Public Enemy - "Bring the Noise" (Todd Terry Mix)

This unreleased PE remix comes to us from Umberto Lampanosa's YouTube channel, a trove of exclusive acetate rips like this one. A closer look at the label shows us that this acetate was pressed May 27, 1988 (52788) by Dick Charles Recording Inc.

Knowledge the Pirate - Buried Treasury

"While Trump tweeting quotes from Mussolini / Shit I'm trying to raise my Kundalini." Those lines, juxtaposing fascism and Dharma, have won Knowledge the Pirate some well-earned praise since Rosebudd's Revenge dropped. His "No Smoke" verse, clearly a show stopper, is in point of fact just the latest in a string of solid contributions to Roc Marciano projects, following "Didn't Know" and "Drug Lords" from Marci Beaucoup; "Slingers," "Shower Posse," and "Ten Toes Down" from Pimpire Strikes Back; and "Not Told" from Reloaded. Add on the non-album cut "Her Vice" and the Ricky Dubs feature "Shot A Man," and you've got a nice playlist of Marciano-Pirate collabos.

Nice indeed, but these hardly represent the complete discography of Knowledge the Pirate aka Knowledge, an MC whose work dates back to the mid-'90s. Knowledge previously shed light on his history via a 2013 interview with the Village Voice, in which he discussed early come-ups via big-name affiliations such as Teddy Riley, The Neptunes and Will Smith. (The picture above was taken on the set of Men In Black, according to Knowledge's IG.) Though it provides a decent overview of Knowledge's first forays into the recording industry, the story fails to mention any of his early recordings by name.

With the recent news that a video for "No Smoke" is on the way (preview it here), I figured now's a good time to dig and see which rare Pirate jewels we might unearth. Using a few of the names mentioned in the VV interview, I combed Discogs and YouTube for previously unheard Knowledge the Pirate songs and came up with five tracks, including one solo cut and four guest features, which I compiled into the playlist streaming below. While you listen, note that the earliest of these tunes dates all the way back to 1994, making Knowledge's debut as much as three years older than "The Prophecy," Marciano's first appearance on wax.




1. Knowledge The Pirate - Am I The Blame (2010)
2. Will Smith - Act Like You Know [add'tl vox by Knowlege] (Born to Reign, 2002)
3. Mike E - Before We Get Too Close ft. Knowledge the Pirate & Queen Pen (Master Plan, 2000)

4. Knowledge the Pirate - Ahoy! (Harlem World Order, 1999)
4. Nutta Butta - Freak Out Remix ft. B.B.O., Knowledge the Pirate & Teddy Riley (12", 1998)
5. Wreckx-N-Effect - Criminal Minded ft. Knowledge & Rugged Baztud (Raps New Generation, 1996)
6. Wreckx-N-Effect - Something for da Radio ft. A-Q, Badd Newz, Knowledge & Rugged Baztud (Raps New Generation, 1996)
7. Wreckx-N-Effect - Sucka MC's ft. A-Plus, Knowledge, Nutta Butta (Raps New Generation, 1996)
8. Blackstreet - U Blow My Mind ft. Knowledge (Blackstreet, 1994)
9. Blackstreet - Baby Be Mine ft. Knowledge (Blackstreet, 1994)

EDIT (8/8/18): Discogs updates have allowed me to add four more tracks to the list. I also removed "The Point" as Knowledge's voice is impossible to pick out, and nobody has confirmed he's actually on there.

EDIT (3/28/23): The Nutta Butta track disappeared from YouTube so that's gone for now, but I also found out that "Ahoy!," which I previously thought was an unreleased loosie, was on DJ S&S' Harlem World Order album and added that here.

Kmplx Vzn - "Optimist (Kool Aid)"

Would you rather be confused or contented? Your answer says a lot. For those who enjoy the challenge of figuring things out, focus your attention on Kmplx Vzn, the Huntington Station MC at the forefront of the 456 Movement. His 2016 debut, Silken Web, recalls at least one time-honored LI hip-hop tradition, the skit. Don't get it twisted, though; Kmplx Vzn sees things his own way. See for yourself.

