Citizen Kane - The Epic EP - 1997

EP - 1997 - Treehouse Records 

For those who don't know that 12", It's a must have !!! The Epic EP is the second record released by the legendary Canadian group Citizen Kane (Jeff Duke a.k.a. Swinger Spade a.k.a J-Spade, Rob Paris a.k.a. Blye and manager Adrian Perry a.k.a. Aje.) from the Scarborough projects, Toronto.

 In 1996, they dropped their debut singles "Structure / Foundation (What's the Plan)" which also featured on the classic various artists compilation "BeatFactory's Rap Essentials Volume 1" released the same year. One year later, the group will be back with the Epic EP, a 6-Track EP (5 songs + 1 instrumental) on Treehouse Records, an independent record label owned and managed by Nick Holder.

In the Back : Citizen Kane & Nick Holder - Photo courtesy of Behind The Music Tales

The productions were handled by K-Cut of Main Source for the tracks "Raisin' Kane" and "Lost Angels", and by ERF Productions (Wall & Steel a.k.a The Twins) for the tracks "Elements Of Mind" (Black Rain Remix), "The Gambler" and "Reality N' Facts". Here is what was written on the official promo sheet at the time :

CITIZEN KANE

A citizen is an individual who strives to live a meaningful, and honest life in society. The name Kane is taken from the biblical name Caine, the son of Adam, the first child of sin. Citizen Kane symbolizes the constant struggle that exists within each one of us.

The three elements that comprise Citizen Kane; Spade, "the method", Blye, "the madness", and Aje, "the reality", are all old school students with a new school philosophy. "We bring a knowledge of self while maintaining a level of realness in our music", Aje says.

The trio have been members of the Toronto hip-hop scene over the last ten years, and have quickly emerged as one of the leading rap groups in Canada. Since 1995, with the release of "Soul Survivor" on the Zulu Nation compilation, It's All Good, Citizen Kane continue to solidify their foundation.

Whether it be their 1996 release, "Structure / Foundation", featured on Beatfactory's RapEssentials Volume 1, or their indie single, "Black Rain", which was released earlier in '97. Citizen Kane consistently enlighten, motivate and inspire through their unrivaled, underground sound.

Now, Citizen Kane is poised to release their EP, The Epic. Five new joints displaying their, growth, maturity and insightful musical approach. From ill scenarios like " The Gambler", or trials and tribulations on tracks like "Lost Angels", to the bangin' underground joint "Reality and Facts", the Epic gives a well rounded perspective into their hip-hop world.

Much like the film "Citizen Kane", which was deemed a movie well ahead of it's time, and still revered as an epic to this day, Citizen Kane plan to leave a similar impression on the rap world as well. 

Treehouse Records 

113 Ponymeadow Terrace, Scarborough , Ontario, Canada

tel : (416) 287 3073

After the EP was dropped, the group was nominated for a Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year. Nowadays, a physical copy of this EP stays very hard to find, and if you're enough lucky to find it for sale it will cost you an arm and a leg ... but keep on diggin' !!!

Mathematik - Ecology 2xLP - 2021

 

2xLP - 2021 - 90s Tapes / HHV

90s Tapes is back once again with a dope reissue of the legendary album untitled "Ecology" originally released on Beat Factory in 1999 by the Canadian emcee Mathematik. 

22 years later, this very hard to find album is now available on Vinyl (Gatefold), CD & Cassette with the help of 90s Tapes and HHV.  

Orders : Vinyl (1000 copies) / CD (300 copies) / Tapes (100 copies)

Don't Sleep Fellas !!! 

Down To Erf feat Dub Ill ‎– Weapons 7" - 2019

7" - 2019 - Tree House  

Nick Holder and his Tree House Record label are back with a new Down to Erf 7". On the A-side, you can listen to the track "Weapons" featuring Mathematik and Dub Ill (Sic Sense) which was originally released in 2000 on the comp titled "Drop The Beat". The B-side features the track "Diligence's Beat". Everything is produced by the Twins aka Erf Productions. 

100 copies only and the copies are sold on Discogs gradually ... stay tuned !

Orders 

Citizen Kane - Black Rain 7" - 2018

7"  2018 - Treehouse Records

A1 - Black Rain

B1 - Black Rain instrumental

 "Black Rain" Limited 7" Test Press (20 units) is now sold out via discogs. If you want to cop the reissue of the excellent 'Black Rain' produced by ERF a.k.a the Twins, you need to know that the official release date is January 2019. Stay tuned.. More info coming soon !!

Sic Sense - Positional Bypass / Onemantality - 1995

12" - 1995 - Luge Recordings

Photo courtesy of Dub ILL

This 12" is definitely one of the best wax released by a Canadian group during the 90s. This record isn't really expensive and should be in every Hip-Hop record collection due to the fact that both tracks are mad dope and can be easily compared to the best U.S productions from the East Coast at that time. 

Sic Sense was a group hailing from the suburb of Scarborough Ontario and consisted of Shutgun DubILL D, 6Pak and Boom.

Photo courtesy of Dub ILL

They all grew up in a hood called Malvern a.k.a Da Hilltop and formed the crew in 1994. They met each others in High School, they all had an addiction for Hip-Hop music that pulled them all together like a magnet. In 1995, they released their first single " Positional Bypass / Onemantality" on Luge Recordings, a record label founded by some of their friends who wanted to take a business approach to the game. 

Productions are made by the well-known beatmakers Steel & Wall (Creative Illusions / ERF Productions) also known as Fisherman productions, and both are members of the group Down To Erf with Mathematik. They produced for many local artists in the Toronto area like Citizen Kane or Diemen X and were mentored by K-Cut of the Main Source. 

The original samples used for "Positional Bypass" come from the songs " I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" released in 1971 and performed by Bo Diddley, "Speak Ya Clout" performed by Gang Starr for Guru's voice sample "From the get go / I let go / Shit to make you petro" and "Stress Remix" performed by Organized Konfusion for Pharoahe Monch 's voice sample "Yo it's the verbal assault weapon with words uncanny". Sorry but don't know the samples for the other track "Onemantality"... The wax isn't really hard to find so be sure to cop this Canadian Hip-Hop masterpiece asap !!!  

Mad Props to D. Jerome a.k.a Dub ILL