DJ Stretch Armstrong “Volume Four” Mixtape (1996)

As I continue on through the box of tapes that I located in my basement, here is a semi mysterious DJ Stretch Armstrong "Volume Four" tape. I could find zero info on this one, so I turned to (the mixtape master of the Philaflava forum) Andyman187 for some help. He determined that this tape is a recording from a Stretch & Bobbito show on Hot97 that aired Sundays from 12pm-2pm sometime in 1996. Andyman187 was also kind enough to study the audio and put together a tracklist for me. If anyone out there can help by filling in the blanks or correcting any mistakes, please leave a comment. And the .rar files contain all the scans plus the full j-card.

Side A
01 KRS-One & Lord Finesse - SP-1200 Freestyle
02 Jay-Z - I Shot Ya (Remix) Freestyle
03 Busta Rhymes - Freestyle
04 Capone-N-Noreaga - Freestyle
05 Beatnuts - Find That
06 Bahamadia - Three The Hard Way
07 Pete Rock & The Large Professor - The Rap World
08 Capone-N-Noreaga - Illegal Life
09 Artifacts - Art Of Facts
10 M.O.P. - World Famous
11 McGruff feat. LOX - Reppin Uptown
12 Sun Dullah (aka King Sun) feat. Doo Wop - NY Love (2Pac Diss)

Side B
01 Heltah Skeltah - Intro (Here We Come)
02 Heltah Skeltah - Freestyle
03 Heltah Skeltah - Sean Price (Exclusive)
04 Heltah Skeltah - Soldiers Gone Psycho
05 Akinyele feat. CJ Moore - Freaky
06 Mobb Deep - Street Life
07 Shadez Of Brooklyn - Change
08 De La Soul - Itzsoeezze
09 Shabaam Shadeeq - Freestyle
10 Shabaam Shadeeq - On A Mission
11 Stretch & Bobbito - Shout Outs

DOWNLOAD SIDE A

DOWNLOAD SIDE B

enjoy,
--dirt_dog

Mapping Out The Stretch And Bobbito Show (Demos: Juggaknots, Kool Keith, etc..)

We've finally decided to give this a go. It will be tough, no doubt. But if everybody who has any little bit of knowledge at all about the WKCR legacy, would add on and build with us, it is possible that we can map out the show's entire history.

We've got people who are willing to rip your tapes to mp3 and mail them back to you. The Big Sleep has set up a "Stretch And Bobbito" blog to archive and keep the list of shows, dates, and guests, all together in one place.

Here's a few treats that have surfaced since we started this mission:

Juggaknots - Genuine (demo?)

MF Doom - Gas Drawls (demo)

Rampage - Mad Niggas (demo)

LL Cool J - ?? Unreleased Unknown demo

Organized Konfusion - Why (OG Buckwild demo version)

Showtime - I Walk The Line (demo)

Aiello Wilson - 80 Proof (demo)

Kool Keith - Time Is Now (unreleased demo)[best quality on the internet]

Nas - The Life We Chose (DJ Eli Remix)

[Download them all here.]

This is only a sampler of all the freshness that has surfaced so far.

Check the "Mapping Out The Stretch And Bobbito Show History" thread here for more treats.

Peace and thanks to everyone who has helped contribute so far, I hope I'm not forgetting anyone. Leave a comment if I forgot you:

The Big Sleep, aleph, Digital Stimulation, Andyman187, dj step one, RELM, jamo609, Howfresh, dirtywaters, serch4beatz, recogthereal, boogs, sen, sloppyseconds, Skeptic, Ho1ogramz, djkingflow, Dat_Triflin_Ass_Dude, megafresh, dubs, tuttsifruttsi, Kwestionmark, pradadon, Duddy, Roy Johnson

Most of those links are to really good cassette rip blogs you might want to check out.

Peace to Stretch and Bobbito.

Stretch may be coming through with a full, almost completely accurate, list of all the show dates and guests, soon. Hopefully some show rips, too. Stay tuned.

