ST. NICK ENTERTAINMENT INC.

Well, there's countless unheard names in the game of hip hop – for example close friends of famous artists, managers acting behind the scenes, dancers of groups from the late 80's/early 90's, founders of small independent record labels or people who helped unknown talented and hungry MC's to launch their careers, while they remained staying in the shadow of these artists theirselves. Despite the fact having a strangely different "task" in the hip hop game, all these people had a common goal to achieve: To live their life for and by the music they love. Let me introduce a man who ain't known by many though he as been involved in the hip hop game for a long period of time. He was down with the whole Mount Vernon, NY posse (I'm sure you know who I mean) in the early 90's before he founded his own independent record label and management company "St. Nick Entertainment Inc." (so all those people who ever thought that the Rob-O vinyl releases were bootlegs get schooled right now!), he's a very close friend of INI's Rob-O, he was responsible for the Pete Rock & CL Smooth reunion 12" "Shine On Me" and he's now working as CL Smooth's manager. The man I'm talking about? Nick Taylor (see photo). Here's a short report about this Mt. Vernon, NY veteran.

Nick Taylor is 39 years young and was born and raised in Harlem, NYC. He moved to Mount Vernon, NY as a teenager and put his roots down there. He was fortunate enough to meet and grow up with a great group of close friends, one of them being Heavy D. They were and are still great friends and all his friends enjoyed his successes as he shared his world with them. Heavy D is mostly responsible for Nick's pursuit in music. Being a part of that world Nick had the opportunity to learn about the music biz at the highest level. Now with the knowledge and experiences that he attained during this period, he found himself very interested in the welfare of artists and their pursuit of a career in music. Upon the birth of his first daughter he decided that this was the career he wanted and started the management company "St. Nick Entertainment Inc." - inspired by his birth place in Harlem, 119 St. Nicholas Ave.

Pete Rock was also one of those great friends that he grew up with in Mount Vernon. Pete was also one of Heavy D's close friends as well (and his cousin), so once he took off it opened up a bunch of opportunities for a lot of local rappers. And one of them was Rob-O and his group INI. Things didn't work out for Rob-O (and INI) and Pete (this is a story for itself), though they had some success with their Elektra released "Fakin' Jax" single. This success helped to establish Rob-O on the hip hop market because now he had lots of people checking for him. Rob wanted to pursuit his own solo career and asked for Nick's help to which he ecstatically agreed. Nick and Rob-O started by the normal procedures. Without getting the expected responses from several record labels, they decided it would be better to establish some independence from the acceptance of these fools and go at it theirselves! Nick obtained a distribution deal with a small great company outta Long Island called UNIQUE DISTRIBUTION (STRONG SHOUT OUT to APOLLO R.I.P) and they helped them by giving them a chance to make, market and distribute their own material. But this was in the mid 90's and wax began to fade, so sales suffered and that was the reason why Nick is still sitting on a few boxes of Rob-O's vinyl-only album "Superspectacular", which is a collection of all the previous Rob-O 12-inches plus a few bonus cuts. They were very limited as far as funding for the project goes but "...we are still proud of the work because that's HIP HOP 101...", Nick mentioned. "Rob-O is my man till this day and I love and respect that cat for believing in me as the person to try and help him make his dream come true!"
Nick is now - and has been for his solo career - the manager for the legend CL Smooth (see photo). "You can check for him and all of his works and that's all me!", Nick notes. He also has a sensational R&B artist from Atlanta, GA named Ray Rush. This guy recently released a new itunes song titled "I Can't Let Her Go". Check it out!
Nick's still in contact with Rob-O. "I have an office around the corner from his (Rob-O) home so we bump into each other from time to time. I just seen his son in front of the building!".

Asking Nick about the relationship between Pete Rock and him, he details: "But as for me and Pete: Nah we aren't friends any more but that's between us, and the "Shine On Me" record came about because I managed to pursuade Pete and CL to get back together in 2000. And after years of come back tales the DJ and hip hop community needed something concrete to go on, so I swung a deal with Fatbeats to press up vinyl copies, so that I could service the DJ's with something new from them".

