8/29/16

Bearded Legend - Phoenix

If you're planning to come out as the Long Island rapper who sounds most like Aqua Teen Hunger Force spider-monster MC Pee Pants, try again, because The Brotherhood's Bearded Legend has already beaten you to the punch. On Phoenix, the Levittown-based artist also shows off an open-ended sample palate, looping up J** ******n and N*****a among others. "Arise chicken! Arise!"

De La Soul Is Documented

Love 'em, hate 'em, or leave 'em alone, De La Soul have throughout their career been nothing if not divisive, and the critical response to their new album seems to be in keeping with that pattern. Whatever your thoughts about and the Anonymous Nobody, the Monster Energy-"fueled," J. Anders Urmacher-directed film, We're Still Here (now)... a documentary about nobody, provides valuable insight into the creative and commercial processes that went into the making of De La's first album in 12 years. The documentation doesn't stop there, though. Earlier today, Mass Appeal posted the trailer to De La Soul Is Not Dead, a short film that "not only looks into the history of De La Soul, but also explores the nagging legal and sample clearance issues that has prevented them from releasing their classic albums such as De La Soul Is Dead (1991) and Stakes is High (1996) on digital platforms like iTunes, Apple Music, or Spotify." The film comes out Wednesday, September 7, but you can learn more about the aforementioned issues from Finn Cohen's New York Times August 8 article, "De La Soul's Legacy Is Trapped in Digital Limbo."

8/27/16

King Cesar - "Bloody Knuckles" ft. Kamackeris, Kong & Spiga (Video Premiere)

Another woRRRRrrrrld premiere-premiere-premiere off King Cesar's new album All the King's Men, out now on Mindbenda Recordings.

This one features a trio of the aforementioned king's men, including Kamackeris and fan-favored cousins Kong & Spiga, with the latter MC providing the hook. Longtime fans of the Monsta Island Czars know these three well for their contributions to the M.I.C. album Escape from Monsta Island and Cesar's Monster Mixes Vol. 1 & 2, as well as a string of impressive solo projects, including Kamackeris' Artz & Craftz and Kong's Shackles Off.

Here, Cesar plays the cut, allowing an eerie loop to speak on his behalf. The perfectly demented supplement for your Saturday morning cartoons.

8/17/16

"Yo, I met Parish Smith today, man."
LIRB Interviews Elucid

Earlier this summer, I had the pleasure of sitting down with rapper/producer Elucid in his East New York home for an extensive interview with Tiny Mix Tapes. Our conversation focused mainly on his 2016 solo album, my front-runner for AOTY, Save Yourself, but among its many brilliant lyrics we discussed, there were two lines I asked about specifically because of their relevance to Long Island. Read what he had to say and watch the videos for "Son Still Shine" x "Obama Incense" off Save Yourself and the title cut off Never 2ndary, the new mixtape by his crew Lessondary.


I wanted to ask a couple things just on some Long Island shit. "Babies wave guns out in Plainview?"

Ha! Yo, definitely, I wasn’t thinking Plainview, Long Island, BUT, yeah, that’s kind of interesting. I’ve never thought about that.

You weren’t thinking about that at all?

I wasn’t. I was thinking plain view like broad day. That is kind of ill. Nobody’s waving guns out in Plainview, I don’t think. Did Plainview take a turn for the worse?

Well, that’s what I thought was funny about it.

That’s hilarious. Ahhhh, that’s great. That’s funny as shit.

It’s one of my favorite lines!

On the way out the Bar Mitzvah, b-dddddd-dah.


And the other one is "Lest They Forget," where you meet Parish Smith in a fast food restaurant in the boondocks?

That was a fact. First job: Deer Park location of McDonald’s, Deer Park Avenue. I’m fucking behind the counter, sweeping up, and Parish Smith just walks in and orders a Big Mac Extra Value Meal super-sized, and he got like two apple pies. All I had the time to say was like, "Yo, what up? You’re dope."

