House Classics 01

I've been promising my peoples a house mix for a year or so and here it is, finally. What was inititally supposed to be a simple party mix with random classics turned into a two part project in the process, mostly because of the vast amount of incredible tunes I just had to include.


What we have here now is 90 minutes worth of NJ & NY style classics all the way from the mid-80's to the early 90's. Part 02 with strictly Chicago jams is soon to follow. I know I, I know... I should have done them in reverse order, but I'm still waiting for a few choice 12"s (yes!) to round out the Chicago selection.

Enjoy...

House Classics 01 - preview and download
Direct DL here

Intro (Tribute To Boyd Jarvis)
Trojan Horse feat Romanthony: What $ Love
Dee Dee Brave: My My Lover (Kaoz Again Mix)
Park Ave: Don't Turn Your Love (Tee Scott Mix)
Phase II: Mystery
Blunted Dummies: House For All
Powerhouse 3: Hitten The Bottle
Pal Joey: Runaway
Earth People: Reach Up To Mars
Wild Boys: Do Your Thing
El Barrio: Across 110th Street
Willie Colon: Set Fire To Me
The Castle Beat: Today, Tomorrow And Forever
Basil Hardhaus: Hard For The DJ (Anonymous Edit)
Debbie Gibson: One Step Ahead (MAW Dub)
Underground Solution: Luv Dancin
Lil Louis: You Saved My Life (MAW Remix)
Teulé: Drink On Me (Club Mix)
Charane: Follow You
Dionne: Move Groove
Soundfactory: Understand This Groove
Landlord: I Like It
Freestyle Orchestra: Keep On Pumpin It Up (Anonymous Edit)
Ten City: Whatever Makes You Happy (New York Mix)
Romanthony: Hold On

A quick note to my HKI peoples: House Kiinnostaa returns on Saturday, June 14, at Redrum. More on that soon.

Shout outs to the Helsinki House Underground who teached me everything I know about house music. Also thanks to my brother from another mother, Pablo Steffa, for the artwork.

Aksim Rap Mix

I've had my man Aksim's throwback rap mix on repeat for a minute now. The selection is real solid and the amount of songs I used to like but totally forgot about continues to amaze me. So needless to say I'm happy to be able to post it here as well.

Enjoy...

Aksim: Happy BDay Rok

Side A
Intro
Ice Cube - How to survive in South Central
Dove Shack - Summertime in the LBC
LOL - Can U Feel
5th Ward Boys - One night stand
Dj Quik - Summer Breeze
Beverley Knight - Down for the one
Tab & Da Villon - Everyday thang
Casual - Oakland
Mack 10 - Take a hit
Jamal - Keep it live
Tab & Da Villon - Take a puff
Shamus - Try 2c loot
Shyheim - Little Rascals
Da Homiez - I got your back
Tha Mexakinz - Instinct
Landespedet - Landespede Acapella + Adina Howard - Freak like me Instr
Pacewon - Any champion
Deborah Cox - Sentimental
Junior M.A.F.I.A. feat Biggie - Get money
Jodeci - Fun 2 Nite

Side B
Success N Effect - Roll it up
RBL Posse - Don't give me no bammer
Mista Grimm - Situation Grimm Instrumental
Celly Cell - Pop the trunk
Big Moe - Choppaz
Young Bleed & Master P - How ya do dat
Cydal feat Adina Howard - Cuties & condoms Instrumental
Da King & I - Tears
Domino - Domino's in the house
Mad CJ Mac - Come and take a ride
Nate Dogg - First we pray
Mary J Blige - Mary J
Xscape - Can't hang
Warren G - What's love got to do with it
Success N Effect - N 2 Deep
Paperboy - Ditty
Raekwon - Curious Acapella / Gigolette - Games females play Instrumental
Oran "Juice" Jones - Curiosity (Edit)
Dj Quik & Tony,Toni,Tone - Let's get down acap / Spoonie G Monster Jam Inst
Montell Jordan - Coming home

Btw, dude is well known as an MC and a producer here, if you happen to need bangin, sample heavy rap beats go see about him.

Livin It Up

The summer's here, time to put some smooth in your life.
Bill LaBounty: Livin it Up (1982)

Shout outs to Pablo, Patricia and my AOR Love peoples.

She Can't Love You

Still amazing...
Chemise: She Can't Love You (1982)

Btw, those who can't stand a little crackle might as well skip this. The 12"s been PLAYED.

UPDATE: shout outs to Breakneck who hipped me to the Beat Electric blog. They got a cleaner rip of Chemise and a very nice blog over all. I can definitely respect their archiving deck #2 steez.

Top Billin in Canada

My Top Billin boys are starting their tour in Canada as we speak, my peoples there check em out if you get the chance. Find the tour blog here.

