The T.R.O.Y. Blog Presents: Houston, TX

Another day, another great mix from forum member Tha Town (That E. Oak LOC!). As evidenced by his great G-Funk Cali mix, Tha Town is a veritable encyclopedia of rare, obscure, and otherwise criminally unknown gangsta rap. Dude's collection is large, and he's been blessing us with some serious knowledge since he joined the Phila forum. Don't believe me? Check his threads on Louisiana and Jackson, Mississippi. Highly recommended.

Anyway, if you've read these two posts, you already know that my own tastes are pretty bugged and I'm always on the lookout for some seriously Southern-fried, gangstafied, low-budget rap music. So, I approached Tha Town about doing a mix for the blog, and he came back with a collection of marvelous tracks focusing on Houston, Texas.

Here's what the Loc himself has to say:

"If you ask me, 90's Houston is best hip-hop anywhere, or anytime. This is some of the best of the best from that region. I had a really difficult time putting this together because I had about 100 tracks I wanted to put on here. A must have. Smooth, gangsta, and strong vocal hooks. Enjoy."

Indeed. Pop the trunk and turn the street volume up to 10.

1. Deep South Playas - "Trapped in the Ghetto"

2. Rashid - "H-Town Way"

3. Mass 187 - "Gangsta Strut"

4. 20-2-Life - "Feel Me"

5. Jakol - "Hit It From The Back"

6. 5th Ward Juvenilez - "Bad News"

7. 5th Ward Boyz - "Situationz"

8. DJ DMD - "Mr. 25/8"

9. Klondike Kat - "Ghetto Baby"

10. Guerilla Maab - "Still Here"

11. DJ DMD - "Keep the Real Ones By Your Side"

12. Ka*V*R - "Baby Love"

13. 20-2-Life - "After Servin' A Deuce"

14. Cappeela - "Mama"

15. Cappeela - "Playas"

16. Mass 187 - "Lord Knows"

Get learned.

-Echo Leader

Murder Dog Presents: Pirhana Killer Fish 5823 & Ride Or Die 5810

Murder Dog is, quite simply, one of the best hip hop publications ever to hit newsstands. Though not as hilariously demented as ego trip or as comprehensive as The Source during it's Golden Age, every single issue is saturated with a wealth of artist interviews and articles. Black Dog Bone and the Murder Dog team have had their collective fingers to the pulse of underground rap music for a decade and a half and have managed to consistently put out a magazine that is almost completely devoid of industry politricks. Also, where else could you find side-by-side interviews with UGK, Haji Springer, and Danny Trejo along with a ten-page spread on the Sri Lankan hip hop scene?

Along with their interviews, scene coverage, and producer biopsies Murder Dog has also been dedicated to bringing the underground to light through extremely comprehensive regional compilations. The two I bring to you today were actually packaged with early issues of Murder Dog, and are entitled "5823 Pirhana Killer Fish" and "5810 Ride Or Die." They are ridiculously rare in physical form, and as such command top dollar from caked-up rap nerds that have no problem blowing $200 on an out-of-print cd.

Although I wouldn't spend that much cash, the music contained within is indeed top-quality. Low budget environments striving for perfection, naw'mean? Real underground 4-track, recorded-in-a-washing-room sounding records. If you like the obscure regional compilations that schenectadyfan brings us on the reg, you will love these discs. True to first-generation Murder Dog, they have a exclusive focus on the southern and west-coast scene, with raps from Al Kapone, the Botany Boys, and Kool Daddy Fresh, and lesser known talents such as the Funxsouljaz. There's even an old Mac Dre song on "5810 Ride Or Die." These definitely get the EL stamp-of-approval

Grab these compilations while they're hot; I guarantee they won't disappoint.

- Echo Leader

Murder Dog Presents: 5823 Pirhana Killer Fish

1. El Kaye & Nino Brown - Leave The Light On
2. Ska Face Al Kapone - To Tha Death
3. NonFiktion, Lo-Skee & Mr. K Geeta - Raw Game
4. Pat Chilla, H-Bomb & Ski Loc - Watch Your Back
5. Land of Da Lost & DJ T-Ski - Nutt'n
6. Young Dre-D & Sonya Dinkins - Sucka Free
7. Skip Dog - By Any Means
8. Lil' Gene (aka The Sandman), Von OP & Mo-B - Tow-O-Sic-Shit
9. 11/5 & UDI - Kill-a-Hoe
10. Mad Dog Clique - Only Made 2 Bump
11. Kool Daddy Fresh - Born To Slang (Part 2)
12. Funxsouljaz - Ill Gott'N Gain
13. Closed Caption - Greens
14. KNS - Survival's In The Game
15. No Face Phantom - The Island
16. Squeek Nutty Bug & Kevin Gardner - 3 Cides of Life
17. 51/50, MsChief, Solo, Masta G & Popcorn - Automatically

