konstantkontact.com

R.I.P. Tony D

// April 6th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Uncategorized

I didn’t know Tony well, but we recently reconnected. A legendary producer who spearheaded much of the 80’s and 90’s hip-hop coming out of Trenton as well as a voracious collector old vinyl, breaks and hip-hop, Tony was a true pioneer. I don’t have the vinyl handy- but I have a copy of a break beat 12″ Tony made which featured an instrumental that would later become the foundation to Naughty By Nature’s O.P.P. He sued, and Naughty settled out of court. For those of you who are too young to remember or new to hip-hop, Tony gets maximum props for producing bonafide classics by Poor Righteous Teachers and YZ, among others. Some of you may have come across Tony on ebay as a dealer- he consistently has had great records for sale, and his knowledge was unparalleled. And above all else, Tony was good people.

Sad to see you go.

S

Go-Go Sample Help

// April 6th, 2009 // 6 Comments » // Uncategorized

So my man Dave Nada just sorted me out with a fat folder of some proper D.C. Go-Go. I checked him out djing in Miami and he went against the grain and played Go-Go instead of the usual Winter Music fair of house/electro/bmore. Cheers to that! Anyway, it got me thinking that some Go-Go samples from some very prominent hip-hop records (and one nostalgic R&B; number) have eluded my memory. With your help, it’s time to put an end to that. As Eli would say on Twitter, “Let’s goooooooooo”. Or as I might have said to Cosmo, “Let’s go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go!”

The drum fill from “The New Style” and “Spread My Wings” (featuring Tito from The Fearless 4 and cuts by my main stain Clark Kent).

Ain’t no bells in “Rock The Bells” but that Go-Go loop with the timbales is the illest. I know the record but just can’t place it.

The drum fill that is repeatedly cut in on the original “Rock The Bells” may not even be from a Go-Go record, but I can’t call it. Can you? I hope so.

Last up is one of my favorite Go-Go inspired hip-hop jams, “Is It Live” but I believe the drums are all programmed and played. In fact, I’m pretty sure the bells here are played live by my man Sam Sever. Do the knowledge. if I’m wrong, let me know somethin’.

Seriously? (Douche Alert)

// March 1st, 2009 // 19 Comments » // Uncategorized

I can’t take it. First there was this:

And now this:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/swf/TheDailyBeastVideoPlayer.swf

He is from NJ. Unlike Joaquin Phoenix, this guy is serious. Check out his myspace which gives out his email and number (732-552-2172). Let this clown know how you feel.

I wish Devious was out there so he could prank him every ten minutes for a month.

Update

// March 1st, 2009 // 16 Comments » // Uncategorized

Is anyone out there? Whoever is, hear this: by the time the barometer hits 75, Konstant Kontact will be completely revived. The old posts will be fixed, and there will be a steady flow of new ones. In the spirit of staying fresh, I will be giving KK a facelift, but before I decide what to do visually, I wanted to reach out to any of you that are skilled in the design department. If you or someone you know would want to make KK look as good as it sounds, let me know. There is no money being made off of KK, but when the posts are regular, there is serious traffic, and your work will be seen by many.

I’ve enlisted the homeboy Oskar Mann of East Village Radio’s NEVER NOT WORKING internet radio show (Friday nights at midnight) to help me with the immense task of digitizing cassettes, labeling files and reviving the blog. Thanks to him, we will be on point soon. If any of you have spoken to me at any time over the last year about contributing recordings to the cause, you will probably hear from Oskar in the near future. Incidentally, I was a guest on NEVER NOT WORKING this last Friday, and I had a great time on air with Dasez, whom I have known since 1990 (!). We chopped it up for a while, covering everything from Jay-Z’s sandals to Russell Simmons’ shaggy rug, and I really enjoyed being on the radio. It has been a while for me- the last time being Bobbito’s farewell show on WKCR which was at least seven years ago.

Check it.

There was quite a buzz about the Stretch & Bobbito reunion concert and I think we both regret mentioning it without it being 100%. When we set out to organize it, we were both quite amped. By the end of the ordeal, we learned that rappers are still divas. We had a very respectable budget and despite offering very fair fees to the artists – in fact, Bobbito and I were going to get the least – we just couldn’t please ‘em. It was majorly disappointing, but it also made me look back on the KCR days, thankful that we never made money a part of the equation.

Still, Bobbito and I are talking about doing a multi-city reunion tour, hitting Asia, Europe and the USA. If any of you know of any promoters or clubs that you think would be right for this, let me know. No diva rappers!

