Weekend at Diggedy's - Volume 29

I'm back!

Cue everyone in blog land that's not my mom saying "Who the f*ck cares that you were gone???"

I understand that I've lost a ton of hits to the "Friday Morning Coffee & Tracks w/ Mark" blog at hiphopkaraokesantamonica.com due to my being m.i.a.

I apologize, and I'm here to hopefully win some of you back.

Without further adieu, here are the choice tracks for this Friday, August 31st.

EPMD - "Blow"
http://www.zshare.net/audio/3408620ecfe1fb/

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan.

How many cats do you know that can do it like this for 20 years????

This is a new track. Dope as f*ck.

Download it!

Smif N Wessun - "Wrekonize (remix)"
http://www.zshare.net/audio/34089235e8afce/

Why is this not being discussed more? Chef brought Tek to HHK!!!!! The greatest anniversary gift of all time. F*ck De Beers. Tremendous looking out Chef. When you think about the people who have dropped by HHK, man it's pretty crazy. Big Daddy Kane, OC, Masta Ace, Tek, Rhymefest, Rock from Heltah Skeltah, Jeru .. I mean, come on. I was talking to my boy Drew Boogie, and he was just like "Damn Josh. You're up there with all of our idols." It really puts it in perspective for me. Remembering sitting in the lunch room trading tapes, asking who heard what new sh*t. And now there they are. Two feet from me. I don't know what I look like on the outside, but I know on the inside I am geeked like no other time. Anyway, this is a great remix. Download it fools.

Sadat X featuring Lord Jamar & Grand Puba - "The Lump Lump (remix)"
http://www.zshare.net/audio/340901846f9ff7/

I feel as if I have mentioned this show on the blog before, but just in case I'll mention it again. I used to listen to 89.1 every Wednesday and Thursday night from 10:30-1am. It was originally called Club 89, then changed its name to NY Live. Martin Moore the Superstar, Mayhem, Riz, and others I'm forgetting. Those two nights, with Stretch & Bob being on after Club 89 on Thursdays (but a different station), I'd sit by the radio with a blank tape recording the shows, and pausing it during the speaking or if I already had a song. So what the f*ck does this have to do with "The Lump Lump"??? One night they say something along the lines of "we've got a treat for everyone", then the beat to "Lump Lump" comes on. I pause the tape, thinking that this is the song off of the dope underrated Sadat solo album Hang Em High. I start focusing on something else going on, and about 30 seconds later this lightbulb goes off, and I say "WTF THAT'S PUBA". Then, next verse, "WTF THAT'S JAMAR!!". Twas a Brand Nubian reunion, and I didn't tape it. You have no idea how salty I was. I spent the next couple of weeks glued to the radio to make sure I got it the next time. Here it is in all its mp3 glory. Download it!

Alright people. Have a great Labor Day weekend.

Start practicing for next week!

oh no you didn't just.

back with another edition of the, mostly, weekly wex wednesdays posting. i'd like you all to give a warm round of applause (and keep your cat calls to a minimum please), for our special guest blogger... Emily.

- - -

Hey guys, it's your girl Emily guest blogging this week.

I love lists, so I thought I'd put one out there for you all to add to. This week's topic is songs with the ballsiest samples. That is, conspicuously sampling undeniably uncool songs -- especially when done without apparent irony. (Mase's "Welcome Back," for example, has too much irony/nostalgia to be really ballsy. It's more like an A-Team lunchbox.)

My choices are:

runner up ballsiest: "Hard Knock Life"

number one ballsiest: "Changes"

But you guys all know hip hop way deeper than I do, so I'm sure you can top my picks.