St. Nick Entertainment Inc. discography:

STN12010 Rob-O Superspectacular (LP, Album)
STN12001 Rob-O World Premier (12")
STN12002 Rob-O Gotta Let You Know (12")
STN12003 Rob-O Don't You Love It (12")
STN12004 Rob-O Wunderlust (12")
STN12005 Rob-O So Many Rappers (12")
STN12007 Rob-O Holy War (12")
STN12008 Rob-O Science The Gods (12")
STN 0001 Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth Shine On Me / Climax (12")


If you still need a copy of the classic Rob-O "Superspectacular" LP or one of his 12-inches, please contact me at abrotherwithsoul at arcor dot de and I will get that wax for you for a reasonable price directly from the man of this little story, Nick Taylor.
Have a listen to the snippets of the "Superspectacular" LP here:


Please also check out Rob-O's best of CD titled "Rhyme Pro" (Sound Of Dissent Records) and the "Mention Me / Rhyme Tighter" 12" (Sound Of Dissent Records) and CL Smooth's solo albums "American Me" (Shaman Work) and "The Outsider" (Blackheart). All releases are worth checking out! And if you still don't own a copy of the amazing "Superspectacular" LP (many tracks produced by Pete Rock), you know who you need to contact!




Peace,
Benny aka ABWS & Nick Taylor

KOMBINED QUEENS MINDS

Party people, I’m back again with some great news straight out of the Poor Pocket Muzik camp. PPM is ready to release an amazing vinyl album featuring Nut-Rageous, Koron, Semi-Auto, Lucky Dice & Crooked 5. All MC's on this album hail from Queens, New York. While Koron (see photo) and Semi-Auto already could be heard on some of the dope Nut-Rageous releases, Lucky Dice and Crooked 5 are quite unknown and hungry MC’s showing their mic skills.

“Kombined Mindz Entertainment presents… The Collection” was officially released as a 12 track strong CD-only album in 2002, so Carlos aka Cee Da Cuban decided to re-release the dopest cuts of the CD as a limited vinyl edition. You can listen to the whole CD here, but only six tracks off this album will make it on the new vinyl. Carlos will also take two Nut-Rageous tracks off his classic “Raw Nuts” CD and one track of the “Fuck Dat! I Don’t Need A Record Deal” CD (hosted by the legendary Kool DJ Red Alert) to complete the album. "1979", "Somebody Likes Me" and "Here Today Gone 2Moro” are the chosen titels, so we finally have a few more cuts of this very talented Queens cat on wax.

The whole production on this LP is provided by the NowWhat? production team made up of Ron Mills & Cee da Cuban.
PPM will only press 200 copies of this album and all copies will be hand numbered from 1 to 200. The price will be $25 including worldwide shipping.
For more info contact Carlos at carloscuban@tmail.com or to pre-order this strictly limited and not to be repressed LP send $25 to the paypal account poorpocketproductions@yahoo.com

Here’s the track listing:

1. "Everybody Knows" feat. Semi-Auto, Koron & Nut-Rageous
2. "Don't U Remember" feat. Crooked 5
3. "PFL" feat. Semi-Auto & Koron
4. "Anotha Morning" feat. Semi-Auto
5. "Killa Queens" feat. Crooked 5 & Lucky Dice
6. "Puttin’ In Work" feat. Koron
7. "Here Today Gone 2Moro" feat. Nut-Rageous
8. "Somebody Loves Me" feat. Nut-Rageous
9. "1979" feat. Nut-Rageous

Nut-Rageous "1979"


By the way, if you still slept on Nut-Rageous and his quality releases, go and cop his stuff! Believe me, you won’t regret it. This man got skills for sure. By now Nut-Rageous released two 12”s, two EP’s, the "Paint Tha Town Red" CD and a kinda “best of” CD (including some unreleased joints as well), all on the Poor Pocket Muzik label.
Before the “Kombined Mindz Entertainment presents… The Collection” LP will tease your eardrums, there's already another dope Nut-Rageous record ready to hit the streets in late November: The “Wat’s Poppin’ (mixed by DJ Premier) / Nuts & Screws” 12”. This limited 12” will also feature KL (R.I.P.), Kyron and Blaq Poet of the infamous Queens group Screwball and is produced by Cuban & Ron Mills and 12 Finger Dan. To pre-order this soon to be classic 12”, get in contact with Carlos. Pre-orders already started and this single has almost sold out, so hurry up and get your orders in…



