Take It Personal Ep #66 : Justice for George

"Episode 66 is an emergency episode we felt a responsibility to produce. Whether you're in Minneapolis, Houston, Philly, New York, Atlanta, L.A., Oakland or Chicago, we see you, we feel you and we want this episode to become the soundtrack for these current times.  I usually write-up a lengthy episode description, but we'll let the music do the talking #JusticeForGeorge" - Take It Personnal Radio 

1.  J Dilla – Fuck The Police
2.  Public Enemy – Burn Hollywood Burn feat. Ice Cube & Big Daddy Kane
3.  Paris – The Devil Made Me Do It
4.  2Pac – Holler If You Hear Me (Remix)
5.  Paris – Coffee, Donuts & Death
6.  Dre – The Day The Niggaz Took Over feat. Daz, RBX & Snoop Dogg
7.  Ice Cube – Ghetto Bird
8.  KRS-One – Sound of Da Police
9.  C. – Constables
10. Da Lench Mob – Freedom Got An AK (Remix)
11. Ice Cube – We Had To Tear This Muthafucka Up
12. The Coup – Dig It!
13. Stezo – Police Story
14. Cypress Hill – Pigs
15. Geto Boys – Crooked Officer
16. Public Enemy – Fight The Power
17. DJ 360 Mini Mix (w/Public Enemy, Ice Cube & Terminator X)
18. Cypress Hill – How I Could Just Kill A Man
19. Kam – Watts Riot feat. Ice Cube
20. Main Source – Just A Friendly Game of Baseball
21. Various Artists – One Four Love Pt. 1
22. Aceyalone – Ms. Amerikkka
23. Poor Righteous Teachers – Conscious Style feat. KRS-One
24. Blahzay Blahzay – Good Cop/Bad Cop
25. Brand Nubian – Probable Cause
26. Dead Prez – Police State
27. The Roots – Game Theory
28. Pharoahe Monch – Book of Judges
29. Lupe Fiasco – Words I Never Said
30. The Coup – My Favorite Mutiny feat. Black Thought & Talib Kweli
31. Killer Mike – Reagon
32. Brother Ali – Mourning In America
33. A Tribe Called Quest – We The People
34. Kendrick Lamar – Alright
35. N.W.A. – Fuck Tha Police  

Take It Personal Ep #60 : Indie Hip-Hop Tribute Pt. 2 with Shawn J. Period

"Episode 60 is the 2nd installment of our indie hip-hop tribute. This time we’re joined by Shawn J. Period, a major player in the indie movement. Shawn has given us with countless classics and we discuss each and every one of them. Only on TIP will you get to hear Shawn tell his story like this. We discuss his days on Big Beat, his first group Down South and his collabos with Mos Def, Heltah Skeltah, Bush Babees, Mad Skillz and The Artifacts.

This is an XXL episode clocking in over 5 ½ hours of music and discussion. We got joints from Company Flow, Kool Keith, Mos Def, Blackalicous, Talib Kweli, Non Phixon, MF DOOM, J-Live, Aceyalone, Lootpack, Styles of Beyond, Wee Bee Foolish, The Arsonists, Eminem, People Under The Stairs, 7L & Esoteric, Jedi Mind Tricks, Natural Elements, Godfather Don, Buc Fifty, Defari, Juggaknots, Aesop Rock, Rasco, Royce Da 5’9, Pharoahe Monch, Common, Sir Menelik, Mr. Lif, Atmosphere and so much F*CKING MORE! We’re talking 5 ½ hours of music, with over 100 tracks of quintessential indie era anthems.

If you were all up on IRC, AOL or Prodigy chat, copped records at Fat Beats after a slice of Joe's Pizza, maybe ordered from Sandboxautomatic or Hiphopsite and repped labels like Fondle ‘Em, Rawkus, Def Jux, Stones Throw, Hydra, GuessWyld, Eastern Conference, ABB, Anticon, Hiero or Rhymesayers, then THIS episode is for your! Sincerely" - The Take It Personal Crew" 

