous, but it was still pretty cool. Tip came in later, I think he was already tossed, cause he was pretty loud and acting the role of a famous person. Unfortunately, in Salt Lake City, not many people in a Chili's knew who the hell he was, but he was impressed I did. They left a pretty good tip and bounced after a few drinks. The next night was one of mixed emotions. I got to see my dates D sized breasts bounce up and down throughout the night, but it was the first time I heard they were breaking up since they announced it that night. This was before I was the internet much and it was before it was announced in "The Source" the next month. I still hold hope they get back together and make an album.

4. J-Zone discography -
Told you I was all about familiar stuff this week. Another favorite of mine, both production wise and MC wise. I have his albums and some of his instrumentals all grouped together on one big disc. I'm trying to make sure I have everything he has ever done. Not sure if i do yet, but I'm getting close.

5. Del Tha Funkee Homosapian - I Wish My Brother George Was Here
I listened to this 4-5 times over the course of the week. I do that about every six months with this album. Plus the fact I was doing a write up on it kind of forced me to listen to it.

Speaking of this album, it's time for another series of........

WHY?????
Why do west coast producers like DJ Pooh, Battlecat, and Bobcat not get their share of fame?
Why do all of Dr. Dre's recent beats all sound the same?
Why am expecting the worse when it comes to this new Redman LP?
Why am I still anxious to hear it?
Why is El-P so liked?
Why does most of MF Doom's stuff make me want to fall into a narcoleptic fit?
Why do athletes continue to do stupid shit and jeopardize their career and lives for that matter by going out and acting like thugs? (see Pac Man Jones and the Indiana Pacers)
Why doesn't the NFL or NBA do something to stop this shit?
Why doesn't the MLB just put a stop the Barry Bonds and his homerun chase? The man is a cheat, a liar, and just a plain all around Jackass....and this has nothing to do with me being still bitter at him for losing the '92 NLCS then leaving the Pirates afterwards.
Why do I love this Amy Winehouse "Fade To Black" LP so much?
Why do I like that Lily Allen LP as well?
Why I like Mark Ronson's production on both of those albums?
Why have I never really listened to his stuff before?
Why am I watching the TV shows "Lost" and "Heroes", when I'm not into comic books or science fiction?
Why is a six back of Lipton ice tea almost as much as a six pack of beer?
Why are people saying they keep getting negative overtones from Records companies and artists over blogs, when I've only gotten positive reaction from the such?
Why the big hub bub over the fucking Oscar's? I mean, I respect the art of films an film making, but this shit of "So & So is wearing...." fuck that. The U.S. is too much into who's famous and shit, makes me sick.

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Trav's Personal Favorites Part Two: Del Tha Funkee Homosapian - I Wish My Brother George Was Here

No storm chasing today, I didn't want to spend the whole weekend stuck in Kansas after the blizzard hits. One of my partners went out and I'm back at the office "nowcasting" for him. Enough with the weather geekiness.

Today's album I'll add to my list of personal favorites is kind of an odd animal. I'm not a big Hiero fan. Don't get me wrong, I like them, but I'm down with the "cult" following the seem to have. Del was the lead off hitter for the Hiero crew when he dropped his debut album, "I Wish My Brother George Was Here". From what I get from people is that if they are down with Hiero, they don't like that album. If they aren't, they do like the album. It's been said that even Del doesn't care much for the album.

The album is MUCH different than any of Del's later offerings. It was executive produced by his cousin, O'shea Jackson, who we all know is better known as Ice Cube. Cube's influence is clearly seen through out the whole album. The album was produced by "The Boogiemen", which was comprised of DJ Pooh, Bobcat, and Rashad. It's drenched in funk samples, that makes it truly one of the funkier albums that came out during this period. Funk production like that found on this album is really missing in Hip Hop now a days. Erick Sermon also had some truly dirty stinkin' funk with his first album, Keith Murray's debut and Redmans first two albums. DJ Pooh and his comrades really hook up the P-Funk on this album.

The album is very cohesive in nature. Between the P-funk based production and the lyrics, you feel like you are in Del's neighborhood. Some of the later Del stuff I've heard has been very abstract in nature, the songs on this are more along the lines of story telling. Tracks like "Wacky World Of Rapid Transit" (something I used to identify with) and "Sleeping On My Couch" sound like personal memoirs from Del.

He actually got some air play from "Mistadobalina" and in some amount, "Dr. Bombay" as well. "Sunny Meadowz" was my shit, just a nice mellow track that you can sit back and light your favorite substance to smoke and just get carried away in the grooves. Humor is present in this LP as well, something that is lacking in a lot of releases these days.

