CLASSIC 80s/ 90s BLACK/ URBAN/ DANCE RADIO TAPE RIPS

This one’s all about nostalgia – priceless archive radio material from the late 80s and early 90s, featuring many of the key players and pioneers of the time. Direct from my personal cassette archives, buried deep in the loft and garage!

These days, virtually all radio shows are available via Listen Again players or download links, but back in the day, pressing play and record on the cassette deck was the only way of preserving them for posterity. The audio here will send tingles down the spine of those of a certain generation … and will hopefully hold some fascination for younger cats with an interest in musical heritage!

I’ll be adding to the selection as and when I get time to go burying in the archives and get everything uploaded, but here’s a fairly extensive lot to get things going. Check this lot out:


DISCO 94, U.S RADIO KRLY, MARCH 1979
First off, just had to get it going with this one. I inherited this from a friend years ago, and it goes back to early 1979 – thirty years! A classic souvenir of the glorious days of disco music when it was still in full swing. This is a show called Disco 94 on the New York station WBLS, presented by Dayna Steele, and is a collector/ nostalgic enthusiast’s delight. Relive the last days of disco right here.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/j2660d

MIKE ALLEN, CAPITAL RADIO HIP HOP SHOW, 1985/ 86
Back in Radio 1’s Smashy & Nicey era, Capital was where London listeners headed for serious black/ urban/ soul music, and long before Westwood’s legendary Capital Rap Show, Mike ‘The Boss’ Allen was the pioneer of early hip hop and electro. Despite sounding like Alan Freeman, (Mike was actually a mainstream presenter before being asked by the Capital bosses to come up with an interesting new show format and settling on the emerging hip hop scene,) this guy was a phenomenal presenter, and his track selection was always on-point. These two recordings are of his year-end round-ups of 1985 and 1986. (Respect to Dutch and Dazzler for these links, by the way, as these particular ones aren’t MD originals!)

Mike Allen Best of 1985
http://www.sendspace.com/file/8ok0t4

Mike Allen Best of 1986
http://www.sendspace.com/file/km76m8


ROBBIE VINCENT’S KILLER CUTS OF 1987, RADIO 1
Radio 1’s soul/ funk specialist had been doing his thing for over three years by this point, and had switched from his legendary Sunday night spot to Saturdays. This is a two-part round up of some of the classily soulful tunes of ’87. Hard to imagine now, but in the 80s Radio 1 only used to broadcast on FM during certain parts of the week. Sadly this show fell in the medium wave portion so the quality could be sharper. But it’s highly listenable all the same.

Part 1:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/vviz4x

Part 2:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/y7hcdr


JEFF YOUNG'S BIG BEAT, RADIO 1, NOVEMBER 1987
Former BBC Radio London soul presenter Jeff Young was the predecessor to Pete Tong with Radio 1’s Friday primetime dance show, and The Big Beat ran for three years from ’87 until Tong’s arrival. Here’s one from the show’s very early days.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/7z25fr

JEFF YOUNG'S BIG BEAT, RADIO 1, FEBRUARY 1988
And here’s how the selection was sounding three months later.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/2jl4j3


CHRIS FORBES ON CAPITAL RADIO, OCTOBER 1988
This dude truly is a forgotten hero and a strong contender for ‘After They Were Famous.’ Back in the late 80s, Chris appeared alongside a young Westwood as a presenter on ITV’s ‘Night Network’, and held down a Saturday night show on Capital playing the dance music of the day. This recording has multiple references to ‘acid house’, and features some great ‘twittering synth’ tunes (as Record Mirror columnist James Hamilton would have said,) that were very much of the time.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/dll002

WESTWOOD CAPITAL RAP SHOW, EARLY 1989
A trip back twenty years to the legendary Capital Rap Show, and a young and very different-sounding Westwood. This show was essential listening for rap fans in London, and this recording offers a great reflection on how the production styles and sounds have changed over the past couple of decades. (Thanks again to Dazzler and Dutch for the links.)

