Malcolm McLaren - Double Dutch 1983

Chrysalis Records MALC 312

To be truly cynical for a moment, it's easy to suggest that McLaren preyed upon the stupid. After taking the dumb, young testosterone filled white teenage rock scene by storm with the Sex Pistols, he then proceeded to do the same with young black teenagers, taking the whole B-Boy/Hip Hop/Electro thing out of 'The Projects' and putting it onto the World stage.

('Of course we know who can really blow')

The true wonder lies in the fact that he was able to do it after being labeled as a 'con man' on the music scene. Of course, the fact of the matter is, he was bloody good at exploiting an opportunity. I was about to say talent but I don't think that description covers Sid Viscious? McLaren was a genius of sorts but love him or hate him, he did bring The World Class Supreme Team Show to our attention and for that alone, I'll allow him the room to exist in my little piece of the web.

The main release here is credited to Malcolm McLaren & The Ebonettes and is basically, Double Dutch is like a theme song for the skipping sport of the American Double Dutch League. That makes it sound like crap but I love it, it's not quite singing and not quite rapping either, set over a traditional African melody with a catchy chorus. Considering that this was the follow-up to the revolutionary Buffalo Gals, it must have taken some balls to put this out, or a good accountant.

"Schemin' on the meaning of a jazz thing."

The flipside is credited to Malcom McLaren & The World Class Supreme Team Show but McLaren don't figure on this except in the writing credits. She's Looking Like A Hobo seems to be either the track that was used in Buffalo Gals or an extension of the idea used in Buffalo Gals. Either way, if you like the music behind that track, you'll enjoy this. I like all of this release, it's fresh and interesting a quarter of a century down the line but the track that makes it essential to me is D'Ya Like Scratchin'? This track always makes me feel good with its hip hop scratch and rap skills set over a soulful melodic backbeat. Returning to my opening cynicism, this is probably an advert for their radio show but as with all McLaren's projects, it's done so well that you don't feel the pain.

Novacaine for the Soul?

• Double Dutch (New Dance Mix)
• She's Looking Like A Hobo
• D'Ya Like Scratchin'? (Special Remix)

The Download Link is here: Download
Filename: Malcolm McLaren.rar Filesize: 33.26 MB

Eric B & Rakim - Paid In Full (Promo) 1987

4th & Broadway 12 BRX 78

In 1987 when Eric B & Rakim could do no wrong, Coldcut was called upon to remix Paid In Full. Seven Minutes Of Madness turned out to be the most popular mix that year, from the dancefloor point of view at least. It was, quite deservedly, played to death! Eric B was not a happy man though, even though it must have doubled, if not quadrupled the sales of his album. He hated that remix, suggesting that Ofra Haza's Hebrew vocal sample from "Im Nin'Alu" could have been saying "Fuck You" for all we knew. The thing that probably irked him most was that he had no say about the remix and its release.

The real shame was that nobody else got a look in. This promo 12" (handed out at the DMC Convention if I remember rightly) is a remix created by South London's own Derek Boland. Boland had been a DJ on the pirate stations (LWR 92.5) for sometime where he created his own remixes for his show. This remix of Paid In Full uses a nice sample from John 'Cougar' Mellancamp's - Jack & Diane and a chunk of Chuck Brown's - We Need Some Money. That's Rock Music and Go-Go in this Hip-Hop mix. It's a great version and it deserved more airplay. Try it, you'll like it.

• Paid In Full (Derek B's Urban Respray)
• Paid In Full (Album Mix)
• Eric B Is On The Cut

The Download Link is here: Download
Filename: Eric B and Rakim.rar Filesize: 21.18 MB

Gang Starr - Jazz Thing 1990

CBS Records 656377 6

Gang Starr were strong contenders on the rap scene in the late 80's. After a few years kicking up dust Guru found DJ Premier and they released the album Step Into The Arena onto an unsuspecting public. As luck would have it, Spike Lee was, at the time, in the process of making the jazz based movie 'Mo' Better Blues' which required a soundtrack. The rest is, as they say, history. The reason I've posted this 12" though, is hidden away on the B-side. The Instrumental version of 'Jazz Thing' is a DJ Premier scratch-fest, a 'jazz concerto' which sounds just as awesome now as it did on the first listen.

