Hip Hop Connection Digimag Issue 4

DMC

CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF DEEJAY DOMINANCE WITH DJ CRAZE, Q-BERT, MIXMASTER MIKE, SCRATCH PERVERTS, ROC RAIDA, CUTMASTER SWIFT & MORE! www.hhcdigital.net

HHC DIGITAL #004

HCCDIGITAL AD:Layout 1

14/8/09

18:18

Page 1

Friday 11th September

BATTLE FOR WORLD SUPREMACY & WORLD TEAM BATTLE Two of the most exhilarating turntable events on the planet!

6pm - 11.30pm Hosted by Inja & Billy Biznizz Special live AV performance from

Performance by

ʻ25th Anniversary Specialʼ

featuring the Numark NS7 with Serato Itch software, the state of the art in Digital DJ technology.

DJ Yoda

DJ I-Dee

Saturday 12th September

DJ CHAMPIONSHIP WORLD FINAL

The worlds best DJs compete for the ultimate DJ accolade!

7pm - 11.30pm Hosted by Inja

Jehst with Micall Parknsun & Jazz T (YNR Productions)

Performances by

DJ Q-Bert (DMC World Champion)

Rane and Serato present

Rob Swift

(ILL INSANITY/X-ECUTIONERS) showcasing ʻScratch Liveʼ

‘THE SUPER JAM’

Q-Bert, Rob Swift, DJ Switch, DJ Fly, Shiftee, I-Dee + the new world champions

indigO2 at The O2 The 02, Millennium Way, Greenwich, London, SE10 0AX. Nearest tube: North Greenwich – Zone 2 (Jubilee Line)

Ticket Price: 2 Day Ticket £20 1 Day Ticket £15

DJ Fly

(DMC World Champion 2008)

Tickets available from: www.dmcworld.com www.ticketmaster.co.uk www.ticketweb.co.uk www.theo2.co.uk/indigo2

(01628 667 124) (0844 2770700) (08444 77 2000) (0844 844 0002)

HHC DIGITAL #004

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CONTENTS

AUGUST 2009 HHC DIGITAL#004

05. TRACKADEMICKS 08. THE UNKUT COLUMN 10. FRESH DAILY

www.hhcdigital.net www.twitter.com/hhcdigital [email protected]

13. SPEAK YA CLOUT 15. WILL C 18. FEAR OF THE RAP

EDITOR Phillip Mlynar (001) 347 731 1288 | [email protected]

20. TWITTERISHLY: NAS 21. DMC’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY:

CELEBRATING A QUARTER



CENTURY OF THE BEST IN



DEEJAY CULTURE, FEATURING



DJ CRAZE, A-TRAK, Q-BERT,



CUTMASTER SWIFT, ROC RAIDA,



THE SCRATCH PERVERTS,



MIXMASTER MIKE, CASH MONEY,



CHAD JACKSON, JAMES BROWN,



PUBLIC ENEMY, RUN-DMC,



THE LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN



DECKS AND MORE...

DESIGNER April Hill | [email protected] WRITING Adam Anonymous, Cee Banger, Arsenio Billingham Corin Douieb, Robbie Ettelson, Jo Fuertes-Knight, Mike Lewis Chloe McCloskey, John W McKelvey, James McNally, Tom Nook Chris Schonberger, Quincey Tones, Lucy Van Pelt, Richard Watson PHOTOGRAPHY DMC, A Garcia, Kristina Hill, Dorothy Hong Mike Lewis, Alexander Richter FRONT COVER The dusty DMC archives ADVERTISING & SPONSORSHIP [email protected] EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER AND HEAD OF MICROWAVE OVEN PROGRAMMING Andy Cowan

38. THE LISTENING: THE MONTHLY

NEW MUSIC DIGEST

PUBLISHED by Just One More in association with Infamous Ink Ltd. All material (c) Just One More 2009. All rights reserved. HHC Digital may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of the publisher. Hip-Hop Connection is a registered trademark of Infamous Ink Ltd. All rights reserved.

43 HOME STYLE: YOUR UK RAP

ROUND-UP

45. MARKETPLACE 46. ON THE GO: DJ PREMIER

10.

FRESH DAILY

DISCLAIMER While every effort is made to ensure the information in HHC Digital is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of copy, for which HHC Digital holds no responsibility. Contributors’ opinions do not necessarily bear a relation to those of Just One More or Infamous Ink Ltd or HHC Digital’s staff. The publishers disclaim any liability for those impressions. Now catch us in the crib like Hilary Banks...

HHC DIGITAL #004

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TRACKADEMICKS

BOOM BAP ORIGINAL SLAP...

“I think that Houston may be the only area that has more emcees than the Bay!” laughs Trackademicks, in between circling the block looking for a parking spot. Born on an island off the coast of Oakland, the producer and emcee is being PHOTOGRAPHY BY DOROTHY HONG

asked to assemble his ultimate Bay Area posse cut. “I’m a fan of the classics, so I’d have E-40, Mac Mall, San Quinn, Keak Da Sneak,” he continues, “but then there’s so many to name, because if this was the ‘ultimate’ ultimate posse cut then it would be 11 minutes long! I’d definitely get Hieroglyphics on there too – Casual is someone who I’m really into – and I wish Mac Dre was here because he’d be on that. I know that this is all hypothetical, but I really think I’m gonna try and make this track happen...” HHC DIGITAL #004

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minimal slap beats that you could easily imagine Too $hort

from Mistah FAB to Phonte via the candy rap of Fool’s Gold

hopping on – but it sounds freer for the media’s spotlight

label-mate Kid Sister and upcoming work with Teedra Moses,

having moved on from the hyphy scene.

STILL AVAILABLE!

and with a sound that coats the Bay’s low end theory with an electric party gloss, Trackademicks has made an early name

“The energy of everyone coming together around a common

for himself as a proponent of what he calls “hybrid music,”

cause was great,” he says of the region’s turn as the hip regional

pulling influences together from all over the stylistic shop and

sound of the day a few years back, “but it was kinda like the

grabbing props from Mark Ronson in the process (“He’s one

attention the crunk scene got before ’cos when that sound

hit record away from being on the level of at least a Polow Da

emerged it had already been going on for a while, and we’ve

Don,” says the ex-pat producer).

been quote-unquote ‘going dumb’ for hella long – I remember in 2000 dancing the way that became characteristic of hyphy.

“I would listen to very unconventional things for a 15 or 16“What was funny,” he concludes, once more connecting the

“I’d check everything from soulful drum ‘n’ bass like 4Hero to

musical dots, “was that me and my deejay went out to London

‘grown-up’ music like Sade. So when I started making music

in 2005 and looked into the grime scene. We went to see Roll

that just carried over into how I pieced things together and

Deep, we went to a grime night at the Ministry Of Sound, and

with who I wanted to work with, whether that was Mistah

we were both like, ‘Man, this is exactly mirroring the way the

FAB out here in the Bay or homies like Tanya Morgan.”

hyphy scene is out here!’ It’s crazy the way things play out.” Phillip Mlynar

Track’s sound may be openly rooted in the Bay’s DNA – check

(Trackademicks’s EP will be out in October.)

current single ‘Enjoy What You Do’ for a bumper dose of



‘Enjoy What You Do’

R.I.P. TONY D IM KOOL K UTTONS TONY B

IENT’! BLRIVEEAOK NS

BREAKIN’, TONY D, KOOL KIM ISSUE 015

EE 2000 A.D CK T LA RO IDAY & MAN FRJUNIOR JIVE

ISSUE 015

year-old,” he explains of his magpie approach to production.

