New Tunes!

It's been a long time since I've posted any new Hip Hop up on the blog, mostly due to the fact that wicked tunes seem to be quite thin on the ground in '09. With most of our American cousins concentrating on Auto Tuning their vocals to death rather than generating a sick flow over a phat beat.

However I've got a couple of bits I like today, so without further ado here they are:

First up is Ghostface Killah, apparantly his shows in the UK this year were pretty average so I'm glad I got a chance to check him last year when he (and the Wu) rolled through the country! This is somewhat typical for Ghost but I like it:


Ghostface - Forever



And this little number boasts a verse from GFK too, here he can be found alongside Inspectah Deck and sometime Wu collaborator AZ. Beats was produced by a bunch called 'The Revelations' and it's nice too!

Wu Tang Clan - Harbourmasters



I'm a bit late on this one, as it has been doing the rounds for at least a few weeks now. Coming straight out JA this cut see's Dancehall veteran Shaggy (Oh Carolina!) in reflective mood over a lush soul backing. I'm fairly sure the sample is from The Delfonics as I reckon Ghostface also made use of it on his Fishscale LP, will check over the weekend and maybe even do a sampled by?? post... Big Tune!


Shaggy - Bad Mon Don't Cry

Sampled By Who?? Bob James vs The World!! (Part Two)

Another Classic from Bob James, this little cut is taken from his '75 longplayer 'Two'. Sometimes referred to as one of hiphop's fundamental breakbeats which is fairly accurate.


Bob James - Take Me To The Mardis Gras



LL Cool J used it on the classic 'Rock The Bells' in '85 and but perhaps the most obvious usage was by Run DMC (again!) on their Raising Hell LP in '86. Check It:

Run DMC - Peter Piper



My favourite tune built outta Take Me To The Mardis Gras is a classic Wu track from 2001. Featuring RZA production and originally intended to drop on Ghostface Killah's 3rd album 'Bulletproof Wallets' however due to sample clearance issues it was dropped and the version that actually appeared on the LP was rubbish. Pretty sure this is still available on vinyl and it's on that Hidden Darts complilation as well...

Ghostface, Raekwon, Method Man & Superb - Flowers (original mix)

New Ghost Doom - China town War

Ghost Doom - China Town War Remix


Click Here To Download

Sampled By Who?? Bob James vs The World!! (Part One)

I'm going back to the start today with the legendary Bob James' Nautilus. Originally appearing on his 1974 release 'One' this track has found longevity through consistent sampling through generations which means I've omitted loads, check the list at the bottom. Nautilus is a nice little number, perfect for switching between the jazzier laid back sorta style to a upbeat funkier vibe. I'm sure you know it already.

Bob James - Nautilus



I think Slick Rick was the first person to record a version, chopping up the bassline to create the classic Childrens Story.

Slick Rick - Childrens Story




Run DMC took the best hook by far!

Run DMC - Beats To The Rhyme




A Tribe Called Quest got in on the action too.

A Tribe Called Quest - Clap Your Hands




And of course RZA's crack at it was dirty as fuck.

Ghostface Killah - Daytona 500




Then we got Lemon D back in his prime rolling out this badboy number. Released on his own Test Imprint in 1999 this wasn't a massive tune at the time as far as I remember, but I like it an it rolls with a nice momentum! A subwoofer is required equipment for optimum playback.

Lemon D - Ghost Stories



And finally this one's a little bit tenuous but there is a sample in there around the breakdown. There's a couple of nice bits on that Welcome to Violence LP, have restored them to the box for a while!


Hive & Gridlock - California Schemin



And here's a quick list of all the other sampling tunes as per some random website (I've added a few in here and there too).

Alkaholiks - "Daaam!"
All Natural - "Think Again"
Basement Khemist - "Correct Technique"
Camp Lo - "Black Nostaljack"
Chubb Rock - "Keep it Street"
DJ Food - "Spiral Dub"
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince - "Jazzy's Groove"
DJ Spice - Step Off
DJ Zinc - Prankster
Dream Warriors - "Voyage Through the Multiverse"
EPMD - "Brothers on My Jock"
Eric B and Rakim - "Follow the Leader"
Eric B and Rakim - "Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em"
Freestylers - "Warning"
Geto Boys - "Snitches"
Group Home - "Inna Citi Life"
Ice T - "?"
JCD and the Dawg lb - "Over Pussy"
Jeru - "My Mind Spray"
Joe Budden - "Yo, Yo, Yo"
Jungle Brothers - "Book of Rhyme Pages"
K-Solo - "Everybody Knows Me"
Keith Murray - "The Rhyme"
King Sun - "Big Shots"
Kruder & Dorfmeister - "Original Bedroom Rockers"
Large Professor ft Pete Rock - "The Rap World"
Leaders of the New School - "Show Me a Hero"
Lord Shafiyq - "My Mic is on Fire"
Lyrical Prophecy - "You Can't Swing This"
Main Source - "Live at the Barbecue"
Mary J. Blige - "Just Mary"
Mary J. Blige ft Nas & DMX - "Sincerity"
Mekon - "Phatty's Lunch Box"
Mike Zoot - "Scene"
Naughty by Nature - "Cruddy Clique"
Nice & Smooth - "No Delayin'"
Onyx - "Black Vagina Finda"
Onyx - "Throw Ya Gunz"
Organized Konfusion - "Stray Bullet"
Pete Rock & CL Smooth - "Take You There"
Pete Rock & CL Smooth - "The Sun Won't Come Out"
Pete Rock & CL Smooth - "What's Next on the Menu?"
Poison Clan - "Paper Chase"
Poor Righteous Teachers - "Word is Bond"
Project M - "The Place to Be"
Public Enemy - "Anti-Nigger Machine"
Puff Daddy ft Busta Rhymes and Notorious BIG - "Victory"
Queen Mother Rage - "Slippin' into Darkness"
Red Myers - "Shoplifter"
Run-DMC - "Groove to the Sound"
Salt-N-Pepa - "Doper than Dope"
Soul II Soul - "Jazzie's Groove"
Tame One - "Torture Chamber"
The Roots ft Mos Def - "Double Trouble"
Threat - "Bust One Fa Me"
Tim Dog - "Bronx Nigga"
Tim Dog - "I'll Wax Anybody"
Tim Dog - "Low Down Nigga"
Ultramagnetic MCs - "Ced Gee (Delta Force One)"
Ultramagnetic MCs - "Moe Love on the One & Two"
Ultramagnetic MCs - "Raise it Up"

