Called "the best Roots mixtape ever" by The Source Magazine and named Allhiphop.com's "Best Mixtapes of the Year 2006", J.PERIOD's official Best of the Roots is a one-of-a-kind collector’s item and a must-have for any fan of the best band in hip hop. Packed with over 50 tracks of Roots classics, rarities and exclusive J.PERIOD remixes, The Best of the Roots also features 6 exclusive new Black Thought freestyles and original tracks produced by J.PERIOD. Guest appearances from standout Roots crew members, plus Jay-Z, Rakim, Nas, Busta Rhymes, Big Pun, Stevie Wonder and more.

The Best of The Roots (Hosted by Black Thought)

The Best Of Gangstarr (R.I.P. Guru)

Celebrating 30 Years of Gang Starr's classic 'Hard To Earn'.
My 25th Anniversary tribute got taken down, so I revamped it for the 30th.

Blends, OG Samples, B-sides & unreleased.

Guru RIP

Gang Starr - Hard To Earn 30th Anniversary Tribute

Celebrating 25 Years of Ghostface Killah's 'Supreme Clientele' with a tribute mix of OG samples, blends etc 


Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele 25th Anniversary Mix (DJ Filthy Rich)

Drums Under Moonlight

Vol.244 Best Of Sean Price Mixtape Edition R.I.P

When @evboogie from @upnorthtrips proposed the idea for a mix celebrating the 20th anniversary of Ironman, we couldn't resist, considering that Ghostface might be our favorite rapper ever. 

Since Ironman was the last of six Wu-Tang albums produced entirely by Rza, we widened the scope of the mix in order to pay homage to his legendary run in that classic Wu-Tang era.

Artwork by @rhek

The Iron Age

UpNorthTrips presents The Iron Age (A Mix by Its Overture)

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

Mobb Deep Mix - Dope As Funk

Gang Starr Intro -						(First Step)
Vic Spencer X Sean P  - 				Bar School
Roc Marciano -					        The Delegation
MF Doom/Westside Gunn - 				Strings RMX		
Meyhem Lauren - 						151
Daniel Son - 							Karate Practice 
Crimeapple - 							Big Face Frankies
Conway - 							        Alpaca 
Elcamino	 -						Rayful Bag
Agallah - 							ETO
Benny X Milano -	 					Gorillas
Daniel Son - 							New Jersey Drive
Iron Sight - 							Tesla’s Ghost
Westside Gunn -						Camouflage Killa
Roc Marciano	 -					        Warm Hennessey 
Sauce Heist - 							Plus Degrees  
Hus Kingpin - 						Original Man
Illa Ghee - 							        Radiator Sweat Suit 
Mach Hommy - 						Beloved
Havoc - 							        Seize Power
Durag Dynasty - 						Fish Meat
Fashawn - 							        Songs In F Major
Roc Marciano - 						Dean Martin Steaks
Vic Spencer - 							Legitimate Ignorance 
Sean Price - 							Good Lobster
Daniel Son -  							Sugar Cube
Westside Gunn - 						Steffon Don
DJ Muggs Ft: MF Doom - 				Death Wish
Meyhem Lauren - 						Staircase Money
Evidence - 							Sell Me This Pen
Royce Da 5’9 - 						        Ill
Agallah - 							        Impersonate My Character
AnkhleJohn - 							Yellow House
Daniel Son - 							Bucket Spoons
Conway - 							        Andre Drummond 
Crimeapple - 							Dancin
Recognize Ali - 						Fly Thoughts
Rozwwood - 							Pandorum
Apollo Brown Ft: Guilty Simpson - 		Let’s Play
Sean Price - 							Not for nothing
Roc Marciano -						        Stop Me
Asun Eastwood - 					        Underbelly
Styles P - 							        Green Lantern Cut
Raekwon - 							Son Of Sam
Westside Gunn - 						John Starks
Labba - 							        Crazy Talk

Mobb Deep Mix - Dope As Funk

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