ISSUE 014

ISSUE 014

Don’t count against it: With collaboration credits that run

DJ DISCO WIZ, 2000 A.DEE, T LA ROCK HHC DIGITAL #004

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HHC DIGITAL #004

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UNKUT PRESENTS:

BACDAFUCUP!

You might have caught the search for ‘Rap’s King of Comedy’

2. Rakim: Perhaps the driest emcee of all time. ‘I Ain’t No Joke’? Damn skippy! It’s probably not advisable to be messing with whoopee cushions and trick gum while you’re astral traveling, but the world is also a poorer place knowing that the 18th letter with never make a song about pulling the head off a kid’s Ninja Turtle for interrupting some MILF time.

over at Unkut.com recently... What’s that? You don’t read blogs? Oh, you only eff with PDFs that you can print out on

3. Professor Griff: It was important that PE’s Minister of

eggshell white copy paper? Good for you. Anyway, here goes

Information took his role as serious as a heart attack – who

with the obvious follow-up – a roll call of the most entirely

else was going to counter Flav’s ‘Coke and a smile’ antics? To

humourless rappers...

his credit, Griff tried his hand at one-liners in ’89 – unfortunately his entire repertoire consisted of inflammatory Jewish jokes.

1. Puffy: Sean Combs likes to pretend that he’s a riot, what

After taking a break from his PE duties, Griff did what any ex-

with getting funny white guys to cameo in his videos and

leader of the S1Ws does and flew to Miami to work as a bouncer

making insane web videos about his Twittering habits, but this

at titty bars. In between shifts he also recorded a couple of

calculating bastard is all front when it comes to shits ‘n’ giggles.

LPs for Luke before returning to the PE fold after promising to

5. Kanye West: If ever proof was needed that ’Ye takes himself

It’s safe to assume that he has a team of ghost-comedy-writers

never again utter the phrase “Jew-York” in front of a mic.

way too seriously then South Park’s ‘Fish Sticks’ episode was it.

was giggling when they tried to slap the cuffs on Darkman X!

Not only did it lampoon ’Ye’s persona with pin-point accuracy,

toiling over his every droll comment in an attempt to fool the world into believing that he’s just ‘regular people’ when in fact

4. DMX: No time for jokes here – X is known to shoot straight

but he issued an official response virtually identical to the one

he’s an evil android sent back in time by SkyNet to destroy us

from the hip and tell it like it is. Impersonating an FBI agent at

his character did! Minus the part about being a gay fish, sadly.

all (or at least convince dames to shave half their hair off).

the airport might seem like comedy in retrospect, but no one

Robbie Ettelson HHC DIGITAL #004

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FRESH DAILY

TAKING IT AND SQUEEZING IT... Fresh Daily has one task to complete over the next hour or so: Sit back, sip a pint of Mother’s Milk, and give his expert breast-obsessed opinion on the passing traffic’s bouncing assets outside a Greenpoint, Brooklyn bar one mid-week afternoon. Unfortunately for the rapper whose debut album, PHOTOGRAPHY BY KRISTINA HILL

‘The Gorgeous Killer’, contains a ditty titled ‘Two In The Shirt’ in homage to his adoration of breasteses, and who has been known to post up sneaked phone pics of cleavage on public transport via Twitter, a noon-time downpour means that there’s scarce female fodder on offer; the most notable being a crazy lady who, after telling Fresh that Puerto Rican women like a good stout, hobbles off, leaving him to dispatch the quip: “None in the shirt!” HHC DIGITAL #004

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tongue-in-cheek references. But when I sent the song over to Exile he hit me back like, ‘You know, it’s cool...’ I was like, ‘You never want it to be just ‘cool’, what’s up with it?’ He goes, ‘No, I like it, but I wrote the song because it reminded me of my mom who had breast cancer...’ “He said she was okay now and not to worry, but that’s kinda a funny story behind how that song came together.” Then, with only a couple of waifish hipster chicks strolling past, Fresh sups the last of his stout and turns to fantasy, musing on which female emcee he’d consider voluptuous enough to hop

Slouching back in his chair on the sidewalk, Fresh Daily settles

Not that the track ‘Two In The Shirt’ was quite the finished

for the pundit’s role, explaining his inspiration for penning lines

song that LA-based producer Exile had in mind when shopping

like the Kenneth Williams-approved, “I like mine perky, round,

beats in Fresh’s direction.

and also extra huge/Honestly I can’t define the fascination/

on to a remix of the track. “This is probably going to sound a little bit crazy ’cos she’s not really considered sexy,” he says, “but maybe Queen Latifah

All I want is something nice to plant my face in.” “Everyone

“Initially Exile sent me four beats, and one was for Jay

these days is on ass,” he sighs. “It’s nothing but ass, ass, ass,

would work. She’s definitely qualified. I think she has some

Electronica and one I didn’t like,” picks up Fresh of the story.

and then more ass in every magazine; even porn is just so

nice chesticles.” Phillip Mlynar

“The other two were called ‘Mommy’ and ‘Mommy El Negro’.

completely ass-centric. So what I’m doing is bringing some

I chose the one called ‘Mommy’ ’cos I thought it was light

(Fresh Daily’s ‘The Gorgeous Killer’ is out now. It also contains tracks not about boobs.)

balance back.”

and playful, which is how I approached the track, with lots of



‘Gotta Go’ HHC DIGITAL #004

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HHC DIGITAL #004

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SPEAK YA CLOUT! RAP’S COMATOSE

CONSUMERS…

innovative ways of interacting and entertaining. But has it? With the speed that gig footage is available on your computer or phone, why bother suffering the weather outside and slugging around on wretched public transport when you could stay home and watch the highlights while leisurely slumped on a couch? We’re all so horribly vicarious these days that you suspect the entire rap world is headed towards a Wall-E state of comatose consumption.

show going down. The venue’s less than half full, the bar’s

And where’s the innovation that mass access to all this great

over-priced and sweat-down-your-back level humidity is in

technology should be bringing us? Who’s freakin’ a video-blog

effect. But more annoying are the gaggle of guys in the front

like Grandmaster Flash was tinkering with a mixer? Who’s

row: they’re standing statue still, holding up a variety of

getting audacious with the MP3 format like Grandwizard

variously sized video-cameras, trying to capture the rappers

Theodore was playing with a platter? No one. These days

spitting on the small stage – that’s before running home to

innovation is synonymous only with being the first person to

upload the variably-blurred content to blogs. What used to be

click ‘upload’.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KRISTINA HILL

It’s a mid-week night and there’s an underground hip-hop

the livest part of the club has now been digitally frozen – and it’s indicative of the energy being sapped out of hip-hop.

