LL Cool J / K-Def – Year of the Hip Hop (Unreleased 1994 joint)

The story of this joint is as follows: In 1994 New Jerus’ most slept-on DJ/Producer K-Def was going hard on the MPC and in between crafting remixes for Positive K and producing beats for The Lords of the Underground, James Todd Smith happened to walk into the B-Room at Marley Marl’s House of Hits and pitched a K-Def/LL Cool J collaboration. He requested K-Def lift the break from ESG‘s classic, often-sampled UFO laced with some fat hand claps, tramp drum loop, and tight scratches laid on top. For whatever reason, that track was never actually used on an LP or 12″. The rough cut only existed on DAT Tape and the only copy was soon lost. Fast forward nearly 20 years later- and the DAT’s been recovered-get this: underneath a radiator.

K-Def and Slice-Of-Spice linked up to drop the K-Def/LL Cool J 12″ Year of the Hop Hop on October 31st. If you move quickly you can cop one of 150 orange and black halloween-colored 12″ records, or if you miss out you can grab one of 350 remaining plain black vinyl copies.

This is a time-capsule of a record; Cool J wouldn’t sound like this for much longer, and K-Def moved on to starting work on the LP classic Real Live; A long awaited turnaround with MC Larry-O as the two man crew Real Live. Get the audio rip here and if you need it in analog format, www.slice-of-spice.com has what you need, as well as the recent 12″ vinyl debut of DJ Paul nice & Biz Markie’s ill 2001 throwback banger Turn the Party Out. Slice of Spice is killing it right now with quality new releases and vinyl re-issues. Don’t be an Onion Head- get your ass over there and pick some heat up. – Skylar Woodman

LL Cool J – Year of the Hip Hop (Produced by K-Def)

Tags: K-Def, LL Cool J, Unreleased LL Cool J, Year of the Hip Hop

The Roots – Live Radio Freestyle (’99-00) & Quicksand Millenium (Alternate Version)

The Roots – Live Radio Freestyle in NYC (’99-00)

Quicksand Millenium (Unreleased Version)

A couple pretty rare recordings from Illadelph’s absolute finest musicians The Roots surfaced recently online and I thought I’d bring them to you here at Manifest Worldwide. The freestyle is a fantastic period piece- you’ll hear Black Thought flowing over a live beat provided by ?uestlove and some live beatbox being spit by who else?- Rahzel. The Roots at their essence, already many years in the game (formed in 1987, their first major release not coming until 1995) but still establishing their identity and sound as rap music was rapidly accelerating out of Golden Era sounds and sensibilities. In addition to this rare recorded freestyle is a slightly different, unreleased version from 2005′s The Roots – Home Grown: Guide to understanding The Roots vol. 2. This version actually isn’t unheard of until now- it’s been hosted on places like youtube in video form for years, but the audio file is here for you to grab. Give these tracks a listen. The Roots are, and will always be personal favorites here at Manifest. Enjoy. – Skylar Woodman

Tags: Black Thought Freestyle, The roots, Unreleased Black Thought, Unreleased Roots

1998 – A Tribe Called Quest • The Love Movement Intro (Unreleased)

A Tribe Called Quest – The Love Movement Intro (Unreleased)

Put this ahead of Start it Up on your Love Movement playlist- The unreleased and unused Intro to Tribe’s last album of the 1990′s The Love Movement. With none other than a young Mos Def on the mic.

The picture might be a decade older than the track but I had to use it, I thought it was just that dope.

1993: Nasty Nas • Guest spots, Roughcuts, and Pre-Illmatic

Nasty Nas • Guest Spots, Roughcuts, and Pre-Illmatic

Back in December 2009 we brought you some pre-debut album cuts by the the South Bronx’s BDP and then followed up with Queens’ Organized Konfusion. Staying in Q.Borough for a minute we’re gonna hand it off to Nasty Nas for a collection of guest appearances and Pre-demo cuts before Columbia/Sony picked him up for what would be 1994′s Illmatic. Among the 9 tracks Included is a remix of “Represent” which swaps the ill bells from the LP version out in favor of some organ stabs and ill upright bass chords, “Nas will Prevail” which would go on to receive different production and be renamed “It ain’t hard to tell”. Add two scorching posse cuts: MC Serch‘s “Back to the grill” and Main Source‘s “Live at the BBQ” and you have a decent understanding of where Nasir’s flow began and where it was headed…his permanent standing as Rap Royalty.

Tags: Nas Demos, Pre-Illmatic

1990: Organized Konfusion • Pre-Debut Demos and Roughcuts

Organized Konfusion • Pre-Debut Demos and Roughcuts

Following those gems from BDP we dropped last week, we’d like to go upside your eardrums with some grainy, rough, super funky uptempo cuts from Queens NY’s venerable rap duo Prince Po and Pharoahe Monch- Organized Konfusion.

