This book right here, "Arrest-Proof Yourself" may seem lame to some based off the title alone, but ya know what they say y`all....I`ve got to say that after giving this a read it should be must read for everyone living in America if you value your freedom at all! Honestly, I`m not kidding even the everyday law-abiding citizens should open their eyes & peep this. If you want to protect your FREEDOM do yourself a favor & read it. Some of what`s covered may seem like common sense to a select few, but that`s not the case for everyone. Trust me y`all you get schooled on some of the tactics the police officers use in order to meet their monthly quotas, dirty cops, probable cause, search & seizure laws, racial profiling, your right to remain silent & so much more....like how to limit your interaction with `em which is very key! The main author, Dale C. Carson can back up his words because he`s a former F.B.I. field agent (15 years served) &
instructor at the FBI academy. He`s also a former Miami police officer who served 8 years setting
Florida records for felony arrests. Nowadays he`s working as a criminal defense
attorney, well at the time that he put out this book anyway. I definitely recommend this read...
This post right here was inspired by some good ol` YouTube surfin` that I did a few weeks ago. I was searching for some 2Pac related stuff & came across this video with this one kat talking about having in his possession some 2Pac masters, so naturally it sparked my interest (it starts at about the 3 minute mark in the clip below)...
Up until seeing that clip I had never seen or heard about this Caz kat, but y`all know how YouTube works...showing you related videos to the one you`ve just watched, so eventually it showed some other ones that included Caz. Eventually after watching a few others I had this conflicting view on things because on one side the dude`s talking about; being a banger, a dope dealer, how he did some time, having a mother who was a prostitute, growing up rough, etc.
Then on the other side there`s this;
So needless to say I`m not going to spend a lot of time typing out about this kat, he`s entertaining I`ll say that much, besides I`m feeling a lil` on the lazy side today so you can just chalk it up to that. Peep the videos & you`ll see for ya`self what I mean by saying that he`s entertaining. Anyway, a few weeks after watching those interviews & stuff about Caz I went to this garage sale & bought a box of CDs for $20. It was a great deal y`all, this box was mad full & had mostly Hip Hop in it from what I could tell. There`s probably 80-90 albums in there, so I didn`t take `em all out to look at until I got home. That`s when I pulled out this one CD...Caz`s CD "Thundadome"......Ha! Maaaaan, I tell y`all up until seeing those YouTube clips I had no idea who this Caz kat was. It`s just kind of funny to me that I would end up finding his album by accident shortly after watching some YouTube even though the album was released 19 years ago. I really wish these weird lil` coincidences in my Life would just involve me comin` up on some extra ca$h instead, God loves to entertain Himself I guess......LoL, anyway let`s get to the album shall we? I know you`re hyped so let`s get it in...
This joint was released by Glasshouse Records in 2000 & was executively produced by Caz himself. Production~wise the tracks were handled by the likes of; Super Sako ("Chedda" & "Ride Wit` Me" but Tim Feehan also helped produce the latter track), Battlecat ("Flossin`"), Damizza ("Big Caz"), Rich "E" Blaze ("Thundadome", "Headknockas", "Lool Out", "Nobody Luvs U", "Money", "Bring It", "U A Thug" & "All Nite"), Platinum Brothers ("Pop Pop"), Rod Norman ("Talkin` Loud" & "Take Me Home") & Caz himself ("Intro", "Chedda", "My City" & "Talkin` Loud"). The album itself seems to be more of a compilation of Industry connects/collabo`s than an actual solo album since there`s only 3 tracks that don`t have any features, but this isn`t a bad thing though. In all honesty I`m not sure that I could listen to a whole album of just Caz alone. His style of rappin` is only slightly tolerable in short bursts, my opinion of course, so the guests featured thru~out the album are definitely appreciated. I say this because Caz has a tendency to 'yell~talk'...he isn`t rapping & even says, "I think I just talk on these songs" on "Big Caz" so I ain`t hatin` just being honest...