Del The Funkee Homosapian - I Wish My Brother George Was Here (Elektra, 1991) http://sharebee.com/fa0f6991

1 What Is A Booty (3:36)

2 Mistadobalina (4:18)

3 The Wacky World Of Rapid Transit (3:17)

4 Pissin' On Your Steps (3:29)

5 Dark Skin Girls (4:29)

6 Money For Sex (3:52)

7 Ahonetwo, Ahonetwo (2:46)

8 Prelude (0:21)

9 Dr. Bombay (4:37)

10 Sunny Meadowz (4:26)

11 Sleepin' On My Couch (3:19)

12 Hoodz Come In Dozens (3:48)

13 Same Ol' Thing (4:19)

14 Ya Lil' Crumbsnatchers (1:30)

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Might Be Gone For A Couple Days....

I haven't missed more than a couple days in a row of posting on here in a long time. Well that might change. Not only am I a hip hop nerd, I'm also a weather geek. My other love besides Hip Hop is storm chasing. You know, "Twister" and all that crazy shit (that's not really how it is). Tomorrow is shaping up to be a pretty good day for chasing and that on top of it being the first good day of the season is the reason I might not be around at all this weekend.

I was busy at work today (intern meteorologist) and didn't get anything uploaded so no posts today. If we do this thing, we are going to have to leave early tomorrow morning and head to south central Kansas/ panhandle of Oklahoma in order to be there in time for the action late afternoon/early evening. If that happens, there is a chance we might be stuck out there since there is a chance of a Blizzard on the eastern plains of Colorado Friday night, thus blocking re-entry back into Colorado, leaving us stuck in Kansas for an undetermined amount of time.

None of this is for sure yet. Still monitoring the situation and I want to make sure at least one of my storm chasing partners can head out with me. Hip Hop and storm chasing...nothing is better than chasing a storm while having some Public Enemy "Takes A Nation...." blaring on the speakers. Spring time can be a busy time for me, so there might be some times like this in the next few months. If I don't post for a few days, and I know you'll all be distraught, that's where I'll be. Then again, there might be a post tomorrow night...who knows?

Peace, Trav

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The Post About Nothing: The Ultimate Re-Run

A little twist on the Seinfeld TV show, a post that has no plot, no storyline, or any real antagonist involved. I wanted to continue my personal favorites today, but the group I want to highlite only has one out of print album and my copy of it is scratched so bad that I can't rip the last four songs. Of course I have no back plan. I do though, have my trusty booklets of CD's that I carry almost anywhere with me. Six months ago I could pull out almost any Mp3 CD I had with me and be sure to find something that hasn't appeared in some form on another on another blog. Well, those days are behind me. I had to actually struggle to find some tasty treats in order to do a post today. Bad thing is, I'm even coming with some stuff I've seen in the not so distant past on other sites. But, hopefully some of this stuff will be new to some of you.

My first offering is a real cheap way out on my part, since it was just pointed out on a well known website today (Oh Word), but I think it is so significant, that it needs to be brought out there. Just when I think I can't be surprised much more when it comes to finding stuff on the internet, something will prove me wrong. Rafi at Ohword.com dropped his weekly "This Week In Blogs" which I love to read. This week he alerted readers to one of the holy grails in forum threads I've ever seen when it comes to Old School Hip Hop. When I say Old School Hip Hop, I don't mean the early 90's stuff. I mean the REAL Old School, the late 70's/early 80's stuff. It was crazy, I mean I felt like a kid at Christmas. The internet hasn't done that to me when it comes to finds since the first time Dread over at Bust The Facts started dropping bombs, alright, which wasn't all that long ago, but you know the feeling. Well to my amazement, as I was going through all the Old School goodness, I ran across something I've been looking for for a while. Some New Music Seminar battles. They used to show clips of them on Yo! when they were going on. I thought it was the coolest thing EVER!

The 1987 New Music Seminar MC & DJ Battle
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ld2fnv

1. Intro
2. Mr. Mixx Vs. Vandy C.
3. Melle Mel Vs. MC Breeze
4. Cutmaster D.C. Vs. Joe Cooley
5. Grandmaster Caz Vs. Bango
6. Mixmaster Ice Vs. Easy G.
7. King Sun Vs. Disco C
8. Cash Money Vs. Jazzy Joyce
9. Grandmaster Caz Vs. Melle Mel
10. Mr. Mixx Vs. Joe Cooley
11. Cash Money Vs. Easy G
12. Melle Mel Vs. King Sun Vs. Grandmaster Caz
13. Cash Money Vs. Joe Cooley

This shit here is LEGENDARY. Hands down one of Hip Hops historic moments. Caz, Melle Mel, Mister Mixx, Cash Money, King Sun, Joe Cooley, & even MC Breeze and Rhyme Syndicates Bango the B-Boy Outlaw??? It's enough to make any B-Boy hard and any B-Girl wet. Be sure to check out that forum, there are some true gems to be found there. A must for anyone older than 30 and anyone younger that wants to know the TRUE ROOTS.

