Triple Crown Classic (Ohio Hip Hop)

Editor's Note: DJ Pos 2 stays deep in the Ohio rap scene, (particularly the one that is centered around his home city of Columbus) as both a participant and a fan. Impressed with Schenectady Fan's coverage of Ohio's underground, he now steps forward with his own compilation titled Triple Crown Classic (the triple crown refers to Columbus, Cincinatti, and Cleveland). Download the compilation, turn up the volume, and read what a scene verteran has to say about the artists and songs. For more on the Columbus scene peep Pos 2's blog The BustownStomp.

Download Triple Crown Classic Here

Intalec - "Frustration" ('96 Columbus)

Intalec's nickname is "Mentor For The City." He is the one that mentored the mhz as far as production, rocking shows, so on and so on. He was the Rakim to us in columbus, well to most of us anyways. No idea what he is doing these days.

Bros. Grimm - "Grimm Technique" ('96 Columbus)

Bros. grimm grew up in Columbus but moved to Philly sometime ago. They were one of the 1st groups to put out material in the Columbus hiphop scene as early as '94.

Andrew Bagadonuts - your finished! ('00 Columbus)

I put this one in here for Kevin B. he was a big fan of Andrew's and always wanted to know more of him. He was in Spitball for a lil bit and this is one of the songs he did solo. Beat produced by Przm, give a million bucks to anybody guessing that sample. It's from a n64 exclusive game.

Afaliah Afelyone - "Inhale/exhale" ('98 Columbus)

She was very popular in the late 90's in the columbus scene. I believe she is still around doing shows and such. This track was on a compilation from J.Rawls' Buka Records.

Foulmouf Dux - "Don't Get Confused" ('00 Columbus)

Supergroup of dj przm, jakki da motamouth, and copywrite. This song is from the EP they were working on that was eventually erased by Przm because he did not like how it was recorded. Here is one of the few tracks that exist.

BJ Digby - "Surrender" ('01 Cincinnati)

BJ digby is also known as Holmskillet. That's about all I know.

Johnny O and Sorcerer Crew - "Legally Def "/ "It Pays the Cost To Be The Boss" ('88 Cleveland)

This record here is actually from a compilation of Cleveland artists. It's hard to match up song titles with artist so this could be incorrect. But regardless, great LP coming out of cleveland in '88.

Mission Control ft. Rubix and Talib Kweli - Millionaires ('99 Cincinnati)

One of my fav. 12" releases. This is from the Mission Control compilation. Everywhere I looked I saw a sticker for this CD droppin back then.

Is What!? - "Parachutes" ('01 Cincinnati)

They are a live band hiphop group. I remember them doing shows in columbus as far back as '98.

Tha Alkaholiks - "21 And Over" ('95 Columbus/Cali)

Tash is originally from Columbus, Ohio and this is the song where he tells a story about the east side of Columbus.

Tavaris ft. Coolio - "Straight Butta Remix" ('95 Columbus)

This song was everywhere in Columbus and the video was played on Rap City but the crazy thing was dude was still working at a grocery store, then a few years later Foot Locker. I put the rmx on here because people are more familiar with the single mix, if they are even familiar at all.

Thought Set - Thought Set ('04 Columbus)

A group of juveniles that were once labled "the baby mhz." The Catalyst, who rhymes first, is still active with music and is signed with Kool G. Rap's label. This 12" was released overseas. Thought Set have not released any other material officially but Catalyst did a mixtape with Team Invasion in '08.

3ms ft. Metro (SA Smash) and Bru Lei - "Stop Frontin" ('01 Columbus)

This is the original to Camu Tao's classic "Hold The Floor." The sirens in the background are from Przm recording with his front door open while Bru was recording his verse.

Letter People - "Notcha Average" ('00 Columbus)

From a Przm-produced compilation of Columbus artists. This is one of the standout tracks from that CD.

Iyan Anomolie - Amazing Year (early 2000's Cleveland)

Iyan did his thing in Cleveland for a number of years and then went to cali in '06. He made an impact all thru ohio and was known to put on a very good show.