Mediafire

Murder Dog Presents: 5810 Ride Or Die

1. Ska-Face Al Kapone - Ride or Die
2. Hollow Tip - Chasin' $'s
3. Botany Boys - Thought of Many Ways
4. JD Walker - Bogus Bangin'
5. Pistol - High 'Til I Die
6. Tha Funxsouljaz & Ska-Face Al Kapone - Don't Nobody Know Me
7. Crooked Path - Mo' Mail
8. STN - Richmond Rulaz
9. Elite G'z - Planet G
10. Triple Deep - Imagine This
11. Lil' Milt - The Prophecy
12. Doff Kapone - Saussy Lifestyle
13. Fat Kev & Mac Dre - The Game Will Neva Change
14. Central Dynasty - Ghetto Greed
15. Iceburg - Ghetto Therapy
16. Ballers Ona Mission (BOM) - Da Game'z Tryna Take Me Out
17. Kriz & Big D (Major Weight Media) - Maintain'n
18. Mob Related & Snook Tha Crook - Strictly Grind'n
19. Ball Player & Andre - This One's For You
20. Black Rhino - No Seeds (Tax Evasion)

Mediafire

Vintage Rap-A-Lot (1988-1996)

Chances are, if you read this site (or listen to rap music at all) you know about Rap-A-Lot Records. Legendary in the southern hip hop scene, RAL is one of my favorite labels and a sure-shot candidate for "greatest independent ever to do it." Admittedly, they have enjoyed major-label distribution over the past decade and a half or so, but J. Prince and company rarely have rarely made commercial concessions and have never, ever sold out on their fan base. Not only have they remained staunchly underground for over twenty damn years, they've brought us talents such as the Geto Boys (Scarface, Willie D, Bushwick Bill and/or Big Mike), the Convicts, Devin the Dude, and Z-Ro.

Most people know the names above either because of their popularity or their overall impact on rap music (re: 'Face), but RAL was also home to a gang of damn-near unknown and criminally underrated rappers that released albums through the label. What you know about Mad CJ Mac? Poppa LQ? Blac Monks? What about Menace Clan, or Seagram? These dudes smashed records that people north of the Mason-Dixon line rarely got a chance to hear...or maybe they just ignored them. Because of both limited release and (unfortunately) limited interest, many of Rap-A-Lot's best offerings are now out of print. Most of these albums can still be found with ease on sites like Amazon or eBay, but expect to drop some serious coin. Last time I checked, Willie D's solo debut was still pushing three figures.



Thus, in the interest of bringing some shine to these oft-ignored released, I present to you a compilation of hand-picked Rap-A-Lot tracks spanning from 1988 to 1996. Those years are generally revered as the RAL Golden Age, during which most of the label's classic records were released. I tried not to include any super obvious material like "Straight Gangstaism," "Mind Playin' Tricks On Me," or anything from "The Diary." If I included some obvious stuff (and I did), well then that's because the obvious is so damn good, and I'm really only skimming the surface here anyway. I'm not trying to impress anybody with some esoteric b-side mixdown of a forgotten Choice single here. In fact, I'm not really sure who would be impressed by that in the first place. But I digress.


Simply put, these are 15 of my personal throwed-ass favorites. Nothing more, nothing less. I guarantee you will like at least one of these tracks. Hopefully you will like more.



Enjoy.

Echo Leader's Vintage Rap-A-Lot Mix (1988-1996)

1. Geto Boys - "Read These Nikes"
2. Willie D - "Bald Headed Hoes"
3. Ganksta NIP - "Psycho"
4. The Convicts - "1-900-Dial-A-Crook (featuring Geto Boys)"
5. Scarface - "A Minute To Pray & A Second To Die"
6. Seagram - "The Dark Roads"
7. Menace Clan - "Da Bullet"
8. Too Much Trouble - "Invasion Of The Purse Snatchers"
9. 5th Ward Boyz - "Swing Wide (featuring UGK)"
10. Big Mike - "Havin' Thangs"
11. 3-2 - "Coming Down"
12. Poppa LQ - "Why Hate Me?"
13. Odd Squad - "Fa' Sho"
14. Mad CJ Mac - "Powda Puff"
15. The Terrorists - "Make A Life Out Of Living"


