Hus Kingpin & SmooVth - Paid In Full

I have owned multiple copies of the film, Paid In Full, all of which have either been lost or stolen. I prefer to assume the latter because it not only makes for a better story, but also speaks to the unique brand of cult fandom the film attracts; that it would be more larceny prone than other films, that a fan would reacquire it post-theft knowing the risk. Of late, Macapella has channeled the wave that made early Connection records sing universal. Now, he does the impossible, improving the "Paid In Full" beat. Hus and SmooVth follow suit.

Hus Kingpin - The Firm

In the The Last Dance, they say that Jordan was playing at such a level during the mid-90s it was as if he wasn't competing with his opponents, just with himself. Another way to look at it would be that he wasn't even playing in the same game as everyone else on the court, never mind the same league. I'd liken it to Sacha Baron Cohen's performance in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. He so embodies and elevates the character of Jean Girard, it's as if he's acting in an entirely different film. People get so hung up on stats and lists, they assume this kind of transcendence must be tied entirely to skill, but consider that it may very well be as much a product of self-image. Hus Kingpin's songs of late — the entire winning streak that was his 2021 output, really — sound like the musings of a poet writing from, of, in and for an entirely different form and paradigm than every other rapper. How ironic then that his latest (sixth, seventh, who can keep count at this point?) project released in 2021 is named for and conceptualized around a group of other rappers. I get it though. The Winners are a supergroup unto themselves. SmooVth and Sageinfinite's verses on "Affirmative Action" and Rozewood's on "Cayman Islands" leave no doubt about that. Buy [me] everything on wavo3000.com.



Fun fact: for who knows how long, everything on Hus's Bandcamp is name your price.

Hus Kingpin - The Threesome Pt. 2: The Art of Sex

Despite the title, The Threesome Pt. 2: The Art of Sex is a prequel in that if The Threesome EP was about having threesomes, Part 2 is more about being so sexy that opportunities to have threesomes present themselves in the first place. To that end, the beats set the mood. A standout, "Date Night" incorporates a film sample into both the beat and the vocals in ways I'm not sure I've ever heard before, which is to say it's as if Hus is fucking with the beat (produced by Chin Beats), the sample and the listener all at once, paying equal attention to each as one does. A foursome then?

Vinyls and hoodies are available via Wavo3000.com.  

Hus Kingpin - "The Gram Tape"

Hazy deconstructionist noir on a Rainer Werner Fassbinder m.o., i.e., displaying flagrant irreverence for one's peers and forebearers alike; (SPOILERS AHEAD) see "It's time to scratch off the scabs / Pictures with Jay won't stop albums from being trash" and "Feeling my soul assassin / I robbed a half a dozen of you n****s six jackings." Portishus drops 1/21/21.

The 10 Most Viewed Long Island Rap Posts of 2020

Like the title says, these are Long Island Rap Records' 10 most visible posts of 2020, as determined by the little view count icon in the Blogger user interface.

10. Thoughts on a couple semi-obscure De La songs from 1993 and their legacy
It warms the heart to see this post squeaking onto here, as it’s easily one of my quirkiest in recent memory, connecting Tony Touch mixtapes to Buhloone Mindstate-era b-sides to my all-time favorite album, Stakes Is High to Ras Kass’s foray into the East-West beef. Also, my lady bought me the Ego Trippin’ (Part 3) VLS for Xmas (imported from Japan no less).

9. Hus “Wavo” Kingpin – The Threesome EP
Hus never takes years off, but 2020 was an especially prolific one for him. This being arguably his strongest project of the year, and a very early post on Cognac Spaceship being the fourth most viewed post in site history, it’s fitting that Wavo should find himself on this list. Shout out the Internet Archive for being a place where you can still find Madonna’s Sex book online.

8. Lil Pharo – “F4mous” / “Hendi”
Artists and managers who hit the submission page: good things come to those who wait and also to those who share these posts across their social media channels. There was about a month between submission and follow-up here, so obviously I’m not in the practice of premiering hit singles ahead of pay-to-play sites, but I’m happy to provide a platform for those who do their due diligence.