01.   Company Flow - 8 Steps To Perfection
02.   Talib Kweli - Manifesto

03.   J-Live - Braggin Writes

04.   J-Live - Braggin Writes (Dome Cracker Remix)

05.   DJ Spinna - Watch Deez feat. Eminem & Thiristin Howl III

06.   Bad Meets Evil - Scary Movies

07.   Non Phixion - I Shot Regan feat. Necro

08.   Rahsheed - Industrypartybumrusha

09.   Mr. Live - Supa Dupa

10.   El Da Sensei - Frontline feat. Pharoahe Monch, Prince Po, Mike Zoot & F.T.

11.   F.T. - Metal Thangz feat. O.C. & Pharoahe Monch

12.   C-Rayz Walz - WhoDaFuckAreYou

13.   Pumpkinhead - Dynamic (Remix) (Remix) feat. Bad Seed, Ces, DCQ, Jean Grae, Meat Pie, Ocean & Pokaface

14.   Mos Def - Mathematics

15.   Krumb Snatcha - Closer To God

16.   Planet Asia - Place of Birth

17.   Encore - Filthy feat. Evidence

18.   Rasco - Major League feat. Defari & Dilated Peoples

19.   Dilated Peoples - Triple Opitics

20.   Defari - Never Lose Touch

21.   Cali Agents - Neva Forget

22.   Royce Da 5'9  - Boom

23.   Mos Def - Universal Magnetic

24.   Mos Def - If You Can Huh You Can Hear

25.   Mike Zoot - High Drama feat. Mos Def

26.   KRS-One, Zack De La Rocha & The Last Emperor - C.I.A.

27.   High & Mighty - Open Mic Night feat. Baby Blak and Rahsheed

28.   Alchemist - E=MC2 feat. Evidence & Mr. Eon

29.   Lootpack - Whenimondamic

30.   Company Flow - Vital Nerve feat. BMS

31.   Sir Menelik - Nightwork

32.   Scaramanga - Special EFX feat. Godfather Don

33.   Godfather Don - Pieces of The Action

34.   Mr. Lif - Be Out

35.   7L & Esoteric - Be Alert feat. Virtuoso

36.   Natural Elements - Bust Mine

37.   Atmosphere - Scapegoat

38.   Blackalicious - A To G

39.   The Herbaliser - 8 Point Agenda (Version 1) feat. Latyre

40.   Aceyalone - Rappers, Rappers, Rappers

41.   MF DOOM - Doomsday

42.   MF Doom - Hey!

43.   A.G. - Weed Scented feat. O.C. & Guru

44.   Chief Kamachi - The Best feat. Guru

45.   Buc Fitty - Buc Buc Buc

46.   Obscure Disorder - 2004 feat. Non Phixion

47.   Non Phixion - Rock Stars

48.   Jedi Mind Tricks - Blood Runs Cold feat. Sean Price

49.   X-Ecutioners - Raiders Theme feat. E. Bros

50.   Big L - Size Em Up

51.   Tommy Tee - World Renown feat. Pete Rock, Large Professor & Mike Zoot

52.   Pete Rock - Back on The Block feat. C.L. Smooth

53.   Hi-Tek - The Sun God feat. Common

54.   Common - Tekzilla

55.   Freddie Foxxx - Part of My Life

56.   Smut Peddlers - Stank MCs feat. Kool Keith

57.   Masters of Illusion - The Bay-Bronx Bridge

58.   Motion Man - Hold Up feat. Biz Markie

59.   Dr. Dooom - Leave Me Alone (Peanut Butter Wolf Remix)

60.   Cenobites - Mommy

61.   Eminem - Any Man

62.   High & Mighty - The Last Hit feat. Eminem

63.   Apathy - Every Emcee feat. Rise

64.   Copywrite - Fuck Soundcheck

65.   Edan - Run The Shit

66.   Swollen Members - Bottle Rocket feat. Evidence & Everlast

67.   Atmosphere - Homecoming feat. El-P

68.   Deep Puddle Dynamics - Rainmen

69.   Aesop Rock - Nickel Plated Pockets feat. Vast Aire

70.   7L & Esoteric - Speaking Real Words feat. Inspectah Deck

71.   R.A. The Rugged Man - 50,000 Heads feat. Sadat X

72.   Pharoahe Monch - Behind Closed Doors

73.   Juggaknots - Clear Blues Skies (Remix)

74.   I.G. Off & Hazadous - The Nicest

75.   Scaramanga - 7 XL feat. Grand Puba & Sadat X

76.   Saukrates - Rollin' (Remix) feat. O.C. & Masta Ace

77.   People Under The Stairs - San Francisco Knights

78.   Jurassic 5 - Jayou

79.   Haiku D'etat - Haiku D'etat

80.   Blackalicious - Deception

81.   Tame One - The Moment I Feared

82.   Arsonists - The Session

83.   Wee Bee Foolish - This Kid

84.   All Natural - Queens Get The Money

85.   J.U.I.C.E. - Sincerely

86.   Unspoken Heard - Trackrunners feat. J-Live & Grap Luva

87.   Siah & Yeshua DapoED - The Head Bop

88.   Styles of Beyond - Easy Back It Up

89.   Souls of Mischief - Soundscience

90.   Defari - People's Choice

91.   Black Attack - Correct Technique feat. Problemz

92.   Army of The Pharoahs - The Five Perfect Exertions eat. 7L & Esoteric, Bahamadia, Chief Kamachi, Jedi Mind Tricks & Virtuoso
93.   Binary Star - Indy 500

Take It Personal (Ep #55 : Speak Ya Clout) with DJ Premier

"I can tell you all the reasons why you should listen to our DJ Premier interview, but we're talking DJ Premier! When the G.O.A.T. talks, you just listen.

