Big Red & Diamond D - Created A Monster - 1995

12" - 1995 - Payday 

Big Red released this 12" alongside the legendary Diamond D on Payday Records in 1995. This remains Big Red's only official release. It contains the lead single "Created A Monster" (Radio & Instrumental) on the A-side and the track "How They Want It" (Radio, Dirty & Instrumental) featuring Diamond D on the B-side.

Big Red hails from the Bronx, NY (White Plains Road area) and was a member of the group The Fantastic 4, with K.Terror a.k.a K.Terroribul, John Dough and Los Angeles-based rapper Ras Kass. The group's production was handled by Diamond D. They released a single titled "You're In The Wrong Place" in 1998, which appears on the B-side of Diamond D's 12-inch single "With The Dope Sound", released on Dusty Fingers Records.

The Fantastic 4 was formed in the mid-late 90s, bringing together Big Red, John Dough, Diamond D and K.Terror (now known as Terror Von Poo), who had all grown up on the same block when they were kids. K.Terror had been Diamond D's hype man on tour since the early '90s and had already appeared on Diamond D's first two albums. As for John Dough, he was part of the hype crew in the early 90s for another D.I.T.C. member, Fat Joe. The connection between the crew and RasKass first happened when Diamond D worked with him on his "Soul On Ice" album. Diamond D produced a few instrumentals for him but Ras Kass didn't pick them and they don't appear on the album. That's all I know about the connection between the group members and despite the group's huge potential, no album was ever released unfortunately...

Information about Big Red's disappearance from the New York hip-hop scene after that remains unclear. I do know that he later pursued a high level career in combat sports, which may explain why he didn't become more involved in the rap game. "Created A Monster" is a really good 12" in my opinion and definitely one to have in your record collection. Grab a copy if you find one !  Peace

 

New Joint : Fresh Daily - Shining Bright feat. Rome Streetz - 2026

 

Fresh Daily drops "Shining Bright", produced by Roper Williams and featuring Rome Streetz.

Dirty Crookz - Demo 1994

Patrock Hesse (of Heavy Jewelz Records) delivers a new demo tape from his vault, recorded in 1994 by a Chicago-based group called Dirty Crookz.

 

Patrock : "Today, we have a demo tape by the Dirty Crookz from Chicago, Illinois. It was released in 1994 on Warzone Records and produced by Warzone Productions. The tape includes seven raw cuts: "Breakfast 4 Da Blunted", "Get Off Da Pot!", "Make It Ruff", "Mellowed Out", "Milk 4 Da Butter", "Sucka MC's", and "Full Metal Jacket".

Warzone Productions consists of Doug Woodbury and Matt Warren. Doug worked as an engineer on the 1993 album Black Circle by the Chicago emcee Krash Man. The tracks "Booty Mack" and "4 40's" from that album were also recorded at Warzone Studios. Matt Warren is a DJ, producer and engineer, and is one of the pioneers of the Chicago house music scene. He has released several house music records since the '80s. However, he also produced different genres and worked for major labels like RCA, Blue Note, Capitol Records and Bad Boy. Warzone Records was mainly a House and Dance music label."

New Joint : Indigenous Cats - Time Loops ft. Fashawn - 2026

Indigenous Cats (INA & Calmplx) deliver "Time Loops", their new single produced by Zapata The Ghost and featuring Fashawn.

Donnie Propa Presents Straight From The Crate Cave - Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth Edition

Donnie Propa returns with a 100% vinyl mixtape (2 different covers, 4 colourway shells) dedicated to the legendary duo Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth.

A Side :

1. Can’t Front On Me 

2. Back On Da Block 

3. Return Of The Mecca 

4. Down With The King 

5. In The House 

6. Take You There (remix) 

7. What’s Next On The Menu 

8. It’s Not A Game 

9. Searching (remix) 

10. I Got A Love 

11. All The Places 

12. We Specialize 

13. It’s On You 

B Side :

1. They Reminisce Over You (remix) 

2. It’s Like That 

3. Wig Out 

4. Don’t Curse 

5. One In A Million 

6. Get On The Mic 

7. Get On The Mic (remix) 

8. Da Two 

9. Death Becomes You 

10. I Get Physical 

11. Worldwide 

12. Appreciate 

13. Lots Of Lovin (remix) 

14. Check It Out 

15. Straighten It Out (remix)

Order  

Philmore Greene - Philmore And Phriends Vol.1 EP - 2026

"Philmore And Phriends Vol.1" is the latest project dropped by Chicago-based MC Philmore Greene. It features Illa Ghee, Vic Spencer, Passport Rav, Buckethatace, INTLMC, Ta'Rhonda Jones and Heavy Crownz. All the productions are handled by Rashid Hadee, except track #5 produced by Jay P.

Spotlight on Nuphskillz

It's been 11 years since the snippets of this 93 demo tape was uploaded on YouTube, and no further information about this New Jersey-based group has surfaced since. So better late than never... let me bring you some ! 

Nuphskillz was a group from Newark, NJ, consisting of Chuck Darkness, Hardroc Da Verbal Bully, Doc Diesel (RIP), Doc-C and Sideshow Skee.

It all started when Chuck Darkness, who was originally a solo rapper, decided to put a group together. Since they all came from the same neighborhood (4th Ave 11th Street), he first recruited Hardroc Da Verbal Bullye and taught him how to rap.

Doc Diesel, who had all the equipment and handled the production, joined the crew as its DJ and beatmaker. Then there was Sideshow Skee, a childhood friend who grew up with them and served as the group's hype man. From what I know, he brought an incredible energy to the crew. Chuck Darkness met Doc-C in college and he eventually joined the group, stepping in to replace Hardroc after he got locked up. 

This 4-Track demo tape is the only material recorded by the group under the name Nuphskillz. The group later changed its name to Kurrupt Thoughtz after parting ways with Doc-C. In 1994, Hardroc, Chuck Darkness and Doc Diesel released their one and only 12" (Smoked Out / Summer Madness / Off With Hiz Heads) on the independent label 411 Recordings, which was managed by Hardroc & Chuck Darkness. Only 150 copies were pressed at the time, so the wax became extremely rare and hard to find.

12" - 1994 - 411 Recordings  

That's all I can say about this group. After that, Hardroc went solo and recorded an entire mixtape with Tha Governer a.k.a Gov Mattic (RIP) titled "I Know Where You Live". He is still a BrickMob member and goes now by the name Rocco Bomber. Sideshow Skee got married and moved to Maryland. Doc-C stopped rapping and he moved also. Doc Diesel was still a producer but sadly he passed away in 2023... Rest In Peace. As for Chuck Darkness, he still lives in Newark and he creates AI sitcoms & movies.

Video : AMXXR - What You Gonna Do - 2026

AMXXR delivers the visuals for "What You Gonna Do", his latest single produced by legendary Pete Rock, taken from their collaborative album "DopeBoySoul", dropping December 4th on Tru Soul Records.