THE LOST BOYZ 'RENEE'

When it's got right, hip-hop does storytelling like no other genre. And with 'Renee', the Lost Boyz sure got it right, getting everything on-point to create one of the most cinematic tracks in the genre's history.

From the opening bars documenting Mr. Cheeks' chance meeting of his shortee, to the first refrain of the chorus, tantalisingly suggesting that Renee has died before we've yet heard the story, this track grabs the attention and sweeps the listener along, with powerful images filling the head at every bar. It would take a hardened cynic not to be moved by the poignancy of the story.

Where the appeal of many 90s hip-hop classics lies in the mesmeric appeal of the beat, this is one where every lyric does count, and five minutes kicking back to listen to the whole thing makes for a very rewarding experience.

THE FUGEES 'NAPPYHEADS'

With Wyclef's Haitian presidency, his apparent opposition from Pras, and Lauryn's comeback with 'Repercussions' in the news, now would seem a timely chance to revisit one of The Fugees' finest moments.
Before their boundary-breaking 'The Score' album there was 1994's 'Blunted On Reality', and that housed this curiously absorbing gem. The quirky and slightly haunting beat held together some unconventional rhyming styles from the three MCs which was very much of the time, and which had been switched up by the advent of 'The Score', where far more reggae influences had crept in.

BAHAMADIA 'UKNOWHOWWEDU'

Ask the average cat to recite a list of female rappers, and it's likely even Queen Pen and Yo Yo would crop up before the lamentably underrated Bahamadia. It's not down to any lack of skills - far from it. It's down to the fact that her tracks have always been on the underground, independent tip, without a hint of commerciality.
Hailing from Philadelphia, she was an original member of the Gang Starr Foundation. This joint, from her 1996 album 'Kollage', peddles the jazzy hip-hop sound favoured by the likes of Digable Planets, Polyrhythm Addicts and others of the time, a blissful head-nodding groove. If Erykah Badu took up rapping again, this is a lot like how she'd sound.

'JUST BUGGIN' MOVES FROM FM1079 TO RECHARGED RADIO WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT

Mark Devlin's 'Just Buggin' show is to start a new tenure on Recharged Radio as of this weekend. The show will now broadcast on Sundays between 8-10pm, beginning 15th August, with Listen Again download links available throughout the following week.

'Just Buggin' ran every week for over three and a half years on FM107.9 in Oxford, where it built up a solid fanbase of hip-hop heads hungry to hear the heavy, underground sounds of real hip-hop, old and new, that's so tragically lacking from virtually every other legal station in the UK. Sadly, last week, FM1079 took the decision to axe all of its specialist shows, including The Freerange Drum 'N' Bass show, The Phat Club, Republica Wireless and Unscene Radio. The station has evidently decided to restructure its sound in a bid to pursue a different breed of advertiser. It's obviously a huge disappointment to the followers and supporters of all these cutting-edge shows, which had always stood out from the bland, generic programming offered by most other stations.

On a brighter note, 'Just Buggin' is now getting a new lease of life on internet-based Recharged Radio, a station which champions cutting-edge, challenging new music of all genres. The revamped show will continue to cater for dedicated hip-hop heads by fusing classic boom-bap-style throwbacks with brand new sounds from the original masters. The show will retain its popular features the Street Beat Of The Week, the Old To The New, and a weekly guest DJ mix.

Listen live from anywhere, 8-10pm UK time at http://www.rechargedradio.com, or check out http://www.markdevlin.co.uk weekly for the Listen Again links.

CROOKLYN DODGERS 'RETURN OF THE CROOKLYN DODGERS'

As hip-hop supergroups go, the Crooklyn Dodgers gave the likes of Def Squad and Diggin' In The Crates a serious run for their money. It's just a shame the project was so short-lived. While 1994's Q-Tip-produced 'Crooklyn', from the Spike Lee movie of the same name, featured Buckshot, Masta Ace and Special Ed, round two appeared the following year. This time, 'Return Of The Crooklyn Dodgers' featured Chubb Rock, OC and Jeru Tha Damaja, and was featured on the soundtrack of Lee's 'Clockers' movie.

The mournful sax and chiming bell are just two of the memorable features of a distinctive, slamming beat that could only have come from DJ Premier, and all the MCs are on fire with their depiction of the grim hardships of street life in Brooklyn's less tourist-friendly districts. It's Jeru who blazes the most, however, (despite the fucked up hairstyle,) appropriately cropping up on the third verse to truly shut things down.

"Excuse me while I light my spliff, but some choose to drink, so bullets hit brains when bottles hit lips."

"With precision we're slicing and dicing, peace to the East, New York, Perverted Monks and Mike Tyson."

