A buncha old mp3z

Iv'e always been into diggin up obscure underground rap, the artists that no one have heard about. Way, way back, like 10 years ago when the mp3 format was new there was this site, mp3.com. I loved that page like crazy, tons and tons of underground music, all availible for free, legal downloads.

No matter what the site tried though i guess they could not make it profitable and pay for the (i assume) enormous bandwith that they generated so it slowly downscaled and finaly ceased to exist. Before that happened though, i had downlaoded tons of shit from it. Just recently found some of those discs and decided to upload a few of my favourites.

I will never upload full albums and be a threat to the industry in any form but expect to find selections like this on here every once in a while, i love to share my findings.

http://www.mediafire.com/?5ciok94qvie

Kunta-Loc - Dead soldiers

I dunno too much about this artist, he's from Louisiana and has been shot a few times, judging from a song title he could be from Shreveport. There is one thing i do know though, if you want your Rap whit a hardcore Gangsta flavor, look no further cause this is about as rough as it gets. Plenty of attitude and aggression on here, Kunta ain't playing, he takes no prisoners! Another thing he doesn't do is corny intros or skits, something I'm very thankful for.

Shit starts whit "Carry me", a song about how his homie got murdered and death in the hood in general, this is a no-nonsense hardcore as fuck song that pulls no punches what-so-ever.... The chorus goes "they come to carry me, bury me, why they wanna see me dead ?" Kunta-Loc sets the records str8 from the get go, showing the world he's not joking and that this album deals whit some real, serious street stuff. The song catches your attention and has this creepy quality to it, depressing material indeed but very good.

Things lighten up slightly whit next track, "Farley" who despite still being very hardcore ain't quite as dark and serious whit it's "don't fuck whit me" type of lyrics. It's aggressive and boastful as Kunta tells the world how big and bad he is over a repetitive piano loop that works really well. Next up is "Coming" who has a similar built up beat but features an unmentioned female rapper, it's an anti playahata cut, nothing special really and just as aggressive as anything else on here.

There's not really too much more to say about this album, Kunta is angry as fuck on most of the following songs and even the love song "Graveyard love" has a street vibe to it. He kinda touches on emotions and a lil bit deeper shit on "Feel me" where he tries to explain to the world how he feels and why. Then we got "Dead soldier" who is kinda mellancholic and deals whit the anxiety that always having death around the corner brings.

Over all I would say that this certainly is a good album, the beats are very gangsta in a toned down way and Kunta seem to have gone thru a lot of shit. It do however tend to get a lil too one dimensional sometimes, it's str8 sex, violence and darkness from start to finish. One or two songs about something else would have brought some well needed diversity to the mix. Still, the album is good and has a very distinct Louisiana "gangsta" feel to it. If you can find it, buy it.

download my beats, for free

I've been messing around some whit making my own beats, here's a few.... Download em for free and put your vocals on em as you please but send me a copy of whatever you make.

http://www.mediafire.com/?lgtyyy1e4yg

Stirgus - One man gang

When it comes to the classic New Orleans labels from way back, "Untouchable Records" ranks among the best of them and has a ton of classic releases in their back catalogue. Nothing good lasts forever though and it seems as if they just quit the game after a few weaker (but still good) releases. Not for too long though as they are back on the scene whit their latest act, "Strigus". Don't ask me who this guy is as I've never heard or read anything about him prior to this release.

The first song (after the intro) is "Man up" ft. "L.O.G." and CEO "Al Rock", it has a sing-songy chorus and i guess it's some sorta city anthem as the lyrics go "....i come from the city of the cut throat guerrillas". It's not a bad cut and features one of my all time favourite rappers (L.O.G.) but i dunno.... I was kinda expecting more from "Untouchable Records", i might have had to high expectations that where impossible to live up to but the magic from 97-98 just isn't there (although this is not an extremely crappy album). It's not this sorta shit that made me a die hard N.O rap fan.

