Tuesday 26 May 2009

The Bridge Wars

"You love to hear the story again and again"

Y'all know the routine

The feud began with Queensbridge based producer Marley Marl & MC Shan's track "The Bridge" in late 1985. The track recited the praises of their home borough and some of its earlier rap crews, and was taken to imply that Queensbridge was where hip hop began, even though it doesn't actually say that. The lyrics that apparently raised the issue were:

You love to hear the story, again and again,
Of how it all got started way back when,
The monument is right in your face,
Sit and listen for a while to the name of the place,
The Bridge,
Queensbridge

Though MC Shan states Queensbridge is where his crew got started, and his birth place, he has stated that he never meant the song to say that Queensbridge is the birthplace of Hip Hop at all, "everyone knows that hip hop was started in the Bronx." Statements can be found in the 2003 documentary Beef, which features the original battle footage.

Taking offense, South Bronx based KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions released the track South Bronx, which was similar in terms of content to Shan and Marl's track except singing the praises of the South Bronx rather than Queensbridge, and made the argument for it being the real birthplace of hip hop. The song first premiered at a concert where MC Shan had just performed "The Bridge". The track directly attacks MC Shan with lyrics like:

Party people in the place to be, KRS-One attacks,
Ya got dropped off MCA cause the rhymes you wrote was wack,
So you think that hip-hop had its start out in Queensbridge,
If you popped that junk up in the Bronx you might not live

Before "The Bridge" was released, MC Shan was signed to MCA Records, however he left the label after releasing an almost unheard single entitled "Feed the World". Another line by KRS directly attacking Shan was:

Show all the people in the place that you are wack,
Instead of trying take out LL, you need to take your homeboys off the crack

This referred to the fact that MC Shan had attacked LL Cool J on the A side of "The Bridge" with a song called "Beat Biter", whereby Shan claimed that LL Cool J had stolen beats from Marley Marl. LL Cool J never directly responded to this claim and the impending battle between Shan and BDP drew the attention away from it. Marley Marl later produced most of LL's Mama Said Knock You Out album. Slate magazine described it thus: "In 1986, it was a beef that launched the star of KRS-One, when his withering attacks on MC Shan effectively ended his rival's career."

The Juice Crew soon responded with the track "Kill That Noise" on Shan's album Down by Law which took various shots at KRS-One and mocked his taking offense in the first place. He even denies saying hip hop started in Queens, and suggests BDP is just trying to jump on their bandwagon.

In a more recent interview on THE FOUNDATION (Jayquan), Shan defended and explained the misunderstood line:

JQ : Did you ever say in any song, interview or anywhere that Hip Hop started in Queens ?
Shan : I only said HOW it started in QUEENSBRIDGE, not over the world. The new Source magazine says I still stand on the fact that Hip Hop started in Queens - writers get it twisted. The song the Bridge starts off saying M.C. Shan & Marley Marl in the house tonight - they wanna tell you a story about where THEY come from.

But KRS continued to play upon the "response to the claim that hip hop started in Queens" premise with his next response, "The Bridge Is Over", featuring lyrics such as:

What's the matter with your MC, Marley Marl?
Don't you know that he's out of touch?
What's the matter with your DJ, MC Shan?
On the wheels of steel Marley sucks
You better change what's coming out your speaker
Your better off talking about your wack Puma sneaker
Cuz Bronx created Hip-Hop
Queens will only get dropped
Most of KRS's fire was directed specifically at Marley Marl and MC Shan, although he occasionally exchanged insults with other Juice Crew members such as Mr. Magic and Roxanne Shante, who had earlier been at the center of the Roxanne Wars, which were a predecessor to this battle. Shante, mentioned in a very vulgar reference in "the Bridge Is Over", released a rap titled "Have A Nice Day", ghostwritten by Juice Crew colleague Big Daddy Kane (who was not otherwise personally involved in the battle), in which she took a shot at Boogie Down Productions with the line:
KRS One, you should go on vacation,
with a name sounding like a wack radio station.
and MC Scott La Rock, you should be ashamed,
when T La Rock said 'it's yours', he didn't mean his name

As she also demanded that BDP stood for Broken Down Punks.

