Infinite - Gotta Get Mine b​/​w Take A Look - 2022

7" - 2022 - Funky Dividends Records 

Two singles "Gotta Get Mine" & "Take A Look" respectively released by the Toronto-based emcee Infinite in 1997 and in 1998 are now available on 7-inch with the help of Funky Dividends Records.

Available on Split Orange/Blue, Test Press & Black vinyl.

Order  

Trybal-Men ...

I've been a huge fan of the "Survival Series - 11355" EP since day one, this wax means a lot to me and when B2DS released the JAM Dot Project in 2017, I felt very lucky to be able to cop the unreleased tracks from this group. I wish the same thing could happen with Trybal-Men... 

Trybal-Men members consisted of Dre Don a.k.a Don Mega and KapGain. They came out of Wastelanz (Flushing Queens, NY) the same neighborhood as Large Professor, Chyskillz RIP (producer of the first Onyx album), Mic Geronimo, and Royal Flush...

KapGain & DreDon - 1996  with Ran / B.U / Leep / Big Bro & L.A. - Photo courtesy of KapGain

EP - 1996 - Mr Eggs Records

The "Survival Series - 11355" EP came out in 1996 on Mr Eggs Records, a record label managed by Dj Eggs from Flushing Queens as well. Trybal-Men dropped 3 songs on the A-side of the wax. "Down Like That" was the first track and was produced by B.G Skillz (Bern.Got Skillz).

B.G Skillz : "I'm from Flushing Queens, NYC and Large Professor was my mentor, I produced under his production company PaulSea productions. Chyskillz, my older brother, and myself deejayed together in the neighborhood. Dre, KapGain and Me all grew up together and lived in the same building. We would go over each others house and practice deejaying, rhyming, etc... Dre and KapGain decided to form a group, I was more on the production and deejay side of things so I would always give them beats, but DreDon and KapGain do beats as well."

Dre Don : "We formed the duo in the mid 90’s...We were all from the same hood, matter of fact the same building. And BG Skillz crib is where a lot things connect at. I started Djing before rapping. His older brother had 1200 and a lot of records. And BG and I were the same age and he could cut so I was amazed... his household had an influence on me..."

KapGain : "Around '95 we formed the group. I was focused on rapping, money, and girls at the time. Our neighborhood was full of talent and opportunity to make money illegally or with music, we chose music. We would go to BG Skillz house and he would make beats on the sp1200 that large professor gave him, large professor lives a block away from our building (a good friend). Also at the time in hip-hop or basically in the 5 boroughs it was all about rap groups. So we decided to form a group and just start recording since we had the resources right at arms reach.

Trybal-Men was formulated between myself and Dre Don. We wanted a way name to separate ourselves from the rest, at the same time describe how we operate and move in the street. We were 15-16 years at the time, but did things that grown men would do.

Survival Series 11355 EP was a great piece of work, and I  didn't realize that it would circulate from our hometown of Flushing Queens, to around the world. It was an amazing time in hip hop my friend."

The other tracks "Watch Me Blow" and " Money To Make" were produced by Dj Sur, who is Dj Eggs's Brother. He was also known as the legendary graffiti artist named SUR167 (RIS / TPA / KAT...) aka Surviver 167 since the early 80s. 

Photo courtesy of Greed 

Dre Don : " Dj Sur lived up the block so he’s from the neighborhood as well. I believe we linked with him through the good brother JAM... Matter of fact that’s false Eggs was the plug in the neighborhood and going to his crib to get right is how I found out his brother made beats."

KapGain : " Sur & Eggs... we met them through a mutual friend and they also lived in our neighborhood. We noticed they had equipment and were DJ's. And DJ Sur made beats, they took an interest in us and wanted to put out a record.
For the Survival Series 11355 EP, Eggs owned the label so he wanted his brother Larry (DJ Sur) to have a beat on the record, we had a chance to have BG Skillz do a track, and we mutually liked "Money to Make" instrumental so we did that track too."

The same year the group released an other 12" still on Mr Eggs Records "Down Like That / Greenary (What Would Do For...)". 

12" - 1996 - Mr Eggs Records



On the A-Side, you can listen to "Down like that" which is the same song taken from the Survival Series EP.  The song is available in its Radio Mix, Album Mix, Accapella and Instrumental versions.  On the B-side, "Greenary (What Would Do For...)" is available in its Radio Mix, Real Deal Mix and Instrumental versions. It's a new Trybal-Men's song produced by Dj Sur and introducing two other emcees named G.A.M (GrownAssMan) and Infinite, but KapGain doesn't feature on this track due to law problems at the time... 

From Left to Right : G.A.M. / Ice Bezel / Dre Don & KapGain - Around 2010

Could you give me more info about Infinite & G.A.M ? 

Dre Don : "GAM was around for our entire musical journey, he was rolling with us perfecting his craft. Very talented MC from the neighborhood. I put him under my wing early on. When things went left, I formed Shadow Company and made him the front man. 

Infinite was a dope MC also from the neighborhood who I brought in to collaborate on the record."