DJ Premier goes in-depth about the new album. We talk plenty about Guru, their relationship, the misunderstandings and the family bond. We collabos with Nas, Pete Rock, De La Soul, Q-Tip, Bun B, K-Rino. We discuss the artists featured on One of The Best Yet, as well as those who weren’t on the album but felt they should be. There was nothing off-limits and DJ Premier opened about Solar like we've never heard before. Of course, we had to have a little fun, so, we made Preem choose his best work outta Livin' Proof, The Sun Rises In The East or Hard To Earn.

Episode 55 also features plenty of '19 music with Gang Starr, Benny The Butcher, Murs, Pharoahe Monch, Brother Ali, Little Brother, Diamond D, DJ Shadow, Apollo Brown, Meyhem Lauren, Westside Gunn, Rapsody, Freddie Gibbs, Him Lo, Skyzoo & Pete Rock, Black Moon, Big Shug, Ghostface Killah, Supastition, Darc Mind, Your Old Droog, Elcamino, Apathy, Ras Kass and much more." - Take It Personal Radio  

1. Apathy - Still Gutter

2. Meyhem Lauren - Return of Dat Hard Shit
3. Conway - Tito's Back feat. Benny & Westside Gunn
4. Westside Gunn - Kool G feat. Conway & Benny

5. Benny The Butcher - Crowns for Kings feat. Black Thought

6. DJ Premier - Headlines feat. Conway, Westside Gunn & Benny

7. Big Shug - Still Big

8. Gang Starr - Lights Out feat. M.O.P.

9. Him Lo -Wu Lo

10. Rapsody - Ibtihaj feat. D'Angelo & GZA

11. Murs & 9th Wonder - Super Cojo Bros feat. GC & Cojo

12. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Education feat. Mos Def & Black Thought

