12" - 1999 - Fondle 'Em
Cloudkickers was a New York-based production duo, composed of Eli Escobar a.k.a. DJ Eli and Shan Nicholson a.k.a. Shan Boogs. They began their musical journey in New York City during the 90s, at a time when hip-hop culture was deeply embedded in the city's identity. Growing up surrounded by rap, graffiti, mixtapes and record digging, they developed an early passion for hip-hop beats, sampling and DJ culture.
In 1999, they released the Cloudkickers EP on Bobbito's Fondle 'Em Records label. It includes the tracks "And So Kiddies..." (Dirty, Clean & Instrumental) featuring Cage, "Truly Gifted Ones" (Dirty & Instrumental) featuring J-Treds, Pumpkinhead (RIP) and Yeshua Dapo ED, "Lay Puzzled", as well as three untitled instrumentals. All the scratches are handled by DJ Daze.
I imagine that the connection with Bobbito and Fondle'Em Records came about quite naturally, due to the fact that DJ Eli was also a radio host on 89Tec9 WKCR. Indeed, he hosted the Night Train Radio Show on Tuesday nights from 1am-5am in 1997-1998, alongside Apex of Dujeous, Kinetic of Arsonists and Nasty Vaz.
Circa 1997, Bobbito ran a shop called Bobbito's Footwork on the Lower East Side (323 East 9th Street), selling records, clothing and sneakers. The connection between Bobbito and DJ Eli could have been established during this period as well, as DJ Eli could have worked at the Footwork store.
Cloudkickers EP is easy to find and still fairly inexpensive... I recommend it, it's one of my favorite 12" on the Fondle 'Em Records label. And for fans of all those bullshits, it's worth noting that the track "And So Kiddies..." is considered to be at the origin of the beef between Cage and Eminem.
The duo also released another interesting double vinyl in the early 2000s, called the Cloudkickers Remix EP. It features remixes of artists such as Redman, Big L, Don Scavone, Teflon, NaS... among others. Another wax to catch for your collection !
