First Rate Rap

Back on my grizzly like the bearman (he's now dead....killed by a bear...so maybe its not such a good idea). Back to the downloads and here we have a tasty album from producer and DJ First Rate from back in 2005.

The ex-Scratch Pervert got together some great emcees from the UK and the US to rhyme over some quality beats for his debut LP "Walky Talkyz". Released on Scenario Records, it got a buzz initially from the first track with Skinnyman "Barfight", which details Skinny's typical night in his local boozer (which I think we can all imagine would be quite interesting).

The buzz didnt stop there with tracks from UK legend Blade, Phi-Life Cypher and beatbox extraordinaire Killa Kela all getting in on the action. He also got Mr J. Medieros' group The Procussions on a song called 'Freedom' which enjoyed a bit of success on the undergound scene for them.

A thoroughly solid album from the battle DJ for his first foray into the producer album market and just another string to add to his bow of already extensive accolades from the deejay and turntablist circuit.

DJ First Rate - Walky Talkyz (2005)

1 Intro (feat. MC Wrec)
2 Barfight (feat. Skinnyman)
3 Bang On (feat. Red Eye)
4 One Day (feat. John McUlan)
5 Freedom (feat. The Procussions)
6 The Practice(feat. Sponge Crew)
7 Skit 1: Gidieon Style
8 The Cutz
9 Hamburger (feat. MC Blade)
10 Istanbul
11 Loop De Loop
12 New Rulesz (feat. Phil Life Cypher)
13 Skit 2
14 Something In The Way You Make Me Feel (feat. Killa Kela)
15 Walk The Walk (feat. Numbskullsz)
16 I Wander (feat. Project Redemption)
17 Untitled

A Post Both Scattered & Long

My five day weekend back in Durham (North-East England) was much needed, and much appreciated, as my life, or at least social life, was getting a little stale. A few nights round my old mates, a trip to the cinema and a Foo Fighters/Serj Tankian gig soon changed that.

Now, its back to the daily grind in terms of my job, and the same applies here on Northern Author, starting with today’s post. On my trip back home I came across a great mix CD from UK DJ/Producer Blufoot. The album came out in 2005 just after his debut solo LP ‘The Ablution’. The mixtape/compilation album is one of a kind, chronicling some great old school tracks from both Great Britain & USA.

‘The Old Testament: Book I & Book II’ is, as you can see, split into two halves, with Book I being a large collection of tracks from the USA mixed together by Blufoot. On this CD you have everyone from Brand Nubian, Lord Finesse & Masta Ace to lesser known US underground gems from the 90s such as The Raider men & Sista Souljah. The CD spans 57 tracks, and if you read the tracklist you will see that it has a hell of a lot of good material on it. Book II is the same drill, but with all of the old UK hip-hop classics that have helped shape the foundations of the scene. This CD will definitely be one to listen to for those who aren’t necessarily deep in the UK scene, as it displays our roots and what our own versions of say, Lord Finesse and the like are. This CD has all of the big names on it from the early 90’s, such as London Posse, Demon Boyz, Hardnoise, Caveman, Hijack, Derek B and many more.

Altogether, Blufoot has done an excellent job in crafting two collections of tracks that encapsulate the essence of both the UK & US scenes in the 90s. You can definitely see the differences between the two, and you can see the growth from song to song also, and as a mix CD its one of the best I’ve heard come out of England (DJ Yoda’s craziness aside!).

Blufoot - The Old Testament: Book I & Book II

DISK 1 - The Old Testament Book I (USA)