The cliché used to go that every rap gig was plagued by too many people wanting to step from out of the crowd and grab

Technology – it’s not just the internet – was meant to bring

the mic – now we all just want to stand around and gawp. The

us all closer together, link us up, let us explore new and

fuck happened? Arsenio Billingham HHC DIGITAL #004

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ZILLWOOD ‘HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD IN 15 BEATS’

OUT NOW CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD! HHC DIGITAL #004

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WILL C IN SEARCH OF REAL ROXANNE POSTERS... You can picture Will C, the Boston-based producer slash rapper slash radio show archivist, spending his evenings hunched over a cardboard box full of dust-clogged tape cassettes, frantically slotting them into an old boom-box, hitting play in hope, and PHOTOGRAPHY BY A GARCIA

studiously cataloguing hissy snippets of old school and golden era audio. After all, this is the guy who painstakingly pieced together fragments of Mr Magic’s WBLS radio shows for the ‘Down The Dial’ package last year. But having just recorded a fresh-sounding solo album, ‘Evil In The Mirror’, he shrugs off the nerd factor that might project from his image, saying, “Most music lovers can easily sound like nerds if you get them HHC DIGITAL #004

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talking about what they champion. Do you call GZA a nerd when

“I guess there’s a lot of blockheads out there,” he says when

he breaks down the complexities of a Rakim line, though? Of

asked about the sedate speed of much new music. “Challenge

course not; why would you? He’s just appreciating the music,

yourself, experiment with tempo: ‘Synthetic Genetics’ is 115

and I have an appreciation for good music as well.”

bmp, but ‘Frog Among Queens’ is 76 bpm, and ‘Water Ice’ has a tempo change... Granted, that tempo change was an accident,

Then, laughing, he adds, “But I admit, I sometimes nerd-out

but why fight that stuff when even the drum programming

as a collector, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to tell the girl

for ‘Top Billin’’ was apparently an accident at first? Rap needs

I’m dating that I just bought a two-decade-old Real Roxanne

chaos – a sterile environment is going to get you an album’s

poster! I mean, what the hell am I going to do with a Real

worth of flat-line.”

Roxanne poster anyway?! That might be the nerdiest thing I’ve done right there.”

As for what Mr Magic would think of Will’s ’09 moves? With typical thoroughness he says, “Are we talking Mr Magic from

Merits of deep hip-hop nerdom aside, there’s no doubt that

’88 or ’09? I’ve got a Rap Attack show where he says, ‘If you’re

Will C – the initial standing for his surname, Curley – excels

a white boy in rap then you definitely gotta be on a mission.’

at creating intricately stitched together hip-hop music. The

That’s the same Magic who threw water on MC Serch at the

14-track new album melds classic vocal snippets – a bit of Biz

New Music Seminar from what I’ve heard...

here, a bout of Blastmaster there – to beats that hit not just hard but with the type of abrasive texture absent from today’s

“Magic is a lot mellower in 2009, however; he supports my

ring-tone-sheen sonics. Neither is he scared to ramp the tempo

endeavors, which feels like a Twilight Zone episode to me.”

right up, as on the 115 beats-per-minute – his calculation –

(Will C’s ‘Evil In The Mirror’ is out now.)

hook-up with Esoteric, ‘Synthetic Genetics’.



‘It Ain’t The ’80s’ HHC DIGITAL #004

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HHC DIGITAL #004

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FEAR OF THE RAP

Charlemagne hooked me up with – I guess because it’s the first word heard in the song; something that’s been perpetuated online ever since. But slogging through all of that, we discover the genuinely unreleased material. First, of course, you’ve got their Tommy Boy LP, which was shelved but leaked onto the internet in spades. But then you come to the really interesting and confusing stuff – their demos and other random unreleased

OFF YOUR RAP RADAR...

songs. Surprisingly, when you boil it all down and sort through the nonsense, there’s actually only nine:

Somebody’s gotta set the internet straight. And today that’s

Cage or Chino XL song that some 12-year-old has somehow

gonna be me. Now, you’d be hard pressed to find more

mistaken for Natural Elements and shared through SoulSeek

1. ‘What My Crew Do To You’: On the ’net this demo track is

misinformation about a group than you will about Natural

(although, believe me, I’ve spent the last few weeks checking

usually titled ‘I Got Your Heart’. You know it’s one of their oldest

Elements, especially when it comes to their unreleased

each and every one of ’em). But some of the most common

since the line-up features KA instead of A-Butta. The beat is

material. Even the most reputable blogs and websites seem to

mis-titlings from the most credible sources include naming ‘2

classically early Charlemagne-sounding, with subtle tonal

just throw up their hands and say, “Here’s a bunch of random

Tons’ as ‘Apocalypse’ and ‘Shine’ as ‘Keep Rising To The Top’

samples, hard drums and scratching. It’s easily distinguished

Natural Elements songs! Most of these are rare or something.”

or ‘Reality Check’ (the latter presumably a misunderstanding

as the one with all the Mortal Kombat vocal samples.

And I’m going to clear it all up – all of it! – right here.

due to ‘Shine’’s inclusion on DJ Premier’s ‘NY Reality Check’

It would be impossible for me to list every single random

mixtape). Even Fortress botched one of their own titles,

2. ‘Life Ain’t Fair’: This oldie has a different sound than usual,

calling ‘Step To The Side’ ‘Invincible’ on an old snippet tape

with an R’n’B singer named Bridge providing the hook and HHC DIGITAL #004

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5. ‘Let ’Em Know’: This is the only solo song from the demo,

8. ‘My Nature’: This is typically found under the title ‘Take A

a Mr Voodoo joint. Not to be confused with ‘Let The World

Trip Into The Mind’, ripped from KCR radio, though there’s also

Know’ off his 2004 EP, it’s just a smooth track coupled with

a weird, edited version titled ‘Water Air Earth Fire’ with the

the sick punchlines and complex, multi-syllable rhymes we’ve

hooks inexplicably and brutishly chopped out. It’s just what

come to expect from Voo, and it’s right up there with the best

you’d expect at this point: smooth beats and tight rhymes.

of his solo work. 9. ‘Triple Team’: Another really old one featuring KA in A-Butta’s 6. ‘MTV (More Than Vocals)’: This is actually the most recent NE

stead; and he sounds good on this. He brings a different voice

song, recorded after their Tommy Boy period. In an interview

and style to the crew, which makes me wonder what Natural

on the crew’s MySpace page, L-Swift says, “We made a couple

Elements’ history would’ve been like had they stuck things out

attempts to record again. That must have been one of the last

as a four-man crew.

constant back-up for the emcees’ verses. He’s pretty talented;

songs we did. We made that like early ’04. Voo’s homeboy Lou

and don’t get it twisted – NE still come lyrical on this.

put together that beat.” Well, he did a good job of capturing

And really, that’s it. I mean, don’t get me wrong, who knows

Charlemagne’s vibe, although it does sound a bit more modern

how much more Natural Elements have in their vaults? In

than the other songs listed here.

another interview, Mr Voodoo says they recorded some songs

3. ‘Knick Knack’: Another demo cut, the title, hook and beat are

for Def Jam. Are those just the same songs we’ve all heard

all cheerfully lifted from EPMD’s classic number with K-Solo, 7. ‘Supreme Domination’: This joint is dope! An ill piano loop

since or completely unheard material? And of course 2Face

serves as both the bassline and the driving music sample over

have been releasing plenty of songs as free downloads this

4. ‘Freak Freak Y’all’: More laid back than your average

a hot drum loop; and each emcee definitely comes correct,

past year. But as for the vintage NE material, it’s either on this

Elements cut, this demo song features a slow drum track,

with a hook paying homage to Redhead Kingpin’s ‘We Rock

list or it had some kind of legitimate release – I don’t care what

vibes, soft bassline and calm deliveries from each emcee.