Mediafire

-Echo Leader

Droppin' Gems Pt. 3

I Smooth 7 - Ghetto Life

01. I Smooth 7 - Intro (0:33)
02. I Smooth 7 - Coolin' In Da Ghetto (4:48)
03. I Smooth 7 - For Da Love Of The Ghetto (Remix) (4:20)
04. I Smooth 7 - Strugglin' (4:46)
05. I Smooth 7 - Ghetto Life (4:07)
06. I Smooth 7 - My Hood In Da Summertime (4:27)
07. I Smooth 7 - I Smooth 7 (5:23)
08. I Smooth 7 - So Much Luv (5:14)
09. I Smooth 7 - Kings & Queens (5:19)
10. I Smooth 7 - Goin' All Out (4:16)
11. I Smooth 7 - Sets In Da West (4:42)
12. I Smooth 7 - Nina (4:40)
13. I Smooth 7 - What's The Real (5:06)
14. I Smooth 7 - Outro (1:07)

* albums contains production from DJ Battlecat

http://rapidshare.com/files/117082707/I_Smooth_7_-_Ghetto_Life__1994_.rar

Home Team - Via Satellite From Saturn

01. Home Team - Pick It Up (3:09)

02. Home Team - Via Satellite From Saturn (2:34)

03. Home Team - Get A Refill (3:55)

04. Home Team - Wild Style (2:40)

05. Home Team - Pass The Buddah (1:35)

06. Home Team - Back To The Bronx (3:30)

07. Home Team - The Hoodie (3:38)

08. Home Team - Home Team (3:12)

09. Home Team - Know The Flavor (2:37)

10. Home Team - Ruff Neck Business (3:55)

11. Home Team - Alley Boy (2:19)

12. Home Team - Reminiscing (3:37)

http://rapidshare.com/files/117213999/Home_Team_-_Via_Satellite_From_Saturn__1992_.rar

Mesanjarz Of Funk - Mesanjarz Of Funk

01. Mesanjarz Of Funk - Keep It Flowin' (3:43)
02. Mesanjarz Of Funk - Funk In Da Trunk (4:31)
03. Mesanjarz Of Funk - Da Gangsta (feat Fat Joe Da Gangsta) (0:55)
04. Mesanjarz Of Funk - Messengers Of Funk (4:28)
05. Mesanjarz Of Funk - Naughty Shorty (0:25)
06. Mesanjarz Of Funk - Spanish Flavor (4:40)
07. Mesanjarz Of Funk - Point Blank (0:41)
08. Mesanjarz Of Funk - Save The Drama (4:53)
09. Mesanjarz Of Funk - What U Wanna Do (4:21)
10. Mesanjarz Of Funk - Freedom International (0:29)
11. Mesanjarz Of Funk - A 40 & A Blunt (4:54)
12. Mesanjarz Of Funk - Flip Da Script (feat Lord Finesse & L. Boogie) (5:17)
13. Mesanjarz Of Funk - Straight Outta Ill Street (0:51)
14. Mesanjarz Of Funk - Stickup Game (4:22)
15. Mesanjarz Of Funk - Buckwild Boricua (0:26)
16. Mesanjarz Of Funk - Come On Now (3:58)
17. Mesanjarz Of Funk - Keep It Flowin' (Remix) (3:59)

http://rapidshare.com/files/117235479/Mesanjarz_Of_Funk_-_Mesanjarz_Of_Funk__1993_.rar

Down South - Lost In Brooklyn

01 - Down South
02 - Southern Comfort
03 - Tractors, Rakes And Hoes
04 - Jimi Crack Korn
05 - Spin Da Boddle (Featuring The Funkaholic & Bobbito)
06 - Departure
07 - Lost In Brooklyn
08 - Sitting Here
09 - Big Wheels
10 - Grupo De Rap
11 - Around The Clock
12 - The Carbonated One
13 - Oh My
14 - Open Sesame

* album contains production from The Beatnuts, Shawn J. Period, T. Ray & Stretch Armstrong

http://rapidshare.com/files/117099195/Down_South_-_Lost_In_Brooklyn__1994_.rar

Walkin' Large - Riverside Pictures

01 - To Get Started
02 - From Around
03 - Who Will Go Down (...Times Like These)
04 - Airplay
05 - Reachin' (For My People)
06 - Bag Of Chips (Remix)
07 - Vibes
08 - When I Flow (Featuring Jeru The Damaja)
09 - In Here (Refreshed)
10 - No Time For Weakness
11 - In The Name Of The Rhyme
12 - From Here To Wherever (Featuring Fabe)
13 - In Here (The Ill Way)

http://rapidshare.com/files/117103676/Walkin__Large_-_Riverside_Pictures__1995_.rar

Props to chillwill for his outstanding work in T.R.O.Y.