Chef Raekwon an Ghostface Killah live at Koko

I ran outta work with that shitty cold feeling coming on and jumped on a train to London at 6, as we needed to get up there pronto cos the doors to the venue opened at 7pm and I heard that the GZA gig in April was not only rammed but he also finished his performance by like 10pm and I definitely didn't want to miss any of the action. After being slightly confused by a mad woman dressed up like Britney Spears in her 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' video who was reading a book about science and flashing her knickers about the train carriage we finally arrived in Paddington got some grub down us and headed over to Camden.
As we arrived we rocked straight in the club, no queue, no search, no nothing, although the bouncer on the door did ask me how old I was. I wasn't expecting that at all and pretty much said something like "er what? ummmm really? 28?" so he ushered me past. Strange Times eh?
We got inside and the venue was pretty amazing, i haven't been to Koko before and was mightily impresssed with the setup they got going on. We hung about for an hour or so before a flurry of activity onstage preceded the arrival of DJ J-Love (who somewhat alarmingly played no records and instead seemed to have two digital samplers hooked up to a mixer, odd) followed shortly after by the man himself Chef Raekwon with a 'How you doing London?'.
He then popped of a couple of verses of a few random tunes like C.R.E.A.M. before bringing out Ghostface to join him on stage and start the performance properly.

Unfortunately the sound system in Koko was not set up as well as it could have been, which meant that I was struggling to identify the half the tunes til Rae started spitting and it's not like i'm unfamiliar with Lex Diamonds' output and even when he was ryhming sometimes you just couldn't hear him clearly over the distorted beat. That was definately the most dissapointing thing about the show for me.

Anyway with Ghostface now onstage and a few hangers on bouncing round stage for those all important chorus shouty bits off they went performing virtually every track off OB4CL with the exception of Wu Gambinos and maybe one other as well as chucking a few other bits in here and there including the RZA remix of Rainy Days (I fucking love that tune) One by Ghostface and of course the obligatory ODB homage with thier take on Shimmy Shimmy Ya.
Now I saw Method Man & Redman do the same thing in Bristol last month and they took the roof off! It literally went Dawn Cox mental when they dropped that shit on us, but in London it felt strangly muted, like people were having a good time but they were either too cool, too old or too mean to forget their inhibitions and throw their hands in the air. Ghost n Rae weren't fazed and fired straight into Triumph after that (exactly the same as Red & Meth did) and again it just felt a bit like I was the only person in the venue who bought Wu forever on the day it came out in the UK and listened to it over and over until my ears bled - the vibe just wasn't in attendance.

They took a bit of a breather for a minute and invited some local emcee's up on stage to spit a verse. I think some guy called Strike won, but they all sounded pretty awful to my cynical ears, one of them jumped on stage said he was from Birmingham an got boo'ed off pretty much straight away then gave Rae some grief (why would you do that?). But like Rae said 'being Hip Hop is all about having a big set of swinging balls so you gonna jump up on a stage where no one knows your name to spit a verse' an he's right.
De La Soul were chilling on the sidelines and they popped out to say hello and plug (1) their gig in the Forum the following night. Ghostface actually gave them mad props saying that the skits De La Soul put on their first few albums inspired him and Raekwon to do the skits on their subsequent wu releases and as far as he was concerned nobody could skit like De La!

Then on with the show, another couple of tunes off the OB4CL, then they started getting all sorts of ropey assed women out the crowd for some Ice Cream action, man that was funny. Women of the UK you should be ashamed of yourselves, when Raekwon chants 'Yo make some noise if you got a good clean pussy' and recieves virtual silence in return you know you're in trouble. He said it three times in a row and got no response at all so he's all like 'Damn whats wrong with all these bitches up in here'. I was pissing myself laughing and shouting 'Welcome to the UK' back at him loud as I could, because we all know what state most of the women in UK are in at the moment (i.e. worthless skets) after all this equality bullshit over the last x amount of years. Anyway that a whole different blog post by itself... Back to the show, so they got some nasty assed street bitches on stage and start performing Ice Cream while they're all shaking about looking like they are feeling just a bit selfconcious haha, funny but the tune went down well nontheless. Then i think they jumped straight into a megamix of tunes, Ghostface literally pointing at DJ each time he wanted a new beat, ended up being a bit random but all good nonetheless.

Then for the last tune Raekwon went for something fresh of the forthcoming OB4CL2 album, but we had to leave the venue by this point in order to catch the last train home.
All in all it was a wicked night but the vibe was nothing compared to the Method Man and Redman night in Bristol, but at the same time we were standing quite far back and the sound system left allot to be desired. I'm totally glad i went though cos everyone knows Ghostface is the fucking man.