ABU Takeover - Halloween Special!

It's that time again and what's even better is that ABU Takeover night just so happens to coincide with Halloween night.
Tune in tomorrow and hear a spooky couple of hours of hip hop's best and cheesiest scary tunes from 9pm on Disco Scratch Radio.
If you are a Facebooker then there is an 'Event Page' set up if you're down with that. Otherwise get involved in the chatroom live from 9 til 11pm.

BTW the show will be a repeat of 2011's show, but y'all forgot that one, right?

Reeps!

Scott La Rock Documentary

An interesting insight into one of hip hop's many departed heroes - Boogie Down Productions' Scott La Rock.
Check it out here. http://ambrosiaforheads.com/2013/09/celebrity-crime-files-scott-larock-full-episode-video/

Super Disco Brake's Tee

Here's a great t-shirt up for sale on ebay.
Thanks to Zilla for pointing these out. They're produced by his mate, DJ Razorcuts out of Derbyshire, UK and are available in S to XL, plus ladies' fits and even a dope tote bag!
They may sell out soon but we are teased with a promise that there may be more on the way.
Check em out here.
Tell em ABU sent ya!

Ultimate Breaks & Beats Figure

Saw this the other day in an email from RapAndSoulMailOrder and it looks so, so dope!

Ultimate Breaks & Beats (also commonly known as UBB) is a series of 25 compilation albums released betweeen 1986 and 1991 on Street Beat Records. The tracks included on the albums contain music from 1966 to 1984 that specifically featured drum breaks.

This actually has a special meaning to me because volume 503 was the first UBB album I ever bought. I remember getting it via mail order from Mi-Price Records (from an ad I saw in Hip Hop Connection) and listening to the album thinking 'this is just crazy!'.
It took me a while to get into breaks as they were so alien to hearing loops which was how my mind and ears had been trained to listen to hip hop.
But when I did...I loved it. And to this day if I hear any of the breaks from this album - and what an album - Got To Be Real, Dance To The Drummer's Beat, Bongo Rock, Give It To You, Pussy Footer and of course, hip hop's own b-boy anthem, Apache, then it brings me right back.

So this little doll is one of those things that I don't really need, can't really afford but really want as I know it would look the business rocking on my record shelves as well as all the memories associated.
Well, with Christmas on the way...who knows!

ABU Live on The Hip Hop Sessions - TONITE!

I'm guesting tonight on the Hip Hop Sessions on Future Radio with DJ Just-1.
Be there at 10pm for some great old and classic hip hop, electro and breaks.

http://futureradio.co.uk/http://futureradio.co.uk/

No Half Steppin' - October 2013 Session!

This Saturday (19th Oct) is the return of Norwich's finest hip hop monthly event featuring regulars DJ Just-1 from The Hip Hop Sessions (Future Radio) and Chrome (Def Tex, B-Line Recordings) on the decks with 2 special guests M-PHATIC and SUPER JB from the Force 10 crew providing some b-boy beats.
No doubt Illinspired will be freestyling throughout the night keeping things rolling.
For anyone who hasn't been to one before, why not come down and join members of the ABU/DS crew!
Guaranteed to be a floor-filler of funky tunes and that classic hip hop, get down to the Rumsey Wells in Norwich at 8pm!

Strictly Paul C

Some of you may be aware of the name Paul McKasty, also known as Paul C. Some of you may not be familiar. If you aren't then it's not entirely your fault as there is little information in existence about him. However you should go to this webpage and read it in it's entirety.

Paul C was a unique hip hop producer/engineer/beatmaker who was modest to the point of invisibility. He didn't need to shout about his achievements as his work spoke for himself. If you read the credits on the back of your dusty record covers you will see his name on everyone from Biz Markie and Ultramagnetic MC's to Eric B & Rakim and Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud.
Actually that's not quite true as he either used different aliases or was credited incorrectly as Paul "C", Paul C., Paul C. 1212, Paul C. McKasty, Paul Cee, Paul McKastee or even plain Paul. And these are just some of the nom-de-plumes you might find, there are more.

Now, my reason for doing this post is simple. Ric Flair from the wonderful Strictly Business blog has written a brilliant piece on Paul which you can read here.
And not only that. He has compiled probably the most in-depth and exhaustive list of Paul C productions you will ever find - 4 volumes to be right and exact - which can you download and fill-up your chosen media-playing device to bursting point.
Ric deserves a massive bucketful of props as to my knowledge this has not been tackled before. The tracklisting is immense.