Mr. Magic himself was the actual cause of the whole war in the first place, as KRS and Scott La Rock had earlier approached him with a 12" single they had recorded entitled "Success is the Word", (under the group name "12:41"). Magic dismissed it as "wack", and then, after forming BDP, they decided to take it out on Mr. Magic and Marley Marl's popular "Juice Crew", using the whole "Queens versus Bronx" issue as a premise.

Shan continues recounting in the FOUNDATION interview:

Mr. Magic dissed BDP and said some stuff about their record on the radio, and he [KRS] made me the target. I wasn't gonna keep ridin' that Kris/Shan thing...people kept sayin "why aren't you answering back"? I'm like why?...I gave him a career already.

After "Kill That Noise", Shan himself became more passive in the battle, as the above statement indicated. But meanwhile, Two other Queensbridge residents, Rockwell Noel & Poet, joined in the battle, resulting from the inferior responses from MC Shan and the juice crew offering the strongest attack against BDP. Their first single was entitled "Beat You Down", in which he reiterates that no one actually said that hip hop started in the Bridge, but then points out that the area was nevertheless very prominent in the early days of rap, and even had superior sound equipment, causing it to surpass the Bronx as the leader of hip hop.

BDP is trying to dis, we know that they're on it
Every time we make a record, they get disappointed
Nobody said hip hop started out in the Bridge;
but now you've dissed all of Queens, so we know how you live
You try to get paid talkin bout my town;
when I battle you punk, I'mo beat - you - DOWN
How could you say the Bridge is over? We've just begun;
you soft sucker MC, KRS-1
Can you believe it, party people? He raps like a rasta!
Boogie Down Productions are full of imposters;
They say things, that are not true
Now the Poet and Noel will break it down to you;
Bronx started hip hop, but couldn't maintain it;
now they're gettin jealous 'cause Queens has made it:
THAT's why those suckers are trying to dis;
'cause we're getting paid, and they're getting pissed!

The line "Rap like a rasta" was aimed at the way "The Bridge Is Over" was recorded, with a reggae flavor, in a Jamaican accent. The track had been one of the first blendings of rap with reggae.

Ending & aftermath

In 1987, attempting to calm down an unrelated domestic dispute involving BDP colleague D-Nice, BDP's DJ Scott La Rock was shot dead. Even after La Rock's death, the feud still continued.

MC Shan's song "Juice Crew Law" contained several anonymous shots at KRS. At the same time, other rappers joined in making songs dissing Queensbridge, such as Cool C's which mocked "Juice Crew Law" and attacks both Shan and Shanté, and MitchSki's "Juice Crew Dis""Brooklyn Blew Up the Bridge, South Bronx Helped us out", which made fun of Shan's on-stage appearances. Another rapper named Butchy B stepped in for Queensbrige, with "Go Magic", which was a promotional for Mr. Magic's WBLS radio show that begins

I heard about you suckers with your Juice Crew Dis,
you went and made a record that the people go and miss"

and adds

all you suckers with the lipstick need to get a dress;
Looking like a faggot, jocking Mr. Magic,
acting like a parasite, leach or maggot...

The lipstick reference was aimed at the rival station "KISS FM", which used a pair of lips as its logo. He followed up with "Beat Down KRS", in which he among other things, mocks the "didadidadiday" chant of "The Bridge is Over". KRS took minutes to respond. He answered in 1987 on his featured appearance on "Moshitup" with Just-Ice, from the album "Kool & Deadly" . There, he states

They run they run they run they run they run their lyrics through
But when they finish rhymin you have not heard nuttin new
So this one dedicated to the one that run their rhyme-a
Time after time after time after time
I know what you will say before you jump up on the stage
But make sure you don't say "Di-di-di-dah-di-di-di-day"
Or I'll have to look for you and beat you all up
So when you see me in the street just keep your mouth shut

In 1988 [Rockwell Noel] and the Poet a/k/a Blaq Poet followed up with Taking U Out, which was even stronger than "Beat You Down", and harshly attacked both KRS's then wife, Ms. Melodie, and rival radio station WRKS's DJ Red Alert, who was on BDP's side of the battle. KRS responded with "Still Number 1, the Numero Uno Mix", where he calls Poet "soft" and uncreative, and accuses him of "sounding like Kane".

