Posts Tagged ‘q-tip’

Random VLS Drops: Del The Funky Homosapien – Wrong Place (1994)

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011

Single from Del’sNo Need For Alarm” album. It also contains “Undisputed Champs” track, featuring Pep Love and Q-Tip, which is not included on the album.

Enjoy!

01. Wrong Place (LP Version)
02. Wrong Place (Casual Remix)
03. Wrong Place (LP Instrumental)
04. Don’t Forget
05. Undisputed Champs Feat. Pep Love & Q-Tip

–>Download Wrong Place VLS<–

–Markshot

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The TROY Blog Presents 100 Greatest Native Tongues Songs (Complex.com)

Wednesday, December 15th, 2010

Click to read The TROY Blog Presents 100 Greatest Native Tongues Songs @Complex.com

…beyond their flamboyant presentation and bohemian sensibility, the Native Tongues were about constructing haunting, beautiful songs out of the fuzzy, bassy, scratchy, nearly forgotten remnants of virtually every black American musical tradition that ever seduced mainstream audiences. With a focus on the core members, we got the good folks from The T.R.O.Y. Blog to figure out The 100 Greatest Native Tongues Songs…

We put together this mammoth list to give new jacks a guide to the Native Tongues discography and old fans an excuse to listen to these gems again with older, wiser ears. These are songs by Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep, Queen Latifah, Monie Love, Chi-Ali, and others; can you really go wrong? March on over to Complex.com and get down with our virtual, interactive (streaming audio for every entry!) tour of one of our favorite portions of hip hop history. Hint for the impatient know-it-alls: if you hover the cursor over the menu linking to every entry, you’ll be able to see the songs in advance; we’re sure as shit not listing them all here. Enjoy!

Oh and if you found our site via Complex.com, welcome! Make yourself comfortable, take a look around, subscribe if you like what you see. We post reviews, articles, compilations, mixes, downloads, etc. everyday; we have quality content available for nearly every style of rap and taste that exists, from every era.

Special thanks to Dan, vaporized, 8ks, Espirando, pauserecordplay, and aleph for assisting us with the audio.  — Thun & Philaflava

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T.R.O.Y. Presents – Sounds Like The 90s Vol. 17

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010

The last volume before the new year. While it was a pretty good year in hip-hop, there wasn’t an overwhelming amount of throwback tracks, thus us delivering you just 5 volumes of Sounds Like The 90s in ’10.

As many of you know, we do these compilations to capture an era that we all love. Some tracks do sound like the 90s, while others are artists from that era doing their thing. A few of these tracks have been out for awhile now, some even debuted on this site, but here is a tightly sequenced mix for the holidays. I wouldn’t normally put 3 tracks by one artist on a mix, but Kanye killed it this year (all 3 tracks not on the LP) and Q-Tip is responsible for 2 of those gems. There was no way I wasn’t putting these on for you guys.

Thanks to all the people that have supported over the years. We’ll continue to do these and we’re always keeping an open mind, so if you got something, don’t hesitate to link us. Props to Dirt_Dog and Strategy for helping–as always. Shouts to the entire T.R.O.Y. squad and our readers. Download link and front cover are below, back cover and tracklist are after the jump. Happy Holidays! –Philaflava

Download Volume 17 (more…)

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(Poll) Best Crooklyn Dodgers Joint?

Saturday, November 27th, 2010

Which one will prevail?

Does anyone like Part III? Is that an official sequel? Who decides such things? The Borough President?

Why did Jeru stop rapping like that?

Did Barbara Walters ever respond to Chubb Rock’s dis?

Was hot peas and butter a harmless urban pastime or ritualized violence?

Will rappers wax poetic about the old Yankee Stadium in fifteen years?

Videos and poll after the jump. (more…)

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Kanye West and Jay-Z “That’s My Bitch” prod. Q-Tip – The New Boom Bap?