13. Th1rst3en (Pharoahe Monch) - Palindrome

14. Apollo Brown - God Help Me feat. Black Milk, Ketchphraze & DJ Los

15. Kanye West - Follow God

16. Pusha T - Coming Home feat. Lauryn Hill

17. Diamond D - Survive or Die feat. Fat Joe, Fred The Godson & Raekwon

18. Gang Starr - Bad Name

19. Gang Starr - Take Flight (Militia Pt. 4) feat. Big Shug & Freddie Foxxx

20. Masta Ace & Marco Polo - E.A.T. feat. Evidence

21. Skyzoo & Pete Rock - Eastern Conference All-Stars feat. Westside Gunn, Conway, Benny & Elzhi

22. Gang Starr - Hit Man feat. Q-Tip

23. Brother Ali - De La Kufi feat. Talib Kweli

24. Diamond D - The Three Kings feat. Erick Sermon & Havoc

25. Black Moon - Black Moon Rise

26. Ghostface Killah - Me, Denny & Darryl feat. Method & Cappadonna

27. Griselda (Westside Gunn, Conway & Benny) - Dr. Bird's

28. 38 Spesh - Never Seen A Man Cry feat. Benny & Conway

29. Little Brother - Sittin Alone

30. Ras Kass - The Long Way feat. Everlast

31. Clever 1 - Unlicensed To Carry

32. Smoke DZA & Benny - Drug Rap

33. Elcamino & Bozack Morris - No Smoke feat. Benny

34. 38 Spesh & Big Ghost Ltd - Purple Lotus

35. Gang Starr - From A Distance feat. Jeru The Damaja

36. Apollo Brown - Can't Lose feat. Phat Kat, Royce Da 5'9 & DJ Los

37. LEX & G.S. Advance - Sweep The Leg

38. Your Old Droog - World's About To End

39. Brother Ali - Red feat. Evidence

40. Brother Ali - Situated feat. Pharoahe Monch

41. Darc Mind - Don't Stop

42. Supastition - Someday Soon feat. Blueprint

43. Murs & 9th Wonder - Tony Robbins Pocketbook

44. Westside Gunn - Gunnlib

45. Westside Gunn - Thousand Shot Mac feat. Meyhem Lauren, Hologram & Conway

46. Stu Bangas - Carbon Fiber feat. Apathy

47. Smoke DZA & Benny - Smoked And Butchered feat. Styles P

48. O.C. & Lil' Fame - Jugganots

49. DJ Shadow - Drone Warfare feat. Nas & Pharoahe Monch

Take It Personal - Ep 53 : YO! MTV Raps Tribute with Doctor Dre

"It’s not every day you get to go back to your old school and talk with your teachers. Today, we got that chance to speak to one of them. Doctor Dre was the only doctor I knew growing up besides Dr. Spock. Dre, along with Fab Five Freddy and Ed Lover, were instrumental in our early exposures to hip-hop. They helped educate and they definitely helped entertain us. If not for YO! MTV Raps, many of us wouldn’t have even known these classic rap videos existed. There was no internet back then. Certainly nothing remotely close to Youtube. If you didn’t catch Music Box, Pump It Up, Rap City or Yo!, chances are, you just missed out!

While Fab Five Freddy took on the more serious role as the teacher who dropped knowledge all day, it was the fun-loving duo of Doctor Dre and Ed Lover that really captivated you. They had you laughing from the start of the class to the end of it. They left you wanting more. Doctor Dre knew how to kick dunn language, like on Knowledge Me, and he and Ed both knew how to have fun like Back Up Off Me. There has never been a team like Doctor Dre and Ed Lover and considering how the music industry is today, especially MTV, there never will be. Before mainstream TV really embraced hip-hop, before you had In Living Color, Martin, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air or New York Undercover, it was YO! MTV Raps that was pivotal in the hip-hop movement in mainstream America.

On this episode, we pay homage to YO! with 2 ridiculously dope DJ 360 mixes. We also speak to the great Doctor Dre. We talk about his early days at Adelphi University with Chucky D and Flavor Flav. We talk Original Concept, Def Jam and some interesting stories about Rick Rubin. We cover touring with the Beasties, how Bill Cosby did a very Bill Cosby thing when on YO!. We find out Don Cornelius felt threatened by their success. We talk about RUN-DMC not giving Dre the proper credit all the way to dropping an album on Def Jam in ‘88 along with Slick Rick and Public Enemy. We talk a lot of P.E., even Dre’s love/hate relationship with Flavor Flav.

We cover a lot of ground here. From Who’s The Man, to who was the man behind the selections on the the soundtrack. But - what would this interview be without the amazing history and stories of YO!? We take you to the final episode, where that infamous freestyle session goes down between Rakim, Chubb Rock, Erick Sermon, MC Serch, KRS-One, Redman, Method Man, Large Professor, Special Ed and Craig Mack. We learn who Doctor Dre felt had the best verse on that iconic episode. So much and more. Don’t miss our YO! MTV Raps Tribute Show featuring Doctor Dre!" - Take It Personal Radio 

Todd 1 – Down With MTV feat. Doctor Dre & Ed Lover

Eric B. & Rakim – Follow The Leader
Boogie Down Productions – My Philospohy

Public Enemy – Don’t Believe The Hype
EPMD – You Gots To Chill
Kool G. Rap & DJ Polo – Road To The Riches
Big Daddy Kane – Ain’t No Half-Steppin
Biz Markie – Biz Is Goin’ Off
Special Ed – The Magnificent
Stop The Violence Movement – Self-Destruction
Heavy D – Big Tyme
MC Lyte – Paper Thin
JVC Force – Strong Island
Gang Starr – Just To Get A Rep
Nice & Smooth – Funky For You
D-Nice – Call Me D-Nice
N.W.A. – Express Yourself
Eazy-E – Eazy-er Said Than Dunn
The D.O.C. – It’s Funky Enough
Ice-T – High Roller
Boogie Down Productions – Love’s Gonna Getch’a
K-Solo – Your Mom’s In My Business
Cool C - Glamorous Life
LL Cool J – I’m The Type of Guy
LL Cool J – Jingling Baby (Remix)
LL Cool J – To Da Break of Dawn
LL Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out
LL Cool J – Jack The Ripper
LL Cool J – The Boomin’ System
Chubb Rock – Treat ‘Em Right
Brand Nubian – All For One
Poor Righteous Teachers – Rock Dis Funky Joint
De La Soul – Plug Tunin’
3rd Bass – The Gas Face feat. Zev Love X/DOOM
EPMD – Rampage feat. LL Cool J
Das EFX – Mic Checka
Ice Cube – Who’s The Mack?
Digital Underground – Doowutchyalike
Del the Funkee Homosapien – Mistadobalina
A Tribe Called Called Quest – Check The Rhime
A Tribe Called Called Quest – Scenario feat. L.O.N.S.
Gang Starr – DWYCK feat. Nice & Smooth
Grand Puba – 360
Organized Konfusion – Fudge Pudge feat. O.C.
Ultramagnetic MC’s – Poppa Large (Remix)
Pete Rock & CL Smooth – T.R.O.Y./The Creator (Live)
Run-DMC – Down With The King feat. Pete Rock & CL Smooth
Naughty By Nature – O.P.P.
Naughty By Nature – Uptown Anthem
Cypress Hill – How I Could Just Kill A Man
Redman – Time 4 Sum Akson
House of Pain – Jump Around
House of Pain – Who’s The Man
Doctor Dre and Ed Lover – Back Up Off Me!

