Diggin in the Tapes - Classic and Rare Hip Hop Gems

Eminem, Juice, Akinyele, and Planet Asia freestyle on Wake Up Show

2009-05-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

This one's probably been posted somewhere in some form or another, I just can't find it. This is a sick session with Eminem, MC Juice, Akinyele, and Planet Asia on the Wake Up Show. Haven't had a bit of time for this blog but found a few minutes tonight so I hope you enjoy I need to rip some more mixes. Be back soon I promise!

Eminem, MC Juice, Akinyele, and Planet Asia - Wake Up Show Freestyle

CM Famalam - Freestyle Nova 4 - July to November 2000

2009-04-06T21:53:00.001-07:00

Whassup yall???? As promised I have a longer 45 minute section for this post from part of the CM Famalam 2000 Freestyle Nova #4 tape - This is side A from July to Nov. 2000 with various MCs which I am listing below - some of the artists I don't remember so I put a ? on it--if you know these cats please holler back! This is a great listen and also ripped from the original tape...one of the only ones I have besides a dub from this era so I hope you will enjoy this one! Part 2 coming soon baby.

CM Famalam - Freestyle Nova #4 - July to November 2000
TRACKLIST
?
Tragedy Khadafi and Killa Sha
Slug (Atmosphere), Eyedea and Self Scientific
J-Live and ?
?
?
Pumpkinhead and Bad Seed
Guru and Mendoza
?
Writers Guild and Stronghold with Lord Sear
The Dwellas and DV Alias Khrist
MC Serch

Siah and Yeshua DapoED

2009-03-30T18:18:00.000-07:00

This is a real hot session from I believe the same show I posted with Scienz of Life from earlier. Indie legends in my opinion Siah and Yeshua DapoED. Their EP The Visualz from Fondle Em Records (Bobbito's label if you didn't know) was one of it not my favorite indie release from the era. This is from 1997 at the heyday of the indie scene on Stretch and Bobbito 89.9 - part 3 I'll go ahead and post tomorrow or so from the same show. Lots of great rips coming. Haven't stayed up on the blog as much as I grinded in that first month but get ready for some longer compilations etc... As always thanks for the love!

Siah and Yeshua DapoED - Freestyle on Stretch and Bobbito 89.9

Talib Kweli and Medina Green - Freestyle on 89.9 Stretch and Bobbito

2009-03-28T00:49:00.000-07:00

Been really busy but wanted to drop this one on you. This is a session from 1998 I believe on Stretch and Bobbito with Talib Kweli and Medina Green. Kweli comes off top for several sections of this and it's a very dope listen in my opinion. I have ripped some more audio and am saving Sunday for more of the same with some longer freestyle compilations etc that I think you will enjoy....be patient I'm not giving up on this blog yet!

Talib Kweli and Medina Green - Freestyle on 89.9 Stretch and Bobbito - 1998

Scienz of Life freestyle on WKCR 1997

2009-03-19T23:53:00.000-07:00

Scienz of Life were always entertaining on the Stretch and Bobbito show as well as on this effort that I've used for the picture here - Coming Forth By Day...got this shit on wax baby! Conscious NY shit, in my opinion a more advanced Poor Righteous Teachers. This is a great session on WKCR with Stretch and Bobbito. This is part 1 of 3 from the same show back in 1997 which I will be posting the rest of in the next few days. The lineup has changed but my favorite was always Lil Sci - great voice and dope flow. Enjoy!

Scienz of Life - freestyle on Stretch and Bobbito WKCR 89.9

Natural Elements freestyle on WKCR

2009-03-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite indie hip hop groups that never blew up has to be Natural Elements. The collective of A-Butta, L-Swift, and Mr Voodoo aka AGU as well as producer for most of their catalog Charlemagne smoked underground radio during the late 90's. They brought the combination of gritty street tracks backed by ill lyrics that was missing from in my opinion most of the similar groups of the time, commercial or underground. This is an 10 minute session from when they were signed to Tommy Boy so I believe this is 1998. I have a lot of other NE stuff to bring you in the future but for now enjoy and try to find their unreleased album you'll be glad you did! I want to elaborate and bring you some more details from the internet but unfortunately beyond some message board stuff there is not much to offer and that's a shame!

