SPIT: 90 Minutes of Hip Hop

...because there is not enough attention given to the humble hip hop vid and no, we don't mean shiny cars and bouncy bitches (though hey, we'll take that if we can get it.)

To kick start Hip Hop Video of the Week I present to you the film clip to MF Doom aka Madvillain's track "Rhinestone Cowboy." More props to the man in the mask!

Podcast of SPIT, 26th of March 2006.
Size: 41842 kb

Clicking the title will take you to the download page (about halfway down) @ Megashares.com.

Last show for March 2006, and we got a lil eager behind the mics this week and had a bit too much fun so a few of the choice tracks we had lined up will have to wait until next Sunday. Having said that, we still had time to play Visionaries, Sunz of Man, The Pharcyde, Kool G Rap, Murs and one of Sean-Bad's favourites...Snoop!

We're on from 10.30pm till midnight the next two consecutive weeks, as Sean gets hot and heavy behind the desk. The reason? I gots me a full time job - brothers gotta get paid. But never fear! SPIT will live on with Sean-Bad and Comerade Pete and hopefully, even go syndicated when I hit the sunny climes of Bendigo! Stay tuned for a stealthy new template to the site very very soon as well...

Blackalicious "World of Vibrations"
The Pharcyde "Drop"
KRS-1 vs DJ BC "Da Sound of da Irish Police Band" *
Bliss n Eso "Party at My Place"
Foreign Legion "Party Crashers"
MF Doom "One Beer"
Murs "My X Box Rules"
Visionaries "Pangea"
Zach De La Rocha, The Last Emperor, KRS-1 "CIA (Criminals in Action)"
Orishas "Represent" #
Kalashnekoff "Its Murda"
Proof and Chino XL "The Beats, The Rhymes"
Kool G Rap "The Streets"
Sunz of Man "Inmates to the Fire"
Snoop Doggy Dogg "Who Am I (What's My Name)?"
The Dirty Bakers "No Fun" ^
Mobb Deep "When You Hear The"

* Spot That Sample: helping commemorate St Pats Day
# Foreign Legion Track of the Week: Cuba
^ Beat Of The Week

Podcast coming soon...

Plenty to look forward to this week - indeed, I have so much music stacked up on the floor ready to go that I can't remember what colour the carpet is.

We're going to keep the South-Central American theme from last week for a little bit...at least for the Foreign Legion track, which will take us to Cuba (via France). We've also got new stuff from Bliss n Eso to spin, as well as material from Visionaries, Sunz of Man, MF Doom, Foreign Legion, M.O.P and Murs.

Should be a big one so be sure to tune in.

The Guardian and MTV report that a US judge has halted sales of Biggie's 1994 album Ready To Die. Bad Boy Entertainment and executive producer of the album, P. Diddy, were found to have illegally lifted parts of the song Singing in the Morning by the Ohio Players. Diddy ended up having to pay US$4.2 mill to the owners of the Ohio Players recording.

Biggie still continues his post mortem success, with the Duets album recently reaching platinum sales.

The fourth and final chapter of the Down With the King mixtape series is here and it kicks ass. DJ Kay Slay continues to showcase some of hip hop’s biggest acts, both old school and new school. Papoose features, of course, and Ghostface, several tracks with the gangsta rap crew Dipset, G-Unit features with Mobb Deep, M.O.P. and 50, and Busta Rhymes brings Labba, Rah Digga and Spliffstar to the table for another confirmation that the Flipmode Squad is one of the best crews around.

Busta recently signed to Dre’s Aftermath Records, by the way, and his new album is expected shortly. A preview has already been available on the web for a while under the name The Big Bang. Sounds good, but it’ll change before it’s released. Hopefully they’ll manage to give the rest of the Flipmode Squad some exposure too.

This mixtape also features a bunch of tracks with Lil’ Flip , Bun-B and Pimp C from The Underground Kings (UGK). Texas continues to be the place for Chopped and Screwed and some of the hottest MCs in the game pushing for a unique combination of styles.

The mixtape king Papoose should know that it’s about friggin’ time he drops his highly anticipated album. This guy has killed it on seven mixtapes with Kay Slay and continues to feature on the Down With The King series. I wonder what his next move will be. His rap over some Boyz’n the Hood samples on this tape is sick.

The most dissapointing crew on this tape is G-Unit. I don’t say that to be a hater or something but it’s just something to do with the sound, and Fiddy’s singing. Although it sounds kinda cool with Mobb Deep on the same track. And the Mobb and MOP track is pretty cool, but a bit too hard for my taste.