Take It Personal Ep 51 : A Jazz Thing

"Episode 51 we pay homage to jazz music. There is no hip-hop without this great artform. We've got joints from Digable to De La. We've also have Freestyle Fellowship, Blackalicious, Madkap, Organized Konfusion, Sound Providers, Damu The Fudgemunk, Artifacts, Buckshot LeFonque and Siah & Yeshua DapoED to name a few. Remember, on Soundcloud you can now download each episode for free. Our website has all the track lists for each episode and we just released a few new tees for the fall." - Take It Personnal Radio

1.     Gang Starr - Jazz Thing

2.     Digable Planets - Dedicated

3.     Organized Konfusion - Keep It Koming

4.     De La Soul - Patti Dooke feat. Guru

5.     Madlib - Slim's Return

6.     Guru - Respect The Architect feat. Bahamadia

7.     Common Invocation

8.     Freestyle Fellowship - Inner City Boundaries

9.     The Roots - Essaywhuman?!!!??!

10.   Buckshot LeFonque - Breakfast @ Denny's

11.   O.C. - Word...Life

12.   A Tribe Called Quest - Jazz (Remix)

13.   Brand New Heavies - Bonafied Funk feat. Main Source

14.   Sound Providers - Get Down

15.   Soho - Hot Music

16.   K-OS - Superstar

17.   Us3 - Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)

18.   Digable Planets - Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)

19.   De La Soul - I Be Blowin'/I Am I Be

20.   Guru - Loungin'

21.   Madkap - Proof Is In The Puddin'

22.   Buckshot LeFonque - Some Shit @ 98BPM

23.   Black Star - Respiration (Pete Rock Remix) feat. Black Thought

24.   Blackalicious - Make You Feel That Way

25.   All Natural - 50 Years

26.   Damu The Fudgemunk - The Bright Side

27.   Slum Village - I Don't Know feat. DJ Jazzy Jeff

28.   Godfather Don - Where'z The Skillz?

29.   Pharoahe Monch - The Truth feat. Common & Talib Kweli

30.   Black Star - Thieves In The Night

31.   Jeru The Damaja - Da Bitchez

32.   Siah & Yeshua DapoED - The Visualz

33.   Artifacts - Haagan Daz

34.   Digable Planets - Where I'm From (Remix)

35.   Kaotic Style - Hip Hop Jazz
36.   Guru - Feel The Music
37.   Stetsasonic - Talkin' All That Jazz

Smoked Out Productions - Mad Drama 1994-1996 EP

EP - 2019 - Chopped Herring Records  

 350 Copies (120 Copies on Dark Green Vinyl & 230 on Trad Black Wax)

Pre-Order  

Mix : Take It Personal - Hieroglyphics Tribute - 2019

"Oakland is a city filled with dynasties teams. You had the Raiders, the A’s and most recently, the Warriors. But this Oakland collective, better known as the Hieroglyphics Crew, had a dynasty of their own. Founded by Del the Funky Homosapien, this was squad rolled deep, very deep. They were like the Wu before the Wu even existed.

Hieroglyphics featured many  personalities and styles ranging from Del, Casual, Pep Love, Domino, Opio, Phesto, Tajai, A-Plus, Jay-Biz, Mike G, Snupe, Extra Prolific to Toure. Their 3rd eye logo is immediately recognizable as are many of their classics cuts. This mini-mix is from our West Coast Classic series, and while we only scratched the surface, this Hiero tribute serves as a great reminder of the their dominance in hip-hop.

