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| — by Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Rahman Dukes |
10/3/2005 |
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DJ/ Producers: DJ Kool Kid/ "All Access"
Representing: Anywhere that isn''t wack
Mixtape: Kool Kid has too many to name here, while "All Access: The DVD Magazine" rolls out its "10th Anniversary Edition."
411: Happy belated b-day to Kraze and all the folks at All Access. The company celebrates a milestone with its 10th street DVD. Meanwhile, Kool Kid ODs with five mixtapes: Chicago''s Finest; I Got Dat Drank Part Two; Welcome to Jamrock 5: The Resurrection; Dem D-Block Boyz Volume 03 and Ski Mask Way, Part 2.
Joints To Check For:
"Soulful" and "Livin'' " by Kanye West, from Chicago''s Finest. If you''ve been listening to mixtapes for the past three years, you have most definitely heard these two records before, but try remembering where you put the tapes you first heard them on. They''re hard to find.
Behind the scenes of Juelz Santana''s "Mic Check," from the "All Access" DVD. Hey, the fact that they have an interview with Rakim — albeit a very short one — makes it worth checking.
"Laffy Taffy" by D4L, from I Got Dat Drank Part Two. This track is getting a lot of spins down South, and it''s garnering some mixed emotions. Some people are loving it; some people are saying it''s overrated. What do you think?
Don''t Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week
Dirty Harry''s Nas: Living Legends, Chapter 1
Styles P''s The Ghost in the Machine
DJ Envy and Tapemasters Inc''s Down & Dirty Pt. 5
''Hood''s Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar
"Full-Time Job" by G. Luger
"When I Get Home (A.E.I.O.U.)" by Twista featuring Jamie Foxx and Pharrell Williams
"Nothing Less" by Trillville
"Real OGs" by Kool G. Rap featuring Bun B, T.I. and Killer Mike
"Hustlers Go Crazy" and "Serious" by Joe Budden
Celebrity Favs
Pioneer George Clinton celebrated his 50th anniversary in music this past weekend with Friday and Saturday night shows at Harlem''s Apollo Theater. Scarface, Chuck D and Raphael Saadiq were among those who jammed onstage with him.
"The funk''s got its own Viagra; it keeps you wide awake," Clinton said, explaining what''s kept him in the game so long. And the career highlight he recalls is one you might expect: "Getting on the Mothership for the second time. The first time we did it was in New Orleans," Clinton revealed. "We didn''t do it right. We came onstage in the Mothership. Once the people seen it, there was no way to follow it. The second day was in Dallas. We realized we had to leave on the Mothership. The place went crazy."
The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground
State Property and G-Unit — what an alliance. Those two logos could very well appear on the next Beanie Sigel album.
"We definitely could do something like that," Sigel said last week of joining forces with 50 Cent. "I ain''t mad at that."
There have been rumors that Beanie Sigel is next on the list of street-credible MCs to sign to G-Unit, and Sigel was ready to clear everything up.
"We can talk," the acclaimed Philadelphia lyrical bruiser said. "We can do a co-venture. I can''t see myself signing nowhere else as an artist. I got my own thing. But I''ll definitely do business with him. I had a couple of conversations with 50 because me and his uncle were locked up together. And his uncle is a real thorough dude, so [50 and I] definitely kicked it.
"His business sense is crazy," Beanie added. "We can definitely do something. I think that might shock the world."
Beanie already shook the game up once this year. He actually recorded a track with his one-time nemeses Jadakiss and Sheek Louch. Although the State Property/ LOX beef has long been dead (Beanie vs. Jada was one of the best battles in history), it''s still amazing to see former foes unite — Jay-Z and Nas, take note.
"They called me up and were like, ''Yo, we got something for you," Sigel said, explaining how he got on the track. "I was like ''C''mon, let''s do it.'' Then it was the remix, and I was like ''Oh sh--.'' That was my sh--, too."
"It came at the right time," he continued. "That was the only record I dropped since I came home. I thought it was just going to be a street record, but the buzz was so big they started thinking about doing a video. That''ll be a good look right there."
Many are speculating that Beanie''s scathing verse is directed towards the former members of State Property. Sig says let the people keep speculating.
"They know," he said. "Whoever I was talking about, they knew who I was talking about."
"When I did the verse, I just went in the booth and laid it down," he explained. "It was long, 24 bars. [The LOX] shortened it, I guess for the radio, and they played the real way how it go [on the mixtapes]. When I did it, it was just me and Sheek on it. I didn''t know they was going to put Fabolous on it, then I heard Game on it. I was like ''Damn, they''re doing the thing.'' I thought it was going be just me, Sheek, Styles and Jada."
Sigel is looking forward to making his own track or even his own mixtape soon.
"I''m definitely going to put some sh-- together for the street real quick, but I don''t know what I''m gonna do yet," he said. "Soon as I get in the studio, it''s on."
Beanie says he doesn''t plan on getting in the studio with the former members of State Property anytime soon, but insists that he has no hatred toward them. Sigel is, however, still disappointed in the collective.
"I had a conversation with Freeway," he explained. "That''s the only one who sat down and talked about the whole situation, what unfolded and what took place. I''m definitely still cool. ... It was just a lot of situations that went down and a lot of feelings came out. That stems from the Roc-A-Fella breakup, them choosing to go with Jay, which I had no problem with. I was upset I wasn''t around to help them through their choices or help them weigh their options." ...
A young lady who has history with Sigel is former Roc Princess Amil. Since being released from the label a few years ago, we haven''t heard a peep from her other than an occasional street DVD interview or mixtape freestyle. Well, Amillion is finally ready to come back.
The rhyming female has been living in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for the past year and a half with her man and two kids, and she believes she has stumbled across the next dope woman: a 19-year-old Caucasian named Lucy Diamonds.
"When I heard her music, I knew it was definitely a project that was going to stand out," Amil said from her home. "When I was introduced to Lucy, everything got me back on my game."
Amil is so rejuvenated that she has started to record her next album and has reformed Major Coins with Lucy. The two have put out a track called "The Glamorous Life."
"It''s not gonna be no group," Amil said of the relaunched Major Coins. "I''m not making no group. It''s going to be more like a clique, where everybody is doing their own solo stuff. ... She''s my protégé and we''re going to make it like that."
For more on the role of mixtapes in the music industry, check out the feature "Mixtapes: The Other Music Industry."
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