Featuring Kenny Kirkland on Piano and Robert Hurst on Bass, this superb slice of turntabalism contains (in the vocal mixes) a four minute history of Jazz. Produced by the legendary Branford Marsalis, Premier loops the most authentic samples into a funky-ass soundtrack, over which he cuts up some great sound bytes. What makes this track so important though is the education that comes with with it. Guru (Keith Edward Elam to his mum) lays down some of the finest, most eloquent and intuitive lyrics heard in rap history.

It's roots are in the sounds of the African
Or should I say the Mother, bringin' us back again
From the drummin' on the Congo
It came with a strong flow and continued to grow

Feet move, to the beat of the t'balo*
Now dig the story and follow
For then it landed, on American soil
Through the sweat, the blood and the toil

Hear "Praise the Lord", shouted on chain gangs
Pain they felt, but it helped them maintain
Scott Joplin's rags, Bessie Smith's blues

St Louis blues, they were all the news
Ringin' smooth on all the listeners ears
Fulfillin' the need and planting the seeds of a Jazz thing

King Oliver's group was a train comin' through
To Chicago, bringin' the New Orleans groove
And when Satchmo blew, the audience knew

Basin Street blues was the raw house tune
It was great to dance to
Great to romance to, with a lot to say to you
Relaying a message, revealing an essence of a Jazz thing

Jazz music, Jazz Music
Jazz music, Jazz Music
Jazz music, Jazz Music, Jazz music

In the Forties came Be-Bop, the first Be-Bop
The Real Be-Bop, so let me talk about
Diz & Byrd, givin' the word
Definin' how a beat could be so complete

Playin' with ferocity, thinkin' with velocity
About ornithology or anthropology
And even 'Epistrophy', and this is real history

Theolonious Monk, a 'Melodious Thunk'
No mistakes were made with the notes he played
His conception, was recondite

A star glowing bright among dim lights
The critics decided that he sounded alright
Charlie Mingus, such nimble fingers
Droppin' the bass, all over the place

And Max Roach, cymbals socking
Bass drum talking, snare drum rocking
Restructuring the metaphysics of a Jazz thing

John Coltrane, a man supreme
He was the cream, he was the wise one
The impression of Afro Blue and of the promise
That was not kept, he was a giant step

And there was Ornette Coleman
He was another soul man
The original invisible, playing great music
I wonder why the bankers couldn't use it

Now listen see, the real mystery is how music history
Created by white men or any other white man
That pretended he originated

And contended that he innovated, a Jazz thing
"Of course, we know who can really blow"
Schemin' on the meanin' of a Jazz thing

And this music ain't dead so don't be misled
By those who said that Jazz was on it's deathbed
'cause when Betty Carter sings a song
Ain't nothin' goin' on but simply good music
And you won't refuse it

She's takin' her time, making the nuances rhyme
Sonny Rollins, tenor saxaphone
With a big ol' tone, reciting poems
With notes as words, and haven't you heard
Next stop butter, right past Oleo**

Now there's young cats blowin'
And more and more people, yes they will be knowin'
Jazz ain't the past, this music's gonna last
And as the facts unfold, remember who foretold

The Nineties, will be the decade of a Jazz thing
I Love Jazz music
A Jazz thing
I Love Jazz music
A Jazz thing
I Love Jazz music
A Jazz thing
I Love Jazz music
A Jazz thing

"Not everyone is fortunate to have a jazz musician for a father and grow up in a household listening to the music. It is my hope that maybe, just maybe, some young folks will know from this film "Mo Better Blues" and the single "Jazz Thing" is as much about Duke, Coltrane, Monk, Diz, Mingus, Billie Holiday, Bird, etc...etc...etc..., as Public Enemy, Biz Markie, L.L. Cool J, Hammer, Queen Latifah, etc...etc...etc...etc..." Spike Lee July 13,1990

• Video Mix
• Movie Mix
• Instrumental

The Download Link is here: Download
Filename: Gang Starr.rar Filesize: 39.09 MB



* Balo, better known as the Balenjeh, is a African piano. Sounds credible?
** Oleo is the shortened word for oleomargarine or margarine.

