Respect the Classics

There has been a wave of hip hop nostalgia sweeping social media. 

It started as early as we celebrated hip hop culture’s 50^th anniversary. 

In November 2013, people are remembering hearing A Tribe Called Quest’s Midnight Marauders  masterpiece as well as Snoop Doggy Dogg & Wu-Tang Clan’s 1993 debut albums.

The wave of hip hop nostalgia has not bypassed me.  I ride that wave quite often because the current climate of hip hop can be considered low tide. 

Discovering that the Respect the Classics series would reissue classic hip hop albums was easily one of the best pieces of news I could hear. 

As my playlists can attest, I’ve always reached for hip hop classics throughout the years. 

Respect the Classics give me more ideas and options where revisiting hip hop classics is concerned. 

I’ll also get a second chance at owning some of these masterpiece classics on vinyl because they hardly ever to never show up in crate digging excursions. 

If I had the means or came up with the idea myself, I would have started a movement similar to Respect the Classics myself.  Thankfully the wheels are already in motion. 

It goes without saying that The Haul of Records blog will always respect the classics by making time for them on DJ setlists, playlists and here in text. 

Thank you once again to Respect the Classics, Giant Step and hip hop for making this post possible.

Please make yourself familiar with the link below for more.

http://suitedelight.podomatic.com

Below is a playlist to bring you up to speed.  Click here to download.

The Suite Delight 2014-02-04 Playlist:

1.       Onyx - Throw Ya Gunz

2.       LL Cool J - Rock The Bells

3.       Ludacris - Southern Hospitality

4.       EPMD - Brothers From Brentwood, Long Island

5.       Anonymous Twist feat. Roc 'C' – Suckas Still Trying To Front

6.       Eternia & MoSS ft. Joell Ortiz - Its Funny

7.       DMX - Ruff Ryders' Anthem

8.       Big Daddy Kane - Get Down

9.       King Jus & Fresh Kils - Cold World

10.   Ghettosocks - I Invented Everything feat. Jabba the Cutt

11.   Relic - Loud Enuff Ft. Moka Only

12.   Hezekiah - Fired Up ft. Talib Kweli & Bahamadia

13.   Master Ace - Music Man (Mic Master Mix)

14.   Mos Def - Revelations

15.   Cee & Dr. MaD - Another Day ft. Notion & Nox

Method Man & Redman – Blackout! (1999)

When was the last time you heard Blackout!?


Am I the only one that thinks that album gets better with each listen?


I hadn’t heard Blackout in a few years and reached for it.

1995 was a magical year for hip hop as most can agree. Proof of that came in the form of the dynamic duo’s How High. When I saw the pair together, I agreed with the pairing. If the single was hot, then it stood to reason an album of theirs would be hotter. It would take another five years for my theory to be proven right.

Presumably, both MCs were busy with their solo and respective Wu-Tang Clan/Def Squad projects leading up to the Blackout! date.

There is easily no weak beat on the album meaning the producers must have known what they were working on and brought their A-game.  The choice of guest appearances is also faultless with the exception of one. In retrospect, it would have been nice for Young Zee to have spit a verse on Blackout! instead of Ja Rule but I was not consulted or contacted for my opinion when the album was in planning.

Epic hip hop albums like both Brand Nubian and Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth debut releases, Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and Blackout! have many common traits.  They are classic and timeless.  As great as Blackout! is, it misses a smidgeon of an element for it to be considered timeless but is unquestionably a strong album graced by the charisma and talent of the two titans.

In the early 2000s, I was very picky about hip hop.  Regardless of my rigid rules on hip hop, Blackout! did not slip passed by me. I did not over-saturate myself with it at the time.  I had a feeling it was like a fine wine that I would want to try to savor later. 

I was too occupied to have fully listened and studied Blackout! 2. The beauty of the sequel is that it allows us to revisit the brothers from other mothers. One verse from Method Man or Redman is a blessing. I’m not sure when but a visit here in the future might reveal how I feel about the sequel.

Please make yourself familiar with the link below for more.

http://suitedelight.podomatic.com

Below is the 2013 CKUT Funding Drive podcast to bring you up to speed.  

Click here to download.

Playlist:

1. Salt-N-Pepa – Get Up Everybody
2. DJ Kayslay – Untouchables feat. Prodigy & Raekwon
3. D-Shade - The World We're In 2(Simahlak Mix) feat. Buckshot And Blurum 13
4. Kanye West - Classic (DJ Premier Remix)featuring Nas, KRS-One and Rakim
5. EPMD – The Big Payback
6. Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - A Day In The Life featuring Sadat X & Lord Jamar
7. Masta Ace and Edo G - Good Music featuring Posdnuos & Light
8. The Beatnuts – Se A Cabo (Remix) featuring Method Man
9. Shad + Skratch Bastid – Homie featuring Cadence Weapon

Def Jam Recordings Tribute

The first hip hop album I ever bought on my first solo trip to downtown Montreal was a Def Jam release. For them to be among my Twitter followers today is an honor I would never have dreamed.

While trying to prepare the playlist for the podcast below, I browsed online looking for some form of inspiration to hit me.

I stumbled across word of Def Jam Recordings label celebrating 30 years.  I naturally grabbed an hour's worth of Def Jam classics and presented some of them on my radio show.

Thank you and congratulations to Def Jam for defining hip hop music and culture for over 30 years.

Thank you for checking out Def Jam Recordings Tribute.

Visit the Mixcloud page to listen to them and more.

The Suite Delight - Def Jam Recordings Tribute by Dj Solespin on Mixcloud

The Suite Delight - 2014-10-21 Playlist:

1. Ghostface Killah - Daytona 500 featuring  Raekwon & Cappadonna
2. Nice & Smooth - The Sky's The Limit
3. Davy DMX - One For The Treble
4. EPMD - Give The People (Erick & Parrish Remix)
5. Slick Rick - It's A Boy (Remix)
6. Nikki D - Hang On Kid
7. Nas - Memory Lane 
8. Public Enemy - Can't Truss It
9. Jay-Z - Sunshine featuring Babyface & Foxy Brown 
10. Redman ‎– It's Like That (My Big Brother) featuring K-Solo
11. LL Cool J ‎– To Da Break Of Dawn
12. 3rd Bass - Product Of The Environment (Project Remix)
13. Method Man - The Riddler