Episode 204 : Shaded

"..way I be fly, be unidentified..."

- Anthony Danza

It looks like we're getting a little preview of summer this month, so that reflects in at least part of this episode's selection, which goes from as back as far as 1989 to some recent heat. Despite staying mostly within Hip-Hop, this month has a mix of flavours and eras that mean hopefully everyone will discover something new!

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Twitch : @airadam13

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Playlist/Notes

The Roots ft. John Legend : Doin' It Again

We start off with a piano-led track, some dramatic Questlove drumming and a solid bass groove creating a canvas for Black Thought, one of the best MCs ever to do it, to do it again indeed. John Legend features singing on the hook and reminds me just what a standout flavour he can bring to a song - I don't listen to him enough. While I got this on an Unkut compilation many years ago, this is most easily found on the "How I Got Over" LP.

[Nesto and Laze] Teflon : Get Mine (Instrumental)

I played the vocal version of this on the podcast absolutely years ago, but now you get a chance to - well, apart from my voiceover - hear the instrumental breathe thanks to Nesto and Laze's production, mixing a light melodic air with some banging drums. You'll need the "Get Mine" 12" to add the instrumental to your collection - get yours!

Da Flyy Hooligan : VERTIGO

The first mix starts in North London, with a motivational track for anyone who can relate to trying to claw themselves up from a tough situation. The production almost sounds like an updated version of The Heatmakerz work for Dipset, with Maschine Man Tim keeping the drums in exactly the right places relative to the sample and adding a few synth sprinkles too for that nice seasoning. The "Business Is Personal" EP came out in February and is definitely worth a listen if you want that gourmet-styled Hip-Hop with a UK flavour.

Camp Lo : China Soul

The "Let's Do It Again" album, Camp Lo's second, was overlooked even by some people who knew it had been released, but it contains some of my favourite tracks from their entire catalogue and this is one of them. We have Bronx slang all day over an Asian-influenced beat by Jocko, and Robin Guines brings some smoothness to the hook on what appears to be her only ever commercially-released performance. Definitely give that album a second chance!

Slum Village ft. Focus, Rapper Big Pooh, Illa J, Vice, T3, and Young RJ : What You Want

Rawness from SV on their collab with DJ Mick Boogie on the 2013 "Dirty Slums 2" mixtape, featuring an impressively-long roster of MCs - especially given the length of the track. Focus works double duty by handling production as well, with filtered drums, and a bassline augmented with some tough guitar and maybe a little organ action hidden in there as well. True Voltron business, with every MC bringing through aggressive bars and holding down their corners.

Voices Of Fire ft. Pharrell Williams : Joy (Unspeakable)

This may be the first explicitly gospel track I've played on the show, even though some other tunes that don't necessarily claim it would have had those leanings. DJ Sam Smite gets credit for this, as he played it on his The Gospel Room show one week and the heavy, bludgeoning bass caught my attention - I'd bought a digital copy before he'd even finished playing it! This is a Pharrell Williams (alongside Larry George) production that most of us would never hear, hammering the low end in the name of Jesus for a group who were actually assembled as part of a reality show! Pharrell went back to his Virginia hometown of Hampton Roads to find all these vocalists - they have the skills and the lungs to cut through this instrumental, and hopefully will go on to sustained success.

Tall Black Guy and Ozay Moore : Viberite (Instrumental)

The bumping smoothness of a TBG track is a signature even though his stuff doesn't all sound the same, which is pretty remarkable. If you want to hear the vocal skills of Ozay Moore (and you should), then search out the original "Of Process And Progression" album from 2022, but TBG kindly gave us beat-heads an all-instrumental version of the LP too, perfect for mixtapes or an evening of beat therapy.

Goodie Mob ft. Lil' Will : They Don't Dance No Mo'

Seems like a constant complaint since that era, but with changing reasons! Over a downtempo and instinctively non-dancing beat from Organized Noize and Mr. DJ, this single from Goodie Mob's sophomore LP "Still Standing" (which somehow is almost thirty years old now) laments what they observed as a shift from good vibes and partying to drama and aggression. Definitely one of the standout tracks of the album, and one where you can look back and say...they were right.

Queen Latifah : Inside Out

An MC, singer, actor, producer, and executive, Queen Latifah is truly one of Hip-Hop's most singular figures. Taking it back to 1989, this is a standout from her debut LP "All Hail The Queen" that also made it as a B-side on the "Dance For Me" 12" - and you know what Chuck D would have to say about that... Anyway, Latifah is in fine lyrical form on what, for the era, is an extremely downtempo cut produced by DJ Mark The 45 King (RIP), and you can hear a touch of reggae influence in there as well. 