Natural Elements freestyle on WKCR with Bobbito and Lord Sear

Necro and Mr. Hyde dis on Stretch with Lord Sear

2009-03-12T15:16:00.001-07:00

This is a funny little segment from the aftermath of an earlier post I did where Mr Hyde disses Ras Kass on the air. Little segment later on in the same show with a caller that I found on a different tape...hilarious. Just ripped some more heat including some Stretch and CM Famalam freestyle compilation 90 minute joints. Much more soon!

Necro and Mr. Hyde with Lord Sear on Stretch Armstrong show 89.9 - caller dis

Pace Won and Young Zee freestyle on Halftime Radio

2009-03-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

Been super busy but I'm not done with this blog yet. Thanks for all the love on the Big L post I have much more from him that I have yet to rip this has been by far my most popular post. Real quick today is a session from Young Zee and Pace Won of the Outsidaz on Halftime radio 89.1. Getting some more stuff ready soon!

Young Zee and Pace Won - freestyle on Halftime radio 89.1

Big L on Stretch and Bobbito - WQHT Hot 97 1998

2009-02-27T00:20:00.000-08:00

Big L really needs no introduction to the heads that visit this blog I'm sure. This is a session from when Stretch and Bobbito were doing Sunday nights on Hot 97 - year is 1998 I believe when he came out with the Size Em Up/Ebonics single. The verses on here can be heard elsewhere but I included some of the banter before the session with Stretch, Bob, and Sear cutting up which I always enjoyed on the tapes. He raps over Pete Rock's "Tru Master" here. I enjoyed hearing the same rhymes when it was done over hot beats, as long as the MC was as dope as L. RIP to one of the greatest, missed for sure!

Big L - Freestyle on WQHT Hot 97 Stretch and Bobbito

Crash Crew and Supafriendz finale

2009-02-24T15:11:00.000-08:00

Part 3 of this dope freestyle session with Mad Skillz, Danja Mowf, Lonnie B (Supafriendz), and Reggie Reg of the legendary Crash Crew on Stretch and Bobbito. More coming real soon!

Supafriendz and Crash Crew - freestyle part 3 on Stretch and Bobbito

Supafriendz and Crash Crew - WKCR session #2

2009-02-20T09:10:00.000-08:00

This is part 2 of this great freestyle session with Supafriendz which were Mad Skillz, Danja Mowf, Lonnie B., and Speedie Toine. Probably the best MCs to ever come out of Virginia. The whole crew destroys their verses. Anything I've heard from Lonnie B especially is fantastic and it's a shame the cat didn't go further but I guess he's DJing mostly now - check his myspace. Part 3 tomorrow!

Supafriendz and Crash Crew - WKCR session #2

Artifacts, Crash Crew, and Mad Skillz on Stretch and Bobbito

2009-02-18T09:17:00.000-08:00

This is part 1 of a session with Artifacts, Reggie Reg of Crash Crew, and Mad Skillz from 1997 I believe. Great combination of different styles which I always enjoyed on the Stretch and Bobbito show. Skillz verse is straight up nasty! Parts 2 and 3 are even doper just trying to keep it brief so you guys can take this all in. This is from a random 120 minute tape I got back in the day and I'm glad I didn't wear it out because I used to run that thing back in the day, one of my favorites all time which is where this next series of sessions is coming from. Read the bios and such if you're not familiar with these artists, which I can't imagine. More tomorrow.

Artifacts, Crash Crew, and Mad Skillz - Stretch and Bobbito session #1 - 1997

Slacking on posts I apologize!

2009-02-16T11:27:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned earlier I had a really busy DJ schedule last week. This week is a bit more toned down but I'm just going to do a quick one for today. This one is Ras Kass on Halftime Radio with DJ Eclipse from 1998 when his 2nd album came out. I'm gonna keep this one short because I know heads on here are gonna know who Ras is and I like to normally do longer bios, etc... I've been ripping some heat so bare with me!