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

Earlier this year Kanye swore that his next album would be the return of that of that ol’ boom bap. Well, My Beautiful Twisted Dark Fantasy has arrived and while it is the critically lauded, bombastic event of an album one might expect from Kanye, and there are some hard drums to be heard on it, it isn’t anything like a 2010 version of Enta Da Stage. That’s okay because the man’s work ethic surpasses even his egotism, and he’s already leaking that are supposed to appear on his upcoming collaborative album with Jay-z, Watch The Throne. “That’s My Bitch” slams. You haven’t heard a straight ahead rap song with the potential to be played on big market radio stations during peak hours slam like this lately, unless it was repackaged as an Amerie song. I like her legs but I like rapping, too. If Kanye succeeds in getting younger listeners familiarized with *that break* and others, how can you be mad at him? This song sounds almost too 1990 to be true, as if it was dropped out of an alternate dimension where A Tribe Called Quest opted out of embarking on a mission to revive mellow fusion jazz and instead went ahead to give hip-house a hardcore facelift and mollywop all the rap-lite dance music sub-genres desperately nipping at the ankles of the Bomb Squad sound but never getting it down correctly. It reminds me of a nanotech version of the Jungle Brothers “Doin Our Own Dang,” which features all the Native Tongue heavy hitters including a young and idealistic Q-Tip and of course, cutesy lil’ Monie Love, who Kanye alludes to in a really odd punchline that I might be too sober to comprehend. Enjoy. — Thun

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Nas – The Making of Illmatic

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

Now in twenty-deca, it’s been about 16 years since Nas first dropped this classic LP. Illmatic shattered the hip-hop scene, and remains the epitome of T.R.O.Y. era rap. What solo albums can you think of coming close to this gem?

Courtesy of our man fatboybrandon at Philaflava, we now have this short little documentary in .mp4 format for you to download. “You can import the mp4 file into iTunes and convert it for your iPod or iPhone if you like. I try to keep a bunch of classics to travel around and watch regularly.”

This E.P.K. aired originally on an episode of Video Music Box (before Illmatic’s official release), the first television program dedicated to airing almost exclusively hip-hop videos, and focusing on an urban market. The show was hosted by Ralph McDaniels, local television personality and pioneer in hip-hop media. He is now an on-air personality for Hot 97, as well as executive-producer and co-host for The Bridge, which chronicles the history of hip-hop. Video Music Box aired on New York's WNYC-TV, the only television station to be owned by a city, until mayor Giuliani sold its rights to the Dow Jones & Co. The station is now owned by Pax TV, according to IMDB.

Anyways, there is great footage of the artists that went into making one of the all-time greatest albums, and not just Nas–the production team comprising Pete Rock, Q-Tip, Large Professor, and DJ Premier is probably the greatest assembling of producers ever for a single record, and they are all interviewed here. The EPK also offers a glimpse at Queensbridge and the people who surrounded Nas growing up in his infamous (like that pun?) neighborhood.

“The way he comes with his ideas, and the way he hits it, you know what I’m saying–it’s clearly poetry.”- Q-Tip. “With all the producers we have on the album, you know–Nas himself–you know, that’s hip-hop.”- Large Pro.

Again, props to fatboybrandon on the upload. Be sure to check out his awesome blog, Crates of JR, for more hip-hop goodies, articles, music, and videos. Also, props go out to the Youtube user 1X4YourMind on uploading the EPK to Youtube–if any of you are interested, he has a bunch of other hip-hop video gems in his channel.

Peace,
— Teddy C.D.

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It’s Goin’ Down at… The Lyricist Lounge

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010


By the 19-naughties hip-hop had opened its doors to a wide array of sounds, techniques and styles, both mainstream and underground. While the boom-bap New Yorkers were taking back the rap reins from their West Coast counterparts, the emerging alternative hip-hop collectives on both coasts were laying a foundation for the underground circuit. One of the areas in which rap began expanding was the art scene. Open-mic nights at local cafes and clubs became a hotbed for raw, unadulterated talent, and unknown artists were given the chance to showcase their work to an audience of other young and aspiring lyricists. Like poetry reading circles or songwriter sessions, rappers were organizing themselves in these collective workshops, honing their craft like true artists—true professionals.

On the West coast, the open-mic nights at the Good Life Café became the breeding ground for some of the most impressive lyricists ever caught on wax. One of the acts to emerge from amateur night at Good Life Café was the criminally underrated Freestyle Fellowship, frontrunners for most talented rap group of all time (but they warrant their own piece altogether… hint: stay tuned).

In New York, however, there was no Good Life Café, nor was there a Freestyle Fellowship. Instead, there was the East Coast equivalent to Good Life, a tiny studio apartment on Lower East Side Manhattan which acted as a workshop for artists, new and old, known loosely as the Lyricist Lounge. Founded in 1991 by Anthony Marshall and Danny Castro, the Lyricist Lounge became a hit in the underground New York City circuit, a popular place and hangout for young artists to share their music on the open-mic stage.

