Ayres told me he was working on this mix a while back, and it kinda slipped into the back of my mind until a few months later, when Eleven said that he'd just finished up a Houston-themed CD. How could such a...
expand review thing happen? Was there miscommunication in the Rub camp? No, friends - it was all part of a larger plan, unveiled here for the first time. Headlining the show is "Houston," a retrospective that spans 15+ years of H-Town history, from Geto Boys to UGK, Scarface to Slim Thug. Mixed by Ayres and genuine TX native JD, and hosted by big Bun B himself, it's a top-notch lesson in a regional sound that's only recently come to the attention of most people. It's also a perfect primer for the second CD, tucked away as a 'bonus' in the back of the case. "Houston Rocks It" offers a 40+ track survey of Houston as we know it today - Cham, Paul Wall, Flip, etc. - all masterfully mixed by the big homie, DJ Eleven. Chalk up two more for the Rub with this quality double-pack. -Chris Lemon-Red
I was this close to dropping beloved Clipse to the waiver wire a la Theo Ratliff, but street nugs like this get me back on the bandwagon. Put out an album already! Let's admit it, with the Wire on hiatus til next...
expand review season, Clipse are the next best thing for the kinfolk to experience the realness (or getting jacked for their ipods, the new thing in NYC). I mean these guys are straight pre-injury Larry Hughes over stuff like "Drop It Like It's Hot," "You Know My Style," and "Who Shot Ya." This mix also introduces us to their new crew The Re-Up Gang, which includes middleweights Liva and Sandman. Yet even with the extra-baggage, Clipse shine hard here. 25 tracks with the usual street tape chatter. -the mgmnt
Everyone loves the Clipse. Much like the McRib sandwich or Michael Jordan un-retiring, when the Clipse come out of their hidey-holes, it's a muhfuckin' celebration. In preparation for their new album, and in celebration of their dope new single "Mr....
expand review Me Too," we've re-upped (sorry) on their last two mixtapes - and at a nice price, too. Volume Two in the We Got It 4 Cheap saga finds Malice and Pusha freestyling (ahem) over some of last year's biggest beats, in addition to some new production from Pharrell. Their take on N*E*R*D's "Maybe" is flat awesome, snatching the beat out from under it and replacing it with Outkast's "Elevators." (Even more awesome is the Pusha intro, where he says he doesn't ghostwrite anything for Pharrell.) You don't need me to tell you about this one. If you don't know, get familiar. 18 tracks of crack; 60+ minutes total. -Chris Lemon-Red
REPRESSED! Now in a jewel case with full artwork! I know it's cliche when it comes to Clipse shit, but goddamn THIS IS THAT CRACK. It's been about a year in the making, but DJ Benzi's finally rolled out this monster of...
expand review a mixtape, featuring all exclusive remixes of tracks from Clipse's We Got It 4 Cheap mixtape series. Basically, Benzi is the man, and someone deep within Star Trak forked over the acapellas to him. Benzi rallied the troops and got some dope remixes together, and Clipse couldn't help but cosign it. End result: 30 tracks and 79 minutes, hosted by Clipse and featuring exclusives from Diplo, Benzi, A.Brucker & Sinden, Ghislain Poirier, Nick Catchdubs, DJ Dainjah and more. There's also exclusive freestyles, new tracks (like "Mr. Me Too" with Pharrell) and rarities. Big up to Benzi and the Evil Empire for doing it proper on this one. Recommended. -Chris Lemon-Red
Been too long since we've seen a new one from The Rub's Mr. Cosmo Baker, but what better way for him to return to the Lab than with a mix of one of our generation's finest, most forward-thinking artists. The title "Genius"...
expand review might seem like an overstatement if you're only marginally familiar with Saadiq's work, but by the time Cosmo is done taking you through this guided tour of his finest songs, productions, guest spots, remixes and influences, it's a safe bet you'll see the light. In addition to cuts from the new album, The Way I See It, the mix includes classics from Tony! Toni! Tone!, appearances from / remixes of Erykah Badu, The Roots, ATCQ, Lucy Pearl, Devin The Dude, Earth Wind & Fire, Brothers Johnson, Snoop Dogg, Kelis, D'Angelo, plus Saadiq remixes by Dilla, DJ B.Cause, Yam Who? and more. Almost 40 tracks total; 74 minutes. Recommended. -Van Hammersly
Mixtape magnate 31 Degreez dons the kufi for this one, spotlighting long-running and always under-appreciated emcees Common and Talib Kweli. He's got all bases covered with early classics "Used To Love H.E.R." and Black Star's "Definition," middle period stuff (Kweli's "Get By"...
