Episode 200 : no music without "us".

"Big up to all the massive..."

- Buckshot

Somehow, this humble show from the days when you had to explain what a podcast even was has reached the double century milestone! I'm so glad that you're here to listen, whether you've been here for one day or since day one. I asked for voice messages from you to play during this celebratory episode and you generously responded with your love, memories, and favourite songs and episodes. This month, alongside classic tracks from some of my all-time favourite artists and some new gems, enjoy listening to the words and voices of our community!

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Twitch : @airadam13

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Playlist/Notes

Black Ivory : I Keep Asking You Questions

Marking the one and only time in the history of the podcast that I've intentionally repeated a song, this is just here as a little intro before we drop the next track - but it's also an opportunity to write a few words as I wasn't doing detailed track notes back when I played this on the very first episode! Black Ivory, originally Mellow Souls, are a Harlem vocal trio who started in 1969 and amazingly have carried on performing right into the 2020s with their original lineup. This track was the B-side of their first single "Don't Turn Around", but as Chuck D famously said, "B-Side Wins Again" as this is definitely the bigger tune in my opinion. As I've played the whole thing before, you just get a taste here before we take a detour to hear how many of us first discovered it...

Raekwon ft. Ghostface Killah : Criminology

Somehow never yet played on the show, this was a big single from the no-debate classic LP "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...", which for those who don't know is my favourite Hip-Hop album of all time. RZA borrows from the Black Ivory cut for the intro and hook, but a different soul classic for the verses, and then Rae and Ghost go full-throttle on this mid-90s heater. Imagine having this being a single and still arguably outside the top three tracks on your album - that's "Thriller" magnitude.

Downtown Science : Out There But In There (Instrumental)

Downtown Science were the pairing of MC Bosco Money and the producer Sam Sever, best known to most for his work with 3rd Bass, and were a group I was curious about hearing back in their day - but I didn't see their LP in the local shops (this was the early 90s) or have money for it anyway. When I saw the "Room To Breathe" single on a digging mission many years later, I took the opportunity to pick it up and this was tucked away on the B-side. While the sounds are different, the drum pattern is very reminiscent of EPMD's "You're A Customer", and this instrumental allows you hear all the sounds outside the rhythm clearly. 

Jordan Rakei : Wind Parade

Once again going down the road of showing inspiration, we're returning to the "Blue Note Re:imagined" album that we visited last episode to go with a track I was always intending to play on this episode, a fire cover version of a classic Donald Byrd number. UK-based New Zealander Jordan Rakei is very respectful of the original material here while adding his own lyrics to a song that originally had very few.

Black Moon : Buck 'Em Down (Da Beatminerz Remix)
Black Moon : Buck 'Em Down (LP Version)

If "Who Got The Props?" was number 1, "Buck Em Down" has always been my 1A as best track on the debut Black Moon LP "Enta Da Stage", which I still remember rushing to buy as a teen, coming home triumphantly with the vinyl. With that in mind I was incredibly excited to find out that it was going to be a single release, but somewhat wrong-footed when I heard it - the remixed version on the 12" still uses "Wind Parade" as a foundation but is sonically cleaner, and I wasn't initially sold on it. What I did enjoy though was that the single version is radio-friendly via a rewrite (rather than bleeps or other FX), and over time I grew to love it. I do blend into the original at the end though as I always loved the outro and how the instrumental drops out and is deftly brought back in under Buckshot's dedication to his man Butta. It's sonically much darker, as a lot of the LP was actually sampled from cassette recordings, whereas it sounds as though Beatminerz might have access to the original Donald Byrd wax by the time the remix came around...

Janet Jackson : If

This is raw in a different way to the preceding track, but shares the same drum break! Sonically there's nothing else in common though, as we temporarily switch from the jazz world into a loud, discordant rock track. The label wanted this as the first single from the "Janet" LP, but Janet pressed for "That's The Way Love Goes" as the lead before releasing this as the follow-up. Janet gets quietly raw with it over the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis production (Minnesota stand up!), and it's been a track which inspired remixes for many years after the original release. For more about this track, check this amazing writeup on the Janet Jackson Fandom page!