Fast forward to the new millennium. It was the year 2000, and the Lyricist Lounge had just gained enough of a following—after a compilation album and two separate tours involving artists from Mos Def to KRS-One to Slick Rick—for a television series. That’s right, MTV agreed to a proposal by Marshall and Castro to bring the Lounge on air—only, a twist of humour would be added to tie the rap acts together. And with a diverse cast of underground rappers and comedy actors, music producers and comedy writers, the first ever hip-hop sketch comedy was born, dubbed The Lyricist Lounge Show.

To those who remember watching the show, it was groundbreaking in its demonstration of how hip-hop could be used as a viable musical media. Most episodes comprised a series of often hilarious sketches, featuring characters conversing only in rapped dialogue—most of it written, some of it even freestyled to a live studio audience—over minimalist and non-invasive background beats. The three artists especially instrumental to the show’s creative direction were Wordsworth, Master Fuol, and Baby Power, all members of the ensemble cast and writers of the show. Frequent guest appearances were made by fan favourite Mos Def, as well as Q-Tip, Cee-Lo, Common, and Erykah Badu, among others. The strong cast of lyricists and All-Star rappers made each episode not to be missed.

Yet sadly, The Lyricist Lounge Show failed to survive beyond two seasons, and like our other favourite hip-hop show Yo! MTV Raps, the program was promptly canceled (another reason to ignore television beyond HBO, Showtime, and the occasional NBC Comedy). Conflict between MTV and the show’s producers—no doubt a creative difference between network and creators—coupled with high production costs and a deflating audience, resulted in the shows termination. In short, we fans were screwed out of what could have been a hit television series, and the first of many forays of drama into hip-hop. I remember staying up late as kids with my older brother, watching Mos Def trade rhymes with characters like “Mayor Fuoliani,” just soaking in all the music with our young ears glued to the tube. For years we wondered where the show had gone after it left the air. I have yet to see another hip-hop based musical production add the same amount of depth and versatility to its lyrical content, while matching the biting wit of The Lyricist Lounge Show.

Today, the Lyricist Lounge has evolved into a rappers’ showcase. An always-changing cast of emcees from all over the hip-hop world, both unknown and established, tour through various venues across the United States to perform live shows. Sponsored by a wide array of companies and hosted by many respectable rappers, these live performances are all we have left after the termination of The Lyricist Lounge Show.

In 1998 before the show was created, members and affiliates of the Lyricist Lounge released a compilation album featuring various artists including Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, Ras Kass, Words, Saul Williams, and Jurassic 5, titled The Lyricist Lounge Vol. 1.

The Lyricist Lounge Vol. 1

Disc 1:
1. Wise Guy- “Street Promoters (Skit)”
2. De La Soul & 88 Keys- “Intro”
3. Cipher Complet- “Bring Hip Hop Back”
4. Diaz Brothers with Matrix & Abutta- “Keep Pouring”
5. Sarah Jones- “Blood”
6. Q-Tip, Mos Def, & Tash- “Body Rock”
7. Hazadu, J-Treds, Thirstin Howl III, Kwest, & I.G. Off- “Bathroom Cipher”
8. Punch & Words- “Da Cipher”
9. Word A’ Mouth- “Famous Last Words”
10. Prime- “No Mater”
11. Ras Kass & O.C.- “Action Guaranteed”
12. Mike Zoot- “All in My Own”
13. Wiseguy & Words- “The Phone Call (Skit)”
14. -Black Thought, Common, Pharoahe Monch, & Absolute A.K.A Xtra Kredit- “Live From the D.J. Stretch Armstrong Show With Your Host Bobbito the Barber”

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Disc 2:
1. Saul Williams- “Ohm”
2. Kool Keith & Sir Menelik- “Intro”
3. Natural Elements- “Mayday”
4. Talib Kweli (Reflection Eternal)- “Manifesto”
5. Bahamadia & Rah Digga- “Be OK”
6. A.L.- “Lyrics”
7. Talib Kweli, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Wiseguy, Building Blocks, Mr Metaphor, & Lil Sci- “Outside the Lounge”
8. Lord Have Mercy More & D.V. Alias Khrist- “Holy Water”
9. Jurassic 5- “Jayou”
10. KRS-One, Zack De La Rocha, & The Last Emperor- “C.I.A. (Criminals in Action)”
11. Problemz- “Society”
12. Indelible MCs, Company Flow, Juggaknots, & J-Tred- “Weight”
13. Words, Rise, Punch, Jedi, & A.L.- “After the Show”

During the show’s run, a Lyricist Lounge Vol. 2 was released, featuring more established rappers of the game. It is worth a listen, though it isn’t quite as strong as the first album. Much of the Lyricist Lounge flavor is missing from this set, as the CD tries to cross over into a mainstream sound, probably in anticipation of a growing audience.