--Verge

Help A Blogger Out: 1997 Roc Marciano EP

The last one of these I did, didn't yield much help at all. But I will continue to bother you because I trust in your never ending reservoir of hip hop knowledge.

This started out over a year ago, with me looking like an idiot in trying to describe this song in a request thread.

All I could remember was sampled singing that went,"yah, yah, yah-yahhh", and a few random lines. I deduced that the name of the artist was Black Prophet and the song title was Extra Mile, and I was pretty wrong.

It was played on Bobbito a few times and so was a remix.

Well, almost a year ago, I found an old CD that had a bunch of random tracks from various radio shows on it.

I was in luck, but not 100%. I found what I always thought of as the remix to this song I was looking for.

Check it out, it's ill:

"The Prophecy" Mix #2?

Okay, so now I post this mix in the requests, hoping it will help someone out there to recognize what I was looking for. Sure enough, within the day, a T.R.O.Y. poster and fellow former Stretch and Bobbito follower named mathematik, came through lovely.

He ripped the song with the "yah, yah, yah yahhh" sample in it straight from tape.

And he made a strong guess, that we all wound up agreeing on, that this was a young Roc Marciano from the UN.

The sound quality isn't great, but it's enough for you to recognize it if you heard it before.

Check it:

"The Prophecy" Mix #1?

Well, now we still had to confirm who it was and what exactly it was from. Being that Bobbito had played it in regular rotation, not in a "Demo Corner" type block, I guessed this had to be a vinyl. And there was two mixes so it was doubtful that this was a demo.

I decided to send these songs to Alkuttraz, from Crates Of AG, because of his deep knowledge on mid 90's obscure vinyl. Sure enough he sends me back the answer I wanted:

Alkuttraz said-

"this is rocky marciano. it's an ep from '97 called noose productions volume 1. hella dope record.

side a is marciano and ox as 'kuku productions'. track is called 'the prophecy' and has 3 different mixes."

Awesome. Great. Done. Now the vinyl has to pop up on one of those uber rare VLS blogs, right?

Nope.

But this week we got a little treat. New T.R.O.Y. forum poster, Sebastion Shaw, posted the third mix of this song which is another banger!

Props also to philosophic and bosmann for putting in work to get the quality better sounding on this one.

Peep it:

"The Prophecy" Mix #3?

Download all three tracks here.

And please keep your eyes open for this:

12" Vinyl Title - Noose Productions EP

Artists - Marciano and Ox as Kuku Productions

Tracks - "The Prophecy" 3 mixes

Year - 1997

Thanks to mathematik, Quotashun, alkuttraz, Sebastion Shaw, philosophic, and bosmann.

Also thanks to aReal for almost finding a rip of the vinyl. But it was actually a kid who just took all the rips from T.R.O.Y. and posted them on youtube.

And also check the hyperlinks on the peoples' names here. Most of them have good blogs that you might want to visit. And since summer is officially over, enjoy this unbelievably ill Roc Marcy cut, "Snow".

--Verge

Video: Kool Keith dancin' for Ronald Regan

In the early '80s, Kool Keith was apart of a NYC breaker crew called Activity and they performed for President Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Back in '92 Bobbito conducted an interview with Keith and this was brought up. To quote the great Keith Thornton "Regan was a bitch-ass n*gga."

Peep the video, but be warned there is no sound due to the copyrights. Keith is in the yellow outfit and steals the show around the 2:30 mark. --Philaflava



Props to Memory Man & Tom C3 for the assist.

CM Famalam Freestyles 1998-2002 (400 MB)

Today, we're presenting you with 400 MB worth of freestyles from Bobbito's CM Famalam Radio Show (1998-2002). Most of the individual mp3s are lengthy sessions. Highlights include segments from J-Live, Atmosphere, Sir Menelik, Guru, MF Doom, Camp Lo, All Natural, Juggaknots, Non Phixion, Necro, Yak Ballz, Common Sense, etc. I acquired this stuff in a trade back in 2003.



Volume 1

Volume 2

Volume 3

Volume 4



All tracks are untitled. It wasn't worth the time for me to do playlists because I'm honestly not feeling the vast majority of these freestyle sessions, but I know that a lot of people love this stuff.