Ras Kass - freestyle on Halftime 89.1 radio show - 1998

2009-02-11T13:12:00.000-08:00

For some reason I can't find any pictures of Stronghold as a collective so this will do for now. I'm DJing 6 times this week so I've been kinda strapped for time but since I put up the Poison Pen vs. Kwest I wanted to share this Stronghold freestyle from the 89.1 Halftime Radio show. I have several more from this show. Halftime in its heyday was DJ Riz and DJ Eclipse. Like the Stretch and Bobbito program they showcased indie MCs as well as more well-known cats. Their show didn't allow cursing but there were plenty of great sessions. Stronghold is coming completely off of the dome from what I can tell. Hope you enjoy!

Stronghold freestyle on Halftime Radio Show 89.1

Kwest vs. Poison Pen - 88 Hip Hop battles finale

2009-02-09T10:38:00.000-08:00

As promised this is the finale of the Kwest the Madd Lad vs. battle on 88 Hip Hop, this is all I have at least. If there were any more than this or as I said before if anyone has info on these battles please post it in the comments. Poison Pen is a very talented member of the NYC collective of MCs known as Stronghold who I have some ill freestyle sessions of and will post later on. The group includes C-Rayz Walz, Breez Evahflowin, LIFE Long, and more. I believe Immortal Technique is also a member of the crew. All the sessions I have from them are off the top of the dome. This is a great battle between friends and as I said the last of these battles I have. I hope you have enjoyed them!

Kwest the Madd Lad vs. Poison Pen - 88 Hip Hop battle

Kwest vs. B-Danger

2009-02-06T15:38:00.001-08:00

A little strapped on time today. Here is Kwest battling another MC who I have never heard of B-Danger. Got the final battle of this series tomorrow. Thanks for the support getting a lot of cool messages...peace

Kwest the Madd Lad vs. B-Danger - 88 Hip Hop battle

Kwest vs. Captain Lou Al Reefa battles

2009-02-05T09:47:00.000-08:00

This is probably the hottest set of 88 Hip Hop battles with Kwest the Madd Lad. Here he faces MC Captain Lou Al Reefa, whom I have yet to hear from before or after this session. Naturally he got his name from the wrestler Captain Lou Albano. The battle was so intense he came back again for week 2. It also seems like they let the MCs do their thing for a longer period of time on these because it was so entertaining. Enjoy these!

Kwest the Madd Lad vs. Captain Lou Al Reefa week 1 battle

Kwest the Madd Lad vs. Captain Lou Al Reefa week 2 battle

Kwest the Madd Lad vs. Broadcast

2009-02-04T11:33:00.000-08:00

I have no idea who the MC Kwest is battling on this session but he goes by Broadcast. Getting some more stuff ripped today for probably the best of all the battles tomorrow. Enjoy!

Kwest the Madd Lad vs. Broadcast - 88 hip hop battle

Taking a break from the Kwest battles today

2009-02-03T10:43:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all the ill feedback on the stuff I've been posting. I'm gonna take a day off from the Kwest battles to try to get the rest of them ripped and up on the interwebs. For now I found a pretty funny/dope session from the Stretch and Bobbito show with Lord Sear. This is Necro and Mr. Hyde just going straight goon/porn style. I know a lot of the sessions on this show have been featured on his "Rare Demos and Freestyles" series but I don't think this is one of them.

I discovered Necro through these radio sessions and he flipped every style from brutality to battle lyrics to porn styles and it was always amusing to say the least. Huge fan of his debut "I Need Drugs" album. Check it out if you've never heard it. He is an incredible producer to this day but has branched out into the metal and porn scene which has taken his career to new heights. Mr. Hyde has records out on Necro's Psycho-Logical records label. He was always kind of a Necro protege'. I forgot to mention the best part about this freestyle is where Hyde calls out rapper Ras Kass for some album lyrics. WARNING - This is a very explicit session so if that's not for you I would stop right here. But for the goons enjoy!