The highlight of the tape is the track So Cold with Dre Robinson, Papoose and Jae Millz. The most disappointing track is without doubt the new Kanye West track for the Impossible Mission 3 soundrack. The track Impossible is as braindead as they get. There are intense debates online about what the hell this track is about. My guess is nothing. Although Twista does crazy rhymes.

Podcast of SPIT, 19th of March 2006.
Size: 55710 kb

As heard on Gippsland FM, 104.7 from 10.30pm featuring Dave The Hat aka MC Scrabble, Sean-Bad McLoughlin and Comrade Pete. Filled in for Sir Pommy Bastard's Pleasant Valley Sunday this weekend - hence the extended playlist (see below) totalling two hours of hip hop, and hence the slightly larger file size. (Apologies for dial up users - guess this one is only for those with 'normal' internet). Given that Sir Pom loves his South American feel, we threw Cypress Hill, Damian 'Jr Gong' Marley and Tony Touch his way. We even took the Foreign Legion track to Mexico. This on top of joints from J5, Jungle Brothers, Likwit Junkies and more.

No takers for Spot That Sample this week. Not enough Marley fans obviously...

Just click the title for the file link. Easy, huh?

NB:Megashares are still down, but I think I found another good one at Savefile.com. If you've used any of these guys before or have feedback, don't hesitate to drop us a line.

Damian 'Jr Gong' Marley feat. Stephen Marley and Black Thought "Pimpa's Paradise"
Jungle Brothers "Jungle Brother (True Blue)"
Coldcut "True Skool"
Crown City Rockers "B-Boy"
Brother Ali "Dorian"
Rasco feat. Chlali2na "The Sweet Science"
Mobb Deep v Bob Marley "Got It Started/Could You Be Loved" *
Smif 'N' Wessun feat. Starang & Tony Touch "U Undastand Me"
Petter & Looptroop "Top Dogz"
Funkoars "And Now For Something Completley Different"
Cypress Hill "Lowrider"
Likwit Junkies "Change"
Delinquent Habits "Tres Delinquentes" #
Lupe Fiasco "The Pen and The Needlz"
Freestyle Fellowship "Ghetto Youth"
DJ Muggs Vs. GZA The Genius "Those That's About It"
Terra Firma feat. Pegz and Reason "Now We're Somewhere"
Bias B "Move On The Pavement"
Open Thought "Force Of Life"
Jurassic 5 "The Influence"
DJ Bjornar 'Neida' "Mama Feel Good" ^
Aesop Rock & Del The Funkee Homosapien "Preservation"
Chali2na feat. Evidence & Swollen Members "Full Contact"

* Spot That Sample: Bob Marley "Could You Be Loved"
# Foreign Legion Track of the Week: Mexico
^ Beat Of The Week

Podcast of the show to be uploaded shortly.

Ecko's notorious computer game apparently “promotes, instructs or invites a matter of crime or violence” and that’s why it’s banned in Oz. A bit of a joke, really. But the mixtape is free and available on the web. So is the game, probably.

The mixtape features Talib Kweli (who also narrates the game), Ghostface, Lupe Fiasco, Method Man, Papoose and many more. All tracks are supremely produced so it sounds more like an album. This is a good thing.

There are also some freestyles here worth noting. The Fabolous, Maino and Young Jeezy one stands out if you’re into gangster rap. Who isn’t?

Guns’n Roses’ Sweet Child of Mine gets a remix by Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park and features the Styles of Beyond rapper Ryo, Juelz Santana and Celph Titled.

Other highlights are Mobb Deep and Termanology’s Everytime Prod. and the Getting Up Anthem with Talib Kweli and Rakim. The Method Man and Mad Rapper track Come On is also a hit. And the track where Jay Z raps over some eighties track is a classic.

There are also some samples here from the game so you can play GTA or something while listening to this and pretend that you’re playing Getting Up. Thank God we live in a society that cares about our morals and values.

According to MTV.com there’s a Biggie-film in the making. It’s described as a joint effort by P. Diddy, Biggie’s mother, and the director of Training Day Antoine Fuqua. The film is allegedly focusing on Biggie the man, father and son although I have a sneaking suspicion that the film will in fact also focus quite heavily on Biggie the RAPPER.

The hardest task is perhaps to find someone who can play Biggie. Some of the names being tossed around at the moment are Big O. from 8 Mile, Anthony Anderson and Guerilla Black. Some of the characters from Biggie’s life such as Faith Evans, Lil’ Kim, the Junior M.A.F.I.A. and Puffy are expected to play themselves.

