ROB ONE TAPS THE FADER ON THE DRUM

Sometimes scrounging up tapes to record radio shows would lead to desperate measures. Spending too long searching for a C-90 could mean the difference between catching a white label pressed in the hundreds or a dope freestyle by some MC you'd never even heard of. So it goes with this tape of Rob One on The Drum. I don't recall the specific night, but I'm sure I heard Kevvy Kev say Rob One just walked into the basement and I frantically grabbed whatever tape was in front of me, stuck it in the deck and hit record. Unfortunately it ended up being some promo tape of some shitty metal band some crap label had sent me. For those not in the loop of the classic "I do a music zine, send me free shit" scam of the 90's, this meant I was dealing with a cassette giving me a meager 30 minutes (if you're lucky) a side. Typing this up is stirring up regret for too many lost tapes with songs I still haven't recovered in years of digging. Who knows where the tape(s) of the rest of this show ended up. But you don't throw away the fossil just because you broke the rock, right? With this view, we present to you a brief excerpt of Rob One's 1997 visit to Kevvy Kev's legendary show. Rob drops then unheard Rakim and Ghostface tracks plus a nice Sunz of Man drop. EB the Lyrical Storm stops by and a then unknown Chali2na starts to bust right when the tape cuts out. Yep, that's just how it goes sometimes. Rob was one of the illest ever to put records to cassette and the flawless mixing on this short bit just hammers it home. Check the fossil.

Rob One on The Drum

THE GRAND AIN’T FORCE UNLESS THE FORCE IS GRAND

I’m pretty sure whoever played the keyboard chimes on the chorus for this one was drunk. That shit is like three-wheel motion on a u-turn, spillin’ So Co and orange Fanta out your Solo cup onto your black Bart Simpson XXXL, trying to re-position your leather Africa medallion over the stain so it doesn't show.

Street Art Records was a subsidiary of Miami’s Hot Productions (Hot Associated Labels) that released only about a dozen records in the late-80’s; its most notable release was probably the first issue of L’Trimm’s 'Cars With The Boom.’ ‘Grand Force b/w Grand Bass’ by Grand Force Posse in 1987 was their first release ever. Welcome to bassland! Sorry about the skip in the second half of the instrumental. You should have seen how warped this plate was! The stylus at Eons’ looked like it was riding the Big Dipper at Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Trust me, you don't need to throw a hissy-fit over this one minor flaw, 'cause every house party I ever went to at least one record skipped, and I'd much rather be listening to this at a house party then on a lonely iPod, sittin' on the train on my way to my dead-end job. So, GET IN THE ZONE, little homies! Like Damone said in Fast Times, "It's all about the attitude, Rat."

Grand Force Posse - Grand Force

Grand Force Posse - Grand Bass

TEN G'S TO THE GRAVEYARD

Once a year the Record Man in Redwood City, CA holds his parking lot sale. They set up a bunch of tents and tables and pile boxes filled with tens of thousands of lp's and twelve inches on em. Obviously, shit is a total feeding frenzy and is not for beginners or the faint of heart. It starts at 8, but real junkies are pacing around out front hours before. The only notification for the date of the sale is an email. I sign up for this fucking email every year and I NEVER get it. This year I ended up calling the store to find out the date and wouldn't you fucking know it, I'd already committed to working the night before which meant getting home the day of the sale. FUCK! I tried to get out of it but the best I could do was wake up as early as possible, finish work and get the fuck out! By the time I'd arrived there was a huge group of dudes in crisp New Era's sitting around sorting through all the shit they'd just dug. I went straight for the jazz lp's and all the boxes were half full. Damn. Sometimes you gotta give someone else a chance, right? I did end up scoring some nice stuff after digging for a few hours. My pops showed up and was digging around for awhile.

At one point Jake came up to me with this 12" by DJ Swift & the Mob Boss asked if I knew about it. 93? San Jose, CA? "If you ain't gonna get it I will." Unfortunately for me, I had just sold him on it. What we discovered later over a couple beers and a couple spins is that this self released 12" was like a lost In-A-Minute Records demo. Instantly we were transported back to the days of Totally Insane, R.B.L. Posse, Chunk and the like. The A side is a fast track that mixes Lyn Collins "Think (About It)" with John Carpenter's theme from Halloween that ends up sounding like "It Takes Two" on dust. I guess this was their attempt at a club track, but when Mob Boss says, "I move like a fly and hit hard as a brick" I picture him running into a packed nightclub, hockey mask strapped to the face with the machete swinging (I think I just made it sound better than it really is). But in the tradition of all great rap 12"s, the B side wins again. "What's Really Goin On?" is even more dusted with it's backward snare hits, 808 kicks and an almost megamix style arrangement that uses a grip of familiar samples like Average White Band, Bob Marley, ESG and I swear I can hear "Mardi Gras" being spun backwards underneath it all (could be the dust). DJ Swift sounds like he studied under T.C. around the time of RBL's "A Lesson To Be Learned" and I'm not mad at that. If anyone knows more about this 12" or whatever happened to these cats, leave a comment.

