This right here is just a quick lil` comp` I threw together for my homie WiLLZ from New York back in probably 2017-18. Met this kool kat workin` one my first jobs as a Camerican, that`s a Canadian livin` in a America for you squares.....LoL, anyway I was always bringing these mixed CD`s of mine to work to help pass the time & he`d bug out `cuz he loved the tunes! So that`s how we got to talkin` & became homies. Eventually he asked me to put something together for him with a few requests, but the rest was up to me. All the songs he picked just so happened to be remixes so I continued the theme & this is what I came up with, enjoy...
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...
