Metal Lungies

ML has been sleeping on posting some stuff from The Knux while they’ve quietly been building up a pretty big buzz on the internets, well it’s about time we introduce you to this duo. These Interscope signed/Paul Rosenberg managed dudes definitely are bringing an original sound to the table.  I originally saw Weiss post the ex-x-x-xlusive, but Lee of Foundation reminded me that I had to put it up when he hit me up with a 192kbps version (read: a lil higher quality) + the instrumental.

Download (Mp3) (Updated 11/9): The Knux – Bang Bang

Download (Mp3 (Updated 11/9): The Knux – Bang Bang (Instrumental)

The Knux’s Myspace

This is a serious must-have.  Somebody raided Puff’s vault and got the original and alternate versions of all the tracks on Ready to Die. So many gems.

There’s the uncensored version of “Gimme the Loot” (all-time favorite song?) which contains the cringe-worthy line, “I wouldn’t give a fuck if you’re pregnant” without the little rewind over “pregnant”. Reminds me of the “Stack chips like Hebrews” line that got taken out of “It’s All about the Benjamins”. There’s the DJ Premier version of “Machine Gun Funk” which I don’t like quite as much as the album version. There’s the version of “Ready to Die” with the original beat, which I’d say is better than the album version (nerd note: this was previously on Mister Cee’s Best of Biggie Part 2 mixtape, another must-have). There’s “Me and My Bitch” with the original beat, which definitely pales in comparison to the sinister beat on the album version.

There’s the “The What” with Biggie’s original verses. According to legend (and by legend, I mean Easy Mo Bee on the Bigger Than Life DVD), Biggie thought Method Man outdid him on the track. On this version, Biggie’s first verse is different and when Meth comes on after him, his flow pretty much annihilates Biggie’s. It’s obvious that Biggie went back and redid the first verse to be on par with Meth. I’m thinking Biggie was referring to this version when he said Meth outdid him.  Method Man respectfully dodged the question when I asked him about it.

Other included tracks are the original version of “Whatchu Want,” which is far grimier than the Danja-produced version that appeared on the Duets album and the original version of “Come On” which is also a lot grimier than its counterpart on Born Again. Also there’s “Mac’s N Dons,” Biggie’s Pepsi freestyle and a radio cut of “Biggie Got that Hype Shit”.

I’m not one of those who thinks Puff Daddy ruined Ready to Die, but this is a hint of what it would’ve sounded like without him. Now I want the songs Biggie supposedly recorded with Fat Joe, if Joe’s comments on Juan Epstein are to be believed. Somebody get Puffy on the phone!

Download: The Notorious B.I.G. – Ready to Die (The O.G. Edition)

Bonus: The Notorious B.I.G. – Queen Bitch (reference track for Lil’ Kim)

The homie J-Berga hit up yet another event last weekend, the Rock Steady Crew Anniversary show. Here are the musings he had to share:

This was my third year going to the Rock Steady Crew Anniversary event and this year might have been the best so far.  This year was dedicated to the memory of the great Frosty Freeze who was one of the innovators when it came to breakdancing.  The event was held in Lincoln Park in the city of Newark, New Jersey and it is always a very family orientated event.  It was an all day event starting at 12 and I will recap what I saw once I got there at 5pm. 

Q-Unique and the Arsonists were on stage when I got there and I later found out that I missed out on Grand Master Caz, Termanology and Ice-T.  AG hit the stage for a short set as well as one member from the Lordz of the Underground.  Craig G came out with Marley Marl backing him up on the turntables.  At one point Marley Marl got so hyped by Craig G’s freestyles that he felt inspired to spit on the mic himself.  Then one of the great female MC’s came an ripped the stage, Bahamma D.  Her rhymes were venomous!  Then the Architects came reunited to do a performance and squashed whatever beef they had going between them.  Pumpkin Head and Mr. Metaphor from Brooklyn Academy did a short set and then the man who created arguably one of the greatest mixtapes ever in 50 MC’s, Tony Touch, came out and showed the crowd just why Djing is considered an artform.  After Tony’s set Crazy Legs, Fabel, and the rest of the Rock Steady Crew came out and did a very well choreographed performance that included about 15 people on stage.  I could tell that they put a lot of hard work into their performance.  After they performed Fat Joe came out and did a surprise performance, which got everyone real hyped.  For some reason he was the only artist people started throwing shit at but everything that was thrown missed him somehow haha.  By the time Fat Joe was done there was very little time left in the concert which meant Smif-N-Wessun, Beat Nuts, and Black Moon didn’t get to perform because time had to be saved for the headliner, KRS-One.   People were real hyped when he came out and as soon as the first song got started the speakers blew out!!!  He kicked some accapellas and got all of the artists that performed earlier to come on stage and engage in a large freestyle cipher.  Overall the show was tight and I would encourage all true hip-hop heads to check out this event next year and get involved in all Rock Steady Crew events.  Till next time ML.

