Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth's classic LP 'Mecca and the Soul Brother' turned 30 recently, so reminisce for a spell with a mix of OG Samples, Remixes, & Blends.
The way Pete sampled old jazz/funk/soul records and layered them over hard, dusty drums was masterful (how he caught that little part on the fadeout of an Ohio Players record for 'Lots Of Lovin' still amazes me).    
Combine that with C.L.'s sharp yet fluid lyricism (how many MC's could rhyme like THIS back in '92??), and you unquestionably have one of the pillars of early 90's NYC boom bap.

******THE MAIN INGREDIENT 30TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE HERE****
https://soundcloud.com/djfilthyrich/pete-rock-cl-smooth-main-ingredient-30th-anniversary-mix

Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Mecca and the Soul Brother 30th Anniversary Mix (DJ Filthy Rich)

UpNorthTrips is proud to present to you all, alongside our brothers at NahRight The Making of Hard to Earn with DJ Premier. 

Earlier this week our dude Dan Isenberg (@StanIpcus)  had the utmost privilege and honor of sitting with Primo at Headquarterz Studios (formerly D&D Studios) to talk in-depth about the creation of Gang Starr’s classic fourth album, and break down each of its songs track-by-track. 

We figured it was only right to provided yall with an original mix from our in-house DJ, The Vinylcologist (@TheVinylcologist) titled Hard to Earnstrumentals. The mix goes beyond highlighting the beats and samples on Hard to Earn, as over half of the album's instrumentals we're deconstructed and re-workings by Vinyl himself. In true UpNorthTrips fashion, we provided a dope collection of ill throwback pics and images to accompany the interview from our vaults.

NahRight & UpNorthTrips Present: Hard To Earnstrumentals (20th Anniversary Mix)

Hot Spring

## BULLETPROOF CRATES RECORDINGS PRESENTS:
DJ SHEEP: SUMMER SPLIFFZ: VOLUME 2

Recorded Live: Thursday 30th July 2015

I've raided the dusty crates for ya'll on 'Volume 2' of the Summer Spliffz trilogy. Recorded live in one take on two turntables at the Bulletproof Crates lab in Australia: This mix features more crate staples, classics and hidden gems from the funk, soul, soundtrack, jazz crates & beyond. #diggin101. 

I appreciate all the spins and support with this new series after my brief hiatus from music. I have USB sticks packed with my mixes, digital files and a special 45 featuring Roc Marciano & J-Zone over at http://djsheep.bigcartel.com if you wish to support.

Also, here's an little write up I did of 10 Classic Moments in DMC History: egotripland.com/dj-sheep-10-classic-moments-in-dmc-dj-battle-history/

Shouts to egotrip, pipomixes, cratesofjr, Wax Poetics Japan, Scott Heins @ Okayplayer, GRNDGD, Ryan Proctor, Snoop God, ADA, DJ Muro, Silverchild & MSA.

peace. DJ Sheep

SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/djsheep
Facebook: facebook.com/djsheep
Twitter: twitter.com/djsheep
Website: www.djsheep.com

Summer Spliffz: Volume 2

Part Documentary,
Part "Best Of",
Part Insanity,
All Love.

We got a great response from this one from the likes of Just Blaze, Ego Trip and the man himself, the Large Professor.....then our page got got. So presented without the benefit of all the great comments, hearts and repost tallys that the good people of the internet bestowed upon us the first time around, here is the re-post of our mix paying tribute to one of the greatest to ever do it.

Its Overture presents "Mad Science: The Large Professor Story" (Mix)

To celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Brand Nubian's debut 'One for All', our buddy Chris Read has crafted yet another dope mix of album tracks, alternate versions, remixes, and original sample material.  Press play and enjoy!

Artwork by Leon Nockolds
Words by Alice Price-Styles

Tracklist:

