Black Sheep

Black Sheep.

Non-Fiction [Mercury Records 1994]

1. Non-Fiction Intro
2. Autobiographical
3. B.B.S.
4. City Lights
5. Do Your Thing
6. E.F.F.E.C.T.
7. Freak Y'all
8. Gotta Get Up
9. Let's Get Crazy
10. Me & My Brother
11.North South East West
12. Peace To The Niggas
13. Summa Tha Time
14. We Boys
15. Who's Next
16. Without A Doubt
17. Non-Fiction Outro

Pete Rock & CL Smooth

No need for a description here. The classic follow up to Mecca & The Soul Brother. If you dig that early to mid nineties boom bap with heavy handed sampling of jazz breaks, then this should be a cornerstone in your collection. If it's not (WTF?) then quit playin' and get it. Pete Rock. CL Smooth. 'Nuff said...

The Main Ingredient [Elektra Records, 1994]

1. In The House
2. Carmel City
3. I Get Physical
4. Sun Won't Come Out
5. I Got A Love
6. Escape
7. The Main Ingredient
8. Worldwide
9. All The Places
10. Tell Me
11. Take You There
12. Searching
13. Check It Out
14. In The Flesh
15. It's On You
16. Get On The Mic

Tash

Rap Life is an album that boasts a pretty diverse lineup and some really solid production. J-Swift handles about 40% while (then) no names like Minnesota, Rockwilder, Fred Wreck, Sir Jinx and one or two others fill out the rest of the production lineup. The sound jumps back and forth between western funk and eastern thump. The guest lineup is equally diverse with names like Outkast, Raekwon, Kurupt, Carl Thomas and Ice T showing up to give an assist along with the expected names like J-Ro, E-Swift, and Xzibit. The end result is a solid album that showcases Tash at peak form. It's funny, it's lyrical, and it's evident that Tash put a lot of thought into this album. You'll enjoy this one...

Also included is a bonus disc that came with it called Tape Proprietors. It's basically a showcase of the talent on the (now defunct) Loud Records roster. Names like Inspectah Deck, Raekwon, Project Pat, Mobb Deep, dead prez, IGT (who?), Tear The Club Thugs, Big Pun, Beatnuts, and one or two others. You probably have the songs on the disc already, but I threw it in there anyway. Enjoy.

Rap Life [Loud / Columbia Records 1999]

1. Ricochet
2. Cops Skit
3. G's Iz G's feat. Kurupt
4. Pimpin' Ain't Easy
5. Rap Life feat. Raekwon
6. The Game feat. Carl Thomas
7. Game Show Skit
8. Only When I'm Drunker feat. E-Swift, J-Ro & Phillip Johnson
9. Goggles Skit
10. Nightfall
11. Bill Clinton Skit
12. Smokefest 1999 feat. Phil Da Agony, Big Boi & Dre (Outkast) & B-Real
13. Fallin' On
14. Tash Rules feat. LV
15. Ice T Skit feat. Ice T
16. True Homies feat. Phil Da Agony & Xzibit
17. Blackula feat. Tha Alkaholiks
18. Bermuda Triangle

Slum Village

Fantastic, Vol. 2 is probably the album that turned me on my ear and made me worship J Dilla's production talents. Dude had a way with sounds that I thought (and still think is) out of this world. He hadn't quite perfected his sound on this 2000 release, but it was still light years ahead of anything out at the time. Interesting features from Kurupt, Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip and others makes it all that much sweeter. Baatin (R.I.P.) & T3 held down the lyrics as well. It's mostly a platform for Dilla's beats, if you ask me and the beats here are smooth, laid back and funky. Dig into this one, y'all.

Fantastic Vol. 2 [Barak / Goodvibe Recordings 2000]

1. Intro
2. Conant Gardens
3. I Don't Know feat. DJ Jazzy Jeff
4. Jealousy
5. Climax (Girl Shit)
6. Hold Tight feat. Q-Tip
7. Tell Me feat. D'Angelo
8. What It's All About feat. Busta Rhymes
9. Forth and Back feat. Kurupt
10. Untitled/Fantastic
11. Fall In Love
12. Get Dis Money
13. Raise It Up
14. Once Upon A Time feat. Pete Rock
15. Players
16. Eyes Up
17. 2U4U
18. CB4
19. Go Ladies
20. Thelonius feat. Common [Bonus Track]
21. Fall In Love (The Remix) [Bonus Track]

DJ Muggs

DJ Muggs is one of the more underrated producers out there. I dusted this album off earlier today and found that he really did top notch work on the boards. He produces, arranges, and composes every track on this album. Muggs enthusiasts probably have this one already, but anyone not familiar with his board work should jump on this one. It even boasts a nice multidimensional lineup from Goodie Mob to MC Eiht to Wyclef. This one is sure to please.