Em.

new ish.

hellllooooo everybody...

recording live... from... er... uh... my office?

anyhow.

i wanted to share a few new songs that we'll be adding to the song list shortly:

wu-tang clan - protect ya neck
naughty by nature - uptown anthem
goodie mob - soul food
kanye west - stronger

also, while we're on the subject of new songs for HHK... might be a good time to address the issue generally.

first off, let me say, THANK YOU to everyone that has donated instrumentals to our cause. we encourage this 100%.

if you look at the HHK song list and are not seeing what you want, feel absolutely free to hunt down a good quality instrumental version of a song (vinyl or mp3) and let us know about it. actually, the best policy is to ask jay, diggedy, or i about the song prior to spending any of your time or money - to make sure that the hhk staff is cool with it being added or performed.

oh, please note the DJ WEX RULE: please, please... pretty please... make sure you give me, wex, at least 7 days prior to a hhk event to bring a new song to my/our attention. delivering the instrumental the day before or day of a hhk is a no-go-yo.

we wish we could add more songs to the list every month, but as three busy fellas... we can only do so much diggin. and as we all know, some songs just don't exist as instrumental versions. to combat that - we are happy to say, that thanks to some outside help, we will be focusing more time on editing together usable instrumental versions of songs (a lot we've done with mona lisa, i got it made, etc, and like rdj did with protect ya neck).

so that's the latest with the new songs... feel free to hit us up with questions.

deejay wex.

do yourself a favor...

watch this until the end.



i typically don't let what an artist says in interviews affect my opinion of their music... but kanye... he's pushing it.

- wex

more fotos have been added.

dj wex says, "more photos are up ya'll... and THIS is how i feel about it"

HHK on BET

Hip Hop Karaoke was recently featured on BET's The 5ive and damn, we look good. Love to all the regulars featured in the piece.

August 18 Photos Are Up.

CLICK HERE

*** THERE'S AN ADDITIONAL 30 OR SO PHOTOS THAT WILL BE POSTED SHORTLY.



mobb deep video from '95 anyone?

deejay wex.

more fun...

here's Chef & special surprise guest Tek (of Smif N Wessun) doing "Bucktown" this past Saturday night:




dj wex.

Protect it.

behold... Protect Ya Neck w/ special intro by RDJ.



- dj wex.

Tonight!

Hip Hop Karaoke is TONIGHT!

GO!!

It's a beautiful day and going to be an even nicer night. 60 degrees and clear skys. in august.

what what.

see you there, yo.

wex.

Weekend At Diggedy's - Volume 28

Here's the deal...

I'm going to be away from a computer all day..

So.. I've got zero time to post any songs..

But.... I thought this might be a good opportunity for anyone out there who wants to share some tracks with me (and the rest of the us)...

So, feel free to hit us up with a song or two each in the blog posts..

Upload it to zshare or whatever, and lets see what obscure songs you've got that you'd like to expose us to.

Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow night.

Should be a doozy....

Hip Hop Karaoke this Saturday: 1-Year Anniversary at Knitting Factory!

Yes indeed. Hip Hop Karaoke celebrates its first birthday at Knitting Factory with new songs, special giveaways, and the most incredible and creative performances in New York. Last month had B-boy circles, back-up dancers and multiple props. Who knows what's going down on a Saturday night? Find out why HHK is New York's most popular hip-hop event. Spread the word and see ya there.


Hip Hop Karaoke
Your Chance to Rhyme
Saturday, August 18
Sign-up at 10; Show at 11
FREE

Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St., NYC

elevators.

whaddup hhk'ers...

most importantly, looking forward to seeing everybody this Saturday Night at HHK at the Knitt. you know the drill, 10pm signup, 11pm show. FREE for everybody.

it's also our 1-Year anniversary of being at the Knitting Factory!

what what. but on today's episode of wex wednesdays, we're going to talk about the songs that feature rappers dealing, in one way or another, with their success. a little something i like to call "high class problems".

i'm going to have to rule out any eminem songs right off the bat. there's just too many to name. we know marshall, money and fame are tough.

some of my favorites:

1. Crossover - EPMD
2. Elevators - OutKast
3. Juicy - Biggie
4. Vapors - Biz Markie
5. Lost Ones - Lauryn Hill

*extra special honorable mentioned goes to: Don't Let It Go to Your Head - Brand Nubian

dj wex.

Weekend at Diggedy's - Volume 27

They were cones!

Cot damn it's disgusting outside..

At least the subways are working...

8 days til the next HHK throwdown.. Start closing the bathroom door and rehearsing in the mirror.. What? Am I the only one?

On to the choice cuts for this Friday, August 10th...