Peace
Benny aka ABWS

'93 FLAVOR FOR YOUR EARS

Well, it's been a while since my last post, but I was mad busy during the last few weeks. But I've already started working on some future posts which will include a Boostin' Kev review, a Wild Style movie report and a huge Freestyle Professors review containing an exclusive interview with the FPs to please you record fiends. So stay tuned and check back regularly!

Let's put the focus on today's post: A review of three very dope and hard to find records from '93. The so called "random rap era" from 87-92 definitely brought us some of the illest, rarest and best records of the entire hip hop catalogue, but the year right after '92 has to offer many jewels as well. Check out yourself and feel the '93 flavor...

Legion of Doom "Puttin My Thang Down" (Distinctive Records 1993)
Philly brought us some great rap records from day one. I've always been a fan of that Philly stuff – whether it's old school, random or indie records – Philly left his mark in the land of hip hop with tons of good artists and dope releases – Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince, DJ Miz, Steady B, Cool C, Three Times Dope, Another 1-4-U-2-N-V, Phill Most Chill, Tuff Crew, Schoolly D, just to name a few. Get a taste of that Philly flavor on the amazing mix CD "The Wreckshop Philly Golden Era Vol. 1" by Aroe & The Soundmakers.
Let me tell you about a group that wasn't featured on the above-mentioned CD. There were a few different crews from different regions that went by the name of "Legion of Doom" in the 90's, and Philly had its own Legion of Doom too. That Philly Legion of Doom already released the very dope "Gangster Boogie / Here I Come / Live Bait" 12" in 1989 or 1990 on Bill Collectors, which is a tough one to find. I've first heard about this group in 2003, and from then on I've started the mission to find out more about this group and their releases. Well, what I can tell you so far is that Philly's Legion of Doom released two 12" singles – the "Gangster Boogie" and the "Puttin My Thang Down" 12" – plus a cassette only album with the title "2 Hard 4 The Radio" (Distinctive Records 1993). I've also heard some LOD tunes on a mixtape cassette that weren't on any of their three mentioned releases... So where do these tunes come from? On which medium where they released? Until now, I still couldn't get any further infos and it seems that my mission ain't accomplished yet.
Phill Most Chill did a great review job on Legion of Doom's "Live Bait" – an amazing track taken from their first 12" – on his blogsite "That Real Schitt", so let me continue Phill The Soulman's work and give you some infos about this group's second, dope as hell 12" with the title "Puttin My Thang Down / No More Music". The label already reveals what this 12" is all about: "Too Hard for the Radio!". While the a-side is packed with a funky and sample based beat, the b-side delivers some ruff rhymes with the chorus "I guarantee you no more music by the suckers". So you know the deal.
The Legion of Doom consisted of two members: Live and Charlie Bass. Production is handled by both, but you can only hear Live spitting lyrics. The statement "Too Hard for the Radio" was also taken as the title for their tape only album that followed later in '93.
It took me some time to find this 12" in great condition for a reasonable price. Due to its rareness and quality this is a much sought after piece of wax amongst collectors and always fetches very high prices on auction sites.
Listen to the soundclips below and you know why I simply love this record! Philly at its best!




Pryme Tyme "Brother Wit' Soul" (B.O.M.B. Records 1993)
I don't know much about this Brooklyn group. Pryme Tyme was a duo, consisting of Micah D. Robbins and Raymond Ortiz (sorry, but I couldn't figure out their pseudonyms) and it seems that this is the only record they've put out. If anyone knows about any other release by this duo, please give me a shout.
A very good friend of mine played me this 12" over the phone, and I was like WOW - I need to get this record! Fortunately he had a spare and I didn't hesitate to spend some hard earned loot on this monster!
There are two tracks on this 12", both with vocal and instrumental version: "Brother Wit' Soul" and "P.H.D. (Pot Heads Degree)". Both are top-notch tunes with tight production and good lyrics.
Please note: What most people don't know is that there exist two different pressings of this 12". Not track-wise, but label-look-wise. My copy has a black label with golden letters, but there are also copies around with a vice versa looking label. If you're lucky enough, you'll find a copy that still has the fresh graffiti-style sticker on the shrink. This seldom spotted record got very popular amongst collectors and DJ's since both tracks made it on the nice DJ Sunao & DJ Komuro "Cross Collector" mixtape a couple of years ago. Japanese collectors went on a hunt for this record...
Whenever I saw this 12" on ebay, it always went for big bucks, so expect to pay about $150 for this little treasure.