Ka-Re-eSe Uno es fresco (Spanish for: KRS is fresh.)
Poet is soft ya know
Do not speak when grown people are speaking
Don't interrupt the class when I'm teaching
Turn your text-books now to BDP
And see
"Criminal Minded" and "By All Means Necessary"
I'm sort of like a bounty hunter,
I search for the best and crush the motherfucker.

He concludes the song with the lyrics:

Your first mistake was to answer back
to the undefeated master of beating suckers silly
No, I'm not from Philly
My name isn't Magic, Poet, or Billy
It's KRS, especially if it doesn't take you too long
to find out where I shift
And shifted back
To simply say you're wack
Weak, soft and really never posed a threat
In fact, I haven't heard a decent lyric from you yet
I'll bet creativity is something hard to get
As someone does your music and lyrics you slept
So step
Because obviously you haven't heard about my rep
I am undefeated, allow me to go more in depth
Boy you know - I'm still number one

Although conspicuously absent from this counterattack was any rebuttal to Poet's attack on his wife.

Rockwell Noel & the Poet never seemed to respond to this. Some have suggested that their 1989 single "Massacre" may have been a 'between the lines' response, with Poet making anoynymous references like "sucker MC's try to test me...". He later went on to be a part of the groups PHD (Poet + DJ Hot Day), and Screwball; and some of the records released throughout the next decade or so, took numerous pot shots at KRS.

In particular, Screwball's "The Bio" and "You Love To Hear The Stories" (a followup to the original "The Bridge", and which featured MC Shan) recounted the story of him entering the battle, and being basically ignored, and that it thankfully never escalated into physical violence; and the latter pointed to the Nas album Illmatic (1994) as proof that "the Bridge is still live". Key lines from both:

Back when I first laced the wax with rhymes
It was eighty sa'en, I was a crazy sa'en
Niggas tried to diss the Bridge I came bustin'
Even quoted Doug E Fresh sayin we was nothin'
You don't believe that, you know I called his bluffin'
Made 'em go buy a click and put 'em on patrol
You know P-O-E-T stayed in war mode
My gats stayed unlocked ready to unload
Loungin' waitin for the drama to unfold
But luckily we never had to go there
Y'all niggas love to hear the stories again and again
Of how it all got started way back then

See it was Marly, MC Shan, the Juice Crew

Queensbridge, hip-hop land, those niggas blew (u
p)
Nobody said it started there

But some playa hater tried to end a party t
here
Niggas didn't care they burned it, put it in the air

In 1988, BDP and KRS-One fuels their feud with the juice crew again with "My Philosophy".

you walk down the street and get jumped
You got to have style, and learn to be original
and everybody's gonna wanna diss you
like me, we stood up for the South Bronx
and every sucka mc had a response
You think we care? I know that they are on the tip
my posse from the Bronx is thick
and we're real live, we walk correctly
a lot of suckas would like to forget me
but they can't, cause like a champ
I have got a record of knocking out the frauds in a second
on the mic, I believe that you should get loose
I haven't come to tell you I have juice

On Shan's album Play it Again, Shan, the track "Time For Us To Defend Ourselves" contains a response to "My Philosophy".

