Da 5 Footaz Again

5 Years Can Be A Lifetime

Here is Da 5 Footaz official debut album, after the bootleg/mixtape/whatever/The Lost Scrolls material from 5 years previous.  2000 sound here, with a broader pallet to work from.  The music is updated and expanded, incorporating underground, new school, and hardcore elements to the g-funk formula.  Also, the entire crew represents a lot more on this record than on The Lost Scrolls - Neb Luv and Jah Skillz still obviously run the show, but Cobra Red, Knee High and K-Bar can be heard throughout, as well as MC Lyte, Sticky Fingaz, Warren G, Kurupt, Xzibit and Nate Dogg (RIP).  I honestly prefer the earlier stuff of theirs more than this record, and I think that has to do with the focus presented by the narrowly-defined musical style and the energy worked by the Jah, Neb and Warren G triumvirate that was apparent in their earlier work.  The material presented here is a little more scattered, and although all 5 emcees spit heat, Neb and Jah have a synergy that is hard to beat, and certainly difficult to maintain when part of 5 distinct voices.  

I know Da 5 Footaz have more material out there.  For example here's the video for the brilliant track "Gimme Sum" from some tape or something.  Hopefully more surfaces from this unfortunately looked-over crew.

Lifetime

Da 5 Footaz

G Funk Era

Da 5 Footaz' The Lost Scrolls is a guilty pleasure of mine.  Planted firmly in the g-funk soundscape, yet avoiding much of the cliched posturing and subject matter that drowned the genre; and possessing more clout and legitimacy than 99% of their compatriots, Da 5 Footaz could have been huge.  The beats on this album are deep and cavernous, punching away under smooth, synthed-out melodies and Dj handiwork.  The lyrics are hard, but not dumb, and the delivery comes as tight as you'd expect from these Blowdian heavyweights.  I hear vintage Acey in Jah Skillz' delivery, and Abstract Rude even makes an appearance on track.  Besides that, Warren G and the Twinz are frequent guests.  So why this group never went huge is a mystery and a shame.  

I was never a big fan of g-funk when it was a current commodity.  I felt like it was forced down my throat, and never could get away from it long enough to really appreciate it.  Even now, when I hear a song like the ones here, I appreciate it mainly in a nostalgic sense.  So, although I admit I'm no expert in the genre, I can say that I appreciate this album more than many others I've heard.  With Neb Luv and Jah Skillz, they would have crafted a great record no matter what the subgenre.  Their voices, their flows, the subject matter - it's just great shit no matter how you look at it.  The fact that they were part of Warren G's G-Funk Era is almost an afterthought.  This is just great, 90's Cali hip hop, and I know you know what I mean.  Although Da 5 Footaz officially consisted of Neb, Jah, K-Bar, Cobra Red and Knee-Hi, I think the entire crew only pops up on one track.  But Jah and Neb are quite capable on their own.  Give a listen to this overlooked gem.

The Lost Scrolls

Bring That Beat Back, Vol. 5

The Boz In Your Face

Here's the 5th installment in the monthly soiree into current PacNW hip hop from the beetbak frequent rotation.  This volume features some bright, sunny summertime jams in the first half.  Spark some purple, sit on a beach somewhere, and celebrate existence.  The second half is still summery, but more nocturnal and hallucinatory, thanks mainly to the nearly exclusive content from OC Notes and Tay Sean and the Cloud Nice crew.  Tay and OC are geniuses, and I can't get enough of them right now.  Enjoy.

Track List:

1. Photosynthesis - Saturday Morning Cartoon

2. Chipping Away - Ricky Pharoe & Tru-ID

3. I Just Wanna (At 4:20 AM) - Jarv Dee

4. Def Yoda Pt. 3 - Kung Foo Grip

5. Suicide City feat. Kublakai - Phil In The Blank

6. Rap Life - Sol

7. Don't Worry feat. Maya Jenkins - Candidt

8. Ready For We - The Physics

9. For The Birds - Kingdom Crumbs

10. Chocolate Grills For Cavities - Metal Chocolates

11. Stomp (Sax G Mix) feat. Tay Sean - Sax G

12. Let It Loose - Thaddeus David

13. Everything Stays Dipped - Metal Chocolates

14. Pick Both Sides Of My Brain - Kingdom Crumbs

15. Live Up - Mikey Nice

16. Dreamin' - Jamil Suleman

Stone Cold

RIP Adam "MCA" Yauch

We'll miss you.