Muggs Presents...The Soul Assassins, Chapter 1 [Columbia Records 1997]

1. The Time Has Come
2. Puppet Master (Dr. Dre & B Real)
3. Decisions, Decisions (Goodie Mob)
4. Third World (RZA & GZA)
5. Battle of 2001 (Cypress Hill)
6. Devil In A Blue Dress (La The Darkman)
7. Heavy Weights (MC Eiht)
8. Move Ahead (KRS-One)
9. It Could Happen To You (Mobb Deep)
10. Life Is Tragic (Infamous Mobb)
11. New York Undercover (Call O' Da Wild)
12. John 3:16 (Wyclef From Refugee Camp)

Five Deez

Koolmotor is the first album from the Cincinnati, Ohio collective that I ever heard. I'd seen their names before but mostly ignored them. I just got into their material about two weeks ago. I downloaded this album and immediately loved it. I loved it so much that I immediately went and bought all of the Five Deez albums I could find. For those that dig jazzy, laid back material; this one should be right up your alley.

Koolmotor [Counterflow Records 2001]

1. Say Intro
2. Latitude
3. Omni
4. Got Dough
5. Decapitated Orgasms
6. Instruments of the Trade (The Word)
7. Sexual For Elizabeth feat. Shing02
8. Possibly
9. B.E.A.T.
10. Ten
11. Sugar
12. Even
13. Plasma Avenue
14. Afghanistan Dan's Skating Stand

Compton's Most Wanted

I bought this album as soon as it dropped. I didn't know much about CMW at the time, but I bought the Boyz N The Hood soundtrack a year or two beforehand and that album had a dope CMW track on it. Back then, you could buy blind if the artist was dope. Anyway, I saw the video for "Hood Took Me Under" and immediately decided to purchase it only to find that the video version for that track was a remix. I was let down somewhat, but the rest of the album more than made up for it. dope beats, dope rhymes. It's all here. Eiht was at his best on these early CMW albums (there are two more before this one), so make sure you check out all of them. I'll be posting more later on.

Music To Driveby [Orpheus / Epic Records 1992]

1. Intro
2. Hit The Floor
3. Hood Took Me Under
4. Jack Mode
5. Compton 4 Life
6. 8 Iz Enough
7. Duck Sick II
8. Dead Men Tell No Lies
9. N 2 Deep feat. Mr. Scarface
10. Who's Xxxxing Who?
11. This Is A Gang
12. Hoodrat
13. Niggaz Strugglin'
14. I Gots Ta Get Over
15. U's A Bitch
16. Another Victim
17. Def Wish II
18. Music To Driveby

Juice: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

The Juice soundtrack is best remember for classic cuts from Naughty By Nature (Uptown anthem), Eric B. & Rakim (Juice - Know The Ledge) and Big Daddy Kane (Nuff Respect), but the lesser known tracks are pretty good too. I forgot all about those tracks until I gave it a spin today, so I figured it was worthy of a blog post (that... and the fact that I haven't posted in so long lol). Anyway, the production is good and there are only one or two throwaway tracks. Enjoy everyone.

Juice: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [MCA Records 1992]

1. Uptown Anthem - Naughty By Nature
2. Juice (Know The Ledge) - Eric B. & Rakim
3. Is It Good To You feat. Tammy Lucas - Teddy Riley
4. Sex, Money & Murder - MC Pooh
5. Nuff' Respect - Big Daddy Kane
6. So You Want To Be A Gangster - Too Short
7. It's Going Down - EPMD
8. Don't Be Afraid - Aaron Hall
9. He's Gamin' On Ya - Salt & Pepa
10. Shoot 'Em Up - Cypress Hill Crew
11. Flipside - Juvenile Committee
12. What Could Be Better Bitch - Son of Bazerk
13. Does Your Man Know About Me - Rahiem
14. People Get Ready (Remix) - The Brand New Heavies featuring N'Dea Davenport

Redman

It's been a minute since I've made a blog post, so thanks for still checkin' for a dude. Here's another classic album from Redman to hold y'all over. I got a few other posts that need to be edited and submitted, but this should hold y'all until I'm done with those. Enjoy, people.

Muddy Waters [Def Jam Music Group 1996]
1. Intro
2. Iz He 4 Real
3. Rock Da Spot
4. Welcome (Interlude)
5. Case Closed

6. Pick It Up

7. Skit

8. Smoke Buddah

9. Whateva Man

10. Chicken Head Convention [Skit]

11. On Fire

12. Do What Ya Feel

13. The Stick Up [Skit]

14. Creepin'

15. It's Like That (My Big Brother)

16. Da Bump

17. Skit

18. Yesh Yesh Y'all

19. What U Lookin' 4

20. Soopaman Luva 3 Interview [Skit]

21. Soopaman Luva 3

22. Rollin'

23. Da Ill Out

Dilated Peoples

I'm not alll that into these guys nowadays, but when Dilated Peoples debuted, they had a passion about them that made me look past their flaws. Production is tight thanks to names like Alchemist, JuJu, DJ Premier, Da Beatminerz and ?uestlove adding to already dope production from Evidence and Babu. The rhymes are dope, for the most part, and guest appearances add tremedously to the album. I think you guys will dig this one if you haven't heard it already.