Enough, I'm off my pedestal and out of my geeked up hip hop nerd persona. Next up some DJ Spinna that I (don't think) haven't seen around. I guess I felt bad for ripping the Polyrhythm Addicts joint. I liked Spinna's stuff with the Jigmastas and some of the stuff I've heard since then. I'm not going into a lot about Spinna, because honestly I don't know a whole hell of a lot about him other than the fact he has been a underground icon for nearly a decade now.

First one is something I just saw posted on Darts Poisonous Paragraphs site, so check his post for a much better write up of it......can't lose for trying. But I've already uploaded it, so if anyone missed it there, here it is again....Sorry Dart.

DJ Spinna - Heavy Beats Vol. 1 (Rawkus, 1999)
http://sharebee.com/b37e4ac6

1 Joc Max Preface (2:10) [Featuring] - Joc Max
2 Who U Be (4:22) [Featuring] - Missin' Linx
3 A Grooveamungus (4:26)
4 Time Zone (4:30) [Featuring] - Apani B. Fly , Talib Kweli
5 Rock (4:21)
6 Watch Dees (3:35) [Featuring] - Eminem , Thirstin Howl III
7 The Haunted Space Freak (5:01)
8 Conclusion (3:44)

This next DJ Spinna compilation is actually still in print, but it comes in a three disc box set. I just uploaded CD one. It's a compilation of soul, jazz and funk. I'll also leave the professionals to speak on these, but here is disc one.

DJ Spinna - Strange Games & Things (BBE, 2001)
Buy Here
http://www.sendspace.com/file/88ur70

1. 90% of Me Is You [DJ Spinna Mix] - Gwen McCrae
2. Reasons [DJ Spinna Mix] - Minnie Riperton
3. Mademoiselle [DJ Spinna Mix] - Foxy
4. Save Their Souls [DJ Spinna Mix] - Bohannon
5. Elevate Your Mind [DJ Spinna Mix] - Linda Williams
6. Another Day [DJ Spinna Mix] - Al Goodman
7. You Can't Run Away [DJ Spinna Mix]
8. How Could You Break My Heart? [DJ Spinna Mix] - Bobby Womack, Bobby Womack
9. Strange Games and Things [DJ Spinna Mix] - Love Unlimited Orchestra
10. Hollywood Dreaming [DJ Spinna Mix] - Father's Children
11. Mary Jane [DJ Spinna Mix] - Rick James
12. Easy Money [DJ Spinna Mix] - Dee Dee Sharp
13. If I Can't Stop You [DJ Spinna Mix] - Johnny Bristol
14. Can't Hide Love [DJ Spinna Mix] - Creative Source
15. Passion Play [DJ Spinna Mix] - The Sugarhill Gang
16. Wind Parade [DJ Spinna Mix] - Donald Byrd
17. Keep It Up [DJ Spinna Mix] - Milton Wright, Jr.
18. Lucky Fellow [DJ Spinna Mix] - Leroy Hutson
19. Secret Rendezvous [DJ Spinna Mix] - René & Angela
20. Girl You Need a Change of Mind [DJ Spinna Mix] - Eddie Kendricks
21. Hunk of Heaven [DJ Spinna Mix] - Lemuria
22. Magic Ride [DJ Spinna Mix] - Bobby Lyle
23. Life Is Just a Moment, Pts. 1 & 2 [DJ Spinna Mix] - Roy Ayers
24. Heart's Desire [DJ Spinna Mix] - Don Blackman
25. Bring Your Sweet Loving Back [DJ Spinna Mix] - Starpoint
26. California Dreaming [DJ Spinna Mix] - José Feliciano
27. It's a Desperate Situation [DJ Spinna Mix] - Marvin Gaye


Someone was looking for the Dre Rodium mixes, which we've posted up two or three times now. My CD collection is a totally mess, so trying to track them down a third time is nearly impossible, but I did manage to pull this one out of the mess. Rest should be on their way.