Preview:



J-Live





All Natural





Nes of Dirty Waters fame also posted a collection of CM Famalam highlights from 2001



--Roy Johnson

Stretch n Bobbito Treats: Shook Ones Pt.1 (Beatnuts Remix) + EPMD - Rampage Demo

"Someone offered me $500 for the acetate of the Beatnuts' remix of Mobb Deep 'Shook Ones Part 1'." - Stretch Armstrong

The above is quoted from this interview with Stretch Armstrong by DJ Eli over at the TurntableLab's blog. Check the interview here.

I had this on a cassette dubbed from the infamous Stretch and Bobbito show back in 94 and didn't realize it was a Beatnuts remix. I always figured it was a Stretch homemade remix or an acapella blended over a rare instrumental. Well, needless to say, I lost that tape probably within a month of taping it off the radio and recently is the first time I heard it since. Now, I'm not really a religious guy in any way at all. But I always thought that if there was a heaven, all my lost Stretch and Bob tapes would be there along with everything else I ever lost. Like all my WBAI, WNYU, Red Alert, Hank Love and Halfpint, and Awesome Two tapes. Plus all the shows I didn't have on tape. Not to mention every rare piece of vinyl ever pressed in the world. In this heaven, I would have unlimited copies of everything and my celestial neighbors would envy my godly collection. But in order for them to get a copy of anything[which I have unlimited amounts of anyway] they would have to offer me up 3 virgins of different ethnicities for me to have my way with. If heaven is anything like that at all, may the good lord strike me down before I finish this post.

Oh well. Time to stop dreaming and move it on along. Here's another excerpt from that Stretch interview:

"Ha- well you did manage to get me to give you the EPMD/LL Cool J "Rampage" demo. How ill is that? We used to play that on the air like it was no thing. For those of you that don't know it, the beat is different, and you hear the 2" stop, LL tell the engineer to take it back to the top, and then he spits rhymes that never made the album. It's a demo, but it's also a snapshot of the recording, hearing LL talk and experiment a little."

Yeah, I had this one on tape, too. I'm not sure if the one we have for you here is the entire version of that demo. But, hey, it's 3 minutes of some ill hip hop history. LL destroys it, as he was hungry again at that time trying to get back in the limelight. You'll notice that PMD spits the famous, "While you were banging on tables, I was banging Snow White," backwards. Instead, he says,"While I was banging on tables, you were banging Snow White."

After I stop typing, enjoy both the Shook Ones Beatnuts remix and the partial Rampage demo. Thanks go out to jamo609 and serch4beatz, both of the Philaflava T.R.O.Y. forum. The amount of rare Stretch and Bobbito shows and hard to find mid 90's mixtapes that these guys have been uploading is abundant. Don't sleep, that's only one thread out of hundreds where these got unearthed. Last week officially marked my first year as being a part of the Philaflava message boards, and I can't stress enough how conducive to my hip hop life it has been.

If you're not down, do yourself a solid and join up. You won't regret it. Just make sure you go directly to the T.R.O.Y. forum.

Mobb Deep - Shook Ones Pt.1 (Beatnuts Remix)

http://www.divshare.com/download/7692939-269

EPMD, LL Cool J - Rampage (Demo)

http://www.divshare.com/download/7728179-f08

Thanks again go to jamo609 and serch4beatz.

--Verge

J-Treds - Freestyle Spotlight

I've always thought of J-Treds as one of the most underrated MCs from the late 90s NY hip hop scene. Not only did he rip shit on his solo releases and all of the Indelibles tracks, but he also blessed a good number of radio shows and mixtape DJs with top notch pre-written, improvisational freestyles.

I've assembled nine of his dopest radio show/mixtape appearances from the late 90s/early 00s. If you have a freestyle that isn't listed here, please hit us up in the comments section. Also, if anyone has a picture of him, post a link. I have absolutely no idea what dude looks like, even though I probably have just about everything in his known discography.