-- DJ Pos 2

Godfather Don - Billy Bathgate 12"

The good people over at DWG have released a limited amount(300) of this Godfather Don 12" of unreleased material from his 'Hazardous' Era. I can't offer enough thanks and praise to the heads that actually go out and unearth gems directly from the artists themselves. For me, the joint to really check for on here is 'Billy Bathgate', a classic story telling cut about the rise and fall of a drug dealer. The other two tracks, 'FromDaMental' and a remix for the track from 'Hazardous' called 'On And On', are also worth checking out.

The 'On And On' Remix has a slower more mellow type beat, which is fine by me.

Check out DWG's interview with Don here. 

While we're at it, check Onelegup's interview with Don here and Unkut's interview with Hydra label founder Jerry Famolari here. He mentions some other Don stuff that may still not have been released yet.

Previews:

Download the Billy Bathgate 12" here.

Backup link here.

Download the Hazardous album here.

If you haven't heard Godfather Don's Ill Funk Freaker release yet, check it here.

Also, I believe No Sleep still has some copies of the Godfather Don 90's Sessions left here.

I don't know if I need a new needle or what, but I kept getting this high range crackling sound every time I tried to rip the 'Billy Bathgate' cut. Please excuse that, I did as good as I could with it.

--Verge

New Poll & More In Store

Peep the sidebar and vote in the new poll. We value your input. Our next theme month - will it be Native Tongue, Ultramagnetics, Brand Nubian, or The Hit Squad. Let us know.

Oh, and look out for the May edition of Sounds Like the 90s. Coming. Very. Soon. And we'll be on our grind as always.

Recap 4/26/09 - 5/03/09

Gang Starr Month

Diggin' On Jazzmatazz

Gang Starr: Non-Album Tracks Volume 6

DJ Premier WBLS Thunderstorm Vol. 5

Gang Starr: Non-Album Tracks Volume 7

Gang Starr "Transmusicales, Rennes, France 2003"

Guru "Jazzmatazz Live! (2001)"

DJ Premier WBLS Thunderstorm Vol. 6+ Extras

DJ Third Rail - Gang Starr Megamix

Gang Starr Month: The Readers Respond

For the entirety of our Gang Starr Month coverage, click here.

Extras

No Rhyme Or Reason

Space Is The Place

Gang Starr Month: The Readers Respond

Editor's Note: Earlier this month we posed the question "where were you when you first heard a Gang Starr song?" We got a pretty decent flood of responses from around the globe, with readers naming various media outlets (from music video TV shows to to radio to video games) as their introduction to the duo's music. The songs that were mentioned span the entirety of Gang Starr's career, (even the days prior to their first record deal) and it appears that people from a wide range of ages count themselves as fans. All in all, this was a fun interactive piece, and the final product testifies to the group's enduring legacy and undeniable impact. Enjoy.

Video Shows

At RJ's crib, watching the video (Positivity) on Rap City. - Boothe

Rap City (muchmusic canada), saw Just To Get A Rep video. - Anonymous

On some alternative video show that had NitzerEbb, Front 242 and them BLAM Gangstarr with Manifest.. - Cenzi Stiles

5th grade. Living Room. Rap City. Mass Appeal. Epic. - Joshuawun

Just to get a rep, 13-14 years old, video on Yo MTV Raps, jaw dropped. - PAS

1989. I was hanging out at my friend's house watching videos on 'The Box' when the Manifest video came on. The song was so good that instead of going out to play football, we waited an hour until someone else requested it so that we could see it again. From that day on, I went to the record store faithfully twice a week just to buy that cassette as soon as it dropped. I think I still have it somewhere in a box. - Vincent Lopez

Watching TV at my Grandma's house and Manifest came on Pump It Up. - Ominous Red

The song that got me was 'Just To Get A Rep'. I was about 14 and living with my Moms at the time. I got home from school and would watch Ralph McDaniel's Video Music Box religiously. That day that 'Just To Get A Rep' got played, I went bananas. That was the most incredible sample I had ever heard. - Verge

Came home from high school back in 8th or 9th grade, and it was old skool wednesday on Rap City. They played the Mass Appeal video, and i was hooked right after that. that beat is very infectious. i remembered the lyrics to the song about 3-4 time i heard it! this was around late '96 early '97. - Brandan E.

