Oh shit.

Ninja Crew - “We Destroy“

from We Destroy 12″ (4-Sight, 1986)

Sporty T - “Sporty Talkin’ Sporty 93“

from Sporty Talkin Sporty” 12 (Big Boy, 1993)

New Orleans rap legend Terrance Vine, bka Sporty T, was tragically gunned down in a FEMA trailer yesterday morning. Rest in peace.

Update: Check this old interview @ Down-South.com to get a sense of Sporty’s history.

Another Muxtape for you ingrates.

…Y’all Just Listening Too Fast.

I am about to exit the blogosphere for a short period of time. Mostly because you hated the muxtape. Here are some photos from fifteen year old Murder Dog back issues to hold you over …

Erykah Badu f/ Re-Up Gang - “Real Thang (Tumbling Dice Remix)“

from The Healer 12″ (Universal Motown, 2008)

Here’s yet another Badu rapp remix. This time Rashad “Ringo” Smith aka Tumblin Dice (who has entirely too many names - who does he think he is Mr. Collipark?) takes on the non-album cut “Real Thang”. Dude basically just laid the track over a slightly altered take on his 12 year old Busta Rhymes beat “Rhymes Galore”. It’s a pretty lazy move, but we’ll give him a pass since “Galore” is an electro masterpiece and one of Busta’s strongest album cuts. So strong, in fact, that it inspired some little beer drinking white kid to sync it up to double time Bruce Lee footage. But, perhaps most notably, the remix also features some completely unexpected and uncredited bars from (one time?) internet faves The Clipse and the Re-Up Gang. I’m not entirely sure if Baduizm can be afflicted through two tracked remixes, but hopefully that Sandman is up to date with his vaccinations.

This comes from the limited double “Healer” 12″ on pink vinyl that goes for entirely too much on ebay. It has been around for months, but I’m throwing it up now because I’ve finally restored my vinyl ripping capabilities and also because nobody else has posted it yet, I don’t think. I wonder if I’m the last blogger who actually listens to the records he gets and doesn’t, you know, put them on ebay. Actually, full disclosure, I ended up having to buy this one on ebay. Where’s the love, Berry Gordy?

Christie’s is auctioning off a gangload of James Brown’s shit. So if you’ve ever longed for a bright yellow jump suit with the word ’sex’ emblazoned across the waistline, now is your chance. But the most interesting items on the auction block may be the large number of revealing handwritten letters, both hilarious and horrifying. In chicken scratch Mr. Dynamite alleges that Polydor is trying to kill him, offers a lady friend $6,000 as a break up consolation and signs a love letter “To Miss Viagra, from Mr. Viagra.” Insert “Hardest Working Man In Show Business” quip here.

Pause.

For those of you who actually buy records unironically, I have many incredibly rare ones on ebay this week. I’m moving at the end of the month so I pulled a couple things out of my personal collection to pay for a storage unit and exuberant gas prices. I always feel guilty when I link ebay auctions on here, but I suppose this seems like a minor infraction when compared to the ugly ass A****can A****el ads up top (I don’t remember signing off on those!)

Wale - “Cuz I’m African“

from various mixtapes (2006)

Pre-internet buzz, “Cuz I’m African” was possibly the first time I heard Wale rap. The second generation Nigerian American turned great rap hope of DC opens with two verses of standard issue mixtape punchline drivel but then finally fleshes out the concept on the third, where he digs a little deeper into identity politics. Remembering coming up “smelling like fufu”, Wale delivers an awkwardly tender verse. It’s maybe the best indication to date that he possesses the humanity necessary to transcend the $350 Sneaker Blog Hype ghetto. (Though a few moments on The Mixtape About Nothing come close.)

When I interviewed him for the new Vibe (uh… The Swagger Issue?), we talked about this record and he seemed a little saddened that the press has mostly overlooked his African origins:

“That’s really one of the elements about me that isn’t talked about. It’s kinda under the radar. That song was intended to just be a mixtape joint but it got a lot of feedback. There’s so many people, second and third generation African people in the country, I feel I kinda speak to them in a sense and where they’re coming from.”

As if being saddled with the aspirations of a city wasn’t enough, he’s repping for an entire continent. You gotta love the kid’s ambition.

Main Source performs “Atom”!

Via Meaning Of Dope, a definite best new rap blog contender. Dudes are actually contributing unique footage and music to the internet, rather than just passing around the same zshare links and press releases in circles.

BTW, does somebody want to explain an easy (and preferably cheap) way to transfer VHS to youtube on a Macbook? MOD has got me itching to dig through the old Rap City tapes I have at my folks house.