Necro and Mr. Hyde on Stretch Armstrong show with Lord Sear - Ras Kass dis

Kwest vs. Absolut and Ed

2009-02-02T09:39:00.000-08:00

I have 5 more of these 88 hip hop battles with Kwest the Madd Lad. Here are 2 more with MC's Absolut and a guy simply known as Ed. Hope you are enjoying this series the battles seem to get better and better as the weeks go by. I can just picture these cats just waiting in line to get a piece of Kwest.

Kwest the Madd Lad vs. Absolut

Kwest the Madd Lad vs. Ed

Kwest the Madd Lad vs. A.L.

2009-01-31T10:56:00.000-08:00

I'm having a hard time finding much on the rapper Kwest is battling in this session A.L. Skillz. He made appearances on the Eddie Ill and D.L. tapes as well as guested on several tracks in the heyday of indie hip hop of the late 90's. I have a ridiculous session with A.L. that I'm trying to find for later on but for now peep this one. This is a great battle and I'm just getting started...more feedback is appreciated!

Kwest the Madd Lad vs. A.L. - 88 hip hop battle #3

Kwest freestyle and vs. Koran

2009-01-30T09:30:00.000-08:00

Round 2 is here! Part one of this post is Kwest doing a solo freestyle on 88 hip hop. Dope flow etc... The second part is him battling MC Koran (if anyone has further info on this guy let me know - I remember the name but not the crew he used to roll with). This is a much better battle than the first one vs. Neuk. I've finally ripped the rest of them so we'll be going through these in the next week or so. Thanks for all the feedback so far I'm quite literally just getting started!

Kwest the Madd Lad - Freestyle on 88 Hip Hop

Kwest the Madd Lad - vs. Koran on 88 Hip Hop

Kwest the Madd Lad - 88 Hip Hop battles #1

2009-01-29T08:58:00.000-08:00

I've already posted a dope Kwest the Madd Lad freestyle but since I let the cat out of the bag that I have the infamous 88 hip hop freestyle battles I've been getting bombarded with requests for them. I'm gonna do these in sections, possibly just one or two at a time. Not sure of the origin or why Kwest was on there serving fools. I am having a hard time getting any details so if you can fill in the blanks on the cbox or comments please feel free to do so. I've yet to see any of these battles on the net. I have done my best to clean these up to be listenable and boost the levels, so I hope you enjoy. These are in order of how I received them on the tape I have. This is Kwest vs. Neuk (nuke??? the joy of tape trading is grammar or misspellings on tape covers/labels). I will say that Kwest sons almost all of these rappers - this was one of my most prized possessions in the tape trading game for some time!

Kwest the Madd Lad - 88 Hip Hop battle #1 vs. Neuk

DJs Rob Swift and Mista Sinista Live on Stretch and Bobbito

2009-01-28T10:38:00.003-08:00

This is the final installment of routines from the Stretch and Bobbito show on 8-21-97. This one features 2 other members of the X-Ecutioners: DJs Rob Swift and Mista Sinista. I've had the pleasure of opening for Rob twice here in Tulsa and he has one of the smoothest styles of mixing and doing routines that I've ever seen. His turntablist compostition albums are very dope as well so you should check those out. He just dropped a new dvd called "As the Technics spin" that you should look into as well as his other releases here on his site. This is a 6+ minute routine using LL Cool J's "Rock the Bells" and more.

DJ Mista Sinista is known for his wild antics during his routines. He has produced some of the more classic mixtapes that I've ever gotten from New York. While some turntablists mixes can get a little boring or employ too much technical skill for my taste, he always had a nice balance of both. He left the X-Ecutioners several years back but still rocks parties all over the world. Here is a great article on him. I'll be back tomorrow with the Kwest the Madd Lad 88 Hip Hop freestyle battles so stay tuned!