J-Berga’s connect B-Rad (a lot of hyphens were in the building) took some dope pictures I threw up on the ML flickr feed.

Rapper Theo on the set for How We Rock, spots Skyzoo, Torae, and Panama.

First single off Theater of the Mind, it takes it back a few years using a Indian theme on the beat. 

Download (Mp3): Ludacris Ft. Chris Brown & Sean Garrett – What Them Girls Like.

via Bestofbothoffices

If your a fan please take advantage of this.  The Walkmen have released their new album on amiestreet.com for three weeks only.  Even if you’ve downloaded it already, check it out; its for a good cause.  

“All donations go to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in honor of Luca Vasallo, a friend to the band and a current patient who is seven months old and doing a great job fighting a very difficult disease. This is a very good organization that certainly deserves the attention.”

See Also: The Walkmen-You & Me Review,   The Walkmen-In The New Year

Be Easy/C.R.E.A.M

Sirens

Rebel Without A Pause

See Also: Public Enemy at Pitchfork 

Be sure check out Pitchfork.tv for all the performances.

ML’s favorite Ron Artest got traded to the Houston Rockets; At first things didn’t seem so smooth with Yao questioning Artest:

“Hopefully, he’s not fighting anymore and going after a guy in the stands,” Yao said, according to the Chronicle.

Is he ok with Ron working a second job at the Circuit City & his rapping though?? Anyway, this what Artest responded with:

“I understand what Yao said, but I’m still ghetto,” Artest said, according to the report. “That’s not going to change. I’m never going to change my culture. Yao has played with a lot of black players, but I don’t think he’s ever played with a black player that really represents his culture as much as I represent my culture. Once Yao Ming gets to know me, he’ll understand what I’m about.

Can you really be ghetto if you are a millionaire many times over? I would love to hear him break it down regarding that, if I ever get a chance to ask, I would (lord knows I’ve been trying to get a hold of dude for a few years now).

With things cooling down..

By Wednesday night, though, Artest was already downplaying the controversy in an appearance on a Sacramento radio show he frequents — KHTK-AM’s Carmichael Dave show — and describing himself as “a Yao Ming soldier.” Artest also tossed out the possibility of traveling to China to show support for Yao during the Olympics.

Yea..Somebody call ESPN or HBO, they HAVE to have one of those behind the secnes documentaries of the Rockets upcoming season.

To celebrate this feature making a fifth installment, I thought I’d base this month’s Fun Facts! around a theme. With rap beefs being the subliminal-laden wars-of-words that they are, I figured I’d be doing a service to solve some of the mysteries behind one of hip hop’s most legendary feuds…

Since Jay-Z and Nas have put their differences aside, there are plenty of questions that remain unanswered as to certain lyrics spit in “Takeover” and “Ether”, their respective diss records. So, each of the 10 facts below will revolve around a lyric — 5 from “Takeover”, 5 from “Ether” — and provide a context of what these New York legends really meant, and make clarifications as necessary.

(The same Fun Facts! rules as always apply — in other words, everything beyond #3 is utter bullshit. Enjoy!)

1. Jay: “I showed you your first tec on tour with Large Professor…” — Jay and Nas were doing a show together at some small New York venue early in their respective careers, back when Jay was running with Jaz, and Nas (then primarily known for his “Live At The BBQ” verse) was running with Extra P. The crowd was apparently getting rowdy, so Jay came out on stage with a burner to quiet things down.

2. Nas: “Smilin’ in my face, love to break bread with the God…” — Nas was supposed to be in Jay’s video for “Dead Presidents” in the “playing Monopoly with real money” closing scene, along with AZ and Notorious B.I.G., but apparently no-showed. Check the video at 3:22 –- that empty seat across the table from Jay was meant for Nas.

3. Jay: “And you ain’t get a coin, n***a, you was getting fucked then/ I know who I paid, god, Serchlite Publishing…” — Contrary to what Jay may have thought, former 3rd Bass frontman and current sell-out MC Serch, the namesake of Serchlite Publishing, has claimed that Nas was compensated for every time that a sample of his voice was cleared (including the few samples used by Jay).

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