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February 18, 2008
The Rub's History of Hip-Hop, Vol. 18: 1996
The Rub dudes have been doing the world an undeniably necessary public service in recording their The History of Hip-Hop series of weekly mixtapes. If you haven't checked for them - and I know from conversation that many of you already have - do so. They're unsurprisingly excellent: impeccable selection, flawless mixing.
But my favorite thing about these mixes is the fact that hearing hip-hop's finest grouped not by region or style but by year means that every record is uniquely contextualized. They all fit together in a way that I'd forgotten from my ever-advancing vantage point. They are of a piece, just like they were when you lived through them.
Thus a year like 1996 - the latest installment, mixed by Cosmo Baker - is especially potent for me. I was a freshman in high school when '96 started and a sophomore when it ended. 15 years old. This was the year I got my first pair of turntables, djed my first parties, drank 40s, kissed girls - all while listening to these songs. Listening to them so hard, like only someone of that age can.
So besides the all-encompassing nostalgia that submerges me when tracks like the Dutchmins' "Get Your Swerve On" hit - I mean goddamn, I haven't heard this record in damn near ten years, despite having once obsessed over it - I realize that Cosmo, Eleven and Ayres are in fact performing crucial curatorial duties here. Cosmo's expert mix can't help but take on an archival air; the songs put together become a true history, painstakingly chronicled. (Cue Indiana Jones: it belongs in a musem!) And it takes me home - back to age 15, in Buffalo, excited and ready for life - in such powerful ways.
Here's Cosmo with "primary source" perspective:
"1996 is up!
I was truly psyched about doing 1996 because that was a very special year for me and it had a lot of impact. I had just moved back to Philly from New York (proving, at least for the time being, that nobody moves away from New York - they just "fail.") I was back in my hometown with no prospects and really nothing going for me. Over the past 18 months I had been living in New York and had been working in Eightball Records, fully involved in the downtown hip-hop scene. 1995 was such a good year for hip-hop (especially the New York-centric type) and I was at the epicenter of it all. Now I didn't really know what to do with myself. I had resumed classes at Temple and then got a job at Armand's records.
Before I knew it was at the middle of it again and, for the first time in a while, independent records really started to make a lot of noise. Being a buyer at Armand's definitely helped with that, and I got the chance to get my hands on pretty much all this new shit that nobody had heard of. I started to deal with Peanut Butter Wolf (he was still just a buyer at TRC Distribution in California) so I would get all this crazy California indie shit. Then, I re-linked up with my man Jared and started to help him with his record label, Illadelph Records. I went from being a "soundboard" for ideas for him to a semi A&R status to one of the in-house producers and a member of the Militant Mind State very shortly.
I also started to DJ again in Philly. The last residency I had was with King Britt and Dozia at Back To Basics but I left that behind. But I started again with a Monday night at Cafe Limbo playing all sorts of indie shit as well as funk and whatnot. Before I knew it, I got a call about a new club opening up, The Palmer, and they wanted me to spin there. I went from 1 night a week 2 5 within a couple months.
So yeah, 1996 was a year or rebirth for me. It was also a very good year in music. This mix was a labor of love but it was particularly hard for me to do, in particular because there was so much great stuff that came out that year that I wanted to put on. It was so hard to pick and choose what to use from "Stakes is High," "Reasonable Doubt," "All Eyes On Me," "ATLiens," "The Coming," "Beats, Rhymes & Life," "Endtroducing," "Riding Dirty" - the list goes on and on. And that's not even including the indie shit. So I hope I did this year justice.
Also, 1996 was the year that Dilla REALLY made an impact on me. It was '96 that I said to myself "This motherfucker right here is the REAL DEAL."
Anyways, with that, I present 1996. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed making it!"