Gunrunners "Gunrunners" (Shakedown Records 1993)
The Bronx. Ruff. Rugged. Raw. These four words simply describe this highly collectable record. Just like some other famous Bronx indie groups like Da Henchmen or DNA, the Gunrunners stand for that ultimate raw Bronx flavor. They only released two records – the "Gunrunners / Consequences" 12" and the 6-track "Life And Death" EP (Shakedown Records 1995). Both records are very rare and always in demand. And of course they are very expensive as well. What might be interesting to know: Lord Tariq, well known member of the Bronx based Money Boss Players, was part of this group too.
Both tunes – "Gunrunners" and "Consequences" – were produced by EP Dog and feature a whole bunch of hungry and rugged rhyming MC's with each of them spitting a dope verse - including Lord Tariq. Even a female MC who goes by the name of "Destruction" delivers some verbal heat.
If you love that raw Bronx sound, you need to get your hands on a copy of this underground classic.





Benny aka ABWS

NUT-RAGEOUS, KL, BLAQ POET & DJ PREMIER - WAT'S POPPIN'?

I've already mentioned in my previous Nut-Rageous post (see below) that DJ Premier plans to remix the Nut-Rageous tune "Wat's Poppin'". After some conversations with Carlos aka Cuban of Poor Pocket Muzik, it's time to bring you some interesting news directly out of the Poor Pocket Muzik camp regarding that remix project.
After playing "Wat’s Poppin'" on his Sirius Satellite Radio show "Live From The Headquarterz", DJ Premier was asked to remix that dope mellow tune, originally produced by Ron Mills... He first wanted to do so, but due to the fact that Premo loves the original version of "Wat's Poppin'" so much, he won't remix it. Disappointed? There's no need to be, because Premo will mix the tune and he can also be heard on the intro of the record. The original version (but without the Premo intro) featuring the late great KL of Screwball / Kamakazee (see photo) can already be heard on the critically acclaimed Nut-Rageous "Raw Nuts" CD.


I think all of us have noticed the sad news that Queensbridge legend Kenneth Lewis aka KL passed away after an asthma attack a couple of months ago. So this "Wat's Poppin'" project is really something special...
"Wat's Poppin'" is only available on CD format right now, so Carlos decided to release it as a limited and signed to 200 copies 12" single on red vinyl to please vinyl fiends worldwide. Besides the original version of "Wat's Poppin'" you will find a "new" version of this amazing tune on this 12" as well. While the beat of the "new" version will stay the same as the original, it's the additional verse by Queensbridge veteran MC (Blaq) Poet of PHD and Screwball fame that adds some extra heat to the already dope original. This new version will be mixed and recorded by DJ Premier.
Btw, when I was writing this post I was listening to PHD's album "Without Warning"(released on Tuff City in '91). "I'm Flippin'" is such a classic tune!

But not enough, The Mighty V.I.C. (Victor Padilla) – member of the Ghetto Pros. and the Groove Merchantz and producer of countless rap classics for The Beatnuts, Al' Tariq, Nas, Big Pun, Missin' Linx, Powerule, Fat Joe, Big L, Rakim, Kool G Rap, Kurious etc. – will produce a remix of "Wat's Poppin'" as a bonus track which can also be found on this 12". On this remix you'll find all three rappers trading verses as well, so you can call V.I.C.'s remix, a remix of the new version. Here's the tracklist of the "Wat's Poppin'" 12":