Also worth mentioning is a labour-of-love film project which has been put together by Pritt Kalsi - who you may know from the King Of The Beats producer contest.
It's entitled Memories Of Paul C McKasty and going by Pritt's track record should be another beautifully-edited piece of killer celuloid.
I haven't seen it yet but will do shortly. You can see parts 1 & 2 here with part 3 coming next Sunday.

Strictly kings and better.

ABU Takeover on Disco Scratch Radio - Sept 2013

September's show was a little different in that ¼ of it was straight tracks and the remaining ¾ was me in the mix.
I performed the mix live a few days ago then added a few overdubs, effects and samples to hold it together.
At the end of the show is a first-play of Rock n Rolla which is a cut off the new Planet Of The Fakes' Please, Don't Feed The Animals EP (for more info see previous post with full review).

n.b. The next ABU show falls on Halloween night!


DSR138 (show #35) September 2013

01  Jurassic 5 - Ignition Sequence
02  Master O.C. & Krazy Eddie Featuring Peso, Tito And Main Attraction‎ - Masters Of The Scratch
03  Master Ace - Postin' High
04  Caveman - Pages and Pages
05  Hard Knocks - Thoughts Of A Negro
06  Gang Starr - Who's Gonna Take The Weight

Repo In The Mix
07  Masta Ace - Sitting On Chrome
08  ATCQ - Bonita Applebum
09  T La Rock - It's Yours (Instru)
10  Pharcyde - Runnin'
11  KRS One - Sound Of Da Police
12  Son Of Bazerk - J-Dub's Theme
13  Paul Nero - This Is Detroit Soul (Drum Break)
14  Alkaholiks - Make Room
15  Fresh 3 MC's - F.R.E.S.H.
16  Monkees - Zilch
17  Del Tha Funkee Homosapien - Mistadobalina
18  Masterminds (Ft. Mr. Khaliyl) - Bring It Back
19  Supalover Cee & Casanova Rud - Do The James
20  Fu-Schnickens -True Fuschnick
21  The Turtles - I'm Chief Kamanawanalea (We're The Royal Macadamia Nuts)
22  Steinski & Mass Media - It's Up To You
23  Uptown - Dope On Plastic
24  Soundsci - The Ultimate (Breaks & Beats Mix)
25  Before I Let Go (Instrumental Edit)
26  MC Lyte - Paper Thin
27  Public Enemy - Night of the Living Baseheads (Anti-High Blood Pressure Encounter Mixx)
28  Digital Underground - No Nosejob
29  Kid Frost - Terminator
30  Jazzy Jay - Def Jam
31  Cash Money & Marvellous - The Mighty Hard Rocker
32  Kev E Kev & Ak B - Keep On Doin'
33  Biz Markie - Something For The Radio
34  Isidore Aka Izzy Ice ‎– Soul Man
35  B.R.O.T.H.E.R - Beyond The 16th Parallel
36  UTFO - The Master
37  Most Wanted - Calm Down
38  MARRS - Pump Up The Volume
39  Cavern - Liquid, Liquid
40  Eric B & Rakim - Know The Ledge
41  Seville - Keep It Movin'
42  Sugarbear - Don't Scandalise Mine
43  Young MC - Know How

44  Planet Of The Fakes - Rock N Rolla (from the new EP Please, Don't Feed The Animals)
45  Jorun PMC - Can't Won't Don't Stop/Magic Disco Machine (preview tracks)
46  Chrome & IllInspired - You Should Know (new 7" out now)


Listen directly to the show here:
http://www.sonicity.co.uk/Resources/MP3/35_Ageing_B-Boys_Unite!_Podcast_-_ABU!_DS_Takeover_Show_(DSR138)_Sept_2013.mp3

Record Review: Planet Of The Fakes - Please Don't Feed The Animals EP

I got the chance to listen to an advance preview of the brand new Planet Of The Fakes EP recently courtesy of Inzaine.
Oh yes.