The Mic Right’.

screwy, made-up title your MP3 has. John McKelvey

but the trio’s freestyle rhymes are pure NE.

HHC DIGITAL #004

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STILL AVAILABLE! ISSUE 001

NAS is Using Twitter @Preem Sorry, didn’t mean to snap at you, buddy. You’re a legend. BTW, you got Aguilera’s number? 3:51 PM today, from TweetDeck

To anyone interested, I’m selling original ‘Illmatic’ artwork on eBay. 1:03 PM today, from twitteriffic

WILLIE ISZ, CHARLES HAMILTON, DANTE ROSS & MORE!

HHC DIGITAL #001

DOOM, WILLIE ISZ, DANTE ROSS, MOBONIX 35 FREE

EMUSIC

MP3s!

@A2thaZ Don’t worry, son – this divorce is NOT going to ruin me. My pockets is fat not flat LOL!!! 12:37 PM today, from web @Preem We’ll discuss this another time. Got shit on my mind. 11:09 AM today, from twitteriffic

‘ONLY BUILT 4 CUBAN LINX 2’ IS GO! GHOSTFACE, SPEECH DEBELLE, TANYA MORGAN, PAUL WHITE

ISSUE 002

And my nylon dungarees from the photoshoot. Only mildly soiled. 1:04 PM today, from web

www.hhcdigital.net

HHC DIGITAL #002

Oh, and the homeless dude, too. His clothes is mad soiled, though. 1:05 PM today, from TweetDeck

DOOM!

THE SUPER-VILLAIN ON BUKOWSKI, BEER AND BECOMING A GAZZILLIONAIRE

www.hhcdigital.net

@Preem NOT FUCKING NOW, son!!! How the fuck is 10 boombap 1994 joints going to keep Kelis in minks and Faberge eggs?!? 3:48 PM today, from web

RAEKWON, GHOSTFACE, SPEECH DEBELLE HHC DIGITAL #004

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THE DMC LEGEND 25 YEARS AGO DMC FOUNDER TONY PRINCE ORGANISED A DEEJAY CONVENTION IN LONDON. NOW A QUARTER OF A CENTURY STRONG, HHC DIGITAL PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD’S PREMIER MIXING COMPETITION... BY CHLOE MCCLOSKEY, PHILLIP MLYNAR, RICHARD WATSON

HHC DIGITAL #004

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BLAST OFF! HIP-HOP HITS

THE HIPPODROME...

THE HIPPODROME, 1986

Tony Prince (DMC founder): “Our first competition was at The Hippodrome in 1985. We weren’t really into mixing back then – we just thought we’d invite deejays on stage and see who could mix as many records together in a minute as possible! Roger Johnson won the first event – he was a very straightlaced young man; he was just a pure mixer. “Then we saw the potential of mixing and introduced the World DJ Championships. DJ Cheese, who won in 1986, was the first to bring scratching to it. Orlando Voorn from Holland, who came second, wasn’t very happy. He grabbed the mic off me and said, ‘What is this, a mixing comp or a scratching comp?’ I grabbed the mic back and said, ‘Come on, be a good sport. You’ve been beat.’ The following year even Orlando Voorn was scratching. Everyone had been bitten by the bug.” HHC DIGITAL #004

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THE PANEL

THE JUDGING

PROCESS...

because most of your really really knowledgeable deejays are Brits and Americans. “The way we got around it was to have lots of judges, so as to dilute the possibility of anybody being prejudiced for a country or a friend. And I firmly believe that the judges have always gotten it right at the end of the day.

While the deejays up on stage are studiously going through

“We seem to have grown out of the controversy and the

their routines, it’s the panel of judges and peers sitting to the

arguing. I think people believe that DMC’s heart is in the right

side who ultimately decide who will be crowned the world’s

place and we want the right people to win.”

DMC champ. With everyone from hip-hop icons like Red Alert (pictured) to previous title holders getting a say, Tony Prince

Cutmaster Swift: “A lot of people to this very day feel that DJ

and the UK’s Cutmaster Swift muse over the methodology...

Aladdin should have won when I did in 1989, and I don’t have a problem with that at all. But as funky as he was, those people

Tony Prince: “Selecting the panel of judges each year is a multi-

aren’t emulating DJ Aladdin – they’re emulating the stuff that

thorned problem because, first of all, you have to make sure

I did.

that every judge understands what they’re looking for. Then you have to make sure they’re not prejudiced for somebody

“So if you don’t agree with the decision, don’t moan and

on stage. Then you have to make sure that you don’t have

whine. Instead, have the balls to say, ‘I’ll battle you right here

too many people from Britain or America, which is a problem

for the title.’”

THE LEGENDARY KOOL DJ Red Alert

HHC DIGITAL #004

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SABOTAGE! DIRTY TACTICS AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL... Chad Jackson: “In the early days turntablism was very visual so at the ’87 finals I planned to levitate the last record I played over the crowd at the Royal Albert Hall. I set up the illusion with a magician friend of mine – we’d rigged up thin supporting lines that would enable me to ‘throw’ the record into the crowd like a frisbee so it would look like the record was ‘flying’. But towards the end of my set my friend crept over and told me that someone had sabotaged it by burning the wires!

Chad Jackson quite literally gets props!

“I had to freestyle the ending, which involved my back-up plan of scratching with and throwing an American football at the end of the routine – which I managed to do perfectly in time with the final chord of the last tune!”

Chad Jackson’s trick-laden routine HHC DIGITAL #004

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RAP ROYALTY

THE DMCS

TAKE OVER THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL... Tony Prince: “Our greatest accomplishment was the time we hired the Royal Albert Hall. We built two giant SL1200s which were about the size of an aeroplane, with these two turntables that the deejays competed on. It cost about £20,000 to build, and the minute the event was over they smashed it up – it was just too big to store. “In those days we had a lot of support from the record companies – they brought the artists in for us without it costing us a lot of money. One year I remember Russell Simmons standing on stage with me watching Run-DMC and

Setting up at the Royal Albert Hall

Public Enemy run around. HHC DIGITAL #004

25

“Russell turned to me and said, ‘I’ve never seen anything like

Public Enemy bring the noise

this in my life.’ It was incredible. “After Public Enemy and Run-DMC had performed, I said to the crowd, ‘You think you’ve seen everything tonight... but you haven’t seen everything yet.’ They went quiet and I said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, God is here!’ Nobody, not even the record companies, knew that we’d brought James Brown in from America – not to perform, but just to walk on stage and accept the DMC Lifetime Award trophy we’d had made for him. When he walked on stage the place erupted because everyone appreciated the importance of James Brown and how he was so fundamental to hip-hop.” Cutmaster Swift: “I’m a soul person. I had those records by James Brown and Alexander O’Neal, so I was mesmerised that these people were in the place, but I had to have a focus. I was there to compete for a title so I couldn’t run around all geeky. I didn’t speak to any of them, but to see James Brown showing respect to hip-hop and the way we’d used his music – I had to give him props for that.” HHC DIGITAL #004

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SO MARVELLOUS

CASH MONEY’S

James Brown live on stage in London, 1988

DMC DAYS... Cash Money: “DMC was the first competition and company to bridge the gap internationally between hip-hop and dance music. They recognised a street deejay like myself and allowed me to display my turntable skills in front of the industry’s biggest and best performers – James Brown, Alexander O’Neal, Mantronix, even Boy George! And I can’t forget the large crowd that were all blowing their whistles and cheering for me at the Royal Albert Hall! We made history that day. “Looking back, DMC helped in changing my life and career – people still remember the year I became the 1988 world champion to this day! Happy 25th anniversary to my DMC family – so many great memories!”

