"Ya HeaRD! VoL. 1 PeNaLTy MiXTaPe"...

Got another lil` gem for y`all to check out courtesy of Cipha Sounds, so first off BiG uPs to him! He originally posted it up on his blog back in 2008. The link`s been long dead, so fortunately for you I have uploaded it again. This time around however I have taken a lil` time to edit, separate & tag the tracks to make it a lil` easier to listen to. Don`t worry I have also included both original files, sides A & B as they were -- one long mp3 for each side. So what is it? I know you`re askin`! Well just check out what Cipha Sounds had to say about it with his blog post;

To this day people ask me if I have a copy of this mix.
I finally dug it out of the basement for all of you…
This mixtape I did in `98 is by far the item I am most asked about.
It was basically the album sampler of Nore’s first solo album N.O.R.E.
(niggas on the run eatin) before it came out. This was the era of Big Pun,
LOX, Cam’Ron, DMX, and all other Tunnel Bangers*. Nore pretty much had some
kind of feature or guest appearance with all of them and more. Man, I miss
this era in new york. This was the best summer with banging joints on the
radio. My boy Mayhem that worked at Penalty records at the time had an idea
to do more than just put snippets on a cassette for the sampler. He thought
of mixing all the hot joints featuring Nore together to make it crazy. This
shit blew up in the streets. I was never a big mixtape dude but this
definitely got bootlegged in the streets heavy. No CD’s were pressed from the
label, but all the bootleggers on 125th Street and Jamaica Ave. had them on CD…
Thanks guys. Please enjoy...


* Tunnel Bangers:
Records that used to rock the legendary Tunnel night club to the extreme.
ie: The Benjamins, Get At Me Dog, Put It In Your Mouth, Where I’m From,
Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See, My Mind Right, Wild Out, etc.


                                            -- Cipha Sounds

So the "Ya Heard! Vol. 1 Penalty Mixtape" is pretty much a Noreaga mixtape except for the last 3 tracks on Side B, they`re from artists that were signed to Penalty Records at the time. Side A is hosted by Funkmaster Flex & is mixed by Cipha Sounds, while Side B isn`t mixed by Cipha or hosted by Flex at all. I`m not sure why they didn`t just keep it goin` thru~out the entire tape, it would`ve made it that much iLLeR -- just my opinion of course. A couple things to note that make this tape worth listening to: 

1) The original version of "L.A., L.A." is on here, you know the one that has that beat that`s similar to the Dogg Pound`s "New York, New York"...

2) Although it`s only a snippet, the original version of "I Love My Life" with Nas on the hook is also on here. The version that made it to Noreaga`s debut solo album "N.O.R.E." has Carl Thomas replacing Nas...

So there ya go, now ya know the story behind the tape. Go `head & give it a listen, I`m more than sure you`ll enjoy it...

Ya Heard! Vol. 1 Penalty Mixtape

Label: Penalty Records

Released: 1998

Side A:

1. T.O.N.Y. {Capone-N-Noreaga}

2. L.A., L.A. (Original) {Capone-N-Noreaga ft. Prodigy}

3. Married To Marijuana {Noreaga}

4. Calm Down {Nas & Noreaga}

5. Stick You {Capone-N-Noreaga}

6. Bloody Money {Capone-N-Noreaga}

7. Bloody Money Pt. 2 {Noreaga ft. Nature}

8. Bonus Track #1 (I`m Leaving) {Nature ft. Noreaga}

9. Bonus Track #2 (Misery Needs Company) {Fat Joe ft. Noreaga}

Side B:

1. On The Run Pt. 1 [Interlude] {Jungle}

2. N.O.R.E. [Snippet] {Noreaga}

3. The Assignment [Snippet] {Noreaga ft. Busta Rhymes & Maze}

4. Animal Thug [Interlude]

5. Da Story [Snippet] {Noreaga ft. Maze}

6. I Love My Life (Original) [Snippet] {Noreaga ft. Nas}

7. On The Run Pt. 2 [Interlude] {Jungle}

8. 40 Island [Snippet] {Noreaga}

9. Esta Loca [Snippet] {Noreaga}

10. Fiesta [Snippet] {Noreaga ft. Kid Capri}

11. Thugs R Us [Snippet] {DJ Clue ft. Noreaga}

12. Jam On It {Cardan ft. Jermaine Dupri}

13. If It Don`t Make $... {Skull Duggery ft. Master P & Fiend}

14. I Know {Crooked Lettaz}

SoLiDFiLeS LiNK...

N`JoY...