Episode 202 : Word Play

"I'm so raw that I'm rare."

- Meth

Nothing too fast, no dramatic moves, just various ranges of head-nod speed this month, with a selection that - trust me - is prime headphone material. After seeing Wu-Tang live and the great Slick Rick in conversation this month, I had to get them both represented in the mix, where they take their place alongside Phife and Biggie who we honour this month as always. There are some fire recent releases here and some real excavations from my collection, with my CD stash contributing a couple of winners, starting with the opening track of the show...

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Playlist/Notes

Broke 'n' English : What's Wrong With You

I've recently been digitising my entire CD collection, which has allowed me to rediscover some cuts that I haven't played in a long time! Manchester/Salford's Broke 'n' English, made up of MCs Strategy and DRS (with Konny Kon on the wheels and sometimes the mic too) included this track on the "The Best Of Terms & Conditions Vol. 1 & 2" CD which was included with the Jan/Feb 2007 issue of the British magazine Hip-Hop Connection - and it's one that still sounds great almost twenty years later! Chunky production, and rapid-fire bars, which, as good as they are, were just a warmup for the deep catalogue Strats and DRS built up over the years to come.

Jake One : Chuuucch

The beats on "#PrayerHandsEmoji" all deserved to be longer - and some of them were in fact extended and used on tracks with MCs - so I've had to use a few tricks to extend this one and also strip it back to the drums in a couple of places to create sonic space in the mix. He's not the only Seattle artist in this month's selection, but he's one of those who helped represent the city strong in the pre-modern, post-Mix-A-Lot era (salute to Sir Mix-A-Lot  also).

Raekwon & Ghostface Killah : Get Outta Here

We open the first mix with the legendary duo from the Wu-Tang, Rae and Ghost, from the latest Raekwon album "The Emperor's New Clothes". These are two MCs who bring flavour on every single appearance, and are one of the truly great MC pairings you'll ever hear. This kind sample-based, low-slung soul is perfect for them, very much the kind of production Ghost in particular has always shone on top of, and Frank G has to be commended for his work here. Definitely check this album from the arguably already-classic "Legend Has It..." series.

Zo! and Tall Black Guy ft. Brittney Carter and Lyric Jones : Quiet

Making an early claim on being one of the best releases we're likely to hear this year, Zo! and TBG have followed up their 2021 "Abstractions" album with the brand new "Expansions" collaborative LP. Soulful, warm, and bumping, it's definitely one to check - let this track serve as Exhibit A! Smoothly bass-led, with the featured vocalists bringing the MCing and singing sides seamlessly, and featuring an unexpected, but welcome, sprinkling of dancehall samples, this is downtempo headphone gold.

Gang Starr ft. Ne-Yo and Nitty Scott : Get Together

It can't be just me who thinks that this sounds like Ne-Yo wrote that hook on the bus to the studio on the day of recording? Nonetheless, this track may not have immediately jumped out on the final (?) Gang Starr LP "One Of The Best Yet", but it grows on you! Guru is quality as always on his loverman vibes, Nitty Scott makes a fine guest appearance as the other half of the conversation, and DJ Premier gives no hint during the intro of the kind of groove the rest of the track is going to settle into. 

Anthony Danza : My Shxt Jump

(Note: this track pre-dates the Sean "Diddy" Combs charges and trial)
I've been introducing you to the work of this Seattle artist over the last year or so, so I hope you're tuned into the vibe enough to enjoy this 80s-sampling riding tune from the "New Jack Danza" and "The Nickel" releases. Danza is flossing hard over the DJ Manifest-produced beat, which shares a sample with a Southern classic that gets a mention in the second verse!

Quantic : Archipelago (Instrumental)

A beautiful beat composition from someone I otherwise don't know, but may be familiar to some of you! I learned about this track many moons ago as part of the "Ibiza - History Of Chillout" compilation, but it's available for digital purchase from the "Shapes Mono (When Shapes Join Together Mix)" collection. Smooth bass, relaxed drums...peaceful vibes for sure. This British producer looks to have a deep catalogue of work on the Tru Thoughts and Breakin Bread labels, so that should give you an idea of the kind of lane he's carved out, and may send you looking for more!

Soul From The O ft. Lalin St. Juste : On My Way

An artist new to me, Soul From The O comes out of Oakland and is an example of the Ronseal school of naming, with the cracking drums and smooth, piano-laden production from Sndtrak providing the canvas for O to spit his conscious rhymes and guest Lalin St. Juste to sing a hook that may well stick in your head as firmly as it did mine. The deeply personal 2023 "Queens And Pharoahs" album is the source for this one, and will especially appeal to those who like a variety of sounds across a whole LP.

The Duke Ya Love To Hate : Rollin'

The 45 heads will likely be familiar with this producer on Dresden's Cold Diggin' record label, but for most of you, this introduction will hopefully have you searching out more of his stuff! This great cut is his own take on "Swing Down Sweet Chariot" by Parliament as well as folding in the influences of some of the West Coast classics that have drawn from it, and it's done with panache. The full versions of this and the A-side "Ridin'" are, so far as I'm aware, only available on wax, with the Bandcamp having just seventeen copies available at the time of writing - don't miss out! 