- CB
Tracklist:
Chubb Rock & Biz Markie "No Rubber, No Backstage Pass"
MC Eiht "You Can't See Me" (DJ Spinna Remix)
Mac Mall "Get Right"
Outkast "Elevators"
Royal Flush "Worldwide"
Shyheim "Shaolin Style" feat. Squig
UGK "You Don't Know Me"
Jay-Z "Cashmere Thoughts"
Lil' Kim "Queen Bitch"
M.O.P. "Brownsville"
Company Flow "8 Steps To Perfection"
Nonchalant "5 O'Clock"
Bushwackas "Caught Up In The Game"
Dutchmin "Get Your Swerve On"
Jungle Brothers "How You Want It (We Got It)" (Native Tongues Remix)
Busta Rhymes "Everything Remains Raw"
Adagio "The Obvious Joint"
Capone -N- Noreaga "LA, LA" (Kuwait Mix feat. Mobb Deep & Tragedy Khadafi)
Sadat X "Stages & Lights"
The Arsonists "The Session"
Royal Flush "Rotten Apple"
Ini "Fakin' Jax"
J-Live "Braggin Writes" (DJ Spinna Remix)
Redman "Pick It Up"
Too Short "Buy You Some" feat. Erick Sermon
Sleestak'z "Ruination"
Absent Minded "Childs Play" (Left Stranded Mix)
Biz Markie "Studda Step"
Natural Resource "Negro League Baseball"
A-Plus "All I See"
Artifacts "The Ultimate"
Jay-Z "Friend Or Foe"
East Flatbush Project "Tried By 12"
Al Tariq "Peace Akki"
Fugees "Fu-Gee-La"
Scarface & Facemob "Skrilla"
Concrete Mob "Boiling Point"
Dr. Octagon "Bear Witness"
Constant Deviants "Competition Catch Speed Knots"
Jeru The Damaja "Ya' Playing Yaself"
Nas "Street Dreams"
2Pac "Toss It Up" feat. Danny Boy, Aaron Hall & KC & Jojo
Lost Boyz "Renee" (Mr. Sex L.B. Fam Version)
Large Professor "Ijuswannachill"
De La Soul "Stakes Is High"
Dark Sun Riders "Dark Sun Riders" (Ultra Jazz Remix)
Young Zee "Juice" feat. Rah Digga
Mobb Deep "Hell On Earth (Front Lines)"
Just Ro "Confusion" feat. Common
The Roots "What They Do"
Da Fat Cat Clique "Live From Fox Valley"
Keith Murray "The Rhyme" (Jay Dee Remix)
Busta Rhymes "Woo Hah!! Got You All In Check" feat. Rampage The Last Boyscout
De La Soul "Big Brother Beat"
Money Boss Players "Games"
Real Live "Day You Die"
LL Cool J "Summer Love"
Big Noyd "Usual Suspects" (Stretch Armstrong Remix)
Nine "Lyin' King"
Kool G Rap "Fast Life" feat. Nas (Norfside Remix)
Redman "Rock The Spot"
Heltah Skeltah "Lehflaur Leflah Eshkshoka"
Bounty Killer "Change Like The Weather" feat. Busta Rhymes & Junior Reid
Jigmasters "Beyond Real"
Da Bush Babees "The Love Song" feat. Mos Def
Outkast "2 Dope Boyz (In A Cadillac)"
The Almighty RSO "One In The Champer (The RSO Saga Pt. 2)" Spice 1 "Why You Wanna Funk?" feat. E-40 & The Click
Westside Connection "Bow Down"
2Pac "Picture Me Rollin'" feat. Syke & C Bo
The Pharcyde "Runnin'" (Jay Dee Remix)
A Tribe Called Quest "1nce Again"
Masters At Work "Get Up"
Lost Boyz "Get Up" (Remix)
Foxy Brown "Get You Home"
Greg Nyce "Set It Off"
Mac The Maniac "What Goes Up" (Remix feat. Chubb Rock & King Just)
Lil' Kim "Big Momma Thing" feat. Jay-Z
DJ Krush "Meiso" feat. The Roots
A Tribe Called Quest "Get A Hold"
Ghostface Killah "Daytona 500"
Ghostface Killah "Iron Maiden"
DJ Shadow "The Number Song" (Cut Chemist Remix)
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony "Crossroads"
Crucial Conflict "Hay"
Do Or Die "Po Pimp" feat. Twista
UGK "One Day"
Eightball & MJG "Listen To Me Now"
Coolio "Gangsta's Paradise"
B-Legit "Ghetto Smile"
Akinyele "Put It In My Mouth"
Goodie Mob "Cell Therapy" feat. Outkast
G. Dep "Head Over Wheels"
Camp Lo "Luchini (This Is It)"
2Pac "Hail Mary"
Posted by caps at February 18, 2008 09:22 PM