Thoughts
Pretty big day for all of us at Saskatoon Rap Rap Music collective tomorrow as we drop the fist crew project which is the first volume in a beat tape series. It features 20 minute continuous beat compositions from Rove, The Gumeshoe Strut, Noblonski and sign one. When the collective came together it was obvious that we had a bunch of insanely talented producers and I came up with the idea to create a beat tape series comprised of production from homies in the collective. Tomorrow, for Bandcamp Friday we are dropping the first volume! It is a double cassette release in a really cool dvd style case. I want to shout out and thank all the producers for their incredible contributions. I think people will really enjoy these tapes, sign one for mastering the the sides and making them all sound great, Rove for putting the covers together and printing them, The Gumeshoe Strut for the designing and printing the really dope tape labels, Noblonksi and Id Obelus for some really important behind the scenes help and support and for helping with the release of these tapes.
We will have these tapes for sale in two location on Bandcamp. If you are ordering from Europe cop them from the homie Noblonski at the Pen Thief Records Bandcamp page. This version has a different case and coloured tapes. They look really fresh! If you are in the US or Canada cop them from the Saskatoon Rap Rap Music Bandcamp page. There is a special discount code for readers of this newsletter, use code “tftrn” to save 10%. Volume Two is almost done as well and will feature production from Parab Poet, Grainbin, Dren and Pasquale.
The homie Nestor Wynrush could really use your help. He has started a GOFUNDME to raise some funds for a mobility aid, and funds for expenses related to his work in hip hop education and the Live Mixtape project. He is one of the most passionate supportive people that I have ever met. he has done so much to champion the youth though music over the years. Selfishly, I wish he would stop giving so much of his time to helping others live their dreams and makes some music of his own. However, that just goes to show you the character he has and why you should support him if you are able to. I believe in his vision and I can’t think of someone more deserving of your support that will put it back into the community with his heart and soul ten fold.
Goals for the fundraising:
1. Investment in a motorized wheelchair or scooter to improve my mobility when dealing with weather, terrain, distance, carrying things and fatigue. This will improve my ability to be working in schools, community spaces, art institutions and improve my overall quality of life with my family and friends. I am a bilateral above knee amputee that uses a very basic manual wheelchair that is ineffective for slightly challenging terrains and longer use. $1.5K - 8k
2. Buying time ( aka living expenses and meds) for more research, planning, creativity, applying for grants, meetings, putting together a team and seeking proper financial partners. This is the admin work side of things. I'm also in the process of finishing a book. It's Neurodivergent-Amputee sci-fi with short stories, poetry and Winnipeg as its reluctant star. I have a few lists of current Canadian publishers that I'll start submitting to in the next 3 - 6 months . I'm excited to learning the submission process then spread the knowledge to other emerging writers. This news may only be relevant to those close to me.
3. Purchasing equipment to make sure that Trinnipeg is as self sufficient as possible. For example; 4x DJ Midi Controllers (weight matters) for DJing workshops, 2x Bluetooth speakers (weight matters), bags for carrying equipment, headphones, and audio interfaces (for recording). These things can be accumulated over time and with the help of specific funding partners in the future. That's the main reason why this is number 3. $1.5k - 10k+
4. Mixing Engineer for any future live recordings of Live Mixtape performances.
Thank you to everyone reading this that donated to Third Verse and CFCR’s FM-Phasis. I am blown away each year by how many of you donate each and every year. It means the world to me. The on air portion of the fundraising campaign is over but we are still and always collecting funds if you would still like to DONATE.
New Park Like Setting album titled This, That and the Third drops tomorrow one jewel case CD! I am really excited for this one and I didn’t think we would ever get another Park Like Setting album.
Park-Like Setting are back! After a nearly 20 year hiatus, bigmcenroe (AKA mcenroe), Bazooka Joe 204 (FKA John Smith), and Yy have reunited for new album “This, That, and the Third”. The trio of MCs bubble and bounce over bigmcenroe’s booming, bassy beats, composing hit lists and love letters at the end of the world. Park-Like Setting’s “This, That, And the Third” is 12 tracks of real deal rap from three indie vets with nothing to lose and a lot left to say.