This is a short, 6-track collection of some of the roughcuts that would eventually make up their classic self-titled debut album Organized Konfusion, which dropped in fall 1991. Several of these joints never made it to the album.. the others were tweaked for the retail… Plug those woofers in and sit back, listen to some crazy real live rap shit way ahead of its’ time for 1990- Courtesy of Organized Konfusion. Just two of the builders of the golden era.

Tags: Organized Konfusion, Organized Konfusion Demos, Pharoahe Monch, Prince Po

1986: Boogie Down Productions • Pre-Criminal Minded Roughcuts

Boogie Down Productions: Pre-Criminal Minded Roughcuts • 1986

Continuing with the “Bootlegs and B-Sides” series, today we offer you a 5-track glimpse into the foundation of the Boogie Down Productions crew- At the time KRS-ONE, D-Nice and DJ Scott La Rock.

These damn-near 24 year old rough cuts are from before their classic debut album Criminal Minded was released and Scott la Rock was tragically murdered in August 1987. D-Nice gets his own solo cut and KRS flows over some pretty early True School era beats and breaks that definitely sound as though they were the dry run for what would become The Criminal Minded LP, after alot of revamping.

Rest in Peace Scott Sterling, aka DJ Scott La Rock, mad respect to D-Nice and The Blastmaster KRS-ONE.. legends of hip hop.

Tags: BDP, BDP Demos, Boogie Down Productions, D-Nice, KRS-ONE, Scott La Rock

1993: The Artifacts • Demo Cuts

The Artifacts – Demo Cuts

As a little update to a months-old Tame One & El Da Sensei demo track I posted, here’s 3 more 1993 roughcuts and the original “Da wrong side of da tracks” demo. Tha ‘Facts get together with Brand Nubian on “Check Da Fine Print”.. So check these fine tracks from the original Brick City Bombers- The Artifacts.

Tags: Artifacts demo, Brand Nubian, El Da Sensei, Tame One, The Artifacts

Brand Nubian – The Now Rule Files • 1989-1997

Brand Nubian – The Now Rule Files • 1989-1997

This is a rare and up until recently unreleased collection of tracks from New York rap royalty Brand Nubian. These are demos and unreleased remixes spanning almost a decade, but some of it went for almost 20 years before leaking out. It’s more like an EP- Only 7 joints. But it’s the Nubians! Enjoy.

Tags: Brand Nubian, Unreleased Brand Nubian

1994/95: Method Man • Ghostface Killah – Freestyle

Method Man / Ghostface Killah – \”I got\’cha opin\” freestyle

Found this old freestyle on the ‘net today- This is Method Man and Ghostface Killah freestyling over a 12″ remix of Black Moon’s “I got’cha opin”, circa 1994 or 95. As far as I know this was the musical backdrop for the late Zoo York pro-skater Harold Hunter on one of their old Skate videos. This is two of Wu’s finest just going back and forth over classic Beatminerz production and having fun. I ripped this from a youtube video so if you like it you can hold onto it… enjoy, and don’t miss out on that Method Man/Ghostface/Raekwon album, due out in December.

Tags: unreleased wu-tang, unreleased wu-tang freestyle

1991-93 • Up from the slums of Shaolin: Wu-Tang Clan Demos & Roughcuts

1991-93 Pre-36 Chambers Demos and Roughcuts

No Bootlegs and B-Sides series would be respectable without a collection of NYC’s Game-Changing Megagroup Wu-Tang Clan.

Debatably the greatest rap group of all time, these are formative, very early 90′s demos, freestyles, talent show appearances and loosely improvised tracks that laid the foundation for Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers. Pretty fantastic to hear, if you already haven’t.. There’s tracks by Shaquan who would later change his name to Method Man, Ason Unique who of course went on to be known as Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and most of the Clan included in these 24 tracks from the time before and during the recording of 36 Chambers.

Sit your ass down, throw your Ws up- and listen to some Wu-History being made.

Tags: Wu-Tang Clan Demos

New Mixtape Up: DJ Mister Cee – The Best of Redman ’98

DJ Mister Cee – The Best of Redman

Legendary New York Mix DJ & Radio personality DJ Mister Cee sets it off with this 24-track mix of some of one of the greatest DJs turned-MC: Reggie Noble.  Cee spins some of Redman’s greater hits with the dudes who put him on, EPMD, and some of his more obscure collabos with Aaron Hall & Montell Jordan. This mix was put together almost 12 years ago, so Redman’s fantastic Blackout tag-teaming with Method Man wasn’t finished recording yet. Enjoy these cuts from Brick City’s finest- Reggie Noble… and our apologies for the truly low-budget cover.. but the tracks is mad nice!

Mobb Deep • Pre-Infamous Demos & Roughcuts

Mobb Deep • Pre-Infamous – Demos & Roughcuts

I hope you like these joints, there will be more in the future.

Tags: "Mobb Deep Demos"