i have to admit, i bought this record pretty randomly in '08 on ebay from noz over at cocaine blunts. it then took me some time to realize that there was roc marciano spitting on the prophecy track. i remember last september, when our homie verge went mad on t.r.o.y. trying to id recordings he had from this 12". yeah, and a few weeks later this release resounded throughout the land.
this 12" on noose records has to be roc's debut release on vinyl with a second mc i can not identify (it can't be a member of the un crew, looking at the name). they call themselves kuku productions. on the flipside you have a group called zo & ox of which i know even less. each group has one track with 3 different mixes. all tracks are nice! but i stick to the radio and oxidation edits of "the prophecy". man, i love roc's voice and flow!
KUKU PRODUCTIONS / ZO & OX 12'' '97
SIDE A: KUKU PRODUCTIONS
1. THE PROPHECY [RADIO EDIT]
2. THE PROPHECY [OXIDATION MIX]
3. THE PROPHECY [DJ COOKIES MIX]
SIDE AA: ZO & OX
1. SPINNIN [HOT 97 MIX]
2. SPINNIN [OX BURNIN' MIX]
3. SPINNIN [UNFINISHED SYMPHONY]
anyway, since roc marciano dropped his amazing album «marcberg» earlier this year, i thought it would be the right time to share this with you today. also make sure you check out robbies interview over at unkut in case you have missed that.
our homie ed catto and freestyle records are about to release a 2x12" with unreleased big l and silky black material from 1991-1993.
crates of ag: where did you get these tracks from?
ed catto: showbiz and i have been working on this project for almost 1 1/2 years now. ever since we rediscovered these reels we have been working to bring this music out in an official manner which would allow all the original artists to be compensated. we had to work with big l's estate, silky black and the lone outside producer, lord finesse. we weren't sure that we were going to be able to pull it off, truthfully. if you look at the matrix numbers you will see that we had this planned but dropped other projects ahead of it while we worked out various issues.
crates of ag: how come nobody else pressed these up yet?
ed catto: no one pressed these up previously because no one had them or had even heard them besides showbiz, jazzy jay and big l. i don't think sony even had these as the full lp was never delivered to sony in the way that show intended it to be heard, they had started their tinkering by then. when the reels were rediscovered, show came to me because he had been happy with our work together on the showbiz & a.g. - broken chains 2xlp project.
crates of ag: is there more vintage stuff coming from big l or other artists in the future?
ed catto: i don't know for certain if there will be any other vintage unheard material coming from big l. so many original reels were destroyed in jazzy jay's fire. that these escaped is a minor miracle. still, you never know what could be out there or housed at another studio, etc. all i know is that this is all we have at our disposal from both artists that is fit for pressing and that is why we decided on a 2x12" format.
BIG L / SILKY BLACK - DOUBLE PACK 2x12"
DISC 1: BIG L
1. NO ENDZ, NO SKINZ (EXPLICIT OG VERSION), 1991
2. LET 'EM HAVE IT "L" (OG VERSION), 1991
+ INSTRUMENTALS
DISC 2: SILKY BLACK
1. TURN IT UP (PROD. SHOWBIZ)
2. BLOW UP (PROD. SHOWBIZ)
3. 163RD (PROD. LORD FINESSE)
+ INSTRUMENTALS
[limited to 400 handnumbered copies worldwide]
snippets
also check out two more releases on freestyle records dropping at the same time [they can also be purchased as bundles]:
BRANESPARKER & NUTRAGEOUS – DA GRITTY & DA GRIMEY EP
FREESTYLE PROFESSORS – GHETTO GOSPEL B/W STANLEY GRIMES – STANLEY GRIMES 7” (200 copies pressed)
all three projects will be shipping together around July 25th
PRICING OVERVIEW:
Showbiz Presents: The Big L - Silky Black Double Pack 2×12” PC $85
($100/$92 w/shipping Overseas/N. America)
Preorder for $75 ($90/$82 w/ shipping Overseas/N. America)
Branesparker & Nutrageous – Da Gritty & Da Grimey SC EP$18
Preorder for $15 ($30/$22 w/shipping Overseas/N. America)
Freestyle Professors – Ghetto Gospel b/w Stanley Grimes – Stanley Grimes 7”
available as part of Bundle #1 or Bundle #2