Not to be confused as music used on the show, both of these albums were showcases of the diverse talent found in hip-hop, while still leaving fans hungry for more of the actual television series—which, of course, no longer exists.

The Lyricist Lounge Vol. 2

1. Notorious B.I.G.- “16 Bars (Live at the Lyricist Lounge)
2. Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch, & Nate Dogg- “Oh No”
3. Q-Tip & Words- “Makin’ It Blend”
4. Cocoa Brovaz- “Get Up”
5. Beanie Sigel- “Get That Dough”
6. Royce da 5’9- “Let’s Grow”
7. Mos Def & Ghostface Killah- “Ms. Fat Booty”
8. Redman & Saukrates- “W.K.Y.A.”
9. Talib Kweli & Dead Prez- “Sharp Shooters”
10. Kool G. Rap & M.O.P.- “Legendary Street Team”
11. Big Noyd & Prodigy- “The Grimy Way”
12. Erick Sermon & S. Scott- “Battle”
13. Da Cipha, Punch, Cobra Red, Planet Asia, Guilty, & Phil Da Agony (Consequence & Menace)- “Interlude”
14. Big L. & C-Town- “Still Here”
15. Dilated Peoples- “Right and Exact”
16. The Last Emperor & RZA- “He Lives”
17. Master Fuol, J.T. Money, & Pastor Troy- “Watcha”
18. Macy Gray, Mos Def & Gang Starr- “I’ve Committed Murder (Remix)”
19. Q-Tip- “Outro Live at the Lounge”

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Now wherever you may be at, take a few minutes, sit back, relax, and check out these clips from the show:

Enjoy these old clips. If anyone has old episodes of The Lyricist Lounge Show taped anywhere, please feel free to post them in the comments or on the forums, so other readers can experience them too.

Peace,
— Teddy C.D.

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Craig Mack – Non LP tracks & remixes

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

Super props to the homie WhoossainTha49thAmbassado for coming thru with this sick compilation of Mr. Macks work. Craig Mack really got a raw deal. His album dropped the same time Ready To Die did and after “Flava In Ya Ear” not a penny went into his projects, including album and videos. He was dubbed a wannabe Redman and when Diddy realized Biggie was the bank he let Mack sit on the sidelines until his contract ran out. Craig Mack isn’t a wannabe Redman, he isn’t even 1/4 of Redman but he was a cat who, at times was under-appreciated and there is no denying the fact he had quite a few hits. Peep out the compilation and thanks to Whoosain for collecting the tracks for us. –Philaflava

Craig Mack – Non LP tracks & remixes
Craig Mack – 1994 – Flava In Ya Ear (Easy Mo Mix)
Craig Mack – 1994 – Flava In Ya Ear (Nashmack Club Mix)
Craig Mack – 1994 – Flava In Ya Ear (Remix) (feat. Busta Rhymes,
LL Cool J, Notorious B.I.G., Rampage)
Craig Mack – 1994 – Get Down (Q-Tip Remix) (feat. Q-Tip)
Craig Mack – 1994 – Shinika
Craig Mack – 1997 – What I Need (The Remix)
Craig Mack – 2000 – Brand New N!gga
Craig Mack – 2000 – Mack Come Thru
Craig Mack – 2000 – What Up 4,5
Craig Mack – 2001 – Dat’s My Word
Craig Mack – 2001 – Heard It All Before
Craig Mack – 2001 – Please Listen To My Demo
Craig Mack – 2001 – The Wooden Horse (feat. Frank Sinatra)
Craig Mack – 2002 – Coronation Of A King
Craig Mack – 2002 – NYC Lets Go
Craig Mack – 2003 – Excuse Me
Craig Mack – 2003 – Straight In Ya Mouf
Craig Mack – 2006 – Hip-Hop Life
Craig Mack – 2006 – I’ll Spend Dat
Craig Mack – 2006 – Mack Tonight
Craig Mack – 2006 – Together (feat. Gwen Stefani)

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New artwork courtesy of dirt_dog.