DJ Swingsett, J. Warrin, and Lisa Shaw : I Think My Heart Is Telling On Me

I only recently heard of the 2001 "Sights Unseen" album, which had gone out of print many years ago - Lisa Shaw is an amazing vocalist and this seemed like something that would only be available for stupid money on Discogs. As luck would have it, it got a digital re-release in the last couple of months and so I snatched up my copy the second it became available! The bell-clear voice of Lisa Shaw is the highlight, while Swingsett and J. Warrin give her a musical backing very different from the deep house that is her usual stock in trade - downtempo, heavy, kind of moody, but the contrast works. The full track is about six minutes long, so I've shortened it here, and I recommend picking up the full re-released LP if you want to hear more.

Beanie Sigel ft. Cam'ron : Wanted (On The Run)

As much as this one from "The B.Coming" knocks, it has a real atmosphere about it - you can imagine the wading through a stream, the chasing dogs and handlers,  the desperation of someone who absolutely doesn't want to be found. Beanie successfully makes the life of a fugitive sound thoroughly unappealing, especially on the first verse, and Cam'ron switches things up from Beanie's raw flow into his trademark playful wordplay. Da Neckbones craft the beat from an 80s rock track, mainly the guitar line but snatching a vocal sample too that links the two tracks by their hooks.

[Kanye West] Cam'ron : Dead Or Alive (Instrumental)

I don't really play Kanye anymore to be honest but he was only the producer on this, and while it's a decent beat in its own right, it's really here because it was the perfect thematic follow-up to "Wanted". It's almost two sides of the same pursuit, the outlaw and the lawman.

Jadakiss : Me

Heading a few miles up from Harlem and landing in Yonkers, NY, it's Jadakiss from The Lox with a track from the "Ignatius" album - dedicated to and named after a friend, producer, and A&R from Ruff Ryders, Ignatius Jackson. Interestingly, this somewhat braggadocious cut is produced not by one of the Hip-Hop beatsmiths you might expect, but Bryan-Michael Cox, a songwriter and producer much better known for his R&B work with giants like Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige. It might be that background that lead him to the soul sample that undergirds this track, which he cleverly retains the "me" vocal from and includes in the loop/sequence for Jada to write his rhymes around,

Anthony Danza ft. Stefo : How It Feels

More Seattle action from one of my favourite artists in the last few years, this time from the 2021 "Armorall" album. Self-produced by Danza, this once again is built on a foundation of classic 80s synth-based R&B, along with some fitting (but heavier) drum programming to give it some modern knock, and Danza and Stefo taking the mic to make it all complete. Characteristically fly and dope as anything, this is a perfect track put on repeat in the car on a hot summer day.

Devin Morrison : Cinema

This might not be picked up by Odeon as their new theme tune, but this was a great single from Florida's Devin Morrison that came out last year. Warm, smooth, and polished, while also lyrically being great material for DJ Devv (no connection) on IG :)

The BARtenders ft. MzInkbomb : Westside Slidin

The two-man crew of Mykestro and Columbo Black come out of the West Coast alongside guest MzInkbomb for this mellow midtempo track, decorated with glittering keyboards and background guitar licks. With the summertime vibes on 100, this is like an underground and slightly less radio-friendly version of "Summertime", taken from the 2024 "Luke Warm Summers" album that's well worth taking the time to seek out for several more tracks with this kind of feel.

[ID 4 Winds] Sol Uprising : We Ourself And Us (Instrumental)

Yes, that's the spelling! Chill undertones on this one with a drumline that sounds as though it's trying to break free of the rest of the track, this is a nice bit of production from ID 4 Winds from the "We Ourself And Us" EP by Sol Uprising - a crew I started checking for entirely because of the vocal talents of Stacy Epps, who you may know from her work with Madlib on the "Madvillainy" project.

Dr. Dre : Let Me Ride (Extended Club Mix)

A welcome inclusion on the "Nuthin But A G Thang" single, which I recently picked up on CD hidden amongst a pile of other stuff in a charity shop! I'd only ever heard this on pirate radio in Leeds over thirty years ago, and that might be at least in part because the full version is over eleven minutes long - which ironically, given the title, is too long for your average club set. "Let Me Ride" was a single in its own right and one of my favourite tracks on Dre's seminal LP "The Chronic", and it's good to see it get a more live-instrumented, explicitly P-Funk reworking here. Definitely worth picking up if you can find it!

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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!