First up, a 15 minute Night Train freestyle session. J simply murders this shit:

Night Train Freestyle Session

http://www.divshare.com/download/7505713-856

Next, a 7 minute freestyle session with the Juggaknots:

Stretch & Bobbito Freestyle Session

http://www.divshare.com/download/7506026-2b2

Some more Stretch & Bobbito segments:

J-Treds & Company Flow - Stretch & Bobbito Freestyle #1 (5 Minutes)

http://www.divshare.com/download/7506024-55a

J-Treds & Company Flow - Stretch & Bobbito Freestyle #2

http://www.divshare.com/download/7506025-ccd

J-Treds - Stretch & Bobbito Freestyle

http://www.divshare.com/download/7506023-aed

Here's some miscellaneous shit that came from freestyle sessions. I isolated the J-Treds segments.

Eddie Ill & DL Freestyle #1

http://www.divshare.com/download/7512074-743

Eddie Ill & DL Freestyle #2

http://www.divshare.com/download/7512075-078

Lyricist Lounge Freestyle

http://www.divshare.com/download/7512076-d91

Unknown & Mek Freestyle

http://www.divshare.com/download/7512077-503

--Roy Johnson

Poops Spotlight Pt.2 (WKCR,WNYU Demos)

A couple of months ago, we re-introduced you to the incredible emcee who fell off the face of the rap game before he even really got started, Poops. Refer to this link, you won't be disappointed - Part 1

This time around we bring you four more ill appearances from the god; including cuts with Pumpkinhead, A Butta[Natural Elements], Automatic, and a freestyle session from an episode of the legendary Stretch & Bobbito show.

The first cut is a promo called Flushed that was a collaborative effort with Pumpkinhead and most likely produced by FB. This was originally aired on Stretch & Bobbito but re-aired on the 10th Planet radio show[co hosted by yours truly] on WPRB. I no longer have any of the original tapes of the 10th Planet, but am in the process of regaining a good amount of them on mp3 through a follower of the T.R.O.Y. blog. Sean g. responded in the comments of the original Poops post and we've been corresponding since. So, you can thank him for coming through with this one. Peep his blog out here, it's a pretty interesting hodge podge of cool shit worth checking out.

The second joint is a freestyle with Pumpkinhead live on the Stretch & Bobbito show. They go back and forth for few dope verses over some pretty ill beats that I still haven't identified. Unfortunately it's not the entire session, but it's a solid couple of verses you should enjoy. Thanks to Roy Johnson for uploading this at the T.R.O.Y. forum.

The last two joints were re-discovered by Nes over at the Dirtywaters blog. The first one is another solo banger of a demo called Suckas. I had this one on tape years ago and lost the tape within a week of having it. The other track, Lyrics, is another collabo featuring Automatic, A Butta, and once again Pumpkinhead. I believe this was originally aired on WNYU.

Do yourself a favor and don't sleep on any of these tracks. Poops was a goat in the making, in my opinion. It's a shame that he gave up so soon.

Previews:

Download these four gems here.

--Verge

8-Off The Assassin (Agallah)

He was formerly known as 8-Off The Assassin, but changed the name because it was controversial; 8-Off is a variation of the name Adolf, as in Adolf Hitler. 8-Off was first recognized by Matty C as he featured him in the unsigned hype section of The Source. He would later sign to YZ's 720 Management label. He was heard for the first time on a Stretch & Bobbito freestyle session in 1992. A year later, he would make his first appearance on wax on the chorus of "Acid Rain" off YZ's second album. He showed his first production skills on "Do U Know My Style" off Champ MC's first album in 1994. After producing & hanging out with Onyx, 8-Off started working on solo work. He released his first 12" "Ghetto Girl" and his second 12" "Alize For Dolo" Feat. Mr Cheeks. He shot two videos for both tracks. Unfortunately, his album never saw the light of the day as the label folded. Only a few promo copies were handed out... Below, you will find everything leading from his unsigned hype appearance to the vls of "Alize For Dolo (Remix)" and the two videos as well as rarities. Today, Agallah is part of the Purple City Byrdgangs affiliated with Dipset.

