quick audio picks: 12
Many people consider this their favorite battle record. Simplest, most effective layout. Includes "stop frontin' and use your head" beat. Two of the nicest skratch sentences that include "scratching... what is it; uh... raang.... it's fresh; break it down like this." Hours...
expand review of skratching enjoyment ( = less time beating off). Buy 2 copies. Classic. -the mgmnt
quick audio picks: 12
Doo Doo Breaks was a cult hit, quietly selling over 300 copies through our website. Now that Boom Bip has gained shine through his work on Lex, this excellent tools record should be no surprise. Doo Doo Tones is a densely packed...
expand review record with an inexhaustible supply of original sounds and snippets, with each sample seemingly put through a high standard of quality control. No filler here. 18 subsections with titles like: raver girl on prozak, my pet rock, I hate trance, duborama, rapapella, and listen to the drummer. -the mgmnt
quick audio picks: 12345
GAWD-DAMN! That's all I gotta say. 23 tracks of the heaviest drum tracks I've ever heard, straight from the funk gods at Stones Throw. If anyone knows beats, its these dudes. Don't bother scratchin' your head, going "where is this loop from?"...
expand review I'll tell you - they're all written and performed by Dan Bitney, John Herndon and John Mcentire of Tortoise. If you don't know Tortoise, don't worry. Just know that they are masters and everyone of these tracks is a gem. Anywhere you drop the needle is going to be like the golden sample record at the end of a 3 week digging spree. It's that good. To humor you, check "A Safe Balm(1)," "...As Bond Did(2)," "Crass Jenny(3)" and "Craven(4)." See how the funk just seeps out yo' speakers? Oh, not enough? If you want some slumpy scratch beats, check "Sniper Growl(5)" for that hardness. And I've only mentioned cuts from the first LP (it's a double!). With people like Egon and PB Wolf on the creative team, they wouldn't leave anyone hanging. Whatever genre you're feeling, whether it's funk, disco, jazz, or rock - they got something for everyone here. Only questions left are, "How long before these drums get sampled for a hit?" and "How many copies does Gaslamp Killer have?" I see you. Highly recommended. -C'mish
quick audio picks: 12
From the creators of Video Game Breaks comes this collection of theme songs, sound effects and dialogue from the cartoons of the 80s all the way to the present. Cartoons covered include: Looney Tunes, Jetsons, Tom & Jerry, Woody Woodpecker, Fat Albert,...
expand review Transformers, Thundercats, Voltron, Ren & Stimpy, Beavis & Butthead, South Park, Futurama, Simpsons and more. Recommended. -the mgmnt
Swamp rules. He's basically the death-metal god of scratch, providing you with scratch tools that are always super useful and always on point. This digital version of Scratch Tools is an excellent look for all the digital DJs out there, featuring 99...
expand review tracks of pure Swampy goodness. It's a mixed bag of classic scratch samples (you get your "ahhh"s and "fresh"es in a number of variations), new and orignal sound effects, plus a number of hard hitting practice loops to get loose on. Not many of these scratch records on CD yet (thought there should be). Recommended. -snackmaster
The second record by D-styles. Some dark-ass where your momma wouldn't go beats. A lot of nice skratch samples and our favorite drum snippet samples. This is quickly becoming the new standard for break records. Well put together, and a whole lot...
expand review of those electro beats that everyones gettin into. Get it now and understand later. -the mgmnt
Oh snap, the advance copy of this one has been causing a big stir. Now you know why. Side one starts off with some neck bobbin' downtempo electro beats. Our favorite's the second track with an electro bassline of EPMD's "You're a...
expand review Customer." Next up, D-styles patented skratch sentences. As usual, his senteces are intelligently put together so that every noise can be utilized allowing for multiple noise combos. Our favorite part: "Devastate... itch... fresh" and D-Styles' famous "bust this, bust that." One of the sentences consists of sped up on-beat skratch noises; we're not quite sure what to make from it, but you know people are going to be making some crazy shit from it. Side two has a some dark hard hitting electro beats that change tracks on beat (one continuous changing beat). And for all those late night stone sessions, there are two never ending looped beats at the end of each side. Never have to say: "damn I was feelin that shit, why'd it have to end?" Honestly this (and the Unearthed 3) is one of the tightest break records to come out in a while. If you liked Black Market or Sqratch Fetishes, or even if you didn't, you'll like this instrument. Got Gagball? -the mgmnt
quick audio picks: 12
Long-awaited. One side has crazy-ass beats that take some gettin used to, but that's what we expect from the piklz. The other side is probably the most comprehensive skratch noise library ever assembled. You get over 150 sounds new and old, but...
expand review the reason why we really like this, is that the sounds are organized in usable combinations. Ever wish you had an "aaahhh" after a certain sound, well it's probably on here. One of our best selling records right now. -the mgmnt
quick audio picks: 12
Okay, here's the deal. Guy sends Snackmaster a promo out of the blue for another skratch record. Great. When we get it, we walk over to the turn, put it on. Hmm, "Pretty good", Needle Drop, "Hey, this...
expand review beat is sick!", needle drop some more, "OK, I'm sold.(check side b)" Mind you, at the Pro Squad, we listen to EVERYTHING. This is definitely as foward thinking a break album as you can get. All tracks are ready for scratching over, routines, and battling. All the beats are complex and feelable, and even comparable to some of our dubstep or grime beats we carry. Lemme put it to you this way, we played a break album at Lab, and shipset crew asked,"What record is this?". Do you know how monumental that is? They never ask that. Whenever we put on a break album, its always, "Oh no, its the Cali Boyz with their scratch shit again.". Not anymore. This one just set precedent. Spoil yourself, just dont soil yourself. -C'mish
quick audio picks: 12
Extremely useful collection of old school breaks from late 70s and early eighties. Paul Nice crafts the tracks isolating and extending the best breaks and choruses of each original. 11 selections that I know that people are looking for including loops of...
expand review Whatnauts' "Help is on the Way," Pieces of a Dream's "Mt. Airy Groove," and Central Line's "Walking into Sunshine." Recommended. -the mgmnt
quick audio picks:
Just as classic as foot breaks. Lots of memorable moments here. The "my uzi weighs a ton" beat never fails to make the heads nod. Fundamental skratch phrases (uh-uh-break-ahh-there-it-is). Gotta have the wheels before you get the girl. I don't really like...
expand review doing reviews of classic records like this. Like Jeru said: talk is cheap, you're outlined in 50 cent hot dogs. -the mgmnt
quick audio picks: 12
First volume in Qbert's Breaktionary which gives you over 60 funk breaks one after another, at the same tempo on one record. It's a no brainer- no more carrying tons of crates to a jam, just grab doubles, rock out and get...
expand review props. Check the latest Freestyle Session DVD to see Qbert use these breaks providing heater upon heater for the b-boys and b-girls. As an added bonus, all the covers in this 4 part series are done by D23 (Damon Soule) and can be connected in any direction. -snackmaster
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