Those CHROME RADIO cats out of BODYMORE hit the airwaves with another dose of newness on Episode 257…Expect to hear over an hour of nonstop 2018 material…

CHECK IN DUKE !!!

*ABOVE PIC – ME, AYATOLLAH, AND BOBBY SMITH…

A few weeks ago I posted up a piece about ALBINA TRUST out of Portland that put out the great “Gangsters” LP release….After a Box Cutter Brothers show at the White Owl Social Club – Ayatollah and I bumped into Bobby Smith who is spearheading certain things with the label and chopped it up about the history of Portland, upcoming releases, and his excellent website that is highly recommended….DO NOT SLEEP…

PEEP….

I’m leaving California for a few days and headed out to the PDX, December 26th to link with my Box Cutter Brother (AYATOLLAH) for a evening of pure, unadulterated, chop warfare that will go down in the hardcore Hip Hop history books..We will be unveiling all brand new exclusive heat, so if your in the area, pull up and catch a heavy zone…

If your unable to make it, be on the lookout for an audio link in the very near future…

Those wild, Lo- Life, alcoholic beverage guzzling dudes from Philly are back with more of their brand of reckless talk on the “Drinking Beer With Prostitutes” album…..The Booze Bruvaz move forward on a streak of somewhat predictable, but still solid material…

PEEP-

“Continuing in the tradition of their albums Da Buze Bruvaz have taken it up a notch with their ode to the ladies of the night. This album is hardbody from start to finish. Expect Nothing but utter raw uncut filth from the slums finest. Rated XXX Parental Discretion Advised. Features and production from Thirstin Howl the 3rd, Driz Lo, Giallo Point, Ras G, Gosilla and others”.

When I venture into a record store I usually head straight to the HIP HOP section first…Next up is the OST area, and after that the psychedelic section gets raided..Of course I try to make time for other genres : Reggae, Punk/hardcore, Jazz, Soul, and all types of shit, but for some reason I have gravitated heavily to the aforementioned genres first for quite sometime…

On this TRAPDOOR INTERNATIONAL PSYCHEDELIC MYSTERY MIX by the Vinyl Monkey’s they go for fucking broke with a onslaught of heavy selections that you would be hard pressed to find anywhere….

At this point I’m assuming that the majority of you who scope out HIP HOP BATTLEFIELD on the daily, are here because your tired of seeing the EXACT same post virtually everywhere you look..

The same artist, the same approach, the same songs, same opinions, and in some cases the same format….You would think with so much access to all types of material from all over the world, cats would do their best to unveil under the radar type shit, but unfortunately the lines are getting blurred a little more each day due to straight up laziness and a thirsty, instant gratification, social media mentality…

This brings me to a remix project by ATL pioneering DJ/ producer APPLEJAC (YOU ONLY HAVE 4 DAYS TO DOWNLOAD THIS-SO DONT SLEEP)…

“I came across an old tape of remixes from when I used to make exclusive joints for the Rhythm & Vibes show on WRAS in the mid 90s. Popped the tape in, and the memories came flooding back. I used to make the beats at home (this is my OOOG set up at my parent’s house pictured here) and then go over @dj.xzact’s crib to mix and record it (no Protools, no ADATS, just the beats and the acapella playing LIVE!!! LOL). These remixes (and the tape before this one which is lonnnnnnng gone) are where the “legend” began. @wreckingcrewallstars89 and @elshabazz7 prolly played my joints more than the originals, which was a HUGE look at the time because Rhythm & Vibes had the city on LOCK on Sunday nights (ETERNAL gratitude to you both for that!!!). I, along with X-zact and G-Wiz, were getting MAJOR airplay on THE HOTTEST Hip-Hop show in the city (WRAS ALWAYS showcased local rappers/rap groups back then, but it was totally UNHEARD of for local PRODUCERS to get that kind of light on ATL radio in the 90s). This led to me doing the “Sample Clearance” segment on the show which kinda cemented my name as one of the cats with the illest crates in the city (remember, this was the 90s, YOU ACTUALLY HAD TO OWN THE RECORDS back then lol). All of this to say, listening to this tape reminded me of how deep my roots are in the scene here, both as a DJ AND producer”.

DOWNLOAD….

PRINCE from POWERULE is still dropping solid material in 2018…He deserves much credit for being one of the first HIP HOP acts signed on Interscope, maintaining through many different era’s, and still spitting quality bars of substance without switching up the original recipe…

On “Vega” he goes into detail about the gentrification web currently spreading throughout NYC…

CHECK IN…

In life it is best to move in a humble fashion…You might be well travelled, well educated, well read, well versed in a myriad of topics, but trust me – their is someone out there that is most likely a non assuming type that has you beat on all fronts and they are just waiting for the perfect time to knock you off your high horse and bring you down to earth – reality if you will…

The reality for any truly wise person is that the more you know, the more you realize their is a lot more to know, and the quest for knowledge and skill is a lifetime commitment…

When most people think of the “PDX”- PORTLAND- they might envision lumberjack styled so-called hipsters, Voodoo Donuts, redneck confederates, punk rock street kids, etc….But unbeknownst to many, PDX had a flourishing Jazz/Funk/Soul scene in the late 60’s- 70’s just like the majority of American cities at that time…

Much respect to ALBINA MUSIC TRUST for unearthing many jewels including the very fresh “GANGSTERS” piece…

PEEP….