Dr. Dre - Rodium Mixtapes: YOU GOT GANGKED
http://sharebee.com/87fcdde3

Last and finally least....An unreleased Showbiz & AG EP that dropped in the late 90's. Naturally when I was looking for info on it, I saw that Andyman posted it up on 12 Inchers. Not suprising at all. None the less, if you missed it the first time, here it is......According to Andyman, it was stuff left off the "Goodfellas" LP.

Showbiz & AG - Under Pressue EP

http://sharebee.com/eddd06e9

A1 Under Pressure
A2 Stand Strong
A3 Ain't No Fun
B1 Under Pressure (Instrumental)
B2 Stand Strong (Instrumental)
B3 Ain't No Fun (Instrumental)

My apologies for the half hearted post. I started it off with good intentions. My main objective when I started this blog was keep things original. Well, we all slip from time to time. Hope you all found something you missed before...

Peace, Trav

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Sunday Lite & The Week That Was

The fact I'm even attempting a post is amazing in itself since I have ZERO motivation. I swear I'm going to stop drinking for good one of these days. Until then, hopefully its nothing 4 glasses of water and a liter of Gatorade won't fix. We'll kick this post off with a few tracks. I just started this Sunday Lite thing (thanks to Stag for the name) and already I'm doing re-ups. Of course I originally posted these tracks when we weren't even topping a 100 visitors a day, so I don't feel too bad putting them back up.

Tha Alkaholiks have always been one of my favorite groups. The music was always fun, the vibe was that of a party of each of their albums and the production was always on point. Most of you probably remember when they made their debut (sans Tash, who was locked up on a DUI charge) on King Tee's "Tha Trifflin' Album" back in '93. But what most of you don't know, at least I didn't until I saw these tracks on the net almost two years ago (the blog I found them on escapes me, or I'd give credit for them) is that they came up as the "Everyday Street Poets" or E.S.P in the early 90's when King Tila hooked up J-Ro, Tash, and E-Swift together. They released a demo of sorts, although I can't find much on that.

The sound quality is kind of lacking, but what do you expect, they are demo's. The music though, is in vein of that found on their "21 and Over" debut, kind of fun and carefree, in a good way of course. Not sure if there is a full demo out there floating around or if this is it. If anyone knows anything about it, kick the knowledge.

Everyday Street Poets (E.S.P.) aka Tha Alkaholiks
Groove Yard - http://www.zshare.net/audio/esp-aka-alkaholiks-groove-yard-mp3.html

Everyday Street Poets (E.S.P.)
Getz Funky - http://www.zshare.net/audio/esp-aka-tha-alkaholiks-getz-funky-mp3.html

Everyday Street Poets (E.S.P.)
LA Law - http://www.zshare.net/audio/esp-aka-tha-alkoholiks-la-law-mp3.html


Craig Mack is known as the first artist to come out on Puffy's (sorry I refuse to call him P.Diddy) "Bad Boy" label and the one that got dicked out said label in the mid 90's. Mack didn't fit into Bad Boy's image or the direction the label was going, which is probably all for the better for everyone involved, although I haven't heard much out of Mack since then. Every once in a while, he'll pop back up on the scene with a track. He dropped a joint called "Wooden Horse (?)" in the late 90's/turn of the century that was dope as fuck. It sampled a Sinatra tune and it actually worked good. I have it on a disk somewhere in this mess I have strung around my apartment. Back on track, before he was Craig Mack, he was "MC EZ" and his DJ, "DJ Troupe". I want to say it was '88 that he released a single "Get Retarded b/w Just Rhymin'", but I'm entirely too lazy to verify that right now. "Get Retarded" is kind of a underground classic of sorts, not because the quality of the album, but because it's not easily found and because of Mack's place in Hip Hop history. It can also be found on "Ego Trip's Big Playback" that was released in 2002.....I think. Regardless here is "Get Retarded" and I think I have "Just Rhymin" somewhere on my computer if someone wants it.

MC EZ & DJ Troupe aka Craig Mack - Get Retarded
http://www.zshare.net/audio/04-get-retarded-produced-by-craig-mack-mp3.html

Amazingly enough, I'm going to post one more track despite all my laziness. I've been chatting back and forth with another Hip Hop head this week and the topic of one James Todd Smith came up. While L.L. might have tarnished his legacy with some of the crap he has released recently, I doubt anyone can deny his greatness when he still had "it". L.L. was THE B-Boy when came up. Yeah, he may have ducked Kool Moe Dee on occasion, but he's go after just about anyone on wax. The dude was a beast on the mic. You just don't see that kind of flair, ego, or ability anymore.