Kinkina - Jungle Fever 1987

Champion Records CHAMP 12-35

In 1972 Chakachas released Jungle Fever, produced by Roland Kluger with vocals by Bill Ador. It saw some success and became a bit of a classic on the Rare Groove scene. In 1981 Kinkina had another go at it but it never took off until 1987 when PWL's Phil Harding & Pete Waterman got their hands on it. Despite the nausea associated with the name, they done a damn good job but the real surprise was the 'Skratch Fever' Mix.

To give the re-release a little limelight, Shem McCauley, aka DJ Streets-Ahead, was brought in to do some live scratching over the track. It works!

"In 1987, CJ Mackintosh was the DMC UK Champ and he battled DJ Streets Ahead on the Champion Records compilation Ultimate Trax. Streets Ahead made the difference. Streets Ahead liked Go Go and what he did with Trouble Funk still stands the test of time." DJ David RB

• Jungle Fever (Megamix)
• Skratch Fever
• Jungle Fever (Original Version)

The Download Link is here: Download
Filename: Kinkina.rar Filesize: 32.39 MB
*Published without a link and nobody noticed... that tells me a lot!

Lonzo & The World Class Wreckin' Kru - Fast Lane 1988

Techno-Kut TK-1001

The full title is "Turn Off The Lights in the Fast Lane" but only "Fast Lane" is printed on the label. This release is a bit odd because it seems to be a re-hash of some kind. In 1985 The World Class Wreckin' Cru released an album called 'World Class' featuring a track called 'Lovers'. Three years later Lonzo & The World Class Wreckin' Kru (with a 'K' this time) release this album with the excellent 'Lovers (Revised)' featuring the dulcet tones of Mona Lisa Young which has a much better production sound than the original version. Worth pointing out that this is soul rather than rap. 'Turn Off The Lights' is also a superb soulful piece of music and therefore, it's definitely an album worth hearing.

Can't decide whether the NWA guys (Dr. Dre and Yella, I think?) are in the line up or not but the dude at the bottom in the blue/green suit looks like he should be in Outkast?

• Fast Lane
• Lay Your Body Down
• Lonzo Land
• Lovers (Revised)
• Cache Vocal
• We Don't Wanna Sit Down (We Want To Get Down)
• Paid
• Turn Off The Lights
• Funky Chicken

The Download Link is here: Download
Filename: Lonzo and The World Class Wrecki..rar Filesize: 74.16 MB

Coldcut - Find A Way/Say Kids 1987

Ahead Of Our Time CCUT 8 TL

This White Label was highly sought after and is still in demand (I think?) Very little info, the letraset title was added by me. 'ADRENALIN' is etched into the runout on both sides and that's it. The A-side is a rap by Queen Latifah (one of the De La Soul posse) that was probably known only for its inclusion here. It sure as hell wasn't the reason this 12" sold.

For those that haven't heard of this, it's a cut up in the same style as the Double Dee & Steinski Lessons. Kicking off with "Say Kids, What Time Is It?" we have Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Rupert The Bear dialogue & King Of The Swingers from Disney's Jungle Book, amidst a whole host of infectious beats and samples.

• Find A Way (featuring Queen Latifah)
• Say Kids!
• Bonus Beats 1
• Bonus Beats 2

The Download Link is here: Download
Filename: Coldcut - Say Kids.rarFilesize: 24.71 MB

Double Dee & Steinski: The History Of Hip Hop

RP101A


Double Dee and Steinski

• Lesson 1: 'The Payoff Mix'

It's 1983, Tommy Boy Records have just held a remix contest to promote G.L.O.B.E. & Whiz Kid's "Play That Beat (Mr. DJ) and the winner has just been announced. It's unanimous: Steve "Steinski" Stein & Douglas "Double Dee" DiFranco's "Lesson One: The Payoff Mix.

It gets played everywhere on American radio but never gets commercially released. These guys can't afford the clearance on any samples, let alone the bucket load that they've used here.

It's all done with a trailer load of vinyl and a light touch on the pause button of a double tape deck. Loads of kids try and copy the feat.

Two more Lessons soon followed:

• 'Lesson Two: The James Brown Mix'

• 'Lesson Three: The History of Hip-Hop'

Together, these Lessons became history and a new genre was born.

quote monkeyfunk.net
Steve Stein was working with a large advertising agency in the early 80's. Between briefs, he and fellow music-nut Doug DiFranco (Double Dee), spent many hours languishing around legendary NY hiphop club the Roxy, and buckling the counters of every record store with vast hauls.

