Nardwuar vs. Sage Francis

Jay-Z Performance @ Nike's World Basketball Festival

Here is some all pro footage of Hov performing last night for Nike at Radio City Music Hall.

Rap Treats #81: Jay-Z & The ROC @ The Tunnel (Audio)

The Roc is in the building... and that building is the infamous Tunnel Nightclub in NYC. This is a recording of the video we put up a while back of Jay, Beans, Memph Bleek and Amil tearing down the club. Click HERE to check out the video. This was right around the time Hov started to become THAT dude

Jay-Z & The Roc

Live @ The Tunnel (1999)

1. Pain In The Ass Intro

2. Jay Z - Its Hot

3. Jay Z - Jigga My Nigga

4. Jay Z - So Ghetto

5. Jay Z feat. Amil - Can I Get A...

6. Jay Z - Money Aint A Thang

7. Jay Z feat. Memphis Bleek - Its Alright

8. Memphis Bleek feat. Jay Z - What You Think Of That

9. Memphis Bleek - Memphis Bleek Is...

10. Beanie Sigel - What A Thug About

11. Beanie Sigel - 45 Freestyle

12. Jay Z - Who U Wit

13. Jay Z - Aint No Nigga

14. Jay Z - Imaginary Player

15. Jay Z feat. Amil - Jigga What, Jigga Who

16. Jay Z feat. Memphis Bleek & Beanie Sigel - Money, Cash, Hoes

17. Jay Z feat. Beanie Sigel - Put Your Hands Up (Do It Again)

Nardwuar vs. Drake

Nardwuar hooks up Drake with a fucking red jacket with some zippers.

Rap Treats #80: Cold Front Rap Compilation

Who is familiar with this one? Hands in the air. This one is for my Canadian Rap Nerds. I remember seeing the release party special on Much Music and immediately going to the record store to pick it up. I was already a Maestro and Main Source fan and them being on this comp made everybody else seem legit to me, although to this day I've always wondered why Michie Mee wasn't on it. Anyways, there is the comp to download. Oh, and for the record... Main Source IS Canadian Hip-Hop to me. I don't care that Large Pro was the main dude, two out of three wins on a technicality. I'll take that.

Various Artists

Cold Front Rap Compilation

1. CIUT 89.5 - Master Plan Show Spot

2. Maestro Fresh Wes - Black Tie Affair

3. Base Poet - When I Went To Buy Milk

4. Sweet Ebony - With This

5. Dream Warriors - 12 Sided Dice

6. Large Professor - CKLN 88.1 Power Move Show Spot

7. Main Source - Atom

8. Sonyalive - I'm Coming Into Consciousness

9. CIUT 89.5 - Master Plan Show Spot

10. Kish - Jim Class

11. R & R - Having A Good Day

12. Nu Black Nation - Soul Vibration

13. CHRY 105.5 - Jam Factor Spot

4. KGB - Letters Of Three

15. Top Secret - Stupid

16. Fresh B - This Is For The Record

17. CKLN 88.1 - Oblivion Express Spot'

From the liner notes:

“Although rap music has existed in Toronto since the late 70′s under the influence of N.Y.C. and brought to the people via mobile sound crews like Sunshine, Maceo, City Crew and Ebony All-Star, the Toronto rap music community has had to share the beat with Funk, R&B, and Reggae almost pushing rap into an obscure underground until the mid-eighties. It wasn’t until CKLN radio DJ Ron Nelson dedicated his three hour funk/hip hop show “The Fantastic Voyage” solely to rap music and began promoting concerts that new life was breathed into a community saturated by Roxanne Roxanne answer records and Egyptian lover beats.

“From the mid to late eighties, no Canadian artist had rapped on vinyl until Ivan Berry, Rupert Gayle and Richard Rodwell (AKA Maximum 60) formed Beat Factory Productions. In 1987 Beat Factory met Scott La Rock and KRS 1 during a BDP show. The result of that meeting was the Beat Factory EP featuring Michee Mee & L.A. Luv, and Rumble & Strong, which was co-produced by BDP and released on Beat Factory Records.

“Still, many Canadian labels weren’t paying attention to the program. It wasn’t until December of 1989 that Attic Records broke things wide open when they released Symphony In Effect, the debut album from Maestro Fresh Wes. Maestro and his manager Farley Flex had a chance meeting with Stevie B during a performance on the local television dance show The Electric Circus which led to an American deal with LMR Records. The album was released in Canada on Attic and quickly proved rap’s commercial power to the industry by sailing past the platinum sales plateau and making Wes the first Canadian artist in any genre to score two Top 5 singles from a debut album — thus forever changing the way the Canadian record industry viewed rap music.

“Meanwhile, Beat Factory had relative success with the signing of Michee Mee to First Priority and the release of HDV’s debut LP, Sex, Drugs And Violence on ISBA (CBS) Canada. But, it wasn’t until Island Records released the Dream Warriors LP, And Now The Legacy Begins, that Canadian hip-hop was finally recognized world-wide.

“Finally, A&M Records became the first major label to sign a Canadian rap artist when they picked up Kish from the Full Flex Management stable. Kish’s debut Order To Chaos shows the new funky direction taken on by the Canadian hip hop nation.

“The Cold Front LP is not all that makes Toronto strong, but it’s a taste of a rap community that has been stewing for over a decade.” – John Bronski

Rap Treats #79: Go Getters - World Record Holders LP (Pre Roc-A-Fella & Pre Broken Jaw Kanye West)

This is pretty dope. A pre Roc-A-Fella Records Kanye West album featuring GLC, Really Doe, Rhymefest and a few others. Large up Andrew from FakeShoreDrive for unleashing this one! I'll let him explain this project...