Knowledge ain't nothin but a book on your shelf
With justice in mind think deep to yourself

In 1990, Boogie Down Productions released the concept album Edutainment. It has been praised by critics for its insightfulness and hailed as BDP's most experimental album. KRS-One took on such topics as politics, racism, self identity, slavery, black on black violence, police brutality & corruption and even the meat industry. But, even though KRS-One covered a range of subjects, he couldn't resist a Juice Crew dis. On the second track "Blackman In Effect" he states:

This is the language of the people ready to hear the truth
I've got no juice, 'cause I'm not getting juiced
To have juice means you kiss and lick a lot of booty
To have respect means you simply know or knew me
Heard what I had to say and felt as though you'd say that too
I'm not down with a juice-crew
But anyway I say today the message I create is great
I don't preach hate, I simply get the record straight

Legacy

During the nineties, the beef was not forgotten by fans or the participants, but rather fondly remembered as a classic hip hop rivalry. It has since been referenced in hip hop lyrics by the likes of Cormega, Das EFX, Nas, Cunninlynguists, Big Punisher, Supernatural, Chino XL and Mars ILL. MC Shan and KRS-One themselves acknowledged the rivalry's important place in hip hop history when they appeared together in a commercial for the Sprite soft drink in the mid-nineties, in which they exchanged battle rhymes inside a boxing ring. However, the respective fortunes of the pair in the nineties were very different; MC Shan, widely seen by hip hop listeners as the loser of the conflict (should there have been one), never really recovered his reputation and later effectively retired, while KRS forged out a successful solo career and remains an important figure in hip hop. Nevertheless, on the compilation QB's Finest (a showcase of Queensbridge hip hop artists) in 2001, MC Shan took one last parting shot at KRS-One with the comment

Hip hop was set out in the dark
The Bridge was never Over, we left our mark

KRS-One and Marley Marl have since officially retired the feud, with the release of their collaborative 2007 album, Hip-Hop Lives. The album features two tracks further exemplifying the end of the feud: "The Victory" (produced by DJ Premier) which sees KRS on the same track as Blaq Poet, and "Rising" (as in "Rising To the Top"), in which KRS recounts the whole story from his perspective (a struggling former group home resident trying to enter the business in a period when "answer records" were popular, sparked off by Shante's "Roxanne's Revenge"). You can see this (and the changed attitude towards the former rivals) in the line:

Answer records were big then;
after Shante did it, everyone was trying to spit them
So we spit on...
To tell you the truth, it was the only way a MC could get on
We answered MC Shan's "Queensbridge";
A dope jam about where he was from and where he lived;
But in the Bronx there was these kids
KRS, Scott La Rock tryin' to live...

He concludes the track acknowledging his indebtedness to Shan and Marley. He also speaks well of them on other tracks in the album, such as "House of Hits". KRS had also contributed a verse to the Symphony 2000 remake of the Marley Marl classic in 1999.

This compilation can be found at homeboy QBMerlin's blog.

Tracks

01-MC Shan - The Bridge
02-Boogie Down Productions - South Bronx
03-MC Shan - Kill That Noise
04-Boogie Down Productions - The Bridge Is Over
05-Craig G - Duck Alert
06-Roxanne Shanté - Have A Nice Day
07-Noel Rockwell & The Poet - Beat You Down
08-Noel Rockwell & The Poet - Take You Out
09-Boogie Down Productions - Still No. 1 (Numero Uno mix)
10-MC Mitchski - Brooklyn Blew Up The Bridge
11-MC Shan - Juice Crew Law
12-Cool C - Juice Crew Diss
13-MC Butchy B - Go Magic
14-MC Butchy B - Beat Down KRS
15-Boogie Down Productions - Black Man In Effect

Download the bridge wars here.

Monday 18 May 2009

Go See The Chiropractor - Mid 90s Headnodders



OK, 50 tracks in 2 parts, all from about '93 to '97ish, especially chosen for one reason, the headnod factor.
I can't even listen to most of these cuts anymore for fear of my lumbago returning, shit, i accidentally heard about 5 seconds of drop a gem on 'em last week & i'm still in agony, these tunes are dangerous people, proceed with caution.
Mad to think that some of these joints are over 15 years old, listening to these tracks brings back crazy memories for me y'all, but this shit still sounds fresher than 99% of the wackness that gets labeled "Hip Hop" nowadays.
Fat beats & superb rhymes all the way, this was a slightly rocky era in Hip Hop, but with these cuts,the boom baps still remained.
I pretty much reckon that this compilation will snap your entire neck off if you're not careful, so please go easy, i don't wanna be responsible for any injuries out there.

