Thoughts
Well winter has blasted the prairies and is finally here in full forces. It has been cold this week with windchills in the -40’s and we got a lot of snow which seems wild to me since it is so cold. The weather is wild these days so I guess it makes sense in some new weather way. The cold doesn’t really get me down, I just feel for my dogs who can’t go for walks in this weather. That is my least favourite part of cold snaps. I Love walking my dogs every day with my partner. It is my most favourite part of the day! Picture of me after shovelling/moving snow after work today. All iced up!
Rap has been pretty quiet to start the year which is always the case and honestly a much needed break for the old pocket book. It is also a time when preorders and records that were delayed over the holidays due to mail volume start to trickle in. Records in the mail is always a nice relief from the sub-artic temperatures. I have done a lot of shovelling and moving of snow the past couple days. I really enjoy shovelling snow as it is a really satisfying experiences and one that brings almost instant gratification. Being out in the cold tires you out and I have been pretty tired this week as I have had some pretty long busy days.
I hope everyone is staying warm and safe through this cold snap through the Prairies and cuddling up top some great records to stay warm!
Missed Third Verse last night? Well, are you ever in luck as UGSMAG once again has you covered!! Catch Third Verse on CFCR 90.5 fm in Saskatoon, SK every Wednesday 9-10:30pm CST. Stream online via CFCR.ca or Radio Garden.
As always the last 10 episodes of my other weekly radio show You Know Know the Rules on UMFM in Winnipeg airing every Sunday night 10:00pm -11pm CST. Episodes available NOW!
Record One
the Smile Rays - party… place.
I didn’t jump on this one right away when it dropped. I was not familiar with it but I was immediately intrigued because Paten Locke (RIP) was in this group along with Lady Daisy and super producer Batsauce. I think I had bought a couple other things the day this dropped, but I added it to an order recently and I am really happy I did. This was originally released on CD only in Japan in 2007. This is the first North American and first vinyl pressing of the record. It is very Ugly Duckling, Lexicon, Jurassic 5 in nature as it is light hearted and fun. It is just straight ahead party rap that you can throw on to vibe out to and feel good. There is a surprise George Clinton feature that is pretty dope and wild. If you are looking for some fun rap music this album is for you. It even cam with some the Smile Rays branded sunglasses. Coloured vinyl that kinda in a weird way makes sense on this one. Black would have been classic but this is okay just this once. It sis blue and orange and it kind of looks like a cut of cross section of an orange or grapefruit in some weird way. My jam is Sundial.
Record Two
DJ Unknown - Prisoners of Gravity
I had never heard of DJ Unkown until I saw Urbnet announce this album. I guess he is aptly named. My understanding it is his debut record and he is pushing 40 and that resonated with me. I think it is dope that people do stuff like that as they age. I checked out the track listing and I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of familiar names of MC’s that I like and that the majority were Canadian. Aquakulture, Wordburglar, More Or Les, Mindbender Noah 23 and Phoenix Pagliacci to name some of them. It is a super dope record front to back and I am super happy that I grabbed one when I did as the vinyl appears to be sold out. It is pressed on Standard Chaps Black Vinyl so it will age well. My jam is the Wordburglar track Syntax Error which is not your typical Wordburglar track.
Classic Material
After Life Records - spilt 12” series
Easty Boys - Can of Man & Don’t Want to Hear it b/w Hip Hop Kclan - Kclantastik & Flowlife
Legion - Babylon Beware & Beautiful African Queen b/w Bus Driver Walking Dead & Fuc A Battle
Cypher 7 - God Complex & God Bangin b/w Of Mexican Decent - Mosh to da sun & Despues De La Vida
These three 12” were underground holy grails when they dropped. Anything Afterlife Records was an instant cop. There was no bullshit with these records just pure, sure fire skill on the mic. They were the the window into one of the greatest rap scenes and movements in the history of hip hop. They are raw in every sense of the word. The now vintage Triton sounds and drums on these records instantly transports you back to this era.
When Factor had his shop Kno Static he had a link and brought in all the Afterlife Records/ Curbserver stuff he could get his hands on. We were so lucky in this era to have that luxury to be able to grab those things locally. I got 2 of them there there and the third one, the Busdriver Walking dead one, I got from Busdriver for DJing for him at the infamous Airliner Hall Show him and Busdriver played where the light rack fell on my head. That one has a little more meaning as we used it for the show that night and the crowd lost their minds when he performed it as that was such a hit in Saskatoon in that era. I had Xololanxinxo sign the OMD one at the Creative Differences Tour stop in Missoula Montana.
As a collector I loves series of anything really and that is one of the reasons I really like these records in addition to the incredible music. It is fun to put these on and instantly transport to a different era of rap and get lost in a flood of memories from days gone past. I guess that is the real power of music to move you and transport you!
Closing Ramblings
As always, thank you for reading and for the feedback!
**legal disclaimer all records and songs were run through the RAP NEST 5000 SUPER ANALYTIC COMPTROLLER MACHINE that is certified by the I.A.A.R.R.A (International Association of Analytical Rap Recordings Analysis) in layman’s terms, it means the machine is never wrong.
Catch you next week with more thoughts from the rap nest.
Peace
-chaps