Three 6 Mafia in Helsinki

I'm going to see them live tonight and I'm kinda hyped already. I did a 30 minute tribute set on the radio last night which was a lot of fun.
Three 6 Mafia: Poppin My Collar (2005)

UPDATE: drunken DJ Paul was super entertaining, dude kept repeating Team America punchlines and singing the Golden Girls theme song. What more could you ask for?

Stay With Me

How do you improve on perfection? Like this, I suppose.
DeBarge: Stay With Me (Moton Edit) (1983/2002)

King Tutt Evolution EP

Dang... the new King Tutt EP, you know the one I mentioned a few days back, is truly my shit. Just get it, either from the Unruly store or from Itunes.
Here's one of the multiple bangers for you to check out.
King Tutt: Still Rolling (192)

BONUS:
Also, here's a King Tutt (I think) jam I have more or less had on repeat for the last 12 months. I don't know where I got it from, I don't know what the real name is (Scottie B didn't know either, so I just started calling it the Justin Remix), but I know it's one of the banginest things I heard in all of '07. When the Moments In Love hit... it's game over.
King Tutt: Justin Remix (256)
If you like it, you might want to revisit this. If you have more info on it, please enlighten us.

90's Riddim

About time I posted some new dancehall... This is the 90's Riddim, produced by Suku of Ward 21. There's like 10 songs in total, here's my choice 3 for you to check out.

Buju Banton: Model Inna Dance
Mr Easy: Long Jefity
Mega Banton: Never

BONUS: This ain't brand new, but I like it a lot and seems like every time I play it someone comes up to ask what it is. Produced by Black Chiney, the song appears on the Estelle full length as well as a Jamaican 45.

Estelle: Come Over

She also does the song live with John Legend.

Big up Komposti Sound.

New club ish...

Check the new Say Wut and King Tutt digi-EP's over at Unruly.com, as well as the Sexy Time EP previews over at Top Billin Myspace. Big Dancin has been a local hit for more than 6 monts now, Fuck N Tell is a new uptempo 704 Boys remix by my partner J Laini, Shoulda Let You Go is the smooth Keyshia Cole remix by DJ Eli and the track called U Fine is a brand new Romanthony remix by yours truly.

This Friday...

Wayne Chin does Bobby Caldwell

As requested by my man Big Chan:
Wayne Chin: Won't Do For Love (198?)


UPDATE: Here's Otis Gayle's classy Studio One version of the same at 192kbps. Click the Divdshare logo to DL.

Prelude B-sides and stuff

Prelude is one of my all time favorite labels, period. The amount of amazing releases is unfathomable, after all these years even. The classics are well known and documented, what we have here is a handful of slightly lesser known personal faves you might or might not have heard.

Michael Wilson: Groove It To Your Body (Instrumental aka Francois Kevorkian Dub)(1982)

Linda Taylor: You And Me Just Started (1982)
edit: the link corrected

D-Train: Tryin' To Get Over (1981)

Jeanette 'Lady' Day: Come Let Me Love You (Special Instrumental Version)(1981)
(different mix than the vocal version, has the long intro break)

Dianne Marie: I've Waited Much Too Long (Instrumental)(1982)

BONUS:
This is a true disco classic, but I happened to have it on hand and just had to post it. Powerline is essentially the same group as Atmosfear, this was licensed to Prelude from UK label Elite.
Powerline: Double Journey (1982)

A few more Prelude gems for your pleasure: The More I Get and I Know You Feel Like I Feel.

Btw, I also have a Prelude request to make: if anyone has a quality rip of the Cliff Frazier & Co 12" please hook me up!!!
UPDATE: ok got it, thanks to Antti I.

Classic Time #37

I Keep Forgettin' (1982)

Champ '08

The Bladerunners' Champ remake has been one my jams this spring. It's finally out on a 12" too, so act like you know. Here's the bangin' Funky Drummer version that didn't make it to vinyl.
The Bladerunners: Champ (Funky Drummer Version)

Uno Melodic Appreciation

I don't think I need to post the famous Sylvia Striplin sides again, instead here are some slightly lesser known jams courtesy of Roy Ayers' short-lived disco label.

80's Ladies: Turned On To You (1981)
Love the horn arrangements on this, the guitar is super catchy as well. Also the group has one of the coolest names ever.
Jaymz Bedford: Just Keep My Boogie (1981)
Had the 12" since forever, never ever played it out but still refuse to let it go. Go figure.
Bobbi Humphrey: Baby Don't You Know (Instrumental) (1982)
The best of the bunch, as far I'm concerned. Some might disagree, but for me the instrumental is where it's at.

Foundation 7

Over the last couple of years some have been going crazy over Compredator, the B-side to Foundation 7's 1992 single. It is good, no denying that, but I always preferred Love Ain't Like That, the storytelling A-side no one seems to talk about.
Maybe Compredator's Rakim stylings combined with Rakim samples are a bit too much, I dunno. You judge for yourself.

Foundation 7: Love Ain't Like This
Foundation 7: Compredator

Btw, I always really dug the label design, the Ruff Kutt logo especially.