1. Intro
2. Prayer
3. Funky Enough - DOC
4. Boys In Da Hood - Eazy E
5. Bitch Is A Bitch - NWA
6. Efil 4 Zaggin - NWA
7. Grand Verbaliser - X-Clan
8. In The Way Of The Scales - X-Clan
9. Untitled - Brand Nubian
10. All For One - Brand Nubian
11. 360 (What Goes Around) - Grand Puba
12. Comin' Thru Ya Fuckin' Block - Artifacts
13. Just Wanna Chill - Large Professor
14. Get Funky (remix) - Beatnuts
15. Return Of The Funky Man (remix) - Lord Finesse
16. Most Beautifullest Thing - Murray, Keith
17. Tonite's Da Night (remix) - Redman
18. No Equal - Beatnuts
19. How The Fuck Would You Know - Positive K
20. Top Billin' - Audio II
21. That's How It Is (remix) - Casual
22. Me O Mi O (remix) - Casual
23. Swing - Camp Lo
24. Coolie High (Paradise mix) - Camp Lo
25. Crazy Noise - Stezo
26. Down The Line - Nice & Smooth
27. I'm Not Playin' - Ultimate Force
28. Wreknoize - Smif-n-Wessun
29. Jeep Ass Nigguh (bizcappella) - Masta Ace
30. Magnetic - Raidermen
31. I'm Kurious - Kurious
32. Straight Outta Compton - NWA
33. Step To Me - Tim Dog
34. Amerikkka's Most Wanted - Ice Cube
35. Gangsta's Fairytale - Ice Cube
36. Buck Whylin' - Terminator X & Sista Souljah
37. You're Gonna Get Yours - Public Enemy
38. On The Run - Jungle Brothers
39. Poison - Kool G Rap & Polo
40. Soul Clap - Showbiz & AG
41. Fuck What Ya Heard - Diamond D
42. Mission - Special Ed
43. Take A Rest - Gang Starr
44. Flow Joe - Fat Joe
45. Bucktown - Boot Camp Clik
46. Gotcha Open - Boot Camp Clik
47. You Can't Front - Diamond D
48. Gangsta Of Hip Hop - Just Ice
49. La Di Da Di - Doug E Fresh & Slick Rick
50. Ill Street Blues - Kool G Rap & Polo
51. Calm Down - CNN
52. Ultimate (showbiz mix) - Artifacts
53. Tonite's Da Night (original version) - Redman
54. Safe Sex (remix) - Sermon, Erick
55. Get Lifted - Murray, Keith
56. Outro

DISK 2 - The Old Testament Book II (UK)

1. Intro
2. Hip Hop Beat - Rapologist & MC Master C/DJ Whizz Kid
3. Human Time Bomb - Derek B
4. We Got Juice - Derek B
5. Stop The Negativity - Outlaw Posse
6. Our Time - MC Mello
7. North Side - Demon Boyz
8. Glimity Glamity - Demon Boyz
9. Gangster Chronicle - London Posse
10. Money Mad - London Posse
11. Phat Skillz - MC Duke
12. Demanding Cycle Of A Word Bound Hammerhead - Sindecut
13. Battel Creek Brawl - Gunshot
14. 25 Gun Salute - Gunshot
15. Untitled - Hardnoise
16. Bring Forth The Guillotine - Silver Bullet
17. I'm Ready - Caveman
18. On The Mic - Points Proven & Fly
19. Back For More - Cash Crew
20. Taxi - Cash Crew
21. Style Wars - Hijack
22. Don't Go With Strangers - Hijack
23. Class Dismissed - Dynametrix
24. Mind Of A Ordinary Citizen - Blade
25. Crazy Mad Flow - Sonz Of Da Noize
26. Step On Stage - Scientists Of Sound
27. Reverse World - Katch 22
28. X Versus The World - Overlord X
29. How I Make Papes - London Posse
30. How's Life In London - London Posse
31. Pass Me The Rizzla - London Posse
32. Subtraction - MC Mello
33. Mice In The Presence Of A Lion - Hardnoise
34. Onslaught - Standing Ovation
35. Weapon Is My Lyric - Overlord X

Speaking of the gig I went to, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how good the Foo Fighters were live. I know this is a hip-hop site primarily, but whatever, I can do what I want, and Grohl and co and really play. They made a 14-15,000 capacity arena seem like an intimate town hall gig, were personable with the crowd and even did an acoustic set on a second stage halfway through.

