MEGAKUT RADIO #1

Here’s a non-progressive, retroactive, radio-style mix from our friends over at Megakut. What’s impressive is that it captures the vintage sound quality that was signature for the time period. When people, not directly involved in the scene that created it, first experienced this “electro-megamix-style-rap” music back in the late-80’s it was usually via some radio station that you could barely tune in or off a seventh-generation cassette of the same radio show. This is getting closer and closer to how it was. You just turned it up loud and listened to the bass! Sound like a weak excuse for having fucked up records? You may be right, Fletch. If you were born after ’79, it probably can’t help but sound fucked up. Not my problem, you need to obey the Mistress of Boom and just "Let It Go".

MEGAKUT RADIO #1: “PLAY LOUD IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA”

THE UNKNOWN DJ—“808 BEATS (club mix)”—Techno Hop—Produced by Andre Manuel

MCS OF RAP—“THIS IS THE JAM”—Rap Records—Produced by DJ Cox and Cool CP

YOLE BOYS—“SPREAD THOSE CHEEKS”—Megakut—Produced by Fatees

KYNA ANTEE (AKA THE MISTRESS)—“LET IT GO”—Techno Kut—Produced by Unknown DJ and Arabian Prince

DJ BATTERY BRAIN—“808 VOLT MIX”—Techno Hop—Produced by Unknown

DJ SLICE & KOOL ROCK JAY—“SLICE IT UP”—Dunk Yer Funk—Produced by L. Ramsey & M. Brown

BOOKER T. AND MUGGS VS. BOOKER T, ME AND SD50 (AND MUGGS)

Here’s some rap and break record nerd-ery that didn’t amount to much but was nevertheless entertaining and pays tribute to the cut-up some how I'm sure, rearranging audio recordings in an effort to decode the material's implicit content, hypothesizing that such a technique could be used to discover the true meaning of a given composition. William S. Burroughs also suggested cut-ups may be effective as a form of divination saying, "When you cut into the present the future leaks out."

It all started when I was listening to “Lickshot” produced by the SD50s on the b-side of Grand Puba’s “Ya Know How It Goes” 12” from 1993. I misinterpreted the main loop as a chop of Booker T and the MGs “No Matter What Shape” off their 1966 Stax album “And Now!” When I got out my Booker T record and rocked it, I realized that “Lickshot” must’ve have been made with a different record because it sounded only slightly like “No Matter What Shape.”

Then I remembered that Grandmixer Muggs had used “No Matter What Shape” for his Main Mix on House of Pain’s “Shamrocks and Shenanigans” remix 12” with that Butch Vig monstrosity on it. Upon listening to the HOP plate, I was reminded that Muggs had been lazy and simply snatched the first bar of the groove after the vamped intro and then let it loop (the most obvious use of the break—the Main Mix and the Booker T song are the exact same bpm an’ e’rythang). Muggs definitely didn’t chop it and speed it up like I thought the SD50s had done for “Lickshot” even though as it turns out I'm pretty sure*** they didn’t do anything of the sort, though my stoned curiosity remained undaunted. So I decided to use GarageBand and my below rudimentary knowledge of breakbeat editing to chop the Booker T break to resemble what I wrongly thought the SD50s did on “Lickshot.” I stole Muggs' drum loop from a breakdown in his Main Mix to expedite the process, and what resulted sounded nothing like “Lickshot,” but perhaps you can tell how I tried to rearrange Muggs' straight forward Booker T loop in an attempt to make it sound stimulated dummie-esque by jankily incorporating the snare in the intro just before the one of the groove drops instead of letting the guitar stab double up in the second half of the measure. No great feat, I know, just a noteworthy subtle nuance. A waste of time? Perhaps. Muggs’ production is vastly superior to mine, and I never should’ve thought him lazy (his loop is flawless and those horns that come in on the chorus make it deluxe). Yes, perhaps it does sound like a waste of time to some, but I’m addicted and for me it beat the shit out of updating my Disgracebook status so my cyber “friends” could be informed as to the consistency of my last bowel movement or some other banal tid-bit concerning my worthless existence. Listen in order and literally time travel at the speed of implicit thought… decoded.

Booker T and the MG’s “No Matter What Shape”

Grand Puba “Lickshot” LP version

House of Pain “Shamrocks and Shenanigans (Muggs Main Mix Instrumental)”

Here Comes the Break (No Matter What Sham-Lick Death Edit)

***= if I'm wrong and the SDs did use parts of "No Matter What Shape" for "Lickshot," please correct me... but maybe you should just whisper it to me, 'cause it's not listed as a cleared sample in the liner notes and we don't want to snitch on anyone and get them busted now do we? Shit, now I gotta go back and make sure I didn't just snitch on Muggs... in the modern world where music is essentially free these sampling laws seem stupider and stupider don't you think?... praise the edit, cut shit up and reuse it, to hell with the man and his law, it's the only way we'll get to the future.