Cash Money celebrating becoming the ’88 world champ

Cash Money’s winning set from ’88 HHC DIGITAL #004

27

GLOBAL DYNAMICS CUTMASTER SWIFT

BROADCASTS

Cutmaster Swift with Cash Money

TO THE WORLD... Roc Raida: “I remember going to [original X-Men member] Steve Dee’s house and him showing me a VHS tape of the DMC finals in 1989. I saw Aladdin and Cutmaster Swift perform and after that my goal was to be a DMC champion. “I was completely amazed by Cutmaster Swift’s routine and his showmanship. His stage presence was crazy, and to see someone from the UK with as much style and flair as that was like seeing a UK version of what we were doing in New York. “When I saw him get his prizes, get his plaque, I was like, ‘I want that to be me one day!’”

Cutmaster Swift taking the ’89 crown HHC DIGITAL #004

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THE LEGACY CUTMASTER SWIFT’s

DMC MEMORIES...

was quite confident in what I was doing. But I must admit that my World-winning set in ’89 wasn’t my best set. My best set was in the UK final, coming back as the first person to defend my UK finals crown. I felt genuinely that a lot of eyes were on me, like, ‘Swifty, it’s yours if you just do it’. Feeling like that and knowing that I was representing the country, I just focused.

Cutmaster Swift: “I wasn’t particularly nervous in the 1989 finals because in terms of the competition, realistically, my

“My greatest claim to fame seems to be dancing on a big

only nemesis at that time was Aladdin, and previous to the

turntable in 1989. Nobody wants to acknowledge that, wait a

competition I had seen him do one of my techniques, which was

minute, if you take away those few seconds, what was the rest

needle popping. It was originated by Grand Wizard Theodore,

of my set? I was doing something called the Copycat which I

but I brought it back into a present day existence. Then I saw

pioneered in 1988, but unfortunately the Americans renamed

Aladdin doing it in the States and I thought, ‘Wow, if he’s doing

it. It got lost and came back in 1990 as the Chase. I even saw

something that I’ve re-initiated, he must be following me...’ So

people on the internet crediting Shortkut, and Shortkut said it

I was quite confident.

originated from a guy called Yoshi in Japan. People don’t know that I went to Japan in 1990 and performed it there. Actually,

“I’m quite cool with Aladdin, and a funny story is that he even

in 1990, when I lost the championship to DJ David, I was beat-

got together with my sparring partner, DJ Pogo, and he didn’t

juggling, if you wanna call it that, but I tried to play down the

really have a full set for the Worlds that year. He borrowed

dramatics and the technical aspect.”

some records from Pogo that he was gonna use. A lot of



people don’t know, but he kind of freestyled his set, so again I



Cutmaster Swift showing And proving

Cutmaster Swift performing at The DMC Summit HHC DIGITAL #004

29

KNIGHTS OF THE

“It was just mind-blowing shit because at the time everyone

TURNTABLE

was just doing visual tricks,” he continues. “Motherfuckers

MIKE AND DJ APOLLO...

a beat...’”

Q-BERT, MIXMASTER

In 1991, Germany’s DJ David thrilled the crowd with his gimmick-packed routine, taking home the title off the back of a centerpiece that involved him spinning around on a Technics deck supported by four Coca Cola cans. Twelve months later things couldn’t have been any different, with three San Francisco turntable knights, Q-Bert, Mixmaster Mike and DJ Apollo, revolutionising the art with their pure deck skills and taking the world title in the process. Summing up their influence, three-time DMC champ DJ Craze gushes, “When the three of them were up there as the Rocksteady DJs, that’s when I really geeked out, like, ‘Wow, that’s like a band!’

were coming out with, like, huge records the size of a turntable and just being really gimmicky. Then these three fuckers come out like, ‘Three turntables – that’s all we need. Now let’s make

Q-Bert and Mixmaster Mike as The Dream Team in 1993

“Q-Bert is without a doubt the pinnacle of what deejays are when they enter the DMCs,” adds Cutmaster Swift. “The fact that he’s maintained the hunger to keep pushing and developing is what all us deejays have always aspired to.” Looking back on his own contribution to the DMC legend, Q-Bert says humbly, “When I first started to deejay I always

Q-Bert, Mixmaster Mike and Apollo in 1992

wanted to enter the DMCs. After a good few years of hard practice I finally entered and my dreams of becoming a world champion came true. From that point on I owed my life to them for having the world’s greatest deejay battles. Thanks, Mr and Mrs Prince.”

The Rocksteady DJs go on a rampage in ’92

HHC DIGITAL #004

30

THE ’95 CHAMP GRANDMASTER

ROC RAIDA’S RISE

TO THE TOP...

“My first DMC competition was in 1992; it was the New York heats. Clark Kent was one of the judges. I’d battled in clubs before, but this was my first organised comp. I did pretty good, but I didn’t win: Rob Swift was competing and he went on to take the US finals that year. I took it as a learning experience.

Roc Raida displaying his golden BOUNTY

“In ’95, I actually didn’t win my regional – Ghetto took that one – but I went to the US finals and won and then came the world finals. My favourite part of the routine was doing body tricks to ‘The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel’ – and now I have a pair of golden turntables myself.”

Roc Raida’s all-conquering ’95 routine HHC DIGITAL #004

31

ONE FOR ALL!

INTRODUCING THE

SCRATCH PERVERTS...

Scratch Perverts in full force, 1999

In 1999, a new united force in turntablism announced themselves to the world as a UK quartet of Tony Vegas, Prime Cuts, Mr Thing and First Rate took the DMC Team Championships, beating off competition from the equally star-studded Allies line-up (DJ Craze, A-Trak and Infamous). A decade on from their victory, pivotal member Prime Cuts looks back on his DMC days... “To be honest, I got into deejaying because I could never see myself rapping. Like lots of people I was into b-boying at first – that was really my route into the music. Through that I found myself getting obsessed with people like DJ Cheese and Cutmaster DC – I actually managed to see Cheese, who won the DMCs in ’86, play at the Brixton Fridge when I was 13-years-old.