1. Ray, Goodman & Brown - 'Another Day' (Sampled in 'Wake Up (Reprise in the Sunshine)')2. Chris Read - 'Theme #3' (Scratchapella)
3. Brand Nubian - 'Wake Up (Reprise in the Sunshine)'
4. Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians - 'What I Am' (Sampled in 'Slow Down')
5. Kool & The Gang - 'Kool It (Here Comes The Fuzz)' (Loop) (Sampled in 'Slow Down')
6. Brand Nubian - 'Slow Down'
7. Ohio Players - 'Never Had A Dream' (Loop) (Sampled in 'Slow Down')
8. The Nite Liters - 'Tanga Boo Gonk' (Sampled in 'Wake Up (Stimulated Dummies Mix)
9. Brand Nubian - 'Wake Up (Stimulated Dummies Mix)
10. The Mar Keys - 'Plantation Inn' (Sampled in 'Step to the Rear')
11. Big Daddy Kane - 'Smooth Operator' (Extract) (Sampled in 'Step to the Rear')
12. Brand Nubian - 'Step to the Rear'
13. James Brown - 'Funky President (People It's Bad)' (Sampled in 'To the Right')
14. Brand Nubian - 'To the Right'
15. James Brown - 'Can Mind' (Sampled in 'All for One')
16. James Brown - 'All for One' (Extract) (Sampled in 'All for One')
17. Brand Nubian - 'All for One'
18. Kool & The Gang - 'Jungle Jazz' (Sampled in 'Drop the Bomb')
19. Trouble Funk - 'Drop the Bomb' (Extract) (Interpolated in 'Drop the Bomb')
20. Public Enemy - 'Anti-Nigger Machine' (Extract) (Sampled in 'Drop the Bomb')
20. Brand Nubian - 'Drop the Bomb'
21. James Brown - Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud (Sampled in 'Dedication')
22. Brand Nubian - 'Dedication'
23. The Gap Band - 'Tommy's Groove' (Sampled in 'Ragtime')
24. Brand Nubian - 'Ragtime'
25. Steve Arrington - 'Nobody Can Be You' (Sampled in Grand Puba, Positive & LG)
26. Run-DMC - Here We Go (Live at the Funhouse) (Extract) (Sampled in Grand Puba, Positive & LG)
27. Brand Nubian feat Positive K and L.G - 'Grand Puba, Positive & L.G'
28. Syl Johnson - Different Strokes (Loop) (Sampled in 'Try to Do Me')
29. Brand Nubian - 'Try to Do Me'
30. Cameo - 'Rigor Mortis' (Sampled in 'Brand Nubian')
31. Brand Nubian - 'Brand Nubian'
32. Parliament - 'Flash Light' (Extract) (Sampled in 'Brand Nubian')
33. Cannonball Adderley Quintet feat Jesse Jackson - 'Walk Tall' (Sampled in 'Concerto in X Minor')
34. Brand Nubian - 'Concerto in X Minor'
35. The Last Poets - 'When the Revolution Comes (Extract) (Sampled in 'Concerto in X Minor')
36. Earth, Wind & Fire - 'Bad Tune' (Sampled in 'Dance to my Ministry')
37. Trouble Funk - 'Pump me Up' (Extract) (Sampled in 'Dance to my Ministry')
37. Brand Nubian - 'Dance to my Ministry'
38. James Brown - 'Popcorn with a Feeling' (Sampled in 'Who Can Get Busy Like This Man')
39. Brand Nubian - 'Who Can Get Busy Like This Man'

Brand Nubian 'One for All' 25th Anniversary Mixtape mixed by Chris Read

01.  DJ Chief-One - Intro / Time Ta Bounce (Lord Finesse)
02.  Busta Rhymes - Woo Hah (Jay-Dee Bounce Remix)  
03.  Large Professor - I Juswannachill
04.  De La Soul - Sunshine
05.  Erick Sermon - Breaker 1, Breaker 2 - feat Redman & Keith Murray
06.  Guru - The Lifesaver (DJ Premier Remix)
07.  Beatnuts - Find That
08.  Terror Green - 45 Stitches
09.  Wisdom - All Star Jam - feat. Adagio! & The Juggaknots
10.  Street Smartz - Metal Thangz - feat O.C. & Pharoahe Monch
11.  Mobb Deep - Back at You
12.  Young Zee - Problems
13.  Paula Perry - Paula’s Jam
14.  Natural Elements - I Got Your Heart
15.  Busta Rhymes & Hurricane G - Far Away
16.  Da Beatminerz & De La Soul - The Hustle
17.  Science Of Sound  - Who Got the Funk? - feat Phife Dawg
18.  Lord Finesse - Underworld Operations - feat Marquee
19.  J-Live - Braggin Writes (Dome Cracker Remix) 
20.  Tragedy - L.A. L.A. - feat Mobb Deep & Capone-N-Noreaga
21.  Heather B - My Kinda Ni**a - feat M.O.P.
22.  Common Sense - The Bitch in Yoo 
23.  Big Shug - Crush
24.  Jay-Z - Bring It On - feat Sauce Money & Big Jaz
25.  Jeru The Damaja - One Day
26.  A+ - Wanna Be Rich
27.  2 Face (L Swift & A Butta) - NYC
28.  Scienz of Life - The Anthem
29.  Hi-Tech - 24/7
30.  M.O.P. - How About Some Hardcore 96’
31.  R.A. the Rugged Man - 50,000 Heads - feat Sadat X
32.  Real Live - Real Live Shit (Remix) - feat Ghostface, Lord Tariq & Killa Sin
33.  Gauge - Cranium (Remix) - feat Cella Dwellas
34.  Adagio! - The Obvious Joint
35.  Ras Kass - Soul On Ice (Diamond D Remix)
36.  Meaner - It’s Been a Long Time
37.  Sic Sense - Positional Bypass
38.  De La Soul - Stakes Is High (Remix) - feat Mos Def & Truth Enola
39.  Bush Babees - The Love Song (Remix) De La Soul & Mos Def
40.  The Roots - Section
41.  Large Professor - The LP
42.  A Tribe Called Quest - Peace, Prosperity & Paper
43.  Keith Murray - The Rhyme (Remix)
44.  Redman - Funkorama (Remix) - feat Erick Sermon
45.  Trigger Tha Gambler - My Crew Can’t Go For That
46.  Heltah Skeltah - Operation Lockdown
47.  Innersoul - It’s the Right Time (Remix)
48.  Chubb Rock - Mr Rock (Remix)
49.  Special Ed - Freaky Flow (DJ Premier Remix)