DEEP LIKE A SOCRATES, FOUL LIKE ATROCITIES

At the urging of Smooth Triumph, I've vowed to only post 12" rips till 2010. Let's go back to 1997 with one of my all time favorite MC's: the God, Percy Chapman aka Tragedy Khadafi. The Iron Sheiks 12" served both as vehicle to get some Noreaga disses into the hands of mixtape djs as well as an introduction to Trag's next QB protege, Imam T.H.U.G. "Allumaniti" is pure grimey 90's perfection, just listen to that fucking snare! Could it get anymore desparate? Imam comes nice with his on what I believe is his vinyl debut. But it's a pissed off and mad hungry Foul Mahdi who devours the beat, giving a diamond encrusted, J.G. Ballard style glimpse into the future as only Khadafi could. "True Confessions" brightens things up about .2% with it's r&b hook, but it's still winter 365 as far as the Iron Sheiks are concerned. Imam disses the shit out of Noreaga while Tragedy kicks more of his illuminati hologram shit with a fiery helping of religious imagery. I'm gonna guess Tragedy produced both of these. The flipside has a bunch of mixtape stuff: Tony Touch, 25 and Bad Boy on a DJ Clue freestyle, but the real winner is the gutter as fuck 914 freestyle that sounds like it was recorded on a 4 track that had been left out in the snow for a week straight. I think MC Stinkweed put this track on every mix he made at my house for a couple years straight. "That track with all the barking, kid!"

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EASY RIDER/ 01: A CLASSY UNDERGROUND BAY AREA RAP 7" FROM 2002

You might not have this one. In fact, I think it's kinda rare. I know it's dope. Executive produced and manufactured by the great Johnny LeMasters, who used to go under the moniker Sarge Shitface and once rode along with Joe Dub and Sacred Hoop to a legendary show in Chico that involved mushrooms and aluminum foil made jewlery, this piece of wax defines cutty. Around this time Mr. LeMasters (who culled his name from the hot-and-cold 80s Giants infielder) was also posing as a reverend and marrying unsuspecting couples in Golden Gate Park for cash. You hear him referred to as the "Rev" on Joe Dub's track, "95." Joey's self-produced track is best described by his a.k.a. Seabreeze, and I think the artistic vision of the record sleeve represents his migration from the San Francisco streets to the islands of Hawaii, but that's pure conjecture. I love how the back of the record gives the equipment used to make and record the songs and the locations where they were recorded in the liner notes.

The legend of low-fi greatness behind the Eddie K and DJ Marz track, "So Much Drama In The Industry" as I remember goes something like this: Marz was staying with this girl in Oakland, referred to as "Bubbles" in the liner notes. Marz made the beat on his MPC 2000, then plugged both it and a mic thru his regular DJ mixer, a Vestax, Rane or something of the like, with the "out" going into his Sony mini-disc player/recorder (remember those little pieces of digital heaven?). Marz played the beat out the MPC and Ed rapped along at the same time down to basically a stereo one-track all in one take. Straight Schooly D "PSK" styleee, fool! Legend has it they did it in one single take (that's why the liner notes say, "One Take Jake) and then Marz ejected the mini-disc, handed it to Johnny LeMasters and said, "Press dem plates, Sarge!" Okay, Marz probably didn't say that and LeMasters probably wasn't even there, but talk about on the spot talent, Bulletproof Space Travelers come thru everytime. If there's 300 of these out there I'd be hella surprised. See if you can find it. And was there ever an Easy Rider/02?

Look closely on the righthand edge of the back cover. Morgan Smail is listed as the Spiritual Advisor. Caddyshack heads know that's the kid that asked to eat his sister's steak fat, sucked down dead soldiers with cigarettes extinguished in them and puked thru the open sunroof of a Porsche. No wait, that kid's name is Spaulding! Who is Morgan Smail?

Side A>>> Side B>>>

I KNOW I WON'T SUCCEED, BORN A BAD BREED

Alright kids, here's another Phil Blunts banger. This time around he goes under the Philly Bathgate alias. One of only 2 releases on the short lived Harvey Records label manned by one Harvey L. Frierson Jr. aka Harvey Jr who seems to have had his hands all over construction of the infamous 360° 12"! And to get even more gully on your ass, this 12" was recorded at Keith Shocklee's crib!! This record is all about the L's as both beats are minimal loops with a bit of added percussion. "Trapped In The Game" has Phil lamenting the ups and dows of the crack game while "2 Minutes" is a quick lil freestyle drop (that doesn't even hit the 2 minute mark). It's not a mind blowing 12" by any means, but Phil is nice with his on the mic and the ill legacy of all involved in this 12" cannot be denied. Which leads us to the almighty question, whatever happened to Phil Blunts?

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