How old were you?

Like 15, 16, I’d just gotten working papers, literally the first real job. I just gave him a dap and that was it, straight up. That area is wild, though. It’s got a lot of weird kind of stars.

There was a studio, I don’t know if it’s still there anymore.

Charlie Marotta was there in Deer Park. Charlie Marotta engineered all of the EPMD records, so yeah, that’s in Deer Park, but Lobo Studios in Dix Hills, the next town over. Guys like Nas were recoding at Lobo, DMX was recording at Lobo. I don’t know why guys were trooping in from the City to record in Dix Hills.

It’s always been like that. Hempstead had 510 Gant Studios where tons of people recorded.

Yeah, all of these guys are out there, so I would randomly see rappers of that time.

I think it’s just because engineers, by and large, are just regular dudes who are audio professionals. They live out on the Island and open up studios. It’s always been that way. If you look at the credits on psych rock records from the ‘60s and ‘70s, you’ll see weird studio names in random villages on Long Island.

Yeah, yeah, I thought that was really dope. I mean, I don’t know what the fuck [Parish Smith] was doing out there. He was out there in the McDonald’s eating bad food, and I was like, "Yo, I met Parish Smith today, man."

8/10/16

King Cesar - "Call Em Ceaz" (Video Premiere)

King Cesar a.k.a. X-Ray da Mindbenda a.k.a. 1/2 of Darc Mind and the producer responsible for putting out a sizable potion of the Monsta Island Czars discography has a new album out called All the King's Men, and Long Island Rap Blog has the distinct privilege of premiering its first video single, "Call Em Ceaz." All the King's Men is something of a reunion for the Czars as many of them lend features to the project. Check out the stacked tracklist below and order your copy here.

8/7/16

MeccaGodZilla - Da Listening Session Freestyle 8/3

MeccaGodZilla goes in on "Represent." Catch him September 3 performing live at the Paperbox for the opening show of Brooklyn Wildlife Summer Festival.

8/6/16

Malachi - "BirdsNDaBees" / "MWNBTS"

Two beautiful videos directed by Kenneth Callier for songs by Malachi "The Peace God" Winstead, the second of which sets off his 2016 album Propaganda 217, out now on Lost Island Records. Look for much, much more from this talent-heavy Hempstead-based collective coming soon.

8/2/16

JVC Force - Non-Album Cuts

For those who don't know — which, judging by recent submissions, is most of you — JVC Force is the group behind the original "Strong Island" anthem, a late '80s hit you might still catch on WBLS once in a blue moon and which, rightly so, was the first song ever posted on this site.

However, frankly speaking, even your trusted Long Island Rap Blogger isn't old enough to remember when these joints came out, so for the history lesson, I'll refer you to Old Rap Man Robbie's "Unkut Guide to J.V.C. Force" and to Chopped Herring Records, which actually provided official wax releases for a few of the chunes you'll hear today. (One of them is still available, so click that link and support the artists, ya heard?) On that note, respect due to The Meaning of Dope for originally uploading some of these tracks, including the freestyle below, and to The T.R.O.Y. Blog for putting this whole shebang together back in 2009. TBH, the "Strong Island" instrumental/dub version is worth the download time alone, but without further ado, here is the (un)official...

1. Late 80s Freestyle
2. Strong Island (Blue Mix)
3. Doin' Damage (Original Version)
4. Red Alert Promo #1 (1989)
5. We Got Our Own Thing
6. Nu Skool (Original Version)
7. Love Line
8. Force Field (Alternate Mix)
9. Red Alert Promo #2 (1992)
10. Stretch & Bobbito Promo (1993)
11. Stretch & Bobbito Freestyle Session
12. Big Trax
13. 6 Feet Back On The Map (Hardcore Mix-Up)
14. 6 Feet Back On The Map (Bedside Manor Mix)
15. Strong Island (Instrumental)