expand review remix with Jay and Mos; "Southside" with Common and Kanye) and current curiosities like Com's Lily Allen collab and "The Light 2008." Also features guest appearances from Nas, Busta, UGK, G-Unit, Mase, Ne-Yo, Erykah, Nina Sky, Jadakiss and Blu. 17 tracks; 63 minutes. -Chris Lemon-Red
As DJ Quicksilva himself says during an interlude on this mixtape: "the mixtape game is fucked up right now." These new "official" Lethal Squad mixtapes are the major labels' concession that mixtapes are good for the business - it's just that they...
expand review wanna regulate them. Can't say I blame them, but the problem is that they don't know how to create a mixtape that people wanna buy. Fortunately, Lethal Squad seems to have a clue. Lots of new and exclusive stuff here, including the new Just Blaze-produced Young Chris single, that Slick Rick/Chamillionaire collab, remixes from USDA, Fabolous, Lil Wayne and Rick Ross, an exclusive freestyle from Peedi, the Pharoahe Monch remix of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab," and lots more. This isn't mindblowing, but I think it's a step in the right direction, and it's definitely something to bump this summer. Very interested to see how this pans out... -Chris Lemon-Red
As a member of the Lab's Production Squad, I have the immense pleasure of spending all day, every day with the esteemed duo of Snackmaster and the Commish. These boys are Bay Area born and raised, so it takes more than a...
expand review little wagon-jumping hyphy mixtape to get them stoked. Upon peeping the tracklist for Eleven's new Best of the Bay mix, Snack exclaimed: "Hell yeah! Someone finally did it right!" You gotta trust this man's opinion – Celly Cel and E-40 are the Left Coast equivalent of us East Coast boys' Biggie and Jay. Besides, it doesn't take a California ear to know that any mix with Rappin' 4Tay's "Player's Club," 40's "Captain Save A Hoe" and the Bay Ballas remix of "I Got 5 On It" is gonna be dope. Much like Eleven's Houston Rocks It mix, this is a seriously well-selected introduction to a scene that most people are just getting clued in to now. Almost 70 tracks of Bay slappers on 2 CDs. Good shit from the Rub's big man! -Chris Lemon-Red
Though he is a perfectly nice dude, DJ Eleven continues to make some of the meanest mixtapes around. Originally from Cali, The Rub's big homie made his last mix Bay-centric, but this one starts in LA and spreads to anywhere real (80s...
expand review & 90s) gangstas reside. Ice Cube, NWA, Spice 1, MC Breed, Da Lench Mob, Above The Law, Eazy E, Donald D, Geto Boys, Scarface… and that's just to name a few. 37 tracks total. -Chris Lemon-Red
If you're reading this review, you're probably like us here at the Lab: cooped up indoors all day while the sun shines gloriously outside, taunting us, only making us sweat and shining on us during the all-too-brief walk to the bodega. And...
expand review if you're like us, you need something like this in your life: Eleven's brand new mix of sweet, sweet summer music. The Rub's starting center doesn't stick too closely to any one genre here, bouncing from oldies to reggae to 90s hip-hop – the only constant thread is that it's all summer music, suitable for bumping out of your car, playing on a boombox in the park or just tossing on the stereo while you lay in bed with only the rickety ceiling fan to keep you cool. Kool & The Gang's "Summer Madness" into Fresh Prince's "Summertime" into Beyonce & Ghostface's "Summertime?" Magnifique. Not to mention all the Sam Cooke, Devin the Dude, Quincy Jones, Brand Nubian, Bill Withers, Sade, Bob Marley and Roy Ayers you could shake a stick at. This shit is soundtracking the summer for real! 36 tracks; 60+ minutes total. -Chris Lemon-Red
Eleven got that Blueberry Afghani! Okay, maybe not, but he definitely got the Bay Area connect as he links up with The Cataracs, a couple Pack-affiliated SF rap cats you might have heard of by now. The 'Racs tracks - including the...
expand review aforementioned "Afghani" and "Rich Girl" with Young & The Restless - make up the bulk of the mix, but Eleven sprinkles it with some unrelated bombs too, including his own rework of UGK's "Int'l Players Anthem," a wild Crookers remix of Kid Cudi, T2's "Heartbroken" and some Bay classics from the likes of Mac Dre, Mac Mall, E-40 and B-Legit. 29 tracks; 62 minutes. -Chris Lemon-Red
DJ Jamad, who rolls with LA store presence Nito, drops this impressive double disc set that merges the hip-hop scene to the beats scene to the electronic scene. It takes a lot of thought to bring these sounds together in a non-kitschy...
expand review manner, but Jamad succeeds, drawing serious connections between commercial hip-hop, nusoul, Dilla productions, Ed Banger, Flylo, and a bunch of record nerd surprises. An overwhelming 78 tracks used. FYI, this has been a low-key bestseller at the LA store for a couple months now. Recommended. -the mgmnt
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Lab US Exclusivo! Our cousins from Deutschland, DJ Mick and Davy Dave, back at it with another wicked set of hiphop blends and mashes. If you've been sleeping on these gents' limited vinyl releases, you're missing out on some FUN CHIT, so...