There is always something unsettling - to me, at least - whenever I listen to a POTF record. Maybe it's the dark forces that seem to inhabit the vinyl or the the in-your-faceness of the Bomb Squad-influenced wall of sound. Every conceivable space in the frequency spectrum is heavily guarded by a snarling, speaker-shaking soldier of the underground Britcore battalion. The 'Fakes lie in wait under your bed while you sleep and come screaming out in the middle of the night with a barrage of audio ammo aimed at your ears.

The posse's large

With a confident hardcore sound at his side supplied commendably by Dirty Showbiz, head-honcho Inzaine has employed a tribe of talent to fill the vocal side of things. Just check out this line-up; Paranoia, Sire, Kraze One, Sinista, Invokal, Whirlwind D (Solid'n'Mind), Inzaine, Ambush, Mr Morph, Iceski (The Criminal Minds), Skitz, MC Gambit (Last Ressort), Invokal, Remarkable (Deliverance, Sublime Wizardry), DJ Kura and DJ HighFly.
It's not a case of chucking everything into the mixing bowl and just hoping for the best. It's more like chucking the best into the mixing bowl and hoping the heat it creates doesn't just burn the place down but tears the roof off the sucker as well.

Repeated listening essential

The title track Please Don't Feed The Animals is off and running with a gripping brass riff reminiscent of something out of The Omen. Damn right it's hardcore. There's an unrelenting baseline underpinning the uptempo beat with Mr Morph on the turntables coming in but not disturbing the groove or the vocals. There's so much to hear and with repeated listenings you catch a waka-waka guitar lick that you missed earlier or a spacey sound in the background. This is a layered production masterclass.

You may have seen the Rain Dance video already and this is the EP's beginning track. A nice production uses multiple vocals to build up the intro and readies you for the main course.
All the tracks are filled with a wealth of MC talent and Bouncin' Cranial Walls is no exception. Using a sample from what I could have sworn was A Clockwork Orange the cut then goes straight into crisp, clear vocals from Skitz who heads up this collab.

Living the wet dream…..

Last week I chose Rock n Rolla to play on the ABU Takeover show on Disco Scratch Radio which got a good reaction with people in the chartroom asking for more details. It's not difficult to see why.
Kicking off with a vocal sample from the film of the same name, we're not playing games here, son. When this drops on a large system you can expect broken bones, bottles and teeth due to the chest-pumping beat and cinematic samples.
If I do have a quibble - and I've tried very hard to find just one - it's that Ambush's (?) vocals sound like they were recorded over the phone as they have a different feel to the rest of the MC's on this cut. However it doesn't detract from the track at all and if anything makes his turn stand out more.

Hardcore Messiah

It's worth noting that all the tracks so far are keeping around the 110bpm area. While that's not considerably head-nodding territory it's still up-tempo. The one track on the EP that is destined to make you go nuts and dance like a spaz is the even faster Battle Of The True Born. Strictly uptempo business demands that frenzied scratching like Q-Bert with Parkinson's must be employed. Indeed it is and the intro is already melting your face as you are pogoing higher than your older cousins did at a Sex Pistols gig. Inzaine and Dirty Showbiz have gone all out to bring you a raw jam designed to bring out the goosebumps whenever you hear it.
Some older music producers have complained that you can't get a natural sound by using digital gear. Fuck natural, listen to the raw energy. Ice T once said the ends justify the means and with a sound like this then Abbey Road can go and do one.

This is a firm warning to those effeminate, skinny jeans-wearing wankers that are beginning to progress that rich-boy, 'hipster-hop' and that is that they should just put that microphone away and go back to Uni.

In the past I may have been guilty of being one of those that went along with the whole 'hip hop is dead' ethos but the last few years have seen a resurgence in quality product - mainly, I must say, from the UK - and we appear to be living in our 2nd Golden Age of hip hop.
Overall this EP is a finely-crafted work of hardcore sweat and tears. If Apple made hip hop they'd have a studio on the East Coast of England.


Respect to Inzaine.
© Reepz 2013


For more information:
http://www.rawmanticdisasters.blogspot.co.uk/p/britcore-rawmance.html

http://www.inzainium.com

https://twitter.com/INZAINIUM 

https://soundcloud.com/inzainium

Only 200 copies (full colour sleeve/insert) are available so you don't want to miss out on this slab of hardcore dopeness.

Also, check out the official video below for Rain Dance.