Words That I manifest, 1989, I saw this on videotape because my g-parents refused to get cable, so my uncle's friend used to record Yo! MTV Raps for us. - Andrew Fly

I think I saw "DWYCK" on MTV in '94 – Anonymous

At my godfather's house b/c his daughter used to watch my brother and I after school. His daughter was watching The Box and I think it was Mass Appeal that came on... rediscovered many years later at a smoke and chill party w/ my friends in N. Philly – livininphilly

Rochester, NY. Circa 1989-90. Rap City with Da Mayor..."Manifest" video and the whole Malcolm X motif...classic HIPHOP, dubbed the whole tape from my man when it came out. PEACE – Anonymous

Probably the Just to Get a Rep video on Video Music Box. Shout out to Uncle Ralph! – Adam Rashid

I was watching and taping Yo Mtv Raps! when I heard ' who's gonna take the weight' I was hypnotised by the screeching horns. I recorded it to cassette with a homemade cable from my television to my tapedeck so I could listen to it on my walkman. I also remember renting the step in the arena-cd at the local moviestore. – Pierski76

I was like 9 or 10 watching Rap City at the Crib on Camac st. in Logan and Words I Manifest video came on and I've been a fan since – Phil Wilson

I watched video shows (Video Music Box, Rap City, Yo!) after school every day; and they started playing "Manifest," which I loved. - Werner Von Wallenrod

Watching Video Music Box @ home summer vacation and "Words I Manifest" came on.. Great times - brooklynsidv

Radio

That would be 1987 ... WRBB radio. – Dart Adams

i was in high school when i first heard words i manifest a buddy taped the song off of whpk here in chicago - Anonymous

Used to hear "Here Is The Proof" all the time on KZSU, didnt know it was the G to the A-N-G, so technically the first time I heard a song and knew it was them was when I saw the "Words I Manifest" video on a Saturday morning episode of Yo! Raps. – bottomlesspedro

I think the first time I heard of Gang Starr was on P-Fine's show way down in the 80s side of the dial (can't even remember the station anymore but best believe I still got the tapes to prove it!) and the song was the original mix of Manifest! that joint was crazy! – rhartworks

I was a DJ at radio station KZSC in Santa Cruz CA in '89 when the Words I Manifest 12" arrived. A big moment. - nachmann

Other

I heard "Above the Clouds" at my local megamart. I scanned "Moment of Truth" into the machine, crossed my fingers that the system wouldn't recognize the explicit lyrics sticker and deny this 14 year-old entry, and skipped to the song with Inspectah Deck." - Tom Doggett

I had finished my 3rd symester of community college and was at a party. I had taken the prom queen from the graduating class that year to a party. We ended up hooking up at this house party and ended up pushing in my regaurds in the master bedroom of the house. After all was said and done, my friend mentioned earlier put the cd 'moment of truth' in and skipped to 'jfk 2 lax'. I could hear it through the bedroom walls got up and went out to grab a beer only to forget i left homegirl in the bedroom and never came back. - randomkage

Honestly.. I dont know for sure. Gang Starr is honestly an act that crept into my pores and become as synonomous to me as hip-hop itself at some point. - restless _43

Well, I won't get much cred for this one, but the first GangStarr song I really paid attention to was "Right Where You Stand." I was about 12 when it came out and just getting into good rap music. - Anonymous

I heard Gang Starr for the first time playing streetball with some friends, one of whom brought the boombox and CD. The song was Above The Clouds, and I got instantly hooked by Gurus and Decks verses and this irresistible beat so much that it distracted me from the game. - Anonymous

