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

Example - Impulses EP (Houston 1997)

Here's an extremely dope EP out of Houston, Texas. DJ Cipher and Dekay(who would later become known as the rhyming half of the BBE duo Nicolay and Kay) formed the group Example and in 1997 dropped only limited copies of this gem of a record. I first heard the track "Slow Motion" on DJ Eli's Night Train radio program on WKCR. I had no idea who this group was or what this record was until about a year ago. Thank you internets, T.R.O.Y. forum, and Crates Of Ag for making me aware of this ill piece of work.

We've already introduced you to "Slow Motion" with the sample for it here and The Moaning comp and mix here. Other stand out cuts on this are "Recollect", "7-26-96", and "Strive". But really, there's nothing wack on here at all. "Recollect" is on some serious summer time, feel good, anthem status, so don't sleep on that one.

Click the links in this post to see what these cats are up to now and click the highlighted tracks for previews.

01. i.e. intro

02. 7 - 26 - 96

03. The Strive

04. Slow Motion

05. Endless

06. Recollect

07. E.T.A.

08. i.e. outro

Freshly ripped from vinyl at 320kbps:

[mediafire link]

[megaupload link]

--Verge

Touring The States: Fort Worth, TX

If you remember, in February we dropped compilation for you, called Houston, TX obscurities.
Now, we are going farther north, to the city of Fort Worth.

I haven't found any info about The Chopp M.C. himself. Maybe some TX heads who follow this series will come through with some info.

One thing is certain, this album is smooth. Lyrics are gangster, but beats are real g-funky, especially in a comparison with beats from other Texas artists from that period. Of course there are few tracks with rougher beats, similar to other Touring The States posts. My favorite tracks on this release are tracks no. 2 and 7. Check it out for yourself.

The Chopp M.C. - Charging It To Tha Game (1995)

01. Intro
02. Backstabbers
03. Charge It To Da Game
04. Rip 'N' Shop
05. Knowledge
06. Sheila
07. Black Attracts Tha Heat
08. Tha Real
09. B's & Hoes
10. Do It Like U Used To It
11. 99 Flavors
12. Black Heat II
13. Outro

Preview:



DOWNLOAD

-- Markshot

Touring The States: Dallas, TX

I was enjoying this album last two weeks. This group is coming out from Dallas, North Dallas to be precise. At the moment i don't know exact about member names, but i think actually that i'm pretty sure it was Cho, Dallas Long and D.J. Flex. If im wrong, feel free to correct me, it would be appreciated. You may know Dallas Long by, nowadays name, Mista Long. Both sides of this tape are edible. My favourite song on this album is track "Choc-Lit-Sit-E". The beat is very smooth and mellow, although you can check it yourself down there in the samples player.

Choc-Lit-Sit-E - The Choc-Lit-Lif (1994)

Side A:
01. Choc-Lit-Sit-E (Theme Song)
02. Call It What You Want Too
03. Why Am I So Fly

Side B:
01. Choc-Lit-Lif
02. In My Hood
03. Shout Out Track

Sampler:


DOWNLOAD HERE + FULL FRONT COVER

-- Markshot

Regional Obscurities - Houston,TX

Pioneers like The Geto Boys and K-Rino are probably the first names that come to your mind when thinking of Houston hip hop. Don't forget Houston is also the birthplace of one of your favorite producers ever, Primo.

But in this compilation,we're going to get a little deeper than the obvious. This was put together by one of our most prolific posters at the T.R.O.Y. forum, Markshot. He was kind enough to include info on all these artists as well. In fact, he was so thorough with it, there's no way we could post it all. So, we posted some info and the rest is in the download.

1. Point Blank - On Point

2. M.U.C.H. Posse - On Fondren

3. Klass C - What Hood Is That

4. Trinity Garden Cartel - Charge It To The Game

5. Lil Rascal - You Gone Ride Feat. Criminal Elament & Trigga

6. Nuwine - Kroket America

7. 4 Deep - Can't Turn Back

8. Madd Hatta - Trunk-O-Funk

9. Godfather - My Stelo Feat. The Problemed Child

10. Klondike Kat - Hustler

11. Big 50 - Everyday

12. Livin' Illegal - Confess

13. Big Mello - Love Don't Love Nobody

14. Gangsta Profile - CWW

15. 4 Deep - True Blue Brother

16. Soutern Funk Playas - Playa Hata

17. D Of Trinity Garden Cartel - Nigga Luck

18. Big 50 - Funk Flow

19. J-Roll - Ya'll Go Feel Me

20. Botany Boys - Cloverland

21. Gangsta Profile - Caddilac Action

22. The Infamous X-Mann - Mobbin The Town

23. Crime Boss - Unsolved Mysteries                                   

Peep some samples:

- Point Blank is originally a rapper from Chicago, IL but later moved to Houston, TX in 1990 and joined the South Park Coalition (S.P.C.). Since then, he has been one of the hardest rappers in the click. He is known for his raw and uncut delivery. He is also the founder of the group Wreckless Klan. 

This was off his debut album that was released in 1992 on Bigtyme Recordz. 

Production on this dope album was done by Point Blank himself along with Pimp C of UGK, K-Rino, Triple 6 and Egypt E.

- Trinity Garden Cartel, after their first album dropped in 1992 on Cartel Records, their second and very controversial album was released in 1994 on Rap-A-Lot Records. 

The government banned the album due to photographs of Houston Police being portrayed in a negative way and because of its lyrical content. 

Despite the fact that it was banned, the record still managed to sell over one hundred thousand units.

- 4 Deep is a trio which consists of Klas' One (MC) and two brothers, Koo Rod (MC) and Big Boss (Producer). The group has released several albums,first one on Power Artist Records and the rest on Albatross Records. All albums are entirely produced by Big Boss,who passed away due to kidney failure in late 2006.

- Madd Hatta a.k.a. Mista Madd is not only a rapper and producer, he's also well respected radio DJ in Texas and the host of the Houston-based radio talk show "Madd Hatta Morning Show". 

He released 3 albums, "All About Me" in 1995, "Serious" in 1996 and "The pH Factor" in 1997. He is owner of Houston based hip-hop recording label, Paid In Full Entertainment.

- Klondike Kat has been in the game for over 20 years and is one of the rap legends in Houston. 

Kat is a pure lyricist as well as a producer and R&B song writer/producer. 

He joined the S.P.C. in 1992, but he has always been a well respected artist long before that. 

He dropped his 1st ep "The Lyrical Lion" in 1993.

- Big Mello is a rapper from Hiram Clarke in Houston, TX. He is known for his hard street style and gangster delivery. This was his debut album and was released in 1992 on Rap-A-Lot Records.

He went on to release 4 more albums, some of which are considered classics in the south. 

Big Mello passed away on June 16, 2002. It is said that he lost control of his car and hit a pillar, killing both himself and a passenger. He was 33 years old. Both Z-Ro and Scarface have released separate tribute songs to honor his passing. He is regarded as one of the true soldiers to have ever stepped in the game. Rest in peace Big Mello.

- D is a rapper from Trinity Garden, which is located on the northside of Houston, TX. 

D and his homie J.F. started Cartel Records in the early 90's. D was also the leader of the infamous group, Trinity Garden Cartel. The track from this mix is from his first album, Game Done Changed, dropped in 1995 on Cartel Records. D is in prison right now and is serving a 25 year sentence.

Download compilation and complete info here

Mad props to Markshot for putting this compilation together complete with a wealth of information about all the artists on it.

-- Verge