KapGain : "Infinite, G.A.M... We all are from the same neighborhood in Flushing... They had to keep the music flowing in my absence... Everyone at that time did beats, sold drugs, or rapped. That's was our common bond amongst each other." 


Why is there no album released by Trybal-Men after that in 1996 ?

KapGain : "... Great question... at the height of the album and also us being in high school, I was battling a court case that set us back from getting signed to a major at the time, we had the buzz, records were selling like crazy, apparel etc... So literally one week before I went to jail we went to the studio and Don Mega brought G.A.M. with us. I had him rhyme for me and I was like ok cool, as long as y'all keep recording something while I'm gone...

Once I came out there was a lot of discrepancies between us and Mr Eggs Records. So we left them, and Don Mega and G.A.M. formed a group called shadow company. I was more interested in recording and mixing artists music, and just helping them put their music out without getting jerked. I recorded many more solo tracks and did alot of beats for mcs..." 

Mad Props to KapGain, Dre Don & BG Skillz, It was nice to talk with you. Peace
Vinyl rip courtesy of 90's Hip-Hop blog . 

Demo Tape : Infinite - 1996

From Beat Down Magazine - 1996 - Scan courtesy of Frederic Thecle 

From Vibe Magazine - August 1996

DO THE MATH (A TRIBAL COMPILATION) 2xLP - 2019

2xLP - 2019 - B2DS Records  

1 - Intro T.H.C. 

2 - Main Attraction - Phat Mob 

3 - Sho Sum Respect - Sho Nuff 

4 - Traffic - Sinsemilla 

5 - Eye Listen - B Self 

6 - Who's Listening - The Ghetto Chilldren 

7 - Earth Girlz R EZ Chile & Vitamin D 

8 - The Truth Hurts - Infinite feat Los 

9 - Interlube - T-Dog & D-Uneek 

10 - N's don't L - The Ghetto Chilldren 

11 - Rap Capsule - The Crew Clockwise 

12 - Do The Math - Topspin, B-Self, Samson S, Poetry,Vitamin D, H-Bomb, Truth, Shahrazad, Blak, Infinite & E Wreck

13 - Interlucifer - Infinite & C-Note 

14 - What's It Worth - Union Of Opposites 

15 - Wrong Numbers - Phat Mob 

16 - Solider Intro - Rob Brewer & Samson S 

17 - Solider - Samson S feat H-Bomb 

18 - Temporary Insanity - T.H.C. 

19 - Game Of Checkers - Narcotik 

20 - Game Show - Shahrazad 

21 - The Shining - Wordsayer & Blah 

22 - Schoolin' Em - Infinite 

23 - Sinsebility - H-Bomb 

24 - Equilibrium - The Ghetto Chilldren

Pre-Orders : 2xLP Gatefold (300 copies) / CD (300 Copies)
Shipping Date : Mid January 2019

Northwest Hip-Hop Scene : Tribal Music Inc.

As for me, Northwest Hip-Hop scene is certainly the most interesting after the Canadian and the East Coast scene.  Especially Seattle (WA), which is represented by a lot of groups with jazzy productions and a laid-back East Coast vibe. 
First, I discovered this scene via Conception Records, with the fat productions of Jake One and Mr Supreme. But later, I was surprised to discover this indie label under the name  of Tribal Music Inc or Tribal Productions. I had never heard about this label until I watched a skate video with this dope track called "Don't think about It" performed by Sinsemilla, a group composed of H-Bomb and Topspin.

H-Bomb, Infinite, Topspin- Photo courtesy of Deven Morgan

This track is from "Untranslated Prescriptions", the first release of Tribal Music Inc. It was a tape produced by Vitamin D which came out in 1995, featuring Ghetto Chilldren (Vitamin D, B-Self, Capabilities, Culture Born), Infinite, Sinsemilla (H-Bomb & Topspin), Phat Mob, Union of Opposites and more...

Tape - 1995 - Tribal Music Inc. 

01- Gett Off Me Intro w/ Culture Born

02- Ghetto Chilldren feat. Truth - I Wanna Win

03- Infinite feat. Taj - 93-94

04- Sinsemilla - Confrontations

05- Phat Mob - P.H.A.T.

06- Sho Nuff - Retrospect

07- Ghetto Chilldren - Elevation

08- Intro

09- Sinsemilla - Don't Think About It

10- Leave Me Alone (skit)

11- Phat Mob - She Wants Me

12- Oh! (interlude)

13- Sho Nuff feat. Vitamin D - Shapelee Utopia

14- Union of Opposites - Enter the Cipher

15- Ghetto Chilldren - I'm An MC

16- Shante's Last Stand

Download  

In 1996 , their first official release "Do The Math" came out with productions by B-Self, King Otto, Poetry, Samson S, Shahzad, Topspin, Truth and Vitamin D. 
The album featured the same MCs as the tape plus newcomers like Narcotik (Tizzy-T & C-Note).

CD / Tape - 1996 - Tribal Music Inc.  

The same year 14 Fathoms Deep on Loosegroove Records came out. I remember reading a little review of this compilation written by Schenectadyfan in 2009 on T.R.O.Y Blog. 