Oaktown is full of legends like Rickey Henderson, Bill Russell, Kamala Harris, Tom Hanks, Mark Hamill, Bruce and Brandon Lee, Gary Payton, Marshawn Lynch, 2Pac, Paul Pierce, MC Hammer, Tony! Toni! Tone!, Frank Oz, The Pointer Sisters, Too $hort, Mac Dre, Clint Eastwood, Zendaya, one-time Hiero affiliate Mahershala Ali , and the muthaf*ckin' Hieroglphics crew!" - Take It Personal Radio  

SOP a.k.a Smoked Out Productions

Let's talked about that group called SOP a.k.a Smoked Out Productions. It was a group from NYC who consisted of four MCs named Stress, Agony, Black a.k.a Black Attack and Problemz. 

The names of Stress and Agony might not be very familiar to you but no doubt you've already heard about Black Attack and Problemz, who were both affiliated to the Beatnuts and also members of the group Missin' Linx with Al' Tariq in the late 90s. 

For those who don't remember and to recap quickly, Black Attack and Problemz recorded a lot of stuff from the mid to the late 90s.Black Attack released two classic 12-inches featuring Problemz in 1997 which were both played many times by Stretch & Bobbito that year : "Holdin' It Down / Verbal Attack" on Correct Records and "My Crown / Correct Technique" on Ghetto Gold Recordings / Rawkus. They also worked a lot with DJ Honda at that time and featured on all his albums...

Smoked Out Productions was founded in 1993. They released their first 12" titled "Back Up Kid (That's What You Get)" on Smoke Out Music in 1994, which is very hard to find. Personaly I've never seen a physical copy of it for sale in a record store... always online for a fucking crazy price... 

The tracks "Back Up Kid", "Aw Yeah" and "Phases" were produced by two cats named Big Tone and John Kapon who also managed the record label.    

12" - 1994 - Smoked Out Music

Problemz : "SOP initially was a production squad with two Emcees .. Stress and Agony. Black and I met thru SOP, began recording songs and before you know it we all formed as a crew. We'd link up a few times a week at John's crib, smoke, kick it and write ... When it came time to record we'd go to a studio owned by one of John's friends called the Cutting Room... funny thing is although we were Smoked Out Productions ... I didn't really start smoking until like a half a year after getting down with the crew... I would get skipped in the cypher unbeknownst I was catching crazy contact high. SOP was just that ... Smoke Out Productions lol"

Black Attack : "Well before me they were already a group. SOP was already established. Problemz, Stress and Agony were already making records and all that. I came along after the fact introduced by a mutual friend that knew them. But once we met we automatically just clicked. They pretty much welcomed me in.

Stress, Agony and Big Tone were all from Harlem. If I’m not mistaken Stress and Agony were a group before SOP, with Big Tone making the beats. I think they kinda grew up together. John Kapon was from Manhattan, John and Tone together on them beats tho was fire. John just had a ear for something different. Tone was that all music guy... take any melody and turn it into a beat. He could listen to any beat and come up with the craziest hook you’ve ever heard."

The following year the crew was back with a brand new 12-Inches composed of 2 tracks titled "Styles" and "Bok Bok" ... same emcees, same production team ! 

12" - 1995 - Smoked Out Music  

The same year, Problemz appeared on the Echo Underground Airplay Volume IV with the solo track titled "Neva B4" which was an alternate version of the track "Styles". 

If you are a follower of the great "Take It Personal" podcast, I'm sure you're familiar with the name of Andre Prine aka DJ 360, member of the Philaflava crew. 

Here is something people don't know... In the mid-90s Andre was affiliated with SOP. At that time he worked for the music industry and he did productions and remixes for the group. After a brief interview Andre gave me more info about how everything started for him in the music industry and tell me more about how the connection happened with the SOP members... here is a slice of NY indie hip-hop history :

DJ 360 : "I was born in NY in 1971 and moved to Florida at a young age. I went to film school for college and that brought me back to Manhattan in the early 90’s. I lived in the West Village and was fortunate enough to experience Hip Hop’s "Golden Era" from the source.

I have been DJ'ing for 40yrs I started around 8 yrs old with my fascination for roller skating and the funk & soul that was being played there. I would go at least 3 times a week and became a king on 4 wheels. I started collecting records at that time ’79-’80 and the DJ at the rink would let me up and pick records out for him. Within a few months I was buying music nobody knew about that I would hear on pirate radio stations and my trips back up to New York visiting family. I would record nonstop 98.7 Kiss & WBLS at all hours of the night where they would play music that couldn’t be played during regular hours at the station. Jellybean, The Latin Rascals, Red Alert, Chuck Chillout, Mr. Magic, and Jeff Fox would run the dial late night and they were great to listen to. Certainly not the most skilled but equipment was limited back then and the setup in most radio stations didn’t make it easy for DJ’s to be close to the turntables and the mixer at the same time. They also used knob mixers (Bozak) mixers back then crossfaders were not the standard. Regardless, the shit I would bring back with me made most of the local DJ’s envious so they allowed me in with them. 