The film is on track to begin production as we speak.

A retrial of Biggie’s murder case is also expected later this year, reports ALLHIPHOP.com. After Biggie was gunned down in LA in 1997 his mother and widow have filed suits upon suits against the city of LA and they won, causing the judge to call a mistrial and sanction $1.1 million dollars to the Wallace family. Now a new group of detectives from LAPD have been assigned to work on the investigation. Hopefully they’ll dig up some new evidence for the retrial. Some fingers point toward the already widely reported involvement of Suge Knight of Death Row Records.

Reviews are all go, and I have recently done one on unsigned NSW act Blindhoarse. Click here and see how far the rabbit borrow goes...

We're filling in for Sir Pom's "Pleasant Valley Sunday" this Sunday coming, March 19th. So tune in between 8.30 and 10.30 for TWO WHOLE HOURS of hip hop. Given that the Pom loves he's reggae and South American vibe, we've constructed a playlist sprinkled with music that would bring a tear of joy to his eye. We've got Cypress Hill and Damian "Jr Gong" Marley, our Foreign Legion track takes us to Mexico (where fun comes in yellow boxes!) and our spot that sample features a mash up of Queensbridge ghetto stars Mobb Deep and a very well known exponent of the reggae genre...

Fantastic NSW hip hop collective The Herd have just finished filming the video to their somewhat surprise hit of 2005, the cover of the Redgum classic "I Was Only 19." You can find said video for viewing HERE.

Also, national youth broadcaster Triple J completed a half hour special on the song, its impact 25 years ago, and the reason it still remains relevant today. That special is available for download from the 'Hack' section of their website HERE.

(From the Hack website...because they put it best):

The old Redgum song 'I was only 19' recently covered by The Herd. It's a song about a Vietnam veteran who was conscripted and sent off to war at the age of 19, who returns to live in a society that doesn't understand and doesn't care about what he's been through. It's a story that resonates with many listeners to this program, who's fathers served in Vietnam, many whom still have difficult relationships with their Dads, who were so damaged by not only their experience of war, but the hostile reception they received when they got back. It is a timely reminder too, of what happens when you send soldiers into battle and the damage it causes down the generations. We live in a time when politicians, who've never seen action themselves, are sending more Australians off to fight wars in foreign nations. The Herd have just put together a film clip of 'I Was Only Nineteen'. It was finished this week and Ali Benton has been able to get access to the filmmakers, the band members, the writer of the song John Schuman, and some of the veterans themselves.

Podcast of SPIT, 12th of March 2006.
Size: 39814 kb

As heard on Gippsland FM, 104.7 from 10.30pm featuring Dave The Hat and Sean-Bad McLoughlin. This week we present BRAND NEW Planet Asia of his new album The Sickness, Part 1, as well as new gear from fellow West Coast underground icons Dilated Peoples. Also going back in time to bring you classic A Tribe Called Quest, as well as material from Afu-Ra, Immortal Technique and Perth favourite Drapht.

Congratulations to T who won Spot That Sample. Who would have thought that 50 Cent would work so well over 80s classics...

Just click the title and away you go, so act like you know.

NB:Had to use BigUpload.Com this time, as Megashares was down for servicing. Hopefully that means you had a chance to grab the Feb 26 show. If you are experiencing problems, let me know so I can work on 'em for next time. The above link in the title should take you to a page where the file is available for download. Click that link, wait for 30 seconds (a new page with a countdown will open), and then click the download button that appears.

This coming Saturday night @ 11.06pm, Hilltop Hoods (who finally have their new site up and going) are next up as the guest programmers for ABC's RAGE. To really top it off after the 'Hoods portion of the show, they are playing Snoop, Kanye West and De La Soul specials. Noice!

Here is the Hilltop Hoods video playlist for the night. Just to get you nice and pumped:

(11.06pm)
A.U.S.T. - DEF WISH CAST Mushroom
Drop - THE PHARCYDE EMI
Back Then - PEGZ Obese Records
Bridging The Gap - NAS Sony
The Influence - JURASSIC 5 Universal
Rhinestone Cowboy - MADVILLAIN Creative Vibes
Trying To Find A Balance - ATMOSPHERE Shock
All Caps - MADVILLAIN Creative Vibes
Talkin' All That Jazz - STETSASONIC MDS
Adrenalin - KOOLISM Inertia
Les Fortunate - DOWNSYDE Obese Records
What's Golden - JURASSIC 5 Universal
We Know Something You Don't Know - DJ FORMAT Fest/Mush
Itzsoweezee - DE LA SOUL Mushroom