The album itself isn`t all bad, there are some decent tunes on here so it`s worth at least one listen. Personally I can`t get into any of the songs where Caz is on that playa/mack shit or the songs he`s got for the ladies, it just comes off as corny to me especially when homie portrays himself as more of a hardcore street kat. Alright, alright I`ll lighten up & get to the better aspects of this album. The songs worth a mention are; "Headknockas" featuring Layzie Bone & a few other uncredited kats, "Pop-Pop" featuring Jayo Felony, "Look Out" featuring Onyx`s Sticky Fingaz & Rappin` 4-Tay (even tho Sticky recycles his verse from "Money Talks" off his "Black Trash" album), "U A Thug" featuring Layzie Bone, Ice-T & MFS, "Chedda" featuring Krayzie Bone & LV, "Flossin`" featuring Battle Cat, "Talkin` Loud" featuring Bad Azz (R.I.P.) & "Ride Wit` Me" featuring Kurupt. I think "Chedda" is probably the best song on the album overall. Without any of the features I don`t think too many folks would be checkin` out this album because Caz couldn`t carry it by himself. He probably realized this, that`s why he filled it up with all the guests. So there y`all have it, it`s not a terrible listen but the album`s far from great. Check it out for ya`selves, it`s worth at least one play~thru...
When it comes to music I`m a HuGe fan of the unreleased stuff, whether it`s good or bad. Don`t get me wrong, I`d prefer that the music was DoPe every time, but we`ve got to be realistic here. That`s not always the case, however when the music does turn out to be good it`s a nice bonus indeed. For me, getting to hear unreleased music almost gives me the same feeling that an archeologist would get when they`ve discovered some historical artifact, regardless of its actual historical significance. That rush from the initial discovery is what I dig the most! Of course doing the detective work to find out more about the music is kind of interesting as well. With all that said & out of the way let`s get into the music shall we???
What I have to share with y`all today comes courtesy of kingsol81 (he`s the one who originally shared a link over at Bomb1st), so major BiG uPs & much ReSPeCT goes out to you! Props also goes out to BowdenCstyle for creating the cover art for this music, much appreciated. As for NME, I don`t really know much at all about him. The first time that I heard him on record was on the DoPe "Tales From The Hood Soundtrack" on the song "Talkin` To Myself" that also featured Grench The Mean 1 (R.I.P.), that`s actually one of my favorite songs on the soundtrack! NME reps Los Angels, California & is loosely affiliated with the Dogg Pound, Kurupt`s his cousin. At one point Daz & Kurupt were interested in signing NME & his homie Grench The Mean 1 to their sub-label Gotta Get Somewhere Records, but I don`t think that anything really ever came of it. Still, I guess that`s how we can explain NME`s appearances alongside some of Death Row`s artists, mostly the unreleased stuff unfortunately...
Well, actually that`s not all true...thanks to this wonderful thing called the Internet, some of that music is now being shared. From what I can tell these songs were recorded between 1994 & 1996 while NME was either signed to or affiliated with Hoodsta 4 Life Records. I believe this to be more of a fan~made bootleg, sourced mainly from songs off NME`s Sound Cloud Page, but I could be wrong. Either way it`s kind of interesting just to see this music come to light instead of being lost & overlooked in some record label`s "vault". Even more so now because a few of the artists featured on this music are longer with of us; Slip Capone & Grench The Mean 1. One thing that I need to mention is the fact that I found the volume on a lot of these tracks to be on the low~side so I took some liberty & boosted it up a few notches...
The first quarter of the songs on here aren`t as good as the remaining 3 quarters, but that`s just my opinion of course. You definitely need to listen to them on your own! The previously mentioned "Talkin` To Myself" is my favorite joint on here, but there`s still a quite a few gems to check for so don`t sleep!! I`m DiGG`n these joints mainly; "Set Trippin`"(with its Reggae~vibe`D hook & hard thumpin` Battle Cat produced beat), "Flatline" featuring Kurupt & "40`z `N` Bud" featuring Jewell, Kurupt & Grench The Mean 1. Honorable mentions also go to "Oooh Ah Wee Wee" featuring Slip Capone & Grench The Mean 1 & "My Last Wordz (Conquer This Game)" featuring Kurupt & Grench The Mean 1. So there ya have it, give it a listen for ya`self! I think you`ll enjoy at least one or 2 joints on here...