Shortly after I bought the old 2 Channel Numark Mixer from the Roller rink for around &150-$200 which was a lot for a kid under 10 yrs old and I begged my dad to buy me 1 turntable. For a kid in the late 70’s to ask his dad for a $250 Technics 1200 turntable (it wasn’t happening). I purchased a lesser quality direct drive pioneer turntable and I would hook up the turntable from the wooden stereo cabinets popular at that time and I taught myself how to scratch and blend 2 records over each other. Music was limited at that time there was no Hip Hop section in record stores and there were only a handful of songs being pressed that were even available nationwide. As time went on I finally hit my dad up for 1200’s just one but I traded my old mixer for a newer one and my skills started to really take a turn. I started DJ’ing for local acts in south Florida and found myself going to this record store in the Lauderhill Mall (Ft. Lauderdale FL)  which was really a record label called 4Sight Records run by Billy Hines who was a studio engineer. His son was MC ADE (Bass Rock Express, Bass Mechanic etc). One day he let me cut it up in store and within 10 minutes this little white boy had a crowd surrounding the turntables and afterward  he called me in the back asked if I would be interested in touring with his son ADE as his tour DJ. His son didn’t like the idea and he apologized and 2 other artists from the label asked if I would work for them. Here’s the kicker, I hated Miami Bass. I was a purist and my Hip Hop taste came from 1 place (New York) period!!!

Through the years I started DJ’ing on Miami radio mix shows Hot 105 and Power 96 and I went in all the DJ contests back then. I was the quick mix king. During one completion I battled thousands of DJ’s to qualify in the top 5 at a club called (1235 in Miami). I went up against one of the greatest DJ’s Bad Boy Bill from Chicago. He did shit I never saw before a real showman. He had a guy in a suit timing him so he stayed in the time frame of the contest. He even wore a strap on dildo pulled it out of his pants put it on the turntable and with no hands started scratching “Suck My Dick” from Eddie Murphy’s comedy album. That was the first time that I understood the concept SHOWMANSHIP. I stopped competing after that because it took too much out of me and shortly after that time DMC started and it became a world view that I wasn’t looking to compete with. 

The natural progression from DJ’ing led me into production. Aound the late 80’s I finally was able to buy my own equipment (credit cards) and I invested in a new drum machine that was the most expensive but it had no sounds on it. Roger Linn’s Akai MPC 60. Before this there were a few drum machines available (Roland 808, 909, DMX, Linn Drum, EMU: Emax etc). All were unattainable for a teenager.  The MPC was the 1st of its kind a sample based drum machine (Roger Linn realized the future of music production). My record collection was big by now so I started making songs on the drum machine sampling everything I could get my hands on. Ten seconds of sample time wasn't enough but you learn the tricks. Sampling records at 45rpm instead of 33rpm to speed the sample and then slow it down to conserve time. I eventually had a custom disk drive made to extend sample time to 24 seconds which was the most available with those types of machines. Every day making beats but the type of acts in Florida were not for me. I headed to college and went into film school where I Learned to produce and compose film scores but I would incorporate a Hip Hop mindset using the gear I had and they loved it. It also made my music have a little more movement. I hated when producers would just loop one thing throughout an entire song. So I learned song structure and created changes to the Hip Hop I was brewing. Once I got back to NYC I was on it. I went to every show there was, every record store, and went digging for breaks and rare groove. The diggers didn’t move completely in yet so records were still affordable. You could still buy a Bob James One or Two for about $20. Once “96/’97 rolled in you couldn’t find anything for under $100. I bought an SP 1200 and and few other pieces and continued making music. I worked at EMI/Capitol Records so I had access to some great promos and did a few remixes for artists they were trying to build. After a while I decided to leave the record company and went to work at Chung King Studios which was the biggest and best at the time. Every act from the Beastie Boys, 3rd Bass, LL Cool J, Salt & Peppa,  Fat Joe etc I would assist the engineer and learn the process from a professional perspective. The people who owned the studio always asked me why I worked there. They always alluded that I had a college degree and I deserved more as a career. I think they snubbed there nose at the Hip Hop that seemed to dominate all the studio rooms. “Your too good for this job” was what they said. The pay sucked but I wanted to be around these artists. 