DJ Pr!nce - American Beauty Mix

Not entirely sure what this is but a new mix from DJ Pr!nce is always welcome. The Original Selector aka Roach Killa aka WiFi OG aka Steven A. Spliff has been getting around a lot lately, so American Beauty is probably a reference to the NYC club of that name.

As a matter of fact, if you're not already in for the evening, you might could catch DJ Pr!nce spinning some Brazilian Samba, Afro Funk, Soul and Disco at Ode to Babel, 772 Dean St. in BK. Bump this on the way.

De La Soul Live from London

Do you have a Tidal? (Tidal!)

De La Soul, they have a Tidal. (Tidal!)

and the Anonymous Nobody, he has a Tidal. (Tidal!)

Well, if you do have a Tidal (Tidal!), then you can stream De La Soul's upcoming London concert at the Roundhouse, this Friday at 4 p.m. Those who've seen De La Soul in concert know their live show's one of hip-hop's best, the result of decades of practice. For some perspective, revisit De La Soul live in Philly circa 1989, and below check out a G.O.O.D. Music party cipher from 2008 featuring De La along with Will I Am, Mos Def, Nas and Kanye West.

ALLAN - "DK" (prod. by Manny McPlanes)

ALLAN of TrueFreedom flew through to drop off a new video directed by the inimitable Kenneth Callier for a track produced by Freeport's Manny McPlanes.

"With (Self-entitled Bullshit) dropping tomorrow it only seemed fitting," he writes.

This one was filmed guerrilla style on location at the parking garage of The Source Mall in Westbury during the early morning hours, presumably to get those sweet 360 shots with nary a vehicle in sight.

D.A. The Future - Da Illa Tape

J. Dilla was born and died in the month of February. Thus, every year around this time, hip-hop becomes even more saturated with JD tributes than usual. (Don't act like half the beatmakers out right now aren't essentially Dilla tribute acts to begin with.) One project, however, that actually feels like a fitting homage comes from Amitvyille's own D.A. The Future, who manages to honor the frameworks of Dilla's original compositions without sacrificing the spontaneity that made his music so magical. Stream above and download here.

Midnite Society - "ReddWithTheOx"

"ReddWithTheOx" is the tentative title of this second leak off Midnite Society's upcoming project, The Morning Can Wait  (following "Butterfly Dreams," which we posted last October), It's also the name of one of the three MCs on this track, the others being Petey Max and ShoDaFloMan (aka Shozae, who delivers the 1st verse; Redd's on the hook and P.E.T.E. has the 2nd verse). Can't wait for The Morning? Well, you're going to have to. Producer of this track, Shozae says, "We working on that album right now. We got some ill shit coming." So just sit tight.

Black Teenager - The "Death Boy" Tape

This is Black Teenager. Black Teenager is from Brownsville, not LI, but he goes/went to SUNY Farmingdale and is/was at least loosely affiliated with the RADICAL$ crew, which is how I was introduced to his music.

Black Teenager has a new album out on Soundcloud and iTunes, called The "Death Boy" Tape, which has a macabre audio-aesthetic concept I won't give away, but dig the early procession progression.

Stream below. Download here.

Roc Marciano - Rosebudd's Revenge Part 1 (LP OUT!)

The wait is over. Rosebudd's Revenge, the fourth official album by Roc Marciano, is out now via rocmarci.com, having arrived in the dead of night like a streetwalker.

There are 15 songs, 7 produced by Roc himself, 5 by a member of the Arch Druids production duo.

Portions of tracks 2, 1 and 13 are collected in the video below titled Rosebudd's Revenge Part 1, which dropped last night along with the album. These are produced by Don C[halant], George "Mushroom Jesus" Paulin and Roc Marci, respectively.

Get that money.