DJ Mehdi at Redrum this Thursday

Should be fun...

Phortune

I'm out the door in like ten minutes to go buy a few hundred old Chicago house 12"s from an old acquaintance's collection. Things like that don't turn up every day here, so obviously I'm kinda hyped.

Anyway, here's a real house classic and one of the catchiest one bar piano lines ever put on record.

Phortune: String Free (Club LeRay Mix) (1988)

I've Got My Second Wind

What a song...
Al Johnson: I've Got My Second Wind (1980)
The soundtrack to a perfect Saturday morning.

Brown Sugar - R & B mix

DJ Sal Paradise of The Hydeout just posted a real cool R&B mix that kinda made my morning complete...

Get to downloading by clicking the Divshare logo, find the full tracklisting over at The Hydeout.

My Fantasy

Here's hoping that a legend like Teddy can put his problems behind him.

Teddy Riley featuring Guy: My Fantasy (12" Mix)(1989)
Check the entertaining video as well!

Black Album Remixes

As we continue with more early-00's Roc-A-Fella bangers here's a handful of essential Black Album remixes. The first two are "new" productions, the second two are straight party remixes with classic beats. Enjoy...

Dirt Off Your Shoulder (DJ Karl Dallas Remix)
Encore (Charlemagne Remix)
Change Clothes (Paul Nice Remix)
99 Problems (Just Blaze Remix)

Party Walk

I'm already feeling this hard after just two listens... Recommended.
Mullyman: Party Walk (Produced by DJ Booman)

Help Is On The Way VS Act Like You Know

The Whatnauts: Help Is On The Way (1981)


Fat Larry's Band: Act Like You Know (1982)

This is obviously not the sole case of an established artist stealing a lesser known artist's composition, but it has always been one of the more fascinating ones to me. I guess it's because I really love both songs. The case has been frequently discussed over the years, but I've yet to hear anyone tell how things really went down back when the Fat Larry record dropped in 1982. Help Is On The Way had been a reasonably big club hit in it's own right, so some controversy must have arisen. If we have any old heads in here who might remember please enlighten us.

For an interesting case of a semi-unknown disco artist getting bitten by a totally obscure one see here.

The Roc-A-Fella post

The other day I realized my digital game was really hurting in the early- to mid-00's rap department. So I went out of my way for some quality 12" rips, starting with the mighty Roc. Here's a random bunch of solid classics from the label's golden era. Most of these I haven't heard out for years now (might be a local thing), at least a few definitely deserve to be brought back in a big way.

Memphis Bleek: Remember The Roc Freestyle (2003)
Cool freestyle that serves as a little intro, the Just Blaze beat is super smooth.

Freeway feat Jay-Z & Beanie Sigel: What We Do (2002)
Scarface feat Jay-Z & Beanie Sigel: Guess Who's Back (2002)
One of the illest Kanye beats to this day.

State Property: Got Nowhere... (2002)
Another bangin early Kanye beat, from the State Property album.

Cam'ron feat Ludacris, U.G.K., Trina & Jewlez Santana: What Means The World To You Remix (2000)
They actually spell Juelz "Jewlez" on the sticker, no joke. Dude is like 15 here.

Diplomats: Built This City (2003)
Just Blaze & Jefferson Starship, how can you go wrong?
And we're gonna close this with 4 more Dipset bangers over Heatmakerz beats...
Juelz Santana feat Cam'ron: You Oughta Know (2003)

Juelz Santana: Down (2003)

Diplomats: I'm Ready (2002)

Diplomats: Dipset Anthem (2003)

Shout outs to my fellow HKI DJ's and bloggers K2 (the local king of this sound, Soul Clap what what?) and Fyrre (whose tireless efforts turned many a HKI youth into Dipset believers).

Rock This Park

Aka Emynd's club version of the classic Blackbyrds jam Rock Creek Park, go get it...

Kovalevy w/ Team Canada this Friday!

Lord Willin Instrumentals

Here's a cool little treat for my DJ's out there. Back in '02 when Lord Willin came out Star Trak did this very cool and very limited eight 12" promo box set that had full versions of non-single tracks, including instrumentals and accapellas. My promo game was top notch, but I remember it still took me a minute to find one.

Here's a zip of 3 instrumentals that never appeared anywhere else: Virginia, Let's Talk About It and Gangsta Lean. Neptunes in their prime if you ask me.

BONUS:
Here's the best of the bunch in full vocal version. Sounding fresh as ever too, probably because you never heard anyone play it out.
Clipse: Gangsta Lean (2002)

Summertime, Summertime

In anticipation of tonight's party and the forthcoming summer here's one of the first freestyle records I ever heard. To this day it's one of the finest.
Nocera: Summertime, Summertime (1986)

101 Things

This was kinda popular here back in the day, my man DJ Didier especially used to run it a l l t h e t i m e. I can't recall seeing the video back then, though.