Expansion Team [Capital/EMI Records 2001]

1. Live On Stage
2. Worst Comes To Worst
3. Clockwork
4. Trade Money
5. Heavy Rotation feat. Tha Liks
6. Self Defense
7. Phil Da Agony Interlude
8. Proper Propaganda
9. Dilated Junkies feat. J-Rocc, Rhettmatic, and Melo-D
10. Panic
11. Pay Attention
12. Night Life
13. War
14. Hard Hitters feat. Black Thought
15. Defari Interlude
16. Expansion Team Theme

Boogie Down Productions

As a young'un, KRS-One was the gold standard for emceein'. Freestyle, writtens, you name it and KRS could do it. He was even a dope DJ and graf artist. When I think of hip hop in the pure form, I think of this guy. Live! Hardcore Worldwide is one of the first live recordings in the genre and I remember diggin' it from day one. The sound quality tolerable for a live show with so much bass. The album was recorded in New York, France, and England and KRS shows you what a real emcee is capable of. Enjoy.

Live Hardcore Worldwide [Jive/Zomba/RCA 1991]

(Live At Cuando, NY, NY)

1. KRS-One Intro
2. Lick A Shot
3. The Eye Opener
4. Jack of Spades
5. My Philosophy
6. Still #1 (Freestyle)
7. Poetry
8. House Nigga's
9. Criminal Minded
10. Jimmy
11. The Bridge Is Over
12. Ya Know the Rules

(Live at S.O.B., NY, NY)

13. Kenny Parker Intro
14. South Bronx
15. Reggae Medley (includes 9mm)
16. Super Hoe

(Live In London)

17. Up To Date
18. Why Is That
19. Stop The Violence

(Live In Paris)

20. Bo Bo Bo
21. Come To The Teacher
22. Breath Control
23. Self Destruction

DFC

I was diggin' through some CD Singles and came across this joint. I couldn't remember what it sounded like, so I put it on and quickly found out that it's definitely worthy of a blog post. It's only two tracks, and the second track isn't anything special, but the title track is guaranteed dope. Enjoy, folks. Oh, and excuse the crappy art...

Listen (Five Minutes) [Penalty/Big Beat/Power 1997]

1. Listen (Five Minutes)
2. Blaugh

Streets Is Watching

Streets Is Watching is one of those albums that people just seemed to love when it dropped. Though it was solid, I didn't quite get what the buzz was about. 11 years after its release, it's grown on me a little, so I figured I'd thrown it on here after giving it a spin or two. The lineup is pretty solid, but it's not 100% hip hop; there's some R&B joints sprinkled throughout. The production is solid and even the R&B joints are pretty good.

Streets Is Watching Soundtrack [Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam 1998]

1. It's Alright (Memphis Bleek & Jay-Z)
2. Love For Free (Rell feat. Jay-Z)
3. Only A Customer (Jay-Z)
4. Pimp This Love (Christion)
5. Murdergram (Murder Inc)
6. The Dough (Diamonds In Da Rough)
7. Crazy (Usual Suspects)
8. In My Lifetime (Remix) (Jay-Z)
9. Your Love (Christion feat. Jay-Z)
10. Thugs R Us (DJ Clue feat. Noreaga)
11. My Nigga Hillfigga (M.O.P.)
12. Celebration (Team Roc - Starring Jay-Z, Memphis Bleek, Sauce Money, & Wais of The Ranjahz)

Kurtis Blow

I'm not old enough to remember Kurtis Blow with much clarity, but I do remember when his hits were hitting the airwaves because we used to pop lock to them on our way to school. Fast forward to 2005... I wound up coppin' all of his shit on wax from a flea market/thrift store spot in Montgomery, Alabama for less than $35. Turns out that I remembered a lot more than I thought after giving him a few spins. Either way, I figured it's be cool to get some older rap on the site since the name of it would accurately suggest a strong yearning for old school rap. Here's his second LP. It plays more like an EP, and the beats are your typical 80's styled beats, but it's great for pop locking to if you're still into tha sort of thing. Just don't expect mind blowing lyricism; things hadn't got all that complex in '81, I guess...

Deuce [Mercury Records 1981]

1. Deuce
2. It's Gettin' Hot
3. Getaway
4. Starlite
5. Do The Do
6. Rockin'

Mr. Lif

I'd didn't get into Lif until about 5 or 6 years after his debut. I used to avoid Def Jux like the plague because I assumed they went out of their way to be different for the sake of different instead of just making good music. Out of curiousity, I checked out Lif on the internet and I was instantly hooked on this EP. I still spin it 7 years later -- in fact, Lif and El-P are the only Jukies I ever loved right off the bat. Everything else takes some warming up to. Production is dope and Lif's flow is unlike anyone elses. Enjoy this one, people...

Emergency Rations [Def Jux 2002]

1. Intro (Missing Person's File) feat. Akrobatik & Brotha PC
2. Jugular Vein
3. Heavy Artillery
4. Home Of The Brave
5. Pull Out Your Cut
6. Get Wise '91 feat. Edan
7. The Unorthodox
8. Phantom feat. EL-P