The upcoming vinyl release of the album "Contact" by Springfield, Ohio-based rapper BigShawnDon on the Gramofix Records label reminds me that Ohio's 90s hip-hop scene has largely remained under the radar. While a handful of artists and groups managed to break through at the time, such as J Rawls, MHZ, Universal Dialect, Southpaw, Blueprint or MOOD, many others never reached a wider audience.
This cassette "Mekka Born Sound - Street Life" released in 1998, documents some of those overlooked artists. Mekka Born Sound was a record label based in Colombus, Ohio, founded around 1997 and managed by DJ O-Sharp and Sherod Jones who also handled all the productions. The tape features artists and groups such as I&J, Nashon, Screw & Flage, D'Marco and Empire, a duo comprised of Walla Bee and Marlon.
Information about Mekka Born Sound and its artists was nearly impossible to find, so the best option was to reach out directly to DJ O-Sharp, who kindly took the time to respond and provide some details.
DJ O-Sharp : " Sherod Jones and I went to the same high school but grew up in different neighborhoods. I am from Agler Green and he's from Walnut Creek. He's actually one year older than me. We both have a strong passion for music and especially hip hop culture, from bboying on down to graffiti. The artists on the Street Life tape are all people we grew up with and some are even family members. Nashon is Sherod's little brother. Walla Bee is my nephew; his rhyme partner Marlon grew up in Walnut Creek with Nashon and Sherod. Demarco is actually from the Bronx; he was here for school at Ohio State. He was looking for studio time and found us, he's more like a brother than a friend. Screw and Flage are from the neighborhood. I met I&J at an open mic and I was so lost in his rap style. Mekka Born Sound was initially conceived as a way to produce artists from home and seek out a record deal first, later we served as the recording studio for MHZ'z, Lone Catalyst, Rashad and Rufus Blaque. There is so much unreleased music, and all those artists went on to do more music beyond Mekka Born Sound. "
Organized Konfusion - Confrontations
Talk Break with Popmaster Fable
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo - Wanted Dead Or Alive
Eric B & Rakim - No Omega
Big Daddy Kane - Wrath Of Kane
Rescue - I Doubt That You're Ready
The Proov - What I’m Not
Talk Break with Rok One
Rok One & Kwest Tha Madd Lad - '98 S&B Freestyle
Talk Break
Pete Rock feat Black Thought & Rob-O - It’s About That Time
LL Cool J - No Airplay
55:50 - ?
Check the Stretch&Bobbito Archives for more shows !
" Originally released in 1998, Krumb Snatcha's debut "Snatcha Season Pt. 1" finally gets the full reissue treatment including the all tracks from the original CD release plus the original version of "Gangsta Disease" as well as the remix version of "Romeo & Juliet". The album contains timeless productions by the likes of DJ Premier, Ski, Dialek and Curt Cazal to name a few. " - courtesy of 90's Tapes
Available in a limited run on 2LP+7" (in gatefold sleeve incl. bonus 7" ("Closer To God" b/w "Instrumental") - 300 copies), CD in jewel case (300 copies) & Cassette (100 copies).
"Originally released in 1998, S.U.N.'s solo debut is a true underground gem with that special feel. The acronym stands for "Scientific Universal Noncommercial" and the music speaks for itself. The album includes the original 16 tracks plus 5 unreleased bonus tracks from that time." - courtesy of 90's Tapes
Available in a limited run on 2LP (300 copies), CD in jewel case (300 copies) & cassette (100 copies).
Here is the Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito Show from June 25, 1998 without Bobbito who was overseas. A few talk breaks, Krunchtime and no guests.
Fat Joe – John Blaze ft. NaS, Big Punisher, Jadakiss & Raekwon
MOP – Down 4 Whateva ft. O.C.
Talk Break
Cam'Ron – Who's Nice
Heltah Skeltah – Worldwide
Black Attack – Rep Da R.I.
???