Skyzoo : Penny Jerseys

Definitely evocative of a specific era and a highly-specific cultural reference (I remember my now-wife asking me what "Penny jerseys" were when I played this in the car), this is a standout for me from the Skyzoo and Pete Rock LP "Retropolitan". The lyrics are autobiographical, and I won't say too much apart from that the ending is amazing. Pete Rock, as usual, does the business on production - and if you know the Gang Starr catalogue, you should catch a sample share with the track "The Planet" as part of the soundscape here.

Slick Rick & Common ft. Rene Neufville : Don't Come My Way

Having heard Slick Rick interviewed by Agent J this month I thought I'd dig deep into his catalogue for an inclusion here, and it happened to coincide with me exhaustively bringing my CD collection into the computer for easier access! The "soundtrack era" where all manner of Black or Black-related films was one which produced a glut of releases of varying quality, and even a wide quality spread within the same soundtrack, with labels seemingly using the albums to introduce new artists or dump subpar material which often had little to do with the film in question. Sometimes though, you got a track that was both relevant and up to scratch, and this is one of those - a deep cut from the soundtrack to the 1999 film "Whiteboys", that has The Ruler sharing the mic with Common, a native of the Chicago in which the film is set, Rene Neufville on the hook, and a producer named Che Guevara coming through with staccato string chops on a head-nodding beat. Even ardent fans of Slick Rick or Common could be forgiven for missing out on this one the first time round!

[Da Beatminerz] Black Moon : Stay Real (Instrumental)

I wrote on this beat quite a bit when I played the vocal version a few years back, but just a reminder that this is likely the third usage of this sample - preceding Jay-Z's "Public Service Announcement" but brought to the fore by Buckwild on O.C.'s "Word...Life" LP as an interlude and then teased on Da Beatminerz' "Brace 4 Impak" album. To get this long instrumental version though, you need to get the 12" of "Stay Real" by Black Moon, drawn from their "Total Eclipse" LP.

Method Man : M.E.T.H.O.D. Man (Remix)

This track brings back some memories! The first time I heard it was back home in Leeds on a mixtape, when those were hard to come by, from one of the city's most notable Hip-Hop DJs, P-Wiz (later Oddball), copied for me by a mate who also hadn't heard this specific version. A darker, slower take on the original "Method Man" from "Enter The Wu-Tang", still with RZA on production, this one became more widely available when it was included on Meth's debut LP "Tical".

Black Milk ft. Invincible and Finale : Don't Sleep

Straight banging business out of Detroit, with Black Milk behind the boards and Invincible taking the lead alongside Finale running the hook. When she's in her flow mode, Invincible has one of the great but lesser-known voices in Hip-Hop and this track is an excellent example. Even though she's not loud, she cuts through the drums and sirens with no problem at all. This 2010 cut is on the Mello Music Group "Helpless Dreamer" compilation with a bunch of other underground heat from that label. 

Phife Dawg : Melody Adonis

Unadulterated 90s Hip-Hop here, from the late, great Phife Dawg's lone solo album, "Ventilation : Da LP". Pete Rock's beat is an undeniable head-nodder and a perfect backing for Phife's three verses - the first two on the love tip (no pun intended), while the third has him expressing his anger and frustration with the breakdown of the Tribe situation at the time. I'm glad they were able to come back together before he passed away - already ten years ago this month. The "Ventilation" LP has a few absolute gems, and this deep album cut is one of them.

DJ Spinna, Phonte, and YahZarah : Guaranteed

Phonte has been one of the great talents of the culture since he emerged as the lead MC of Little Brother in the early 2000s, and then showed off his singing ability as well. One thing he's been able to do well since the beginning is write about relationships - the ups, the downs, the reality - without having to rely on the tired love song cliches. This is another well-written and performed track alongside Ghanaian-American powerhouse YahZarah, with the mature, grown-up soul groove coming from DJ Spinna as part of his "Sonic Smash" project, one which has long been unavailable for streaming but absolutely worth the cash to buy if you can find a copy!

[DJ Spinna] Ty : Knock Knock (DJ Spinna Beyond Real Remix) (Instrumental)

It was Episode 98 when I played you the vocal version of this dope remix (RIP Ty) from "Kick Snare & An Idea Pt.3", so I thought it was a reasonable amount of time to wait before dropping Spinna's instrumental! Classic Brooklyn Thingamajig Lab vibes here, from a producer who can always conjour this signature style without it ever getting stale - as well being one of the most versatile out. 

Ma$e, The Notorious B.I.G, and Styles P : Freestyle

I had to include some Biggie - even though it can be a challenge when we're talking about artists who, due to their untimely departures, had relatively short catalogues. The sound quality on this one is pretty rough - coming from a Hot 97 radio broadcast before being pressed onto wax for "Milk Crate Collection Vol. 6 - Part II Of The Biggie Collection (R.I.P.)" - but I hope you can forgive it. This track has two Bad Boy artists going back and forth over the track for "All About The Benjamins" with freestyle bars before Styles P gets on to close it down. Interestingly, Biggie is actually on the "Benjamins" remix that most people know, but never rhymes on this beat, as it changes up for his verse on that version - so here we get the union of the two at last!

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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!