(12:00am)
Just A Friend - BIZ MARKIE Warner
Flavor Of The Month - BLACK SHEEP Universal
Stakes Is High - DE LA SOUL Fest/Mush
Nowhere To Run, Nowhere To Hide - GRAVEDIGGAZ Polydor
Hot - KRS-ONE Shock
Chasin' The Dragon (Hip Hop mix) - ILL BILL featuring NECRO Shock
Real Hip Hop - DAS EFX Warner
Paparazzi - XZIBIT BMG
Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off) - THE WU-TANG CLAN Sony
Skills - GANG STARR Virgin
Road To The Riches - KOOL G RAP & DJ POLO Warner
Slow Down - BRAND NUBIAN Warner
The Formula - THE D.O.C. Warner
Do You Believe - THE BEATNUTS Sony
Ante Up (remix) - M.O.P. featuring BUSTA RHYMES Sony

(1:00am)
End To End Burners - COMPANY FLOW MDS
These Walls Don't Lie - PROMOE Shock
C'mon Y'all - MOTION MAN featuring KUTMASTA KURT Shock
What's Up Fatlip? - FATLIP Universal
Electric Relaxation - A TRIBE CALLED QUEST BMG
The Music - THE CREATORS EMI
A Million & One Things To Do - TIME MACHINE Independent
Hot Potato - FREESTYLE FELLOWSHIP Mercury
Simon Says - PHAROAHE MONCH MDS
Heaps Good - MUPH & PLUTONIC Obese Records
Sneak - HYJAK 'N TORCHA featuring BONEZ Obese Records

Playlist for Mar 12, 2006:

Jedi Mind Tricks feat Mr Lif "Speech Cobras"
Mr Zux "The Way We Do"
DJ Swindle vs 50 Cent "In Da Club" *
Drapht "The Music
Dilated Peoples "You Can't Hide, You Can't Run"
Planet Asia "Baby Food"
Immortal Technique "Creation and Destruction"
Eminem "Rush Ya Clique"
Daara-J "Boomerang" #
Reflection Eternal feat Bahamadia "Chaos"
A Tribe Called Quest "Electric Relaxation"
DJ Bjornar 'Neida' "AskePott Instrumental" ^
Afu-ra "Monotony"
Braintax feat Mystro "Don't Drag Me In"
Cunninlynguists feat Mr Sos and Anetra "Ain't No Way"
Missin' Linx "MIA"

* Spot That Sample: Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams
# Foreign Legion Track of the Week: Senegal
^ Beat Of The Week

Podcast of the show to be uploaded shortly.

It’s apparently time for Queensbridge to raise a second coming of Nasir ‘God’s Son’ Jones, one of the greatest rappers of all times. Imagine Nas passing you the torch. This is no easy situation to be in for Don Ferquan, better known as Quan. He did two tracks on Nas’s latest album The Street’s Disciple. Now he has over 300 songs written and this first mixtape, released in 2005, with Whoo Kid was supposed to get the ball rolling.

He is 26 years old and he has just spent seven years in jail. Quan’s lyrics are gangsta but good. His singing really brings an extra edge to the sound and he is also a master at using his voice while rapping.

He sings. And he’s not one of those rappers pretending to sing. His Motown inspired hooks and lines over gangster rap beats definitely work. ‘Rap’s Future’ as Nas coined him, may become exactly that. This first mixtape is good. His album is about to drop any minute. It should be big.

There are however traces of some Young Buck-ish style here, not exactly one of my personal favourites. The mixtape is a show-off, as they all try to be, and Quan really shows off with his diverse rhymes and singing. I’m very excited about the album.

He ran into the law again late last year and got busted for having a gun, lots of cash and a small amount of weed in a hotel room in Virginia. Hopefully he’ll be all right and ready to drop his album soon.

Got hold of this gem here the other day. This album came out in october last year but totally passed me by for some reason. Put together by Dreddy Kruger this is a showcase in good music. A basketcase of beats and rhymes. This is brilliant stuff.

Dreddy Kruger, formerly associated with United Kingdom and Royal Fam, runs the label Think Differently Music. Wu-Tang Meets The Indie Culture is a truly remarkable release, taking us back to the golden days of The Wu while presenting some of the most anticipated up and coming indie artists. Concept albums do often have a tendency of crapness about them. Not this one.

Whoever put Ras Kass and GZA together on tracks deserves a medal. The album starts off with their heavy trumpet and guitar based Lyrical Swords. An instant favourite with a great mix of GZA's intellect and Rass's humour.