Talk Break
Tommy Tee – Day By Day ft. A.L., Punch & Words & Talib Kweli
KRS One – Temple Tactics
Talk Break
Sauce Money – Pre Game ft. Jay-Z
Cam'Ron – Death
Dynasty – Freak Love
DMX – Pure Uncut Remix ft. Eightball, Canibus & Herb McGruff
Heltah Skeltah – Caca Gosa Vixen
Heltah Skeltah – Caca Gosa Vixen
Noreaga – Thugged Out
Jaz-O, Sauce Money & Wais – Time to Kill
The Firm – Phone Tap Remix
Black Moon – War Zone
Noreaga – Banned From TV ft. Nature, Big Punisher, Cam'Ron, Styles P & Jadakiss
Rahsheed & Ill Advised – Redd Hott
Lord Digga – High Like a Bird
Talk Break
Paula Perry – Extra Extra
A Tribe Called Quest – Find a Way
Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz – Cross Bronx Expressway
Onyx – Shut 'em Down Remix ft. Noreaga & Big Punisher
Black Star – Definition
AZ – Whatever Happened (The Birth) ft. RZA
Big Punisher – You Came Up
Noreaga – Body in the Trunk ft. NaS
Gangstarr – Above the Clouds ft. Inspectah Deck
Powerule – P.R.I.S.M. ft. Sunz of Man
Fat Joe – John Blaze ft. NaS, Big Punisher, Jadakiss & Raekwon
Talk Break
Tommy Tee – Blood Rush ft. FT & P-Dap
Tommy Tee – Blood Rush ft. FT & P-Dap
Xzibit – What U See is What U Get
Big Twan – One Time 4 the Lyricist
A Tribe Called Quest – Steppin' It Up ft. Busta Rhyme & Redman
FT – F-It-Less
PMD & DBD - Code Red
Diezzle Don & Gov Mattic – Ghetto Red Hot ft. Redman
Boot Camp Clik – Luv 'em or Leave 'em Alone
Krunchtime
Check the Stretch&Bobbito Archives for more shows !
The Establishment was a crew from Richmond,VA comprised of Bear One, Kleph Dollaz (RIP) of Ill Biskits and a couple of friends. They founded the small indie label called Establishment Records, which released this compilation album entitled "The Natural Order Of Things" exclusively on tape in 1998. I blogged something about it 3 years ago... you can check it Here.
Very good news, this compilation album is now, and for the first time ever, available on CD & Vinyl formats (300 copies each) with the help of Back2DaSource Records.
For your info, the tracks called "Surface" and "Time Flies" from the original comp have been removed and replaced by two unreleased and unheard tracks.
Pre Orders : 2LP / Bundle / CD
Northwest hip-hop had a very good indie scene during the 90s so I think it could be a good idea to give some shine to this group called 5E who was definitely part of it. This group was comprised of K-DUE a.k.a K-Dueski, GDe (pronounced Jeed), Juice, and Bitzo One a.k.a DJ Bitz N' Pieces.
As there is no info on the internet about 5E, K-Due agreed to answer some of my questions to give us some. Here is the interview !
K-Due, where did you all come from ?
K-Due : " We all met in Des Moines, Washington which is a smaller city just south of Seattle Washington. "
When did you form the crew ?
K-Due : " We actually formed sometime in 1990/1991 and originally were a dance crew. At that time there was no crew name and the members were a little different. It was still myself, GDe, Juice. But we had two other dancers. Maurice and Brian. The real formulation of 5E happened in 1992 I would say. "
How did the connection happen between all the members ?
K-Due : " So really it started as dancing. Early 90s. Dancing was a huge part of hip hop. My brother and I used to make dance routines. Somehow in our apartment complex word got around that we could dance so we got a visit from another kid named Maurice. He came over and said "hey, I head y'all can dance". So we said yeah and he asked us to show him our moves. We did and he was impressed enough to invite us to join him and two others, (Brian and Steve) to start a dance crew and try to make it on to Showtime at the Apollo and Star Search. That was the plan. So we worked on a routine all summer long, until one day my brother says he doesn't want to dance anymore and we should just be a rap group. At that point we made the change and we all started rappin and stopped dancing. The Group would first be called "The Foundation". Shortly after, Juice decided we should change the name to "5 x Raw". (5 times raw since there were 5 members). "
How were you signed by K Records ?
K-Due : " We were doing lots of shows in the Seattle area and we're making some connections. We also had appearances on two popular hip hop radio shows. KGRG "ear to the street" with DJ Crush was one of them. So we would eventually be on the show to perform live and do an interview. But DJ Crush would play our unreleased songs as well. "
K-Due : " From that exposure we met Jay (can't remember his last name) but he had a company called Impact Entertainment. He was promoting shows in the Seattle and Tacoma areas and wanted to do a compilation that bridges the gap between Washingtons two big cities, Seattle and Tacoma. So Jay saw us perform and approached us to see if we were interested in having a song in the compilation "Classic Elements". "
There is no other official release after the single "Paradox RMX", what happened to the group ?
K-Due : " We unfortunately started to grow up shortly after that and life kind of took over. My older brother GDe had two kids already at that point and stopped making music. Juice would move on to make solo music as the name J.U.I.
I ended up getting together with two other friends and friends a different group called Organik Produce. We did put out more music but mostly just hard copies sold locally. Since then multiple releases online from myself and other members. But yeah I would say by 1999 5E was officially disbanded. "
Mad props to K-Due, thanks for your time Bro.
