All Natural - "50 Years Documentary" Video by Konee Rok

Chicago.

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MC Shan - Beat Biter! World Premiere on the Rap Attack

(Above: MC Shan performing at Lee School, Boston, 1987)

As mentioned yesterday, here's a classic Mr. Magic moment. On a tape labeled March 28, 1986, we find the Rap Attack debuting MC Shan's Beat Biter! I absolutely consider this to be a legendary night in rap radio. It begins with Marley Marl going back and forth on the turntables between LL Cool J's original Rock The Bells and Marley / MC Shan's Marley Marl Scratch, drawing attention to the all too similar drum programming... Marley Marl Scratch having predated Rock The Bells. While Marley Marl speaks with his hands, Mr. Magic speaks with his booming voice in his infamously outspoken manner.

Mr. Magic: "LL Cool J is doing the wild thing, but uh, MC Shan has something to say about the Marley Scratch if you know what I mean."

(8:40 in) "Let the battle begin!!! It's brand new, it's called Beat Biter! Dedication to LL Cool J from MC Shan."

I love the way Magic announces the title of the brand new MC Shan track. "BEAT BITER!" I gotta dedicate this post to Jawn P of Top Choice Clique. I know Beat Biter is one of his all time favorite rap songs.

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Tomorrow: Classic Rap Attack World Premiere

Tomorrow I'll be posting a classic world premiere moment in Mr. Magic Rap Attack history. In the meantime, just think about what this concert must have been like -

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Digable Planets = Timeless

I was working on some music with Anonymous the other day and we got in to talking a little bit about Digable Planets. What we agreed 100% on is how TIMELESS their music is. The track that we wound up talking the most about was this one right here -

New York is reddd hot! I feel like "timeless" really is the best word to use to describe the legacy of their work. You could put this track on today and it wouldn't sound the least bit dated. If you've heard this track a million times, just imagine you've never once listened to it. If I hadn't ever had the pleasure of hearing it and somebody told me it was a brand new rap album, I'd lose my mind! You really couldn't do that with the majority of rap classics. I'm not really sure why, but maybe it's this - when a release comes out and has such a heavy impact, there are countless imitators and the sound winds up getting done to death.

Maybe Digable Planets were just on a plane, doing something that wasn't easily carbon copied. The thick bass lines, elaborate productions and the overall vibe... it's a chemistry between three people doing their own thing and doing it well. They also knew exactly how to marry visuals to their music to portray their image. None of that is easy, so they stand out as being refreshingly unique, and I find myself lately going back to their work quite a bit. If you are a Pandora Radio user, try out "Digable Planets" radio... just don't get pissed when they play "Pacifics" as much as I do.

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Howlin' Wolf and Leon Haywood

Two new quality reissues on the way from my boys over at Get On Down. I know they have a ton in store for 2011. It will be my pleasure to hear about all the killer stuff they have in the pipeline.

Howlin' Wolf - The Howlin' Wolf Album

It's not often that an album disavowed by its own author at the time of release goes on to become considered a modern classic. Yet that's exactly what happened with Chicago blues legend Howlin' Wolf's 1969 LP The Howlin' Wolf Album, a release that has since attained mythical status due to the controversy behind it.

Released on Cadet Records, a subsidiary of legendary imprint Chess Records, The Howlin' Wolf Album was a radical experiment for a well established artist: attempt to integrate electric instr

uments and psychedelic arrangements into his revered signature blues sound. The result was an album that Wolf himself initially disregarded on the now infamous cover, but one that has won a speci

edicated music aficionados thanks to its unique mix of traditional blues and electric rock elements.

Get On Down's reputation for high quality reissues continues with The Howlin' Wolf Album, which features a special Stoughton vinyl pressing with audio remastered from the origin

al analog tapes for optimum sound quality and comes packaged in a
paste-on style jacket featuring the album's famous original artwork.

Get On Down • In Stores-March 22nd, 2011

Leon Haywood - Come And Get Yourself Some

Almost two decades after its original release in 1975, the smooth, sensual bass groove of Leon Haywood's "I Want to Do Something Freaky to You" was an unmistakable, constant presence on radio airwaves across the country—although tthe song itself was not.

Thanks to Dr. Dre, who sampled Haywood's hit for his own smash single "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang" in 1992, a new generation of listeners were introduced to the Texas-born soul and funk singer, whose biggest hits (including the Dre-sampled track) appear on Come and Get Yourself Some. "I Want to Do Something Freaky to You" was the centerpiece, becoming a Top 20 hit on the Pop charts, but the album reflected Haywood's talent for mid-tempo, laid-back R&B with songs like "This Feeling's Extra Rated" and the bold, funky title track.

A rare treat for soul/funk collectors lucky enough to find it, Come and Get Yourself Some becomes the latest classic title resurrected and refurbished by Get On Down, featuring a sparkling new audio transfer from the original analog tapes and presented in a digipak case.

Get On Down • In Stores - March 22nd

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