Missed Third Verse last night? Well so did I, sorry no new episode this week. We will be back live but no recorded episodes fro the next couple of weeks. 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
Classified - Boycott-in The Industry
This was originally released in 2005 on CD. This was recently issued to double LP for the first time ever this year. Classified during the last few years has been self releasing albums from his back catalogue on double vinyl. I really appreciate the fact that he is not burying his back catalogue like a lot of mc’s seem to do but rather breathing new life into them. I will admit, I fronted on a lot of Classified releases over the years, especially the more mainstream poppy stuff he made for a minute there. However, I have a lot of respect for his Independent grind of self releasing these on his own website and webstore, signing them all and If you told me he mailed them out himself I would believe that. He has always been super driven in that DIY ethos. This is one of my favourite releases of his back catalogue. It has a lot of great tracks and my jam is 5th element. Also it is pressed on what the homie, Ugsmag illustrator and avid TFTRN reader, Allan Lorde has now coined “Standard Chaps Black” vinyl. Thanks homie, I love it!
Record Two
Buck 65- Super Dope
The reemergence of Buck 65 over the past two years has been awesome. It is nice to see he is finally just making the music he wants to make and being himself. He talks a lot about this his Vertices Substack so if you have not subscribed do so right now. Super Dope is the perfect companion piece to King Of Drums. It follows the same drum break heavy formula. I am still getting into this one and I am loving it so far. Every listen I pick up on things, and I love that he references and name drops a bunch of baseball players. My jam instep title track Super Dope so far but I am sure it will change with more listens. It has some titles which is a nice bonus and to make it certified super dope is pressed on “Standard Chaps Black” vinyl.
Classic Material
Orgasmo - All F’kd Up / A Cavalcade of Thugs
This record is something I never knew existed until the homie Rove hipped me to it. If I saw it in the record store I wouldn’t even pick it up, let alone consider buying it. Rove first put me on to it when he was kicking it with Existereo one time in Los Angelas at Stereo’s spot. He broke out the record and showed it to Rove and said it was the first Shapeshifter stuff on record. He said if he passed, then Rove could have the recordd and he wrote that on the inside sleeve of the record in a sense willing it to to Rove. He laster decided that he wanted Rove to have it and enjoy it while he was still here and he gave it to him to take home with him.
I remember the first time Rove showed me this record. It is super bizarre. The Orgasmo A.F.U side of the record is pressed at 45rpm and the flip side, A Cavalcade of Thugs side is pressed at 33rpm. I have never seen a record pressed at different speeds on the same record. Also someone may have just written that in the Orgasmo side because it sounds fine at 33rpm but maybe they want it to sound messed up, again this record is all types of mystery, confusion and speculation. It was released in 1994 and unfortunately is on coloured vinyl which was probably really cool at time and not super played out like it is today. The fact that it is pressed on a blood red record with hints of black in it adds to the bizarro nature of it. It is officially listed as purple but maybe they are all different shades.
I once saw online that there was an insert for the record but mine does not have one and either does Rove’s. Speaking of my copy, I have never seen this record nor did Rove or I even know what to search for because there so little information on the record itself. I am super fortunate that Rove one time found me a copy of this record at I believe Ameoba because I really thought I would never own a copy. If you are reading this there are a few relatively cheap copies of this record on Discogs right now if you are intrigued by my vague speculative writings on this record.
The track Ass Toast Nation from my understanding is the first Hawd Gangstuh Rappuh Mc’s Wid Ghatz song that was released on vinyl. It features the lewd, ridiculous and offensive raps that you would expect from them. Sex raps from Hawd Gangstuh Rappuh Mc’s Wid Ghatz are definitely not for everyone. I don’t even thinkn they are for me. But I do like the ridiculousness of this track.
Shapeshifters is the third track on this side. I believe it features some of the OG Shifters with cuts from DJ Rob One (RIP) who also gives a shout out to SK8 (RIP) at the end of the track, and raps from three Mc’s which I think are Perk One, Meck (Gary Gnu), and Relm. I am only positive that Perk One is the last Mc on the track. On a side note I used to chat with Perk a lot in the Myspace era online. Perk gave me a shout out inside the Ex Vandalz - Docile Takeover vol.1 Graffitti Bridge CD. That was a really nice surprise when I saw that and really meant and still means a lot to me to be recognized by such a OG legend like Perk One. It is crazy how much little things like that mean to me. I have probabaly been shouted out or thanked in a hundred plus albums in my life and it actually never gets old and something I really take to heart and take pride in. Those kind of things mean the most to me.
Sevrock is another one of the rap songs on the record that features raps from LA Graff legend Sev. I wish I knew who did the cuts and produced the beat on this one. My guess and it is purely a guess is, that DJ Rob One made the beat and did the cuts because I swear I hear him talking towards the end of the track and it would make some sort of sense. It also might just be Sev talking and I could be wrong.
I am sorry from all the vagueness and speculation about this release. I love that part of it. I love the mystery that surrounds this record. So many questions and so few answers. I really don’t want the answers to be honest. The mystery for me is what makes this record all that more special to me.
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