Serj Tankian (of System Of A Down fame) didn’t fare as well as the opening act. Not because he and his band, which Serj said were called ‘The Flying Cunts Of Chaos’ (incidentally drawing giggles from infantile men such as me, and looks of horror on the faces of parents who were with their children) weren’t good, because they were. It was just that people didn’t seem too interested. Plus, a man who essentially metal to the core, regardless of his often zany vocal ramblings, just seemed a bit bewildered to be on stage a 7 in the evening. Anyway, it was a great gig, and proved to me that out of all of the chart Rock outfits that there are today, the Foo Fighters are definitely one of the best.

We’re just riffing here at Northern Author with this post, recalling things to have happened in the past week. First off, I did promise to get some Kid Acne albums up last week but it never happened and I was away from the internet for 5 days. In those 5 days I bought more albums and one I have already shared, but rest assured those Kid Acne albums WILL be upped soon, so be patient.

Also, I may be a little late in declaring my love on this one, but I finally bought ‘Of Gods & Girls’ by Mr J. Medeiros after downloading it and playing it to death. This album has to be one of my favourite albums of the year, and I can’t see that changing at all (maybe I’ll do a ‘top 10 albums of…’ post in December - you never know, if it holds the test of time it may be top). This album has so many songs that should be hit singles its unbelievable. Its just harsh the way the music business is that a great artist like Medeiros (and his group The Procussions) will never get the success they deserve because of politics. An artist such as Kanye West or Lupe Fiasco would have loved to have crafted songs such as ‘Constance’ and ‘Keep Pace’ and for me ‘King Of Rock Bottom’ is one of the best ‘club’ tracks of the year, regardless of the fact that you’re more likely to hear the Iranian national anthem coming out of the speakers of your favourite party establishment.

Another surprise, at least for me, came coupled with disgust at myself, as I downloaded some tracks from probably the biggest hip-hop ’blog’ on the net (if you can still call it a blog) ’The Smoking Section’. A Chris Brown song was in the mix, but I decided to resist the urge of skipping it out of sheer laziness, and found myself nodding my head! The track is called ’Fallen Angel’ and I actually don’t mind it, even though it makes me nearly projectile vomit onto my wall just typing that.

Back to some proper hip-hop to try and redeem myself and earn back my readers, here’s some old Mark B & Blade CD singles from 2001, complete with their B-Sides and bonus loveliness. I bought them when they came out and while looking at my old old old collection I thought a few of the extra tracks on them would be of interest to you lot.

On ‘Ya Don’t See The Signs’, not only do you get the original, and the famous rock version, but you also get the absolutely incredible Phi-Life Cypher remix, in which Life asserts himself as the man with maybe the best flow and rap cadence in hip-hop history. On the ’There’s No Stoppin’ It EP’ you get even more bonus tracks - the EP title track, another track with Life called ’Superior Mind State, the two classics in the form of ’Sealed With A Diss’ and ’Survival Of The Hardest Working’. Without trying to sound like a presenter from a bog-standard shopping channel, these are not to be missed.

Mark B & Blade - Ya Don’t See The Signs (2001)

1.Ya Don’t See The Signs (Grant Nicholas Rock Version) - Prod. by Grant Nicholas of Feeder
2. Ya Don’t See The Signs (LP Version) - Prod. by Mark B
3. Ya Don’t See The Signs (Phi Life Cypher Remix feat. Phi-Life Cypher) - Prod. by Nappa

Mark B & Blade - There’s No Stoppin’ It EP (2001)

1. There’s No Stoppin’ It - Prod. By Mark B
2. Superior Mind State (feat. Life) - Prod. By Mark B
3. Sealed With A Diss - Prod. By Mark B
4. Survival Of The Hardest Working - Prod. By Blade

The Greatest UK Rapper?

There has been a new addition of sorts to the Northern Author ranks. We have a new contributor (ish) who has been very kind to provide me with many links for you lot to download to your heart’s content, and I have looked at the albums on offer and there are some real pieces of British hip-hop history coming up in the next few weeks.

So, thank you to Adam Ross for his help and hopefully you can help out more in giving the people what they need on behalf of the Northern Author in the future.

First up, one of his link’s reunited an idea in my mind of a post I was going to do a few months back. I was looking through the albums on offer and came across the full length solo debut of UK rapper and absolute legend Blade.

