K-Otix - Spontaneity - 2025

EP - 2025 - Coalmine Records 

Originally released in 1997, "Spontaneity" marked the debut of Houston's own K-Otix (Mic Da Madman a.k.a Mic, Dookey Love a.k.a D and Roc Smuv a.k.a The Are.), a trio whose blend of sharp lyricism and soulful & Jazzy productions helped define Southern underground hip-hop.

From start to finish, "Spontaneity" delivers introspective rhymes over sample heavy beats. There's an authenticity here... a raw, unfiltered energy that reflects the group's creative chemistry and deep respect for the culture. Despite its modest beginnings, the record quickly became a hidden gem among collectors and hip-hop purists alike.

Now, with its definitive reissue by Coalmine Records, "Spontaneity" finally receives the treatment it deserves nearly three decades later.

Order : Blue vinyl / Black vinyl / Red vinyl / Yellow vinyl / Test Press / CD / Cassette 

Masta Mindz - Kut Throat Operation - 1995

 

12" - 1995 - Blac Worc Management 

Let's talk about this very rare wax coming straight from Houston,TX which definitely sounds like something from the East Coast. It was released in 1995 by Masta Mindz, a hip-hop duo comprised of Mr. AGG a.k.a Tha' Joker and Sadik a.k.a Tha' Riddler.

Mr. AGG is originally from Indiana, then moved to Houston, TX at a young age and Sadik was born and raised in the neighborhood of Third Ward, Houston, TX.

They met back in high school in 1987, freestyling and beat boxing after school. Mr AGG liked the way Sadik beat boxed and Sadik told him "I make beats too !!"... From there it was on and popping. They were known as the Rebel Alliance then, but by the early 90's they changed the name to Masta Mindz. 

Sadik started producing, seriously at 17. His influences at that time were Public Enemy, Rakim, NWA, Geto Boys, Big Daddy Kane, BDP, ATCQ. Moving towards the early 90's, they looking at Gang Starr, Pharcyde, EPMD, WU-TANG...

 

All the tracks of the wax "Kut Throat Operation", "Off Wit Ya Hed", and "How Tight?" are produced by Sadik and credited under the name BMK Productions which stands for Bringing Mad KAOS Productions. For the info, the original version of "How Tight?" was produced in 1992. 

No more tracks were released after the 12" at that time. Independent label contract disputes, poor management and the incarceration of Mr. Agg prevented them from finishing a full album. So with that, Sadik concentrated mostly on production and beatmaking for local artists. Later Sadik & Tha' Joker also known as Darius M. Slaughter formed another group called "Arcane Asylum". 

Example - Impulses 25th Anniversary Edition - 2022

 

2xLP - 2022 - 90's Tapes / HHV  

"We're closing the year with an all-time favorite of us and are super excited to finally share the project with you. A massive thanks to the community here for another joyride in 2022, it would not be possible without your continuous support. Stay well and watch out for the new year, our next release will drop in the first week of 2023!

In 1997, Example (consisting of DJ Cipher & Kay) dropped the debut EP "Impulses" in a very limited run on their own Beat Farm imprint. It was an instant classic amongst diggers and is still be seen as one of the finest underground releases out of Houston, TX. Now here we have the 25th anniversary edition with full cover artwork and for the very first time all instrumentals included." - courtesy of 90's Tapes

Available in a limited run on Black Vinyl 2LP (750 copies), Cassette (100 copies) and CD (Jewel Case - 300 copies).

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NoDōz - Ready To Detonate (CD) - 2022

 

CD - 2022 - HHE 

"HHE is back with some legendary old school Houston, TX hip-hop! Rap-A-Lot headz better take notice right now!! For those unfamiliar, NoDōz were an old school rap duo out of Houston, TX created by the legendary Def Jam Blaster and rapper D. Latroi.

 

Def Jam Blaster... aaah where to begin? Maybe back in 1987 when he worked on a 7" which started the career of a local rapper named DJ Akshen?  Or 1988 when he worked on one of the most iconic 12" records EVER in hip-hop? A 12" from that same rapper Akshen that would have the world forever know him as Scarface from that day on. Or when Def Jam Blaster started the duo Private Identity in 1989 with another legendary Houston rapper 3-2? Or how in 90's Def Jam Blaster worked on albums for Raheem, Royal Flush, Willie D, Big Mello, Madd Hatta and Mobb Deep.

 

I think you get my point by now, this is a man that paid his dues with the best of them... Now back to our story... After Private Identity died down after doing some recordings Def Jam Blaster hooked back up with D. Latroi, a rapper he met a year before, and started making some demos, material that has remained shelved up until now as we have had the pleasure to include them as bonus tracks for the CD release.

 

In 1992 NoDōz were signed to Revolution Records, an imprint that was focused primarily on R&B. Right before they could finish the album D. Latroi started having some serious health issues and Revolution Records started second guessing their decision to drop a hip-hop record so the album was shelved.

 

Now 30 years later we are excited to present you all the tracks from those 1992 sessions, the demos and remixes all from the DAT tapes. The 8 page booklet will include an interview done by Werner Von Wallenrod with Def Jam Blaster which was done specifically for this release." - courtesy of Hip Hop Enterprise

300 copies only ...

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Poetic Souls - Too Much TV / 31 Flavors - 1992

 

12" - 2013 - Lost Records  

Here is the re-issue of the original 12" dropped by Poetic Souls in 1992 on Wyze Move Records. It came out in 2013 on Lost Records and is composed of the tracks "Too Much TV" and  "31 Flavors".