DJ Rob Swift - Live on Stretch and Bobbito - 8-21-97

DJ Mista Sinista - Live on Stretch and Bobbito - 8-21-97

DJ A-Trak on Stretch and Bobbito

2009-01-27T08:30:00.001-08:00

I've decided to split all of these turntablism routines up for the most part because they're around 10 minutes each and I don't want to lump them all together and bore you. This next one comes from one of my favorites past and present DJ A-Trak. The Montreal native exploded onto the battle scene in 1997, winning the DMC world championship at the age of 15. Here is that winning routine. Shortly after the win he became a member of the Invisible Skratch Piklz and then started his own crew with some of the best new battle djs in the world with The Allies. They changed the battle game and won many titles worldwide. I put him as one of the top 5 turntablists all time.

He landed the gig of a lifetime becoming the tour DJ for Kanye West a few years back after he was spotted doing an in-store routine overseas. In the last few years A-Trak has laid back on the battle-type stylings that took him all over the world and broadened his horizons musically. He started his own label Fools Gold Records which has become immensely popular in the thriving new electro/hipster scene. I left some of the intro moments which are one of the best things about the Stretch and Bobbito show. Probably post the rest of these routines tomorrow. I'm archiving a lot of things lately so stay tuned!

DJ A-Trak - Live on Stretch and Bobbito - 8-21-97

DJ Total Eclipse routine - Stretch and Bobbito

2009-01-26T08:39:00.000-08:00

As promised another part of the Stretch and Bobbito program from 8-21-07. I have found a couple of video clips of this online but just segments as I think the show was featured on BET's Rap City show with Big Lez. This is a session with DJ Total Eclipse of the X-Men and later the X-Ecutioners and now Ill Insanity. This dude is one of the kings of beat juggling and this is a really ill display of some of his best work. Tomorrow I'll probably post the rest DJs with A-Trak, Rob Swift and more from the same show.

DJ Total Eclipse - Live on Stretch and Bobbito - 8-21-97

Organized Konfusion and Lord Finesse Freestyle

2009-01-24T11:25:00.000-08:00

The tape that this session came on was probably one of my first huge scores in the tape trading game where I really decided to start pursuing it more. This particular session features 2 of my favorite artists of all time rhyming together on the Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito show. This is 15 minutes of Organized Konfusion and Lord Finesse from 08-21-07 (tape was labeled). This was recorded to a 90 minute tape with the mix part of the show on one side and this side which included not only this session but some battle routines with the X-Ecutioners and DJ A-Trak which I will post next time.

These are mostly written raps but some of the stuff Finesse kicks I haven't heard anywhere else. The raps from Pharoahe Monch and Prince Po (Organized) are mostly off their most current release at the time "The Equinox". I never minded hearing verses that were recorded on albums over different beats during these kinds of sessions. Sometimes the beats that Stretch or whoever plays are even better than the tracks they would rhyme these lyrics over on their actual albums. The Wikipedia on these cats is pretty much on point so if you're sleeping on OK it's time to wake up.

Lord Finesse is one of my favorite lyricists of all time. His punchlines and swagger were always so ill to listen to. These are 2 artists that you should be up on, or at least seek out their music. Got some ill DJ stuff coming for next time!

Organized Konfusion and Lord Finesse - Freestyle on Stretch and Bobbito - 8-21-97

Akrobatik Freestyle on CM Famalam show

2009-01-23T11:50:00.000-08:00

I use the term freestyle pretty loosely on this site just because it is an easy way to convey that these are basically sessions of people rhyming, mostly on the radio. If I wanted to get super intricate and tell you that this person on a session or that person wasn't truly "freestyling" or coming off of the top of their head I feel it would be a waste of time because I think the people that are into what I am posting can tell the difference.

That said I prefaced this post with that to bring you a session from one of my favorite "freestyle" MCs, Boston's Akrobatik. 8 minutes on the CM Famalam program with Bobbito and Lord Sear. While most MCs fill their freestyles with a bunch of "uh uh uh" or "check it" when they run out of things to say off the head, this cat seemed to never run out of clever things to say. In the future I'm sure I'll post more from him because I have lots of Boston stuff.

That said I haven't checked for his newer music but I have the original 12" of the song Internet MCs which you should check out as well as his classic Say Yes, Say Word. Been ripping a lot of stuff in my downtime so get ready for more. Thanks to all the viewers but I need to get some more feedback!