Headz Betta Be Ready

Ric Flair & Strictly Business Presents

Go See The Chiropractor - Mid 90s Headnodders

Part 1

Akinyele & Sadat X - Loud Hangover
Big Pun - Beware
Black Moon - Enta Da Stage
D.I.T.C. - Day One
Diamond - No Wonduh (The Projects)
EPMD - Da Joint
Ghostface Killah - Poisonous Darts
Grand Puba - Playin' The Game
Group Home - Up Against A Wall
I.N.I. - Fakin Jax'
J-Live - Braggin' Writes
Kool G Rap - First Nigga (Remix)
M.O.P. - Brownsville
Mobb Deep - Drop A Gem On 'Em
Mos Def - Universal Magnetic
Nas - New York State Of Mind
Q-Ball & Curt Cazal - My Kinda Moves
Rakim - New York
Reflection Eternal - Fortified Live
Royal Flush - Iced Down Medallions (Feat. Noreaga)
Show & A.G. - Next Level [Nyte Time Mix]
Smoothe Da Hustler featuring Trigger Tha Gambler - Broken Language
Street Smartz featuring OC & Pharoahe Monch - Metal Thangz
The East Flatbush Project feat. DeS - Tried By 12
Wu-Tang Clan - Triumph

Part 2

Al Tariq - Spectacular
Big L - Danger Zone
Big Noyd featuring Prodigy - Recognize & Realize (Part 1)
Crooklyn Dodgers 95 (OC, Chubb Rock & Jeru) - Return of the Crooklyn Dodgers
Crooklyn Dodgers (Buckshot, Masta Ace, Special Ed) - Crooklyn
D.I.T.C. - The Enemy (feat. Big L & Fat Joe)
De La Soul - The Bizness feat. Common
Fat Joe - Flow Joe
Gangstarr - The Militia
Jeru The Damaja - D. Original
Krumb Snatcha - Gettin Closer To God
Large Professor - Funky To Listen To
Main Source - What You Need
Mic Geronimo - Three Stories High
Mos Def,Q-Tip & Tash - Body Rock
Mr. Complex - Visualize
Notorious B.I.G. - Ten Crack Commandments
O.C. - Time's Up
Raekwon - Guillotine [Swordz] (Feat. Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck & Gza)
Sadat X - The Lump Lump
Smif 'n' Wessun - Headz Aint Ready
Tha Alkaholiks featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard - Hip Hop Drunkies
The Beatnuts - Reign Of The Tec
The Genius - Liquid Swords
Ultramagnetic MCs - One Two One Two

Password - defandstupid

'Aint No Time For Fakin' Jax.

Sunday 17 May 2009

Early B - The Doctor

It Was The Year 1966, When Selassie-I Made A Visit...........

Earlando Arrington Neil, better known by his stage name Early B, was a dancehall reggae deejay, noted mainly for his hits Visit of King Selassie, History of Jamaica and Wheely Wheely, the latter an ode to bicycle-riding in Jamaica.

Neil began performing live on Soul Imperial Hi-Fi alongside his young apprentice, Wild Apache (aka Super Cat). Earlando supposedly earned his stage name as a result of his reputation for arriving to shows early, thus gaining the name Early Bird, then finally Early B. Early B was soon approached, while on vacation with Stuart Brown (owner of African Star Sound), by a larger sound system, King Majesty. King Majesty was the only set to play all over the parish of St. Thomas. In the evenings he dragged the young Supercat out of his yard in Kingston to the countryside where they performed on King Majesty for almost a year. The owner of King Majesty was a manager in the sugar cane industry and unfortunately was unable to run the sound system during harvest time. Frustration boiled over for "Cat" and Early B who both had ambitions to make it "big time". Their first chance came with Killamanjaro.