HHC DIGITAL #004

32

“I’ve got a lot of DMC memories. Winning the team final in ’99 was a pretty crazy thing, especially with it being held in

Prime Cuts in deep concentration

America. When they called out the Allies in second place we were shocked! “Then at the other end my worst memory is when Tony Vegas and I managed to screw the routine completely at the team finals in 2000! I truly believed that it was the best team routine that had ever been arranged at the time, but we just didn’t manage to pull it off that night. Honestly, I can’t even tell you what happened... “We went through the routine hundreds of times. It was one of those routines where with two men, six turntables and two mixers it was extremely complicated and unforgiving – if something went wrong, it would snowball... and it did! “It was seven or eight years ago now, and I’ve still never watched the video.”

The Scratch Perverts take top billin’ in 1999 HHC DIGITAL #004

33

IT’S TRICKY!

THE ART OF

TURNTABLISM... Around the turn of the new millennium the turntablism movement began to hit its peak, with deejays honing in on the uber-technical details of every scratch with the precision of a skilled surgeon. Here three-time DMC world champ DJ Craze and Scratch Perverts man Prime Cuts look back on the era... DJ Craze: “I think that there was definitely a time when scratching got too technical and I blame A-Trak! He took it to that technical level that made everyone think, ‘Shit, I gotta be better than A-Trak – and I can’t have fun no more...’ But I still love you A-Trak!” Prime Cuts: “But I think it’s always been over-indulgent. That’s

the true dissection of a record has been lost: people just use two bits of wax that have been pre-arranged. If you’re familiar with a record, and you see someone flip it, it’s a great thing to witness rather than just messing with a battle weapon. “Don’t forget though that scratching has always gone handin-hand with technology. From the mid-’90s when you had the new wave of Vestax mixers and cross-faders come in allowing intricate scratch patterns, up to now where things like Serato and time-coded vinyl – although I have yet to see anyone use that creatively – are predominant and impacting the natural progression...” DJ Craze: “Yeah, I think that the turntablism vibe is still poppin’ with the young kids. I still get MySpace messages all day from

A-Trak and his Allies crew

little kids who are like, ‘I just found out about you! What should I get? Where should I go? What should I practice?’ The old heads think it’s dead, but turntablism is very much alive among the youth.”

the nature of it – we were terribly over-indulgent trying to make the craziest, most technical records. But I do think that



A-Trak sets a new scratch standard HHC DIGITAL #004

34

THREE TIMES DOPE

CELEBRATING THE GREAT DJ CRAZE...

All eyes on DJ Craze, 1999

Germany’s DJ David may have been the first DMC competitor to take the title in two successive years back in 1990 and 1991, but seven years later something unprecedented happened: DJ Craze burst out of Miami and put a lock on the world title for three years in a row... Prime Cuts: “Personally, I would say that Craze’s ’98 US final routine is the all-time most classic DMC routine. I think that a lot of things peaked right there – there was a lot of creativity going on at that time, and at the hands of Craze it was the ultimate routine.” Klever: “I think the craziest routine was, honestly, Craze’s in 1998. The Art Of Noise section is a total classic – it should be framed and boxed away.”

HHC DIGITAL #004

35

DJ Spinna: “Honestly, watching DJ Craze perform at the DMC competitions was the one that made me give up scratching and battling for a while! You just couldn’t compete with him around that time. Everything about him in that era was hitting, and so precisely.” DJ Craze: “1998 was my hunger year, where it all started for me with the DMCs, but my best DMC memory is winning the third time. The first time felt great, but I beat A-Trak and it was more about who fucked up the least. We both fucked up – our routines were horrible. His shit, the fader flew off; my shit, I tried a new routine and it sounded wack. For the second title my daughter was supposed to come out the day of the competition and I was a wreck – I was having anxiety attacks and I went to the hospital a week before my girl because I thought I was dying... But the third title was the coolest shit,

DJ Craze, 2009

because my whole family flew out and my mom and brother hadn’t talked in years and that day they were really happy for me. I remember looking to the side and they were all crying.”

DJ Craze takes his third title in 2000 HHC DIGITAL #004

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STILL SHINING THE LEGEND OF THE

GOLDEN DECKS...

The 1991 golden edition

Tony Prince: “I used to go to Japan and report to Technics on how things were going. These were the days when Technics were courting deejays big time; they were in awe of what deejays were doing with turntables. We came up with the idea of the golden turntable. It was the year after Cash Money won that we introduced it, ’cos I remember Cash would complain to me for years that he’d never won a golden turntable! So I went over and pleaded for him. I said, ‘He’s one of our legends, can you do a special edition of the golden turntables for him?’ “The reason I still go on stage and present the prizes is that the deejays want the same guy who gave the golden turntables to Cash Money, Cutmaster Swift and all those other champs. I should really be retired, but they roll me out every year so that the continuity of the golden turntables can be maintained.” HHC DIGITAL #004

37

THE LISTENING 39. ALBUM OF THE MONTH: SOUNDSCI 40.

GET UP ON NEW SETS FROM JUICE ALEEM, JAY ARE, LEGACY, MICALL PARKNSUN, THE HERBALISER, BREEZE EVAHFLOWIN, ZILLWOOD, DJ JS-1 AND MORE...

43.

HOME STYLE: YOUR ONE-STOP UK RAP ROUND-UP, FEATURING JUICE ALEEM, THE NEXTMEN, KILLA KELA, KOASTE AND THAT MAN KLASHNEKOFF...

45.

MARKETPLACE: ALL THE MONTH’S ESSENTIAL CONSUMER SPENDING!

CLICK H E COP DM RE TO C CHAM P DJ S

WITCH

OF THE

’S MIX

MONTH

BEST N

EW

’S

TRACKS

!

46. ON THE GO: DJ PREMIER’S SAMPLE SOURCE PLAYLIST

HHC DIGITAL #004

38

ALBUM OFTHEMONTH

1. SOUNDSCI



‘DIG FOR VICTORY EP’

(CRATE ESCAPE)

Audessey says: “This is just pure hip-hop; unfiltered and

We say: Rap may or may not run in ten year cycles, and

pure from the construction of the music to the rhymes. It

Bobby never did get to amping on a scale like Michael’s,

will remind you why you fell in love with hip-hop in the first

but there’s a growing number of rap faces from the fabled

place. I feel that I like the track ‘The Remedy’ a lot because

indie era coming out from under a decade-long blanket and

to me it gives you the total package: rhymes plus beats

dropping some mighty fine music. This time it’s Audessey –

plus cuts equals dope hip-hop, and this is our ‘remedy’ for

once part of Atlanta’s Mass Influence – who’s back on the

folks who think and feel that hip-hop is dead. If you listen

map, thanks to a hook-up with Johnny Cuba (ex-Dynamic

to this you definitely won’t feel like it’s dead, and know that

Syncopation) for a heavy-as-hell eight tracker. The beats

Soundsci will bring it dope every time like that – or doper

are raw as you like (check ‘The Illness’ for thumping proof),

if we can! So if you love dope hip-hop then Soundsci is

and releasing it on red vinyl seals the win.

definitely for you!”

‘The Remedy’

HHC DIGITAL #004

39

ALBUMREVIEWS 2. JAY ARE

4. STOOPZ N BREEZE

3. BREEZE EVAHFLOWIN

‘THE 1960S JAZZ REVOLUTION AGAIN’ (GROOVEATTACK)



‘BREEZ DEEZ TREEZ’ (DOMINATION)



‘TURN UP THE SMOOTH’



(BUTTER-MADE)

They say: “The incomparable hip-hop producer J Rawls

Breeze says: “To me, this album is what hip-hop sounds

Breeze says: “This is the story of our trip to Miami. We laid

is back with another instalment of jazz-hop excitement,

like if it was allowed to grow up. It’s life documented in a

low at first, but received a positive reaction from the locals

this time teaming up with the extraordinary talent of John

lyrical artform that uses more lyrics than anything short of

– especially the crackheads.”

