Here’s a track I produced and recorded with Philadelphia’s BBR (Big Brother Resistance) back in 1999.
The track is all about what lies beyond the fabled end of the Mayan Calendar: December 21st, 2012 (which happens to be today’s date, as I post this).
The song was the very first release on Arrakis Records, printed on vinyl 12″ in 2000. More information at Discogs. Song embedded below (download available):
As I continue the spelunking of my vast DV tape archive I came upon some footage of classic Philly jungle / drum and bass party, Sutpen’s Jungle from back in 2000.
The party was thrown by Goodie Goodie Productions, and this particular joint features Diselboy, MC Foxy, Bryan Gee, DJ Kane, MC Dub2, J.Messinian and MC Fats.
Check the two video embeds below:
Here’s a track I did with Philly’s own Digs Darklighter from 2002. It was featured on the Arrakis Records, The Spice compilation. Embed and download link below:
» Download the MP3 by clicking here (320kbps, 89bpm, 9.8M)
Now here’s a treat. Philadelphia photographer, Dominic DiGiorgio has shared these classic black and white photographs with us featuring The Roots at the Do You Want More?!!!??! album release party at Tower Records on South Street in Philly, 1995.
If you’re interested in using or reproducing the photos, please contact Dominic for high-res, non-watermarked versions.
Going through more DV tapes, came up on this jawn. Jedi Mind Tricks (Jus Allah, Vinnie Paz) and Louis Logic live in a warehouse in North Philly, 1999. Vinnie freestyles & Louis performs “Punchline”. Check for the high-res Vimeo joint after the Youtube video below:
I was at the video shoot for this way back in 1998 with Mic Meech of the legendary Fightins Phillies blog. For years I wanted to see the final video but I just never caught it on any late night hiphop video shows.
But that changed last week when I randomly searched for it on Youtube and BOOM — There it was. And posted online just the month prior, no less! Nearly 15 years later (!!) I finally get to see it, and it doesn't disappoint.
One of the greatest Philly hiphop tracks ever, check out the official video for Rahsheed (aka Maylay Sparks) and Ill Advised's "1.9.8.6." below. And look for Meech and I somewhere in the b-boy crowd shot:
Between 1998-1999, I was a member of the Philadelphia-based group, BBR: Big Brother Resistance. We were a politically charged and socially-minded hiphop group focusing strongly on technology, the media, politics, and the control and abuse of information by corrupt corporations.
It was me on production as Binyameen and occasionally “Stinke”, and MCs Tim T and PCP. I produced all of the tracks and had a lot of “firsts” with the crew: First time in my own recording session in a real studio; first time on vinyl; first time paying my share of the rent with beats; first music video…It was a pretty prolific one or two years to be honest.
BBR would dissolve in 2000 but the label bandmate PCP created to publish the BBR music would continue well into the new milenium. That label was Arrakis Records and it was part of the Philly indie hiphop movement of the late 90′s and early 2000′s.
All that said though, I’d like to share the 15 track BBR Sessions as a free MP3 download:
» Download: The BBR Sessions (1998-1999) MP3 Album (320kbps, 105M)
Tracklist follows:
01. The 2nd Revolution
02. 2013
03. Briz Beat
04. The Girl Next Door
05. Goin Out to The Censors
06. Let Me Be
07. Newspeak
08. Porn Styles
09. Propa
10. Quake
11. Stereo Correct
12. Tee’s Break
13. Transient Groove
14. Verbal Leviathan
15. Whale Beat
I just noticed Firefox 3.6 and higher lets you re-skin the browser using “Personas” to give it a unique, personalized look. I thought it would be dope to make a Yameen one featuring some of the pixel art we’ve been working on. Check it out (click for a larger view):
That’s me on the wheels of steel playin the dope rooftop party!
This is a Philly-themed persona featuring the famous Rocky statue (as featured in the movie) and the LOVE Park sign.
Make sure you have Firefox 3.6 or higher installed (for Mac, PC or Linux). Then, click the link below to set the persona:
I’m working on a new album cover and was trying to hunt down photos of the front facade of Bobbito’s Footwork Illadelph store. This was the cornerstone spot for indie hiphop in Philly during the mid 90′s: Heads would roll through, talk, there would be shows and of course records and gear to buy. But in 2009, finding pictures of the store online was turning into a true challenge. So I went to the source – Mr. Bobbito Garcia himself – and asked if he had any flicks. He dug up this great pic below with “Big Rich” Medina sitting on the stoup:
There was only one other photo I could find, courtesy of my homegirl Stef Tataz. Peep:
So there you go. Hope they come in handy. Felt like I needed to chronicle them somewhere.
See also:
• Miscellaneous Footwork Illadelph flyers courtesy dubplatestyles on Myspace.
• A sort of working version of footworkilladelph.com from 1999 at Archive.org
I received this album cover and email today from my homeboy Richie Dees back in Philly. Here’s his email:
Forgot I had this album. It features the smash hits “Tootsie Rock”, “Let Me Come Inside” and my personal favorite “Bubble Gum (I Chewz You)”. Its on TEC Records out of Philly which was located on the S.E. corner of 13th and Spruce streets in the heart of the Gayborhood.
Captain Sky is actually Chicago-born bass player Daryl Cameron who under the Captain Sky banner lead a group of revolving artists beginning in 1979.
Titles under Cameron’s belt include Pop Goes The Captain, The Adventures Of Captain Sky, 1980′s Concerned Party No. 1 [featured above in picture] and The Return Of Captain Sky in 1981.
That oft-sampled “Super Sperm” vocal clip in hiphop (Method Man, Redman, Sugar Hill Gang)? Yea, that’s Captain Sky:
Captain Sky on Soul Train? Oh yea, we got you:
Cream and Sugar:
The good news is Captain Sky is well represented online, as I managed to find his Wikipeida page, his Discogs.com profile, and this great background on Captain Sky.
How the movie Sky Captain & The World of Tomorrow fits into all of this, I am not sure. But thanks to RIchie Dees for sending in the pic.