Poetic Souls was a rap duo from Houston, Tx comprised of Snap & GT. Snap also known as Red Cess Da Blak Destro and G.T. also known as Guerilla Terrorist were also members of the Psyko Ward Crew with Smokee Da Bandit, Beholda', T-Wrekz Da Phonetical, D-ology Da Blaka Ax Paka, Fliponya Da Bladerunna, Savere Da Butcha, and Tabu Da Rekka. They dropped their demo "Nine Circles of Rek" around 1994. 

Flyer courtesy of Garza Carlos &  Houston Hip Hop Research Collection

Photo courtesy of DJ Cipher 

Poetic Souls single "Too Much TV" is pressed on the A-side called the Poetic Side. The song is available in its Hard and Instrumental versions produced by Doc Doom and in its Bugged version produced by DJ Cipher (of Example). At that time, G.T. and Cipher worked together and ran the underground Hip-Hop radio show on 90.1 KPFT named "The Bridge". 

"31 Flavors" is pressed on the B-side called the Soul side, available in its Vocal and Instrumental versions produced by DJ Cipher as well.

Snap, GT & Cipher - Photo courtesy of DJ Cipher

The re-issue from Lost Records is a good way to catch this Poetic Souls 12" at a very nice price... and if you want to grab the OG absolutely... well you'll have to break your Piggy Bank !

Example - Impulses - 1997

 

EP  - 1997 - Beat Fam Recordings 

Let's get back in 1997 with "Impulses", a 6-Track EP released by Example from Houston,Tx , a hip-hop duo consisted of Otha C Baker a.k.a DJ Cipher and Kevin Jackson a.k.a Kay. I tend to say that this little project is one of the best thing released by a group from Houston during the 90s, with K-Otix material of course. 

North Side

1. I.E. Intro (00:00)

2. 7*26*96 (1:18)

3. The Strive (4:31)

4. Slow Motion (8:21)

  South Side

5. Endless (12:43)

6. Recollect (18:34)

7. E.T.A. (22:24)

8. I.E. Outro (26:06)

According to a write-up about the group written by Gracie Chavez in 1997, Cipher began DJ-ing around 1986-87 when rap music was evolving. He showed up for an Open Turntable night at Reprogram, a hip-hop format originally held at Deep Phat, later based at Fitzgerald's.

Cipher, a Texas Southern University telecommunications major, was producing beats for different groups when he decided to do his own thing and arrange a production company, Beat Farm Fresh Produce. Cipher said that the name basically came from people thinking that Houston and Texas is "so country" the stereotype and production of beats lead to the earmarked name Beat Farm Recordings, his independent record label followed suit in 1996.

Cipher was also an indie label promoter and Hip-Hop DJ on KTSU 90.9 FM Radio's underground Flava, part of Kid's Jam show.

Cipher and Kay, a 24 year-old former Missouri Western Football player and hip-hop producer / rapper since 1991, met around 1994. They began producing together and in 1995 they formed Example. On May 31, 1997 they dropped "Impulses", their self-produced six-song debut EP which was really different from the typical Houston sound at the time.

Cipher (Example) - Photo courtesy of Cipher

Kay (Example) - Photo courtesy of Angela Tellez

Maybe some of you are curious and want more details about the cover of the EP. Well the original drawing used for the cover comes from an artist from H-town named Andre King better known as Dre at the time.

Cipher & Dre - Gavin Convention, New Orleans around 1995-1996

Original Drawing - Photo courtesy of Andre King

In a recent chat I had with him, Dre talked about the cover story and explained how his drawing became the official cover of the first Example's project. 

Andre King : "Cipher reached out and asked me if I had a concept for a title and cover for the project. I had been listening to a lot of Jazz at the time. I had noticed that quite a few of the albums had one word titles like Karma by Pharoah Sanders, Compulsion!!! by Andrew Hill just to name a few. Aja by Steely Dan was also in heavy rotation. So I knew the title had to be one word. I am a life long comic book reader. At the time I was heavy into the Flash, It was being written by Mark Waid and drawn by Humberto Ramos. They had introduced a character named Impulse. Impulse (Bartholomew Henry “Bart” Allen II) is the Flash’s grandson from the 30th century (it’s comics don’t think to hard). As his name states he was impulsive.  Sometimes decisions you make impulsively can have great outcomes, because you don’t hesitate.  Also you get the purest instinctual responses in the moment. I figured that would be a good a title for the first project. That’s where the title came from, Jazz records + Aja + Comic book = Impulses.  The picture that became the cover began as a simple crayon drawing of a black silhouette of person with red and yellow waves emanating from them. The red and yellow was for the Flash.  I gave it to Cipher as a super rough draft that he could get one of our real artist friends to redo much better,  Surprisingly he and Kay were cool with my drawing. He took it to Nick Cooper at the Sprawl House ( those that know… know).  Nick manipulated it on the computer and came up with the final Image.  My idea was always for it not to look like a rap record, but for it to have the feel of an old jazz record."

500 copies of this wax were pressed in 1997, it was also released on tape (around 50 copies). No need to say that an original vinyl copy is really hard to find nowadays... Hopefully Dope Folks Records did a repress in 2013... but to be honest, I'm not sure you'll find one for a good price ... good luck !