Robinson aka Lil Sci. Together they are Jay Are!”

a full-blown opera.”

We say: A top-to-toe conceptual album based around a

We say: Even if you thought you’d had your fill of mid-tempo

We say: Conceived while Breeze was holed up down in the

couple of cats from Detroit going back to the Miami of

Lone Catalysts-style tracks with tinkling jazz samples, this

woods of North Carolina, this is 12 tracks of melancholy hip-

the ’80s, this vibrates like a Prince Paul project, complete

slinky set does a fitting job of maintaining the bop-factor,

hop musings, with New York producer Dave Archuletta’s

with a cameo from Baatin, advice on mixing Henny with

topped by Robinson’s reminisce about the Fondle ’Em

beats appropriately employing violins (‘Within Me’) and

Red Bull, and tongue planted very firmly in pimp-walloped

days and meeting MF Doom on ‘It’s Jay Are’. Snappier than

minor-key piano chords (‘I Failed’) to add to the moody

cheek. It’ll likely be passed by for Rick Ross’s latest viral

‘Jazzmattazz’ ever was to boot.

brooding. Thoughtful hip-hop done the right way.

vomit, but do the right thing and search it out.







‘The Lee Morgan Story’

‘Over’ feat. Swave Sevah

‘The Set Up’ feat. Baatin

HHC DIGITAL #004

40

ALBUMREVIEWS 5. LEGACY

‘SUICIDE MUSIC’



(HALL OF JUSTUS)

6. MICALL PARKNSUN

‘FIRST SECOND TIME AROUND’



(YNR)

7. THE HERBALISER

‘BAND SESSION 2’



(!K7)

LEGACY says: “Originally I wanted 9th Wonder and

Micall Parknsun says: “Check the track ‘Holding It Down’,

Ollie Teeba says: “This studio album is not just funky dope

various other producers involved with this album, but

produced by M-Phazes, which to me defines the essence

business of the highest order, but also a demonstration of

while working on it me and Khrysis came up with a new

of the hip-hop I used to love – that hip-hop you just put in

exactly the kind of sounds you’ll hear when you come to a

sound and the other material became null and void, so he

your stereo and rinsed for years.”

Herbaliser live or deejay show. See you at the next one!”

produced it all.”

We say: Charismatically rapped real life rhymes that never

We say: Completely instrumental business – so, alas,

We say: Punchy throughout, moments like the title track

fall flat over weighty production, plus high quality guest

nothing from regular collaborator Jean Grae – but totally

almost come off like a lost Roc-A-Fella session from the

verses from YNR associates leave Parky plenty of time to

funky, you’ll be hard pushed to find a more cohesively

Just Blaze era, while the posse cut ‘TKO’ hits hard and

shine with his dynamic verses. ‘All 4 Hip Hop’ sounds like

enjoyable 11 tracks to pop on when you want a break from

uncompromising, and ‘The Greatest’ shows an emcee with

the anthem it should be, while tracks like ‘Still Here’ and

rap. Ill scratching on ‘Geddim!’ and ‘Theme From Control

fire in his belly. Totally digestible at 11 tracks short too.

‘Come Again’ covertly push this thing forward. Cee Banger

Centre’ seals the deal.







‘TKO’ feat. Phonte, Chaundon & Sean Price

‘Still Here’

‘Stranded On Earth’

HHC DIGITAL #004

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ALBUMREVIEWS 8. ZILLWOOD

9. JUICE ALEEM

‘HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD IN 15 BEATS’ (FREE DOWNLOAD)



‘JERUSALAAM COME’



(BIG DADA)

10. DJ JS-1

‘NO SELLOUT’ (FAT BEATS)

Zillwood says: “I’d call this new-age hip-hop beats with a

Juice Aleem says: “If you’ve got intelligence, good looks

DJ JS-1 says: “Doing an album with over 40 emcees on it is

Somerset-style vocal – but that doesn’t mean I sound like

and a need to get away from crack dealers and Jolly

not easy! Between the artists being on tour, coordinating

a farmer spitting down the mic! Check it because it offers a

Rancher art school emcees then check the album out.”

what beats to use, agreeing on concepts, and fitting in the

different perspective on the UK and the problems the youth

We say: Hip-hop’s high priest of afro-futurist endeavours,

hooks, it’s not something that gets done quickly!”

are facing. And I suffer from Tourette’s Syndrome so you

Rammellzee, would definitely approve of the one-time New

We say: Featuring Aesop Rock, Craig G, AG, CL Smooth,

might get a better awareness about it from listening.”

Flesh man’s latest album: tracks like the brilliantly-titled

Masta Ace, KRS-One, Canibus, Killah Priest... But don’t be

We say: The combination of A-Z Style Beats’s varied

‘Rock Your Hologram’ and the stand-out, ‘First Lesson’,

put off by the saturated spitters list – it is a deejay set after

productions and Zillwood’s willingness to tackle different

which sees Juice rocking a staccato style, slot right into the

all – as there are gems to prize out from the pack, most

issues gels well – and check the 130-bmp ‘Pure Alphabet

space-wards gazing sector. Elsewhere, Earth-bound bods

notably the two-thirds ‘Metal Thangz’ reunion ‘Ridiculous’

Adrenaline’ for a real spit session.

can take refuge in the soothing sounds of ‘The Fallen’.

with Monch and OC over a slice of boom-bap.







‘How To Change The World In 15 Beats’ (free DL!)

‘Straight Out Of BC’ feat. Cipher Jewels & Blackitude

‘Like This’ feat. Large Professor

HHC DIGITAL #004

42

HOME STYLE YOUR UK RAP ATTACK…

new album with female rapper Apani of Polyrhythm Addicts fame. More on this to come but in the meantime check them out online at www.teasearecords.net to keep abreast of all their moves.

Brad Baloo and Dom Search aka The Nextmen (pictured)

Without trying to sound like a Brighton special we now find

bring the beat back with their new album, ‘Join The Dots’,

ourselves with fellow resident Herma Puma. With the absence

on Sanctuary. A mix of instrumentals and vocal tracks, the

of a press release we’re unable to tell if Herma is a producer,

highlights are ‘Join The Dots’, ‘Round Of Applause’ featuring

emcee, group or a gaggle of talented geese, but one thing’s for

Dynamite MC, and ‘Burn’ featuring Lindsay West. They’re

sure – ‘Evil Side’ featuring D Nick is a heavy beat head-nodder

touring the UK over the next three months so you’ll be able to

worthy of a single release. Elemental features on ‘20,000

see their spectacular skills live.

