Jamboree @ Jake's

Back in 1996, I believe, we had a jam session up at Jake's house in Connecticut. I got a whole 8-track cassette which I have yet to transfer but this excerpt found its way to me. J.O.B. is on the mic, Aya on the drums, T-Booth on the Kalimba, E.N.S. on the keys and Infinite on the turntable. Claw, Lamada and Moosie Moe are doing something according to J.O.B.

Listen

Who Are We?

Samples going backwards. Vibes sprinkled. Bass bumping over a fluid drum track. Shockwave spits his classic verse with Anoir coming on right after.

Notable Quotes:

"With the brains of two men I devise my schemes/ Planning plots/ Fucking up teams/ Of punks/ Two bit drunk monks/ When I'm finished I dice em up in itsy chunks"

- Shockwave

"In your cerebral cortex I proceed to embalm/ Your dead brain cells - make your nervous system calm"

- Anoir Akbar

Find out who they are

Peep Game

In 2000 Mysterio collabed with Kwote, Cise and Anoir Akbar on this dark and grimy track. Samples from "Goodfellas" and Herbie Hancock's "Death Wish" album accent the creepy beat as all three mc's come off with their own style.

Notable Quotes:

"In tune with my chi/ Mind vast like the sea/ School kids like Pre/ It's all elementary"

- Anoir

"You defeating me is negative/ So keep surprising me/ You like my Ex/ Keep lying to me"

- Cise

"One time for Connect/ That's the state that I rep/ One diss from your camp and I'll snatch the deck"

- Kwote

PEEP GAME

Cold Sweat

Thump. Thump. Thump. The drums pound on this Claw creation with flows delivered with laser beam preciseness by Kwote and Reign. The pianos on this one bug me out - all over the place in only a fashion that the KLZA could deliver.

NOTABLE QUOTES:

"Coming from the cold north/ You have long dollars/ Bet I can make them short/ We're the type of cats to rob you for the sport/ Gun tucked under the leather - sawed off - sure" - Kwote

"On a downward slope - got you in my scope/ Got your weak ass lyrics choking on my rap rope/ I ain't no joke/ You see I laugh/ I mash/ And dash/ And deep slash/ Cut you off at the pass"

Cold Sweat

Welcome to Bandcamp

I will be uploading files to Bandcamp for now on as the Zshare files tend to expire.

The Evil City

The song is not as foreboding as the picture above is. The intro is provided by Loki from the show "Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends". The musical landscape is peppered with a light piano, bright horns and vocal snippets from Eric Sermon.

Notable Quotes:

"I got a call from my man J.O./ Peep the scene/ He was talking about hitting up a club called Sixteen"

"I'll check you at the club/ No doubt/ You know the route/ Told me not to forget the Bulls suck and peace out"

Enter the Evil City

Slideshow

2001 - the year we made contact. Still have no clue where Jake Lamada got this dope piano from. This song strikes so many chords within me. It just has that vibe that makes me think of those rainy days in Brooklyn - looking out the window, coffee in hand, smoke in the background. Cise fits perfectly on this track.

Pulled Quotes:

"Style's unpredictable like rolling dices/ My girls got name like Kim and Isis"

"Walk cold streets with heat/ Raise the temp fifty degrees"

"Turn raps into Olympics/ Carrying rap's torch/ Let the lyrics blow like heat/ Heads begin to scorch"

Flows Are Priceless - Get it for Free

Star Boy

This one was a inside joke dedicated to "Star Boy". Claw and Moosie Moe dropped this crazy little gem reminiscent of some Digital Underground type joint. Complete with a wild freestyle from Claw & Moosie Moe over a beat box mixed with a bubbling drum beat. Wild vocal echos pepper the track with a riding bass line accentuating it all. Just some good old times bugging out in the studio.

This One's For You, Star Boy

Seven Orisha

High concept with a dope beat and lyrics to go make this one solid song. Usually posse cuts can fall victim to droning musical landscapes coupled with drab lyrics. The mellow asian vibes lead into the uptempo and very bouncy track where the seven emcees from the Kaotic Collective drop some serious knowledge in a very playful way.

Bless the Mic with it God

Bear Witness

Bare... Bear... witness...

I don't know why but I labeled the song BEAR witness and not BARE witness on most of the old tapes and such and I guess it just stuck.

The initial spark happened when Aya da Storm suggested using the sample "I heard all the people say". In turn Mysterio crafted a laid back, funky and very melodic track which he laced with background sound effects to accentuate the rhymes of E.N.S., Anoir Akbar and Aya.

