Darc Mind - The Cellar Session

Darc Mind is my favorite MC-DJ duo. There is nothing else in hip-hop quite like the combination of Web D's beats and Kevroc's rhymes. How curious then that one of their best known songs, indeed their only single ever pressed, wasn't produced by Web D, but by New Jersey's Nick Wiz. When I spoke with the duo about this record, Web said, "Originally on Loud, we had a single deal. They was afraid of us. They didn’t know what to do with us ... They did think our sound was a little rough around the edges, so they sent us to Nick Wiz, and we did the single for them, which was 'Outside Looking In.' They put it out there for radio release. It was almost like a promo. They never released it in the stores or nothing like that. It was mad copies pressed up and they promo’ed the shit out of it."

As so many copies were pressed, the single isn't too hard to find, and in addition to radio and album versions of the song, it contains the instrumental and acapella tracks. Any Kevroc acapella is a thing to behold. Recently, however, it was revealed that these aren't the only versions. In 2025, Nick Wiz included an alternate mix of "Outside Looking In" on his Cellar Selections Volume 11 compilation. When I first heard this, I immediately lost my shit, getting so excited I somehow convinced myself there were actually different lyrics on this version. There aren't, but it's still very dope. Anyway, I'd resolved to do a post about it sometime, and when that time came a few days ago, I went looking for the song again only to find that it's actually not the only Nick Wiz-produced Darc Mind track available. 

In fact, the very first installment of Wiz's Cellar Sounds compilation series, released back in 2008, includes an otherwise unreleased Darc Mind song called "We In This." Additionally, Cellar Sounds Volume 5, released in 2017, has another unreleased track called "Femme Fatale," and Cellar Extras Part 3, from 2019, has an alternate take of that song. While there isn't any information available on these recordings beyond the compilations' limited credits, all of them are dated to 1996, the same year that "Outside Looking In" dropped. So, while Nick Wiz did not immediately respond to a request for comment, we can likely infer that the songs were recorded in or around the same time as one another, perhaps during the same session(s). Could it be that all of these songs were tracked as potential singles, and that a version of "Outside Looking In" was eventually chosen for release? 

If this was the case, I think everyone can agree that out of the three songs, the choice most faithfully represents what we've come to appreciate as the Darc Mind sound. It might not be the darkest of the bunch, but it is the most Darc. As for the others, "We In This" seems to recall the '80s basement parties Kev rocked in his youth, with one of its verses later appearing on "U Da One" off Symptomatic of a Greater Ill, while "Femme Fatale" offers an early example of the kind of noirish liaisons he'd detail on "Cherry Wine" off What Happened to the Art? What did Nick Wiz's producorial role entail? How did it align with Web and Kev's vision? We may never know. Regardless, Darc Mind was here.

JHershey - Sprite Remix

I don't remember Lynbrook. From ages 1 to 5, my family lived in Valley Steam in an apartment on Merrick Road above a store that sold bowling supplies. Mom averaged over 200 for a while. The metal detectors at Green Acres Cinemas were added after somebody shot up the screen during The Godfather Part III. Still haven't seen it, but I've been meaning to check the director's cut. It couldn't have been that bad. I do still have the Los Angeles Raiders Starter cap. I see Wooden Shoe Nursery School is still open as is Brooklyn Avenue School, where I went to kindergarten.

There's now a fucking warehouse of a record store in Valley Stream called All About Records. Trust me, they're open. It has two doors. There's a $5 room, which is so dusty you might want to wear a mask if you'll be a while. For that matter, don't talk politics with the staff.

Sharing means caring.

Mossy Oak Centurion - Music for the Rebellion Against Big Tech and Transhumanism

Why shouldn't humanity get transcended? To think this is the be-all and end-all platonic ideal of intelligent life is a prime example of how not that it is. Not intelligent, not ideal, not the be-all end-all: take your pick. That being typed, we flesh bags have much organic evolving to do before we make it to "San Junipero," and I don't mean figuring out how to live to 150 so we can buy more things for longer; I mean getting more empathetic. After all, empathy is an evolved trait. Now, when it comes to seizing the means of production from the current batch of tech-bro-crat tycoons and trying their worst for crimes against humanity, that's another story. Our future cybernetic counterparts would agree.