Universoul

E-Real

E-Real Asim of legendary 206 crew Black Anger presented the world with these tracks via social networks, and they are absolutely amazing.  Remember when hip hop was dangerous?  I remember the first time I ever heard Public Enemy, and the uncomfortable feeling that formed in the pit of my stomach.  That certainty that these people were genuinely upset, upset at me, my family, and every other sheltered, privileged bovine/porcine like me.  This was music and energy tensed upon a knife-edge.  The sense of violence and righteous retribution was thick with vintage PE, and even as a young kid, I got that loud and clear.  I didn't feel safe listening to them.  Well, E-Real's tracks here bring that sense back like no one else I've heard.  He holds nothing back, and it's a real shame that there aren't more emcees willing to go the full distance like he does.  Fuck complacency.  Brilliant lyricism brought to you from a freight train crashing through your ears, brain, defenses, and ego.  Great thanks go to Kevin for letting me know E-Real had done more work, and for sending it my way.  Some of the tracks come from an album entitled The Pacifier.  I'd love to hear more, if anyone out there knows of it.

Asim (Universoul)

Off the Map...

Hello all, I just wanted to check in really quick and explain about my lack of posting for the past while.  I moved.  Yep, out of the Seattle area, out of the King County area, and out to the sticks.  I'm surrounded by woods now, acres and acres of it. This has been in the works for a while, as we decided long ago that my family and I can get more in touch with what is real and concrete in this environment.  Hopefully this is where my kids can grow up feeling a sense of communion and responsibility for the earth they walk on.  I'm going to miss city life tremendously, and Seattle is a city unlike any other, but I know this is the right step for me and mine.  So, the last month or two has been spent packing and finding a new job and generally slogging through all the sewage that goes with life upheavals.  The move happened last weekend, and I imagine for the next month or two we'll be unpacking and wondering why we (okay, I) own so much stupid crap.  I'll post ill treats when I can; I've got quite the backlog going now.  So stay with me, folks!


-JD

Li-Fee

Seattle What You Playin' On?

I had never heard of Li-Fee before I found this single in a dusty stack somewhere, and I admit I was a little wary of an unknown artist with at song title like "Seattle Holla", but I found my reservations were unfounded as soon as I listened.  The two tracks on this 12" ("Lockdown" on the A-side and "Seattle Holla!" on the B) are both great tracks, and Li-Fee's flow dominates.  His voice is akin to Guru (RIP) at times, but grittier and more intense, and his flow is quick and fervent as it skips and wraps itself around the beats.  "Lockdown" is the song that sticks in the brain, with it's smooth production and vocal hook provided by Crystal.  "Seattle Holla" has a rigid, mechanical beat behind it with a grimy hook courtesy of Li-Fee himself, and acts as a nice foil to the smoother A-side.  Apart from this 12" the only music I can find from this guy is a Mr. Hill-produced track "They Don't Know", which you can hear on his Soundclick page.  Don't sleep, it's good ish.

Lockdown/Seattle Holla

Bring That Beat Back, Vol. 4

Yet Another 206 Compilation

More from the 206 and neighboring environs.  Probably my favorite and most varied installation in the beetbak compilation series to date.  Seattle's a pretty small town geographically, but you'd never know it from all the talent pouring out of here.  Give a listen.

