Marlo DeMore - Still Dreaming

Marlo DeMore reps Bellmore so hard he made it a part of his rap name. (DeMore means 'of Bellmore.') Furthermore, the 24-year-old MC regularly performs at the Bellmore Pool House and even filmed a sizable portion of his "Angels and Minotaurs" video there. He's also been featured in Hot 97's WHO'S NEXT and made several appearances in the Long Island Cypher series, but for a true introduction to the kid, check out his BMC Beats-produced Still Dreaming mixtape below, and if you get the chance, see him live. You won't be disappointed.

EPMD Unfinished Business 25 Year Anniversary Show

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of their sophomore album Unfinished Business, EPMD will be performing live at The Emporium in Patchogue, two weeks from today, on Thursday, August 7.

Also on the bill are local acts Ancient Tongue, Status, DiE$eL-E, Contradiction, and Musick Medics.

Doors open at 7, show starts at 8, tickets cost $20 in advance or $25 at the door and are available via ticketfly. You must be 18 or older to attend.

Of course, if you're younger than 18 and want to attend an EPMD show, you should be allowed to do so on GP ... but don't bank on that getting you past security.

SmooVth and Rozewood Freestyle on WNYU Halftime Radio Show

Jazz and SmooVth at WNYU Radio Studio

Last night I happened onto Facebook only to learn my FB friend Sean SmooVth (better known simply as SmooVth, one half of Tha Connection) was about to appear on the WNYU Halftime Radio Show, so I tracked down the live audio stream, opened up Audacity and hit record ... something like we used to do with stereos and cassette tapes back in the day. Anyway, I got everything together just in time to record SmooVth drop a few verses live on the air. I was all ready to press stop and go to bed, but then Hus Kingpin and Rozewood called in from Cali, and DJ Eclipse convinced Roze to kick a freestyle (like a real one ... off the head) a cappella. As if that wasn't enough, Mike Raw of The UN called in too, at which point he and Jazz (Roc Marciano's manager, the guy with the sick beard pictured to the left) alluded to a new UN project coming soon. Mike Raw also said he'll be dropping a solo mixtape, featuring previously unreleased UN tracks, on Digi Crates very soon. So that happened.

For your listening pleasure, I've included the SmooVth and Rozewood performances below, followed by the full interview, in which you can hear all of the aforementioned for yourself and get some more information on upcoming releases from SmooVth and the rest of the clique.

Supreme Force - You Gotta Come Out Fresh / Handling Things

Released in 1986 on Nia Records, You Gotta Come Out Fresh / Handling Things is the first record to feature Rockville Centre-born, N. Babylon-raised Freddie Foxxx aka Bumpy Knuckles, who was then known as Freddie C (short for his government name, Freddie Campbell). The Supreme Force trio consisted of Campbell rapping alongside MCs Cool C and Easy E (not to be confused with the Philadelphia and Compton rappers who rose to fame in the late '80s using these same names). Check out the single below, download it with the instrumentals here, and as a special added bonus, enjoy this insane interview, in which Foxxx claims that he once beat Big Daddy Kane in a battle, that he was a more diverse MC than Rakim, and that he employs circular breathing. Props To The Break Of Dawn blog, from which I grabbed the single, and to whomever conducted the aforementioned interview in 2005 at Foxxx's space in Lobo Studios, Deer Park.

 

Strong Island's Ol' Skool Summer Soul Jam

This Saturday, July 12,10PM at The Emporium in Patchogue, Melle Mel, Brand Nubian, Oran "Juice" Jones, T-Ski Valley, Aly-Us and Joeski Love will be performing, with DJ Legend and DJ Mitti Nyce on the 1s and 2s and WBLS's Doctor Bob Lee hosting.

Tickets cost $15 in advance or $20 at the doors and are available via Ticketfly or by calling The Emporium box office at 631-627-8787. For bottle service call 631-275-6200.

This event is 21 and over, and supposedly there is a strictly enforced dress code (no hats, baggy pants, shorts, cut-off shirts, tank tops, jerseys or athletic sneakers), but it's hard to imagine a hip-hop show where sneaker culture isn't represented, so take that with a grain of salt maybe. 

Or wear a tux...

Argotec - Language Of The Heart

Argotec is a self-described glitch-hop duo consisting of Deer Park MC Alex Argot and producer/vocalist Rich Courage a.k.a. Defpotec. (Argot + Defpotec = Argotec.) Some might remember Alex Argot as an original member of the now-defunct underground hip-hop collective Conceptual Elements, which consisted of MCs and DJs from across the Island, representing a number of different neighborhoods and styles. Argot's was always one of the less braggadocios, more introspective styles, and that continues here on Language Of The Heart, Argotec's second full length, released March 26, 2013. On paper, the combination of spoken-word rhymes, glitched-out beats and Palumbian hooks might sound like a recipe for atrocity, but it works here, and damn well at that.
 

De La Soul - 3 Feet High & Rising Era Rarities

If you took full advantage of De La Soul's recent self-bootlegging exploits then, like me, you've found yourself in possession of a virtual cache of digital goodies, including the ad scan to the left. You even got a folder full of lesser-known audio, including the Clear Lake Audiotorium EP and and the 3 Feet High and Rising Bonus Disc. Comprehensive as this leak may be, it still doesn't account for every piece in De La Soul's recorded history. For a wider purview of all things De La, we turn to The T.R.O.Y. Blog, where in 2009, poster Roy Johnson compiled and posted several incredible volumes of rare releases from three different eras, the first being the 3 Feet High & Rising Era (1988-1990). For this period, we get two fully packed volumes. In Roy's own words, "I attempted to create to create an alternate version of the officially released album on volume 1, with volume 2 containing all the leftovers." To salute a job well done and continue spreading the gospel of De La, I've re-upped the 3 Feet High & Rising Era Rarities volumes 1 and 2 via mediafire. Nab those now before the links die again, and below, preview a few songs you couldn't get on the Bonus Disc.

EPMD - The Remix Files

This unauthorized compilation of EPMD remixes comes to us direct from the Cold Rock Da Spot blog (so if you don't like it, blame them). A good pick-up for the budding Long Island hip-hop completist, it spans 20 years (1987-2007) in the careers of the "Brothers from Brentwood, L.I.," with tracks ranging from regular old white label remixes to UK mixes to club mixes and the like. Some tracks sound a lot like the original versions and some sound very different, but most if not all of the classic singles are accounted for, making this a great starting point for those who aren't very familiar with the group's work. Sample a few standout tracks below and if you dig, download EPMD - The Remix Files.

The U.N. Presents Rock Marciano - Strength and Honor

Whether you call it a mixtape or a compilation, Strength and Honor could just as easily be considered Roc Marciano's first solo project. Both Roc and Dino Brave have gone on record stating that it's what The UN album UN or U Out should've sounded like, which indicates that the key players involved in that project already knew Roc was "the star of the show," so to speak. One way or the other, after only 10 years, this CD-R release has already undoubtedly cemented itself as a piece of Long Island hip-hop history ... one that's just begging to be reissued. In the meantime, download your copy here and stream the first song (what else?) "L.I. Stand Up" below.

Rozewood & Hus Kingpin - "Shallow Graves"

Another collaboration between Rozewood and Hus Kingpin, who'd previously teamed up on the Tokyo Tower Mixtape, this one's taken from the duo's upcoming $100 Taper album, and features a haunting loop by New Jersey-based producer The Custodian of Records, who recently remixed Hus Kingpin's "RZA."