1. The Most Dangerous Man 2. Hoodsta Innaffect {ft. Mortisha, Grench The Mean 1 & Jay Capone} 3. Straight Gettin` Served {ft. Slip Capone} 4. Hoodsta 4 Life {ft. Jay Capone & Mortisha} 5. Mistaken Identity {ft. Slip Capone & Mortisha} 6. Set Trippin` {ft. Mortisha & Chico} 7. Way 2 Much {ft. Grench The Mean 1 & Profit} 8. Oooh Ah Wee Wee {ft. Slip Capone & Grench The Mean 1} 9. Mental Masterpiece {ft. Mortisha & Jay Capone} 10. I`m Talkin` To Myself {ft. Grench The Mean 1} 11. Flatline {ft. Kurupt} 12. 40z `N` Bud {ft. Kurupt, Jewell & Grench The Mean 1} 13. My Last Wordz (Conquer This Game) {ft. Kurupt & Grench The Mean 1} 14. A Toast
First off, BiG~uP BowdenCstyle! He`s the kat that originally shared this album over on the Bomb1st Formus, until then I had no idea that this even existed. So thank you very much kind sir, the move is truly appreciated. Anyways, what I can tell you about the album itself is unfortunately somewhat limited - however the info` is still very interesting nonetheless. So sit down, roll up, strap ya`selves in & get ready for the ride...
Step x Step (Step By Step) is a duo that reps L.A. consisting of members Doc Genisis (Vernon Jackson) from Watts & Funky Dreds (Jimmy Hamiliton) from South Central. While both attended State University at Norfolk, they perfected their dancing & rappin` skills. It was during this time of perfecting their crafts that the 2 friends decided to band together & form a group. Shortly after their union Step x Step auditioned to appear in a commercial for Coca-Cola & nailed it. In 1995 the duo was eventually able to put together an album, their debut titled "Comin` 2 Getcha". The album was released thru Lockdown Records, a label owned by Big Wes Crockett. In the early 1990's Big Wes was a music producer & promoter working with SOLAR Records until he branched out on his own with Lockdown Records. The label wasn`t around long with only a total of 4 releases under their belt; Life Afta Death`s (Erotic D & Jonezey Jay) debut album "The Death Penalty" & their single "Date With Death" in 1993 & Step x Step`s "Comin` 2 Getcha" & their single "Stomp! It`s All The Way Live" released in 1995...
The interesting historical Hip Hop connections continue, check it out! Step x Step recorded "Comin` 2 Getcha" in Galaxy Sound Studio, the same famed studio that Dick Griffey allowed Dr. Dre & Suge Knight to use when they were in the beginning stages of forming Death Row Records. Wait there`s more...The D.O.C. & Big Wes Crockett were executive producers on the project. While production was handled by Clever who did 5 tracks & J-Stank (think Dangerous Records, Tweedy Bird Loc, NiNi X, Bloods & Crips) also did 5 joints. Another interesting fact about this album is that Blaqthoven contributes one of his first productions on the track "Friendz". That`s quite a bit of historical Hip Hop connections right there, especially for an album that I`m sure many haven`t heard yet, that`s why I`m sharing it with y`all. The album`s only single "Stomp! It`s All The Way Live", which samples the classic Lakeside tune, actually features Mark Wood & Stephen Shockley from Lakeside singing on the hook. Something else that I noticed, but can only assume is that the Homegirl Shello was cool with Step x Step because she`s featured 4 times on the album. Anyways there ya have it y`all a little background info` on an album that you should hear at least once. Stand out joints for me are; "Wake Up", "Stomp! It`s...", "Step x Step Be Rockin`" & "D.M.S.". Something to note, the volume on a lot of these tracks was lower than I liked so I boosted it up a few notches. Check it out for ya`selves & feel free to drop some comments...