7. “He’s a Caveman, It’s Another Time.” R.A. the Rugged Man Puts the Id in Long Island.
R.A. the Rugged Man is known as both a crazy motherfucker and a devout hip-hop head, and this interview shows why. His antics are legendary, but for me it was most fun hearing R.A. talk about his roots in the mid- to late-1980s LI hip-hop culture. I learned a lot from our discussion. Trust I’m still trying to find the Latino freestyle single that provided his first appearance on wax.

6. Andy Koufax – I’m From A Little Place
Fun fact: the original promo for this album compared it in a roundabout way with a pineal gland cyst and was attributed to Jesus Christ. Side note: the Long Island Rap Record Store page that also launched with this release brought in more views than the top two posts on this list combined. If one-twelfth of those visitors bought a tape, they’d be sold out. If you buy one, I’ll be super grateful.

5. “It's a dirty game of chess or checkers. Get paid or be left naked and desperate. I lit a candle and played Jamaican records, prayed and rested next to my favorite weapons, saved my bread up and then made my exit. I'm going back and forth with the thoughts of quitting like table tennis, but what's the game if the players ain't in it? Every pen ran out of ink on the day this was written.”

4. Roc Marciano: The Flipmode Era
The only surprising thing about Roc Marciano having two of the year’s top 10 posts is that neither of them is in the top 3. This post was basically me cataloging an afternoon spent listening to Flipmode Squad songs from 1999-2001. In the immortal words of Busta Rhymes, “So then they said, ‘Oh, so that mean we gon’, you gon’ switch it on em?’ I said, ‘Yeah, Flipmode. Flipmode is the greatest.’”

3. Dreddy Kruger Spotlights LI Talent on Think Differently Two: The Audio Film
Dreddy hit me after seeing DJ Booth’s feature on I’m From A Little Place. This led to me doing a feature on his latest project, which is a great listen, and DJ Booth doing a feature on the man himself, which is a great read. Definitely check all that out if you haven’t and look out for more Think Differently-related posts coming in 2021.

2. Darc Mind Was Here: Kevroc & X-Ray Reflect on 30 Years “Going Through It”
The possible opportunity to some day do this very interview was one of the main reasons I started writing about music in the first place, so you’ll have to understand when I say that this is easily my favorite post in the site’s history and the one I’ve gone back to most throughout 2020. With so many threads to follow from here, I expect to continue returning to it for many years to come.

1. An oral history of IGT, the Ill Got Team.
A post on IGT was long overdue, to the point where I felt the only way to do it justice would be to include a little bit of everything I could find on them. To organize it, I used the same tactic I’d adopted for my post on Rakim’s early years (the site’s second most viewed ever). I’m happy to report this ended up connecting me directly with IGT’s Lagato Shine, who was nice enough to submit some tracks for LongIslandRap.comp v4 and who will no doubt be featured here again in the future.

Hus "Wavo" Kingpin - The Threesome EP

In October 1992 Madonna released a 128-page photography book called Sex, which featured on pages 102 and 104-108 pictures from a shoot with Big Daddy Kane and Naomi Campbell. (Flip the pages below.)

In July 2020 Hus Kingpin released The Threesome EP on digital, vinyl and CD formats with cover art inspired by said shoot, including the illustrated alternative by Squat Deadface seen here.

"She said, 'Yeah, it's wavy, ain't it?'"

"Huh, say what? What was that?"

CDs and LPs include the download.

Hus Kingpin - "Mind Sex God"

Hus Kingpin - Cocaine Beach

"The vibe on this project is flat out what you see on the cover yo...the soundscapes of that 80s crack epidemic. Dirty Money. Reaganomics...dookie ropes n medallions the size of small rodents...Dapper Dan suits...Lamborghini Countaches n Ferrari Testarossas...Miami Vice...Chicks rockin aerobic shit wit colorful thong leotards on top of spandex leggings...Headbands... Let the music carry you away to that time...to a place called Cocaine Beach."