Akrobatik - Freestyle on CM Famalam Radio

Wordsworth and more on Bahamadia's B-Sides radio show

2009-01-22T09:32:00.000-08:00

I have several sessions from a Philly radio show hosted by Bahamadia called B-sides radio that I will try to post in the future. This is a hot one I am thinking around 1998 with Wordsworth, FT, Big Bob, and Matt Fingaz. Wordsworth and Matt Fingaz are definitely the most interesting on this session. Words was always one of my favorites off the top of the head. I have a lot of video footage of him as well in rhyme ciphers on the streets of New York that I will one day try to get converted and on Youtube.

On a side note I forgot a couple of details on some posts above. The Eddie Ill and DL mixtape I posted has a tape 2 that I will post later on. Finally I have searched around and not been able to find the 88 HipHop freestyle battles where Kwest tha Madd Lad goes off on a bunch of different MCs so I am gonna get those sessions ripped as soon as I can. They are ridiculous! Til next time peace.

Wordsworth, FT, Big Bob, and Matt Fingaz Freestyle on Bahamadia's B-Sides radio

Kwest tha Madd Lad and Rok One freestyle

2009-01-21T15:14:00.000-08:00

Couldn't find any images of Rok One for this post but this is a freestyle from 1998 with him and the very ill Kwest tha Madd Lad on the CM Famalam radio program with Bobbito and Lord Sear. 13 minutes out of the tapes collection. When I am ripping these to mp3 I am doing some EQing on the Rane 56 mixer to try to make these sound as good as possible. I haven't seen this particular session posted, which will remain the theme for this blog - to give you some exclusives from the stash. Rok One dropped a dope 12" on Fondle Em records back in the indie heyday of the late 90's and keeps up with Kwest pretty well on this session. If you never checked out Kwest tha Madd Lad you're sleeping and you must immediately find "This Is My First Album" before you get your hip hop pass revoked. More to come soon I've been having a bit of fun with this.

Kwest tha Madd Lad and Rok One - CM Famalam Freestyle 1998 - 13 minutes

Eddie Ill and DL side B

2009-01-21T09:30:00.000-08:00

As promised I'm back with side B of the Eddie Ill and DL - Scenes From the Underworld mixtape. This one starts out pretty hot with a freestyle from some legendary indie MCs like J-Treds, Wiseguy and Gaston, and Bad Seed over a smoking beat by DJ Spinna. Some super hot songs on the b-side most notably one of my favorite Lord Digga songs "Sacks 5th Ave." Digga was always one of my favorite grimy New York MCs out of the Masta Ace Incorporated camp. The Tommy Tee produced Day by Day is a highlight as well.

If you've never checked out the Norway producer's first album "Beats, Bonds and Beliefs" do yourself a favor and seek out some of the tracks on there. My personal favorite from that album has to be "Crown Holders" feat. Skam and I.G. off and Hazadous, the beat is bananas! Anyway I hope you enjoy this side B, more to come real soon.

Eddie Ill and DL - Scenes From the Underworld side B

Welcome to Hip Hop Dubs

2009-01-20T15:22:00.000-08:00

First off welcome to the site! I'm gonna try to faithfully keep this thing updated. My main goal here is to share some rare treats from the hundreds of cassette tapes I used to trade with some cats online all over the country, from mixtapes to rare freestyles to unreleased tracks, and I'm gonna try my hardest to make sure these are things I have Googled and not found online.

First up I'm including side A of Eddie Ill and DL's classic indie hip hop mixtape series. This one is called Scenes from the Underworld. The best thing about these is they played a lot of hot indie hip hop stuff that hadn't been released at the time and had freestyles over completely original beats. On this one in particular They had some of the Makin' Records family freestyling over an original beat by Run Run Shaw for the intro. The end has Craig G. rhyming over an original beat by Vinyl Reanimators. Super hot mixtape and the quality isn't too bad on this one as it was a well preserved tape. 45 minute A-side. Any question on tracks let me know they're pretty legible on the cover scan. Enjoy!

Eddie Ill and DL #2 - Scenes From The Underworld Side A