« Fourteen Fathoms Deep is a semi-obscure compilation from The Emerald City. The vibe on this cd is mostly rugged and moody which is appropriate for a place that gets about 50 inches of rain a year. If you need some heady tunes for zoning out during the winter months, this is the ticket. Seattle's Scene is a bit different from its neighbors. The gritty nature of this collection is worlds away from much of the keyboard funk the west coast is known for. Shift gears and take a ride, northwest style. »

2xLP / CD - 1996 - Loosegroove Records 

Two years later , a new comp presented by Impact Entertainment & K Records representing the Olympia-Tacoma-Seattle underground scene saw the light of day : Classic Elements.

Slim Tribal Productions's representation in this comp with only 2 groups : Ghetto Chilldren & Sinsemilla, but the album mostly produced by Dj Sayeed & Brian Weber is really dope. The other artists are Jaleel, Troubled Sums, Beyond Reality, Soulstice, Black Anger, Blak, Nomad, Jace who is also a member of the Silent Lambs, Source Of Labor ... 

For Info, Source Of Labor started out in 1989 with Dj Kamikaze, Negus & Wordsayer but in 1997 Kamikaze was replaced by Vitamin D.

CD - 1998 - Impact Ent. 

From CMJ New Music Monthly Magazine - August 1998 

From XXL Magazine #4 - 1998

Vitamin D, Capabilities, Culture Born, B-Self - Photo courtesy of Deven Morgan

Between all these comps, one of the most prolific crew is certainly The Ghetto Chilldren. Vitamin D formed the group in 1991 with B-Self while they were students at Garfield High School in Seattle. I know a tape has been released under the title "Monologs & Soliloquys" but I've never seen a physical copy.




From the tape "Monologs & Soliloquys" - Courtesy of PugetSoundz.

In 2013 , the Freestyle Demo Tape came out with tracks recorded between 1996 and 1997.

Demo - 2013 - Tribal Music Inc. 

 

I couldn't stop talking about this Northwest scene for long hours because there are so many albums and groups to discover ... but we'll talk about It in a next chapter...  Peace 

Props to Tribal Legacy, Deven Morgan, Topspin, Diana Adams, Mike Clark, Jack Devo & Alex Xela, Schenectadyfan,  R.I.P Taj Abdul Randall aka Tizzy T (Narcotik)

Tribal Productions - 1996/1997

Hip-Hop Label from Seattle, Tribal Music Inc is composed of artists such as

T.H.C., Sho Nuff, C-Note, Tizzy-T, Infinite, Vitamin D, E-Wreck, DJ Topspin,

Capabilities, Culture Born, B-Self, H-Bomb ...

CD / Tape - 1996 - Tribal Music Inc.  

01. T.H.C. – The Intro

02. Phat Mob – Main Attraction

03. Sho Nuff – Sho Sum Respect

04. Sinsemilla – Traffic

05. B-Self – Eye Listen

06. The Ghetto Chilldren – Who’s Listening

07. Chile & Vitamin D – Earth Girlz R EZ

08. Infinite & Los – The Truth Hurts

09. T-Dog & D-Uneek – Interlube

10. The Ghetto Chilldren – N’s Don’t L

11. The Crew Clockwise – Rap Capsule

12. Topspin, B-Self, Samson S, Poetry, Vitamin D, H-Bomb, Truth, Shahrazad, Blak, Infinite, & E-Wreck – Do The Math

13. Infinite & C-Note – Interlucifier

14. Union of Opposites – What’s It Worth

15. Phat Mob – Wrong Number

16. Rob Brewer & Samson S – Soldier Intro

17. Samson S & H-Bomb – Soldier

18. T.H.C. – Temporary Insanity

19. Narcotik – Game Of Checkers

20. Shahrazad – Game Show

21. Wordsayer & Blah – The Shining

22. Infinite – Schoolin’ ‘Em

23. H-Bomb – Sinsebility

24. The Ghetto Chilldren – Equilibrium

Free Download ! 

Demo - Circa '96-97 - Tribal Music Inc. 

01. Vitamin D & H-Bomb – Niggaz In Space

02. B-Self, Vitamin D, Wordsayer, Blahzay Blah – Random Group Freestyle

03. Boney B (Essence), Work (D. Brown), B-Self, Vitamin D – MC Fill In The Blanks

04. Boney B (Essence) & Vitamin D – Check On In, Check On Out

05. Topspin, Wordsayer, H-Bomb, B-Self (Chopped & Screwed), Vitamin D, Blahzay Blah – To Smoke Or Not To Smoke

06. Poetry, Work (D. Brown), E-Wreck, Vitamin D – Ya Mamma Rank Session

07. Poetry, E-Wreck, Work (D. Brown), Vitamin D – Steven

08. Ghetto Chillldren (B-Self & Vitamin D) – Booty Booty

09. Ghetto Chilldren (B-Self & Vitamin D), Topspin, Boney B, Sho Nuff – Metro Flows

10. Topspin – The TOP

11. Sinsemilla (H-Bomb & Topspin) – Untranslated

Free Download ! 

More Info Here