| 1. Hustler With Style Intro | The first part is from a Radio Canada record I dug up at a swap meet, the second part of the vocals comes from a very funny and stylishly slick British movie on rave culture Human Traffic. Beat by Quasimoto.
| 2. Brass Munk: Live Ordeal | Really dug this Canadian duo's first 12" and the single "Live Ordeal" is from is equally good (though I picked this song more because it worked in the mix rather than for its intrinsic qualities. Not a bad cut but not my favorite song by them.
| 3. Blackalicious: Rhymes Like a Nut | How the hell did this NOT get released the first time through? Featured on the Solesides Greatest Bumps compilation, it has to be one of the best Blackalicious songs I've heard. Produced by DJ Shadow.
| 4. MOP: Roll Call | Primo freaks S.O.U.L.'s "Peace of Mind" ‚ kind of ironic given that MOP ‚ the world's foremost gunclap MCs ‚ is using it but f*ck it. This rocks so hard my kidneys hurt.
| 5. Jay Dee: Get Up | One of the better tracks I've heard Jay Dee whip together on the harder, funky tip. From the 12" of the same name, feat. Frank N' Dank.
| 6. Common: Tekzilla | Produced by Hi-Tek, the rumor was that this was supposed to be the lead 12" for Hi-Teknology until it got bootlegged onto white label and after that happened, Rawkus lost interest in releasing it. Pity ‚ it's a great song both in terms of Common's verses and the piano loop that Hi-Tek hooks up.
| 7. Lord Sear: Ya Mouth Stink | He may not be the world's best MC but the beat on this ‚ taken from a Mike James Kirkland LP ‚ is, in the words of my colleague Matt Africa, "dumb hot."
| 8. De La Soul: Declaration | Still my favorite cut on their last album, Posdnuos at his mo' complex best.
| 9. AZ: Love Me In a Special Way | On rare occasions, AZ manages to remind me why Nas took an interest in him for Illmatic. From a bootleg 12" of the same name.
| 10. Planet Asia: Weight | While his rep is as a battler, when Asia weighs in on more philosophical matters, he proves equally adept. Love the production on this song too, taken from his Last Stand EP.
| 11. Natural Resource: Heavy Loungin' | This comes from Fat City's Main Ingredients compilation, one of the best comps you'll find anywhere. These guys have proven themselves to be top notch in the dept. as this particular album mixes rare groove material alongside incognito hip-hop bangers like this previously unheard song from Brooklyn's Natural Resource.
| 12. Grand Agent: From the Gate | Straight up ‚ one of my favorite new MCs over the last year. He handles himself with utter confidence and if you can't feel my man on this cut ‚ the lead song for his By Design LP, you just can't feel.
| 13. DJ Vadim feat. Mr. Lif, Virtuoso, Esoteric: Higher Standard | This is the B-side to Vadim's FCC banned "My Revolution" 12" on Mo Wax. He brings on the Boston triumphirate of Mr. Lif, Esoteric and Virtuoso and the chemistry works well as the three collabo to bash a new cavity in your skull.
| 14. DJ Eli feat. Ill Bill: Who's the Best | Politically incorrect as always, but dig the spaghetti western guitar that strums throughout. Ill indeed. From the 12" of the same name.
| 15. Hydroponic Sound System: What We Do It Like | Taken from the largely ignored Styles Upon Styles compilation out of the UK. Not a brilliant song from this Bay Area group, but I dug the bounce of the beat and the lyrics aren't too dumb.
| 16. Rubix: Revitalizing | If you're not playing close enough attention, you'd think this was another Mos Def cut ‚ Rubix sounds crazy similar ‚ but frankly, there are far worse icons to emulate than Mr. Beze, especially if you're trying to bring some intelligent positivity to the hip-hop game. From his No Thinking Outloud EP.
| 17. Rest Uneasy Interlude | Radio Canada comes through again. Lick a shot!
| 18. Dead Prez: Cop Shot | I'm not a huge Dead Prez fan ‚ way to didactic for my nuanced tastes ‚ but I'm feeling this remake of KRS' "Black Cop". I'm sure it's not likely to make the rounds among the Fraternal Order of Police Officers anywhere, but it makes for a great anthem for the angry days of summer. From a white label bootleg 12".
| 19. Da Beatminerz feat. The Flipmode Squad: Take That | Wow, Da Beatminerz drop a beat so hardcore, def and dumb that even the Flipmode Squad sound good over it. From the Rawkus 12" of the same name, also on the 'Minerz' Brace 4 Impak album.
| 20. MOP: Pounds Up | MOP meets DITC. Expect the body count to stack. From the Rawkus 12".
| 21. Micronauts: Pitch Black Ark | Featured on its own 12" as well as the Obelisk Movements album, this sound just rips even if I don't actually understand what kind of pseudo-mythological conspiracy theory they're trying to talk about.
| 22. Black Thought: Hardware | Produced by DJ Krush ‚ this song's coolälove the dark, murky track but it's murda to mix. Thank god for doubles. And digital samplers. From the MCA 12" and I assume, the upcoming solo album.
| 23. Gift of Speech: Step Up Front | Updating Positive K seems to be pretty damn popular these days but I'm not mad ‚ no one ever paid Pos K much attention the first time aroundämaybe this will help redeem him just a lil. Just between you and me, if I could do this mix-CD over again, I would have left this off but it seemed kind of cool at the time. "At the time" being the operative word.
| 24. Jurassic 5: Jurass Finish First | Taken off their Quality Control album, this has to be one of my favorite cuts on there as Chali 2na and Akil(?) just run roughshod over the piano trackä
| 25. Foreign Legion: Intangible MCs | änicely seguing into another good piano-powered track, Foreign Legion's B-side to "Let Me Tell You Something." The beat was already on their album, but this time, new lyrics to go over the previous instrumental.