Usually when i review albums i dissect them good, commenting on at least 4-5 songs, talking about the feel of them, features and what the lyrics are about but I'm not going to do that this time. I feel it's a waste of time as there is nothing on this album that deserves too much attention. It's not that it sucks too much cause it's a fairly competent & professional album. It's just that i expect so much more from a label like "Untouchable Records".

They used to drop some of the hardest, most uncompromising gangstarap in New Orleans and this is a album full of mainstream pop rap that is more about the clubs, chicks and R&B flavored cross-over songs. Sorry, but i don't see y'all topping the charts anytime soon so alienating your old fanbase in the process does not seem like a very good idea. Nice to have y'all back but this is not what i hoped for.

A few things i don't like about Rap

I'm a major music nerd, i buy books, magazines and Cd's like there are no tomorrow and spend plenty of time finding obscure groups no one has ever heard of and my main genre (besides Reggae) is Rap/Hip hop. That does not have to mean that i like everything that goes on whit in the confines of this genre, consider this a list of things that annoys me, in no particular order.


1.Anniversary magazine issues
Seem like every major rap/urban magazine existing are very keen on finding 1 billion reasons to celebrate some sorta anniversary and look back at previous issues and pat themselves in the back (while they say the best is yet to come). This is starting to bug me, i mean there are legitimate reasons to celebrate, like for an example the 100th issue, 10 years in the industry or even your 1st year as a magazine but shit are starting to get a bit ridiculous now.......


2.Acronyms
One thing that really, really gets on my nerves is when artists claim to be a thug, gangsta, pimp or whatever and then flips the word into some bogus positive acronym (like T.H.U.G.=them healthy uplifting guys). It's like they think, "I'm gonna call myself all these cool street things and if someone criticise me for glorifying negative shit i can just claim it mean this........." Just give it up and represent what you are and nothing else. However, this is not to be mixed up whit for example religious artists who tries to camouflage their message to reach lost souls in the streets (like "I'm slanging the gospel to the Jesus fiends"), i consider that pretty clever.


3.Overused samples
Am I the only one seriously fed up whit folks who samples "Scarface" quotes in their songs? It seem like every rap album known to mankind have to include the lines "All i have in this world.....". Unf. I'm guilty myself of making beats whit samples from this movie, call it hypocritical or not but i can't stand hearing Al Pachino on every album i pick up, i way rather go whit James Brown or George Clinton samples (which is criminally overused in the sampling world as well).


4.Intros, skits etc....
De La Soul's "3 feet high and rising" may be one heck of a classic album and i absolutely love it but it was also the first Rap/Hip hop album to feature "skits" a plenty and these little things are something i hate whit a passion. Why do we have to put up whit all these phony radio broadcasts, news show segments and game shows whit lame attempts at humor? They're at the best of albums as well as the worst and are never funny so please quit it, NOW!!!!

5.Coming soon
This may not totaly fit the criteria as i don't disslike or hate this phenomenon but isn't it kinda funny looking at the inside booklet of many of the independent releases and see how many albums there is that is adverised as "coming soon" that never came for one reason or another. Seems like the rap game was not the "pot of gold" that so many thought it would be. I wonder what happened whit the folks behind all these failed labels whit grand plans that amounted to nothing......

Graveyard Soldjas - Day of execution

Man, this is quite some creepy shit we got here, these cats may be from New Orleans but it's not the usual gangsta or bounce sound they come whit. This is their first album and usually the one that fans likes the most, on their other 3 albums the released after this one they changed up their style a lil bit. If you are into toungetwisting and and horrorcore like music (not the rap/metal sorta horrorcore that they do in Detroit, like ICP, Twistid etc..) u will go crazy over this album.

After the obligatory intro comes "Natas of nos" ("Son of Satan" backwards) and while I'm 100% against satanism i gotta admit this is one heck of a strong opening and a str8 killa track where they rap about how they are possessed and kill and slaughter folks, the lyrics really ain't that different from something you would find on some sorta more extreme "Metal" album. They really got a "Bone Thugs" sound on this one though so it's more slow and creepy than rock like.