I can’t forget to mention Eclipse and Premier’s 1 Year Anniversary party at APT two Mondays ago. They asked DJ Riz and me to play. I played a rather inspired 45 minutes that had Primo punching the wall, calling me an asshole (the highest compliment from him) and yelling at the crowd on the mic. It was an awesome night, all the more because some of my best dj friends (Riz, Eli Escobar, DJ AM) were there and we were all bugging hard off the music. Riz got on after me and utterly destroyed it. Whereas I got on and winged it, Riz showed up with a thought-out set that was really one of the smartest, most enjoyable and illuminating sets I have heard, ever. yes, like that. The next day, Eclipse, AM, Eli, Primo, Riz and I were emailing each other all day, still gassed over the night before. Science.

Wassup Wassup?

// October 22nd, 2008 // 19 Comments » // Uncategorized

The server that hosts KK is kaput, perhaps permanently, so I have to scramble and get a new one. Not sure when we’ll be good to go, or when I will post again, but in the meantime, let me know what you want to hear or what you want to hear about. Drop me an email- tell me something interesting, something funny. Whatever. By the time I am back, Obama will be our president elect, W will be out the door, and we will no longer have to endure the lies, hypocrisy, manipulations and ignorance of McCain and this wretched mammal, Palin.

Steady Bloggin’

// October 2nd, 2008 // 5 Comments » // Uncategorized

I can’t be referring to my blog, that’s for sure. I know it’s a song I’ve been singing for a while, but soon!

In the meantime, check out http://recogthereal.blogspot.com. Scroll down- there are many, many shows of mine as well as other mixtapes and radio shows, (many of which, incidentally, come straight from konstantkontact.)

Personal Shit: Where Is DJ Ev???

// September 15th, 2008 // 10 Comments » // Uncategorized

If anyone has any contact information on DJ Ev – and I’m talking about the original Ev, not any of the handful of new dudes that felt ok taking his name – please email me. Ev- I know you’ve checked this blog- get in touch man.

And, I gotta say what’s up to ANTUAN!!!!

Who Has Cassettes?

// June 25th, 2008 // 30 Comments » // Uncategorized

In reading some of the comments, a number of you allude to the fact that you possess cassettes of recordings of my radio shows. I’ll say it again- part of the incentive behind creating this blog in the first place was to try to find some of the more loyal original listeners from as far back as 1990 and get my hands on shows I am missing. Thus far I have been unable to find anyone who has tapes before ‘93. So again, if you know of anyone that has any KCR shows on tape,even a few, reach out to me. Even if you have ones from after ‘93, I would be interested in hearing what you have. There are some rather large gaps in my archive. In many instances, I have the freestyle sessions but not the entire shows. Just off the top of my head, I don’t have the show the 1st time Ultra came up; or the show when Large Professor and Percee-P (as well as one of his many cousins) rhymed over Joe Tex “Papa Was Too”. That was the time when Extra-P spit his verse from “Live at the Barbecue” and the whole time, live on air, he was sitting down reading them off a piece of paper. See, he JUST WROTE THEM at the studio. Which reminds me- video footage of this show just turned up including Extra-P and Percee rhyming. So ill. Another show that I had on DAT but can’t find now is the legendary night that my man Lord Finesse and KRS-ONE (who bizarrely acted like he didn’t know me the last time I saw him) were rhyming over beats being played from Finesse’s SP-1200 plugged straight into the station’s console. Sadly, I do not have a copy of the only appearance Biggie ever made at KCR. For those who remember that show, his demo was pitted against another demo by a group called The Bronx Zoo for the very short-lived demo battle segment (Bobbito’s creation). The Bronx Zoo won, Biggie was upset, and Bobbito and I got to see all of our boys thanked prominently on the back of “Ready To Die”. Now this kind of thing usually doesn’t mean that much to me, but it would have been nice to get props on such a monumental piece of hip-hop history. Which reminds me, to date, Q-Tip still says Bob and I were contacted to be on the cover of “Midnight Marauders” but that call was never made homeboy. Again, that would have been nice, and appropriate, because Bobbito and I truly were the midnight marauders. Out of the thousands of hours we put in, very few took place before midnight.

Note: If you want to reach me personally, don’t send me messages in the comments ’cause I’ll have no way of replying. Use the email address at the top of the blog. Ok?

Ricky Powell @ MILK on Some New York Sh*t!

