Scarface and 2Pac, two of the most prolific and vivid songwriters in hip-hop history, collaborated to create a deeply introspective masterpiece. As the lead single from Scarface's fourth studio album The Untouchable, produced by Mike Dean, Tone Capone, and Scarface -featuring Johnny P on the hook - the song was released shortly after the death of 2pac, peaking at number … [Read more...] about Classic Collaborations: Scarface & 2Pac – “Smile” (Prod. Mike Dean, Tone Capone, Scarface)
Features
Unvaulted: Exploring Hip-Hop’s Unreleased Albums – Rappin’ Ron & Ant Diddley Dog “Slippin’ Into Darkness”
Oakland rap duo Rappin’ Ron & Ant Diddley Dog, also known as Bad-N-Fluenz, were members of Too Short’s Dangerous Crew back in the mid-90's. The duo released their debut album Bad N-Fluenz on Cellblock Records in 1995 following multiple features on songs by Ant Banks ("Pimp Style Gangstas"), Too Short ("Get In Where You Fit In"), and Goldy ("Never That"). Featuring the hit … [Read more...] about Unvaulted: Exploring Hip-Hop’s Unreleased Albums – Rappin’ Ron & Ant Diddley Dog “Slippin’ Into Darkness”
Unvaulted: Exploring Hip-Hop’s Unreleased Albums – E-A-Ski “Earthquake”
E-A-Ski's Earthquake was set to be the west coast producers debut solo album in 1997 and was originally to be released through Relativity Records. It was set up to be an incredible debut record for E-A-Ski, as so many great things were happening fofr the Oakland, CA-based producer. After producing several cuts on Spice-1's gold-selling albums, 1992's Spice 1 and 1993's 187 … [Read more...] about Unvaulted: Exploring Hip-Hop’s Unreleased Albums – E-A-Ski “Earthquake”
Unvaulted: Exploring Hip-Hop’s Unreleased Albums – Rakim “Oh My God”
It started off a dream hip hop scenario one of the best lyricists of all time, with one of the best producers of all time. What could possibly not work? Oh, My God was set to be Rakim’s third solo album and was to be released on the biggest label at the time Aftermath Entertainment. It was gearing up to possibly be a huge move for not only Dr. Dre, but also Rakim. So many … [Read more...] about Unvaulted: Exploring Hip-Hop’s Unreleased Albums – Rakim “Oh My God”
All Rapped Up: An Explicative Analysis of Rappin’ Ron & Ant Diddley Dog
Rappin' Ron and Ant Diddley Dog were a talented and ferocious Oakland, CA hip-hop duo known as the Bad N-Fluenz click. The promising West Coast prodigies were an integral part of the mid-to-late 90’s Oakland gangsta rap scene, which at the time was a thriving underground hotbed with the likes of Too Short, Bad-N-Fluenz, the Luniz, and 3xKrazy highlighting … [Read more...] about All Rapped Up: An Explicative Analysis of Rappin’ Ron & Ant Diddley Dog
The Big Badass: A Comprehensive Illustration of Ant Banks
Ant Banks has a career spanning through four decades and a litany of Gold and Platinum success with artists including Too Short, Ice Cube, E-40, Mack 10, Snoop Dogg, Spice 1 and others. While often overlooked in conversations about west coast producers, Ant Banks productions and mixes are on par with, if not exceeding, those of his peers like Dr. Dre and DJ Quik. By the … [Read more...] about The Big Badass: A Comprehensive Illustration of Ant Banks
So Funky It Stanks: A Microscopic Look Into Too Short And The Dangerous Crew
The Dangerous Crew, both as a production crew and rap group, were introduced to the world in 1992 on the Shorty the Pimp album by Too Short. The production squad included Shorty B (bass, guitar, drums), Pee-Wee (keyboards, drums, guitar), Ant Banks (keyboards, drum programming, mixing), Sean G (live drums). Rappers in the outfit consisted of Too Short, Ant … [Read more...] about So Funky It Stanks: A Microscopic Look Into Too Short And The Dangerous Crew