expand review get caught up here. The CD features the duo going one-for-one with exclusive remixes of Common, People Under The Stairs, Lauryn Hill, Masta Ace, Jay-Z, Black Sheep, Jaylib, Gang Starr, OC, Mos Def, Redman, Canibus and a bunch more. The mixes are all on point, the sound quality is bumpworthy and you even get a little wicky-wicky for your skqratchnerdification. Oh yeah and it comes in a custom-made cardboard box with a 24-page full-color booklet featuring a custom graphic for each remix. Scheisse! Save me one. Limited edition of 300 hand-numbered copies. 22 tracks, 78 minutes. Recommended. -Van Hammersly
Oklahoma's DJ P has a long history at the Lab. He burst onto the scene at the 2000 DMC US finals, unveiling a live mash-up routine (while other DJs were beat juggling) and finishing it off with some b-boy moves. He then...
expand review teamed up with Z-Trip for the historic mix Uneasy Listening, which can be argued as the genesis of the whole mash-up craze. After several successful solo mixes (remember Out of Control, Gangsta Mix, and Hell on Wheels?), P is officially back with this double disc that's meant to put a final chapter on vinyl-based mash-ups. P revisits some of his favorite mixes from the past and the present and lays it all down on this epic 2 hour mix. Recommended. -the mgmnt
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DJ Riz is a long running New York dj kingpin that doesn't really get his due. Sure he's got one of those Vegas residencies, he plays all the big clubs in NY and he's one half of the Crooklyn Clan, but this...
expand review guy is bigger than that. Riz kills it on some party shit, kills it on some digging shit and is just one of those all-city type New York djs that can do it all. He's been DJ'ing since the late 80s, and is one of the key guys that pioneered the style of dj'ing we see today (finesse & quick mixes, hip hop based but with a wide range of other styles thrown in). Anyway, I got a lot of respect for him and this cd shows you why. It's a double disc set with "Live From Brooklyn" parts 1 and 2 on the first disc, and a long live mix that he did on Hot 97 (circa 1998) on the other. Both discs are fire. The original "Live From Brooklyn" record is now the stuff of legend, and one of the definitive pieces in "digging culture." Released back in 1997, it's basically a long megamix of original sample joints, doubled up, mixed and cut with the precision of a fucking master. This was before everybody was up on those records, before the proliferation of the internet, and way before Serato. So now he's come back with Part 2 (soundclips 1, 2) and it's another doozy. Intro by the anti-microwave spokesman DJ Premier and just a sick selection of material. I usually hate on super quick sample mixes, but Riz puts it all together with such energy and skills that you have to just stand back and appreciate. The second cd is my shit too. Live on Funk Flex in 1998, Riz gets busy. He must be one of those dudes with the two giant stacks of naked records on either side of the turntables, cause he mixes and doubles shit up so quick you could swear it was 4 tracked. Second CD also includes Riz live on the Stretch & Bobbito show, plus a bunch of bonus material. Well worth it. -the mgmnt
When the floodgates opened on the Bay last year, a whole bunch of shitty mixtapes came rolling out, trying to capitalize. We weeded through the avalanche and only carried a few mixes from reliable sources, and now I'm pleased to say that...
expand review DJ Tap.10 has rolled out the best mix to come out of the Bay in a minute. (Mixed by a real Cali resident, no less!) The first volume in what's supposed to be a continuing series (here's to hoping), All Yay Music doesn't overstep its bounds trying to be too flashy or quirky: Tap just picks the hottest shit out right now, mixes it and lets the music work its own magic. All the usual suspects are here (E-40, Keak, Short) but Tap digs a little deeper for some folks that us pipelining East Coasters might not have grabbed on to yet (The Mossie, Nump, The D.B.z, Trackademicks). If you haven't heard "Stewie" or "Sick Wid It," and you're already bemoaning the Bay's demise, you need to cop this and hear for yourself. This one's been in regular rotation for me for a minute now, and I'm still not sick of it. 24 tracks; 67 minutes. -Chris Lemon-Red
With fire beats by the youngster and mixing from DJ Dee Squared, this new installment in the 51:51 mix series is Party Dwizz for reals. Get in your Wu-Tang stance, throw this one on and go hard with "Hands Up Thumbs Down,"...
expand review "Salt Pepper Ketchup," "D-Wizz Anthem" and 23 more sounds straight from Philly's dancefloors. It's not really ghettotech, it's not really Bmore, it's just party music. Full disclosure: the sound on certain tracks here is a little fuzzed / blowed out AT TIMES... but it's all for that grimy raw realness, ya heard? 25 tracks; 60 minutes. -Larri Byrd
Picking up where he left off with Fast Rap, Edan the Deejay brings on the juice with another solid mix CD endeavor. Sifting through the hundreds of songs sampling Clyde Stubblefield's legendary drum break, Edan selects and cuts up the best of...