1992
8-Off featured on The Source's Unsigned Hype: Nov '92 Issue #38


Stretch & Bobbito Freestyle '92 w/ YZ


1993
YZ - Acid Rain off The Ghetto's Been Good To Me
(8-Off can be heard on the chorus)


1994
Champ MC - Do U Know My Style off Ghetto Flava
(8-Off's First Production)


1995
8-Off - Wrap You Lips Around This (Solo Album - Unreleased)






8-Off - Ghetto Girl/ Neighborhood Hoe VLS






8-Off - Ghetto Girl (Live) off Ill Style Live


8-Off - Pass Da 'Tron (Feat. Panama P.I.) off Underground Airplay: Volume IV


1996
8-Off - Alize For Dolo (Remix) VLS






Videos
8-Off - Ghetto Girl

8-Off - Alize For Dolo (Feat. Mr Cheeks)


-- Thomas V

A Freestyle, A Sample, A Beat Reborn

The internet, specifically philaflava.com's T.R.O.Y. forum, is a miraculous place.

Recently, a poster named "True King" requested assistance identifying an instrumental that Nas rapped over on the renowned CM Famalam show (click here to listen). Several posters agreed that the instrumental was an original Stretch Armstrong production that never surfaced anywhere else. A poster named "Dirty Waters" identified the sample as coming from Bobby Hutcherson's Natural Illusions LP after "Yohan" suggested that a skilled producer attempt to recreate the beat. "thomas v" further specified that the sample in question appears on the cut "Rain Every Thursday." This prompted "Lyrical Gymnastics" to upload Natural Illusions and our fellow blogger Roy Johnson to upload a two volume collection of Hutcherson samples (Vol. 1 & Vol. 2). The most impressive turn came however, when "Charlie Manson" responded to Yohan's challenge and produced his version of the beat, which I have to say is DOPE AS FUCK, very close to Stretch's original, and most importantly, available for us to download.

Now if that isn't teamwork, then what is? --- Thun

Bonus : Part 2 Of The Nas freestyle

Updated 07/13/09: Re-up of CharlieManson's remake of the beat here.

Blockhead Blesses Us - Part Deux

Stretch & Bobbito + Underground Railroad Freestyles

http://rapidshare.com/files/143437038/radio_freestyles.zip.html

1) smoothe da hustla on stretch and bob

2)l swift on NYU

3)percee p on stretch and bob

4)biz markie and redman live

5)jay-z on stretch and bob

6)artifacts on stretch and bob

7)kool kim on underground railroad

8)mf grimm on stretch and bob

9)omniscence on stretch and bob

10)genesis on stretch and bob

11)tash and mikah 9 on stretch and bob

12)artifacts on underground railroad

13)redman live

14)legion of d.u.m.e. on stretch and bob

15)godfather don and kool keith on stretch and bob

16)az on stretch and bob

17)special ed on stretch and bob

18)tony bones on stretch and bob

Another demo from Block's Stretch & Bob tapes

http://rapidshare.com/files/139340574/stretch_demo_s.zip.html

1)mr. cee mixtape session: master ace , paula perry and lord digga

2)both sides: surge

3)bustin' a nut: lord digga

4)born to live (demo version): O.C.

5)A.E.I.O.U.: the arsonists.

Apologies for the shitty quality on some of these but you motherfuckers know how old tapes can be.

-- Philaflava

Blockhead Blesses Us

Stretch & Bobbito's demo tape

1)Skam demo
2)talk about it: skam
3)mysteries of life: Lewis Parker
4)SOS demo
5)east/west: the colony
6)problem child:constant deviants
7)blue: kurious
8)lyrical professor:genesis
9)come inside: tony bones
10)deep in your bones: tony bones
11)better then you: mad scientist
12)born to live (original demo version): O.C.

http://rapidshare.com/files/149761636/Stretch_and_bob_demo_s.zip.html

Blockhead, producer and part-time Philaflava poster laced us with this Stretch & Bob demo tape from his stash. Hopefully there will be more to come.

http://www.philaflava.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=100171

-- Philaflava