Episode 189 : To The Heavens

"I don't need a reason."

- Che

February is here once again, and as always we pay tribute to many of our Hip-Hop community who have transitioned; J Dilla, Trugoy, Big L, and Big Pun are all in the mix this month. Of course, it's also important to show love to the legends who are still with us while they can smell their flowers, and we have some brand new releases from veterans right next to some classics that still stand up to this day. The short length of some of the tracks brings the episode length down a touch, but it's concentrated dopeness...

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Playlist/Notes

Paul Wall & DJ.Fresh : Woke Up A Millionaire

I've been playing this recent release a lot, and with the track starting off the way it does, it's perfect to kick off an episode. DJ.Fresh's production is centred around what sounds like a drastically-slowed sample - though one I can't place - and he tops it with a clean drum machine beat. North Houston legend Paul Wall is in full motivation mode as he uses this track to set the tone as the opener on his most recent album, "Once Upon A Grind".

J Dilla : Dillatronic 41

First Dilla of the episode, from the posthumously-released "Dillatronic" set of mostly-unreleased beats. The sample source is a nice early eighties soul duet, with the vocals floating through the dreamlike track, and one of the rawest snares you'll ever hear trying to wake you up all the way through.

Anthony Danza : Khalid El Amin

I already know this is going to be near the top of my next Spotify Wrapped the way I've been marathoning it lately! I'm pretty new/late to the material of this MC from the Pacific Northwest, but really into his style - channeling a lot of the sound and flyness from the eighties and blending it with his modern-day mic skills. This self-produced track is pure flames, sampling a well-used soul classic, advoiding the trap of adding too much to it, and then alongside his own bars, giving plenty of room to guest vocalist Che Blaq to bring the soul right back into the groove his own way. Check out 2015's "Intel Design" for this one, and as for the track title? I'd say IYKYK, but here's a link ;)

Mic Geronimo : Shit's Real

From the "The Natural" LP, this is probably the best-known track in the catalogue of this Queens MC who unfortunately didn't have the longevity that many predicted and hoped for, and yet somehow a forgotten entry in the production discography of the recently-deceased Irv Gotti - who back in 1994 was just plain DJ Irv. A very recognisable soul sample, signalling the sensibilities that would make Irv a successful producer of more pop-oriented material later on, is the core of the instrumental on which Mic Geronimo puts forward his view of life in his corner of NYC at the time. Underground classic for sure.

The BARtenders : Magic & Wonders

We go to the other side of the country for some 2024 West Coast flavour, the combination of MCs Mykestro and Columbo Black coming together for a beautifully sunny, if all too brief, track from their short and sweet "Luke Warm Summers" album. This is clean, super clean sonically, and both MCs flow confidently over the production of Dionte Kendricks. I know it's a few months before summer, but having played this album front to back a bunch of times, I'd say it's one to get in your system ready for better days...

Nightmares on Wax : Typical (Children of Zeus Remix)

Just how I like it, Leeds and Manchester in combination! Nightmares on Wax has been doing it  on the production tip since 1988 (with the first LP coming in 1991), and as such is eminently qualified to find a quality remix partner - in this case, Manchester's own Children of Zeus. The track from the 2018 "Shape The Future" LP swaps out the bluesy flavour of the original for a smooth streetsoul vibe, and adds on rhymes from Konny and Tyler as a welcome bonus. Of the three versions on the new "Typical Remixes" collection, this is my clear favourite.

Jay Dee : Feat. Phat Kat (Instrumental)

"Welcome 2 Detroit" - the 20th anniversary 7" boxed set, to be precise - gives us this Dilla instrumental for one of the most unusually-titled tracks I can think of! The vocal version of course does feature Phat Kat, but he gets the day off for this instrumental, which radiates lazy sunny day vibes, in contrast to the weather outside the studio window...

Smif-N-Wessun : Elephant In The Room

Very heavy new cut from two of Brooklyn's finest, giving us a taster of their brand new "Infinity" album. I don't know if Tek is talking to anyone in particular at the start of the track, but he is heated, and brings it as always alongside General Steele, with the sections where they intersperse lines being unmatched in the modern day. It's a chemistry that comes with years of hard work, and Khrysis' production is a thumping, rugged canvas that does these veterans justice.

Big Punisher ft. Busta Rhymes : Parental Discretion

I've got to be honest - this wasn't a track that used to get a lot of replay from me compared to some of the others on "Capital Punishment", but I think it grows on you. If nothing else, the title gives you fair warning of what to expect, pure ruggedness from two MCs who have their own immediately recognisable, unmistakeable styles and voices. Show of the legendary DITC crew has this one banging from the Bronx to your ears, and my only wishlist item for the track would have been for Busta to get a verse to himself!