Killamanjaro began as a humble sound system in the cool hills above Kingston with a resident mike-man known by the stagename of "Oh Lord". In 1980-81, the principal reason for the rise of Killamanjaro was because Early B and Supercat had become its crowd-pulling regulars. Soon every hopeful deejay wanted to "hold the mike" on the Killamanjaro sound alongside Early B, who had by now acquired a new nickname - The Doctor. He had endless queues of patients as "Jaro" came of age and established itself as one of the top sets, ranking amongst the legends of the sound world such as Gemini, Black Scorpio, Lee's Unlimited, Volcano and the mighty King Sturgav. Indeed, such was the demand that Killamanjaro set a record, that still holds today, by performing on fifty-two consecutive nights in Kingston.

Over the next two years, Early B was in constant demand as a recording artist scoring hits such as Gaterman Get Fraid, Wheel Wheely (also called One Wheely Wheely), Sunday Dish, and Learn Fe Drive. His next step towards the top was a move to the United States where he continued to be a dancehall favorite. Early B's deejay career brought him to other sound systems as well, including the African Star sound system in Toronto, Canada and Crystal Blue Flames Sound in New York City, New York.

Early performed throughout the US & England, as well as Jamaica, until 1994, when he was tragically killed while onstage by a firearm inside the Windsor Cricket Club in Massachusetts. His style & lyrics can still be heard throughout Jamaican music & beyond.

This was originally gonna be 20 tracks, but Early B recorded a ridiculous amount of gems, so this is coming at you in 2 parts.

Early B - Gone,But Not Forgotten.

Ric Flair & Strictly Business Presents

Early B - The Doctor

Part 1

Bicycle Bicycle
Circle Jamaica
Conscious Dread (Righteous Rastaman Pt. 2)
DJ Pattern
Four Wheel No Reel
Ganja Man
Gateman Get Fraid
Get Inna The Army
Ghost Busters
Girls Dem Sexy
History Of Jamaica
Hot Up Bout Ya
If You Coward You Fe Leave Out Badness
Learn Fe Drive
Medical Kit
No Funny Trick
Owner Man
Pedal Pusher
Righteous Rastaman (Pt. 1)
Sleep & Drive
Sunday Dish
The Visit
Video Early B
What A Gwan
Wheely Wheely

Part 2

A Class Deejay
Boombox
Call The Doctor For Me
Cane Man
Computer Tek Over
DJ Class
DJ Origination
Healing Stream
Imitator
Just Love And Unity
Know Bout Your Country
Mek The Girls So Fat
New York Party
One More Heinekin
Pedestrian
Ready Fe You
Send In The Patient
Stop The Robbery
Sweet Talking
The Boss
The Doctor Ready Fe Them
To The Bump
What A Blessing
What A Drive
Wrap Up A Draw

Password - defandstupid


Saturday 16 May 2009

Words Of Wisdom



Computer Age


Listen up people, you need these tunes, seriously. If you haven't got 'em already just grab this pack, trust me, you can't go wrong with this selection. Totally essential stuff & the sound of Ricky Flair's youth, definitely still making the past sound like the future.

This is part 1 of an ongoing series, this time featuring uptempo electrobangers carefully selected by yours truly.


Ric Flair & Strictly Business Presents-
Computer Age

Afrika Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force - Planet Rock
Cybotron - Clear
Egyptian Lover - Egypt, Egypt
Freestyle - Dont Stop The Rock
G.L.O.B.E. & Whiz Kid - Play That Beat Mr DJ
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - Scorpio
Hashim - Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)
Chris Taylor, Ice T & David Storrs - Reckless
Jamie Jupitor - Computer Power
Jive Rhythm Trax - 122 B.P.M
Jonzun Crew - Pack Jam (Look Out For The Ovc)
Knights Of The Turntables - Techno Scratch
L.A. Dream Team - Calling On The Dream Team
Newcleus - Computer Age (Push The Button)
NWA - Panic Zone
Pretty Tony - Jam The Box
Twilight 22 - Siberian Nights
World Class Wreckin' Crew - Surgery

Password - defandstupid

Yaaaaaaaaaaahh, Just Hit Me.