Nas - "It Ain't Hard To Tell" (demo aka "Nas Will Prevail")
http://www.zshare.net/audio/30733068a9144e/

Can't ever tell how adept people are at finding things on the many different Hip Hop blogs.. I never want to come off as someone who thinks he's giving you an exclusive.. This song has made the rounds, but on the off chance it's new to you, here it is.. Produced by Large Pro, my understanding is that it was the original version of "It Ain't Hard To Tell", and then was re-worked for radio.. There are a couple of versions of the classic floating around (including the dope ass Extra P remix)... Please to enjoy...

Talib Kweli - "Revolution In Sound"
http://www.zshare.net/audio/307408765f4b13/

This one's for Kevvy Kev, Talib Kweli superfan #1. Period. I have yet to listen to Eardrum. Dee Phunk aka Reggie Hammond swears by the album. But this is also the same dude who told me to check for Hammer's "later material". I'll give it a listen and come back one day with my thoughts. Anyway, this song is a cut that didn't make the album. Me thinks it's dope.

Jay Z & Bleek - "Marcyville"
http://www.zshare.net/audio/3075849ceae8bd/

This track is several years old..I'm not gonna lie.. I have no idea who the 3rd verse is.. I tried googling it, but can't find sh*t.. I guess they did another version of it on a Bleek album that has Sigel on it.. Anyone knows who verse 3 is here, hit it up in the blog.. .. Produced by ?uestlove.. Very dope beat.. Nothing much more to say.. They didn't save mankind on this one.. Glad this was brought to another emcee other than Thought.. I can hear BT rapping on this one, but I don't think it would have been a perfect fit.. It's got "hard beat, in need of laid back Jay flow" written all over it.

Have a great weekend people.

Thanks for stopping by....

Tonight - Check the Technique Release Party with Evil Dee

If anyone's interested, Evil Dee is spinning at the release party of Check The Technique, the fascinating book about 40 classic hip-hop albums told by their creators. At least 66% of the HHK mgmt. has read this or the author's previous book Rakim Told Me and has increased their hip-hop nerd knowledge exponentially. (Who knew Onyx was on acid while making Bacdafucup?!) Come through. Look how happy Evil Dee is!

Weekend at Diggedy's - Volume 26

Dogs and cats..

Living together..

Mass hysteria!!

So listen, if you didn't go to Rock The Bells last week.. Don't fret.. It was not on some "OMG BEST SHOW EVER" tip.. But then again, I am the world's largest hater when it comes to live shows..

I'm not joking when I say I'd rather see the HHK performances than the real mccoy at times.

Alright.. On to the choice cuts for this Friday, August 3rd...

Raekwon, Method Man, & U God - "Rock Steady"
http://www.zshare.net/audio/2970588ed49d0d/

This is off the Tony Touch album from a couple of years ago. It's my favorite Wu joint in a minute. Pretty sure Rza did the beat. It's a dope cut, just download it.

Cappadonna featuring Rae & Meth - "Dart Throwing"
http://www.zshare.net/audio/2971483cde02c6/

All that talk of the best Cappa verses in the last Weekend at Diggedy's got me talking about "Dart Throwing" off of The Pillage. This song has quite possibly my favorite Meth verse of all time. "I take my life experiences, wrap it up in 12 inches..." Meth even murders the little mini-freestyle at the end. Bananas. If you haven't heard this song, you are seriously sleeping. Download it!

Joe Buddens - "Big Shot"
http://www.zshare.net/audio/297154107fc897/

I mean, most of you know me by now. I don't really get into the whole mass beefing that goes on with 50, Cam, etc. I just thought this track from Buddens from a few years ago is hysterical. With the right production and, more importantly, song writing ability, I think Buddens could have been a contender.

That's it, that's all.

Have a good weekend.

Wear sunscreen and drink water.

mmm... food.

besides being the title of a food-themed album by mf doom, mmm.... food is the subject of todays edition of wex wednesdays.

i love food. love eating. it's better than...

lots of things.

and it's always been a huge part of hip hop.

so with that said, i want to hear about your favorite rap songs with some sort of food in the title.

here's a mouthful of mine:

1. Soul Food - Goodie Mob
2. Fish - Ghostface Killah
3. Ice Cream - Raekwon
4. Ham N Eggs - ATCQ
5. Watermelon - Common Sense

peace & grease,

wex.