We Made The Move!

Yes the day has come. Vinyl Athletes has moved to an official Dot Com address so we will be abandoning this blogspot for the time being. Thank you to all those who have continued to follow us over the years and have been loyal Vinyl Athletes supporters since the beginning. We will continue the mission of discussing the art of Hip Hop, Vinyl, and just promoting good music at our new home,

www.vinylathletes.com. I hope you will join us.


Peace.
Planet

ODB "Return To The 36 Chambers" Instrumental Promo

This is another one of those records I was never really sure actually existed since I myself have never seen an official copy up until a couple days ago. I couldn't even find an online photo for reference for some odd reason which was really frustrating! Even the photo on Discogs is of the Bootleg. I gave up and decided to ask someone I knew if he had a copy. And it paid off. He had a copy and sent me a label scan. The scan was bright and didn't show a lot of detail in the label, but I could see the difference between to boot and the OG right way. My long annoying search had ended.

(Pics of the Bootleg Here)
http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=869062

So for those shopping for a copy of this record and aren't sure what to look for here are some tips. Always ask for a photo, cause everyone I talked to that was selling and claiming OG sent me a pic of the boot. Be aware that the boot has a smaller circle around the hole. Also the label around the whole on the bootleg may be ripped or off center compared to the OG. The shade of the label on the bootleg is also kind of off white/yellow and of course the text is a little blurry compared to the original.

The label on the original promo is kind of grey/white and looks a little thin. The labels also has what I would describe as a pepper speckle of little black dots. And also notice the circle around the whole is much bigger and consistent with other Elektra records from that era. The run out groove on the OG also carries the SRC stamp. Official. Happy hunting.

$531!? For Black Moon's "Enta Da Stage" Instrumentals!?

I was shocked to learn recently that this particular Black Moon record went for that much dough! Yeah I know it's a show vinyl test pressing of what appears to be unreleased Black Moon beats. Or is it? Looking at the picture of this expensive record, I realized that I had a at least 98% of those beats already.

I remembered that I had Black Moon's Unreleased Beats Vol.1 & 2 on vinyl, so I looked in the files to see what instrumentals were on there. All, with the exception of one, or maybe two beats on that test pressing were released on these two volumes or on various 12" singles off that album. I guess the person who purchased that record didn't know these records existed. Or maybe I'm missing something. Maybe this test pressing had different versions or was 24K gold plated-Who knows, but damn!

Released in 1998 on Wreck Records.

Mobb Deep Shook Ones PT.II Remix

Lately, because of this blog I've been getting a lot of emails from a handful of promotional firms handling Hip Hop artists and their music. And well, I hate to say it, but none of the music they're representing has really been something to write home about. Even Del's new album is a huge disappointment!-and I used to be a huge fan of Del. It's sad really if you think about it. The art of Hip Hop is definitely suffering a huge recession in quality at the moment and is quickly moving to an all out depression in my opinion. So I found myself going back and listening to a lot of classics just so I wouldn't feel so depressed about the state of things! And in doing so I came across this Youtube video for Mobb Deep. I think the remix is refreshing and compliments their rhyme flow very well. So maybe this is is the uplift Hip Hop needs right now? Maybe we gotta go back and remix the classics. Properly updating them and flippin em with dope beats-cause hey a lot of MC's today ain't cuttin it! Damn!

Two Pressings For Pete Rock's "Revenge" 12": Differences

I've always wondered why Handcuts released two different pressings for both versions of Pete Rock's "Revenge" 12" at the same time. Was one a second pressing? I really wonder about that because both versions seemed to be released at the same time. I got one version straight from Japan which carries the MASTERDISK stamp on the runout groove among other noticeable differences in cover tint, vinyl, and label. The other version I found here in the States at a local shop has a lighter cover, the label is of a deeper color, flat & glossy, and the vinyl also looks like it was maybe pressed at Rainbow. They are both legit pressings-no doubt about that but tt just seems odd to me. Let's explore the differences just in case you think you've found a bootleg.

The records on the left are the pressings I got straight from Japan. Notice the darker tint in the covers for the first release. On the Muro Remix version, the one on the left is a little dull in comparison to the one I found in the states. You can hardly make out Pete Rock's face in that one.

The differences in labels, vinyl, and serial numbers are shown here. Again the one on the left is the version I got straight from Japan which carries the MASTERDISK stamp in the runout, and the label on that one also has a ridge on the outer edge. And the one on the right is the version I found here in the states which looks to be a Rainbow pressing. The label is flat and glossy on that one.
Released on Handcuts/Bad Dist Japan.

MASTERDISK stamp on the versions I got from Japan.

Surreal "Pardon My Dust" EP

Surreal's track record when it comes to making quality music has been solid from the beginning. And one of my favorite records in recent years was definitely his, "True Indeed" LP (ABB) produced by the Sound Providers. That collaboration was a prefect fit for Surreal and for me solidified him as a top notch MC. His fifth studio album, Pardon My Dust" is out now exclusively in Japan on the Subcontact label. Unfortunately once again, the full length album is only available in digital form-And you know who we roll here at Vinyl Athletes. We need that vinyl. But I'll settle for anything I can get and I'm happy to have this EP featuring six songs off the album. Nice indeed. Highly recommended.

We took the trouble to import a few of these EPs for the Vinyl Athletes store. It wasn't cheap either damn it!, but worth well it! Enjoy. (Official Vinyl Athletes website coming soon!)

http://vinyathletes.bigcartel.com (Store)

Freestyle Professors "Confuse A Few" 12"

You know how these Freestyle Professor records go, they get released in small numbers and they disappear. And I'd be stupid not jump on this one, so I grabbed it. Set to release sometime this month, this record offers production by and features Lord Finesse on the title cut. And so I was excited to get this one for that reason alone! That sort of fizzled after I listened to the record-only because the sticker on the front cover emphasized "featuring Lord Finesse" in huge bold yellow lettering, so I expected and hoped the Funkyman would drop more than just the appearance on the chorus. A verse...maybe two?....No? Damn! Oh well, the production is nice and the song is definitely solid. As I proceeded to listened to the rest of the record my excitement started to return. My favorite cuts here are surprisingly not the Lord Finesse joint, but the other four featured tracks on the record. The 4 other songs are really dope and take me back to the 90s when records like this would be "world premiers" and heavily played on respected radio shows like the Wake Up and Stretch and Bobbito. Recommended!

I do have one copy in the Vinyl Athletes shop if anyone wants one. Peace.

Visit: vinylathletes.bigcartel.com (Website coming soon!)

Sadat X "The Okie Doke" 7"

This Sadat X record seems to be well under the radar with most people I've talked to. And I haven't seen it at my local spots since it's release a few months ago either. Are retailers just not picking this one up? It's a real shame too cause I think Sadat X shines on this one! The beats are dope and Sadat X delivers the rhyme flow like a true veteran. Highly recommended. Now, available in the Vinyl Athletes Store.


vinylathletes.bigcartel.com