PUBLIC ENEMY 'FIGHT THE POWER'

The opening titles to Spike Lee's 'Do The Right Thing' make for one of the most iconic images in movie history, with Rosie Perez dancing in silhouette to the sounds of 'Flight The Power' as trains and cars rush by.

The song's official video was no less visually striking, with giant images of Malcolm X and the PE gun target logo overlooking a street demo. Flavour Flav's demented posturing with a top hat making him look like Baron Samedi from 'Live And Let Die', and some decidely camp dancing from the Nation Of Islam's bereted soldiers are just a couple of images that stay in your mind long after the video's finished. Add to that the relentlessly driving beat, and the lyrical content delivered with the force of a juggernaut, and you get a snapshot of a truly golden era in hip-hop which, sadly, none of today's insipid output comes anywhere near to measuring up to.

"Elvis was a hero to most, but he never meant shit to me, you see. Straight up racist that sucker was, simple and plain. Motherfuck him and John Wayne."

LIL VICIOUS 'NIKA' - A SHORTEES' ANTHEM

The Isley Brothers' 'Between The Sheets' ended up the most sampled soul track of the 90s, its most high-profile usage of course being on Notorious BIG's 'Big Poppa'. But among the assorted head-nodding bangers was this spine-tingling gem from the teenage reggae artist Lil Vicious. Sounding a lot like contemporary reggae singer Singing Sweet, Vicious sings the praises of his shortee, resulting in the coolest ode to teenage love ever committed to record. This was produced by DJ Clark Kent, and is drenched in that classic feel-good flava. Vicious, who hailed from Brooklyn, released one album, 'Destination Brooklyn', before fading into obscurity. He must be close to the ripe old age of 30 by now.

And, for once, an artist with 'Lil' in their name who's actually worth listening to!

NINE 'WHUTCHA WANT' - 90s BOOM-BAP GREATNESS

Originally called 9MM, Bronx MC Derrick Keyes re-dubbed himself Nine to make his name more palatable for radio play. Reportedly, aside from the gun talk, the name alludes to his birthdate (9/19/1969), as well as his shoe size. There was little toning down of the boom-bap flava of this jeep-rocking anthem, however, kicking off with a sample from Otis Redding's 'Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay' before igniting into a speaker-rocking bassline, and a beat so strong you're in danger of getting your neck snapped.

Appropriately, portions of this boom-bap banger were used in advertisements for the US Jeep brand. The firm apparently never sought permission, however, prompting Nine's team to take legal action. The track cropped up on the album 'Nine Livez'.

"What you want Nine? An ill posse and my name up in lights - N-I-N-E."

LISTEN TO THE DR. DRE BEATMASTERS MIX ON CHARLIE SLOTH'S 1XTRA HIP HOP M1X SHOW

Props to 1Xtra's new hip-hop specialist Charlie Sloth for broadcasting the Dr. Dre instalment of my Beatmasters mix on his show this weekend. The track listing is below, and here's where to listen back to it.






BEATMASTERS MIX: DR. DRE

NWA: STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON
NWA: EXPRESS YOURSELF
SNOOP DOGGY DOGG: WHAT’S MY NAME?
SNOOP DOGGY DOGG Featuring NATE DOGG: AIN’T NO FUN
ICE CUBE & DR. DRE: NATURAL BORN KILLERS
DR. DRE: KEEP THEIR HEADS RINGIN’
LADY OF RAGE: AFRO PUFFS
2PAC: CALIFORNIA LOVE
DR. DRE Featuring SNOOP DOGGY DOGG: DEEP COVER
DR. DRE Featuring SNOOP DOGGY DOGG: AIN’T NUTHIN’ BUT A G-THANG
DR. DRE Featuring SNOOP DOGG: STILL D.R.E
DR. DRE Featuring EMINEM: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
EMINEM: MY NAME IS…
EVE: LET ME BLOW YOUR MIND
MARY J BLIGE: FAMILY AFFAIR
50 CENT: IN THA CLUB
DR. DRE: BANG BANG

THE RUB HIP-HOP HISTORY. GRAB EVERY YEAR FROM 1979 to 2009!

Brooklyn's The Rub crew (DJ Eleven, DJ Ayres, Cosmo Baker,) have just completed a fascinating series of mixes entitled Hip Hop History. Beginning a couple of years ago, the idea was to create a mix for each year from 1979 onward, consisting of each year's big bangers and underground classics, presenting an ongoing reflection of how the music and culture has developed, (or some would say degenerated!) over the past 30 years. The final instalment, for 2009, has just been posted.
You can download the entire set of mixes, along with full track listings, from here:

Big respect to The Rub team for taking the initiative. It's an incredible achievement.