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In anticipation of the screening for SBX! (which took place earlier this evening) Ego Trip published an interview with Lord Finesse wherein he discusses his legendary battle with Percee P.

How would you rank your 1989 battle with Percee P amongst all the rhyme battles you’ve been in?
Lord Finesse: Oh, this is the number one battle. Nothin’ else compares… This battle was the day before I entered the 1989 [New Music] Seminar [MC Battle For Supremacy]. So I’m goin’ into one battle with my mind set for another battle. I’m thinking the Seminar: I’m goin’ in there, I’m takin’ that. And I got this obstacle in my way before. But you know what I’m gonna run through him and then I’m a get ready for tomorrow. [laughs] And it wasn’t that easy. It wasn’t easy at all.

Were you surprised when Jun Ohki, director of SBX!, asked you to revisit the battle for the film?
Lord Finesse: Well, me and Jun-Jun – we go way back to some of my first times I ever went to Japan, before Jun-Jun came to live here [in New York]. Whenever I was out in Japan I used to hang out with him and DJ Muro all the time. That’s all I used to do. Every time I land: “Where y’all at?” We go and eat. Jun-Jun was the mediator.

When he came to New York he said he was taking up [film] school and [told me] what he was working on. He said, “Yo, Ness, I want you to be a part of it.” I was like, aight cool! Did I know it was gonna magnify [the battle] to this [level]? Hell no. Shit, it’s crazy.

It’s kind of miraculous that the original battle with Percee was videotaped.
Lord Finesse: The craziest thing about that battle to this day is that a motherfucker actually had a camera to tape it. You know that’s when something is highly anticipated – when the camera’s on hand, especially back in those days. Because niggas wasn’t videotaping no rap battles. I can’t even recall somebody videotaping a rap battle from that era.

via ego trip, 2db

Off Mayhem and Sunset’s radio show New York Live on WNYU 89.1. Onyx was there too. Shared by Dirty Waters

Lord Finesse & Onyx On New York Live WNYU 1996

Lord Finesse’s set
1) Sadat X – Stages and Lights (instrumental)
2) Sadat X – Hang Em High
3) Mic Geronimo – Men Vs Many (w/OC & Royal Flush)
4) Fugees -
5) Fat Joe – Firewater (w/Raekwon)
6) Royal Flush – Worldwide
7) Lord Finesse – Actual Facts (w/Sadat X, Grand Puba, Large Professor)
8 ) Organized Konfusion – Bring it on (Buckwild Remix)
9) Lord Finesse interview/freestyles
DJ Mayhem’s set
10) Natural Elements – Shine
11) INI – Fakin Jaz (Remix w/Pete Rock)
12) Fab 5 – Laflaur Leflah Eshkoshka (Part 2)
13) Tragedy – Funk Mode (w/Havoc, Large Professor)
14) Mad Skillz – The Jam
15) Kool G Rap – Fast Life (w/Nas)(Vinyl Reanimators Remix)
16) Pop Da Brown Hornet – Black on Black Crime
17) Onyx – Evil Streets (w/Method Man)
17) Onyx Interview/Freestyle

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prev: Lord Finesse DJ Set On Frozen Files Presents / stream

Lord Finesse stopped through EVR today for Schott Free and Matt Life’s Frozen Files Presents radio show. Link

Stream: Lord Finesse On Frozen Files Presents

Nice pic taken from last night’s birthday bash for Lord Finesse. Big ups to the people you don’t see in the picture in attendance like Kool Herc, Fat Joe, Awesome 2, Nice & Smooth, Showbiz, Big Jeff, Boogie Blind, Hakim and more!

Lord Finesse & KRS-1 On Funkmaster Flex September ’95

Previously

Hosted By BREAKBEAT LOU

Featuring:
DJ DUMMY, STEVE DEE, SUPREME, BOOGIE BLIND, EVIL DEE, MR WALT, KENNY DOPE, DJ SCRATCH, DJ BAZARRO, EDDIE B SWIFT, LORD FINESSE, FLAW/LESS, INCREDIBOI, DJ MOCHA, DIAMOND J, WAYNE SKI, DJ SKINNY, FATFINGAZ, GRANDWIZARD THEODORE, DJ WIZ

B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
237 West 42 St.
New York, NY 10036

If you missed the birthday bash Lord Finesse had in 2007, then you missed out big time on an incredible show. Don’t make that same mistake again. This year, Rakim is the headliner and he’s also performing with his band The Congregationz. As with any event of this magnitude, the special invited guests will be crazy. link

Lord Finesse’s Birthday Bash & 20th Anniversary Celebration
Featuring
The Legendary Rakim
Exclusive NYC Premier Performance: Lord Finesse & The Congregation Band

Special Guest:
Rasheed Chappell

Music by
Harlem’s X-Factor
DJ Boogie Blind

Evening Host: Boobie Smooth

Special Invited Guest
DITC, Brand Nubian, The Beatnuts, DJ Premier, Da Beatminerz, Large Professor, Rich Medina, Kenny Dope, Rel, Black Sheep, Nice & Smooth

The second tribute show dedicated to the memory of Roc Raida went down a few months back and was organized by Lord Finesse. Performers and appearances by the likes of Kool Herc, Jazzy Jay, Large Professor, Grand Puba, Sadat X, A.G., Immortal Technique, Neek The Exotic, O.C. and The Beatnuts. Peace to Ness for letting me record. More videos after the jump. link

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Talk about Big L a bit. How did you meet?

At the time, I used to do mixtapes and do house parties real often. That’s when I met a DJ by the name of Buckwild. Buckwild and I used to sell our tapes to a place in Harlem on 125th [Street] called Rockin’ Will’s.
One day, I was doing an autograph signing for Funky Technician and in comes Big L. He’s tellin’ me how nice he is, and I brushed him off. [laughs] I just gave him my manager’s number, and he said, “Look man, I wanna rhyme right now for you, and if you don’t like me, you’ll never hear from me again!” I thought that was a fair deal. Make a long story short: after he finished rhyming for me, I was getting his number!

You had a record out already and had been rapping for a while by then. As someone who was a bit more experienced, how did Big L strike you? What about him caught your ear? What nuances could you hear?

He reminds me of myself, but a younger version. I put him on the phone one day and let him rhyme to AG. After that, everything took off from there. We tried to get him on and get him a record deal. But it took a while. People were calling him “Finesse Son” or “Little Finesse.” I used to have to check people all the time. People didn’t understand the advancement I saw in this dude. It took a while, but he landed a deal with Sony with the Devil’s Son demo. That demo was bananas! Everyone was like, “Who is this kid?” Of course we already knew he was dope. I ended up doing five or six cuts on his debut album.

Big L was a very smart rapper and I don’t think people give him enough credit for that. His rhymes are amazing because he’s so serious, but he can be funny too. And it’s like he’s just talking to you.

videos by Ka5p