Monthly Archives: July 2012

Rock Steady Crew – Newark Concert

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The Rock Steady Anniversary show is always bittersweet. It’s sweet because it’s the closest thing to a vintage 1970′s park jam, filled with real hip-hop music and break dancing. It’s bitter because each year, the crowd shifts from tri-state Hip-Hop heads to a Newark-only event, only encompassing the local community around the park. Also, the line-up of artists has gradually gone from old school and underground legends to no-names.

First off, I’m not knocking what Rock Steady does. It’s a free concert and they don’t have the budget to get the same acts as Rock The Bells so I get they are limited. But, I’ve been going to the Rock Steady show a few years now and I felt this was the worst one yet. Below is my honest review of what could have done better.

Artist Line-up – Other than the surpise headliner Redman and Mr. Cheeks the line-up was really weak. Craig G performs every year so that’s no suprise. X-Clan? I get they were part of the political hip-hop movement but who is really checkin’ for them? Consequence – dope. But then people like Jo Jo Pellegrino? Rasheed Chappel? Maffew Ragazino? There are other underground artists that are better performers that could have came through.

No DJ Sets – A few years back Tony Touch was DJ. This year, Evil Dee was the headliner DJ, but I barely saw him on the 1′s and 2′s. Other than a special appearance by AJ Scratch I was disapointed. The show used to have DJ’s performing sets, scratching, etc. This year – nothing.

Missing the other Elements – The old shows used to have graf artists throwing up peices on canvas. That was absent. Also, the break dance floor was over crowded with people just standing around. Even though it was the Rock Steady Crew show, b-boy’ing was lacking.

The Hosting – E.O.W. (End of the Weak) normally does a great job at hosting but they seemed kind of lazy/bored this year. The annual freestyle battle was missing as well.

Overall, Redman single-handedly saved the show (video here). It was worth being there all day to witness a free show by Reggie Noble. Ironically, even though the show is in Newark, this was the first time he performed. According to him, he was banned from performing in Newark for years because he threw an American flag at a show in the 90′s.

For pics from the event, check out facebook/illtalbeats.

Reflection Eternal – Ghetto Afterlife

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Gene Chandler AKA “The Duke” has been making songs since the early 1960′s. Real name Eugene Dixon, hails from the windy city of Chicago and is best known for his single “The Duke of Earl” (sampled by Cypress Hill). What many don’t know is that he worked with the oft-sampled great Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler – both from The Impressions. While best known for his doo-wop, Hi-Tek flipped his 1970′s cut “Tomorrow I May Not Feel The Same” for Reflection Eternal‘s “Ghetto Afterlife” featuring Kool G Rap.

Hi-Tek chopped the intro rather than using a straight loop and used several other elements such as the vocals in the Reflection Eternal track. How did hardcore Juice Crew member Kool G Rap get a guest spot on the album? For those that don’t know, Kool G Rap was signed to Rawkus records at the same time as Reflection Eternal. Hi-Tek also produced some tracks for Kool G’s solo effort on Rawkus. However, he ran into problems with the label and the album was eventually released through Koch (missing many tracks). If you want a verse by Kool G Rap, hit up his twitter account. He charges $2,000 per verse, last I heard.

Guru – Behold

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R.I.P. to Guru, whose birthday recently passed on July 17th. To celebrate his career, I posted up a rare 12-inch I found while digging in the crates a few days ago. Once again, underground producer and DJ J-Love is behind the beats on this Guru cut “Behold“. The single was released in 2001 and the B-side features a remix by fellow Sqwad member Ric Nice. Guru’s style is a bit more aggressive on this song than some of his Gang Starr and solo work, but the lyrics are equally as dope.

Multiplication Rock

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Who doesn’t love Schoolhouse Rock? While not the rarest Children’s LP to be sampled (Stark Reality) Schoolhouse Rock is right up there with the likes of the Electric Company and Songs Of Metric Man. The man behind Multiplication Rock was actually Jazz artist Bob Dorough. The most well known sampled from the LP is “3 is the Magic Number” which was used by De La Soul.

“Figure Eight (8′s)” has been used a few times either as an interlude or a sample. However, none really stand out as a dope track. It’s really begging to be flipped if anyone is up to the challenge. The vocals on the song are actually by Blossom Dearie a fellow Jazz artist and friend of Dorough. Take a listen.

Onyx – Shut Em Down

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Jacques Brel was considered the master of modern chanson. What does that mean? I didn’t know either so I looked it up on wikipedia. Listening to Brel you’ll immediately notice his music is over-the-top dramatic and sounds pretty ridiculous. Somehow he amassed a pretty large following in France and later worldwide. He died in the late 70′s from complications related to smoking (quit now!) Some how producer Self found the LP and flipped “Vieillir” for Onyx‘s comeback track “Shut Em Down” featuring DMX. Most people don’t recognize Self but his production credit list is pretty extensive including tracks for DMX, Ja-Rule, Cocoa Brovaz, Cam’Ron, and Fat Joe.

In 1998, Onyx returned from a hiatus with their double A-side single “Shut Em Down” / “Raze it Up“. To promote the single, Def Jam released a promo-only double LP “Best of Onyx” which featured the single and an extra 12-inch with some of their classic cuts and the unreleased “Evil Streets Remix” with Method Man. Their album met with decent reviews and also featured a young 50 Cent (thanks to Jam Master Jay). Since “Shut Em Down” was already old when the album dropped, they added a remix featuring N.O.R.E. and Big Pun. Check out the original sample to see how Self flipped it.

Neek the Exotic – Exotic’s Raw

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Large Professor has recently re-entered the spotlight with the release of his LP Professor @ Large and a vocal appearance on Nas‘s new classic album Life is Good. I decided to post up one of his lesser known works, “Exotic’s Raw“. Extra P produced the track and is also featured on the hook.

Sadly, I don’t have more info on Neek. I know he’s from the same part of Queens as Large Professor – Flushing. The first appearance I know of from him was on Main Source‘s “Fakin’ the Funk” off the White Men Can’t Rap EP. Any more info appreciated. In the meantime, check it out.

Rock Steady Crew 35th Anniversary

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Rock Steady Crew 35th Anniversary

This Saturday July 28th, the historic B-boy foundation, Rock Steady Crew will be celebrating it’s 35th Anniversary in New York City. The New York event will feature break dance battles with the greats including legend Crazy Legs. On Sunday July 29th, the crew will descend upon Newark, NJ as always for their annual free concert at Lincoln Park. The concert is hosted by E.O.W. (End of the Weak) and usually features a wide array of underground, up-and-comer, and old school MC’s. I will be in attendance handing out some promo CD’s and enjoying the music (with a soda bottle filled with liquor lol). Come through and support some real Hip-Hop!

Common – Chi City

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Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose are best known for their huge hits “Too Late” and “Treat Her Like a Lady” from the early 70′s. They were a family group (4 brothers + 1 sister) out of Florida and only had 2 albums. (3 if you count a “Greatest Hits”). After the smash success of their earlier 2 singles, they had a hard time recapturing a top 10 Billboard spot. When the group disbanded in 1976, Capitol records tried to capitalize (pun intended) on the group’s earlier success and released a Greatest Hits album.

“Since I Found My Baby” appeared on the greatest hits album and was sampled by Kayne West for Common‘s track “Chi-City“. West hard-panned the sample, removing most of the loud horns in order to leave room for Common’s vocals. Check it out.