“Return Of The Boom Bap”……Ahhhhhhhh mannnnnn! What should I say
about this album? Aside from the fact that it’s still my favorite KRS-One album
to this day? Aside from the fact that I still have the cassette over at my
parents’ crib? Copped it thru one of those music clubs back in the day; you
know Columbia House, BMG music, etc. I actually gotta BiG uP those music clubs
because I was able to experience a whole lot of Hip Hop thru the memberships
that I had with ‘em when I was 13 & didn’t have a large grip of dough to
spend. Copped plenty of albums at reasonable prices, cassettes at first because
I hadn’t yet moved onto CDs until a bit later in the game. The only thing that
I wasn’t a fan of was when ya had to buy the required amount of CDs or tapes at
their full price because their prices were quite high especially with their
shipping costs, but that’s another story for another day. So anyway that’s how
I was able to get my hands on the “Return
Of The Boom Bap” tape amongst many others & once I slapped that tape
into my Sony Walkman I played the hell out of it thru~out my high school years!
I was feeling a little nostalgic a few weeks ago so I actually dug out the album
from one of my many boxes of CDs & decided to dust it off. While giving it
a listen thru that’s when I got to wondering why hasn’t this album been
re~released with some bonus cuts? It’s definitely worthy of such a release, so
I said fuck it & decided that I’d put together one of my web~famous HeRBaN DeLuXe VeRSioNs & this here
is what I came up with…
Originally this great gem of an album was released in 1993 thru Jive
& it included 14 tracks in total, with production handled by the likes of
DJ Premier (6 tracks), Norty Cotto (1 track), Kid Capri (2 tracks), Showbiz (1
track) & even KRS-One (5 tracks) himself. So at just under 56 minutes in
length, it left me enough room to add another 6 tracks to complete this HeRBaN DeLuXe VeRSioN (I`m Old School so
I try to keep these H.D.V`s under 80
minutes so they can still fit onto a CD if one so chooses to burn it onto a
disc). The first song that I decided to add is “Hip Hop vs. Rap”, a tune that in all honesty should`ve been on
the retail release of “Return Of The
Boom Bap” anyway. The next selection was a no~brainer really, “Outta Here [Original Demo Version]”,
definitely worth the listen for the Mr. Magic DiSS alone. It was kind of hard
to find a track to follow that almost lost piece of Hip Hop history, but I
think I made the right choice with “Sound
Of Da Police [Rmx]”. After that I hit the 12 inch singles for “Return Of The Boom Bap [Iron Lion Rmx]”
& “Mortal Thought [Kenny Parker
Rmx]” respectively. “Hip Hop
vs. Rap [Spinbad Blend]” closes out the album very nicely. Now for some
reason unbeknownst to any true Hip Hop head you haven`t heard this album
before, let me break down exactly what you`re in for…
“KRS-One Attacks” opens up things & gives the
listeners a glimpse of what to expect. KRS doesn`t actually spit anything on
this, it serves as more of an intro. The way DJ Premier cuts the various
KRS-One samples to create it is simply awesome. “Outta Here”, which I believe was the album’s first single, was
produced by DJ Premier. Over the simplistic, but very hard beat KRS-One kicks
some tales of Hip Hop History as only the teacha could. What’s DoPe about it is
how he does it in such a way that it`s pretty much first~person perspective
because…well, he was a crucial part of the history & it`s kind of awesome
to see things from that side of the fence. The self~produced “Black Cop”, which was previously
released on the “CB4 Soundtrack”,
rocks a simple yet effective enough loop for KRS to get his points across. DJ
Premier shows up once again to handle the production on “Mortal Thought” & provides a nice jazzy backdrop for
KRS-One to flex his lyrical braggadocio mic rockin’ rhymes over…
The KRS/Premier collaborating continues, but this time they both handle
the production on “I Can’t Wake Up”.
This song could be taken 2 ways; a lot of folks take it as an anti~Weed smokin’
tune, but I think that it should be interpreted as a dream that KRS-One
probably had after indulging in a few blunts himself. I mean c’mon, he’s a
blunt being passed around & smoked by a who’s~who of Hip Hop (at the time).
