Inspectah Deck - Let Me At Them (Demo Piano Version)

I first had this taped off the radio about 15 years ago, either from a WNWK or WKCR broadcast. I'm guessing around 1994

or 1995 was the time frame, being that the official soundtrack version on "Tales From The Hood" didn't drop until a good while after I first heard this. The one main difference on this demo is the piano sample that was curiously taken out of the soundtrack version. Hearing the demo first, every time I would hear the other version, it was like I was waiting for those pianos to drop in the mix. It got to be frustrating to even listen to this piano-less shell of a song. I can almost guarantee that after hearing this demo, you will not want to ever hear the official release again, well almost. The sound quality on the demo is much inferior to the other one. The reason for the pianos getting dissed would probably be due to sample clearance problems, but I guess only Deck knows for sure since he did the beat. All that is definite is that whether or not you found the version of this song you already knew to be memorable, it will be now. Sure the rest of the elements of the beat are all great on this but the pianos really are just that crucial to the illness of "Let Me At 'Em". They give it an added raw Wu sound, with the menacing darkness that would have fit right in a ghetto horror flick.

Let Me At Them (Demo Piano Version)

Let Me At Them (Soundtrack Version, No Pianos)

Download the demo and the other version both here.

Click on the cover to pick up the entire Tales From The Hood Soundtrack(at 320kbps) from our friends over at "Hq Hip Hop".

Thanks and peace to JR from the "Crates Of JR" blog for ripping this personally sought after demo from one of his old WBAI tapes, off the Underground Railroad. The show still broadcasts and even has a chat room/podcast thing going on every Saturday night at midnight. You can find that by clicking here at the broadcast time and then clicking the "Live Broadcast" button on the right. Also, the host for many years now, is this guy Jay Smooth from the Ill Doctrine hip hop video blog. Love it or hate it, you can't really dismiss it, the guy has valid points on many arguments.

--Verge

Memory Man Presents: Raekwon - Cuban Revolution

T.R.O.Y. forum member Memory Man dropped one of the most enjoyable mixtapes of the summer. It so happens to be the ideal appetizer before OB4CLII drops September 8th. This mix has been making its rounds on other sites but I felt since T.R.O.Y. Blog caters to an older audience many might have missed this and we wouldn't that... --Philaflava

Memory Man Presents: Raekwon - Cuban Revolution

* 1.Cuban Revolution Intro
* 2.All That Money Is Us
* 3.Run Away (ft. Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, Method Man & GZA)
* 4.Better Shoot Something
* 5.Cipher Born (ft. Ghostface Killah & U-God)
* 6.Get Your Shit Beat In (ft. Polite, Chip Banks, Ghostface Killah & Trife Diesel)
* 7.Slang Copulation (ft. Nas, Cappadonna & Ghostface Killah)
* 8.Curiosity
* 9.Iron Chef (ft. Ghostface Killah, Polite & Inspectah Deck)
* 10.A Wise Man
* 11.Cuban Revolution Interlude
* 12.We Gettin' Knots (ft. Fat Joe, Armageddon & Big Pun)
* 13.Fearless Ninjas (ft. Ghostface Killah)
* 14.The All-Time Lineup (ft. American CREAM Team, Inspectah Deck & Method Man)
* 15.Live Kid (ft. Notorious BIG & Ghostface Killah)

Download Links

Danger Mouse - DM Mix (98-01)

Before Gnarls Barkley, Danger Doom, The Grey Album, & bringing back Jemini The Gifted One, Danger Mouse was putting out his own hip-hop mixtapes which always included a handful of his early mash-ups or should I say blends. He released four promo mixtapes from 1998 to 2000. I hooked up all his remixes together into one folder full of Danger Mouse Remixes*. They were all well done. A blend that I really enjoy is Inspectah Deck's "Rec Room" vocals over Demastas "Feel No Guilt" instrumental. While a lot of the instrumentals used for the remixes were known to my ears, my three favorites which I included below didn't ring a bell. I think they were probably his own beats. All of you should enjoy these remixes, peep the samples below to give you a nice idea of the concept. Enjoy,

Download

Samples:

-- Thomas V

*One of the remix I included is from 2001 (wasn't on his promo mixtapes)

Inspectah Deck On The Set With 2Pac

Hate him or love him, it cannot be denied that 2Pac was a prolific recording artist. His available catalog of work grows with each passing year and even though it has become difficult to ascertain which songs are legitimate 2Pac recordings and which are the contrivances of DJs and assorted grave robbers, sometimes the detective work and the debate are half the fun.

But what's Wu got to do with all this? Well, recently, Philaflava's denizens discussed a Rebel INS verse that was not included on the album version of 2Pac's "I Got My Mind Made Up." Although most are in agreement that an Inspectah Deck verse was recorded for the song, there are now two mp3s floating around the intarwebz that are claimed to contain the missing verse:

http://www.zshare.net/audio/14280907a6649c93/ - Version where INS sounds somewhat offbeat, feels like a cut and paste job.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/14360852d2597a94/ - more natural sounding INS verse.

To make matters more complicated, another commenter claims that the actual O.G. version of the song is a Dogg Pound track that features both Deck and Lady of Rage that was handed over to 2Pac sans the aforementioned guest verses, with Deck's adlibs curiously retained. I'm not sure what to make of all this but whatever the case may be, peep the tracks and let us know what you think. --- Thun