Warning - This Next Video Is Possibly The Stupidest Shit You Will Ever See In Your Life.

Friday 15 May 2009

Words Of Wisdom


Alan "The Hawk" Hawkshaw



Alan Hawkshaw is a legend, simple as that.
He played in The Shadows & The Checkmates, amongst others, rocking the fuck out on the Hammond.


But for me The Hawk's highlights have gotta be The Mohawks & his TV theme & music library work.
As far as themes go, daaaamn. Dave Allen, Grange Hill, Countdown. Holy Axel Foley.
But the real gems are to be found amongst the library LPs, working for labels such as Bruton, Themes & the legendary KPM.
And The Champ, don't even bother. The Mohawks were a band formed from session musicians and fronted by the undisputed king of Library music composers, Alan Hawkshaw. Possibly The Mohawks were never actually a 'touring' band, but rather it was just a clever idea of some guy at KPM music in the 60's who decided to release an LP of incredibly groovy and funky library music tracks and package it under the name "The Champ". Possibly one of the biggest tunes ever recorded & still killing dancefloors today.

Massive respect from the Strictly Business crew to the phenom that is Mr Alan "The Hawk" Hawkshaw, blimey, we got Co-Op boom baps up in this.

Ric Flair & Strictly Business Presents
Alan "The Hawk" Hawkshaw

Beat Me 'Til I'm Blue
Blarney's Stoned
Collect
Dave Allen At Large
Dr Jeckyll & Hyde Park
Expo In Tokyo (with A. Moorhouse)
Girl At The Top
Grange Hill Theme
Hawkind And Fire
Hot Pants
It's All At The Co-Op Now
Mile High Swinger
Name Of The Game (with B. Bennett)
Oddball (with B. Bennett)
Roving Reporter
Senor Thump
Sweet Motion
The Tense Scene (with K. Mansfield)
The Champ
Mony Mony

Password - defandstupid

Saturday 9 May 2009

Bad Meaning Good


From 1987, Part Of BBC2's Open Space Series, This Half Hour Documentary Is A Total Gem.
My Highlight Has Gotta Be Westwood In His Well Un-Pimped Ride,With Bionic & Sipho Dropping "My Beatbox Reggae Style" In The Back.
And Daddy Speedo - Gyyyeeeahh

Peep It



Not Bad Meaning Bad, But.........

Ranking Toyan


Shock Out All Nice & Decent People, It's Your Boy Flair-Ski,Back Once Again With Another Dope Selection, This Time From The Ribbit Man Himself, Ranking Toyan.
One Of The All Time Greatest, Toyan Started Out Deejaying In The Mid 70s On Sound Systems Such As Socialist Roots, Killamanjaro and Romantic HiFi,Joining Volcano In 1981, Later Moving On To Record With Such Producers As Henry "Junjo" Lawes, Scientist, and Jah Thomas.
A Tottenham Resident For Many Years Along With Other Jamaican DJ’s Such As U Brown and Ranking Dread, Papa Toyan Dropped Many Classics, Including His Massive "How The West Was Won" LP In 1982.
Ranking Toyan Was Killed In 1991, However, His Style Left A Huge Influence Amongst Many Jamaican Deejays & MCs The World Over.
Toyan - Gone, But Not Forgotten.


Ric Flair & Strictly Business Presents -
Ranking Toyan

Braga-Dat
Chalice
DJ Crowd
Dread
Hot Bubble Gum
How The West Was Won
Ice Cream
Joycie Gwan
Nice It Up
Posse Ready
Spar With Me
Strictly The Dread
Stylee
Super Duper
Toyan On The Go

Password - defandstupid



Ribbbbbiiitttttttttt.