Either way you take it though, it’s a good concept record worth the listen so
don’t sleep! “Slap Them Up”
features a little uncredited intro by DJ Premier & some uncredited raps
from Ill Will. The beat was produced by Latin House producer Norty Cotto &
co-produced by Douglas Jones. To be honest I`m not really familiar with either
one of these producers, but they sure gave KRS a nice backin` for his rhyme
flexin`. Now the Showbiz produced “Sound
Of Da Police” should need no introduction, I mean c’mon it’s featured
in the 2016 animated “The Angry Birds
Movie” for cryin’ out loud. My son was singing the hook of this tune at
4 years old because of said movie….LoL, both Showbiz & KRS must`ve seen
some nice residuals off that song placement, anyway this was the album`s second
single. The head~nodding beat & catchy chorus will definitely hook your ear,
but it’s the lyrics that you really need to hear. I’d quote some, but honestly
you truly need to hear them over the beat to do `em justice. Trust me you won’t
be disappointed at all!!!
“Mad Crew” is a self-produced joint that’s sure to get ya`
head noddin’, Boom Bapp`N Hip Hop indeed. The simplistic beatboxin’ backdrop on
“Uh Oh” is almost the perfect backing
for KRS’s reggae~vibed storytelling, another self-produced joint. “Brown Skin Woman” is the
Blastmaster’s ode to well just that, Kid Capri provided the smooth production
on this one. “Return Of The Boom Bap”
is another joint that KRS-One produced himself. Some folks out there may
remember hearing the DJ Premier produced “P
Is Still Free” while they were listening to the “Menace II Society Soundtrack”, which was also released in
1993. Something interesting to note; if you actually take a look at that
tracklist the song’s credited to Boogie Down Productions. So does that make it
the last official BDP song? Or did someone at Jive just fuck up?? Someone out
there on the Internet knows, feel free to school me…
Kid Capri takes on double duties on the Jazzy~vibed “Stop Frontin`” as producer &
guest emcee, he handles both very well I`d have to say. “Higher Level” is some great funkdafied spiritual Hip Hop, produced
by DJ Premier. This song is the closer on the original album release &
honestly I have to say that it’s a great way to end such an awesome album.
Still as a KRS fan I can’t lie, I was always just a little disappointed in the
fact that “Hip Hop vs. Rap”,
the B-Side of the album`s first single, was never included as part of the album.
So naturally that was my first choice when it came to the songs that I chose to
add to this HeRBaN DeLuXe VeRSioN.
The song’s produced by both KRS-One & Kenny Parker, definitely something
you just need to hear on your own, my words probably wouldn’t do it enough
justice…
Next in the added bonus joints is the “Outta Here [Original Demo Version]”. Unfortunately the sound
quality isn’t that great, sounds like a cassette rip & the song itself
sounds like it was dubbed from a radio show. So maybe it’s not actually a demo,
but an alternate radio version, because the song is censored, has the same beat
pretty much, but it also contains a few Mister Magic DiSSeS that don’t appear
on the retail album version of the same song. I’m not sure of the source of the
file so I couldn’t tell you, either way though it’s definitely something worth
listening to just for the historic value of it. The “Sound Of Da Police [Rmx]” comes with a nice thumpin` beat that
Kenny Parker produced, it’s DoPe but I’m still kind of partial to the way
Showbiz rocked the original album version myself. Regardless it’s a great song
& that’s why I added it…
The “Return Of The Boom Bap
[Iron Lion Rmx]” comes from the 12 inch single released in 1994 &
features Mad Lion. It has a nice Reggae vibe to it & I believe that Mad
Lion was the one to produce the track, couldn’t find any production credit on
the track so feel free to school me if I’m wrong. The “Mortal Thought [Kenny Parker Rmx]” is another joint off that “Return Of The Boom Bap” 12 inch
single. It’s ok, but doesn’t compare to the original version, Premier just
rocked it more, my opinion of course. Still plenty of heads dig the tune, I
think the reason that I don’t dig it as much is because it’s censored &
well Premier didn’t do it….LoL, anyway “Hip
Hop vs. Rap [Spinbad Blend]” closes out things here. DJ Spinbad does a
great job blending in various beats to match KRS’s lyrics. I think this was
featured on a mixtape or something, to be completely honest I’m not sure of its
source. So there ya have it, did I do the album some justice with the added
tracks? Is there something else that should have included? Feel free to leave
some comments…