Here is a clip of him freestyling over "It's Yours" beat, which I'm sure didn't go over to well with T La Rock, who wasn't exactly a fan of L.L.'s either. I'm not sure if this was on a radio show, which I think it is, or at a performance. It also has edits, so that lends me to believe that it was on a radio show. It's labeled as 1985, which would mean he was just coming out, I don't remember where I got this, probably Cocaine Blunts. The dude is a beast on this. Enjoy!

LL Cool J Freestyle over "It's Yours" 1985
http://www.zshare.net/audio/l-l-cool-j-live-freestyle-over-its-yours-1985-mp3.html

Link Love

I've added quite a few new links over the past few weeks. I have no rhyme or reason where I put stuff on that list, but be sure to give it a look over. Despite what some moron said a couple of weeks ago, I try to remember everyone I told I would link up. If I missed someone, all you have to do is simply remind me. I'm not perfect and forget things, but I don't mean any disrespect. I don't ask for people to link me in return, I could careless if they do or not. I appreciate any link love, but I'm not doing this as some sort of popularity contest, hell I did this for months when we were only getting 50 hits a day. I don't bomb people's cboxs (I don't care if someone does post a link to their site, it's a good way for me to check your site out) asking for link exchanges, which is probably why no one heard of us for the first six months. I put links up to things I like, hell it's my bookmark list.

With that said, I do have my favorites lately, From Da Bricks, Posionous Paragraphs, Cold Rock Da Spot, Souled On, ...And You Don't Stop, and Schooklyn Zoo. Of course there are my old reliables that are ran by people who I have the up most respect for and they will always have my support, Bust The Facts, Crooklyn's Classics, Streets On Beats, and Miscreant Productions (holla at your boy, Tommy!) . Then there are my Colorado Comrades, To The Break of Dawn & Back In The Day. A new site that has popped up on my radar, Boomers Hot Shit, despite the, ummm, questionable name, it's been, ummm, dropping hot shit lately, make sure you check it out.

Trav's Top 5 Spins of the Week

1. Juggaknots - Use Your Confusion
Yup, I'm still on the Jugg's dick. Might have to go back and change my Top 20 of 2006, or fuck it, it's my list, they might just make the Top 20 of 2007, since I didn't really listen to this album until then. I did the same thing with the Cunninlynguists last year. I had the promo version for a good 3-4 months until I sat down to review it for a site I was writing for and realized what a great piece of work it was.

2. (TIE) Masta Ace Discography & Jay Dee aka J Dilla assorted stuff
No change again. I guess you can argue that this could always be in the top 5, since I listen to Ace on the regular, but with those new Hits U Missed, I'm listening to him more than usual (Nawledge, if you are reading this, email me, contact info on the side bar). There was a lot of stuff on J Dilla this week with his birthday and the anniversary of his death just recently passed. I've been zeroed in on a lot of his material this week, even some of his sample sources, which shows why he was even more of a genius. You'll be missed Jay Dee!

3. De La Soul - Buhloone Mindstate & Stakes Is High
So I broke down and joined that Last FM thing, I'm always into things like that anyway. Well it tracks your listening habits and all that, and this week De La was my leading artist plays, which kind of surprised me. I definitely listen to music other ways than just on my computer, but still, I didn't realize that I had played De La that much this week. Well it started with someone reminded me of Buhloone Mindstate, maybe it was Scholar posting up "I Am I Be" last week on "Souled On". I'm a HUGE De La fan, but when Buhloone Mindstate dropped, I was like a lot of people, it just went over my head. I eventually corrected my ways but I still find some mind blowing thing about that album every time I listen to it. And naturally when I think De La, I have to pull out my favorite De La album, "Stakes Is High".

4. Atmosphere Discography
Yeah, I know it's not always "cool" to like Atmosphere, but I've always liked their music. I'm an emotionally wacked out person anyway, so the Emo stuff fits me pretty good when I need it and this was one of those weeks where I put my mp3 disk of Atmosphere stuff in my headphones and bitch about drinking too much and women.

5. Brother Ali - Undisputed Truth
The advance of this has leaked. I'll admit that I'm not the biggest Ali fan in the world, but I'm starting to like the sound of this album. In the past, Ali's voice just graded on me after a few songs, and it still does kind of, but DAYUUM, Ant came correct with the beats again....which leads us into another episode of......