Track Listing:

1. Uh... No - Katie Kate

2. Glory - RC feat. Dee Ale

3. Animal Planet Rock feat. Hollis of Canary Sing - Don't Talk To The Cops

4. Midnight Special feat. Vitamin D - Brothers From Another

5. Brain Champagne - Helluvastate

6. The Lazerbeams - Fresh Espresso

7. Stay Strong feat Rajnii of Alpha P - Josh Rizeberg

8. The Youth Dies Young (Douster Remix) - Mad Rad

9. Hustle Feet feat. Jerm (Lemon Kush Remix) - OCnotes

10. Cloud City - Cheo Lopez

11. Forever feat. Nam - Hi-Life Soundsystem

12. Reality Check - Yirim Seck

13. The Four Horsemen - Noah 23, Ricky Pharoe, Tru-ID, Byrdie

14. Bellowing Scum feat. Julie C, Suntonio Bandanaz - Wings and Wounds

15. 50 Thousand Deep - Blue Scholars

Be Like Billy (fixed link)

Request.... Jun Dax

First Fresh Page

Request... Here's Hawaii emcee Jun Dax's fresh exercise in lo-fi genius from 2000.  For those of us who love that 4-track sound, Spills is a real joy to listen to.  Bubbling up through layers of murky overdubbing and background noise, the beats and rhymes Jun Dax employs come across refreshingly naive and youthful and un-self conscious, in a way that only a home-made cassette can sound.  The limitations of the technology back then required that a lot of imagination and ingenuity be employed, for both musician and listener.  Case in point, you can't just sit and listen to this tape; you have to ride the volume dial, and constantly play with the bass and treble in order to hear Kea's murmured vocals over mud of the low-end. In today's creative reality of inexpensive computer programs, virtual instrumentation, and endless overdubbing, the rough magic of the tape recording has become at most a novelty, and by most accounts the art form is dead.  That's what makes recordings like Jun Dax's Spills even more cherished; not only is it a singular work of beauty and wild creativity, but it's from a world that is rapidly diminishing more and more each day.  Remarkably, Jun Dax and her various bands (Private School, Record Players, INK) managed to hold on to this aesthetic well into the 2000's and various technological upgrades.  It demonstrates a real love of the art form and the sound of the four track.  Listen carefully, devote your attention.  Long live lo-fi!

Spills 

Walkman Rotation Double Vinyl

Better Days

Ranked up there at the tippy here at beetbak, this fantastic '98 compilation from Seattle's Conception Records got dubbed to TDK on the first listen, and then that tape LIVED in my tape deck for months.  It's a dope collection of all-Conception artists, many of them from the Northwest, but also featuring cats from places as diverse as Cali, Ohio, and Canada.  Producers Jake One and Mr. Supreme pretty much set the screw-faced theme and run the show here, concocting their signature blunted urban atmospherics.  As beatmakers go, I always thought these two worked incredibly well together - their beats quite often were placed on opposite sides of the vinyl from one another, creating two distinct, yet complimentary moods.  It's one of the reasons Conception wax was always such a pleasure to hear; they were more than just singles - they were cohesive and complete documents, thanks to the ebb and flow Jake and Supreme set down.  Another reason for Conception's greatness, obviously, was the amazing lyrical talent.  I swear, there wasn't a weak verse in their entire catalog.  

This comp features many of the dopest tracks from Conception's short-lived output.  Fourfifths, Kutfather, Arcee, Eclipse, Third Degree, and Samson represent vocally with tracks off of their various 12"s, with outside production by Samson & Swift on their track and MoSS one of Eclipse's tracks.  In addition, there is exclusive output on this comp from J-Rocc, Diamond Mercenaries, Jake One, 3D, and Arcee.  It's more than just an overview of the label, it's crucial listening.  Period.  

The CD version was given the Beat Junky treatment, with J-Rocc providing the tracks in mixed form, keeping shit funky.  The release I'm providing is from my vinyl copy, (the same that got the dub tx) which comes unmixed, so you can hear each track in its complete form.  Listening to it as I write, it's still as mind-blowing and groovy as it was when I first heard it.

Walkman Rotation

Days Go By

Feenom Circle, 2001

Nice bay area underground from the Feenom Circle.  Rawj, Sidebee, Tope, Boog and DJ Panic created some great noise at the time, as this single demonstrates.  "Days Go By" is a 6-minute epic that could go on twice as long and still seem too short, while "Tunnelvision" clocks in at less than 2 minutes.  "Days" is the jam:  A smooth groove, with live organ and layers of percussion.  A sing-song chorus and lightly reverbed vox make the track an atmospheric classic.  I can listen to it over and over again...  There's no place like the west coast.

