FREE MP3 DL: “An Adventure To Pepperland Through Rhyme & Space”

If you read the title and know what Pepperland refers to, then you know it most likely has to do with The Beatles, and it does. Now you look at the graphic and are saying “but wait, I see Ol’ Dirty Bastard here. What’s going on?” In this case, it’s a remix project where Beatles samples were used to create new instrumentals for hip-hop songs. Look at all of the people who are on it, it’s insane. Here’s the track listing:
Part 1
Intro
Hello Hello – Edan
Mr Mustard – Big Daddy Kane
Second To None – Rakim
Taxman – The Notorius B.I.G.
Gentle Thief – Nas
Where I’m From – Large Professor
Country Grammar – Talib Kweli & Bun B
Parlay – J-Live
Twist – Salt-N-Pepper
Birthday Dedication – Busta Rhymes
Open Mic Session pt. 1 – Masta Ace, Percee P, Lord Finesse, Frankie Cutlass, Easy Mo Bee & KRS-One
Number Nine – YZ
Self Titled – Heltah Skeltah
Bang Bang – MOP
Pepper – Kool G Rap
Bring Your Friends – Public Enemy
Interlude / Bridge – MC Shan
Last Forever – Artifacts
For The Children – Freddie Foxxx
Ringo’s Big Beat Theme – Spoonie Gee
Hold Poppa’s Large Hand – Ultramagnetic MC’s
Open Mic Session pt. 2 – Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane & Rakim
The End – Run DMC & Afrika Bambaataa
Circles – Wu-Tang Clan
Brooklyn Walrus – Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Buckshot , Masta Ace & Special Ed
Part 2
Intro
Secrets – Slick Rick
Beneath The Diamond Sky – The Genius/GZA
Within Tomorrow – Busta Rhymes
The Beginning – Sunz Of Man
Gentle Drama – The RZA & Rugged Monk
Becausizm – KRS-One & Channel Live
Mary Jane – Tha Alkaholiks
Bong Water – Viktor Vaughn
Hold On
Love In Summertime – Ghostface Killah & Beyonce
And I Lover Her Crazy – Jay-Z & Beyonce
Ruffneck Soldier – MC Lyte
Hey! – Beastie Boys
Get Back To The City – Large Professor
Hard To Leave Home – Nas
The Flyest – AZ
And Who? – Heiroglyphics
Lonely Thoughts – The Notorious B.I.G.
Can You Dig It? – Gravediggaz
How To Smile – 2Pac & Scarface
A Day In New York – AZ, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah

Stream it in full above or if you just want to download it and carry it with you on your travels, head to MonkeyBoxing.com.

SOME STUFFS: DJ Revolution to release “Unearthed” mix album via Coalmine

DJ Revolution will be releasing a new mix album through Coalmine Records, this one called Unearthed and if the track listing is any indication… well, just look at what’ll be on there.

01: Unearthed (Intro)
02: Pharoahe Monch – Get Down (prod. by M-Phazes)
03: Bang This (Interlude)
04: One Dae – Bang This (prod. by Marco Polo)
05: Revolution’s House (Interlude)
06: Big Noyd, Large Professor, Kool G Rap – Naturally Born (prod. by Ayatollah)
07: Blu (feat. MeLa Machinko) – Kiss The Sky (prod. by M-Phazes)
08: Royce da 5’9″, Skillz & Diamond D – One For The Money (prod. by G-Squared)
09: El Da Sensei – Show Stoppa (prod. by DJ Devastate)
10: Apathy & Celph Titled – School for Scoundrels (prod. by Ayatollah)
11: Guilty Simpson & Small Professor (feat. DJ Revolution) – On The Run
12: Drop ‘Em (Intro)
13: The Rockness Monstah – Drop ‘Em (prod. by BeanOne)
14: Rah Digga (feat. Fashawn & REKS) – Never Back Down (prod. by M-Phazes)
15: Torae – Real Talk (prod. by Young Cee)
16: Guilty Simpson & Small Professor (feat. Boldy James & Statik Selektah) – I’m The City
17: The Artifacts – Easter (prod. by Khrysis)
18: Land of the Crooks (Interlude)
20: Sean Price, Billy Danze, Maffew Ragazino & DJ Babu – Land of the Crooks (prod. by M-Phazes)
21: Blu & Nottz (feat. Nitty Scott, MC) – Boyz II Men
21 Most Confident (Interlude)
22: Wildchild & MED – Most Confident (prod. by Create & Devastate)

