DJ PREMIER'S TOP LIST OF PRODUCERS

Once again another allhiphop.com feature:

DJ Premier aka Preemo is the standard by which all Hip-Hop producers strive to be. The notion is absolute, like it or not. From his innovativeness to his uncompromising style to his tour of duty – Preem is it. He’s done it all from his professional debut in 1987 with Gangstarr to his modern work with Christina Aguilera and the innumerable acts in between.

Only a select few can match the repertoire that Preemo has cultivated over the last 20 years. But, this is an intro about those beat maestros that Premier loves and respects. Understand, Premier is no child so his influences and Top 5 is reflective of his background.

Without further delay, DJ Premier’s Top 5 Dead or Alive…

LARRY SMITH

“Larry Smith is a producer that used to work with Kurtis Blow, Run DMC with “Rock Box” and all that. He did a lot of the Whodini records. Very, very, very good producer.”

[Early in his Hip-Hop career, Smith crafted songs for Kurtis Blow and Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five, rap’s early super stars. He later produced Run DMC’s first two albums, their self-titled debut (1984) and King of Rock (1985). Additionally, Smith wove a string of hits for Whodini, including their 1984 debut Escape with hits like “Friends.” – source AllHipHop.com]

“Jam Master Jay” – Run DMC (Produced by Larry Smith)



“Freaks Come Out At Night” – Whodini (Produced by Larry Smith)



MARLEY MARL

“Marley Marl is my idol of Hip-Hop. He’s like the James Brown of Hip-Hop.”

“At Your Own Risk” – King Tee (Produced & remixed by Marley Marl)



QUINCY JONES

“Quincy Jones is a no-brainer too. He did movie soundtracks back in the 50’s and 60’s when he was a young cat and all the way up until he produced “Thriller” for Michael and all that. He broke the code of music theory and created his own lane on how to count and start on the “2” and not always on the “1.” You gotta watch him to know when to change up, because he’s so unorthodox with his production and his talent as an artist.”

“Summer In The City” - Quincy Jones (Sampled by Pharcyde and Black Moon)



“If I Ever Lose This Heaven” – Quincy Jones (featuring Minnie Ripperton) and “I’m Gonna Miss You In The Morning (featuring Luther Vandross and Pattie Austin)



JAMES BROWN

“James Brown is just super ill.”

James Brown Master Mix With Various Samples

“The Boss” – James Brown (sampled by Nas and Ice-T)



RICK RUBIN

“Rick Rubin is a major, major reason – no disrespect to Russell, because we know Russell’s that dude… Rick Rubin did a lot of them beats that transcended…hard reality of production. And to be a founder of Def Jam Records when it was Def Jam…before it got soft and watered down. Signing groups like Public Enemy and the Junk Yardband. Showing that they can sign a Go Go act. All the way to all the old Beastie Boy records when they used to have the purple label. When MCA and Berzootie and Jimmy Spicer. Even with Russell and Jazzy Jay with the record Def Jam. LL Cool to be the first official artist that they signed with “I Need A Beat.” T La Rock “Its Yours” on the Party Time label which is really the official first Def Jam record ever. That’s how far back it goes so shout out to Rick Rubin too.”

“Give It Away” - Red Hot Chilli Peppers (produced by Rick Rubin)




“Rock The Bells” – LL Cool J (produced by Rick Rubin)



Preemo Bonus – GEORGE CLINTON

“On some real s**t, I gotta make it six. George Clinton, Parliament Funkadelic, Booty’s Rubberband, Eddie Hazel, Parlet, the Brides of Funkenstein. He [George Clinton] was James Brown spaced-out – on some other s**t. James Brown was spaced out anyway, but George Clinton living is just the epitome of funk and all that other s**t.“

“Paint The White House Black” George Clinton – featuring Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Flavor Flav, Yo-Yo, MC Breed, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kam and others



“One Nation under a Groove” - George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic (1978)

MORE UN-RELEASED VERBAL THREAT TRACKS FROM THE ARCHIVES

verbal threat - great story

Keeping you up to date with things..getting joints out the archives while my engineer works on finishing the final mix on "Integritty". There will be a new Kool Sphere site coming shortly where new songs will be debuted and news on the new project.

NEW BLAQ POET FEAT. NORE PROD. DJ PREMIER

Cop Blaq Poet's album when it drops!

NEW KOOL SPHERE "THE CROSSROADS" ON ITUNES !

