In continuation of the theme of making a discerning dancefloor move, I present: Handcrafted Volume 2. I put this one out in 2005 as a follow up to my critically acclaimed first volume from 2003.  It takes quite a selection process to narrow down the joints that have just the right sound I’m looking to showcase on these discs.  I take weeks and even months collecting songs for these Mix CDs. This is also the reason volume 3 hasn’t come about yet.  I’ve picked up a few songs here and there but nothing that really knocks my socks off. Plus where I am, mentally, now is a whole other place than in 2005 just as I was in a completely different space than on the first CD made in 03.

As in the first volume, I had Mushmouf host this one alongside his partner Slo-Mo from Fortilive. These dudes just seemed to understand exactly what I was doing from day one.  And the song they wrote and recorded (over the Dilla track) for the intro of this disc was finished in about a half hour session.  Mush & Slo = Beasts in the Booth, foreal.  Such an easy team to work with. The other exclusives they laced me with will make you instant fans of their work if you’re not in the know.

There is also music on this disc from Wordsworth, KRS ONE, Illmind, Nas, Saigon, De La Soul, Ty, and more.  Mixed in the way you all know me and Illvibe for doing.  Enjoy Part 2 for now and know that volume 3 will be here before the summer is out.

Download | Right Click: Save As

One of the common threads I share with ever other member of my crew, Illvibe Collective, is a love for traditional hip hop.  When we formed Illvibe Collective nearly ten years ago, we were totally focused on hip hop DJing, turntablism, and mixtapes from a purist perspective.  A few months ago, I gave away “Ill Transmission” mixed by Panek and Phillee Blunt which featured a gang of current hip hop flavors from that year (1999).  Shortly after that mixtape was released, we officially formed the collective and began the Illvibe Mixtape Series in 2000 which also featured a ton of underground hip hop and exclusives from artists we were building relationships with.

Fast forward a couple years to 2003.  People were beginning to feel the “underground/traditional hip hop” movement had run it’s course and immediately associated anything “real hip hop” with dudes standing around smoking blunts with backpacks, nodding their heads, and challenging each other’s hip hop knowledge. What a drag…

What we had been doing at parties for years though was working in music by artists who would widely be considered underground and creating a new context for their records. At events like BODYROCK, Soul Clap, and The Difference among others, and during my guest DJ sets around the world with veterans like Rich Medina, Madlib, J-Live, and so on, I would slam hours of hip-hop classics and blend in joints from People Under The Stairs, Dilla (before he became a household name), Slum Village, Maspyke, Unspoken Heard, Jurassic 5, Reflection Eternal, and the list can go on for hours.

What I realized is that in the right setting, people on the dancefloor will move to underground rap as long as the proper context is created for them first and although folks may not know the words to a lot of joints, when the shit is funky enough, they cannot resist shaking a butt muscle.  This was my sole purpose in starting the Handcrafted Mixtape Series.  You’ll notice that unlike most mixtapes released after the DJ Clue era, the CD is put together very much like a club mix and provides a fun soundtrack on any given night for those who are open minded to something different than what’s in the typical rotation. For anyone of you who’ve been rocking with me since it’s release, you may know it’s the Illvibe release I was promoting on the One Step Forward Tour with Schoolz of Thought, Les Nubians, and Zap Mama.  A whole lot has changed since those days but man did we have some fun!  Enjoy HANDCRAFTED now, free for the first time…

Download | Right Click: Save As

One love to my mellow Sammy Slice for having me get down with him and Kool Hand Luke at Silk the other night. It was a blast. Except for the dude screaming at me from across the room to play some underground rap at the peak of the party. Dude, there is a reason I’m the guy with the headphones.  I mean the support for Illvibe is appreciated but don’t impose your own iPod playlist on the rest of a room full of people ready to wild out. Fakeass heckler.

The rest of the weekend was sleepless due to non stop running.  Me and Bahamadia (the Queen of traditional/real rap) had to run to Pittsburgh to rock at the Sunstar Festival.  Thanks to the Kelly Strayhorn Theatre for having us and treating us proper while we were there. Then I came back in spent some time with family, changed clothes, and headed to Walnut Room for some foolishness.

As usual, pics below. (One love to Tiffany & Phrequency.com for some of the pics)

This weekend, we rock there again Saturday and then at Silk on Sunday for Electric Soul. This jam is strictly for the dancers. Alongside Lil’ Dave, and Skipmode on 4 turntables, I’ll be supplying the soulful house, electro, boogie, broken beat, and 80s Soul joints to keep y’all jackin your bodies until your legs won’t move anymore. The weather has broken. Bring that a$$.

BIG POPPA Rest In Peace (March 9, 1997)

Tonight I rock with my mans Sammy Slice, Cool Hand Luke, and Tu Phace.  The Jam is called Mo Money No Problems and it goes down at Silk City. Steven Bloodbath used to hold this joint down every week and my dude Skipmode rocked alongside him a couple times to a room full of people ready to get down to some classic ish.  Tonight we gon throw down in the same way.  Come thru and shake it. Or at least fake it til you make it.

Once I get back to the crib and change clothes, I have to go back out and jump on a plane to rock with Bahamadia, Ethel Cee, and Ultraviolet in Pittsburgh tomorrow.

The SUNSTAR FESTIVAL is happening at The Kelly Strayhorn Theater so if you’re in the area come through and check the ladies… AND gent.

Please stop for a sec and check the new (5th) episode of ill! TV which is a “special” we filmed in DC nearly a year ago. The reason it’s just broadcasting now is because I, along with Lil SoSo Productions, originally planned to use the footage to build a pilot as a launch for a show which would be more in the vein of “travel guide” meets “the hip hop world” without cheesy one liners like on Pimp My Ride or the obvious placement of products paid for by sponsors we would never rock with otherwise. Since we all got preoccupied with other ideas and quite frankly, I’m wearing too many hats, we never brought the idea all the way home in a way that excited me.  Who knows though. As things develop with ill! TV we may take it in this direction again depending on feedback from our audience and what we’re able to accomplish on a shoestring budget.  All of this stuff is very much a labor of love and I’m pretty much a one/two man crew over here at most.  Thanks for all the great responses already for those that have seen the episodes.  Content is still being developed so stay with us as we grow our legs with the editing and video style.