DJ Swift & The Mob Boss - What's Really Goin On?

RENEGADE THAT'S GETTIN' PAID TO KNOCK YOUR CREW

I mentioned this record in INFLATION OF POCKSECTOMY, so I figured it was only right to let you scabby-headed arcade orphans hear it. I couldn't believe a dude from San Jo got signed to Luke Skyywalker Records back then. This is actually the b-side to the "Just Rock" 12" released in 1987. It was a trip, 2 Live Crew, DJ KJ & MC Kooley C, MC Shy D, LeJuan Love, JDC, Anquette, Ghetto Style DJs, and a gold-and-cameo-cut rockin' G from the eastside of the 408 named M.C. Twist and don't forget the DEF SQUAD. Who would of thunk it? How did his demo get into Luther Campbell's hands back then? I'd love to hear that story. "I Like It Loud" was also on Twist's album, "Comin' Thru Like Warriors" (Skyywalker, 1989). Another 12" off that album was "Shock The House," which gives credibility to my "San Jo's shockin'" commentary from a previous blog. I was never really into the song "Just Rock," but actually my homie DJ Quest has been playing it out lately and when drunk I enjoy it, and enjoy stumping fools when they don't know who it is... got you Brandon B. Also... DJ 2 Fresh used "I Like It Loud" as the intro to his legendary "Human 4-Track" mixtape (soon to be posted here I'm sure).

"Panty-spankin', volume-crankin', so that my cuts... can be heard!" If you'd listen to that MCs of Rap song (below) again, you'll hear them say, "We're not from New York or Northern California," okay maybe they say, "We're not from New York; we're not from California," whatever. It still kinda cosigns the notion (if you squint just right) that heads from Miami were hip to what was up in the Bay even way back then, kinda, right? I mean, it's not like they said L.A. or Philly, so fuck it I'm building on the myth. It WAS literally shocking though back in '87, man. I was still buggin' off how Shy D's "Gotta Be Tough" always got all the girlies to smurf and do the Guess and shit, and then bam! The next thing I find from the Miami label is right in my own backyard. Talk about a trip to the fuckin' brain, ese. How will I laugh tomorrow when I can't even smile today, Mike Muir.

M.C. Twist & The Def Squad - I Like It Loud

HEAVY GRIT ON YOUR TURNTABLES

Before he was known for wearing wrestling masks and hanging with Kool Keith, Kutmasta Kurt was known to all real heads in the broadcast range of 90.1 FM KZSU's signal as the man helming the click clack in Kevvy Kev's Drum Posse. I've discussed the importance of these Drum tapes before and I was lucky to recently come across this tape still intact. Kurt kills it during these these 40+ minutes, dropping seldom heard gems like Ghetto Philharmonic's "Don't Bite the Concept", Troubleneck Brothers' "Back to the Hip Hop" and San Jo's own 10Bass T. Kurt also drops live remixes of "Crooklyn" and "Hip Hop vs. Rap". I never had the clear head or fore site to date any of these tapes, but judging by the records Kurt is playing, I'm guessing this is late 1994. Gut a Jewel, set the Wayback Machine for the parking lot of Memorial Hall, 1994 and click the link.

Kutmasta Kurt on The Drum

THE GROUND THAT YOU'RE STANDIN' ON NOW BEEN SHOOK

This record is all a soul needs. 808 with liberal use of the signature handclap? Check. Guitar stab to scratch? Check. "Ahh, that stuff is really fresh" scratch? Check. "Catch A Groove" wrap-around cut? Check. And, fuck it, how about a Prince record for the outro? Check. Cut Master Cox had all the necessities and none of the fat when he left the house for Miami's Sound International studios that day way back in, I'm guessing, 1988, '87? Whenever. That accapella cut of the guitar stab right before the end of the song should be in a hall of fame somewhere.

Though Dandy D earned the title-lyric spot for the end of his verse, he really shines when he's backing up Cool C.P.'s verses. His "See it must come down," "middle-aged" and gravely "Nahh--ow" in the first verse alone display harmonious b-boyism at it's finest. A possible predecessor to Eazy E and Ron-De-Vu's duets. Speaking of lyrics: "We came to dominate, to intimidate, so participate, as we illustrate... we're gonna to illa-, partissa-, intima-, and domi- nate... you!" is GENIUS!... if they had used words that actually ended in the "-nate' sound, like say germinate, exterminate, or vaccinate, it would have sucked, but the way they got it is sheer genius! So is naming your label "Rap" Records with a silhouetted Run-DMC logo and calling your group MCs of Rap. That's what I'm fuckin' talkin' about!

Rap Records put out at least 4 other records by MCs of Rap according to Vol. 1 of Freddy Fresh's book, but this one wasn't in it. Once again maybe it came out later than I thought. Shout outs to 2 Live Crew, Ghetto Style DJs, Mantronix, Shy D, Fresh Kid Ice, 139th St. Posse, etc. are kinda sick too. Somebody should cover this pronto, Tonto... jump on it!

MC's of Rap - Domination

MC's of Rap - Domination (inst)