DJ CHIEF-ONE - 1996 MIXTAPE (Part 1)

Basically, I'm a child of 90's hip-hop. I always have been and always will be. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of dope hip-hop on the market today (mainstream and underground), but to me, the eight-year period spanning from 1990 - 1998 was a hip-hop Renaissance that will probably never be duplicated. And DJ Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia (AKA Cool Bob Love, AKA DJ Cucumber Slice, AKA the ten thousand other nicknames this dude has) were probably two of the most influential people in the game at that time. I'm not gonna go into a long history regarding their show on WKCR, but from 1990 - 1998, during the hours of 1-5 AM every Thursday night / Friday morning, these two, for lack of a better term, "smashed the airwaves" of the New York metropolitan area. Their show was responsible for launching the careers of Nas, Mobb Deep, Big L, Jay-Z, Big Pun, Fat Joe, The Notorious B.I.G., A Tribe Called Quest, The Beatnuts, Black Moon, Redman, The Wu-Tang Clan, and the list goes on and on. Since I was too young during the show's heyday, I've had to feed my addiction for this show by scouring the internets for uploaded tapes from listeners from back in the day. What I did with this mix was try to showcase some of the joints that were spun on their show beginning in 1990 and ending in 1998. I compiled all the tracks to make it seem like you're listening to an actual taping of the show. All of these tracks were played on WKCR at least once (some more than others). I even threw in some of my favorite freestyles and exclusives, which were taken directly from old cassettes. I've got a ton of these old recordings, and it was really difficult to decide what to include/exclude, but hopefully, you'll get a sense of their legendary show and the evolution of classic hip-hop over a legendary eight-year period. Also, shout out to the good peoples at <a href="http://Philaflava.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Philaflava.org</a> for supplying me and the rest of the Stretch &amp; Bob fiends with hundreds of old tapes. Turn that shit up....

Note: I let some of the freestyles run for an extended period since some of them are just too legendary to cut short. 

1. Intro from WKCR
2. Main Source - Live at the Barbecue (Feat. Nas, Akinyele, &amp; Joe Fatal)
3. A Tribe Called Quest - Spirits
4. Lord Finesse - The Funky Technician
5. Showbiz &amp; A.G. - Party Groove (Instrumental)
6. Showbiz &amp; A.G. - Soul Clap
7. A Tribe Called Quest - Footprints
8. Masta Ace - Jeep Ass Niguh (Bizcappella)
9. Gang Starr - B.Y.S.
10. Dr. Dre - Puffin on Blunts and Drinkin Tanqueray (Feat. Daz, Kurupt, &amp; Rage)
11. Akinyele - The Bomb
12. Wu-Tang Clan - 7th Chamber (Original Demo Version)
13. Hurricane G - Milky (WKCR Exclusive Demo)
14. Company Flow - Juvenile Techniques
15. The Beatnuts - Reign of the Tech
16. Kool G Rap - F@#$ U Man
17. Pete Rock and CL Smooth - One in a Million
18. Kurious Jorge - Walk Like a Duck
19. Nas - WKCR Freestyle (10.28.93) (PRE-ILLMATIC)
20. A Tribe Called Quest - Mr. Incognito
21. The Notorious B.I.G. - Dreams
22. Jeru Tha Damaja - Come Clean
23. Outkast - Southernplayalisticadilacmuzik (Diamond D Remix)
24. Artifacts - Flexi Wit Da Tech (Nique)
25. The 45 King - Brainstorm (Feat. Latee)
26. Group Home - Supa Star (Instrumental)
27. LL Cool J - No Airplay (Dirty Promo Version)
28. Das Efx - Microphone Master (41st Side Remix) (Feat. Mobb Deep)
29. Redman - How U Get Down?
30. Lord Finesse, KRS-One - WKCR Freestyle (11.02.95)
31. The Fab Five - Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshkah
32. Smif-N-Wessun - Bucktown
33. Raekwon - Incarcerated Scarfaces
34. Big L - Put It On (LG Remix)
35. Jigmastas - Beyond Real
36. Big L, Bloodshed, Ma$e (yeah, the same Ma$e who made this) - WKCR Freestyle (04.18.96)
37. Natural Elements - Shine
38. Large Professor - Ijusswannachill
39. O.C. - What I Represent
40. Big Noyd - Usual Suspects (Stretch Armstrong Remix)
41. Mobb Deep - Street Life (Feat. LES &amp; ACD)
42. CNN (Capone-N-Norega) - LA, LA (Kuwait Mix) (Feat. Mobb Deep)
43. Juggaknots - Clear Blue Skies
44. DITC - Dignified Soldiers
45. Slum Village - Players (Instrumental)
46. Eminem &amp; Royce da 5'9' (Bad Meets Evil) - Scary Movies
47. Eminem &amp; Royce da 5'9' (Bad Meets Evil) - WKCR Freestyle (08.20.1998)
48. Outro (DJ Spinna Instrumental)



Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito Mix

Trailer 1: https://youtu.be/luyDKpIlakg
Trailer 2: https://youtu.be/eVezdHOqzyA

The inspiration for this project might have been best summed up by Nas himself:

"Large Professor was the one that really started working with me first…so we were on to a lot of crazy ideas…he really could have done the entire [Illmatic] record and in the beginning, I wanted him to. Once I was working with him, why would you need to go anywhere else? You got HIM…so my thought was that one day it would happen and he would do the whole thing" - Nas

Since that day has yet to come, we put together our own version of this elusive "lost album".

Drawing from the wealth of post-Illmatic Large Pro instrumentals and Nas acapellas, we carefully paired some of the best examples of two artists at the top of their game, highlighting some underrated works while reimagining hooks and adlibs to help fuel the illusion of an authentic collaboration.

Tracklist:

1. Phife's Intro
2. The Get Down
3. Queens Represent (Nobody Does It Better)
4. Wake Up
5. Ghetto Pt. 1
6. Warrior Anthem
7. Hey Nas
8. The Times
9. Phife's Reprise
10. Poison
11. Mind Activation
12. Ghetto Pt. 2
13. Dance
14. Everybody
15. King Of This

Its Overture presents Nasty Nas & The Extra P (The Lost Album)

To honor a masterpiece in Hip hop music, I have put together this mix to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Stunts, Blunts, & Hip Hop by Diamond & The Psychotics Neurotics.

TRACKLIST:

Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - Intro
George Benson - Footin' It
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - Freestyle (Yo, That's That Sh...)
Sly & The Family Stone - You Can Make It If You Try
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - Lunch Room Chatter
The J.B.'s - Gimme Some More
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - What You Seek
Tower Of Power -Sparkling In The Sand
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - Sally Got A One Track Mind
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - Sally Got A One Track Mind (Two Track Beat Down)
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - Sally Got A One Track Mind (Showbiz Remix)
Weather Report - American Tango
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid)
Earth, Wind, & Fire - Bad Tune
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - Feel The Vibe
Rare Earth - Keepin' Me Out Of The Storm
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - Pass Dat Shit
Lee Dorsey - Get Out My Life Woman
Tanya "Sweet T" Winly - Vicious Rap
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - Best Kept Secret (45 King Remix)
Three Dog Night - I Can Hear You Calling
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - Best Kept Secret (Extended Mix)
Baby Huey - Hard Times
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - Red Light, Green Light
Jack Bruce - Sam Enchanted Dick: Sam's Sack/Rill's Thrills
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - Step To Me
S.S.O. - Faded Lady
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - I Went For Mine
Flaming Ember - Gotta Get Away
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - I'm Outta Here
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - I'm Outta Here (Remix)
Watsonian Institute - Virgina's Pretty Funky 
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - A Day In The Life
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - You Can't Front
Brethren - Outside Love
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - Check One, Two
Mike Bloomfield & Al Kooper - Stop
Kleeer - Intimate Connection
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - Confused
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - "*!*!" What You Heard
Donny Hathaway - Magnificent Sanctuary Band
The Billy Cobham - George Duke Band - Almustafa The Beloved (Live)
Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics - Stunts, Blunts, & Hip Hop

J.Rocc & Babu "World Famous Joints Volume 2"

Life's a Mixtape