Your Memory's Museum
Your Memory's Museum

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EGOTRIPLAND: Raekwon Interview Pre-"OB4CL" (1995)

In June 1995 on a sweltering hot day in New York City I interviewed Raekwon for ego trip magazine issue #5 in advance of Rae’s soon-to-be-released Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… At the time of the interview I hadn’t yet heard the album (my lone attempt to get an acquaintance at Loud Records to let me peep it having been met with words to the effect of: “You wanna hear how it sounds? How the fuck you think it sounds? It sounds fuckin’ DOPE.”). Yet based on the pre-LP singles “Heaven and Hell” and “Glaciers of Ice” (as well as Rae’s beyond hungry performances on Wu-Tang’s 36 Chambers and Method Man’s “Meth vs. Chef”) I’d already easily convinced myself that the album was going to be incredible. Then again it could have sounded like Killarmy reading the Staten Island phone book and I would have probably still rode for it, my Wu-Tang Stan-dom in those days being such. I was, of course, eventually vindicated when The Purple Tape dropped on August 1st, 1995 – exactly l6-years ago – and became an instant classic.

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Chairman Mao:  Across 135th Street: Soul Extravaganza 2012 ‘this edition is a 2-hour mix composed entirely of soul/funk/northern/mod/modern/disco 45s from the 60s/70s/80s. And while those little records with the big holes in the centers are extremely trendy nowadays, hopefully the music itself transcends format. (I was getting 45s before it was the thing and I’ll still be doing it when no one cares anymore.) In lieu of a regular ol’ playlist I’ve taken the time to scan the label art of every record played on the program – because, well, record nerd shit is just what I do. Peep it at your leisure, or as you listen. And you can also read a few scattered, random thoughts on some of the selections, below. Enjoy!’ (via egotripland)

Chairman Mao:  Across 135th Street: Soul Extravaganza 2012

‘this edition is a 2-hour mix composed entirely of soul/funk/northern/mod/modern/disco 45s from the 60s/70s/80s. And while those little records with the big holes in the centers are extremely trendy nowadays, hopefully the music itself transcends format. (I was getting 45s before it was the thing and I’ll still be doing it when no one cares anymore.) In lieu of a regular ol’ playlist I’ve taken the time to scan the label art of every record played on the program – because, well, record nerd shit is just what I do. Peep it at your leisure, or as you listen. And you can also read a few scattered, random thoughts on some of the selections, below. Enjoy!’

(via egotripland)

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EgoTrip’s Top 25 James Brown Sampled Records. (via @egotripland) PREFACE: I originally compiled this list as a companion piece to a James Brown memorial for Scratch magazine not long after the Godfather of Soul’s passing on Christmas Day, 2006. On this, what would have been his 79th birthday, I’ve resurrected the piece and revamped it a little, re-formatting it in similar fashion to how we’ve been doing our sample flips posts. Even though the story’s original title emphasizes the premise that these are the 25 greatest rap records to sample James Brown or James Brown productions, the competitive rankings were honestly less important to me when I wrote it than simply presenting something that celebrated the range of James’ influence on hip-hop over different eras. Frankly, I don’t think there’s any way to reduce the importance of James Brown’s music to hip-hop to 25 examples because without James Brown there is no hip-hop (not to mention any other form of modern club or dance related music). And that applies whether you’re talking hip-hop constructed via samples, or played by keyboard or band, or built from (turntable) scratch. That said, here’s the list. Feel free to suggest your favorites or hit the comments section with miscellaneous feedback/complaints. But just be sure while you’re at it to wish the Godfather a happy birthday. RIP, James Brown – always and forever the star of the show. Originally published in Scratch, March/April 2007.

EgoTrip’s Top 25 James Brown Sampled Records. (via @egotripland)

PREFACE: I originally compiled this list as a companion piece to a James Brown memorial for Scratch magazine not long after the Godfather of Soul’s passing on Christmas Day, 2006. On this, what would have been his 79th birthday, I’ve resurrected the piece and revamped it a little, re-formatting it in similar fashion to how we’ve been doing our sample flips posts. Even though the story’s original title emphasizes the premise that these are the 25 greatest rap records to sample James Brown or James Brown productions, the competitive rankings were honestly less important to me when I wrote it than simply presenting something that celebrated the range of James’ influence on hip-hop over different eras. Frankly, I don’t think there’s any way to reduce the importance of James Brown’s music to hip-hop to 25 examples because without James Brown there is no hip-hop (not to mention any other form of modern club or dance related music). And that applies whether you’re talking hip-hop constructed via samples, or played by keyboard or band, or built from (turntable) scratch. That said, here’s the list. Feel free to suggest your favorites or hit the comments section with miscellaneous feedback/complaints. But just be sure while you’re at it to wish the Godfather a happy birthday. RIP, James Brown – always and forever the star of the show.

Originally published in Scratch, March/April 2007.