There will also be bonus cuts on the “‘Untagged Deluxe Edition”:
• Royce da 5’9″, Skillz & Diamond D – One for the Money (Mananz Remix)
• Guilty Simpson & Small Professor – One the Run (Ran Reed Remix)
• Blu & Nottz – Boyz II Men (Diamond D Remix)

The CD will be released on May 13th and you may pre-order it here. Digital downloads will be available two weeks later.

REVIEW: Kid Tsunami’s “The Chase”

In terms of coming up with an all-star album of rappers, Kid Tsunami’s The Chase (HeadBop) has to be one of the best, although the hip-hop elite might tell you “but wait: these are old school rappers.” As if that’s a bad thing.

The premise of The Chase is that all of the guests on the album are rappers from the 80’s and 90’s, so this is meant to have that old school feel, not only by those who are rhyming, but in the way the instrumentals are made, from well known and worn samples to the productions, where sometimes the horn samples may not be in the same key as the rest of the song. As for those rappers, check out the roster here: Sean Price, Masta Ace, O.C., Prince Po, Bahamadia, AG, Kool G. Rap, Buckshot, Chubb Rock, Pharoahe Monche, Jeru The Damaja, Percee P, El Da Sensei, Craig G., Yesh, J-Live, Thirstin Howl The 3rd, and Sadat X, all delivering fine lines and verses. The one who completely takes the entire album away is the one and only KRS-One, who talks about being in hip-hop for a long time, where hip-hop is from and where it’s going, and why people will still pay for a ticket to hear him speak over funky music. Rap music today may not be where it’s at, but when it comes to KRS-One, it is where it’s at and always will be. When Craig G. makes references to Australia in “Worldwide Connex”, he is referring to Kid Tsunami’s home base in the city of Perth, Western Australia. While most of the MC’s on this album are of American origin, there was a time when hearing their music truly felt worldwide. A small part of me wishes that some of these guys would have rhymed over different styled beats, but I think it would have given the album a bit of an imbalance. Not that Kool G. Rap couldn’t do it, we all remember his verses in UNKLE’s “Guns Blazing (Drums Of Death (Part 1)”, but I think The Chase captures not only a vibe, but a time in history, when going for the paper chase was something you did while making an emphasis to create good music. If the sole hunger is money, the music will suffer, at least to me. Kid Tsunami pulls it off quite well.

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AUDIO: Big Noyd, Large Professor & Kool G. Rap’s “Naturally Born”

There’s an Ohio Players song called “Heaven Must Be Like This” that was recently used for the return of the McRib. I know, big whoop, right? Well, if the concept of heaven could be like anything, it should be like “Naturally Born”, which brings together Big Noyd, Large Professor, and Kool G. Rap for a joint unlike any other. Production was handled by Ayatollah on this one, so really, what’s preventing you from listening to this? You? Get to it now.

The song appears on the Coalmine Records compilation, Unearthed.

AUDIO: ATG featuring Kool G Rap, Ruste Juxx & Steven King’s “All In The Game”

What does Susan Sarandon have to do with hip-hop? It is unknown at this time, but what I do know is that there is a hip-hop compilation called The Susan Sarandon Story, which means any time someone does a search for her online, you may come across this comp. This is one of the tracks from it by ATG, who brings in Kool G Rap, Ruste Juxx, and Steven King for the festivities.

https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F32386668 ATG feat. Kool G Rap, Ruste Juxx, Steven King “All In The Game” by clockworkmusic

SOME STUFFS: Gangrene ready to damage the minds in 2012

In the group’s first phase, they offered us Gutter Water. In 2012, the proof level is going up with a hybrid that will make it much rougher to consume, but that’s the point. The Alchemist and Oh No have united once more for a new album, and this hybrid spirit is called Vodka & Ayahausca, and joining them on this sonic exploration will be Evidence (of Dilated Peoples fame), Roc Marciano, Prodigy (Mobb Deep), and Kool G. Rap.

