Jamboree @ Jake's

Back in 1996, I believe, we had a jam session up at Jake's house in Connecticut. I got a whole 8-track cassette which I have yet to transfer but this excerpt found its way to me. J.O.B. is on the mic, Aya on the drums, T-Booth on the Kalimba, E.N.S. on the keys and Infinite on the turntable. Claw, Lamada and Moosie Moe are doing something according to J.O.B.

Listen

Who Are We?

Samples going backwards. Vibes sprinkled. Bass bumping over a fluid drum track. Shockwave spits his classic verse with Anoir coming on right after.

Notable Quotes:

"With the brains of two men I devise my schemes/ Planning plots/ Fucking up teams/ Of punks/ Two bit drunk monks/ When I'm finished I dice em up in itsy chunks"

- Shockwave

"In your cerebral cortex I proceed to embalm/ Your dead brain cells - make your nervous system calm"

- Anoir Akbar

Find out who they are

Peep Game

In 2000 Mysterio collabed with Kwote, Cise and Anoir Akbar on this dark and grimy track. Samples from "Goodfellas" and Herbie Hancock's "Death Wish" album accent the creepy beat as all three mc's come off with their own style.

Notable Quotes:

"In tune with my chi/ Mind vast like the sea/ School kids like Pre/ It's all elementary"

- Anoir

"You defeating me is negative/ So keep surprising me/ You like my Ex/ Keep lying to me"

- Cise

"One time for Connect/ That's the state that I rep/ One diss from your camp and I'll snatch the deck"

- Kwote

PEEP GAME

Welcome to Bandcamp

I will be uploading files to Bandcamp for now on as the Zshare files tend to expire.

The Evil City

The song is not as foreboding as the picture above is. The intro is provided by Loki from the show "Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends". The musical landscape is peppered with a light piano, bright horns and vocal snippets from Eric Sermon.

Notable Quotes:

"I got a call from my man J.O./ Peep the scene/ He was talking about hitting up a club called Sixteen"

"I'll check you at the club/ No doubt/ You know the route/ Told me not to forget the Bulls suck and peace out"

Enter the Evil City

Slideshow

2001 - the year we made contact. Still have no clue where Jake Lamada got this dope piano from. This song strikes so many chords within me. It just has that vibe that makes me think of those rainy days in Brooklyn - looking out the window, coffee in hand, smoke in the background. Cise fits perfectly on this track.

Pulled Quotes:

"Style's unpredictable like rolling dices/ My girls got name like Kim and Isis"

"Walk cold streets with heat/ Raise the temp fifty degrees"

"Turn raps into Olympics/ Carrying rap's torch/ Let the lyrics blow like heat/ Heads begin to scorch"

Flows Are Priceless - Get it for Free

Seven Orisha

High concept with a dope beat and lyrics to go make this one solid song. Usually posse cuts can fall victim to droning musical landscapes coupled with drab lyrics. The mellow asian vibes lead into the uptempo and very bouncy track where the seven emcees from the Kaotic Collective drop some serious knowledge in a very playful way.

Bless the Mic with it God

The Pub Line Up

It twas 1995 at the Pub and DJ Cream was on the wheels of steel introducing the Universal Sounds crew:

The Line Up:

Spee*D - "And every time I grab the mic I rip it lovely"

MJB - "If you didn't know Matt's flow is slick like chicken fat"

T-Booth - "I don't bust caps but I bust rhymes that spread like butter"

Mayhem - "This mission is splitting competition like fission"

Moosie Moe - "Fools that pack get smoked like bowls"

J.O.B. - "Some call me Big Rob and others call me Bubba"

ENS - "I'm a man with a permanent tan"

Then Claw almost made it on before we experienced technical difficulties.

Get your grub from the Pub

Bear Witness

Bare... Bear... witness...

I don't know why but I labeled the song BEAR witness and not BARE witness on most of the old tapes and such and I guess it just stuck.

The initial spark happened when Aya da Storm suggested using the sample "I heard all the people say". In turn Mysterio crafted a laid back, funky and very melodic track which he laced with background sound effects to accentuate the rhymes of E.N.S., Anoir Akbar and Aya.

Pulled Quotes:

"My team reacts and shines like the northstar/ While you busy talking about your clothes and your cars" - Aya Da Storm

"Can I get a cheer for the crew coming thru/ Rolling bamboo/ Sipping on Blackened Voodoo" - Anoir Akbar

"Ponder the thought bro/ Cause if your thought is so-so/ You're dissappearing like Orko/ With Four Mo'/ Lumps to your head prior to this altercation/ Cause syllables of mine eradicate this fucking nation" - E.N.S.

E.N.S., Anoir & Aya 1999

Aya Da Storm 1997

Good Times

This song was forgotten until I stumbled across it on one of the many Universal Sounds cassettes residing in the archives. This song pairs MJB with Moosie Moe over a Mysterio track made in 1994. A very light hearted song with a mellow beat that samples some old Bob James record and hooks pulled from Biz Markie & the X-Clan.

Notable Quotes:

"If it comes down to mic time you know I got dibs/ And I even look fresh eating barbeque ribs"

- MJB

"Competion was said to be arriving?/ They lost in the seventies - I see them still jiving"

- Moosie Moe

Smile

Founders Freestyles 1994

Back in Founders during the summer of 1994 many freestyle sessions took place in a smoked filled room. This session features beats by E.N.S., J.O.B., Claw and Mysterio. Emcees featured are E.N.S., Claw, Moosie Moe, T-Booth, J.O.B. with Fred Dogs and Spee*D giving support in the background. All scratches vary from each of the emcees and producers - that's just how we did back then - constant rotation.

Highlights include when T-Booth hits Claw in the head with the microphone and E.N.S. encouraging a reluctant Fred to get on the mic.

Get Free

St. Ides Rap

What beer drinker didn't drink St. Ide's back in 1993? Well, I guess those with taste. I was not one of them and neither was T-Booth or J.O.B. who came up with this PSA at the same time Ice Cube and his friends were endorsing said brew.

Notable Quotes:

"Drink all night and don't stop it/ But use a brown paper bag so you can hide it from the cops, kid" - T-Booth

Listen responsibly...

Get Drunk

Deadly Rhyme Medley

1997 was the year when this little gem was born. Claw crafted the dark beat where himself, Aya and MJB laid down some serious verbal warfare. This track will never get old to me. The beat is sinister and the lyrics are the type that make you want to rewind or read them as liner notes. Definitely a highlight of the Universal Sounds collective.

Notable Quotes:

"Hip Hop Temple desecration/ So I bring terror like the book of Revelation/ Emcees throughout the nation/ Just heed me when I warn/ Or face shame and scorn/ Wish you were never born/ In your side I'll be the thorn" - Aya Da Storm

"Stringent contingents/ Continue to put the rent through/ But some sit for self and try to eat the whole menu/ Sights I send to/ Don't even try the evil that men do/ I'm way ahead of you/ I correspond with men who bend you" - MJB

"I curse the track - disperse my rhyme verse/ I be the first - you be the worst/ I'm doing work/ My style lurks and creeps on emcees that sleep/ It's deep - I play for keeps and the keeps are steep" - Claw

Enter the Medley