Beats, Rhymes 'n' Life

Double Dee & Steinski: The History Of Hip Hop

2009-04-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-16T07:57:00.000-07:00

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

Coldcut - Find A Way/Say Kids 1987

2009-04-16T07:56:00.000-07:00

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

Coldcut & Hexstatic - Timber 1998

2009-04-16T07:50:00.000-07:00

Ninja Tune ZEN CDS65A

My apologies the soulies but I have a diversion today. Sorry, This Just Isn't Music!

No, this is Coldcut (again) and this time they have teamed up with Hexstatic and their on a mission. Timber comes from the Let Us Play album and it has a purpose. The aim of the 'song' is to raise awareness to the disappearing rainforests around the globe. It's a good cause and its a good bit of music but you need to be open minded. Click on the graphics below and read more about the campaign and the project. It is interesting, honest!

Timber has been built from sound samples taken from a documentary about the deforestation of the rainforests around the world. Included in the rar are the Video Remixes also which explains why it's 285 MB. This is an incredible piece of experimental music harking way back to the Steinski & Mass Media project. A collection of rhythms and melodies built from media soundbytes and layered to form a song. The original Chopped Down Radio Edit is perfect and no amount of tinkering can improve it. It is what it is! The remixes are mostly Drum & Bass ventures Quant's Shaggy Dog Story being my fav. They are all well put together but unnecessary. Clifford Gilberto's Jazz trips are way out there. If your head can get around it, this is a great experience.

Chopped Down Radio Edit
Quant's Shaggy Dog Story
DK Recut
Future 3 Network
Clifford Gilberto Remix 2 "cracked timber"
Hexstatic Video
EBN Video
Clifford Gilberto "a different forest" Video

The Download Link is here: Download
Filename: Coldcut & Hexstatic.rar Filesize: 285.48 MB

Coming attractions

2009-03-16T07:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I haven't had time to follow up on my initial posts, but I'm getting back into the swing of things and the following will be appearing on here ASAP:

Ready to go:
The Scientist - The Excicist II (The Remix) - 12"
The Scientist - The Bee - 12"
The Scientist - The Bee (Remix) - 12"

To follow:
The Ragga Twins - Juggling/Wipe The Needle - 12"
The Ragga Twins - Reggae Owes Me Money - CD album

The House Crew - The Theme
The House Crew - The Theme (Remix) / Euphoria (Nino's Dream)

Nervous: New York 1992

2009-02-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

React Records REACT LP 11

I'm not gonna try to compete with a couple of anthems like those. Instead, here's a 12" double pack Nervous Records sampler. You may struggle trying to recognise the track names but the producers behind the pseudonyms.

Groove Asylum and Jazzie Joint is Frankie Feliciano and he produces Trinidad too. Swing Kids is Kenny 'Dope' Gonzalez with Todd Terry on the remix. King Street Crew is Danny Tenaglia. Deep Creed is Armand Van Helden and Niceguy Soulman is Roger Sanchez.

This is sampled vocals and sound bytes over Deep House. Most of the tracks were originally released in 1991 and although they are not anthems, they were the soundtrack to many a good club night around the globe. The sample from Philly The Blunt is a favourite of mine. It has been used many times but it always makes me think of Seduction - Seductions Theme. I believe it's from the movie Trading Places, anybody care to confirm that (or rubbish it) for me.

Akema - So In Love (Club Mix)
The Late Boys - Things I Do For You (DJ Speciality "Fatty" Mix)
Groove Asylum - Tipsy
Jazzie Joint - A Little Love (Extended Mix)
House Rated - You Know How To Love Me (The Jazz Mix)
Goodfellas - Somebody (House Mix)
Swing Kids - Good Feelin' (TNT Bonus Beats)
King Street Crew - Gonna Be Alright (Rooftop Mix)
Trinidad - Philly The Blunt (Cuera Smoked A Big One Mix)
Deep Creed - The Anthem (Circle Mix)
Faceman - Hold On (Up To Parr Mix)
Niceguy Soulman - Can You Feel It (Philly Mix)

The Download Link is here: Download
Filename: Nervous.rar Filesize: 72.99 MB

The Scientist - The Excorcist - 12"

2009-01-31T02:01:00.000-08:00

Kickin’ Records
KICK01
1990 160kbps

Back in 1990-91, Kickin’ Records were on a roll, blazing trail for the UK’s breakbeat dance scene, and nobody was more influential in this period than Phil Sebastiane and DJ Hype, here recording under the monicker The Scientist (not to be confused with the professor of dub reggae, of course).

The scene was just developing back then, and on the back of Todd Terry’s Royal House and Black Riot releases a couple of years prior, tracks like Soundclash, The Excorcist and The Bee set the stage for what would become Old Skool/Ardcore and, later, Jungle and Drum & bass.

The Excorcist is, for many, a stand-out classic, and, like all true classics, still sounds great today.

It’s a heady mix of slamming breakbeats, Malcolm X quotes, crazy bleeps and excellent synth work. It’s such a classic, in fact, that I really don’t need to write anymore about it. If you know it, you don’t need telling. If you don’t, then you need to check it ASAP.

“…Our religion teaches us to be intelligent, be peaceful, be courteous, ... but if someone puts his hand on you, then send him to the cemetery!”

Enjoy!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CJKOVUO7

Kick Squad - Soundclash (Champion Sound) – 12”

2009-01-31T01:27:00.000-08:00

Kickin’ Records
KICK02
1990

160kbps

What we're gonna do right here is go back.... way back... back into 1990...

Breakbeat House, the foundations for what would become Old Skool/Ardcore and eventually Jungle and Drum & Bass, had been pioneered by Todd Terry back in 1988, but it wasn't until the UK scene took off that it really became the monster that we remember.

Step Forward Phil Sebastiane and DJ Hype, also recording for Kickin’ under the name The Scientist (not to be confused with the also excellent dub reggae artist) and released such classics as The Excorcist and The Bee, who carried the breakbeat torch and added some wonderfully complex synth programming to create some truly amazing tracks.

Soundclash is probably a little more basic than The Excorcist and The Bee (and their respective remixes), but no less brilliant for it. Its clever use of the bongo’s from Denis Coffey’s awesome funk track Scorpio, the haunting “whooooo” hook, wicked bleeps, reggae vocals and general all-round dopeness ensure Soundclash is a bona-fide classic.

“My Sound which is a Champion Sound… Hear Dis!”

Enjoy!

A - Soundclash (Champion Sound) (Hypermix)
B1 - Soundclash (Champion Sound) (Scientific Mix)
B2 - Soundclash (Champion Sound) (DJ Mix)

Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8F3B7T7C

Coming Soon...

2009-01-30T09:36:00.000-08:00

Here are the first releases I'm gonna put up, most like this weekend (31st Jan-1st Feb 2009)

Reggae
Super Cat - Scalp Dem/ South Central Promo CDS (inc the Wu-Tang remix of Scalp Dem)

Old Skool
Kick Squad - Sound Clash (Champion Sound) 12"
The Scientist - The Excorcist 12"
The Scientist - The Excorcist (remix) 12"
The Scientist - The Bee 12"
The Scientist - The Bee (remix) 12"

R&B
SWV - I'm So Into You (remixes) CDS
SWV - Right Here (Human nature) CDS