Tuff Crew Band Remember? One of many “My Part of Towns’” dope lines becomes the title to Tuff Crew’s new Unreleased 12” EP from the 90’s. Solid Ground Records, along with Tone Love & Ice Dog, have compiled 6 unreleased songs from the Tuff Crew archives, and will start as the first installment of unreleased material from the legendary Philly hip hop group. Selling more than 7 million records worldwide to date, Tuff Crew is offering these songs in a limited edition 12” LP’ For 35.00$ US plus shipping.
LIMITED TO 300 WORLDWIDE / RELEASE DATE: 06/18/2011
already got all your christmas gifts? well, here's some new heat from the solid ground fam:
Finishing off the year 2010, Poison Ladd S.L.R. – Beats In General return with another vintage 12” Ep of un-released songs recorded between 1992-1996. These recordings was pulled from the countless Dat tapes from Beats In General’s archives. REBEL MUSIC includes “All The Hits & More” (1992) a song about a drug addicts addiction to crack & cocaine, “No Fast Food Job” which details the harsh realities of working at a places like mc donald's in 1993, Cypress Hill inspired “One On Da Shelf” (1993) speaks about dealing with untrust worthy people in the hood, & “Bourbon & Bullets” (1996) story telling at its best which includes names of brand liquors & cigarettes.
Side A
All The Hits & More (1992)
No Fast Food Job (1993)
Side B
One On Da Shelf (1993)
Bourbon & Bullets (1996)
This release is Limited to 300 copies and costs $39.99 (USA) or $49.99 (INTERNATIONAL) incl. Shipping. Now available for pre-order at:
this is the fifth city mob from the bronx. i featured both tracks on mixtapes already- but still, it's a dope ass record! i didn't find out much about this crew so hanDJob helped me out with some info from one of the crew members:
«Members were David Brewster aka "Dusty Rhodes", Evan Leo Grandison aka "L-ion"and Ken Jones aka "DJ Ken Blass". It was Recorded in 93'. We are all from the BX. Co op City, Section 2 & 5. Dave & Leo are from 5. Thus the name 5th City Mob originated.»
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
i don't think i have to explain too much about our next group. philly's finest ruggedn'ess & madd drama. this is their debut record i believe. it's from '93 and on kixx records, where one year later redd bull appeared. apparently this also is the first release of kixx records (kixx01).
both tracks are dope! nevertheless, "comin' at 'cha" is my joint!
as extra special delicacy i upped a video of them live on stage performing "me and my squad". to be honest, i can't remember where i have this footage from. the year should be '94/'95 . this is super fucking dope! check it out!
it's time to honor the people over at vinyl addicts.
a few years back this guys had a unique and amazing mid 90ies indy blog, which most of you guys knew and loved. similar to my site they did not just post mp3 after mp3 but also tried to give some background info on artists and their projects. i can not recall the year, but one day they quit the blogging scene to return with a new concept and design later on– vinyladdicts.net
smoove, red, maze, ol'eightyfive and atilla now run the vinyl addicts site with its interviews, reviews, forum and last but not least special projects. and the latest one of those projects just found its way over to my place today– sons of sam "the unbirth ep"
yeah baby! while a big part of the indy community (myself included) was/is looking for the sons of sam 12" from '93 called "ooh he got an afro", the va guys managed, apparently with help by bibow, to track down the xav and samson and initiate a release that would follow their previous two projects such as lord finesse & mike smooth and sport g & mastermind.
"This time we would like to present six previously unreleased tracks from Sons Of Sam to you and yours. Many of you will know Sons Of Sam due their sought after 'Oooh He Got An Afro / Charisma' 12" which was released on Workshop Records in 1993. We had the oppurtunity to dig out six previously unreleased tracks from 1993/1994. Result: The Unbirth EP!" [vinyl addicts]
so here's what you can get– an ep with 6 amazing(!) unreleased cuts by sons of sam. in case you purchase two copies of the ep, you'll get a free copy of the equally dope 7" with alternative versions of "oooh he got an afro" and "charisma"! the ep's come with a glossy press photo and press-sheet! the ep's are limited to 250 copies, while there are 100 copies of the 7"– both handnumbered.
SONS OF SAM "THE UNBIRTH" EP '09
1. IT'S LIKE THAT
2. DO MY THANG
3. MOVE FAKIN'
4. NOFIN' NICE
5. GET IT ON
6. BAD MAN
SONS OF SAM 7" '09
1. OOOH HE GOT AN AFRO (ALTERNATE VERSION)
2. CHARISMA (ALTERNATE VERSION)
SNIPPETS
i have to be honest, in my opinion there are way too many dope limited/private record pressings out there. i really had to stop buying everything because it had become super expensive. but after checking the snippets of vinyl addicts' 3rd installment i was like– damn, i have to get this! there's a good chance a few copies are still available, so don't sleep!
on another note, i just wanted to emphasize that the vinyl addicts forum is a great place for mid 90ies rap lovers. you'll find a lot of people with knowledge. similar to the diggers with gratitude board, which in my opinion is more early nineties. speaking of dwg, you can find a dope review of the sons of sam 12" over there.
This is the debut ep of labtekwon aka omar akbar. this came out in '93 on black owned records and has six productions from '92/'93 on it.
"I made my first record in 1993, the Ghetto Gospel EP. It was released on Black Owned Records. 6 songs, 23 styles. I recorded the pre-production at Scotty B's studio in 1992."
i have to admit, this record was a real random buy a few years back. but while listening to this ep again and again, it became a real grower– for me at least. the kick off with "quiet storm" is perfect and at the same time my personal favorite followed by "csd". all of these tracks come rugged and rough and have a funky note as well. a perfect mix for my gusto. make sure to check this holy grail out!
LABTEKWON "THE GHETTO GOSPEL EP" '93
1. QUIET STORM 2. PHAROAH OF THE KAYO 3. HARD 2 DA CORP 4. COPTIC JIHAD 5. CSD 6. CHOCOLATE CHIP
you also need to check out the other stuff he released. for example the 12" as csd, several cd-r only releases or the latest project called 410 pharaohs.
pretty unknown release to me from south boston, which kross fade records put out in '93. the group goes by the name of overdose. on "booty kall" you get featurings by sandman & hardcore. you will recognize the sample used in "countin' em up" which had been used by half-a-mil a year later. i stick to half-a-mil's version but i also like the funky flute used in this one. also i like how they flipped the sample in "booty kall" (famous break- but i can't name the title right now). nothing groundbreaking here, but worth a shot.
why not remain it in the depths of the contract recording company?!
another crew on the jersey label was a kombo called blaque spurm. their probably first release was put out on ill labels (5one6) and features two tracks produced by grizz & prodige.
i guess one year later the five artists, namely stylze, papa doc, cuba, j-nap and fyne teamed up with tony d, to release a four cut strong ep on contract. i have to say...every song on this release is dope.
my joints on these two records are "the cycle", "pack ya shit" and "splendid". great stuff folks!
did you know that on the same label, who brought you the two eightball 12"s, another rapper had his debut!? i'm talking about chris lowe, who put out his first record on urban music for the masses in '93. you get featurings by ill pedestrians and anda. i can not tell you too much about this record but "midnight blue" has a smooth and jazzy vibe on it i really like. "can i hit it" is pretty similar but sounds rougher thanks to a new drum set. definitely worth checkin out and another personal grower.