Part 1:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/3nwhxs

Part 2:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/zrjje3


WESTWOOD CAPITAL RAP SHOW, OCTOBER 1990
Fast forward 18 months to a Westwood CRS selection from Oct ’90.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ma7pgz


PETE TONG’S SESSION, CAPITAL 95.8, 28/4/90
And here’s where Pete Tong resided before his move to Radio One. The Session (originally ‘The Soul Session’) was a Saturday evening fixture on London’s Capital Radio from 1987 to the end of 1990. This one’s from April ’90, a time when the house/ dance scene was still evolving from its soulful roots, with a resulting sound that was very distinctive to 1990 and very hard to classify. Great tunes though, and a very youthful-sounding Tong. The reception’s a little dodgy in places, but then this was recorded in Witney, a clear 70 miles outside London!

http://www.sendspace.com/file/73z0yx


CAPITAL RADIO LONDON/ WBLS, NEW YORK. FRANKIE CROCKER & PETE TONG, EARLY 1990
Capital used to run occasional transatlantic link-ups with revered black music station WBL ‘kickin’ S around this time. This one sees the late Frankie Crocker, original radio legend, co-presenting with Capital’s Pete Tong, and dropping some big tunes of the moment.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/2mkduu

LISTEN TO DJ CYBERNETIC & MARK DEVLIN AT REHAB, SWINDON

Audio from Friday's old-school revival session at Rehab. Wicked 70s, 80s and 90s flaves all the way, big people style!

Mark Devlin at Rehab, Swindon:

DJ Cybernetic at Rehab, Swindon:

JUST BUGGIN. PLAYLIST & LISTEN AGAIN LINKS FOR 25/3/09

MARK DEVLIN
JUST BUGGIN’ ON OXFORD’S FM107.9 (WWW.FM1079.COM)
PLAYLIST FOR WEDNESDAY 25TH MARCH 2009


To listen again (ad-free!), just click on the following Download links:

Part 1


Part 2 (Includes Mark Devlin 90s Throwback Mix)



CIARA Featuring JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE: LOVE SEX MAGIC (CLEAN)

DOPE SANDWICH: COMING OF AGE (Dope Sandwich Productions)

BIG CITY PHILADELPHIA: HOW TO ROB AN INDUSTRY HIPSTER (White)

TRUE 2 LIFE MUSIC: POPPIN’ ON TV (White)

THE BREAX: FOR WHAT (White)

JR & PH7 Featuring GUILTY SIMPSON & BLACK MILK: TOP RANK (Supercity)

STREET BEAT OF THE WEEK:
STOUPE OF JEDI MIND TRICKS Featuring MOP: TRANSITION OF
POWER (Babygrande)

MAYHEM POETS Featuring KRS ONE: RENT (Mayhem Poets Ent)

OLD TO THE NEW:
CASSIE: LONG WAY TO GO (Next Selection)

CASSIE Featuring P DIDDY: MUST BE LOVE (Next Selection)

UNIQUE HASTINGS: SHE’S GOT MY LOVE (White)

HAKA PRESENTS DVS & OC JIGGA: LONDON IS CALLING (White)

MR. LIF: THE SUN (Blood Bot Tactical)

CEROSE: GIMME DA DOE (Yush)

MEYHEM LAUREN: BRING DA RUCKUS (White)

DJ MIX: MARK DEVLIN 90s THROWBACK MIX

DR DRE Featuring T.I & NAS: TOPLESS (Aftermath)

CNN: GRAND ROYAL (White)

SAS: BLACK HISTORY (White)

IZZA KIZZA: BUMP (White)

GREENJADE: KICK OFF YA SHOES (SpiritLed Remix) (JEK)

MEYHEM LAUREN: HEAVY CREAM (White)

JUST BUGGIN. PLAYLIST & LISTEN AGAIN LINKS FOR 18/3/09

MARK DEVLIN
JUST BUGGIN’ ON OXFORD’S FM107.9 (WWW.FM1079.COM)
PLAYLIST FOR WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH 2009


To listen again (ad-free!), just click on the following Download links:

Part 1:

Part 2 (Includes DJ Cybernetic mix):



LAURA IZIBOR Featuring TRUTH: SHINE (Blackout Entertainment Remix) (Atlantic)

JADAKISS FEAT. LIL WAYNE: MAGIC CITY (C)

DR DRE Featuring T.I & NAS: TOPLESS (Aftermath)

MAYHEM POETS Featuring KRS ONE: RENT (Mayhem Poets Ent)

MEYHEM LAUREN: BRING DA RUCKUS (White)

CNN: GRAND ROYAL (White)

STREET BEAT OF THE WEEK:
JR & PH7 Featuring GUILTY SIMPSON & BLACK MILK: TOP RANK (Supercity)

DOPE SANDWICH: COMING OF AGE (Dope Sandwich Productions)

OLD TO THE NEW:
50 CENT: HOW TO ROB (Columbia)

BIG CITY PHILADELPHIA: HOW TO ROB AN INDUSTRY HIPSTER (White)

SAS: BLACK HISTORY (White)

IZZA KIZZA: BUMP (White)