Friday 8 May 2009

Just a quickie.
This didn't really get finished, but i thought that i'd stick it up here anyways.
Talon, Loxli & Ric Flair.
Produced by Sonny Delight & Crazy Spock.
Cuts by DJ Ever

Set It Off


Best Believe We'll Leave Your Crew Bereaved.

Planet Rock

Ric Flair & Strictly Business Presents
Strictly Breaks - Planet Rock pt1

Aiiiiight Den, This Is The First In An Ongoing Series Of The Deffest Breaks & Sampled Tracks,Compiled By The Dopest Selectors In The Universe,Strictly Business.
This Is Part One Of Planet Rock,Boom Bap Shit By Rock Artists.Now You May Or May Not Already Be Familier With These Tunes,Either Way This Is Some Serious Stuff.
Flairo's Highlights Include :

Billy Joel's Stiletto - Funky Drums & Bass, Nice, But When That Piano Kicks In, Total Killer. Still On The Road To The Riches.

Gary Numan's Films - Dope Electronic Rock,But I Gotta Bless Up Gazza's Lyrics Too. I'm Thinking That Every Time I Get Roped Into Watching Some Wack Blockbuster Bullshit. Burn Hollywood Burn.

Jimi Hendrix's Little Miss Lover - Damn, What Can I Say. Boom Bap. Here We Go Yo.

Billy Squier's Big Beat - Yep, Get On Down, Big Break. But I Gots Ta Take This Opportunity To Tell Dizzee Rascal To Shut The Fuck Up, Silly Billy.

Slayer's Angel Of Death - Ricky Rubin On The Boards, Stupid Def Drumming,Possibly The Wackest Guitar Solo Ever, This Is Brutal,Simple As. Y'all Know The Sample Anyways So Jus' Turn It Up LOUD & Break Ya Necks To This.

Cat Stevens's Foreigner Suite - Maaaaan, I Still Remember The First Time I Heard This Track, It Hit Me Then & It Still Hits Me Every Time I Hear It. Maybe Not For Everyones Particular Tastes, But Trust Mr Flair On This One People, This Is A Total Banger. Bernard Purdie Absolutely Kills It On The Drums (Obviously), As Does Everyone Else Involved. In My Opinion This Track Is An Absolute Musical Masterpiece From Start To Finish, But Daaaaaammnnnn, Around 6 Minutes In Is Where It Blows The Fuck Up. Foreigner Suite, Stop 'n' Listen, That's My Kinda Moves Right There.

And Every Other Track On Here Is Cold Cold Def, Believe That.

Ric Flair & Strictly Business Presents
Strictly Breaks - Planet Rock pt1

ACDC - Back In Black
Billy Joel - Stiletto
Billy Squier - Big Beat
Cat Stevens - Foreigner Suite
Frank Zappa - Apostrophe
Gary Numan - Films
Grand Funk - Inside Looking Out
Joe Cocker - Woman To Woman
Led Zeppelin - The Crunge
Mountain - Long Red
Paul McCartney - Momma Miss America
Rush - Tom Sawyer
Slayer - Angel Of Death
Steely Dan - Black Cow
Steve Miller - Fly Like An Eagle
The Eagles - Those Shoes
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Little Miss Lover
ZZ Top - Cheap Sunglasses

Password - defandstupid

Planet Rock - It's The Sure Shot !

Thursday 7 May 2009

Strictly Business


Whutup people, this is The Grand Imperial Ric Flair transmitting live from planet rock.
Me & my crew have bum rushed the interweb to serve you up some superdope treats.

This first post is just to let y’all know what the dilly is with Strictly Business.

We’re gonna drop some stupid fly stuff on all our b-boys & b-girls out there, the deffest hippety hop shit produced by the Strictly Biz fam.

Plus mad mixes & compilations and all kinds of other niceness ,We ain’t gonna give too much away right now but we got some gems lined up.

Keep peeping us, We ’bout ta cold get ill up in this beeeeaaayyyaaaaccch !