Side A
A1 Dirty Original "Wat's Poppin'" feat. KL of Screwball mixed By DJ Premier
A2 Clean Version
A3 Instrumental
A4 Acapella

Side B
B1 Dirty "Wat's Poppin'" (new version) feat. Blaq Poet & KL mixed & recorded by DJ Premier
B2 Clean Version
B3 Instrumental
B4 Acapella
B5 Dirty "Wat's Poppin'" The Mighty V.I.C. Remix feat. Blaq Poet & KL


As I've already told you above this 12" will be pressed on red vinyl, limited to only 200 copies. It will come in a full color picture cover (see frontside above, back will be a surprise) as well and each copy will be signed by Nut-Rageous. Expected release date is August. The price for this 12" is $30 incl. worldwide shipping.
Carlos is already taking preorders for this 12", so be quick and get your copy reserved now! This record is a collector's item for sure, so I believe devoutly that this 12" will be sold out even before it's pressed up! To preorder just contact Carlos at carloscuban@tmail.com

I also have some news for you regarding Nut-Rageous' sought after underground hit single "Best In This Profession". This record was pressed in a first run of 500 copies and has already sold out (just like the dope "Ghetto Jam" 12"). Due to the high demand of this 12" Carlos decided to press up another 200 copies which he expects to receive from the pressing plant next week. So if you slept on this hot underground record, it's your chance to get your hands on a copy now. The price for this 12" is only $15 incl. worldwide shipping.
Please take a listen to the new "Best In This Profession" remix by Jay Large that ain't featured on any release yet.



For more infos about Nut-Rageous and/or his releases, don't hesitate to drop Carlos a mail or visit the Nut-Rageous / Poor Pocket Muzik myspace site.


KL R.I.P.


Benny aka ABWS

BORN IN THE BRONX

The book "Born in the Bronx: A Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip-Hop" captured me straight away after flipping it open! This timeless book, released in October 2007, takes you back to the time and place where one of the most powerful youth sub-cultures ever was born – hip hop, an expressive mouthpiece and product of The Bronx and it’s people.

"Born in the Bronx" was edited by Johan Kugelberg and features an amazing catalogue of photos shot by hip hop's first and Cold Crush Brothers' exclusive photographer Joe Conzo (see picture) in the late 70's and early 80's. You get impressed by many great photos of hip hop icons like Jazzy Jay, Grandmaster Flash, Kool Herc, Cold Crush Brothers, Kool DJ AJ or Busy Bee, but you can see some snapshots of people in the Bronx or b-boys in a battle as well. This book also shows you the improvisational artwork of party flyer-designer king Buddy Esquire and label scans of rap records from the early 80's in the essay "The Humble Beginnings of Hip Hop on Wax". Starting with a foreword by Zulu Nation founder and hip hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa, this book also introduces some old school heroes like Grandmaster Caz, Grandwizzard Theodore or LA Sunshine and contains a nice hip hop timeline by Jeff Chang, author of the critically acclaimed book "Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation".

My advice: Buy this fascinating book and witness the early days of hip hop – a time when hip hop was a non-violent, revolutionary and explosive movement until it got perverted by the music industry. You won't regret it for sure.

In addition to this book you should defenitely look for the 2006 released special edition vinyl of the original unedited battle between the Cold Crush Four and the Fantastic Romantic Five. This battle took place in 1981 at Harlem World and is considered as the greatest old school hip hop battle of all time.
The "Cold Crush Brothers vs. The Fantastic Romantic Five" 12" was part of a limited to 250 hand numbered edition book-picture-record promo set that contains a book of Buddy Esquire flyers, a book of photos from Joe Conzo, the hand numbered battle record, a signed and numbered Joe Conzo photo and a signed and numbered Buddy Esquire flyer. This set already fetched prices of $200+ on ebay. I don't own a copy of this set myself (yet), so many thanks goes out to my man Kid Dynomite for helping out with some fresh photos and a soundclip of the battle.





Keep your eyes open for this amazing promo set on auction sites... And whenever you spot a copy don't hesitate to click on "buy it now" or throw a high bid in - regardless of which price, this set is worth your hard earned money!


Benny aka ABWS