Click the itunes button to get the Kool Sphere feature on Fabio Musta's mixtape CD "Passport" and while your at it cop the whole CD!

koolsphere.blogspot.com

EXCLUSIVE KOOL SPHERE FEAT. AZ (ALLHIPHOP.COM)

KOOL SPHERE FEAT. AZ "BLUE COLLAR MC'S"

First leak off debut album KOOL SPHERE "INTEGRITTY" ALBUM
BLUE COLLAR MC'S..CHECK IT OUT!

Allhiphop.com's Secret Wars (Rakim vs EPMD)

I just read this article on allhiphop.com and this is the type of read I'm interested in. Instead of these fake highly publicized feuds in rap music where beefs are manufactured to inflate record sales..we go back to the essence where reps were on the line..and dudes still had the respect to subliminally lay out a diss just for it to be known between both rappers and the hardcore listener.

Secret Wars is a new limited series on AllHipHop.com. The series delves into some of the not-so-public battles that were waged quietly in the streets or behind the scenes. Not every MC war becomes a full-fledged battle. There are countless accounts where rappers took shots at one another without actually naming names. Some shots are obvious and feuds become widely known. Some are not so obvious, going way over the heads of average listeners. Often lines or bars are incorrectly perceived as shots leading to unwarranted return fire. This is secret wars: Eric B. and Rakim vs EPMD.

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It was 1986, when the streets were knockin' heavy to the hit debut single from Eric B and Rakim, "Eric B For President" and its flip-side "My Melody" which played in heavy rotation for over a year strong. Eric B Rakim's single came out at the right time and had quite an impact on hip-hop overall.

The boom-bap beat and funky baseline in "Eric B For President" was so intoxicating it made listeners move their necks and shoulders in a way that arguably started, but certainly propelled a dance craze called "the wop". Rakim's delivery was extremely laid back and his voice was almost completely monotone. He single-handily brought lyricism and thought provoking metaphors to the game. He also manifested a new revelation, that rap could be respected in the streets without yelling and cursing. In fact if you think about the rappers that never cursed or cursed the least over time, Rakim is right up there with the likes of Young M.C.Fresh Prince and the . Toppled with his 5 percent knowledge, clearly Rakim came to the game to "show and prove."

In 1997, Eric B and Rakim followed up with "I Got Soul" and a separate single called "I Ain't No Joke." Just as the year prior the two songs became hits which solidified their ranking amongst the greatest. They shot their first music video for "I Ain't No Joke" where many saw them in the flesh for the first time ever. The song was up-tempo with horns sampled from James Brown accompanied by Rakim's laid back flow. "I Ain't No Joke" gave you reason after reason as to why Rakim is to be taken seriously. To anyone considering biting their style, Rakim concluded the 2nd verse with this warning:

Your offbeat DJ, if anything he play,

Sound familiar, I'll wait til E say Play 'em. /

So I'ma have to diss and Bro

you could get a smack for this, I ain't no joke. /

Eric B and Rakim soon after dropped their first album "Paid In Full" leading to a very successful year with a string of songs playing all over the radio including its title track. Meanwhile an emerging unseen duo called EPMD was beginning to hit the airwaves. Their song "It's My Thing"7 Minutes of Funk" was done over the then classic break-beat " by Whole Darn Family, (later used again by Jay Z and Foxy Brown on the song "Ain't No Nigga"). Both E and PMD went back and forth over the beat and some noticed that both, mainly PMD, had somewhat the same laid back monotone flow as Rakim. However vocally, not lyrically. Ultimately comparing them to The R lyrically would be like trying to compare The Lox to Notorious B.I.G., you just can't. Likewise EPMD's lyrical flow was more simplified but they were just as confident, slick, and sarcastic.

On the flip side to EPMD's single was a song called "You're A Customer," which boldly pointed out the distinction of EPMD being the "stars" and anyone who brought the record as merely a "customer". Credit them for introducing that level of extreme confidence and as for the fans, they just ate it up and became customers as the duo anticipated. The song contained a very simple yet highly contagious beat and base riff that gave you "goose bumps when the baseline thumps". The now classic track was a real treat for Hip-Hop (later used to remix Jodeci's "Can I Talk to You"). In "You're A Customer" Erick sparked it off in the first verse with lines like "Remember this line you're in a danger zone, I figured you would, now leave me alone," while PMD boasted in the following verse:

I have the capability to rap and chill,

Cold wax and tax MC's who tend to act ill. /

It's like a digg'em smack,

Smack me and I'll smack you back. /

So the controversy began. Was this an answer to Rakim's line, "You could get a smack for this"? Hip-Hop had its first official smack fest. At the time there wasn't a die hard listener that would say different. I can personally reflect on the time with additional knowledge stemming from my days producing Video Undaground". The show interviewed E (Erick Sermon) directly and the topic of these shots was addressed from his perspective.