WHY??????
Why is Ant so highly underrated as far as a producer?
Why does Football end so soon and baseball can't start soon enough?
Why do I have a bad feeling about the Steelers new coach?
Why don't I have tomorrow off....fuck!
Why doesn't "Paul's Boutique" get the credit for one of the best produced albums that it is?
Why did no one ever use the Dust Brothers again in hip hop?
Why did I laugh so uncontrollably at the movie "Beerfest"? I guess it's so stupid it's funny.
Why do the first few months of every new year suck so much for new music releases.
Why do I hate Redman's new album cover?
Why are there so few women bloggers?
Why does free releases via the internet seem like the new rave, ie Talib & Madlib and the new Little Brother? (not that I'm arguing)
Why does the RIAA continue to shoot themselves in the foot ie the DJ Drama arrest?
Why haven't I listened to Nas' or Jay's new albums all the way through in months?
Why is this site so disturbing, yet so incredibly funny?
Why does the NBA Slam Dunk contest suck so much compared to what it used to be?

In Closing......Questions about the Site...forums?
It seems that we have some hosting space to use up. Chris, who created Bombfirst.com, has some bandwidth which he has offered to let us use in some capacity. Chris has been extremely helpful in the behind the scenes of this blog, coming up with the design and the such and might even be able to post some stuff up in the future, which I'll never argue with the others posting and taking some of the weight off of me. Anyway, we have been kind of brainstorming on how to use this space to our advantage. We thought about maybe doing some type of a forum. My question would be, would anyone use it? I don't want to try to do something like that if no one used the thing. I know I'm not the most active forum person in the world, I'm only really active on one forum (mastaace.com), but if done right, it can be a nice place to exchange music, discuss, learn and build on hip hop. Or do any of you have any other ideas on how to use this free space. I don't want to use it for hosting files, for legality reasons, but I would hate to see this go to waste.

Last thing, I've toyed with the idea of changing the design of the site. Maybe I should talk to Chris before I go doing this, cause I have no fuckin' clue what I'm doing when it comes to that. But it's been brought to my attention from someone I have a great amount of respect for (thanks Mr. O-Dub) that sometimes having white lettering on a dark back ground isn't always the best way to go about things. I personally never thought about it, but he has a point. Plus, since I'm a person that can never stay in one place for more than 3 years, I like change from time to time. Anyone have any thoughts on the design of the site? I mean, I like it the way it is, but I want to hear other peoples thoughts.

That's it, that's all, I'm going to lay on the couch and wish I had something other than fucking NASCAR to watch.....

Trav-O

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Trav's Personal Favorites Part Two: The A.T.e.E.M - A Hero Ain't Nuthin But A Sandwich

I realize everyone has different tastes, what I may like, the next person might think is garbage, but I'm the one with the blog, so I get to force my opinions and music I like on everyone else, HA! No seriously, I like to think I've heard a lot of hip hop in my 20+ years of listening. I have listened to everything from Candyman to X-Clan and just about everything in between. Well my mission with this series is to get some of the unheralded music out there to the masses (the masses being the 1000+ daily visitors this site has). I want to spotlight music, whether it be artists/groups or albums, that got/gets overlooked in the grand scheme of things.

This all leads me to the next selection, a group who only released one album, which gets overlooked all the time, despite some high powered connections that are associated with the album. The A.T.e.E.M consisted Rob Swinga, Hot Diggidy Dog, & FM, the two former you might remember as Chubb Rock's dancers. Now I know what you are thinking to yourself, "Why the hell do I want to listen to Chubb Rock's dancers spit? That damn Travis must still be drunk from last night!", yeah well give this album a chance, and no, I didn't even drink last night. If you are familiar with Chubbs, you will recognize them from tracks like "Yabbadabbadoo". I'm not going to lie and say this is some lost classic or that these cats are lyrical geniuses, but in the vein of early 90's hip hop, this was a fun album that's just as good as some of the early 90's stuff that does get it's props. You even get Chubbs all over the album, such as "Come" and the title track "A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich" and the Big Man even executive produced the project, so you know what kind of flavor this album possess.

The production is handled by the Trackmasterz, the infamous Tone & Poke, but no fret, this is early Trackmasterz stuff, before they jumped on the club tip (Sorry Po). Containing familiar breaks and samples, it gives you that comfortableness that comes with the early 90's albums, just right throw on at a party or in the headphones on the train. It still comes fresh though, as the Trackmasterz throw their own flavor into the beats that you should be familiar with if you have listened to the some of the old Chubb albums or Tone's solo albums as Red Hot Lover Tone.

