8/29/14

DJ Stitches - "Strong Island Part One" ft. Elucid

DJ Stitches aka Charlie Rock is sort of an unsung hero in Long Island hip-hop lore. A Jamaica, Queens native, he moved with his family to Wyandanch while in the ninth grade and soon thereafter relocated to North Amityville. He was a classmate of Rakim, a founding member of De La Soul and one half of the tragically short-lived group Class A Felony, so his story, as told to Unkut's Robbie Ettelson, is something every Long Island hip-hop fan, and indeed every hip-hop fan in general, should read.

Stitches' nephew, (his sister's son) Elucid has a similar background, having also grown up in Queens, but moved out to LI with his family as a teenager. Though now best known as a solo MC and one half of Brooklyn rap duo Armand Hammer, Elucid did some of his earliest work alongside his uncle. The song below, embedded from Stitches' YouTube channel, is currently their only collaboration that's online, though there may be more sitting around somewhere. Look for an extensive interview with Elucid and Armand Hammer partner billy woods hitting the web sometime soon.

8/19/14

Statik Selektah - "God Knows" ft. Posdnuos, Bun B & Jared Evan

One of the most interesting things about De La Soul — and perhaps most inspiring too, depending on your viewpoint — is that despite all their success and all of the praise that has been leveled at each member, none of them has ever really attempted to strike out on his own. That being said, who wouldn't love to hear a Posdnuos solo album? This feature is actually Pos's second collaboration with Statik Selektah, the first being "Game Break" off 2013's Extended Play album.

While that song was driven by a fairly straightforward piano loop, the appropriately titled "God Knows" is powered by God-knows-what, and the psychedelic daytime space opera vibe is perfectly suited for both Posdnuos and his fellow icon Bun B.

Look out for the unofficial Pos solo comp, De La De La Soul - (Un)Plug 1, coming soonish from Long Island Rap Blog.

Rozewood & Hus Kingpin - "Black Columbo"


Rozewood & Hus Kingpin's long-anticipated $100 Taper is finally here, the digital LP having dropped earlier today over at digicrates.com. Accompanying its release, Digi Crates Records premiered a video for the album cut "Black Columbo," produced and directed by Dirty Diggs. Hus may have just started a new fashion trend by concealing his face via ski mask while wearing a t-shirt with his face on it.

The UN - "Time For Some Action" (Unreleased)

As promised by Mike Raw during his recent WNYU radio call, here is a previously unreleased UN track featuring all of the group's members except for Roc Marciano. Raw, Laku and Dino are all in top form, and the recording quality is top notch as well. Coming on the heels of the UN or U Out reissue, hopefully this July 19 drop is the first of many new-old UN tracks to come.




8/2/14

Keith Murray - The Rhyme 12" Promo

Recorded in Dix Hills, NY and promoted as "The 1st clue from the upcoming album Enigma," "The Rhyme" is note-worthy for several reasons: 1) Eight versions of this single were released; 2) It features a remix by The Ummah production team (Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and the late J Dilla); and 3) It's ill! The version included in this post, JDCD-42405-1, is the 12" U.S. Promo, which is differentiated by the fact that it contains a radio version of the Erick Sermon-produced original "The Rhyme" and not the album cut "Yeah." The fact that The Ummah remix is called "The Slum Village Remix" leads me to believe that Dilla was primarily behind this beat. It definitely has his sound.
Download the 12" here.