Natural Elements : Live It Up

Those who've been listening for a while will know that NYC's Natural Elements are one of my favourite groups, and this track from their earlier years was one of those that initially grabbed me. "Live It Up" was released as the B-side on the 12" for "2 Tons", another killer cut, as well as part of the soundtrack for the Jet Li film "The Black Mask". NE hang their hats on their mic skills, which they deftly do here without overwhelming Charlemagne's production. If you like your Hip-Hop uncut, and can appreciate the skills, they're a group to check out, who have continued to record to the present day - consider yourself "in the know" if you're a fan!

Casquiat : The Stopper

A little "tax season" (if you know, you know) action on this banging 45! The Californian DJ/remixer Casquiat turns his attention to a classic 90s dancehall badman tune from Cutty Ranks, which was the title track of his first LP. All kinds of Hip-Hop beats get thrown into the mix on this one underneath Cutty's vocals, making for a guaranteed dancefloor killer for the quick-mix generation as well as those of us who remember the original lick. Unfortunately, there were only 400 copies of this pressed, so you may have trouble finding one without going to the used market - if anyone is mad enough to sell theirs!

[DJ Spinna] Platinum Pied Pipers : Fever (DJ Spinna BK Banger Remix Instrumental)

Just a solid beat with that characteristic DJ Spinna wobble in the bass, this is the instrumental for a remix which somehow managed to take a quality record from the Detroit duo of Waajeed and Saadiq and take it to another level. The chunky drum track and percussion, along with that bass, are perfect to work out the speakers of a quality system, alongside the sharp yet gentle synth lines.

Smif-N-Wessun : Black Trump (read below...)

From the day Donald Trump came down that escalator in 2015 this track was ruined for me, and I haven't played it anywhere - but then when I realised that S-n-W had recorded a live version with their own contemporaneous input as part of the "Champion Sound" show in Prague, I thought that this would be a great time to break it out! Luckily, the track only ever mentions the titular Antichrist as part of the scratched sample from Raekwon's "Incarcerated Scarfaces" - incidentally, Raekwon features on the studio recording of this tune but he wasn't at the gig. The original was produced by Lord Self/Self Serve, but reproduced here by Champion Sound, minus some of the extra kick drum action but with some nice extra scratch action and some great little bass runs.

Camp Lo ft. Jungle Brown : Say Word

I was quietly amazed that this track hadn't been played already, as it's a standout for me on the classic "Uptown Saturday Night", the Camp Lo debut which has a proud place on my studio wall! Jungle Brown is on the hook as Geechi and Cheeba go back and forth with absolute waves of slang, with flawless flow . Ski's beat is mostly stripped-down to leave space for the MCs, but it bangs hard. 

Ilajide : Journey To The Light

Clear Soul Forces' producer is someone I only learned about during the run of the podcast, but he's certainly become a favourite over the years. This has his characteristic bump, keeps you on your toes with the some of the snares coming on the half-beat, and does the business on the low-end. One of the many excellent tracks on the 2015 "Latex" project.

Acolytes : Throwing Slang

Manchester comes through with another winning team, the new pairing of Cheech (Mothership Connection and The Bluntskins) and previous podcast guest Dubbul O (also Mothership Connection, Jointhedots, and more) on the mics and Pro P behind the boards. Their fire debut single was released just too late to make the last episode, but there was no way it was missing this one. Classic boom-bap drums and a solid "just the facts, ma'am" bassline provide the foundation on top of which the ringing keys/bells provide the most recognisable element, hypnotising you into a space for the thrown slang to hit you, bar after bar. Get the single and be on the lookout for more!

Clear Soul Forces : The Genie

From one industrial city to another, we head back to Detroit and back to Clear Soul Forces, with this synth-basslined number from the 2013 "Gold PP7s" album, referring to the deadliest weapon in the N64 classic "Goldeneye". CSF have not only a top-notch producer in the group, but a whole squad of mic-melting MCs who have their skills on full display here. Definitely pick up the LP if you like dense bars along with your beats - they have them for days.

DJ Manifest ft. Lowpocus : Nightshift (Instrumental)

The first of two instrumentals here to create a little more space for your contributions is from another artist who is relatively new to me and who I hope some of you will continue to follow - Montreal's DJ Manifest, a respected DJ and producer who has notably done a lot of work with the Proof Avenue collective. His "1984" album absolutely drips of that era, as you'll be able to hear, and the union of Manifest and fellow Montreal bassline bully Lowpocus makes for a cruising soundtrack that works just as well during the day as at night.