Leagues’ bringing us nautical tales while Sensei Of Soul tells

case it’ll remind you of the first time you heard ‘Witness’ (or

us all about ‘Disposable Rappers’. The above tracks are taken

insert your favourite bass-heavy record here). Also included

By now you should know we favour vinyl over CDs or irritating

from Herma’s ‘Synchromatic’ album, which will hopefully see

on ‘The Puppa Murc EP’ is ‘Bitch’ (guess what that’s about?),

MP3s but by the time you’ve read this chances are that Koaste’s

the light of day this year.

‘It’s Not Relevant’, and the old school-sounding ‘Go This Way’. These tracks bode well for a full album in the new year on the

double-sided picture disc, ‘Billy The Kid/Blabbermouth’, will have already sold out. The A-side is produced by Tom Caruana

LDZ aka Londonzoo are back with some blap, blap, blap for yo

with the equally wonderful flip produced by Black Grass.

ass. That’s right, after ten years Home Style says ‘ass’. ‘Wave 2

Dented label.

Da Floor’ has one of those heavy bass lines and sinister feels that

Ramson Badbonez goes crazy ape bonkers with his download

Speaking of Tom Caruana, the man of a thousand beats has been

will take you back to the time you first heard London Posse’s

only ‘Tales From The Staircase: Chapter 1’. As ever his rhymes

working with Grand Agent and is rumoured to be producing a

‘Money Mad’… unless you’re not as old as Westwood in which

are tight, he never bites, and the download price is right. HHC DIGITAL #004

43

A number of you have been emailing regarding last issue’s mention of Klashnekoff’s new album ‘Back To Da Sagas’ and asking when it’ll be released. Well, at this moment in time we don’t have any news on a release date although we’ve heard

IN THE SPOTLIGHT 2. THE COSYNE PROJECT

a few rough mixes and if the finished mix is anything to go by

How would you describe your style? “Warped feacal brains.”

What one thing would help the UK scene the most?

then Klash will have an album definitely equal to that of ‘The

“More publicity, more money, more media, more quality

Sagas Of…’.

control, more cooperation... but then if we had nothing

On the Big Dada tip, Juice Aleem’s ‘First Lesson’ gets the remix

to complain about would some of the rhymes be as good?

treatment from Evil Nine, making it sound like a Pete Tong

I guess the UK could do with more raps about shitting in

summer track, while a Rude Kid remix gives it an electro feel,

Tesco, wearing chestwigs, and aliens ridding the Earth of

A La Fu gives it a suitable treatment for all the bass heads, and

perma-tanned slappers who hang out at posh wine bars.

the Shadowless Domain mix sounds like, well, a bit of a mess to be honest. Purists will be pleased to know that the original version is also included.

And that’s where we come in…” With a history that involves a track titled ‘Tennents Super Will Kill You’ (recorded with “a £5 mic from Maplin after a

Finally, UK beatboxer Killa Kela should see his solo album,

particularly heavy night on the cans”), influences from Kool

‘Amplified’, released come September time. Mike Lewis

Keith and Big L to Art Blakey and Kraftwerk, plus a period

What do you have coming up music-wise? “We’re concentrating on producing tracks for a new EP, then we’ll be out playing and promoting it.”

spent making “weird electronic hip-hop instrumentals”, (All records mentioned in Home Style are available to buy from

welcome to the world of The Cosyne Project...



‘Neon Flux’

www.RapAndSoulMailOrder.com) HHC DIGITAL #004

44

MARKETPLACE CREDIT CARDS AT THE READY…

GTA: CHINATOWN WARS



(ROCK STAR)



More anti-social antics from the GTA



series, this time with the dinky DS

PAUL WHITE



‘THE STRANGE DREAMS OF PAUL WHITE’



Possibly the first rap release that’s dry-



clean only, the London beatmaker’s debut



comes in super-comfortable, hand-stitched,



pillow-case packaging.



installment making its way to the PSP to satiate all your portable crime cravings.



TROUBLE THE WATER



SELF HARMONIC



‘NO PRETENSE’



Catering to right-clickers and vinyl heads



alike, Self Harmonic’s Cage-featuring track is



available for MP3 download and as a limited



run green vinyl 7-inch.

(ZEITGEIST)

DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL

Oscar-nominated, this post-Katrina documentary profiles



DEBRUIT



(POWERHOUSE)

female rapper Black Kold Madina, representing New Orleans’



‘I’M GOIN’ WIT YOU’



A collaboration between Dangermouse,

Ninth Ward, and her struggles to balance day-to-day life



Featuring the vocals of Sa-Ra’s Om’Mas,



David

Sparklehorse,

with aspirations towards a music career. Set against a truly



this prime slice of wonky is best experienced

this

this limited-to-5000-copies book and

turbulent backdrop, it’s authentic, gritty, emotional stuff, and



by watching the online video with the ’80s-

well worth checking out.



style 3D glasses it comes with!

Lynch

and

album package pairs dark hypnotic images to music.

HHC DIGITAL #004

7 45

ON THE GO

collabo with Scarface, ‘Betrayal’. A real soulful gem, clocking

around in this track, but it was for Jeru’s ‘Mental Stamina’ that

in at almost eight minutes and finishing with a ‘Hey Jude’-like

the mighty Premo sampled the tiniest part of the vibes solo to

sing-along motif over the final couple of minutes. Brilliant!

such great effect.

2. HUBERT LAWS ‘I HAD A DREAM’

4. CAESAR FRAZIER ‘FUNK IT UP’

Flautist Hubert Laws brings the jazz-funk on this fusion classic

A vintage instrumental funk gem here, laden with samples

sampled on MOP’s ‘Downtown Swinga ’96’. The main melody

from start to finish. Premier has used this record himself more

Welcome again to HHC Digital’s

sounds like it could’ve been used for a ’70’s cop/detective

than once – I’ll let you see if you can spot the tracks... A great

fantasy playlist column where we

show. The song goes on to explode during the solos due to

head-nodding tune with a seriously funky bassline and horns!

get beat-man Quincey Tones to

the incredible band made up of the finest session musicians of

imagine what the most sample-

the time – the drumming in particular is out of this world.

2. DJ PREMIER On The Go Deliver The Word WAR

I Had A Dream HUBERT LAWS

Sensitize ROY AYERS

Funk It Up CAESAR FRAZIER

A Good Man Is Gone

MONK HIGGINS & BARBARA MASON

By Quincey Tones

savvy hip-hop producers were

5. MONK HIGGINS & BARBARA MASON ‘A GOOD MAN IS GONE’ Sampled for Gang Starr’s ‘Next Time’, this is such a fantastic

listening to in their formative years.

3. ROY AYERS ‘SENSITIZE’

song with a classic soundtrack vibe. There’s something very

This time around, the legendary

Not one of Roy Ayers’s best-known songs, but his typical sound

Shirley Bassey about it, only not quite as dramatic. The horn

Gang Starr man...

is evident throughout. It’s got everything you’d expect from

and string arrangements (courtesy of Monk Higgins) are

the jazz/soul legend; great melodies, great harmonies... What

especially superb and singer Barbara Mason is just perfect for

1. WAR ‘DELIVER THE WORD’

more can you ask for? If you’re a notorious sample spotter

the song.

This Fender Rhodes-led track was sampled on Gang Starr’s ’98

then you’ll probably recognize two or three others scattered

(Hit up MySpace.com/QuinceyTones for more.)

HHC DIGITAL #004

46

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HHC DIGITAL #004

47