First things first... that Common Gap commercial has a nice beat. I don't like to do much of the sample spotting... but I was vexed when I found out Will flipped "Holiday" and added a few kicks and pieces (one of which being Bob James "Mardi Gras" fill). EVEN STILL... Will.I.Am is killin it this year with the production, so I once again give him props. Though he still has a lot to do to make up for Fergie (get your money Will!). Moving on... Fuck Christmas. I'm not really [...]
Well, the pictures finally turned up. This last weekend at my local gig ( Landlord Jim's , San Diego - HOLLA!) a double decker busload of Santa's and questionably dressed Elves rolled in. Needles to say they got turned out! Please take notice of; hand in the air (like they just don't care), naughty attire, and of course - a copy of Kurtis Blow's "Christmas Rappin" 123 on display in the DJ booth. Special Shout out to The Fed for tracking down the pics and adding some nice arrows to highlight. The rest of the shots [...]
Nicolay is an amazing producer. Really. When the Foreign Exchange album dropped in 04, I was floored. That was one of the best albums released that year. Now, in 06 he's dropped the Here album. I gave it a listen and for some reason I wasn't feelin it. Tracks have recently seeped into my playlists and I've finally given them a propper listen. I stand corrected, there's some damn good cuts on this album. I don't think I made any "he fell off!" statements but I may have. So, I apologize. Let's get to [...]
Since people have been feelin the remixes lately (and someone else beat me to one of these), I figure it's time to give up the goods. Let's do it up proper though. I actually had a lead on some short run vinyl spots earlier this year so I had a very small run of these done up (very very small). It's unlikely they'll pop up, so here's some of the cuts off the record for your earholes. Enjoy. Common - Go (JBLOW mix) Download audio file (go.mp3) [...]
It's true, but I still love her. As scorned and bitter as she was (and maybe still is), that girl could sing and sure had some heart (mostly broken I assume). When she was "rappin" way back in the 70's she had quite a few things to say. Check "The Rap" - now that's a straight up rant cut. Like I said, Millie got issues. "It's All Over But The Shouting" is one of my all time favorite Millie cuts. In my humble opinion, she fell off a bit in the 80's, but all the 70's [...]
Amerie got R&Bizzle on lock! Rumor has it the new album is dropping in 07 and this time around she don't need a Richard Harrison beat for her first single (not a dis, just nice to break the formula) . Here's some cuts off the mixtape that's floating around. Cee Lo laid it down for "Take Control", and "Money Maker" is just a mixtape special with Amerie flowing over that Ludacris beat - but I ain't mad. I'd much rather listen to this version anyway. Do your thing girl! Amerie [...]
Since my last edition , I've been choppin away at new edits and remixes practically every week. This is probably one of the most fun aspects of Serato that's changed how I DJ - the ability to crank out tracks and play them out right away. It's really been inspirational in a sense and had made me want to produce more (which is nice, since I've felt I've been in a slump). So, I'm givin up the goods once again. My motivation has recently been wanting to create more dancefloor friendly versions tracks to play out at my [...]
...on Stereo MCs . The who? The Stereo MCs ! Yeah I said it... though they may be overshadowed by their MTV hit Connected , they are damn good producers. I've learned that any time I see a 123s with remixed by Stereo MCs to snatch them up quick. Don't get caught sleepin! Cases in point; Quannum MCs - I Changed My Mind (Stereo MC's remix) Download audio file (changedmymind-stereomcs.mp3) Jungle Brothers - Jungle Brother (Stereo MC's remix) [...]
Sell out nuthin! This is all about tippin 40s, gettin paid and kickin it. How could that be wrong? Billy Dee Williams knew what was up. Taking a cue from Lando himself, St. Ides stepped up and brought the HEAT! There are so many of these commercials floating around. They even got pressed up on vinly a while back. Enjoy, and let me leave you with my favorite St. Ides quote... "I sit alone in my 4 cornered room eatin a wing diner..." Geto Boys Download audio [...]