Pulled Quotes:

"My team reacts and shines like the northstar/ While you busy talking about your clothes and your cars" - Aya Da Storm

"Can I get a cheer for the crew coming thru/ Rolling bamboo/ Sipping on Blackened Voodoo" - Anoir Akbar

"Ponder the thought bro/ Cause if your thought is so-so/ You're dissappearing like Orko/ With Four Mo'/ Lumps to your head prior to this altercation/ Cause syllables of mine eradicate this fucking nation" - E.N.S.

E.N.S., Anoir & Aya 1999

Aya Da Storm 1997

Rare Artist Series: Last Emperor - Monumental

One of my favorite songs by the Last Emperor.  I remember buying this 12" record back in the day and it still gets heavy rotation.

Monumental

Good Times

This song was forgotten until I stumbled across it on one of the many Universal Sounds cassettes residing in the archives. This song pairs MJB with Moosie Moe over a Mysterio track made in 1994. A very light hearted song with a mellow beat that samples some old Bob James record and hooks pulled from Biz Markie & the X-Clan.

Notable Quotes:

"If it comes down to mic time you know I got dibs/ And I even look fresh eating barbeque ribs"

- MJB

"Competion was said to be arriving?/ They lost in the seventies - I see them still jiving"

- Moosie Moe

Smile

Propaganda

This was a track that J.O.B. created for a Spee*D concept song.

One Big Fat Lie

Founders Freestyles 1994

Back in Founders during the summer of 1994 many freestyle sessions took place in a smoked filled room. This session features beats by E.N.S., J.O.B., Claw and Mysterio. Emcees featured are E.N.S., Claw, Moosie Moe, T-Booth, J.O.B. with Fred Dogs and Spee*D giving support in the background. All scratches vary from each of the emcees and producers - that's just how we did back then - constant rotation.

Highlights include when T-Booth hits Claw in the head with the microphone and E.N.S. encouraging a reluctant Fred to get on the mic.

Get Free

Time & Again

This classic track was made in 1996 by MJB and Mysterio. The horns and piano set a tone similar to the "Uptown Anthem" song by Naughty by Nature and then what comes in is something less sinister but equally head nodding.

The bassline is funky and the drums crunchy enough to fit around it like a glove with the pianos giving the proper accent. Lyrics from the emcees of Universal Sounds set up the hook for this U.N.I. standard.

NOTABLE QUOTES:

"A perfect compliment to any type of groove/ Like Kix I'm kid tested and mother approved" - MJB

"And who wrecks mics better? You?/ Yeah, whatever/ I bet a dime in five minutes time your pants will be wetter" - MJB

Grape Ape

Rare Artist Series: Lace Da Booms Cut That Weak Shit

I remember having this jawn by Lace Da Booms on a mixtape back in the day.  Recorded off of one the mix shows in New York.  I searched and searched for years onward and did not stumble onto it until about two months ago.  Love it.  Just pure hip hop.  Not the most amazing rhymes but the beats fit the vocal inflections of the emcees perfectly.  So...

Cut That Weak Shit

St. Ides Rap

What beer drinker didn't drink St. Ide's back in 1993? Well, I guess those with taste. I was not one of them and neither was T-Booth or J.O.B. who came up with this PSA at the same time Ice Cube and his friends were endorsing said brew.

Notable Quotes:

"Drink all night and don't stop it/ But use a brown paper bag so you can hide it from the cops, kid" - T-Booth

Listen responsibly...

Get Drunk

Deadly Rhyme Medley

1997 was the year when this little gem was born. Claw crafted the dark beat where himself, Aya and MJB laid down some serious verbal warfare. This track will never get old to me. The beat is sinister and the lyrics are the type that make you want to rewind or read them as liner notes. Definitely a highlight of the Universal Sounds collective.

Notable Quotes:

"Hip Hop Temple desecration/ So I bring terror like the book of Revelation/ Emcees throughout the nation/ Just heed me when I warn/ Or face shame and scorn/ Wish you were never born/ In your side I'll be the thorn" - Aya Da Storm

"Stringent contingents/ Continue to put the rent through/ But some sit for self and try to eat the whole menu/ Sights I send to/ Don't even try the evil that men do/ I'm way ahead of you/ I correspond with men who bend you" - MJB

"I curse the track - disperse my rhyme verse/ I be the first - you be the worst/ I'm doing work/ My style lurks and creeps on emcees that sleep/ It's deep - I play for keeps and the keeps are steep" - Claw

Enter the Medley