Home-made videos stay winning, as Dallas Penn gives this new track from Acknowledge Greatness 2.0 the visual treatment.

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DJ Johnny Juice may not have slept for the past six months, based on the amount of work he seems to be putting in. Here’s something new that he produced for Leaders of the New School graduate Dinco D. And no, B The Hard Way is his not an alias for Charlie Brown.

Dinco D feat. B The Hard Way - ‘ Dinc to The Dinc’

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Before I wind-up the Perfect Remix polls with The 45 King edition, I thought I’d give all the remixes that missed out a chance to make the final cut. Whether it was a favorite of yours that didn’t make the original eight per artist (Large Pro‘s Resurrection remixes, for example), or something from a producer or crew that didn’t have enough classics re-workings to get a round of their own, here’s your chance to nominate for the Wild Card Round. What needs to make the cut?

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According to DJ Phantom, The Shepard (the second solo LP from the late, great Killa Sha) will be released January 18, 2011 to mark the first anniversary of his passing.

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Taken from the next KGR LP Riches, Royalty, Respect, which I believe will heavily feature Domingo on the beats.

Kool G Rap - ‘Sad’

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RE: ‘Monster’ ‘Power’ [Remix]…

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The people demanded it. And I answered…

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Weed Carrying But Were Afraid To Ask

Related: Download The Combat Jack Show, 3 Sept, 2010 [Feat. The Weed Carrier Report]

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When this was first announced, I thought, ‘Sure, this might be decent’. I mean a new album of Buckwild beats from the 90′s sounded good on paper, but these things have a habit of failing to deliver more often than not, so I kinda forgot about the whole thing after hearing the initial leak. The link to the advance version arrived in my inbox a couple of days ago, but it wasn’t until I needed something new to rock in the ride on Saturday night that I gave it a shot. As it turns out, this is actually one of the most enjoyable records I’ve listened to all year.

I’m not going to sit here and act like I was ever a big fan of Celph Titled as a rapper. He’s made some dope beats over the years, but something about his cadence just didn’t sound right to me. Yet over these top notch Buck productions, it all makes sense. It’s amazing just how much the right track can enhance the MC’s – even guys like Vinnie Paz (who may have worn out his welcome with a few listeners) sounds refreshed over these vintage beats. Celph proves to be a perfect match here, toning-down his usual exaggerated punchline delivery for something more natural, without sacrificing the wordplay. Ninteen Ninety Now sticks to the classic album blueprint of the era, which is never a bad thing considering how effective it can be in the right hands. You get the sex track, the auto-biographical joint, the all-star posse cut…even some effin’ ragga chanting! They haven’t missed a trick.

The quality that separates this from some kind of hokey Jurrassic 5 style throwback record is the simple fact that it’s not a throwback at all – this is just a great LP based on the tried-and-tested formulas that are often forgotten by the n00b schoolers. I’m at a loss as to why nobody chose to use these beats when Buck first made them though. Maybe he never played them to anyone and just kept them in the stash? Either way, Celph Titled, Buckwild and Mista Sinista make for a good combination in 2010. Another victory for the Conservative Rap Coalition…

Celph Titled & Buckwild - ‘Step Correctly’

Nineteen Ninety Now drops October 26 on No Sleep Recordings.

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Once upon a time, around 1985 at Unique recording studio in New York city, Marley Marl accidentally sampled a snare drum. It was a mistake, initially, as he’d instructed the engineer to grab a vocal snippet for the Captain Rock song he was remixing at the time. When he played the sound on the keyboard and heard that snare come through, it dawned on him – no more shitty DMX and Linn Drum sounds! Once he realized that he could program drums using real drum sounds, he loaded up the kick, snare and hat from ‘Impeach The President’ and started making history. ‘Eric B. For President’, ‘The Bridge’, ‘Make The Music With Your Mouth, and ‘Stunt of The Block’ were all produced using that drum kit.