More newness on deck troopers – We are going to head to Little Rock, Arkansas of all places to unveil the most recent offering from producer / MC KING BOOM…”Blockbuster” gets burn due to the off kilter, severely dusted out approach that usually activates my Hip Hop antennae….

PEEP-

Before JMJ was killed I used to be believe that certain Hip Hop heroes were not only protected – I truly thought that they were untouchable…Who and the hell would take out someone as groundbreaking, influential and respected worldwide as JMJ..15 years later we still do not have a clue as to what happened on that fateful evening…

It’s heartbreaking on many levels, and unfortunately I do not think we will ever know what really happened to J….

Last night I watched the “Who Killed Jam Master Jay” documentary and it brought back a lot of memories…If you haven’t watched it yet, I highly suggest you go to Netflix and catch a zone…

NOTABLY ABSENT FROM THE FILM –

1..RUN
2..RICK RUBIN

Many of the HIP HOP BATTLEFIELD readers are familiar with HI-TECH (Not the one-time producer for Talib Kweli, but the one who dropped some solid 12’s in the mid -late 90’s)….His flow was sharp, he reminded me of B-1 in that regard….

It seemed like he was on the verge of dropping a full length, but for whatever reason he slipped off the radar like so many other talented artist from that time period….FFWD to 2018 the BACK TO THE BASICS label got their hands on a previously unreleased project by DJ SHOK & HI-TECH….PEEP.

TRACKLIST-

A: Hi Tech – Drama
A: Hi Tech – Where Y’a At
A: Hi Tech – Heartless
A: Rated Raw – Live For Die For
A: Parallax & PFK – Sinister Scenarios
A: Hi Tech – Dr Who

B: Drama (Instrumental)
B: Where Y’a At (Instrumental)
B: Heartless (Instrumental)
B: Drama (Acapella)
B: Where Y’a At (Acapella)
B: Heartless (Acapella)

Always thought DARK LO sounded kinda ill over V-DON beats…When he stays in this lane the results are usually solid or at least entertaining….But when he swerves out of this pocket and starts rhyming over that jive shit – I usually keep it moving…

Luckily for us he recently reconnected with V-DON for more action on the “Timeless” album…If you haven’t heard it yet, you know the drill!!!!!

When dudes hit me over the head with all that “Hip Hop is over, ain’t nothing fresh out” talk – I just laugh to myself…If these cornballs would just put in a fraction of effort they would find some new jewelry to rock out with…I guess cats just want all the goodies handed to them, but in this new millennium it just doesn’t work that way….

I was coolin out the other day at a spot that was playing the new J-Cole album (Only heard one of his tracks previously), and I have to admit, it was some of the worst bullshit that I have ever heard in my motherfucking life…Long tirades about absolutely nothing, fluffy beats, and a real cheesy vibe to say the least..If you guys are content with accepting easily available nonsense like this, no wonder you are having trouble locating new Hip Hop that has some guts…HA.

RAY FOGES is a cat that has some NEW heat on deck…Be on the lookout for the “Sag 73” album…

PEEP….

To be honest with you, it always feels somewhat narcissistic and corny when I try to promote myself or describe certain things when it comes to my musical output…So if you haven’t heard the most recent beat tape by AYATOLLAH & myself (BOX CUTTER BROTHERS 5) take a look at how LEXI GLASS FROM KFJC – SAN JOSE waxed poetic about this project…

“2018 beat tape, the fifth in a series from the Boxcutter Brothers, a collaboration between California beatmaker Drasar Monumental and Ayatollah, a prolific producer from Queens. On Side A, Drasar represents the West Coast with five tracks of dense and adventurous sampling, (including some Bollywood dance tunes on A3, dark piano loops and electro beats on A4 and A5). But despite the beautiful backing tracks, the feel on this side is aggressive, violent, and razor sharp. Side B cuts the other way – Ayatollah delivers the more laid-back of the two sides, but it still crushes. Killer soul samples, heavy beats, and a couple of cameos from Sun Ra (B5- amazing) and Barry White (B6). From VENDETTA VINYL & local SF label 77 Rise. FCCs on A1, A4, A5”

Side A
Drasar Monumental

1. Death Trap Chops
2. If This Blade Could Talk
3. Bollyhood
4. Smoke Gentrification
5. Disco Razor Tag

Side B
Ayatollah

1. No Biting Allowed
2. Feature Presentation
3. Rae Anime
4. Think It Through
5. Black And White
6. We Wont Know

My cuzzo ARCHITECT returns with NOWAAH THE FLOOD for round two in their “Trill Life Mathematics” series…Big up to ARCHITECT for getting better with time, keeping it dirty, and maintaining in numerous era’s…

Tracklist:
1. Intro (Where I Am) – 0:00
2. The Forecast – 1:25
3. Broken Mirror – 3:04
4. Cameroon Spice – 5:45
5. 120* Feat Killa Kali – 7:34
6. Delivery Room – 10:30
7. The Time – 12:18
8. Crusades – 13:59
9. God U’s – 15:13
10. Land Of The Kutthroats – 17:51
11. King Tut – 20:01
12. On My Body Feat Ca$ablanca – 21:54
13. 5 Junes – 24:21

PEEP-