When Tommy Boy launched an open-door remix contest in 1983, to promote G.L.O.B.E & Whizz Kid's "Play that Beat (Mr.DJ)", Stein & DiFranco hunkered down over a weekend, armed with little else but the song, a turntable, an eight track deck...and a fuck-off record collection, and an already huge, gleaned and lifted library of quotes, out-takes and samples.

The result, "Lessons 1 : The Payoff Mix" won the prize, and cut-ups were born. The record went crazy on the radio, and to this day has inspired kids to start plugging their parents VCR's into a tape deck to lift choice dialogue and soundgrabs. Brainfreeze ? Ninjatune ? Skratch Piklz ? The Lessons series, and Steve's subsequent work including "The Motorcade Sped On", "it's Up To You" and the Nothing to Fear" mix continue to cast a long shadow...

White Label Bootleg 1985

All three mixes were collected together and pressed on a bootleg 12".

Lesson 3 was the A-Side and my white label features the serial number...

RP101A MT

...etched into the run out. (RP101B MT on the flip, of course)

quote fuelfriends
The famed Lessons, which were produced in '83-'85 by Double Dee & Steinski - the first records made entirely from other records. Their innovative purpose was to be fodder for the turntables, a collection of sounds to scratch into others. Self-confessed record junkie Steve Stein (aka Steinski) says he remembers thinking when he first heard these sounds: "There is nothing in this music that I don't want to hear. This is music that I've been waiting all my life to hear . . . and I didn't know it." That's a quote that could just as easily be applied to the birth of the rock 'n' roll, but here the same sentiment is cropping up 20-30 years later in the birth of turntablism and hip hop culture."

Steinski & Mass Media*
"The Motorcade Sped On"
Steve Stein created this cut-up of Kennedy assassination coverage. His label, Tommy Boy, was unable to officially release it because CBS refused to grant clearance for the use of Walter Cronkite’s voice. It was released as a freebie 7" single in the UK 1987.

The download link is here: Download
Filename: A History Of Hip Hop.rar Filesize: 28.04 MB

Coldcut - Beats + Pieces 1987

Ahead Of Our Time CCUT 1

1987 was a great year for interesting new ideas. PC's were becoming more available and Cut'n'Paste technology became the new thing. Hot on the heels of Double Dee & Steinski, came Coldcut.

Jonathan Moore & Matt Black have taken the concept to a whole new level nowadays but back in '87 they delivered this slab of vinyl to an unsuspecting world. Featuring Floormaster Squeeze, but doing what, I ask?

Note the logo on the sleeve....

"SORRY, BUT THIS JUST ISN'T MUSIC"

• Mo' Bass Remix
• Edit
• More Beats

The Download Link is here: Download
Filename: Coldcut Beats.rar Filesize: 22.16 MB

Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince - A Touch Of Jazz 1987

Champion Records CHAMP 12-47

Around 1985 a new fun tune hit the rap scene. Girls Ain't Nothin' But Trouble featured a cheeky young lad with a great style and charisma. With his DJ creating some catchy music as a foundation, he told his amusing tale like a comedy routine. I wonder what happened to him?

Word had it, the DJ Jazzy Jeff was something special and there was even talk about him taking part in the DMC Championships but it never happened. Then in 1987, they released an album 'Rock The House' which immediately got tongues wagging. Their product had matured into a more confident style but more importantly, hidden amongst the rap was a groove of great importance!

The album version of A Touch Of Jazz was a major player at a time when the world was learning to embrace Jazz Music. This track was created from some of the soul worlds finest grooves. Built on the hook of 'T Plays It Cool' from the Marvin Gaye Troubleman OST, Jeff Townes layers refrains from songs like Donald Byrd's 'Change (Makes You Want To Hustle)' and also 'Places & Spaces', Bob James 'Westchester Lady' is also in there?

The Extended Re-Touch is good although it's clear that Jazzy didn't create it. On the flip, Fresh Prince raps over it..... whoops! This one wasn't about you mate, sorry. It also has a Chic sample in it which works well but is straying from the quality jazz theme?

• Extended Re-Touch
• Original Album Version
• Collapsed In The Street Mix
• Collapsed In The Street Edit

The Download Link is here: Download
Filename: Touch of Jazz.rar Filesize: 37.11 MB