It’s impossible to imagine how hip-hop would have sounded without that break-through, although it’s a fair bet that after a few more years of drum machines over replayed TV show themes somebody would have figured out that sampling drums was a good idea. But beyond this innovation, the other major contribution to the hip-hop cannon was the collection of great albums that Marley was involved in (regardless of whether or not he had co-producers). Long Live The Kane, Road To The Riches, Goin’ Off, Take A Look Around, Down By Law, Mama Said Knock You Out…the list goes on. The only other producer who can approach that kind of track record at the time is The 45 King. Many will make a case for Dr. Dre since he’s made so many careers happen, but he’s been more about making hits and artists than great albums. Pretty much every great Dre album has a fair amount of bullshit on there, with the exception of The Chronic. Even Efil4zggin had a fair amount of filler in terms of skits.

As great as DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Ced-Gee and the D.I.T.C. collective are, they are all in the shadow of Marley Marl’s legacy, because the most significant quality that Marlon Williams brought to hip-hop was bigger than the sampling techniques or the albums – it was bringing that grit to the studio. The perfect antidote for the clean, sterile Sugarhill disco sound and the drum machine/keyboard sound that came after it was the ‘Project Sound’ that ‘The Bridge’ gave us. Marley was able to capture that raw feeling that you get from listening to old Cold Crush tapes recorded from parties on the records he made, and that will forever be more powerful than making careers or selling millions of CD’s.

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Musical dedications to Brooklyn never seem to get old, as this self-produced smasher from Q.U demonstarates. Apparently his Between Heaven & Hell CD has already sold-out at a few spots, but you can try over at UGHH to reserve a copy from the next delivery.

Q-Unique - ‘BK, BX, BK’

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For many Donny Brasco fans, the Hydra singles that didn’t make the Diabolique album stand as some of his finest work. Even if you have all of these on vinyl, having proper CD versions always beats ripping it from the wax. You can order it here.

Godfather Don - ‘Seeds of Hate’

Track listing:

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The late, great Sha Lumi over an Xtra-P production, taken the forthcoming Killa Sha & Large Professor project. Also be on the look-out for Killa Sha’s The Shepard to drop in January 2011 to mark the first anniversary of his passing.

Killa Sha- ‘Never Gone Stop’

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Taken from the Acknowledge Greatness album. Meyhem takes the title on this one easily.

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Engineer All-Star Marley Marl came from the era when a remix often meant turning-up the drums, dropping out the main loop occasionally and adding a horn blast and some echo, but even when the additions were relatively minor, they proved to be incredibly effective. The remixed versions of ‘Vapors’ and ‘Shootin’ The Gift’ both maintain their original loops, but manage to sound ten times better with the addition of some extra horns and vocal samples, while the additional sounds added to the 12″ versions of ‘Droppin’ Science’ and ‘The Symphony’ take already great songs to another level. The King Tee and 3rd Bass remakes add completely new bases to the tracks, giving them a much-needed face-lift, while the ‘Jingling Baby’ remix is the perfect example of how to build upon a solid foundation and turn into a timeless classic.

3rd Bass - ‘Product of the Environment’ [Marley Marl Remix]

Biz Markie - ‘Vapors’ [Remix]

Capone-N-Noreaga - ‘L,A., L.A.’ [Kuwait Mix]

Craig G - ‘Shootin’ The Gift’ [Remix]

King Tee - ‘At Your Own Risk’ [Budha Mix]

LL Cool J - ‘Jingling Baby’ [Remixed But Still Jingling]

Marley Marl feat. Craig G- ‘Droppin’ Science’ [Hip Hop Version]

Marley Marl feat. Masta Ace, Craig G, Big Daddy Kane & Kool G Rap- ‘The Symphony’ [Remix]

Previously:

Searching For The Perfect Remix: The Stimulated Dummies

Searching For The Perfect Remix: Pete Rock

Searching For The Perfect Remix: DJ Premier

Searching For The Perfect Remix: Buckwild

Searching For The Perfect Remix: Large Professor

Searching For The Perfect Remix: Da Beatminerz

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Another track from up-and-coming Will Vill, from his Superstar Jay hosted mixtape I Came To Bring The Sword, due to drop in three weeks from now. Chaze from GRIM Team on the production.

Will Vill - ‘Critical Times’

Previously: Will Vill – ‘Man Listen’

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