Blaq Kush is looking for the perfect punchline

Well, not exactly, but who can argue with a great headline? For those born this century, I'm referencing hip-hop's Afrofuturist extraterrestrial godfather and two common themes in the lyrics of Albany-based, Long Island-raised rapper Blaq Kush: rhymes as punchlines and music as a search. That said, this interview is not so much a dissection of his lyrics. If you're looking for that, most of this site's Blaq Kush coverage consists of me quoting back and dwelling on select lines. Instead, what follows is more an overview of his discography up to this point. If you've never heard Blaq Kush's music, here's a chance to catch up while getting a glimpse behind what's for my money one of the most particular and unchecked viewpoints across all of hip-hop's multi-versal space/time continuums. 

As a bit of backstory, Kush first came to my attention around 2015. I was following him on Soundcloud when a guy named Ivan hit me up from what would turn out to be Kush's personal email address to pitch me one of his songs called "Sad Prayer." That track seems to have been scrubbed from the internet, but here's what Ivan said about his friend, which remains as good an introduction as any: "Kush takes ordinary hip-hip cliches and distorts them until they're unrecognizable. In this respect, his music is not too different than the pop art of '60s artists like Andy Warhol. Kush is a good friend of mine and his creativity has inspired me in so many ways. Even though he's not directly preaching positivism, his DIY approach makes me want to do more with my life. I've never seen someone spit so hard yet sound so relaxed at the same time. Hopefully you check him out and appreciate the tunes."

Themes aside, this is two Long Island dudes talking about music and kinda sorta trying to define it, but mostly just harping on enjoying it for its own sake. Hopefully you appreciate the tunes.

Below: Long Island Rap Records humbly presents an extensive discussion with Blaq Kush, which took place Thursday, January 22, 2026.

RIP Tommy Gunn

Thomas Rollins, the lyricist known as Tommy Gunn, Megalon, or sometimes, Black Geezus, passed away last month. Honor his legacy with a GoFundMe donation. The following words hardly begin to pay tribute to his genius. 

Competitively speaking, just on some rap shit, if King Geedorah and Jet Jaguar aren't your favorite Monsta Island Czars, Megalon probably should be. He rapped his fucking ass off. There's really no other way to describe it. I mean listen to "One in a Million." He was that, rarer now if you consider they don't make 'em like [him] no more. The only Monsta Island Czar other than DOOM and Grimm to drop a record on Fondle 'Em, Megalon may also be the only rapper other than DOOM with a Subroc production credit in his catalog (a story for another day, perhaps). 

If you've never listened to A Penny For Your Thoughts, you need to stop reading this and go do that. Less well known is its follow-up, The Nickle Bag, which came out on Backwoodz in 2008 and was posted here back in 2015. Even less known is that he claimed to have written lyrics for 10 other albums, "the 5 cent, 10 cent, 25cent, 50cent, $1.00, $5.00, $10.00, $20.00, $50.00 and the $100.00 dollar bill albums," as he told UG Rap. He also told them, "It’s hard for a fake MC to concentrate on doing music, but for a true poet and true b-boy it’s never a problem. Never! It’s just like breathing." He definitely made it sound that way, breathless even. 

As I said from the beginning, I don't really have the words. So, Here's some music. 

"Keep It Street" was credited to Megalon, likely because it dropped around the time the Monsta Island Czars concept was coming into being, but you can tell it was a Tommy Gunn song from the backup vocals. The song first appeared on Web D's On The Ropes Soundtrack. The next joint, brought to you by the good folks at GrandGood, features Gunn rapping alongside the Hempstead rapper Trife, a late affiliate of Roc Marciano not to be confused with the Theodore Unit member. After that is a short playlist I made of three tracks Gunn did for Backwoodz Studioz, none of which appear on The Nickle Bag. Two feature billy woods, one comes from Vordul's sophomore record, and the first is a freestyle over Three Six Mafia's "Stay Fly" beat. 

R.I.P. Tommy Gunn. Rap has been missing him. Now, Long Beach, NY, and the world do, too.

Rozewood - Channel 13

Phantoms acappellas haunt DJ Skizz beats. Believe it or not, Channel 13 was announced 10 years ago. Its first song, the Arch Druids-produced "Ghxt GxD" has been out as long. This, apparently, happened back when the concept of an album-length Roc Marciano-Arch Druids collaboration was a novel one, but I digress. Channel 13 sounds like blue blood sunsets over the southern Meadowbrook Parkway drenched in Liquid Television airwaves. No, not the Robert Moses Parkway; you can't see the City skyline from there. It's a digital crate dug trench work, a ghost in the machine in the machine in the ghost. The catalog's dead and buried. Winners shit. The obi strip's your only hope. 

