Feb 28, 2018
"I maul y'all like a shopping centre..."
- Guilty Simpson
This month's title? Well, that is the overarching message of the podcast as a whole :) It's February once again, and as such we remember J Dilla, Big Pun, and Big L in the selection. We've got some brand new stuff, and some old classics. Turn the volume up for this one...
Hope to see you all at the Camp Lo show in Manchester on March 17th - get tickets here!
Twitter: @airadam13
Playlist/Notes
J Dilla ft. Guilty Simpson : Jungle Love
Big tune from "The Shining" to open up the month, ! Pure drums from the MPC of Dilla with Guilty Simpson spitting hard over the top - and I love that homonym in that "shopping centre" line :)
J Dilla : The Anthem (Instrumental)
The B-side to the "Trucks" single (remember that from Episode 1?), with both tracks taken from the album that was originally known as "Pay Jay" and finally released fourteen years late as "The Diary"
Slum Village : Go Ladies
It always used to amuse me when people would mention Slum Village under the banner of "conscious" rap. They clearly could not have been listening! Here's an example of a track that isn't deep and doesn't need to be, it's all about the vibe. The beat is amazing, and I can't believe it took me so long to realise what the main sample is - but then, it's not as blatant in the mix as it might be. "Fantastic, Volume II" is a must-own, especially if you want to really understand J Dilla's earlier production.
Dennis Edwards & Siedah Garrett : Don't Look Any Further (12" mix)
A truly great record, one that you almost certainly recognise, whether you know it or not. This was a 1984 release by the former Temptations lead singer which also gave Siedah Garrett a big shot. The bassline is a classic, and the video...well, let's just say it was "of its time"! :)
Eric B & Rakim : Paid In Full
I just had to take the opportunity to link up the re-played bassline with the previous track! A stone classic from the album of the same name.
Krispy ft. Roots Manuva and Real Deal : Trade Study
A big tune out of the north-west I hadn't heard anywhere else in quite a while! Krispy were a pioneering crew out of the Lancashire town of Chorley who turned out consistently excellent music including the "From The Country" album, from which this is drawn. Roots Manuva and Salford's Real Deal (now Strategy) put in solid guest appearances and Mikey D.O.N brings it home on the final verse!
[Kankick] Declaime : Exclaim The Name (Instrumental)
I just felt like hearing some Kankick, and came across this one on Bandcamp - taken from the instrumental version of the 2001 "Andsoitisaid" album. Wicked beat but the timing on the drums is all over the place!
Big Pun : Beware
The first proper track on Pun's debut "Capital Punishment", this dark and forbidding number is a perfect opener. The Prodigy (RIP) sample is cold, and JuJu of The Beatnuts brings the swelling strings and all the rest for Pun to just shine on.
Oh No & Tristate ft. Planet Asia : Wind Chime Wizardry
"...the culture is free, but when it comes to MCing, my power has no refinement." 🔥🔥🔥 Spotify recommended this one to me based on previous listening and it's a good one! Los Angeles' TriState linked up with Oh No out of Oxnard for the "3 Dimensional Prescriptions" album last year, and they bring in the West Coast underground stalwart Planet Asia to help lace this track.
Big L : 139
Nice little freestyle over the classic DJ Premier beat for Biggie's "Ten Crack Commandments". It's quite sobering that Big L is shouting out fallen friends on the track, and now he - and Biggie - are no more.
DJ Jazzy Jeff ft. CL Smooth : All I Know
I was amazed to find I hadn't yet played this on the podcast up to now! A good no-nonsense tune from Jeff's 2007 "Return of the Magnificent" EP, showing that CL hadn't lost a single step since his run with Pete Rock. Still hasn't.
J Dilla : Jay Dee 42 (Instrumental)
Just a few bars here from one of the many posthumous Dilla beat tape releases - this one, "The King Of The Beats, Vol 2: Lost Scrolls". To me, this one sounds like it has a strong Pete Rock influence - I can imagine this being on "Petestrumentals"!
Blue Stone : Lost Sun
Florida's Blue Stone bring that ethereal, new-age type of electronic music that can really work well in a headphone-oriented mixtape. The percussion on this short track from the "Worlds Apart" album has a Middle Eastern sound and the rest of the instrumentation, for me, sounds mid-way between Arabic music and Gregorian. It's an interesting one :)
Snoop Dogg ft. Ras Kass : I Wanna Rock (Remix)
You definitely know the original version of this track, so this "remix" will be familiar; the second verse is Snoop's first verse on the original, and the beat by Scoop DeVille is the same. What you do get as a bonus here is Ras Kass opening proceedings, starting his own verse by invoking various "rock" users, if you will!
Evidence : 10,000 Hours
This tune made me make that "ate a whole lemon" face. Raw. Big new track from the Dilated Peoples MC/producer who hands the beat reins over to DJ Premier for this banger from the new "Weather Or Not" LP. Evidence looks back over his career, and the time and work he's put in to get to this point - alluding to Malcolm Gladwell's (likely debunked) "10,000 hours" theory.
Flex : Spaceship
Portugal-born, Manchester-resident MC Flex does his thing on the "Soul Food" EP, and this track in particular sees him team up with Maverick Soul on the beat. Gliding highs and bumping lows, some nice guitar licks, and a solid drumline make this a winner.
Statik Selektah ft. Ab-Soul, Jon Connor, and Logic : Alarm Clock
A good one from 2014's "What Goes Around" - and Statik Selektah sat down to talk about it, so let me just direct you to the horse's mouth :)
DJ Spinna : Black Out
Put on a DJ Spinna beat, it's going to get your neck moving. Standard. Take this one from the "Unpicked Treats Vol. One" collection as a perfect example.
Little Brother : Speed
I was reminded by a Dart Adams tweet that this month marks fifteen years (already?) since the release of Little Brother's debut album "The Listening". It was hugely anticipated by those in the know after hearing the North Carolina crew come up on the net in the pre-social media era, and lauded by fans, critics, and legends after its release. This wasn't my favourite track on first listening, but it grew on me over time. Phonte and Big Pooh deliver rhymes about that real working life, and 9th's beat features his trademark drums and plenty of bass.
Please remember to support the artists you like! The purpose of putting the podcast out and providing the full tracklist is to try and give some light, so do use the songs on each episode as a starting point to search out more material. If you have Spotify in your country it's a great way to explore, but otherwise there's always Youtube and the like. Seeing your favourite artists live is the best way to put money in their pockets, and buy the vinyl/CDs/downloads of the stuff you like the most!
