Perfect hip-hop from the Bronx's finest Andre the Giant featuring one of my favourite rappers - Sadat X from Brand Nubian, topped off with a beat blessed by the mighty Diamond D.



AG - Time Is Now (feat. Sadat X)

Massive long-lost jungle tune. Tearing beat over the bassline from Bob Marley's "Natural Mystic". Never thought I'd track this down!

Nice 'N' Slow

Super rare hip-hop produced by Kenny 'Dope', sampling the classic Shirley Bassey cover of "Light My Fire".

Roughneck Soldiers - Kill Or Be Killed

First of all, I ain’t even want to make this shit
There’s a lot of rap cats out here faking the shit
I’m a ghostwriter, I’m the cat that you don’t see
I write hits for rappers you like and charge ’em a fee
Yo don’t get me wrong dog, it’s the cheddar that counts
But fuck that nigga ______ cause his fucking check bounced
You thought ______ your single was hot? 
I wrote that shit five minutes in a parking lot
I’m the one that your man ______ had to go and get
Cause he smoked too much lye, couldn’t write his own shit
Now ______ A&R, he on my answering machine sick
Hollering in my phone, "Skillz, can you write to this?"
Sure, for stacks, nigga, I make your act bigger
But fuck ______ and his whole label cause I ain’t never get my plaque, nigga
Jadakiss told y’all cats and that’s that
Y’all have a ASCAP or get your ass capped

Now that fool ______ can’t flow, but his crew is sick
Cause he got long dough, so wait til you hear his new shit
I did two songs for ______ til they dough got straight
And even ______ from the west coast owe me some pape
Remember the little kids, the one that was in ______ group? 
I’m the reason you thought they lil raps was so cute
I had a hundred songs on the billboard list
Ask again dog, how I got your deal on my wrist
I did done NBA cats and NFL
But I stopped in ’97 cause they shit don’t sell
Now _______ paid up cause she was owing me stacks
Who in the hell you think had that chicken flowing like that? 
I hate writing for _____ cause he take too long
Crying about the price, I hit him with two fucking songs!
Ran up in ______’s office and wrecked his staff
Cause it’s been two years and dog ain’t paid the second half

So if you just signed, trust me dog, you can’t touch it
Don’t ask your label for Skillz, cause that ain’t in your budget
Y’all cats parlay for chips, I mingle for mills
I turn your whole album into a single deal
I stopped writing for ______ cos that fool don’t get it
Looking long sessions and he punching every five minutes
Where my ones, nigga? What the fuck I look like? 
And his man ______ got mad cause he couldn’t get the hook right
I spit ______ and we don’t see eye to eye
So I feel like Lee took his rollie up in BMI
I’m the one that gave ______ his brand new sound
I did his last two albums without even writing ’em down
And for _______ from the South, dog you shook
Stop bouncing on stage nigga like you wrote that hook
You favourite rappers’ songs? I put the flames in it
Y’all keep fucking around - I’m a put this back out with your names in it!

Mad Skillz - Ghost Writer

One of the freshest tracks I've ever heard - the unmistakable Beatnuts production of the "Ghetto Professionals" - V.I.C. and Juju, with El Da Sensai & Tame One of Artifacts fame on the mic.

Brick City Kids aka Artifacts - Brick City Kids

Another fresh track from the Strong Arm Steady emcee, released on 12" back in 2000 - I managed to find it on an underground compilation called "Styles Upon Styles' which came out on Stonegroove in 2001, but you can also get it on his "Smokefest" promo album which was released in 2003.

Phil predictably kills it over a laid back beat with a crazy flute loop produced by Evidence of Dilated Peoples.

Phil Da Agony - Blunted

Classic west coast sounds produced by Waajeed on ABB - released on 12" in 2001 and also featured on DJ Babu's 'Duck Season Vol. 1'.

Major 'Concrete Nigga'

'Dat X drops a new single via his Twitter - produced by City Parks - calling out 'G-Mail Ninjas' with a stern keep-it-real message. 

"You need to get yourself to the gym, Twitter beef is fem, that's not what real niggas do, where you from nigga, who know you?"

Plus check out the video featuring Premo and a whole lotta 'Lo.

Sadat X - The Fake Out

OK, so while we are all waiting on "Life Is Good", still full of optimism that it's gonna be "God's Son 2" NOT "Nastradamus 2", let's not just play to death "Nasty" and "The Don" but instead re-visit Elzhi's amazing homage to Nasir Jones's classic debut. The "Elmatic" project finds the ex-Slum Village emcee and Detroit resident creating new songs out of Nas’s original titles from "Illmatic" while rapping over the Will Sessions Band’s interpretation of the original beats. Sounds complicated? It couldn't be simpler. Pure niceness!

Elzhi - Represent

Ageing B-Boy. Likes Diamond D. Pete Rock. Large Pro. SD50's. Beatnuts. Breakbeat & 90's Jungle. Still diggin'.

Zero Dark 40

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