Neither Rob Swinga or Hot Dog are going to when any rhyme battles, but they come off accomplished enough to make the album interesting. Rob Swinga is probably the better of the two, but Hot Dog (who was perhaps the best dancer of all the dancers back in the day) has a certain swagger and charisma that makes me enjoy his verses more. I still love his verse on Black Sheep's "Pass The 40". Topics on the album vary from your usual straight up hip hop party joints such as "One, Two, U Don't Stop" or the single "Yeah" (find the Diamond D remix, it's better in my opinion), to social commentary such as "Sister Morphine" and "Well of 1,000 Souls", which kind of unnecessarily slows down the albums. True with any album that Tone was associated with in the early days, there was also some rude and crude sex rhymes that are displayed on "Pass The Pussy" and Tone even makes an appearance on "Let Me Hear You Say Hoe!".

As much as Chubb Rock was loved, I still find it kind of funny that these cats never got their proper due. It's nothing that is going to change your view on hip hop music, but it's just some fun music to pop into the deck when you need to remind yourself why you started listening to hip hop in the first place. The best part though, is this album is still cheap, only a shiny penny on Amazon, which I think is a freaking bargain.

The A.T.e.E.M - A Hero Ain't Nothin' But A Sandwich (Select Records, 1992)

http://sharebee.com/f94714af

1. Hero Ain't Nuttin' But a Sandwich

2. Pass the Pussy

3. Yeah

4. Interlude

5. Get It On [Original Version]

6. Come on Baby Let's Swing It

7. Come

8. Sister Morphine

9. Well of 1,000 Souls

10. One, Two, U Don't Stop

11. All of That

12. Interlude

13. Let Me Hear You Say Hoe!

14. Get It On [Remix]

Someone requested this album and was lucky enough I had it with me so they get it pretty quick. If I was to do "Trav's Overrated and Boring as Fuck" Albums, this one would be on top of the list. People act like the Indie movement of the late 90's was the greatest thing ever, and yeah, it did more good than bad, BUT, it also released a lot of incredibly dull and boring music and this is one of them. I know a lot of people find this as an indie classic, but I never got it. It's just dull to me. None the less here it is, Apani B, Shabaam Shahdeeq, Mr. Complex, & DJ Spinna.

Polyrhythm Addicts - Rhyme Related (Nervous/Wreck, 1999)

http://sharebee.com/511374f1

1. Motion 2000
2. Take Me Home featuring Pharaoh Monch
3. Not Your Ordinary
4. Big Phat Boom Intro
5. Big Phat Boom
6. No Limit
7. Nervous Breakdown
8. Should Have Known Better
9. Not Your Ordinary -Rhythm Revolution
10. Seven Steps Behind featuring Kriminul & Joc Max

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Trav's Personal Favorites: The Sequal . Part One: Louis Logic

I figured it's about time for another one of my series of my own personal favorite albums/artists, artists who I feel don't get nearly enough recognition either presently or in the past. I posted up a handful artists this past summer in my first series of my personal fav's, they included Shadz Of Lingo, Son Of Bazerk, No Face, J-Zone & Groove B Chill, all which are artists/albums that I personally love and I don't nearly hear much about. I think by now, if you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you can tell my tastes reside more or less in the east, although I have an open enough mind to listen to everything. I like production that is loud and obnoxious, ala Bomb Squad. I like fun stuff that isn't too serious, ala J-Zone or the Beatnuts.
Louis Logic

One such MC that fits into that last category is Louis Logic. Logic has been around since the late 90's indie boom, when he first appeared on his own 12 inch with indie/underground staple, L-Fudge (now known as El-Fudge) called "Planet Rock"/"Logistics 101"/"Punchline" that dropped in '98. Logic has been known since then as the "Drunken Dragon", with many of his earlier efforts dedicated to the art of drinking and womanizing and doing it all in a humorous style that made his music just fun to listen to.

According to his myspace page, Logic, a mixed black/Puerto Rican and "who knows what else", grew up in Brooklyn, NY and became down the Hip Hop culture at an early age. He also was in the skate boarding culture, even earning a sponsorship for his skating abilities. He would later go on to college to Penn St. where he would hook up with Mountain Brother's DJ, Chops, who helped Lou with some of his earlier work. Penn St. would also be where he would hook up with J.J. Brown, who Lou has worked with out through out his career and also released an album last year with "Misery Loves Comedy".

Logic met L-Fudge at a college radio station. Fudge, who was on Rawkus at the time was impressed enough with Lou's efforts that they would go on to record "Planet Rock" and take Lou under his wing, trying to hook him up with a 12 inch deal and get his name out there. While at an open mic event in Philly, Logic would meet Vinnie Paz of the Jedi Mind Tricks which would result in Vinnie putting out Lou's first couple 12 inch LP's out on his "Superegular" label. The second single contained the underground indie favorite, "Factotum", the ode to drinking and give Louis even more shine.