Only in America can a man establish himself as a Ghostface-aping rap reviewer and parlay that reputation into a critically acclaimed run as a rap producer. Download Cocaine Beach here.

Tha Connection - "Windz"

Hus Kingpin & Rozewood - "Love Day"

Taking the high road in the Winners-Griselda rift: "I just had yall niggas out in LA, smoking the best weed you ever seen in your face."

Hus Kingpin - "Leila" ft. El Ay (prod. by DJ Premier)

Hus opens up on this one; the result: maybe his best track to date. Oh, and it's produced by some guy named DJ Premier. Actually, Hus has done a few tracks over Preem beats. See:

Hus Kingpin & SmooVth - "Cocaine Diaries" prod. by Ra

Baldwin's own Ra the Beat Archaeologist, who until recently worked primarily in Freeport but is now based out of Vegas, links up with SmooVth and Hus Kingpin, who's also known to bounce between East and West. Long Island's killing it on both coasts.

Hus Kingpin & Rozewood - "War Moon"

Sick beat change on this one. Hus stays sharp as always. Can't wait for the next Rozewood solo album though.

"Invisible Eyes" Remixes by Ra and QS

Is it just me or did Hus clearly write this one to the "Song Cry" beat?

Hus Kingpin - House of Kingpin

Download Hus Kingpin's House of Kingpin here.

Tha Connection - Moon Water

In honor of tonight's super blood moon eclipse (which is happening right now -- go outside), here's Tha Connection's 2008 Goon Trax album, which was released at the time in Japan only. Now available via iTunes. For the record, Hus' opening verse one of his best to date, possibly.

Tha Connection - Universal Dominance

A few years before Hus Kingpin built Digi Crate Records to be the international platform it is today, he and SmooVth were working with a number of different labels including Libyus Music, Goon Trax, and Domination Recordings, which released The Connection's Universal Dominance in 2008 as a free download. Somewhat surprisingly, this album is still available to stream and download. And though Hus "tha" Kingpin and SmooVth "Dude" have clearly honed their skills since, the raw artistic talents were already there, as you'll hear. Also appearing on this album were several artists with whom Hus and SmooVth are still collaborating today, including rapper Rozewood and producers SciFi and DJ Kryptonite. Download Universal Dominance here.

Tha Connection - Splash Bros E.P.

Whether you call them Hus & SmooVth, Tha Connection or the Splash Brothers, the fact remains: Hempstead's Hus Kingpin & Sean SmooVth are back with another free release, this one dropping via Complex Magazine and streaming via Audiomack. If you want to download it via Audiomack, you'll have to connect their App to your Twitter or Facebook account. Alternatively, you can download the Splash Bros E.P. right here without any of that hubbub.

The Winners - The New Leaders of the New School

If you're new to The Winners movement, this is a decent introduction, but what's new on the new Winners mixtape, The New Leaders of the New School? In terms of the tracklist, nothing. All of these tracks were already available in some form or another, which seems to be in keeping with the Digi Crates business model, but to be fair, this is just a mixtape. And no news is good news, I guess.

Actually scratch that, there are some class roster changes since 2013's #TheWinnersMixtape, as Sean Rosati, El Ay and Giallo Point have all been officially added to the team.

Hus Kingpin & Rozewood - "Star Castles" (prod. by Alchemist)

I hope everyone is enjoying a well-deserved holiday rest, as we have here at the Long Island Rap Blog. Look forward to more Long Island hip-hop edutainment in 2015.

In the meantime, just breezing through to post the latest from Hus & Roze, an Alchemist-produced track that appears on their Pop-Up Shop EP, which is available for $8 for a limited time only. (Edit: Yeah, "limited time only" is right -- now it's free! These guys...)

The duo also released a clean radio edit of the song, which can be streamed and downloaded for free via Digi Crates' Bandcamp. Get dirty below.