Big L : M.V.P (Remix #1)

It's always good to stumble on something from Big L's sadly abbreviated discography to play in February, and this remix turned up on a purchase from last year, "Buckwild Presents: Diggin' In The Crates - Rare Studio Masters (1993-1997)", not the catchiest title but certainly descriptive! Of course, lyrically it's the "M.V.P" you likely know already from L's debut "Lifestylez ov da Poor and Dangerous", but Buckwild swaps out the smoothness of the original sample for another one well-known to the diggers, something with a bit more creep to it. The drum track is appropriately chunky and programmed to match up with the new groove. DITC on point as always.

DJ Premier & Roc Marciano : Armani Section

Brand new release, with the king of the "drumless" sound joining forces with a legendary producer well known for his heavy drum tracks! They don't quite meet in the middle, but Preemo's drums don't dominate, and the sample chop is perfect turf for Roc Marci. The two men met in the Armani section of Macy's in Herald Square some years ago, and when Premier reached out last December, Roc suggested the site of that meeting as the track title. Of course, the signature scratched hook brings together a fitting selection of lines that keep the track hot between the flyness of the verses. There's supposed to be a joint EP by these two coming in the future and I'm ready for it!

Lone Apostrophe : Wayment

Just recently we had the final WORKINONIT session at the famed Hip-Hop Chip Shop, and so when this song jumped out during my shortlisting I thought it was only right to give you a taste of the talents of one of the men behind the event, Manchester's own Lone Apostrophe. Get this smooth head-nod flavour on the "Webs" album.

Kev Brown & LMNO : The Beat Tape

I was sure I'd played this cut from "Selective Hearing" for you before but can't find it in any of my old notes, so I'm happy to debut it on the show here! Kev Brown's signature-styled bear absolutely drips flavour here; he shows, like a great chef, what can be done with just a few ingredients and a high skill level (that "yeah" sample that comes in every four bars is perfect seasoning too) He takes the mic alongside LMNO on this short track - and arguably steals the show on that side of proceedings as well!

The Thyrday : Good Music

I have been hunting for a copy of "The Perfection Xperiment Pt.2" for years. This 2004 album from the heyday of the Justus League clearly wasn't produced in huge numbers, didn't come out on wax, and has never been on any digital or streaming services. It pops up occasionally on Discogs for what to me is pretty big money for an album, but this month I bit the bullet and got the lowest-price copy I'd seen maybe ever, and am glad I did and can now play you this MJ-sampling heater that I've been wanting to share for years! There's a slightly different version on the "Just Us, Volume 4" mixtape if you can find that, but both feature 9th Wonder killing it on production and J Gunn, K Slack, and Killa K riding the beat on one of the highlights of the LP. If you see it out there for decent money, trust me and buy it!

Slum Village : 4th and Back

For the final Dilla selection of the episode, we go pretty much back to the beginning for him, with this track from at least one version of "Fantastic Volume One", the much-bootlegged LP derived from Slum Village's 1996 and 1997 demos. The track title and overall concept was revisited on Slum's first commercial release, "Fantastic, Vol. 2", but this was the original lick, with the repeated hook taking up a lot of the vocal time, and that Jay Dee bounce providing a flawless groove on this slice of Hip-Hop history.

De La Soul : Can't Call It (Unreleased Version)

RIP Trugoy! I'd forgotten all about this one, which I got on one of those weird bootleg-ish 12" releases which was otherwise full of Digable Planets stuff, but which was originally on the soundtrack to "High School High" - one of those films that I don't think anyone over here saw, but the soundtrack of which was sought out by the heads. Self-produced by De La, it's a nice head-nodder with everything running at a steady pace, no sudden moves anywhere on the beat or on the mic.

The Beatnuts : The Chase (Instrumental)

Unabashed dark boom-bap for the final instrumental of the month, taken from the "Hydra Beats Volume 5" compilation, a fairly obscure 1997 compilation of twelve chunky beats. Lots of typos on the label, that's how you know the smoke was in the air in a major way...

Ghostface Killah : Apollo Kids

And finally, a track I hadn't DJed in an extremely long time, but which I was reminded about when it was featured in a short documentary on the 200th year of the Clarks shoe company! This is pretty much the poster child for Ghost's style, especially in this "Supreme Clientele" era, of saying off-the-wall stuff that didn't make sense but sounded good; if you can clearly decode "this rap is like ziti, facing me real TV / Crash at high speeds, strawberry kiwi" then you're a better interpreter than most! Of course, it did turn out much later that outside of raw creativity, there were other reasons why Ghost sounded the way he did. Hassan (aka Haas G of the UMCs) laces him with a grandiose, horn-laden production that hasn't aged a day since it came out back in 1999, and this track brings the episode to a triumphant end.

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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!