By 2000, Louis Logic was starting to do a lot of collabs with some of the underground power houses, such as J-Zone, MF Doom, Jedi Mind Tricks, Apathy, & Celph Titled. He was actually apart of the Demigodz for a few years before splitting with the collective in order to pursue his own style of music (although you don't see much of why he really left). It is also in 2000 when he dropped "Music To Drink By", a homemade collection of loosies and exclusives on his own that made the rounds on the Internet retail hip hop stores. Most of his early stuff can be found on this release. Popping this bad boy in and you'll feel like a 40oz of Mickey's real quick.

Louis has been compared to Eminem on the mic, with his dark humor, witty punchlines, and even in his flow at times. After dropping his early collection in 2000, Lou joined up with Demigodz. As part of that collective, he appeared on numerous Demigodz projects and individual releases. Logic appears at home just as much with a group as he is solo. He has released projects as the Brews Brothers, that consisted of Charlie Bawles of the Skitzofreniks and Mister Jason of the Porn Theater Ushers (best group name EVER). They would release a 12 inch "Ready For War" b/w "Happy Hour" and as far as I know, that's all they ever did, unfortunately. He also formed the Odd Couple with Jay Love, they would go on to release "Alcohol/Ism" that dropped in '04, which I thought I would love, but is honestly the only time I've ever really been disappointed by a Louis Logic project, which isn't really the artists fault. If I was 20 when it was released, it would have probably been a classic for me..

Backing things up a bit, in 2002, Lou dropped another independent collection of his works in "Debacle In A Bottle", which contained stuff he had done since "Music To Drink By". This would serve to further Louis Logic's name out there. In 2003 he finally got his big break and signed a deal to release a full length album with Solid Records. The result would be the critically acclaimed "Sin-A-Matic". Louis Logic came with his same trademark drunken humor, but also showed a more personal side as well as some social commentary in his own dark humor. On the track "The Ugly Truth", an initial first listen shocks the shit out the listener. There is a ugly tirade of stereotypes against gays, Jews, Asians and others, but at the end the listener receives a little chuckle when it turns out to be Dubya Bush as the narrator. Lou also dips into other uncharted areas that he hadn't previously touched upon, relationships. "Idiot Gear", if I remember right, was the first single and deals with the opposite sex and the ugliness that bringing up past relationships can have on the male ego. He also takes a jab at the Internet message boards, which is humorous, if only in it's honesty.

Logic's next step after the Odd Couple release would be a couple different versions of "Blame It On The Hooch", another independent release of Lou's works. He would then make major strides in getting his work out by signing with the independent legend, Fat Beats. He would then drop "Misery Loves Comedy" last year with longtime cohort, J.J. Brown. Lou would show even more maturity as he dives deeper into the human psyche and the dark inner workings of it. Of course the trademark humor and catchy punchlines are there as well. "The Perfect Circle" in a tale of a stalking incident gone wrong. "All Girls Cheat" is another "women suck" joint, which is great if you've been fucked over recently by a scandalous woman.

Lou does some writing for Elemental Magazine and is a very entertaining writer and also gives great interviews as well. His somewhat cocky, but extremely humorous and sarcastic talks are always good for a laugh. I'm somewhat shocked that he hasn't recieved more airplay than he has, since he is a bit of Eminem, a dash of Slug from Atmosphere and somewhat of an enigima like a Jimi Hendrix. Regardless, crack open a brew and have a good time with these now out of print gems from Louie Logic.

Louis Logic - Music To Drink By (2000)
http://sharebee.com/d0836cf5

1. Loud Mouth
2. General Principle (featuring J-Treds)
3. Who the Fuck Are You?
4. Trinity (with Jedi Mind Tricks & L-Fudge)
5. Logistics 101
6. Factotum
7. Punchline
8. Secret Agent
9. Service the Target (featuring Grand Agent)
10. Planet Rock (featuring L-Fudge)
11. Punchline Remix
12. CM Famalam Radio (with Bobbito Garcia)
    

Louis Logic - Debacle In A Bottle (2002)
http://sharebee.com/d1027949

1. Sintro Outtake
2. Logic & Reason w/ R-Son
3. Por Que w/ Jay Love
4. Lecture
5. Happy Hour w/ Charlie Bawles
6. Guilty As Charged 2001
7. Pimp Shit w/ Jay Love
8. Paper Mache w/ Maylay Sparks, Celph Titled & Apathy
9. Ready For War w/ Charlie Bawles
10. Visceral Literal
11. Guilty As Charged 2000
12. Mischief Nite w/ Luceleif & Snuff
13. Postal 2000
14. Trail Of Tears

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