expand review the well-known ("It's a Demo," "Rebel Without a Pause") and some of the more obscure (Ultramagnetic MCs live at the 1990 Zulu Nation Anniversary Party) hip hop tracks which helped put the beat on its current pedestal. On paper, the idea of listening to "Funky Drummer" looped up nonstop for about an hour might seem questionable, but there's enough variety on this CD to keep you interested from start to finish. Any fan of the golden era of hip hop will appreciate every record on here- all with upbeat, heavy and funky production, plus those tongue-twisting, lung collapsing braggadocio rhymes you know you love. Unlike Fast Rap,"where Edan just cuts from song to song, there's more interaction between records here, more cuttin', more rockin' of doubles, drops from famous rappers and DJs, plus all the wild "E-E-E-Edan the DJ is on the mixxx...STOOPID!' call outs from the Humble Magnificent. Features songs from Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, Public Enemy, Divine Force, LeJuan Love, a bonus rematch between Lord Finesse and Percee P, and much more. -The Casual Male
The most under-appreciated rap group of all time gets the best-of mixdown treatment from the Rub's big homie! Eleven kills it on this one, spanning the Mash Out Posse's whole career, front to back, early years to Def Jam... and mercifully...
expand review stopping just short of their current affiliation with Mr. Jackson. Curiously, it's co-released with Spitkicker; and I say curiously because when I think "Spitkicker," I think kufis, and when I think "M.O.P.," I think of shit being broken. Anyway, if you consider yourself an M.O.P. fan, you're gonna want this. Over 75 minutes of M.O.P.! So much yelling! 32 tracks in all. -Chris Lemon-Red
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Nobody was sure if Green Lantern could get over his highly publicized split from the Shady/Aftermath empire, but this new joint should put any and all haters to rest. Packed with a ridiculous amount of exclusives from all the biggest names,...
expand review Alive On Arrival could be the mix of GL's career. It's hard just trying to figure out what to mention first. There's "The Ice Cream Man" with Pharrell kicking a shocking decent freestyle over a hard GL beat. There's Juelz teaming up with Dem Franchize Boyz for the crossover snap music joint "Show You What I'm Workin' Wit." Ghostface and Busta get gully on the unreleased "Blow His Head Off." The list just goes on -- seriously, it goes on for 35 tracks. T.I., Jay-Z, Bun B, Jeezy, Lil Wayne, Dead Prez... you name it. A strong comeback for the Evil Genius. -Chris Lemon-Red
Bitches! Guilty Simpson's back and guess what? he's not a featured artist anymore! This is his solo project, mixed by DJ Rhettmatic of the World Famous Beat Junkies, and features 16 original tracks with Rakaa Iriscience, Phat Kat, Black Milk, and King...
expand review Gordy. A nice change from all the cameos he's been doing: B-Ball Zombie War, Heliocentrics, etc... The whole mix is paced by interludes from Planet Asia, Royce 5'9", Rass Kass and Bishop Lamont giving it the true street feel, missing from indy hip hop. You know that dirty detroit slump a la Dilla is Guilty's shit and he doesn't waste a second to furiously attack the mic with that real talk. Definitely the most complete project from him yet. Over an hour long. -Cmish
A New Jersey transplant and product of Valdosta, GA, Izza Kizza recently signed to Timbaland's Mosley Music imprint. But before he drops the o-fish-al major label debut, he's teamed with Fool's Gold co-founder and all around good guy Nick Catchdubs for this...
expand review little preview of things to come. If you haven't heard Kizza's hyperactive, stuttering rhymes, you're in for a treat - I can't really think of any reference for dude's style, it's just that unique. (Closest comparison would be those other two "eccentric" guys from Georgia, I guess...) The beats are better than your average mixtape too, mostly thanks to Kizza's NJ collaborators Souldiggaz, as well as Koolade and hyphy maestro Trackademicks. There's even a lil cameo from Missy Elliot, and a nice freestyle over a slew of Timbo beats. 19 tracks total. Recommended. -Van Hammersly
If you like your hip-hop smoov and soulful, then this double disc import from Japan is all for you. For the first disc, SF's J-Boogie takes you on a journey through his OM crates with a mix of tasteful downtempo beats topped...
expand review with soulful vocals and conscious raps. 24 tracks mixed super smoothly from the likes of Ladybug Mecca, Soulstice, Raashan Ahmad, Black Spade, Zion I, Mark Farina, Bassnectar, and People Under Stairs. Japan's DJ Deckstream takes the second disc for more of the same style and selections from the OM catalog. Over 2 hours of music. Extra fancy gatefold packaging. -Caliboy
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