Blade has been in the rap game as long as Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane or Large Professor, and arguably has created as vital a body of work as them. Maybe not on the same worldwide scale, but I know for a fact that thousands upon thousands of hip-hop fans (a lot not necessarily based in Britain) consider Blade to be more than just Mr. Consistency in the rap game. He was one half of the duo that created probably one of the most important UK rap albums there is, as ‘The Unknown’ with producer Mark B kicked in the door for all of the UK artists today that are getting success with their work.

‘The Unknown’ spawned some MASSIVE singles, the main one being ‘Ya Don’t See The Signs’, which got a remix from multi-award winning Feeder guitarist Grant Nicholas, which was the first UK hip-hop song to get into the Top 40 pop charts for a long time (for the oblivious, you may have heard this for the past five or six years as the theme tune to Soccer AM on Sky Sports)

However, Blade is and always was a solo artist first and foremost, and he has released some great solo work before and after that important album. Here, courtesy of my new internet mate Adam Ross, we have Blade’s ‘The Lion Goes From Strength To Strength’ from 1993. It was his first full length , and didn’t disappoint. When I was scouring the net to find some decent background info on the man himself I found his own website which tells us a lot more about the album than I have. It also gives an insight into just how determined Blade was to succeed in a British Rap market that was practically non-existant (or at least not known) at the time. Go here.

Blade - The Lion Goes From Strength To Strength (1993)

1. Keep It Goin On
2. Fade Em Out
3. Music For Universal Pleasure
4.100%
5. How To Raise A Blade
6. No Compromise
7. Hold Your Own
8. Bedroom Demo
9. Pisstake
10. Take It To The Edge
11. ... Or Get Crushed Like A Pumpkin
12. Heads Are Forever Boppin’
13. Shut The Fuck Up
14. Silence Is Better Than Bullshit
15. No Mercy, No Future
16. The Lion Goes From Strength To Strength
17. The Power Of Positive Thinking
18. Survival Prelude
19. God Give Me Strength
20. Fuck The System
21. Dark & Sinister (feat. Mell‘O)
22. Suck On My Electric Guitar
23. Exit

To show how much the man’s music has changed through time, rather than put up his whole back catalogue (which I’m sure would not only be detriment to you all buying his records like you should be, and would of course be much more time consuming for me) I’m giving you his first and most recent efforts. Thirteen years after he released his first album, Blade brought out ‘Guerilla Tactics‘, which has a much more modern British sound, mostly due to producer extraordinaire Baby J handling all of the beats. Baby J, as already covered on this very site, has such a distinctive sound, and this album could have almost been Blade & Baby J, but in terms of the concepts within and the topics covered by Blade, its very much a personal effort.

The guest spots that are present are on the two ‘posse’ cuts on the album, ‘Army of Barmy Rappers’ and ‘The Massacre Begins’. The other guest spots are only chorus vocals sung by Baby J affiliates Larissa & Dwaine Hayden.

As a personal recommendation, ‘Four Walls’ is f**king immense, but the whole album is superb and one of the most refreshing UK hip-hop albums of the past two or three years. Funny how it takes an old hand to inject passion and focus into a genre while the young guns flap about, eh?

Blade - Guerilla Tactics (2006)

1. Mumps
2. Four Walls
3. MCs Just Wanna Rhyme
4. System Of A Damned
5. Beatbox (5th Element)
6. I Found A Reason
7. Army Of Barmy Rappers (feat. S. Kalibre, Cipher, Manage, Respek-Ba & Rukus)
8. MC (2nd Element)
9. Its Your Time (feat. Laurissa)
10. Don’t Push Them
11. B-Boy (3rd Element)
12. She’s Gone
13. The Massacre Begins (feat. Yogi, Humurak D Gritty & Mystro)
14. Graffitti (4th Element)
15. B.L.A.D.E.
16. Round & Round
17. DJ (1st Element)
18. UK Hip Hop

Both are examples of how rap should sound in my opinion, which leads me to the question in the title. Is Blade UK's Greatest Rapper? He could very well be.

PS. As a sidenote, Certified Banger did a canny good post on some collaborations Blade has done in their 'Collabo Connections' series, so check that out too. Its seems that great minds really do think alike.