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Apache – R.I.P. Jan.22.10

Friday, January 22nd, 2010


Paying my tribute to one of the original Flavor Unit crew member, Apache, I compiled all of his appearances on records from 1989 to 1993 and the 12″ cuts from his 1993 solo album “Apache Ain’t Shit“. Starting out with Lakim Shabazz on 45 King’s Rhythmical Madness in 1989. Following with four appearances on the Flavor Unit album in 1990. In 1991, he’s on Naughty By Nature & Double J‘s album. In 1993, for his 12″s cuts, he receives production from A Tribe Called Quest(Q. Tip), Large Professor, and The 45 King. For his guest appearances in 1993, he’s with Fat Joe & Kool G Rap, and 2Pac(R.I.P), Treach, & The Live Squad(Stretch R.I.P). He would also write some of Latifah’s lyrics. Apache had an incredible music collection.
R.I.P. Apache Jan.22.10

01 – The 45 King & Louie Louie – Smooth Yet Hard (Feat. Lakim Shabazz, Apache) (1989)
02 – The 45 King Presents – Flavor Unit Assassination Squad (Feat. Apache, Double J, Lakim Shabazz, Lord Alibaski, Queen Latifah) (1990)
03 – The 45 King Presents – I Feel Like Flowing (Feat. Apache) (1990)
04 – The 45 King Presents – Passin’ The Mike (Feat. Lakim Shabazz, Apache) (1990)
05 – The 45 King Presents – Smooth Yet Hard (Feat. Apache) (1990)
06 – Naughty By Nature – 1,2,3 (Feat. Apache, Lakim Shabazz) (1991)
07 – Double J – Manslaughter(Feat. Apache) (1991)
08 – Apache – Do Fa Self (Prod. by The 45 King) (1993)
09 – Apache – Gangsta Bitch (Prod. by A Tribe Called Quest) (1993)
10 – Apache – Hey Girl (Prod. by Large Professor) (1993)
11 – Apache – Apache Ain’t Shit (1993)
12 – Fat Joe Da Gangsta – You Must Be Out of Your Fuckin’ Mind (Feat. Apache, Kool G Rap) (1993)
13 – 2Pac – 5 Deadly Venomz (feat. Treach Of Naughty By Nature, Apache & Live Squad) (1993)
14 – Flavor Unit – Keep It Real (Feat. Apache) (1993)
15 – Queen Latifah – Just Another Day (Bonus Track) (Written By Apache) (1993)
– Thomas V
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R.I.P. Apache

Friday, January 22nd, 2010


Flavor Unit emcee Apache, born Anthony Teaks, passed away after a protracted illness. Shakim Compere, CEO and Co-Founder of Flavor Unit Records, remembered Apache, “Without Apache there would have been no Queen Latifah, no Naughty By Nature, no Chill Rob G., no anything” Compere told AllHipHop.com. “Apache was the string that tied all of Flavor Unit together. Without Apache none of this would be.”

R.I.P. Apache


BumpyKnuckles
R.I.P Apache!! Salute To A Real Passionate EMCEE U Will BE MISSED! THIS 1 Hit THEOG HARD! WHOA! YOU WILL BE MISSED.

QtipTheAbstract
R.I.P. To my brotha APACHE.. Together we made a dope lil hiphop joint… He was a real stand up dude…

ChipFu
Man I had the op to work with apache during the roll wit the flavor joint. REST IN PEACE TO MY FLAVOR UNIT BROTHER” APACHE” condolences2fam

MrEdLover
- My heart is heavy. Apache has passed away. He came 2 see me perform last month @ Carolines Comedy club…RIP!

djscratch
RIP Apache. He wrote for Latifah after Treach stopped writing for her. The only Black Man that called you a BITCH & you didn’t get mad.

djdoowop
R.I.P.Apache – not only the pen behind alotta Latifah’s raps but a good person

djdnice
RIP #APACHE – (Gangsta Bitch) Flavor Unit!

mobrocka (Monie Love)
RIP APACHE OG REAL SH!T TALKER first Emcee to have a hit record talking bout the REALIST hood chick around the way ” KEEP YA SOULTRAIN HO !

djhotday
R.I.P. APACHE, THANKS FOR THE GOOD MUSIC YOU LEFT US DJ’s TO PLAY

RAtheRuggedMan
“if I was deaf, dumb, blind, stupid, lame, Handicapped, crippled and pussy was my middle name- you couldn’t beat me” – Apache (1991)

MicGeronimo
R.I.P to my boy Apache. He was a very good dude man. Very cool person.

SonOfMaestro
I had the pleasure of knowng Apache while workng on The Lost Tribe of Shabazz. He was the unsung heart & soul of the Unit.

SadatX
Dam , I knew Apache 2!! We losing a lot of brothers! Life is a true blessing

jrocc
Also. RIP Apache. Had the funniest promo shirt that said. “Kill The White People” then on the back “But Buy My Record First”

– Thomas V

I will be posting a compilation I’m doing right now in remembrance of Apache.

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