Then comes "5 leaf clover" which is a relaxed smoking weed song whit a very different feel than the first one, it's not my favourite song of the album but it's still good and their flow is as tite as ever. The beat on "Listen" is among the best of the album (whit it's synthetic sounding flute melody) and their toungetwisting is 100% on point, damn if i could rap like that. Whit "Sites were back to the dark, creepy shit whit "Bone Thugs" typa harmonies, would be the perfect tune for a horror movie whit it's killa typa lyrics.

I could go on and praise each and every song on this album, even though some are better than others this is one of those rare albums you could listen to from start to finish and not skip one single track. Except for the Intro there is only full songs on here, no annoying skits, not 1 million guest features that distract you or any other annoying things. If I am forced to find a weak spot it would be the lyrics, not that they are bad but pretty much every song is about the same shit, Murda, murda, kill, kill.....

For shure a New Orleans classic, full of sooopah tite songs but don't expect variety or your usual NO rap, u wont find it here and y'all better not be too sensitive to violent lyrics either. If you can find it, get it. There is a re-release out there but it's also pretty rare, worth it though....

Reggae Vinyls, R.I.P. ?

When i started buying music way back in the days, the only format that counted was Vinyl, casettes where availible but didn't feel as real so I never bought em (unless they where on sale, whit huge discounts). Time passes by and it was a long time since I stopped bying vinyl.

There has however, been a scene for vinyls long after i gave it up in the early 90' ies. The market for reggae on vinyl has been very strong among the more hardcore fans and soundsystems. Now it seem as if that is pretty much dying out, whit only extreme nostalgia buffs still being interested, or?

"The reduction in vinyl production in the West Indies has dramatically affected the way I access music," explains the legendary DJ - or selector - David Rodigan, host of the weekly Rodigan's Reggae show on London's Kiss 100 FM."

read article here:

http://music.guardian.co.uk/urban/story/0,,2242297,00.html

I miss "Pen and Pixels"

I know alot of folks tend to disslike the "over-the-top" bling bling covers from "Pen and Pixels" but oooh, how I loved them. They are getting more and more rare for each day that passes by but have they been replaced by anything better?

I dunno if it is because im kinda into graphic designing but covers play a large part in deciding what cd's i buy and i have bought countless albums, unheard simply because i loved the special fx laced "Pen and Pixel" cover whit it's cartoony Gangsta look.

That realy isn't happening too often whit todays mixtape covers or the overly airbrushed covers of recent years. Please, return "Pen and Pixel" cause i miss y'all

Best place to buy underground music

For those of us who still prefers to buy music, in it's physical shape and who prefers the unknown, upcoming talents where do we turn? This may seem as an paid, sneaky advertisement but i would have to say that Cdbaby is a safehaven for unknown but great sounding artists "on-the-come-up". You can tell this is a place run by fellow "music nerds", they even have a 5$ cd section that makes it way less risky trying out new artists that you've never heard of but that fits in your favourite genre.

As far as genres go, they got every genre covered and categorised in a multitude of subgenres (it's starting to border on too many subgenre classifications) so no matter what music you like you will easily find the local, hidden gems that would normaly go under your radar. To make shure youre getting something you like they are pretty generous whit song samples, no need to buy anything unheard, even if it's only a 5$ album. If you want unknown artists, give them a try.

http://www.cdbaby.com/

The blog previously known as "Vybes Central"

When I first started this blog i decided to exclusively dedicate it to Reggae and anything related to it, the thought was not to create the Ultimate blog read and debated on by everyone into Reggae. However, spending time creating a blog that hardly anyone reads or show any interest in is a waste of my (not always so precious) time.

This is why a change had to come, the old content will still be there and i will still cover Reggae music but hte focus has been expanded to cover everything i like and enjoy, such as movies, music, fashion, books, graphic design and whatever else I enjoy....... Hopefully this will boast the interest in this blog and motivate me to update it more often.

So, I hope y'all will enjoy the blog more now than y'all did before/Christoffer