"Once upon a time there was a Chicago music conglomerate known as Kon-Man Productions, which was represented by Hustle, a marketing and promotions company run by Don Crowley, John “Monopoly” Johnson and Happy Lewis. At the top of the Kon-Man productions pyramid, was a up-and-coming rapper/producer by the name of Kanye West. Kanye had recruited some of Chicago’s top talent to join him on his road to riches and quest for stardom. Producers such as Boogz, Arrowstar and Brian “All Day” Miller helped him on the production side, while emcees such as GLC, Mikkey, Rhymefest, Timmy G, Miss Criss, Shayla G and Really Doe held down microphone duties.

Out of this conglomerate, a small “group” was formed which featured Kanye himself, GLC, Timmy G and Arrowstar – and this group was called the Go Getters. The Go Getters recorded a handful of songs, did some promo shoots and made radio appearances – but an official album was never released. A few of these tracks were released about 10 years ago via the World Record Holders album, which was more of a Kon-Man Productions compilation that also featured some completed Go Getters tracks. Also included on this album/mixtape were loose songs Kanye produced and completed songs from various Kon-Man artists."

Go-Getters

World Record Holders LP

1. World Record Holders Intro

2. World Record Holders (Performed by GLC, Kanye West, Timmy G)

3. Nothin’s Gonna Stop Me (Performed by Kanye West)

4. Dem Guys (Performed by GLC, Timmy G)

5. Ghetto Senorita (Performed by Miss Criss, Kanye West & Shayla G)

6. All I Need (Performed by Kanye West, Mikkey Halsted, Miss Criss)

(Prod. by Brian “All Day" Miller)

7. Foolish Game (Performed by Mikkey Halsted)

(Prod. by Brian “All Day” Miller)

8. No Luv (Performed by GLC, Timmy G)

9. Fight With The Best

(Performed by Kanye West, Rhymefest & Mikkey Halsted)

10. 10 In A Benz (Performed by Rhymefest & Kanye West)

(Prod. by Andy C)

11. Uh Oh (Performed by Kanye West, Timmy G, GLC)

12. Mind Yo Business (Performed by GLC, Timmy G, Kanye West)

13. Let Em In (Performed by Kanye West, GLC, Timmy G)

Rap Treats #78: Main Source - Lost Science EP (Unreleased)

This one has been out for a while but for some reason it slipped past me. These are Main Source records that were recorded for their follow up to the classic Breakin' Atoms that was going to be called Science. The "Bootlegging" record is dope as hell. One album was not enough from these guys (sorry, the Mickey D Main Source doesn't exist to me). This is a rip of a 7" that was released on DWG in 2008.

Main Source

Lost Science (Unreleased)

A1. "Bootlegging"

B1. "Raise Up"

B2. "Time"

Rap Treats #77: Nas - Please Listen To My Demo (Originals, Rare, Unreleased and Freestyles)

A while back we put a Nas demo tape up in the Rap Treats section which gave a pretty good look at a pre Illmatic Nas, but this one is much more comprehensive. Freestyles, demo's and never heard before records by an unsigned Nas. This isn't his demo tape, but it is a compilation of his earliest work.

Nas

Please Listen To My Demo

1. Intro

2. 17 Years Old Freestylin

3. Freestyle - 1st Time On Stretch & Bob

4. Freestyle - 2nd Time On Stretch & Bob

5. Another Day In The Projects (Demo)

6. I'm A Villain (Demo) *Both Joints Would Become NY Stae of Mind

7. Freestyle - 3rd Time On Stretch & Bob

8. Freestyle - Wake Up Show

9. Memory Lane (Premo's Demo Mix)

10. Represent (Premo's Demo Mix)

11. Nas Will Prevail (Large Professor's "It Ain't Hard To Tell" Demo Mix)

12. Who's World Is This (Rough Draft From DJ Hollywood)

13. Lifes A Bitch (Rough Draft Studio Session)

14. Life Is Like A Dice Game (Demo)

15. True Dialect (Unreleased)

16. Understanding (Demo)

17. Wake Up Show (Promo)

18. 1994 Freestyle In The UK

19. Deja Vu (Demo) *Later to be Used on Verbal Intercourse

20. #1 With A Bullet (Unreleased)

21. On The Real (Original Marley Marl Demo Mix ft Cormega & Khamakazie)

22. Don't Hate Me Now (Unreleased)

23. Life Gone Low (Unreleased)

24. Tales From The Hood (Unreleased)

25. New York (Unreleased Hard 2 Earn Mix)

26. 2nd Coming (Unreleased)

27. Untitled Track (Produced By Premier)

28. High (Unreleased)

29. Nas Will Rock (Unreleased Produced By Pete Rock)

30. Surviving The Times

Demos: U.G.K. - Underground Kings Demo (1990)

This is about as early a recording that I've heard from U.G.K. So early that is doesn't feature Bun B, but rather the first incarnation of U.G.K. which was Pimp C and Mitchell Queen.

U.G.K.

"Underground Kings" (Demo)

Nardwuar vs. Lil Wayne

Classic Material: Pete Rock & CL Smooth on Yo! MTV Raps

Yo! MTV Raps pays Pete Rock and CL Smooth a visit in Money Earnin' Mt. Vernon.

Nardwuar vs. Black Eyed Peas