Here's some scans from On The Go magazine # 17, which was their best issue as its auteur Espo AKA Steve Powers finally allowed the music coverage to exceed the boring pictures of Cope 2's graffiti with interviews with such rap luminaries as Flavor Flav, CNN, Camp Lo, Godfather Don, Krs One, The Artifacts, DJ Riz and Dr Butcher, as well as rap album and 12" reviews, reggae 7" reviews, a Diggin' In The Crates section including Harlem River Drive by Eddie Palmieri, a Biggie tribute, and amusing cartoons about scumbag record sellers by Julian Bevan. Click on the pix to read 'em in full size :
They'd even diversified their music policy to include adverts for releases by non-east coast gangsta rappers like Big Mike, Master P, and 3X Krazy by this point, but, alas, it proved to be their last issue and ascended to rap mag heaven shortly thereafter. Here's the Fresh Cuts 12" review pages where the pre-Biggie & Kim version of It's All About The Benjamins, Fondle 'Em releases by Cage and Lord Sear, promos by Mobb Deep, ODB, The Alkoholiks and The Fugees, and cuts by indie-rap-in-'97-staples such as Mike Zoot and Mr Complex all hang-ten comfortably together; describing an Arsonists song as being "ill Chewbacca sounding new wave hip hop type shit" is precisely a billion times more entertaining than any of the music a group as workmanlike as the Arsonists made, so, for better or worse, think of the entire section as an impeccable snapshot of what you'd have found in the racks at Fat Beats N.Y or heard on the Stretch & Bobbito show that year :
BONUS BEATS :
Top 3 songs from the Fresh Cuts reviews which aren't It's All About The Benjamins. Refer to the reviews themselves for all relevant information and analysis of them :
Godfather Don - Seeds Of Hate (1997)
Black Attack ft. Problemz & Al Tariq - Verbal Attack (1997)
Mobb Deep - After Hours G.O.D Part III (1997)
11 comments:
it wasnt our last issue, and it was only the second issue that was over 80 pagees, hence the diversified content. We got the west coast ads just in time, murder dog was on the rise and would take our lucnch money. for a real editorial coup/disaster, look for the cru issue, #18. which ironicaly,has a 10 page interview with cope. sike. -papa es
Oh shit!
So is # 18 the final issue then? I never came across that in Tower or Mr Bongo and I was pumped for another issue after #15, #16 and #17, which are up there with Ego Trip and Fat Lace as far as indie hip hop mags go.
Forgive my copyright infringements here, but OTG really needs some sort of online archive.
Holy Google Alert, Batman!!
Never even heard of this Mobb Deep shit before.
i don't hear al tariq on that song?
Nice one, looked for issues after readin bout them in that HHC retrospective but couldnt find any. Them reviews are great.
Cosign on Arsonists, theyr meh.
Always got them mixed up with Artifacts, probably why I never bothered checkin for em beyond their singles. It worth my while? I did like the Stretch and Bob freestyles.
oh and how great is this?
http://somanyshrimp.tumblr.com/post/4756554547/ok-so-my-favorite-rap-song-of-the-year-dropped-i
Ha I got a bit of DB syndrome of this one too actually but the homages were easier to suss this time.
Anon, he does the hook.
Done, both the Artifacts albums are pretty good if you like duos in the vein of EPMD, but my favourite shit by them was the Brick City Kids joint they did under the same name which was one of the 12"s featured on the first Soundbombing.
Hus' joint is superb. Really like the Loyal To The Mob Mob Figaz track on the album too, especially Jacka's "down for the count like Dracula's people" line.
Just dl the album there today, havent had a chance to listen yet cos iv had the fuckin magnificence that is Book of David on repeat. Iv high hopes for the rest after hearing that song though, it really is brilliant. Plus the Jacka line.
Mad never knew they were Brick City Kids, if i remember right I really liked that tune. Il check them out now so.
I was talkin bout Spaceghostpurrp in the other post, hes where I heard of DJ Zirk.
Artifacts recently reunited for shows and are working on new material. El da Sensei's solo jawns are all decent-to-strong and last year he put out a solid-if-unremarkably consistent/Real album produced by Poland's The Returners (GT2: New World Order). Tame One's CV is not so impressive (an especially low lowpoint was the PCP-tribute album "Waterworld" he dropped with that Kraut-Yank N-bomber Cage). That said, the collabo album with Del (Parallel Uni verses) was surprisingly focussed for the work of two people with fried brains.
That Brick City Kids track was one of the best things Rawkus put out, imo.
CritIQ, a friend of mine loved that Tame & Cage album, so I've unfortunately suffered it numerous times.
Yeh that Brick City Kids was class. Co-sign on Del & Tame's album as well and Tame's Acid Tab Vocab's got some joints.
Post a Comment