I won't, and it ain't. Apparently they had a slight resurgence recently that sparked the creative juices and a new album deal - I'm not sure. But don't get me wrong, I got nothing but love for Dres and Mista Lawnge, and hell A Wolf In Sheeps Clothing is classic! The facts are this; Black Sheep seem to have a new album coming out, I got my hands on a version and I'm kinda bummed. I admit, I may again be jumpin the gun ( see Lupe post ), because this album [...]
NOTE: I'm back after over a week of being sick. Let's kick it off strong... Short Eyes has got to be one of my favorite soundtracks, and also one of my favorite Curtis Mayfield albums as well (though, it's quite hard to pick). It sounds stupid, but I've never even seen the movie - and part of me doesn't want to. I think I feel like if I wind up not liking it I'll think less of this album. I don't know, but these two cuts in particular are just straight [...]
Lupe, what happened?! I heard your leaked version of this album a few months back and really dug it! Then it finally comes out and it's not as good! These things happen... Rumor has it Lupe got a bit ticked off when his much hyped album got leaked, raised some hell and cold changed it up. Who knows for sure, all I'm sayin is that I was really feelin the leaked version - as is. I'm not sayin this is a bad album, cause it's not. Kick Push was my summer anthem [...]
Yes, it exists. I'm not going to go on a State Of Hip Hop rant, but I've been meaning to do a Tres Records post ever since I launched this site. Tres ( not actually run by Thes of PUTS as everyone seems to think ) is putting out some great stuff! This is a label to watch. These two 123s in particular have never left my crates since I got them. So, I figure this will help me rotate them out to keep myself from playing them to death. [...]
In celebtration of my new Biz Markie alarm clock, this post is an homage to The Biz. Instead of posting up some "best of" type cuts that everyone shoudl be sick of by now ( Nobody Beats The Biz being the only exception here, caused it's a favorite), let's jump around a bit and slip in some other fun stuff. Even though Biz don't move like he used to , he's still a legend in the record collecting circles and with sneaker heads . He also seems to be a favorite among many to get [...]
This was one of the first interesting record finds I came across after moving to San Diego. Steve Arrington, of Slave is breaking out and doing his own thing here, and it's funky for 83 and solid nearly all the way through. But one look at the cover of this album, and you KNOW it's gonna be good. I'll be the first to admit that buying records based soley on the covers is a bad habit (I've been burned many time), but in this case the ridiculous funky cover pays off. This record has found it's way back [...]
On Fridays I'm going to start posting something different or special. Since my original intention for this site was to be a bit of a self promotional project as well as a podcast, it seems only fitting to dedicate a day to trying somethin gnew. As time progresses I hope to be posting up short mixes as well - but for now i'm offering up some recent remixes/re-edits I've been toying around with. Mostly, I just do this stuff for fun and it never actually sees the light of day. I've recently purchased Serato though, so I have a feeling [...]
A while back I had heard Wajeed talk a bit about his tribute project to Marvin Gaye (possibly on the Red Bull Academy video?). I assumed it would never see a public release so I sort of forgot about it. About a month ago I was able to get my hands on a copy of the proper wax release. Now, Marvin Gaye is the shit - so believe me, I was skeptical about this release. I've been a bit of a fan of the Platinum Pied Pipers album, so I knew it wouldn't be that bad. [...]
In 2001, as part of the Rawkus fueled Lyricist Lounge compilations Mos Def recorded an homage to Jam On It . When it first came out, I wasn't diggin it at all. It always seemed like kind of a taboo thing to do - rerecord/cover a hip hop classic? Long story short, it grew on me. I'd sort of forgotten about the 123 untill recently. At my weekly gig, towards the end of my sets i've been seguing into more electro stuff as the night gets more jumpin. This [...]
Let's start this podacst off with a bang. While I may still be digesting Donuts (pun intended), I'm definately feelin J Dilla's The Shining immediately upon arrival. I've always been a fan of Dilla's production, since I first time I heard Fantastic Vol. 2 and this album doesn't dissapoint. It actually seems to showcase how [...]
J Blow is currently holding down a residency at Landlord Jim's (San Diego, CA). hip hop, old school, new school, funk and soul. you ain't heard? (early slot 8:30PM-10:30PM-ish) dj, Events, funk, hip hop, j blow, jblow, j blow, landlord jims, San Diego, soul, Special Announcements
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