The second track is Slow Blues. A slow, blues-based track with a whole army of good rappers on it. Vast Aire from Cannibal Ox and Atoms Family, Wu-Tang affiliate Timbo King, RZA's cousin Prodigal Sunn from the Sunz Of Man, and the ridiculously talented (and hot) Byata - a Russian rapper/actress/singer.

Still Grimey is the next track, and once again it's an ensamble of artists. U-God, Prodigal Sunn, C-Rayz Walz and Sean Price make this song a somewhat melancholic affair in true Wu Tang fashion.

The idea of mixing Wu Tang's finest with the indie-scene's most wanted is in hindsight a completely logical and rational hit. But super-groups and concept stuff rarely work out as good as this cd right here. Where GZA and Muggs failed on their Grandmasters album, that's where this album hits it right on the head. It manages to capture the late nineties edge of the Wu while pushing the boundaries a bit further, making something we haven't heard before but always hoped would come.

The RZA & MF Doom track Biochemical Equation is a classic, and so is the Aesop Rock and Del track Preservation. A thumping piano and orchestra based track with rhymes as good as they get. Jim Jarmusch's surreal spoken word between the tracks add a little something too.

I'm usually not a massive fan of "different" stuff. I like my hip-hop straight. Beats & rhymes. So whenever I hear of a "concept album" I instantly think it'll be crap. Too "different". This album doesn't do that. Although this music may be "different" to most commercial rap on the shelves today, it's not too "different". It doesn't sound like something that tries to be "different", more like something that was meant to be.

Hopefully this album sells well enough so that Dreddy Kruger can do another compilation of hits. And while they're at it maybe RZA can finish off his World According to RZA series he started on a few years back. I'm looking forward to the Africa or Asia edition.

Have completed a review of Planet Asia's brand new CD, The Sickness, Part 1 which you can view at OzHipHop.Com. Alternatively, click the header above for a direct link to the review.

We will endeavour to post more reviews here on the site itself from either myself, Sean-Bad or Bjornar. Stay tuned.

So, after HOURS of friggin' around trying to find a server that;

a) accepted large MP3 files
b) had a reliable connection
c) allowed listeners, such as your goodselves, to download said files

I have finally found what appears to be a solution: praise be to Megashares. So, in the post below, you should now be able to download the Feb 26 show of SPIT. I have taken the liberty of bypassing the splash page you get before downloading the file, so the show should download automatically. If not, the splash page can be found here. The file, I am assured by those in the know, will be available for 25 days from the time of last download. So if people keep downloading, it stays. And if it goes, drop us a line and we will endeavour to facilitate your hip hop request.

As for 'proper' podcasting (i.e. feed and all)...that's a job for the immediate future! So keep visitng back and get your podcasting implement of doom ready for feed-age.

But for now, enjoy the Feb 26 show. I will upload the March 12 show later and let you attack that as well.

Podcast of SPIT, 26th of February 2006.
Size: 42187 kb

Just click the title and away you go.

As heard on Gippsland FM, 104.7 from 10.30pm featuring Dave The Hat and Sean-Bad McLoughlin. This episode featuring the brand new single from Adelaide's Hilltop Hoods, the first listen of new NSW act Blindhoarse, as well as gear from Jean Grae, Kutmasta Kurt and the Handsome Boy Modelling School.

Playlist for Feb 26, 2006:

MC Que "Waters Breakin'"
Akrobatik "Remind My Soul"
Handsome Boy Modelling School feat. De La Soul "The Projects" *
Buck 65 "Wicked and Weird"
Walki Talkies "Was The Days Go By"
Hilltop Hoods "Clown Prince"
Kutmasta Kurt feat. Del and Mr Lif "360 Degrees" (Remix)
Onyx "Slam Harder"
Blindhoarse "Signs"
Supreme NTM "That's My People" #
Dilated Peoples "Heavy Lighting"
Blackstar "Thieves In The Night"
Atmosphere "Get Fly"
DJ Bjornar 'Neida' "Notte Instrumental" ^
DJ JS-1 with Jeru The Damaja "Won't Stop"
Jean Grae "Thank Ya"

* Spot That Sample: Howlin' Wolf
# Foreign Legion Track of the Week: France
^ Beat Of The Week

Podcast of the show will be uploaded shortly. I think the protocol will be a separate post for playlists and podcasts; we can usually get the playlists up on the night, but the podcasts are a 24-48 hour proposition. Damn real life!

AllHipHop.com has a big, new, sparklin' feature on former Eminem DJ Green Lantern. Check it out here.