The Speedknotz - The Speedknotz EP - 1998

12" EP - 1998 - Bloody Hook Records

This rare 12" EP released by the Speedknotz came out in 1998 on Bloody Hook Records. This Brooklyn based group was founded in the early 90s by War, Stress and Revo. The EP is composed of 5 tracks "Remember Me / The Zone / I Never / Jealousy & Envy / Knotz Landin", produced by War & Stress.

Not really easy to find info about the Speedknotz. The wax is well known by the Hip-Hop records collectors but I've never seen a review on the internet or in a Hip-Hop magazine. So the best thing I had to do was to contact the members. That's how War Bixby talked to me about the creation of the crew : 

"It started back on the early 90’s, Brooklyn was crazy ! We smoked blunts and just rap about each other (aka dissing) but in rhyme form, usually about how you were gonna bone the other guys Mom.. his clothes and how broke he was. I began to notice I could put words together that really meant something rather than blurt out jibber Ish about getting head from my boys Mom.

I met Stress cause his uncle lived on my block in Parkslope Brooklyn. We just would nod our heads like "what up" and keep it moving. Hip Hop was and still is a way of life, we learned a lot through the music.. like Slick Rick 'hey young world' where he addresses drug issues, KRS One 'Loves gonna get you' etc... we were rapping as a way of life, as a means of therapy. It was a hard time, Broken families, low income… We found a way to express ourselves through hip hop.

I worked as a barber in a popular barbershop named 'Just You' , there I met Marcos and Revo, they lived in the court street area of Brooklyn, Redhook Projects. Stress and I both worked as barbers, my boy Markus owned the shop so I got him in.

We always talked music, we both liked to dance, locking and battling, we even battled each other at 'intensity night club' in Sheepshead Bay... Das Efx was supposed to perform and canceled !! The club went crazy and everybody began to tear the club up, fights... bottles thrown and shots !! 

Through the shop I met a Dj, legendary “Dj Fat Phil” from w9st. Revo, Marcos, Stress and myself went to his house and he span records of instrumentals... we freestyled to them and he recorded it on a tape cassette. We thought that’s what it meant to go to a studio...We played the tapes at the barbershop. They were hating on us... saying everybody wants to be a rapper and laugh...

One day Guru from GangStarr walked into the shop... I cut his hair... he wanted a demo.. a real demo.. I was like huh? He said "go to a studio and get clean music"

Didn’t know anyone with a studio and didn’t know how to even find one...  this is way before the internet as we know it today. Luckily I met Shabazz the Disciple. He lives in Redhook Projects. He told me they were looking for talent to be part of the Mad Mob. He told us to meet him in the Projects, there we met Rated-X (known today as Hell Razah from Sunz of Man) Tre Bag and Supreme. We kicked our freestyles and they said they’d get back to us.

The Mad Mob - Early 90s - Photo courtesy of War Bixby

We needed a name… Me and Revo were at my house smoked out... we came up with "Speedknotz" originally spelled with the z at the end.. the vinyl was a misprint they made a mistake on it and didn’t want to redo it for us. Revo a.k.a Lumpz , Ed a.k.a Stressed out, War a.k.a Bad Vibez which became War Bixby and Marcos ended up not wanting to be part of it. My cousin's boyfriend set us up with a meeting at Def Jam. We went to see some exec but instead Randy Allen co creator of legendary rap group Onyx persuaded us to meet with him and his partner Jam Master Jay of Run Dmc.

They met us at the barbershop in Brooklyn, when all the people who laughed at us saw Jam Master Jay walk in, their hearts dropped ! Everyone wanted autographs, but he denied and stuck to the business... he loved our music.. that’s one of the greatest days of my life !!

Our producer at the time Supreme and Shabazz were in talks with a new group that was coming together a.k.a Wu-Tang. When JMJ wanted to sign us, Supreme wanted them to sign the whole Mad Mob including Speedknotz, but Jam Master Jay didn’t want the Mad Mob, he wanted Speedknotz ... so negotiations were kinda salted and It left a bad taste in JMJ mouth. The Mad Mob ended up linking up with the Wu-Tang Clan and they went their own way, it was definitely the fact we were so close to a deal ! "

After that, they were supposed to link with Jay Z or James Cruz (Violator Records) but each time negociations fucked up ... They met Dj Threat (RIP) at the Ruff Ryder’s office and he was supposed to play them on Hot97 but he died in a motorcycle accident the next day... Finally they were part of Death Row East, but the movement never took off. In spite of a great talent, The Speedknotz were definitely doomed to stay unsigned ...

Extra Bonus... I've found a Speedknotz Freestyle from a Stretch & Bobbito Show in the archives, aired on March 21st 1996. 

Massive Props to War Bixby (Youtube Channel / Instagram) & John Ruiz