I was working as a public defender in the South Bronx the birthplace of hip hop!! - Matt

Seventh grade, while playing "Thrasher: Skate & Destroy" on my PlayStation. That game had the dopest soundtrack of any I've ever played; that's the first I also heard Tribe, EPMD, Ultramag, Bam, etc...but "Just To Get A Rep" was the song that really resonated with me. - Echo Leader

Um, I was probably in my dorm room at Duke freshman year, downloading whatever crap on Kazaa RapReviews.com said was classic. - tray

i heard about gang starr in a video game i used to play as a kid haha.i believe it was dave mirra pro bmx. i dont rememeber if the cut was mass appeal or moment of truth. it was like 98 or 99. either way i was hooked.... still am - BYL

"Manifest" off a friends single when it came out...I was hooked on that freaking loop...have rarely complained about a Primo beat and I actually salivate when I hear a new one...best hip hop producer period. – DJ Seen?

I was in my friends basement stacked with hip hop cassettes. He had just picked up Daily Operation a couple days before and put it in his tape player. – tk burton

Just before they got signed...I used to chill with most of them...lil dap (group home), jeru tha damaja...those were the days.... Urban Jibaro

DJ 3rd Rail - Gang Starr Megamix

DJ 3rd Rail is one of the dopest hip hop DJs to ever come out of Chicago. In the late 90s, he released a classic Gang Starr Foundation mixtape. Here is the tape rip. Make sure to check out the audio samples!

Side A
1. Alongwaytogo
2. Lovesick
3. To Be A Champion
4. Positivity
5. Suckas Need Bodyguards
6. 2 Deep
7. Mass Appeal
8. Credit Is Due
9. Step In The Arena
10. I'm The Man

Side B
1. Speak Ya Clout
2. You Know My Steez
3. Up Against The Wall
4. Da Bitchez
5. Total Wreck
6. Take It Personal
7. Dwyck
8. Paper Thin
9. Doe In Advance
10. So Wassup
11. Not Your Average

Preview:

Side A


Side B


Download both sides in one mediafire folder:
http://www.mediafire.com/?yylz1gdy30x

--Roy Johnson

DJ Premier WBLS Thunderstorm Vol.6 + Extras

Unless they are more to be released, here we have the last volume(vol.6) of the DJ Premier Thunderstorm WBLS radio show series. The selection of the tracks played on here are different from the ones from previous volumes; the main reason being that this show is from 1995(based on the tracklist) while the previous ones were aired in 1994. This is my personal favorite mix of all the thunderstorm shows that I've heard! For all you diggers, the show starts with a demo from a dope unsigned emcee called Rambo; I believe that the track is produced by Ski as his name is mentioned on the first break. I splitted that demo into a single file which you can download below this mix! Premier then mixes your favorites mid 90's hip hop tunes. Bahamadia even makes an appearance and talks about her then up&coming album Kollage.

Enjoy,

Tracklist
01. Rambo - Like That (Demo) Produced By Ski
02. Notorious B.I.G. - Who Shot Ya
03. Ol' Dirty Bastard - Brooklyn Zoo
04. Smif N Wessun - Stand Strong
05. Dr. Dre - Keep Their Heads Ringin
06. Half-A-Mil - Anyday Can Be Ya Last
07. Dark Skinned Assassin - Lock Shit Down
08. Keith Murray - Pay Per View
09. Jay-Z - In My Lifetime
10. Showbiz & A.G. - Next Level (Nyte Time Mix)
11. Big L - Put It On (L.G. Remix)
12. Heather B. - All Glocks Down
13. Lost Boyz - Lifestyles Of The Rich And Shameless

Download

Shout Outs to Serch4beatz, & Verge!
Cover Done By Dirt_Dog

Rambo - Like That (Demo) Produced By Ski


Bonus:
Are you interested in learning how to draw a DJ Premier Logo? Check out this instructional guide done by dirt_dog. PDF

In case you missed any thunderstorm volumes, click here to get all of them.

-- Thomas V