Temu : Temu's Talkbox Groove (Instrumental)

States like Ohio are rightly credited with being hotbeds of the funk - maybe it's something in the water - but New York can bring it too! Temu is a musician out of NYC dedicated to keeping that old flavour alive, and as someone who grew up with records that sounded like this, it's a joy to know that there are new records coming out in this vein. Temu's 2019 LP "Relic Of The Mothership" has some of the tracks, including this one of course, in instrumental form as well as with his well-done talkbox vocals, making it a great one for DJs to have in the collection. 

Sean Price : Genesis Of The Omega

This downtempo, mean, grinding track starts with the chaos of The Alchemist running through portions of a sample before the main groove drops. Appropriately titled for the first track of the last mix this month, it's also the first track of the final Sean Price album released in his lifetime, with "Mic Tyson" dropping in 2012 and Sean P's untimely passing coming in 2015. The Brooklyn and Boot Camp Click legend will always be one of my favourite MCs, and those who had the chance to see him live in Manchester have a truly treasured Hip-Hop memory.

Curren$y : Leaving The Dock

Regular listeners will know how much love Curren$y's particular twist on motivational music gets over here, and this short track from the 2012 Miami-themed "Cigarette Boats" EP has him reflecting on his road to success in the style to which we've become accustomed. Harry Fraud is on production, rocking the same electronic sample as dead prez used for their "Wolves" intro on "Let's Get Free", with the drums pounding and the mood eerie.

DJ Premier : N.Y.S.O.M. #20

Controversial, but I've always preferred "N.Y. State of Mind Pt. II" to the original, with that first verse being incredible and DJ Premier's melancholy beat being a standout on the "I Am..." album. With that in mind, I was surprised to hear that very beat on Preemo's "Beats That Collected Dust, Vol. 2" collection - its presence implies that maybe no-one wanted it at first, which to me is absolutely nuts. Maybe no-one thought they could do this justice until Nas stepped up?

The Musalini & 9th Wonder : Skyview

The mack man out of NYC is prolific in the way that modern artists kind of need to be just to remain visible in the modern scene; I remembered this track as being older than it actually is, but it's from 2002's "The Don & Eye" LP, a collab between Mus and 9th Wonder. Laid-back player vibes that's a great listen for when you don't want to make too many sudden moves. Nice little sample at the start if you catch it!

Thundercat : Them Changes (Jael Remix)

This is a track I was thinking about keeping strictly for live sets, but it's a special occasion! Thundercat's original track from the "Drunk" LP with the classic drum break is already a hugely popular record, but this remix gives it more speaker-shaking characteristics that get a crowd reaction every time that bass drops. The Moluccan producer/DJ/vocalist/(probably more) Jael out of The Netherlands put this out as one entry on a collection of remixes and club edits, which is available on Bandcamp - you can never accuse me of not letting you know where to get the good stuff!

The Irresistible Force : Nepalese Bliss (Jimpster Mix)

TIF is a project of the veteran DJ Mixmaster Morris, who released the original "Nepalese Bliss" single on Ninja Tune in 1998, before it was remixed by the skilled hands of Jimpster for inclusion on the "Xen Cuts" compilation. Lots of nice drum action here amongst all the dreamy synths and smooth bass. As an aside, I discovered a limitation of the Serato "stems" functionality here, when I echo out the instruments before coming back with just the drums and bass - as soon as you turn anything else on, the echoing stops! Now that you know that, the sharp-eared may catch me trying to work round that limitation to make the change as smooth as possible :)

Lenzman ft. Children Of Zeus : Rain

I do like a double-time/half-time genre switch, and we use that move to transition into the final track of the episode, featuring a group I've been proud to champion from their very beginning as a duo, Children of Zeus. They bring their singing and MC skills to this D&B track from the Dutch producer Lenzman, who's always garnered a lot of respect here in Manchester. This is the final track on the 2019 "Bobby" album, and is also a fitting closer to this landmark podcast episode from the rainy city.

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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!