// June 22nd, 2008 // 11 Comments » // Uncategorized

I was thrilled to participate in Ricky Powell’s show “Illy Funksters” at MILK on June 3rd. I just assume everyone knows who Ricky is and the many hats he has worn. His main thing, of course, is photography, and this show, in conjunction with his latest book with the same name, is basically a retrospective, spanning the last three decades of NYC music, nightlife and street culture. The opening turned into a all-out party and the place was packed when I killed the music, 30 minutes over the cut-off time. More than anything it was great to see Ricky being celebrated, as well as having what seemed like a really, really fun time. It was such a rare treat to see so many faces that I haven’t seen in a while, many of which I only know from clubs – you know, the people you say hi to and talk to for years without ever knowing their names. This was one of the most enjoyable times I’ve had djing in years. Ricky, as many of you know, is a huge fan of funky jazz, especially the organ variety, so at his request, I kept it funky for the first hour, playing some of the better known funk jazz joints:

Lonnie Smith Spinnin’ Wheel
Grant Green Down Here On The Ground
Lou Donaldson Pot Belly
James Brown Untitled Instrumental
Kool & The Gang Dujii
Johnny Hammond Shifting Gears
Jimmy Smith Root Down
Funk Inc Kool Is Back
Jean Jaques Perrey E.V.A.
Herbie Hancock Fat Mama
Fred Wesley & The JB’s Blow Your Head
24 Karat Black The 24 Karat Black
Quincy Jones Sanford and Son
Cymande Bra

But the combination of Red Bull + Vodka + images of RUN-DMC, Jam Master Jay, The Beasties, LL and others made something click in my brain, and this is what happened:

Run DMC Together Forever
Run DMC Slow and Low
Bizmarkie Biz Is Goin’ Off
Nice & Smooth Gold
LL Cool J Bad
Boogie Boys You Ain’t Fresh
MC EZ & Troupe Get Retarded
Latee This Cut’s Got Flavor
Sweet T & Jazzy Joyce It’s My Beat
MC Mitchski Brooklyn Blew Up The Bridge
MC Lyte Kick This One For Brooklyn
Positive K A Good Combination
Just-Ice Put The Record Back On
Eric B. & Rakim Move The Crowd
Special Ed Think About It
LL Cool J .357 Break It On Down
Marley Marl He Cuts so Fresh
Original Concept Knowledge Me Chant
Public Enemy Raise The Roof
Kool G Rap Riker’s Island
Masters of Ceremony Keep On Movin’
Just-Ice Cold Gettin’ Dumb 2
Run DMC Dumb Girl
Black Rock & Ron That’s How I’m Livin’
Donald D Dope Jam
Masters of Ceremony Cracked Out
LL Rock The Bells (OG Version)
Dana Dane Nightmares
BDP South Bronx
MC Shan The Bridge
Slick Rick Lick The BAlls
Whodini Funky Beat
Bizmarkie Make The Music with Your Mouth Biz
Eric B. & Rakim Eric B. For President (Acapella)
Eric B. & Rakim I Know You Got Soul (45 King Remix)
Big Daddy Kane (Aint No Half Steppin’ Remix)
Stezo It’s My Turn
Stetsasonic Go Brooklyn
Stetsasonic Go Stetsa
Stetsasonic Sally
Antoinette I Got An Attitude
Salt N Pepa Everybody Get Up (Remix)
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five The Message
Spoonie G Love Rap Live
Run DMC Sucker MCs
Run DMC Peter Piper
Public Enemy Rebel Without A Pause
Public Enemy You’re Gonna Get Yours
Public Enemy Don’t Believe The Hype
LL Cool J The Boomin System
LL Cool J Eat ‘Em Up Chill
Eric B. & Rakim I Ain’t No Joke
Kid N Play Gettin’ Funky
Beastie Boys Beastie Groove
Beastie Boys Brass Monkey
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five NY NY
Sugarhill Gang Apache
Run DMC It’s Like That

Listen, I have NEVER heard some of these records on a sound system, and certainly never expected people to dance to them. Mighty Mitchski “Brooklyn Blew Up The Bridge”, Donald D “Dope Jam”, Kool G Rap “Riker’s Island”? Dancing? What?!

I will post the recording some time this week.

If you didn’t catch the show, you played yourself. But you can check out Ricky’s books. They are worth every penny.

Classic Material, Live On Air

// June 22nd, 2008 // 11 Comments » // Uncategorized

What up people? I know, I know, I know! All I can say is I have barely been home since the weather warmed up, making it impssible for me to post anything substantial. I want to talk about a few events I have done recently that were as good a time as any that I’ve had in all the years I have been djing. Some of these have been recorded and will be posted here some time in 2016, or maybe sooner. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime, I just have to say that I’m getting quite a few chuckles from Ice-T’s hilarious online rant trashing Souljah Boy. It seems like a large waste of breathe but it is hilario.

In the meantime, the quickest thing I could do that requires the least amount of preparation is post some truly classic moments from the dusty studio at WKCR, mostly taking place in 1993.

Black Moon with Smiff-N-Wessun, Live on KCR, June 1993
Big L, Live on KCR, October 1993
Das Efx, Live on KCR, November 1993
Akinyele, Live on KCR, November 1993
Large Professor & O.C., Live on KCR, November 1993
Mobb Deep, Live on KCR, July 1994

November of 1993 was HECTIC.