Video Undaground host, Smitty Dawgs, was with Erick Sermon in the studio years later when Erick recalled, "That line was not directed to Rakim or anybody in particular, but everybody was coming at us like why y'all dissed Rakim?" Nevertheless an explanation really didn't matter at that point, it had already become an outbreak in Hip-Hop. The fact that it was perceived as a diss meant everyone expected an answer regardless, especially from the self-proclaimed God, Rakim. There would be some time before there was an answer. Meanwhile EPMD continued their agenda by releasing their follow up single "You Got's To Chill" as well as their debut album "Strictly Business" in 1988. Throughout 1987 - 88, both sides were riding high on their success and promoting their albums to the fullest; both realising multiple singles and videos.

Very late in 1988, Erick B and Rakim returned with the sophomore album titled "Follow The Leader" and as expected Rakim answered both of them in the title track with this:

Stop buggin', a brother said digg'em, I never dugg'em

He couldn't follow the leader long enough so I drug 'em. /

Enter danger zone, he should arrange his own

Face it, it's basic, erase it, change your tone. /

In only two bars Rakim addressed Erick's danger zone, PMD's digg'em smack, the fact that their rhymes are basic and that PMD or perhaps both should make a change from the monotone style Rakim is noted for. There were more shots taken in the song that could have been directed at the duo, but these were the bars that pretty much came at them specifically. Erick Sermon told Video Undaground exclusively, "It was crazy after that, his camp was amping him and our camp was amping us." Everyone wanted the forming battle to reach the point of naming names. Ultimately since they never went at Rakim in the first place they ended up addressing the subject without going back at Rakim directly. In 1999, EPMD dropped the sophomore album titled "Unfinished Business". The first single was "So What You Sayin'." In that song PMD came with this:

People 'round town talking this and that,

on how we sound like The R, and our music was wack. /

Dropped the album Strictly Business and you thought we would fold,

30 days later, the LP went gold. /

Ironically the follow up album "Unfinished Business" went gold in just 10 days, a true milestone for hip-hop back then. According to Erick, after that both sides finally met and it was all cleared up. One has to wonder how ugly it could have gotten if they went into a full-fledged battle. Who knows if a career would have ended early but so it is, the shots came to an end without casualties.

--The End

Some real quick Kool's..

real rusty..lol

NEW AZ RELEASE "LEGENDARY" COMING SOON

AZ..one of the last true m.c. lyricists left in the game is still doing it big and releasing a new album! I just peep a joint off it "Get Money", and as expected money comes slick with the word play. It's been a long time since a worth while release has been worthy of some hard earned dollar..and i'm fully endorsin duke! cop that!

And stay tuned for the debut single KOOL SPHERE feat. AZ "BLUE COLLAR MC'S" coming soon!

VERBAL THREAT "ANXIETY" LOST SESSIONS UNRELEASED....

Yeah as things are winding down on getting "Integritty" mixed mastered and arranged..I've been going thru some old lost tapes of never heard before sessions form Verbal Threat. In the midst of recording "The Golden Era", we recorded over 40 tracks and narrowed down the final track listing to 17. Periodically, I will add some finished and some unfinished songs that never made it out the Verbal Threat studios. Below is a joint "Anxiety"..just Kool Sphere & Reppond doing that VT shit, flipping some piano styled beat blazed out feeling the session.

verbal threat: "anxiety" lost sessions



Any skilled graphic designers with professional CD cover styles get at me, I'm in the process of designing this CD cover...koolspherecrew@gmail.com

FINAL STAGES OF KOOL SPHERE PROJECT

-Lil Dap (Group Home) Kool Sphere working on new track for upcoming release-

We're in the final stages getting over 30 bangers narrowed down to around 15 or so for the final track list. Sticking to a formula that certifies raw hip-hop straight up and down. Get ready!!!

To be up on all exclusives and special promotions..submit you email/contact info to
KOOLSPHERECREW@GMAIL.COM
(we do not spam..only info pertaining to kool sphere & verbal threat)

KOOL SPHERE ALBUM UPDATE!!!

It's been a minute since there's been a update....

KOOL SPHERE's DEBUT SOLO ALBUM "INTEGRITTY" COMING SOON!
FEAT. RAP LEGENDS AZ, KOOL G RAP, SMOOTHE DA HUSTLER, LIL DAP GROUP HOME, SMILEY THE GHETTO CHILD, BRONZE NAZARETH.....

This project has exceeded expectations and new developments will be announced..this is just a update..more surprises to come.

KOOL SPHERE will also be appearing on a Graffiti Writers Mixtape hosted by DJ KAYSLAY as well as KRS-1.