BUSTA RHYMES FEAT. MAINO, UNCLE MURDA, RED CAFE, STYLES

P, SHEEK LOUCH, LIL CEASE, BILLY DANZE & LIL FAME: MARCH 9TH (BIGGIE TRIBUTE)

MEYHEM LAUREN: HEAVY CREAM (White)

GUEST DJ MIX: DJ CYBERNETIC (SWINDON) OLD SCHOOL ELECTRO FUNK B-BOY MIX

GREENJADE: KICK OFF YA SHOES (SpiritLed Remix) (JEK)

THE BREAX: FOR WHAT (White)

ALCHEMIST Featuring MAXWELL & TWISTA: SMILIN’ (Koch)

TRUE 2 LIFE MUSIC: POPPIN’ ON TV (White)

SHAUN BOOTHE: THE UNAUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY OF MARTIN
LUTHER KING JR. & BARACK OBAMA (White)

M.O.P: BLOW THE HORNS (Koch)

B.A.M Featuring LIL FAME OF M.O.P: MY CITY (White)

MD'S HOT JOINTS, MARCH '09

The ten tracks that are doing it on the radio airwaves or the club dancefloors this month.

DR DRE Featuring T.I & NAS: TOPLESS (Aftermath/ Interscope)

This falls a long way short of matching Dre's genius on classics like 'Deep Cover' or 'Still DRE', and comes off as rather lacklustre on first listen. But any new offering from Dre is an event in itself, particularly when it refuels rumours that 'Detox', the most long-awaited album in hip-hop history, might actually be a reality. There's still a hint of that old Dre magic in the sinister and slightly grimy rhythm track.


BUSTA RHYMES FEAT. MAINO, UNCLE MURDA, RED CAFE, STYLES P, SHEEK LOUCH, LIL CEASE, BILLY DANZE & LIL FAME: MARCH 9TH (BIGGIE TRIBUTE) (Flipmode)

Posse cuts used to be a regular hip-hop feature, but are a little rarer these days - prominent ones, at least. Repeating the treatment employed on 'Touch It' in '06, Busta lines up an impressive array of B-list MCs on a mammoth joint paying homage to the late great Biggie Smalls, neatly timed to coincide with the movie. The basic, minimal beat leaves a lot to be desired, but the sharp vocal performances more than compensate.


MAYHEM POETS Featuring KRS ONE: RENT (Mayhem Poets Ent)

In an era where the usual tired clichés continue to form the lyrical content of far too many tracks, (money, champagne, nines, ho's, etc,) any joint that finds something original to talk about comes as a breath of fresh air. With Cam'ron and Consequence having addressed dead-end jobs, Poets frontman Black Skeptik comes with an offering about f*cked up roach accommodation and immoral landlords that will strike a chord with many a listener - especially in these times of economic hardship. KRS contributes a highly competent guest verse over a distinctly gritty, almost unsettling beat that conjures up images of damp, stinking hallways with busted lightbulbs.


BIG CITY PHILADELPHIA: HOW TO ROB AN INDUSTRY HIPSTER (White)

Basically a straight updated cover of 50 Cent's 'How To Rob.’ While the original took spiteful but humorous swipes at the artists of the day – Mase, Foxy Brown, ODB - the '09 treatment does the same, with Kanye West, Pharrell and Asher Roth coming in for some well-observed knocks. Big City is actually the Philly-bred son of the notorious gangster Richie Esposito, has been arrested on drugs and murder charges, and spent time locked up alongside his mentor Beanie Sigel, so objections to the song’s observations are likely to be minimal.


KERI HILSON Featuring KEYSHIA COLE & TRINA:
GET YOUR MONEY UP (Mosley Music Group)

Although she currently has a street tune that takes a swipe at either Beyonce or Ciara, there’s some female unity on display here, another track from the Timbaland protégée who’s had to wait a long time for some solo shine since vocalling ‘The Way I Are’ in ’07. This one’s an undemanding girl-friendly club tune with a nasty piece of vocoder on the hook, but which clearly ticks all the right boxes on a businesslike level.


RAPHAEL SAADIQ: 100 YARD DASH (RCA Label Group)

You’d be forgiven for thinking you were listening to some long-forgotten Southern nugget from the glory days of Stax or Atlantic as the former Tony Toni Tone frontman further displays his love of classic soul sounds. This will doubtless go over the heads of young urban kids eager for the next slice of vocoder-laden pap, but will delight the soul purist grown folks. The album, ‘The Way I See It’ precedes the single release in early April.


BRICK & LACE: BAD TO DI BONE (Konvict)

The girls follow up 'Love Is Wicked' with another lightweight confection of ragga-infused R&B that stays just the right side of the pop barrier to remain 'urban' and club-orientated in feel. Head for the Birch mix for a hard-hitting slice of bassline that will slot nicely into furious uptempo sets.


DOPE SANDWICH: COMING OF AGE (Dope Sandwich Productions)

An instantly arresting beat that sounds like the soundtrack to a Benny Hill routine or a Victorian freak show is certainly the way to get noticed. The tootling looped sample reminiscent of that on The Beatnuts’ ‘Watch Out Now’ provides the focal point, with the rhymes becoming largely incidental as a result. Dope Sandwich turn out to be a collective of MCs, DJs, B-boys and graph artists hailing from Savannah, Georgia. Watch out for the upcoming album ‘Dope Sandwich Presents: The Walking Sick.’


MAMS TAYLOR Featuring THE GAME & LIL KIM: GET UP ON
IT (White)

A dude that few will have heard of before, but who evidently comes with a strong production track record to his name. This rides the middle road on many levels - midtempo, mid-range production and middle-of-the-road lyrical content. The Game and Kim earn their pay cheques in equally mediocre mode.


LONDON: BIRTHDAY SUIT (White)

A smooth R&B moment that's evidently emerged from the same songwriting factory as J Holiday's 'Bed'. The subject matter - seducing your girl to the point of nakedness - is hardly original, but this at least has grown and sexy adult appeal rather than slotting into the teeny youth club-friendly offerings of the likes of Chris Brown and Lloyd.

WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON?

A deviation from my usual posts, but this is so important and profound that it bears being put out there in every way possible. If you've ever wondered if what we're told by governments and the media is the full and true story, take ten minutes out to watch this. You might find yourself re-assessing what's REALLY going on in our world right now. This is the most important video you'll watch today.

JUST BUGGIN. PLAYLIST & LISTEN AGAIN LINKS FOR 11/3/09

MARK DEVLIN
JUST BUGGIN’ ON OXFORD’S FM107.9 (WWW.FM1079.COM)
PLAYLIST FOR WEDNESDAY 11TH MARCH 2009


To listen again, just click on the following Download links:

Part 1:

Part 2 (Includes David Craig's Notorious BIG mix):


DR DRE Featuring T.I & NAS: TOPLESS (White)

BIG CITY PHILADELPHIA: HOW TO ROB AN INDUSTRY HIPSTER (White)

RAEKWON Featuring GHOSTFACE: CRIMINOLOGY 2009 (Koch)

JADAKISS FEAT. LIL WAYNE: MAGIC CITY (C)

JACK FLASH: FOUR MINUTE WARNING (DON’T STOP REMIX) (White)

MEYHEM LAUREN: BRING DA RUCKUS (White)

STREET BEAT OF THE WEEK:
MAYHEM POETS Featuring KRS ONE: RENT (Mayhem Poets Ent)

B.A.M Featuring LIL FAME OF M.O.P: MY CITY (White)

LONDON: BIRTHDAY SUIT (White)

MAY7VEN: TAKE OFF MY CLOTHES (White)

OLD TO THE NEW
CAPONE N NOREAGA: T.O.N.Y (Penalty)

CAPONE N NOREAGA: THE REUNION (Tommy Boy)

CNN: GRAND ROYAL (White)

BUSTA RHYMES FEAT. MAINO, UNCLE MURDA, RED CAFE, STYLES
P, SHEEK LOUCH, LIL CEASE, BILLY DANZE & LIL FAME: MARCH 9TH (BIGGIE TRIBUTE)

Q-TIP Featuring BUSTA RHYMES & LIL WAYNE: RENAISSANCE RAP
(Universal)

GUEST DJ MIX: NOTORIOUS B.I.G TRIBUTE MIX BY DJ DAVID CRAIG, (SCOTLAND. WWW.DJDAVIDCRAIG.CO.UK)

INTRO
DEAD WRONG
BIG POPPA
WARNING
THE WHAT
CANT YOU SEE RMX
TEN CRACK COMMANDMENTS
F&^%ING YOU TONIGHT
RESPECT
DREAMS
KICKIN THE DOOR
ONE MORE CHANCE RMX
GET MONEY
UNBELIEVABLE
WHO SHOT YA
HYPNOTIZE
I GOT A STORY TO TELL
MACHING GUN FUNK
JUICY

DOPE SANDWICH: COMING OF AGE (Dope Sandwich Productions)

ALI VEGAS Featuring AZ, STYLES P & DANNY McLANE: IT’S SO HARD (Rich Soil Ent/ Asylum)

SAS: BLACK HISTORY (White)

LATE: SUPPLY & DEMAND (White)

HEAVEN SENT THUGS: STRUGGLING (Street Life)

MEYHEM LAUREN: HEAVY CREAM (White)

MD'S TOUR DIARY, MARCH '09

The first weekend in March was to have marked my return to South Africa, a territory I used to play regularly. Regrettably, the planned gig schedule still hadn’t been confirmed by Monday 2nd, so I was forced to (very reluctantly) cancel. I didn’t take it too personally. It’s three years since I was last there, I haven’t provided my mixes to national Metro FM for a while, (always a great method of promotion,) and the balance of clubland power has shifted since my last visit.

So on Wednesday, I took Parveen and Zaina on a day trip to the South Coast. Southampton and Portsmouth weren’t quite the same as Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth, but we enjoyed the time nevertheless. The following day was Parveen’s birthday, and there was always going to be a price to pay for being away on such an occasion, so I saved face on that one. The night marked my second slot at Izi in Witney, where my folks live, so leaving Z with her gran, we managed to persuade my Dad to join us for a couple of drinks, marking the first time he’s ever witnessed his boy DJing. He might have been just being polite, but he tells us he quite enjoyed the tunes. And the table-bound dancing was something to behold. I’ve now had both my pops and mother-in-law along to gigs, which might not be the coolest thing to admit to, but they were good experiences all the same!

With me in the booth all night was a representative of the PRS. The organisation does random audits of nightlife venues, and this was the second time one had fallen on my particular night. The guy looked more like an accountant than a muso, so I’m not sure how much his list of tunes played made sense at the end of it all.

The re-scheduled weekend was completed with Watford on Friday and Bath on Saturday.

Parveen is a lifelong Michael Jackson fan to an almost obsessive degree, so her excitement levels when Wacko announced his series of summer dates at the 02 Arena could not be measured. While I was still sleeping off my gig, she set the alarm for early on Friday 13th to try and grab a pair of tickets from the on-line ‘sale.’ When midday had come and the site advised that all regular tickets had ‘sold out’, it was clear a scam was underway. Especially when punters were still being offered ‘VIP Thriller packages’ at £790 a pop. Seemingly, these just consisted of a champagne reception, a few souvenirs and a ringside seat. I suspect they’re called ‘Thriller’ packages because the credit card bill will scare you to death when it arrives.

Personally, I think it’s doubtful that any of the shows will go ahead, let alone the whole series of 50, and the whole thing has been an exercise in relieving a lot of excited people of a hell of a lot of money. While Wacko himself probably isn’t knowingly involved in any deceitful activity, he’s become surrounded by an army of crooks eager to exploit his naivety. Anyway, we shall see. I got called on to spin at Mood in Oxford later that night, and left a very hacked off Mrs D as I went off to work.

For a more militant and opinionated take on the whole MJ episode, meanwhile, (as befits Tony’s general approach!) check out Oxford DJ Tony Nanton’s blog here:

On a vaguely related note, the following conversation took place in Watford on Saturday night:
Punter: Can you play something by Michael Jackson from when he was black and sane?
Me: Not sure I’ve got anything from that far back.

Nostalgia was firmly on the agenda during the week. After spending a highly enjoyable session replenishing my iTunes archives with some 80s indie, pop and electro, (everyone from The Smiths and Siouxsie & The Banshees to Doug E Fresh and Grandmaster Flash,) I moved on to some archive radio tape ripping.

While most folks' garages are occupied by lawnmowers and ladders, mine houses my extensive cassette archives - hundreds of 'em going back to the 80s. Among the selection are many radio recordings from my youth, and nestling among the Gary Davies and Bruno Brookes Radio 1 Top 40s are a whole load of specialist black/ urban/ dance shows from the late 80s and early 90s. These include Robbie Vincent's soulful Sound Of Sunday Night and Jeff Young's Big Beat from Radio 1, (these two preceded Trevor Nelson and Pete Tong by a good few years,) Tong himself from the days when he used to play soul and rap, (so you can tell how old those are!), The Ranking Miss P, (the reggae predecessor to Chris Goldfinger,) and the two legendary 80s hip hop shows on Capital Radio – the dude Mike Allen, (one for the real old school heads,) and later, a young and very different-sounding Westwood.

It's only right that I put these out there for anyone who remembers these classic times, or anyone else that's curious to hear how it used to go down. So I'll be posting up a whole bunch of download links on the main site, on my Blogspot, and in a new Facebook group. Plus, look out for a brief video snippet on the tape ripping process on my Youtube channel - www.youtube.com/markdevlintv. All coming soon, so watch this space.

JUST BUGGIN. PLAYLIST & LISTEN AGAIN LINKS FOR 4/3/09

MARK DEVLIN
JUST BUGGIN’ ON OXFORD’S 107.9FM (WWW.FM1079.COM)
PLAYLIST FOR WEDNESDAY 4TH MARCH 2009


To listen again, just click on the following Download links:

Part 1 (DJ Soulchild Mix):


Part 2 (DJ Remedy Mix):


Part 3 (Teddy Touch Mix):



GUEST DJ MIXES SPECIAL

DJ SOULCHILD LIVE AT BAR ROUGE, BASEL, SWITZERLAND

DJ REMEDY (BALTIMORE, MARYLAND) OLD SCHOOL HIP HOP MIX

DJ TEDDY TOUCH (BERGEN, NORWAY) ADIDAS OLD SCHOOL HIP HOP MIX:
RUN DMC: MY ADIDAS (Def Jam)
ERIC B & RAKIM: ERIC B IS PRESIDENT / PAID IN FULL (4th & Broadway)
BDP: STILL #1 / THE BRIDGE IS OVER (Jive)
BIG DADDY KANE: AIN'T NO HALF STEPPIN' Cold Chillin)
BIZ MARKIE: MAKE THE MUSIC WITH YOUR MOUTH (Cold Chillin)
PUBLIC ENEMY: DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE / PUBLIC ENEMY #1 (Def Jam)
EPMD: YOU GOT TO CHILL (Def Jam)
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST: I LEFT MY WALLET... (Jive)
AUDIO 2: TOP BILLIN' (First Priority)
SPECIAL ED: I GOT IT MADE (Profile)
SLICK RICK: CHILDREN'S STORY (Columbia)
N.W.A: F*CK THE POLICE (Ruthless)
GANGSTARR: TAKE IT PERSONAL (Cooltempo)

THE MARK DEVLIN VINTAGE MIXTAPE SERIES RELOADED – VOLUME THREE

www.markdevlin.co.uk has just received its latest update and overhaul. Check it out for the latest vintage audio downloads, radio playlists, Diary blogs, Club Dates and Hot Joint reviews...

Here

… and in the meantime.


THE MARK DEVLIN VINTAGE MIXTAPE SERIES RELOADED – VOLUME THREE


The reloaded series of Mark Devlin mixtapes continues…

Blaze, volume three was a real personal favourite, with a healthy mix of tunes that were current in Spring ’99, and some more inspiring throwbacks. Where do you ever hear Go Go Lorenzo, Sweet Tee or Smiley Culture any more?!

A healthy showing on the freestyles here, too. Three of London’s finest, Ty, Cyrus The Virus and Breis united to bring some ‘Blaze’-themed heat. We had another instalment from Kid Fury, a permanent fixture on the early tapes, preceded by another hilarious ‘Antonio’ skit – again, specially cleaned up for radio. And Lee Ramsay represented for Nottingham. Some great ragga showings too, from Lady Saw and Tanya Stephens.

Blaze side 1:

Blaze side 2:


BLAZE. THE MARK DEVLIN MIXTAPE, VOLUME THREE (1999)

Side one:

INTRO SEQUENCE
FLEXX Featuring SCARR: NUMBER OF THE BOOTY
HARLEM WORLD Featuring JD: WE BOTH FRONTIN’
TLC: NO SCRUBS
KELE LE ROC: MY LOVE (Ignorants Mix)
NESHA: WHAT’S IT GONNA BE?
DA BRAT: GIVE IT TO YOU (Instrumental)
KALI/ FIERCE: DAYZ LIKE THESE
TY, BREIS & CYRUS DA VIRUS: EXCLUSIVE MD FREESTYLE
BEVERLEY KNIGHT: MADE IT BACK (Good Times Remix)
TANYA VON: TONITE
DJ SKRIBBLE Featuring LAURYN HILL: KEEP IT TIGHT
EMINEM: MY FAULT
METHOD MAN: DANGEROUS GROUNDS (Instrumental)
LEE RAMSAY: EXCLUSIVE MD FREESTYLE
CLUB NOUVEAU: LEAN ON ME
GO GO LORENZO & THE DAVIS PINCKNEY PROJECT: YOU CAN DANCE
SWEET TEE: IT’S LIKE THAT Y’ALL
MACEO & THE MACKS: CROSS THE TRACK
EN VOGUE: MY LOVIN’


Side two:

MAD DJ (Skit)
FUNKY DL: EXCLUSIVE MD FREESTYLE
TANYA STEPHENS: TA TA
LADY SAW: MAN INNA MI HOUSE
WALLA WISS RIDDIM
MR. VEGAS & SEAN PAUL: HOT GAL TODAY
BURRO BANTON: BOOM WHA DIS
BOOM DANDIMITE Featuring WARD 21: DROP TOP
SMILEY CULTURE: POLICE OFFICER
ANTONIO, NO! (Skit)
KID FURY: EXCLUSIVE MD FREESTYLE
ERIC BENET: GEORGIE PORGY
EMINEM: ’97 BONNIE & CLYDE
EMINEM: MY NAME IS
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST: CHECK THE RHIME
KEITH MURRAY: LIFE ON THE STREET
NAS: IT AIN’T HARD TO TELL
LORDS OF THE UNDERGROUND: CHIEF ROCKA
BOUNTY KILLER: SUICIDE MURDER (Instrumental)
KID FURY: JOINTS & JAMS THEME

**

Volume two, ‘Yes Mista Devlin’ first appeared in January 1999, and was the first to feature the exclusive freestyles that were to become a staple ingredient of future volumes. We kicked off with four of ‘em – a debut showing from a very young Kid Fury, (who was rolling with me to clubs as my MC at the time,) an even younger Lethal, Simone from Nottingham’s Out Of Da Ville crew, (still going strong today under the moniker of C-Mone,) and Kelz of Bristol’s 3PM Crew, a frequent character on my Galaxy 101 Swing Shift show of the time.

Even more entertaining from a personal point of view was the appearance of the first of my comedy skits, this one being the notorious ‘Antonio’ sequence to introduce Kid Fury’s freestyle. Pure comedy, and actually sounding even more hilarious now it’s been cleaned up for radio!

Yes Mista Devlin, side 1:

Yes Mista Devlin, side 2:


YES MISTA DEVLIN. THE MARK DEVLIN MIXTAPE VOLUME TWO

Side one:

MC LYTE Featuring GINA THOMPSON: IT’S ALL YOURS
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST: LIKE IT LIKE THAT
FOXY BROWN: HOT SPOT
BIG KWAM: THE REUNION (Instrumental)
LETHAL: EXCLUSIVE ’98 FREESTYLE
FOXY BROWN Featuring KID CAPRI: FOX BOOGIE
BRAND NUBIAN Featuring BUSTA RHYMES: LET’S DANCE
BLACK EYED PEAS: JOINTS & JAMS (Instrumental)
CROOKLYN CLAN Meets STIK-E & THE HOODS: SAY WUUT!
DEF SQUAD: THE GAME
R KELLY: SPENDING MONEY
ANTONIO (Skit)
KID FURY: EXCLUSIVE ’98 FREESTYLE
TOTAL Featuring MISSY ELLIOTT: TRIPPIN’
BUSTA RHYMES: GIVE ME SOME MORE
OC Featuring CHANGING FACES: CAN’T GO WRONG


Side two:

GENERAL DEGREE: TRAFFIC BLOCKING (Players Inc Remix)
GENERAL DEGREE: TRAFFIC BLOCKING
BEENIE MAN: LET HIM GO
HAWKEYE: VEX IF YA WAAN VEX
BUCCANEER: SOCA NOMA
LADY SAW & BEENIE MAN: HEALING
SPLASH RIDDIM
LADY SAW: MAN INNA MI HOUSE
PINCHERS: AGONY
SIMONE: EXCLUSIVE ’98 FREESTYLE
KELZ: EXPLAIN MYSELF
BIG DADDY KANE: AIN’T NO HALF STEPPING
MAIN SOURCE: LOOKING AT THE FRONT DOOR
LEADERS OF THE NEW SCHOOL: SOBB STORY (Instrumental)
PETE ROCK & CL SMOOTH: THE CREATOR
SNOOP DOGGY DOGG: PUMP PUMP
DHAR BRAXTON: JUMP BACK (SET ME FREE)
JOYCE SIMS: (YOU ARE MY) ALL AND ALL
SHEILA E: A LOVE BIZARRE

MD'S TOUR DIARY, FEBRUARY '09

Back in the day I used to be a bit of a wizzkid at music quizzes. Presenter Stuart Cameron and myself were frequently drafted on to the Fox FM radio team in the early 90s as secret weapons, and our presence usually secured us first place. I have a couple of winners’ trophies taking pride of place in my living room as souvenirs.

After several years’ absence, I decided it would be fun to start getting involved again, and on Monday 2nd, recruited myself into the FM107.9 team. The snow had done little to keep the trainspotters away from the pub in Cowley, Oxford, and we were one of ten teams. My 70s and 80s pop game is strong, but only got tested on a couple of occasions. Thankfully, programming boss Sophie Bruce was on hand to answer all the noughties stuff, (I lost interest in the mainstream charts in about 1990,) with veteran presenter/ musical oracle Joe O’ Neill answering just about everything else. We came fourth – room for improvement without complete disgrace, I feel. (Rather worryingly I cleaned up by being the only one to identify the lyrics to Elton John’s ‘Nikita’!) I enjoyed having my knowledge tested anyway, and look forward to more of the same.

The rest of the month consisted of gigs I play on the regular, and, although I rack my brains, there really is only so much you can say about such routine outings. I arrived at Que Pasa in Watford on Saturday 14th to find the place packed with football fans, and the streets crawling with police on horseback and riot vans. Watford had just lost at home to Chelsea, so a lot of drowning of sorrows was going on. Thankfully no riots. I had a couple of live guests on my radio show mid-month - Chima Anya of Oxford's GTA and Bristol's Triggadon both putting in return performances. As ever, entertaining freestyle sessions ensued, with some footage clips now posted at www.youtube.com/markdevlintv

The Biggie biopic 'Notorious' was released nationally on Friday 13th. But there was no sign of a showing in Oxford or Aylesbury; evidently these places aren't considered 'hood' enough to handle a hip-hop movie. So Parveen and myself headed to Milton Keynes Odeon to catch it. I wrote a review for The Bucks Herald in exchange for our pair of press tickets, which turned out as follows:

The biggest challenge facing director George L Tillman Jr’s biopic of the late great rapper Biggie Smalls was always going to be to make it palatable to non hip-hop diehards. Not an impossible feat; ‘Ray’, for instance, told the Ray Charles story to a wide and varied audience. Although the elements of hip-hop culture on display may be alienating to non-followers – the dialogue isn’t something you’d want to recite over tea with the vicar – ‘Notorious’ has enough cinematic devices to satisfy the demands of most movie-goers – a rags-to-riches tale, romance, sex, drama, violence, and, at the centre of it all, a deadly rivalry, in this case between Biggie and fellow slain rapper Tupac Shakur.
Although lacking any facial similarity, newcomer Jamal Woolard’s imposing frame gives the central character plausibility, and strong support comes from Naturi Naughton as Big’s protégée and occasional lover, Lil Kim. Derek Luke’s performance as super-producer Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs, however, seems way off-track, not least because he bears no visible similarity to the real-life subject. Antonique Smith plays the other woman in Big’s life, his widow, the singer Faith Evans, with Angela Bassett the only familiar performer, playing the rapper’s mother.
While hip-hop fans will relish seeing the story of Biggie’s short time at the top acted out, the screenplay glosses over certain more controversial issues, crucially, the real reason the rapper died in a hail of bullets in March 1997 and who could have been behind it. Similarly, Woolard’s portrayal only really scratches the surface of what really made Christopher Wallace/ Biggie tick, and such sanitisation may well be down to the fact that the movie was sanctioned by Wallace’’s mother Voletta, and Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs as producer and executive producer respectively.
What certainly aids the film is its fast moving pace and its hugely moving ending. ‘Notorious’ emerges as an exciting and tragic account of a man who was, to many, the best that ever did it.

Outings for the remainder of the month included a packed Monday night at The Bridge in Oxford, (where would clubland be without the reckless spending habits of our beloved students?!), a first-time showing in the military town of Aldershot at Yates’, and a venue in Peterborough which wins the award for having the rudest and most socially incompetent management I’ve encountered in all my years of DJing. In the interests of diplomacy, I’ll avoid naming the establishment. Hint to the general manager – you can get a deodorant stick for as little as 39p in Tesco. You should try it.

I also dropped in on my DJ mate Stretch Taylor in Watford. Stretch and his wife Maria had a baby girl, Arianna, who has an eight-week head start over our Zaina. We spent half an hour exchanging a few tips on sleep maximisation techniques … much needed.

One place I never imagined I’d ever DJ in is my childhood hometown of Witney. On Thursday 26th, I took up a new residency at the trendy bar/ club venue Izi, and pretty good it was. I was rather unkind about Witney in the opening chapter of ‘Tales From The Flipside’. In the couple of years that have passed since, I’ve come to realise there are far worse places to play!

… and that was February.