FROM DA BRICKS

First off, an introduction. Dan has mentioned me a couple of times on his blog, and I was very happy to accept his invitation to start contributing to this site. With albums steadily being thrown up, he has asked me to submit some 12”s from my collection to be profiled on the blog. My ethos is much the same as a lot of bloggers (but not all, which is a shame) which is to only put up music which is hard to get a hold of, promo only or out of print. Hope you enjoy the upcoming selections.

Buckshot Lefonque – Breakfast At Denny’s
So with that said, here is 12” #1. This project is very well known but this 12” isn’t; a promo only release of ‘Breakfast At Denny’s’ written by Branford Marsalis under his collaboration guise of Buckshot Lefonque (pictured above). In addition to Marsalis it was co-produced by DJ Premier whose scratches also feature. What is great about this promo find is the ‘Rap’ version featuring Uptown: the same Uptown who released the great ‘Dope On Plastic’. The beat is (as to be expected) a jazzy affair; my opinion of this track is positive, but with Uptown riding the beat it simply gets a lot, lot better. I can only assume Branford, who is by trade a saxophonist, plays sax on this track. The 12″ also features live and album versions. They are good, but as I stated previously, the version with Uptown’s verses is the choice cut here.

Rugged Scientist – Shaolin Anthem b/w Lights, Camera, Action
I found this 12″ whilst working in a thrift store in Bristol a couple of years ago. Some records are too hard to find/unknown for their own good, and this is one of them. All I can tell you is that Rugged Scientist is GZA’s cousin, and passed that, I really cannot help you! Just listen… it has a classic sound (early ’90s, at a guess) with simple beats and a simple flow. ‘Shaolin Anthem’ features the New Born Click, who had a track with MF Doom on one of his projects; again, very little info for you. The other side, ‘Lights Camera Action’ is more of the same but without New Born Click this time. Rugged Scientist flows and crafts a beat which is everything I like about this time in the genre: it’s simple. He produced both beats on this 12″ too. I can only find info on one other 12” that he did, and that’s it, so if you have anymore info please let me know!

Reckanize & Mr Sta. Puff – Hip Hop Don’t Stop b/w Massive Weight
This is a west coast 12″, released in 1996, and it is my favorite and most played of the three. I found it in a Bristol record shop for about £3 a long while ago (Eat The Beat, RIP!) and I have never seen it appear ever again, anywhere. Again, it’s unknown by a lot of people. The people who have noticed me with this record have offered me money for it too, so I dunno what the deal is – it’s just good rap to me! The A-side is the best track, a demonstration for me of what hip hop should be all about. A sick beatbox laced beat, with a husky sounding rapper running off lyrics from start to finish. I will hazard a guess that the MC on this track is Reckanize. The B-side, ‘Massive Weight’, features both MCs. This is a slower affair, with both MCs trading bars; I think I prefer Reckanize to the other chap, but he doesn’t detract from the cut in any way. This is produced by two guys called 7th Sunn and G-Clef. The latter is actually Joey Cavaseno, who is also a well known jazz musician who did a 12” with Weldon Irvine (RIP), which as soon as I can find it within my collection, I will do a post for.

That’s it for now, please let me know what you think of the writing style and reviews; this is my first go at doing such a thing!

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