The first single, “Dump Truck”, features Prodigy and will make its presence known to the public on or around November 21st, while the full album will be released by Decon on January 24th. Save up.

BOOK REVIEW: “How To Rap” by Paul Edwards

In the early days of hip-hop, including the first few years after the release of “Rapper’s Delight”, no one ever talked about the music and its creative community with the word “science”. Dropping science and wanting to discuss said science didn’t come until later, it was all about fun, wanting to dance, hear good music, and being thrilled with an exchange of rhythmic wordplay. 30 years after “Rapper’s Delight”, Paul Edwards has come up with a book that discusses that rhythmic wordplay in a very comprehensive book called How To Rap: The Art and Science of the Hip-Hop MC (Chicago Review Press).

When I was growing up, I would often hear naysayers talking about how “it’s just talking” and “that crap isn’t going to last another year”, and even when it became a billion dollar industry, it seemed people were more in doubt that something as simple as talking over music became such a success. What How To Rap does is look at the vocal and lyrical aspects of hip-hop, specifically the role of the rapper, the MC in a way that has never been properly discussed or considered worthy of discussion. What Edwards does is look at some of the MC’s in hip-hop and ask them questions on everything from breathing techniques to songwriting structure, the art of understanding the mastering the recording studio, to taking your skills to the stage. These were things many rappers simply did from observing and listening, so to have a book like this with all of the trade secrets, which weren’t really secrets, but simply information no one thought was “scholarly”.

The section I enjoyed talked about the relationship between the MC and the producer, and how a rapper should have a role in how their song is sculptured from start to finish. As a producer and as someone who made failed attempts at rapping (and I did it because I wanted to share what I was writing, but in a musical fashion), that relationship between MC and producer is an important one because a lot of MC’s think that they can get thrown a beat or track and magic will happen. The producer, specifically a good or great producer, can turn an ordinary beat into that magic you’re looking for, understanding how a song is arranged and how to fully utilize your voice, along with understanding the recording studio and available technologies. It doesn’t get too deep into technical jargon, but you’ll go away understanding the role of the producer as more than just the guy who knows obscure funk or can play three chords on his Casio.

Depending on who you speak with, the current era of mainstream hip-hop is either devoid of music or devoid of hip-hop. How To Rap truly takes it back to the essence and finds meaning to what has never been accurately define, to read what was previously unwritten is something that is very much of value not only amongst hip-hop, but anyone who makes music and wants to know if the music is much more than rhyming “frog” with “log”. A lot of people think it’s that simple, and it may seem like a good portion of today’s music is based on that philosophy alone. A lot of people who call themselves MC’s should read this, so they’ll understand their craft a bit more and create better music. As a guidebook, it will not turn everyone into overnight Rakim‘s or Buckshot‘s, but it will be added ammunition for those who take to the music and honor it as an art form.

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REVIEW: DJ Honda’s “IV”

If you’ve been listening to DJ Honda for the last few years, you’d think he was born and raised in the United States with the kind of productions he creates. But he is from Japan and has gained a reputation for making some of the best music that will move any and all crowds. Honda is back with IV, a self-released album that brings a number of MC’s to his world, including Ras Kass, EPMD, Heltah Skeltah, Kool G. Rap, Iriscience, Lord Tariq, and the return of Mos Def, who unites with Honda once again with “Magnetic Arts”.

The album has a classic feel to it, or the way hip-hop is and will always be, it slams in all the right ways and Honda knows how to control his tracks in a confident way. Why this album isn’t on a proper lavel, I do not know, but this should let people know that real hip-hop can be found anywhere, and this time it’s in the land of the rising son.