| 26. Mr. Live: The Good Life | This is from another excellent Fat City compilation, an all hip-hop affair called Heavy Loungin. I love the snap of the guitar twang as well as Mr. Live's distinctive rhyme flow.
| 27. INI: No More Words | One of what seems like countless INI bootleg 12"s, I'm drawn to this song in particular because 1) it has Pete Rock's younger brother Grap Luva droppping lines and 2) the PR samples Cal Tjader's "Morning", one of my all-time favorite Latin songs.
| 28. Wee Bee Foolish: Main Attraction | From the relatively new 12" on Head Bop. The lyrics aren't that impressive but I can't front on the guitar loop that pushes the beat forward. Nice hook too.
| 29. Moka Only and LMNO: Teamwork | Honeslty, I'm still not sure which Battle Axe project this is off of since I have it on an unlabeled white label promo. Nonetheless, I think the loop's a beauty and I like Moka and LMNO's chemistry on the verbal tiznip.
| 30. Play It Cool Interlude | From a strange 12" by the same name I dug up randomly.
| 31. Lone Catalysts and All Natural: Renaissance | Looooooove the song ‚ one of J. Rawls' all-time best jazz tracks while Capital D and J. Sands sound perfect over the crafted vibe. Another winner from the aforementioned Heavy Loungin' compilation.
| 32. Pete Rock and CL Smooth: Back On the Block | How exactly did People Under the Stairs get their hands on this previously unheard Pete Rock and CL Smooth cut? Who cares? Mo' butter than movie theatre popcorn ‚ value-sized.
| 33. Mr. Lif with Opio: Fulcrum | Why is Mr. Lif going to be one of the new MCs to watch in 2001, 2002 and beyond? Just flip this on and all questions will be answered in short order. Insight produces another amazing track ‚ the intro makes it a bitch to mix but I'm willing to forgive all given the overall excellence of Mr. Lif's verbals and Opio's cameo. From the Def Jux "Cro-Magnon" 12".
| 34. Nikka Costa: Like a Feather | Some might think I played myself by including this Janis Joplin/Lenny Kravitz biter but for real, you can get the dills if you don't like it. Even with two broken legs, you can't help but hop to this. From the 12" of the same name as well as Costa's Everybody's Got Their Something album.
| 35. Jonell: Round and Round | Taken from Hi-Tek's Hi-Teknology album, it's one of the few R&B cuts that's come out that I genuinely feel. A perfect interplay between Jonell's soft vocals and Hi-Tek's melancholy track.
| 36. Truth Enola with What What: Ill Lovin' Part. 2 | From the "Ill Lovin" 12", a heartfelt song that touches on difficult relationship issues. Shows that What What can do more than just fly your head off ‚ she can also climb inside it.
| 37. Arcee: Super Educated | Produced by my man Jake One ‚ fly beat, fly song in general, taken from the B-side of Arcee's "Exquisite" 12".
| 38. Akbar: Space Odyssey | Akbar has a real thing for space metaphors and this song just about says it all (though that doesn't stop him from including several more, similarly themed songs). I really dig the beat in any case. Taken from his Big Bang Boogie album on Ill Boogie Records.
| 39. Rolling Back Chaos Interlude | Well, unless you're wholly out of it, you can figure out that this kicks off my mix of DJ Premier songs (I'm a jocker, unabashedly). This snippet is from pianist Ahmad Jamal's cover of Foster Sylvers' "Misdemeanor", from his Jamalca LP on CBS.
| 40. J-Live - The Best Part | Has any other promising MC been screwed as badly as J-Live? Thank god someone (probably J himself) had the good sense to bootleg his album (of the same title). Pretty standard Primo production ‚ as it is with almost all of these ‚ but that means it's reliable dope-a-delic.
| 41. CNN - Invincible | Almost made me eager for the CNN album. Almost. Regardless though, definitely one of the better Primo tracks I've heard. From The Reunion Lp as well as the B-side of the "Ya'll Don't Wanna" 12".
| 42. Kool G Rap - First N*gga Remix | If you can't tell this is Primo, you need your hearing checked ‚ a classic Works of Mart drum pattern that gets recycled all the time yet even if you've heard it twice, it still comes off nice. Just wish Kool G Rap wasn't trying to hard to remind us why he's dope. Bad boys move in silence, remember? From the Rawkus 12".
| 43. Big L with Big Daddy Kane - Platinum Plus | Speaking of vets coming back in the game, you've got one dead MC and then Big L. Ha ha! Ok, that was a bad joke but for real, Kane doesn't sound half-bad on this beyond the grave collabo with Big L. From the Rawkus 12".
| 44. Ed O.G. - Sayin' Something | Had Ed O.G.'s entire LP sounded like this initial 12", it might have been as good as his inaugural Life of a Kid in the Ghetto. Not to be however- this was a shining gem strewn amongst the worthless rubble.
| 45. Royce 5'9" - Boom | Hotter than bottom of black-soled shoes walking on Georgia asphalt in July. Or something like that. I've never claimed to be a big Royce 5' 9" fan but this single's enough to make me want to jock him. Wish all his songs were this good. Wish all hip-hop songs were this good. Wishäoh, you get the point. From the Game 12" with the skanky cover. Oh wait, that's all of them.
| 46. Afu Ra with Gza - Little Acts, Big Acts | Gza still sounds like he's sleep walking through the cameo and Afu Ra's pseudo martial arts act leaves me bored. But damn if still doesn't sound good. From the 12" of the same name.
| 47. Heather B - Guilty | I bet many slept on this 12" but Heather B turns in a much more stronger and ambitious effort than her standard gunclap trap.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |