I’ve heard these rhymes for a minute now and it’s still as dope as the first time. Respect.

i hold these truths self evident
nothin touches me when i’m in my element
jump out the window for the hell of it

Living history. Recorded live @ SOBs 2.18.10.

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!

Going through the archives and found this little bitty hidden away. Rahiem from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five showing the people he still got it. Expect more old school videos in the coming weeks. link

Didn’t have a chance to post this but it’s going down tonight in NYC. It’s a free show too so don’t sleep on this! more info

Hip-Hop Homage Tour 2009
Friday February 6, 2009 from 6:00pm – 11:00pm

Mission Society Beacon Auditorium
215 West 114th St.
New York, New York 10026

On Track Productions in association with Praise, Peace and Pride, Inc. is having a free Black History Month Pre-Launch celebration of the 2009 Hip Hop Homage Tour 30th Anniversary of Hip Hop on wax, “Tribute to 1979.”

Featuring artists the original Double Trouble, KK Rockwell, and Rodney C, Kool Kyle the original Starchild, featuring RB, Da Broiler, Reggie Reg of the Legendary Crash Crew. Debut performance by Rahiem of the original Funky Four and Grand Maste Flash of the Furious Five.

FYI– Also conducting auditions for signed and unsigned artists who would like an opportunity to perform during the pre-launch celebration. Call 646-748-2766 for more info.

This is an 30 and over crowd. You must be 30 and over to attend this event.

Please RSVP to hiphoppioneershealth@yahoo.com no later than January 28, 2009.

Please list your full name and age and also if you are inviting any guest you must have their full name and age also.

The Video Music Box 25th Anniversary Show was a historic event. The artists either performing or in attendance was a virtual who’s who of Hip-Hop aristocracy (partial list below). The whole concert lasted about three hours with 10-15 minute sets for each act, which meant a steady stream of classic material. If you couldn’t make it to the show and want to get a sense of what tracks were performed, just throw on your best of 80s and 90s hip-hop mixtapes.

I gotta give props to Ralph McDaniels and crew for a few things that added to the show’s success. One is keeping the event so organized. Even with the hustle and bustle of artists continuously going on and off stage, everything ran smoothly. Also, the set lengths. There was always enough entertainment throughout the night to keep the crowd involved and on their toes. Of course, major props are due for the line up. Honestly, when was the last time you heard Spoonie Gee, Schoolly D or Milk Dee rock the mic? Let alone at the same free event! Throw on the fact that none of the artists who hit the stage got paid a cent. They all did it out of love and respect for Uncle Ralph and Video Music Box. Hip-Hop unity at its finest.

Obviously, there are plenty of highlights I could run through like Ralph showing off his DJ Clark Kent designed Air Force One’s made specifically for the anniversary. Or July 18th being officially declared Video Music Box Day by Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Paterson. However, the livest part of the whole show was when the Sugar Hill Gang hit the stage to the tune of Rapper’s Delight. By now, most of us should know the back story behind Big Hank’s verse. After Wonder Mike finished up, I wondered how the crowd would react to Hank’s part of the song. The answer was that they didn’t get a chance to because Grandmaster Caz suddenly ran onto the stage and started spitting the rhymes! The icing on the cake was when Rahiem and Mele Mel of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five joined everybody up there. Amazing.

Big ups to Ralph for being the first and putting in 25 years of hard work. And here’s to another 25+! I got video footage for most of the sets but until those are edited and uploaded onto our youtube channel, check out some pictures I snapped in between recordings (after the jump).

Sugar Hill Gang
Grandmaster Caz
Rahiem
Mele Mel
Lovebug Starski
Crash Crew
Chubb Rock
Naughty By Nature
Nice & Smooth
Special Ed
Milk Dee
Spoonie Gee
Schoolly D
Dana Dane
DJ Jazzy Joyce
O.C.
A.G.
Fab 5 Freddy
Kool Herc
Awesome 2
Mr. Cheeks
Kool DJ Red Alert
Large Professor
Dres
Hakim (of Channel Live)

Sugar Hill Gang, Grandmaster Caz, Rahiem and Mele Mel

Special K

Smooth B

Ralph McDaniels and Kool Herc

Ralph McDaniels

Rahiem

Naughty By Nature

Mele Mel

Kool DJ Red Alert

Greg Nice

Greg Nice

Grandmaster Caz and Rahiem

DJ Jazzy Joyce

Dana Dane

Chubb Rock

Not sure what to make of this release but it screams bootleg. And I didn’t even mention the misleading title. You don’t actually get a DVD filled with videos from these shows. Rather, you’re paying for a data disc containing mp3s of these performances. Still nice to have depending on the quality of the audio. Wonder who these cats are. Link

Over 1 full day (33 live performances) of vintage and official live throwdowns, spanning from 1979 to 1985. New York City’s original school together in one complete set. This collector’s set includes one data DVD containing 3.5 GB of high quality (320 Bit Rate) mp3s (26 hours of music – all 25 volumes). Each show is ID’d and sequenced, resulting in convenient use and enjoyment, as opposed to each show being one thirty to ninety minute-long continuous track. No collection is complete without the infamous Kool Moe Dee / Busy Bee scuffle, or the notorious routines of the Force MCs, Treacherous Three, and Cold Crush 4 MCs. The list of essentials on this disc is endless. Includes a 24 page full color booklet of vintage NYC show flyers and artwork.

Track Listings
01. Flash On The Beat Box
02. Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force – Funhouse 6-18-1982 (Live)
03. Christmas Rappers Convention – 1981 (Live)
04. Cold Crush Battle The Fantastic Five – Harlem World 1981 (Live)
05. Cold Crush vs. Force MCs – Paterson, NJ 1983 (Live)
06. Cosmic Force, Afrika Bambaataa, Devastating 4, Soulsonic Force, Original Jazzy Five – T-Connection 1980 (Live)
07. Cosmic Force, Devastating 4, Original Jazzy Five, Afrika Bambaataa, Red Alert, Whiz Kid – T-Connection 1980 (Live)
08. Devastating 3 MCs: Kid West, Magic Dee & Barry Bee – House Tape 1983 (Live)
09. DJ Breakout, DJ Barren, Funky 4+1, DJ Whiz Kid, Harmonizing 4 – T-Connection 1980 (Live)
10. DJ Jazzy Jay & The Jazzy Five MCs – Paterson NJ 1981 (Live)
11. The Fantastic 5, Jazzy 5 – Dota Rock’s Birthday Party (Live)
12. Doug E. Fresh, Barry Bee, Chuck A Luck, Sweet Slick & Sly, Tranquilizing 3 – Unknown Date & Location (Live)
13. Ecstasy Garage All Stars: Grandmaster Caz, JDL, Whipper Whip, K-Gee, Ruby Dee, Theodore, Soul Sonic Force, Nice & Nasty Four – Ecstasy Garage 1980 (Live)
14. Fantastic Five, Grandmaster Caz, Busy Bee, Whiz kid, Treacherous Three, Spoonie Gee – T-Connection 1981 (Live)
15. Force MCs – Broadway International 1983 (Live)
16. Funky 4 + 1 – Unknown Date & Location (Live)
17. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5 – T-Connection 1980 (Live)
18. Grandmixer DST & The Cold Crush Brothers – Unknown Date & Location (Live)
19. Imperial JayCee, Grand Wizard Theodore, Fantastic Five, Touch Of Class – T-Connection 1980 (Live)
20. Busy Bee & The Cold Crush Brothers – Kevie Kev & Rubie Dee’s Birthday Party, Ecstasy Garage 1980 (Live)
21. Grandmaster Flash, Disco Bee, Busy Bee, Melle Mel, E-Man – Live Convention (Live)
22. L-Brothers, Treacherous 3, Busy Bee, Melle Mel, Grandmaster Flash, Theodore, E-man, Smiley – Live Convention, Celebrity Club 1980 (Live)
23. Phase 3, Cool AJ, Rapper Wise, Ultimate 3 MCs, DJ Disco, Quick, Sweet Slick and Sly – MC Battle, Harlem World 1982 (Live)
24. Rodney C’s Birthday Party – Zulu Nation 1980 (Live)
25. Super Sonic 4 MCs, DJ Cisco, Cool Clyde – Ecstasy Garage 12-26-80 (Live)
26. Rat Ski, DJ Kevin Kanyeah, Emcee SPUD – Sweet G’s Birthday Party (Live)
27. T La Rock & The Treacherous Three – Hempstead, Long Island 1985 (Live)
28. The Incredible 3 MCs: Tech Ski, Destiny, Chucky Chuck & DJ Lil Chase – Unknown Date & Location (Live)
29. Lovebug Starski, Treacherous Three, Spoonie Gee – Treacherous 3 First Anniversary, Disco Fever 1981 (Live)
30. Treacherous 3 – Club Negril 2-18-82 (Live)
31. Jazzy Jay, Smitty Dee, Kid Vicious, Tricky Tee, Malibu, Pow Wow, Nae Nae – Troy Troy’s Birthday, T-Connection 1980 (Live)
32. Cosmic Force, Sha Rock Lisa Lee, L-Brothers – Zulu Nation 6th Anniversary, Unknown Date & Location (Live)
33. Zulu Nation, Jazzy Jay, Hutch Hutch, Pow Wow – 123 Park 1979 (Live)

I was reading an interview with group member, Raheim, and he basically said that despite the group being inducted he feels that the group has yet to be fully recognized within the hip-hop community. Is that a point of view that you share?

No, I don’t share that [opinion]. I’m a strong believer that if you don’t continue to keep yourself public then there’s a possibility that people won’t remember you. You can’t blame the newer artists or the newer fans for not knowing where you are if you’re not around. I’m a strong believer in going to events, doing concerts, talking to people and asking them what they think.

I’m on a constant search for new music, I like to learn what the new school thinks, and I’m constantly being a servant. My gift is that I serve people musically, and for me I don’t want to be a myth or folklore.

When I read Raheim’s statement it made me think of how many artists from the first generation of hip-hoppers were often financially exploited by record labels. Do you feel as if the industry still owes you something for that exploitation?

Life is lessons and blessings. Right now, financially, I’m doing pretty well. I don’t think it’s repayment that I’m looking for; I’m looking to just be a part of this culture that we call hip-hop since I’m one of the creators. I’m not going to go around screaming for repayment, or this person owes me this, [because] that happened and it was a lesson and a blessing. I’m still here today and right now you don’t need a huge conglomerate to have a record label that can make some noise. So that’s how I’m looking at it: the possibilities and the window of opportunity are huge right now.