Days Go By

Bring That Beat Back, Vol. 3

Touch Me I'm Dick

Volume 3 of what I guess is a monthly compilation of current and semi-current Northwest acts that somehow find their way into our arthritic, miserly clutches.  Good shit from the H2-Oh-Six.

Track List:

1. The Ana-Doap - Dirty Scientifix

2. The Crown - The Good Sin X 10.4 Rog

3. This Is My Planet feat. Jarv Dee - Helladope

4. Why Warrior feat. Mind Movers - Waves Of The Mind

5. Something Like feat. Sol, Jerm - Hi-Life Soundsystem

6. Open Bars (Happy Hour) feat. Kung Foo Grip - State Of The Artist

7. Texas Instrument - Khingz, Inkubiz, Phree Wil, Suntonio Bandanaz

8. Archangel - Chev

9. Rep This City feat. Yirim Seck and Silent Lambs - LaRue

10. A Rap Song About Things - Ricky Pharoe

11. Concrete - Specs One

12. What's It Gonna Take - OTOW Gang

13. Connect For - Common Market

14. Beit feat. Sabreena Da Witch - Gabriel Teodros

15. Smirk Waitin' - L Double

Citizen Dick

New Neila Album, "Marked For Breath"

Extremely Limited

Neila has a new record!  Rejoice!  Apparently only one hundred of these cd's will be made, ever.  So get over to Neila's FB Page and tell her you want one, quick!  Features Doc Lewd, EVS, Zen, Jimi The Mantis Claw, and Jason the Argonaut, along with Deeskee, Ridd?, Elon, EVS, and others on production. Recorded betwixt 2001 and 2009...

Laura Neila

Specs Wizard's Tape Game Vol. 1

Here's a brand new mix from Specs Wizard and KSHTRadio.com -  Up on mixcloud.  This is a 40-minute mix, and from what I gather it's part one of a series covering hip hop from 1986-2000.  Dopeness, peepness.

KSHTRadio.com Tape Game 01 by Specswizard on Mixcloud

Insomniac Museick

The Singles

I'm sorry my vinyl is so beat to fucking hell, but that's what I got.  You can choose to think that the pops and crackles and vinyl warping just brings out character.  Not that this record needs any more than what it already comes with; as this is a sick 12".  Four of the best tracks from the great, great 14 Fathoms Deep compilation.  Samson S and Swift, known as 22nd Precinct lead off with a clean edit of "Great Outdoors", while N.S. of the mysterious O.N.E. Corporation gets his claustrophobic "Insomniac Museick" featured in clean form as well.  The B side features Blind Council's (AKA Silas Blak's) classic "Interrogation," and the final cut is Mad Fanatic, Ragchyld, and Mr. Supreme's head nodder "Official Members".  Sadly no instrumentals or bonus tracks are featured - why I don't know, but there you have it.  Still, a more solid selection of music would be hard to come by in my book.  

Seattle flavor.

14 Fathoms The Singles

Full Circle

Clear Speak

This release marks the final 12" from one of my very favorite Northwest acts, Source of Labor.  To me, SOL was the culmination of that era of Seattle hip hop - they blended the prevalent elements of jazz, consciousness, grit, and focus.  Emcee Word Sayer never wasted a moment on the mic; his impassioned delivery was fleet-footed and overflowing with information.  It was his testimony, and his need to tell it like it is.  His urge, or compulsion even, to speak his mind and inform the people, was palpable on the tracks presented here on this 12".  His cohort Negus I still maintains one of the top spots in my "favorite beatmaker" category.  His beats were as dense and layered as Word Sayer's lyrics, and yet the two amazingly molded their music into one flowing river, rather than battling each other for space.  Frequent colaborator Vitamin D (who takes the lion's share of producer credits on this record) usually has a laid-back sound to his music, but with SOL he morphed his beats  and scratches to fit the intensity required.  Maybe it was Word Sayer's gravity well of influence that caused this, or maybe it was just the right combination of people vibing the right way at the same time; in any case when SOL came together they were like no other act.

This was the leadoff 12" for the bands' only released full-length, Stolen Lives.  That was in my headphones all summer when it dropped.  Shortly afterwords Source of Labor parted company; going he way of my other favorite acts Black Anger, Sinsemilla, and Ghetto Chilldren; just another nail in the coffin of Seattle hip hop's second wave.  Of course Vita still does his thing, Word Sayer now runs a successful management company, and Negus I moved back east, from what I've heard.  Things change.

