DJ Stitches - Mixin In Action Vol. 1-5

I somehow just found DJ Stitches' IG account, which led me to the mixes below. It also led me to these posts, which seem to be the front and back cover of an instrumental album called The Reinvention. I don't have IG, or a direct line on Stitches, but if anyone does, please let him know the site is hungry to hear that.

DJ Stitches & BP - The Producerz

Dug this mix up from the the old WAXWERKZ blog. DJ Stitches and BP trade remixes of tracks by Half-a-Mil, Big L, Ras Kass, Pharoah Monch, Mobb Deep, Nas, Jadakiss, M.O.P., Big Pun, Kool G Rap, B.I.G., Jay-Z, Raekwon and more.

Elucid - "Heavy Rotation" ft. Jay Supreme

With Elucid's Backwoodz Studioz solo debut, Save Yourself, just five days away, now seems as good a time as any to unearth some music from the sessions that mark the true beginning of this young old veteran's recording career. If you've been following this site for a while, you might've already heard Elucid's early '00s hometown anthem "Strong Island Part One," which was produced by his uncle, DJ Stitches. What we didn't realize when we posted that song was that it came from the rapper's first EP, a four-song affair called The One In Man, recorded and produced entirely by DJ Stitches. Elucid told me about this release some time after the song was posted here, but it was actually an old post from Stitches' now-defunct blogspot that put me on the trail of the song you're hearing here today. Much linkage has disappeared from THE REAL DJ STITCHES PRESENTZ WAXWERKZ over the years, so the EP itself is no longer available (not there at least), but the site does still show the tracklist, which led me to the Amazing Tunes link above. (I don't know wtf Amazing Tunes is either, but apparently you can download this cut for £0.79 via Paypal from there.) Rewind then Save Yourself April 15.

Stoneface - "No Amateurs" (prod. by BP & DJ Stitches) / Diabolic - "Victim's Story RMX" (prod. by BP)

"No Amateurs" on this one, for sure. Though the rapping on this B.I.G. tribute is handled by Philly native Stoneface, Long Island manages the backbone, with North Amityville's DJ Stitches providing cuts and 11701 Productions head honcho BP laying the beat.

It just so happens this is the 7th installment of BP's 7 series, which sees the producer dropping an exclusive or unreleased track on the 7th of the month. Aside from Stitches (and BP, obviously) the last Long Islander to contribute to the series was Huntington Station's own Diabolic, whose Fightin' Words track "Victim's Story" was remixed for the January 7 drop. Stream both below.

DJ Stitches & Rhyme Valore - "Another Sleepless Night" EP

This EP collects the vocal tracks from DJ Stitches and Rhyme Va-Lor's long out-of-print "These Are The Dayz" / "Top Emcee" 12-inch, as well as five previously unreleased artifacts of early-mid '90s Long Island hip-hop, each of which evoke a particular kind of creepiness, perhaps presaging Rhyme Va-Lor's coming work with Prince Paul and Superstar in Horror City.

This Dope Folks Records release is "limited to 300 copies and will never be repressed," so give it a listen below and get it here while you still can.

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.