Eventually I met enough people and carved a niche for myself producing and DJ’ing remember back then you didn’t have every kid in the world thinking they could DJ or produce music it was still rare to meet people that had there own equipment, passion, and the means to make music. 

John Kapon lived in Manhattan on the upper east side. His dad I think owned an apartment on top of the wine store that he owned. His father wanted him to be done with music and work for him. That wine store Acker Wines is one of the biggest in the world for buying and selling fine wines. We would always go into the shop when it was closed and grab a few bottles and hang out this was before cameras were a thing in businesses. 
Big Tone was from uptown NY (Harlem) I’m not sure if he eventually moved to Brooklyn but he always repped Uptown.

The connection with me and SOP happened when I was working at Capitol/EMI Records. John was a big weed smoker and a dude I worked with at the label was a big weed dealer. I remember John and I met at a showcase and he gave me his card and the crews demo and I slid him my stuff. He worked on a EPS 16 keyboard and I was an MPC guy. I loved his style of production because it was smooth and in the pocket. A nice dusted out moody vibe and I always said I could remix this shit all day. Was so surprised at the level of hidden talent the group SOP had. Black Attack was always my favorite he was just that Brooklyn dude with a great voice. Then you had Stress who had that raspy voice and presence and I immediately gravitated to the two of them. Big Tone was the east coasts version to Nate Dogg but much less polished but a great dude. I got in close with everybody towards the end. They were a super group and wanted a deal that would allow them to record as a group and also split into solo careers so they wanted what Wu Tang was getting. Most labels didn’t have that kind of vision but I knew a few people to send them to since I worked at the label and studio. A good friend of mine had an uncle Richie Cordell & Kenny Laguna that wrote music through the 60’s and 70’s. He wrote songs like "I Think Were Alone Now” and wrote and molded Joan Jett back in the 80’s. I brought him their demo with my remixes and songs I produced for them. I also gave him their original demo that had “Bok Bok” “Keep Smoking” and “Styles” on it. He heard the group and thought maybe he would try to create a deal in Hip Hop since it was what was going on. Older dudes who don’t understand what we did constantly tried getting in the game thinking they could pull the wool over a crew of kids who just wanted a deal and would sell their souls for nothing. SOP loved having me around because I was the type of guy who tried to make things happen for them. To be honest, they were the first group that I ever worked with that had the skills of a project I was proud to get behind. We took that deal to my friends uncle and it almost happened. I remember the meeting very well. We were all sitting in this large board room and it was at the offices of Bert Padell who was the accountant that used to get BIG deals for the artists in the Hip Hop world. I really thought this was gonna happen but it eventually never materialized because there were too many variables with the group. Too many members who want solo side deals etc instead of just focusing on a group and staying together cohesively. I won’t lie, I thought it was my pay day for bringing the group to the table.

Shortly after those meetings I immediately got the group back in the studio (which I paid for) to cut new vocals for “Mad Drama” at Cutting Room Studios and I also thought of working with certain individuals mentioned earlier that I though had solo potential. I took Stress and Big Tone to a studio in East New York Brooklyn and recorded “Stress Vs The West” which was popular for east coast artists to diss the west with all that beef. The songs were a little ahead of their time but nothing really materialized from it. The group slowly started to disband with The Beatnut's Fashion taking Black Attack and Al Tariq giving him work that eventually gave him a shot on Correct Records. They tried bringing Problemz on a few joints but nothing would stick. If I remember correctly John Kapon’s girlfriend was pregnant and his father pressured him to get in the wine business and secure his future which as I told you was the right thing to do."

So the group disbanded shortly after the second single in '95... Stress and Agony disappeared from the New York Hip-Hop scene, Black Attack and Problemz followed their path in the music industry. 

Black Attack : "In all honesty it was no beef or any thing like that. It was more of too much outside interference... I mean there’s 4 dudes which means 4 different personalities and 4 different crews. So we pretty much had all different views on what we should be doin.  Everybody pretty much just started their own thing. Me and Probz started doin shit wit Tariq and that was the ending."

Here is an info for all the tapes collectors who follow the blog... a Demo tape exists... It was recorded in 1994 and includes the tracks titled "Mad Drama", "Why O Why", "Stress Vs The West" or "SOP Flow" ... I've only seen one copy in my whole life which is owned by DJ 360. He ripped 2 unreleased demos exclusively for the blog ... enjoy the gift fellas !!!

 Mad Props to Andre Prine, Sean Black & Problemz. 
Thanks to all of you !