I've also heard that back in the day SOL made an album with ex-co-lyricist Blazay Blah; that album was shelved, but I know I'm not the only one who would love to hear it.   Hopefully some day that sees the light of day.  For now, listen to this this record, one of the last from this incredible group.

Full Circle

Fsh & Khule on German Radio + 3 Hour Live Set!

Beetbak Exclusive

All praises due to the brother Rob from Germany for hooking me up with this.  Rob is a dude I've come to know over the months through correspondences and a shared love of underground hip hop.  He's an all around good human, and I feel very blessed indeed to have made his acquaintance.  We've been trading files back and forth for a little bit now, and he just recently and very generously hit myself and Jibs (over at This Is For The Hustlers) with a couple astounding audio documents.  Up until now he was probably the only person on the planet with these tapes, so I'm grinning big when I listen to such rare stuff.  The first you can find over at Jibs' site, which is a German radio show regarding the So Far West tour of 2004 featuring NgaFsh, Ellay Khule, Taktloss, Brodhi, and (for a little while at least) Kegs One.  

The second you can find here.  This is a 25-minute interview with an elevated/hellafaded Fsh and Khule, then a nearly three-hour live set featuring Brodhi, Tatkloss, Jack Orsen, Fsh, and Khule.  Kegs is unfortunately no longer part of the tour, but it's still a dope, dope, DOPE recording.  Fsh apparently had some stomach trouble at the time, but he still spits like a mad man, and Khule is on fire.  The German emcees are absolute heat, and even though I can't understand anything except the swear words they certainly hold their own next to the Goodlifers.  If this set is any indication the tour must have been an incredible event.  Be sure to thank Rob in the comments for hooking us all up with this gold mine!

So Far West...

Jedi Knights: I Know What You Did Vid

The freshest of fresh Jedi Knights Circle joints, courtesy of Cosmic, Maleko and Optimus Rhymes!
Check it out!

Greatest Bumps Vinyl Box Set

Bumpin' Contraption

Beetbak received a request the other day for a few Blackalicious singles I sadly didn't have, but it got me thinking about this amazing compilation - The Solesides Greatest Bumps album from 2000.  Back when I first heard Blackalicious' Melodica EP I knew I had stumbled onto something serious and brilliant, and the feeling was only compounded by my introduction to DJ Shadow's work and the Latyrx album a little while later.  It made me a die-hard Solesides fan, and I was a sad little wreck of a human when I learned that the original dream had dissolved.  Sure they reformed right away into Quannum, but that initial rawness that I loved about the early work of those 5 core members was lost with the original name.  

That's why I just about popped a blood vessel in happiness when this came out; a "greatest hits" comp of early Solesides material, both heard and unheard.  That great double cd can be found elsewhere, but I thought I'd post up the vinyl box set with the different tracks.  Herein you find the full version (well, one of the full versions) of Shadow's 16-minute "Entropy", plus instrumentals and vox tracks from the entire crew.  Track list can be found here.  This takes me back, not only to 2000, but beyond to the '90's and my incredibly neurotic youth, when every corner I turned found me face-to-face with something new and exciting.  Listen to this, and hopefully you will get a sense of it.

Soooooolllllllllesssiiiiiiidddddesssssssssssssss!

West Coast Scavengers

Hungry Buzzards

This 12" Ep from 2004 features some great, dusty psychedelia courtesy of beatmakers Manik Amidst, Hackmaster Derk, Chez Rock, Ao-Repose and the Instrumental Ward.  Radioinactive joins Instrumental Ward in the incredibly synergistic effort "Begging For Change", while Seattle emcee Asun (aka Suntonio Bandanaz) and turntablist Sessions do their crazy thing over Chez Rock's "Telepathy."  Suntonio is an emcee worth searching out; he's a mainstay of the mighty Alpha P/First Platoon massive here in the 206 with an impressive catalogue stretching back over the last decade.  He's first-rate, as are all the talents on this vinyl.  Listen

WCS