Kenneth Callier - Look At Me Bleed

I recently discovered that there are multiple international varieties of Netflix's reality competition show Rhythm & Flow, including four seasons of the French version. The first featured a guy named B.B. Jacques who dresses like he's in Camp Lo and regularly caps verses by shouting, "fuck off." One of the finalists was a dude named Elyon who made super well produced alternative rap complete with orchestral arrangements and art gallery aesthetics. I highly recommend the program, but that's not why I'm here today. Many a major label backed rapper make "lo fi" hip-hop, flattened mics over turntable crackle. (I'm not an engineer, so those aren't the technical terms, but you know what I'm talking about.) These are artists with the financial wherewithal to hire some of the best studio musicians and engineers working today, but they choose to go the opposite route. Then, on the other end of the spectrum, there are those independent artisans who dedicate so much time and talent to honing their craft that even with lower budgets and lesser tools, they churn out music of the highest possible fidelity, both in terms of production quality and emotional honesty. Elyon would fall in that category. So would longtime Long Island Rap Records affiliate Andy Koufax. So too would Kenneth Callier. His latest, Look At Me Bleed, is an absolute masterpiece. I'm not saying it's the type of record that couldn't be created under contract with a major. (I've never worked in the entertainment industry, so I don't know what goes on there.) I'm just saying if you're going to put in the 10,000 hours, it's nice to have something real to show for it, and this album has quite a lot of that.

De La Soul - Cabin In The Sky

Day, glow. The other side of seasonal affective disorder is da inner sound, yall. Well, it depends on what your meaning of the word 'is' is. Defining existence and nonexistence as codependents in direct opposition has always been the move for those of us who, consciously or not, preoccupy ourselves with what's next. Think ahead. Hence, "'If yall stop then Dave stops,' and that wouldn't be the sure shot." De La Soul—and one might argue Hip-Hop—has always operated a larger collective of friends/collaborators making/doing art/science that reflects/refracts popular music/culture. It might blow up but it won't go pop, baby, baby, baby, baby. Their second album has a skit consisting of tea time melodies interrupted repeatedly by thrash metal mayhem. De La Soul take "no biting" to such extremes they rarely ever repeat themselves between projects, to the extent that the most common threads across their catalog are continuing insistences on reinvention and variety. Self-referential motifs recur with flipped meanings and function. Frequent guests arrive with new mixed company.

When I was a kid going to Wantagh Summer Rec, we took regular trips to United Skates in North Massapequa. I can't remember what songs used to play at the roller rink, but I know Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey were in heavy rotation. Between their hits aired a fair helping of what I now know to be freestyle, house, new wave, and new jack swing. Again, I don't recall specific tracks, but instead a feeling of summery joy. Cabin In The Sky has that same energy. And I don't mean genre-y. Seasons change. Mad things rearrange. It's an album of presence from the hitherto for the hereafter.

Fashion - "step up"

Hobbies and interests as clothes, some days feel like movie days, some music, others books, others still writing. Or, is a trap there lying? Where does over-compartmentalization begin and extra shelf space end? A budding sports and lifestyle podcaster once said, "I don't really look at movies, I make 'em." Really was the operative word there, I'd venture. 

As this video from 20!8 illustrates, Simon Vailes is a fashion icon, Fashion is a Simon Vailes icon, and Fashion Stay Trending. Today, Simon Vailes is also a Quarter Finalist in the Elton John AIDS Foundation's Style Icon competition. Hence, she's in the running for a Flaunt Magazine appearance, $20,000, and a trip to the Versace show at Milan Fashion Week. Voting resumes November 17. 

Imagine the original recording of INI's "Step Up" floundering in the studio master obscurity of legal label limbo. I bet you can't. You know it couldn't.

AWOL da Mindwriter - Altered Beast / Chaos Control

Experiences haven't been added via Beta Features replacing teachers and even thinking with the latest and greatest in automated language sequences. Meanwhile, it's on/off grid like Woody Harrelson with utility bills sans any semblance of celebrity. Celery was an underrated snack (and it still is) especially eaten out of a crack. Action! When parody suffices for fact, parity is an even more divisive act than what's happened. So, you know, what's happening? 

AWOL da Mindwriter hit me with a video off his upcoming album with August Fanon, and now there's another. Another video for an AWOL track produced by August Fanon? Yes, plus the song features Planet Asia, and the video was made by Johnny Storm! (Another album produced by August Fanon? Technically, yes, that too, but not featuring AWOL da Mindwriter, so not really what I'm talking about here, though that perhaps reinforces an earlier point about syntax however pedantic.)