RAEKWON TALKS ABOUT PRODUCERS ON OB4CL2.

Today, the tracklist was released for Raekwon's highly anticipated album and it features production from some of the best to ever do it, including Dr. Dre, Pete Rock, Dilla, and of course the RZA,
We sat down with the Chef to talk about the producers he enlisted on his upcoming album, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2, and why he decided to work with multiple cats instead of just the RZA like he did on the original. Hotdamn, I cannot wait for this shit to drop.

Jay Stay Paid.

“Possibly the best posthumous rap record since the final releases of 2Pac and Biggie.”
-Rolling Stone Magazine

By now most everyone is familiar with the story of musical legend J Dilla. The quiet, prolific producer collaborated with everyone from Eryka Badu to Common to Janet Jackson to Prince. Dilla was just beginning to capitalize on his cult status when he sadly passed at age 32 due to Lupus-related complications. Jay Stay Paid is a 28 track collection of unreleased Dilla beats mixed and arranged by Pete Rock. Yes, that Pete Rock. While mostly instrumental, “J$P” also offers a few guests vocals from artists that Dilla worked with or admired including Black Thought of The Roots, MF DOOM, Havoc, M.O.P. , Raekwon and more.

Curtailing any notion of jumping on some sort of Dilla bangwagon, Jay Stay Paid was executive produced by Dilla’s mother Maureen Yancey (aka Ma Dukes) along with the musical supervision of Dilla’s only real musical idol, Pete Rock. “It wasn’t rushed and it wasn’t haphazard,” explains Ms. Yancey. “This album combines what he did in the beginning of his career, what he did in some of our early hospital stays, which was very deep, and some stuff pulled from old floppy disks & DATs. Its mind blowing…this is like the missing links to Dilla’s legacy.”

The format of the album plays like a radio show with Pete Rock as the program director. With regards to Pete’s involvement, Ms. Yancey gets very excited, “Dilla wanted to pattern himself behind Pete. His dream was to become as close as possible to what Pete stood for. Pete meant everything to him. Dilla would have just been flabbergasted! ” Pete’s sentiments were the same toward Dilla, “Dude was amazing. He just kinda came outta nowhere and the more you heard his beats the better they got. He may not be here with us, but it’s all good we’re going to keep his music alive and well.”

The album drops June 2nd. The tracklist is below:

1. KJay FM Dedication
2. King
3. I Told Yall
4. Lazer Gunne Funke
5. In The Night (Owl N Out) – While you slept (I crept)
6. Smoke feat. Blu
7. Blood Sport feat. Lil Fame of M.O.P.
8. caDILLAc
9. Expensive Whip
10. Kaklow (Jump On It)
11. Digi Dirt feat. Phat Kat
12. Dilla Bot Vs. The Hybrid feat. Danny Brown & Constantine
13. Milk Money
14. Spacecowboy Vs. Bobble Head
15. Reality Check feat. Black Thought | Clean
16. On Stilts
17. Fire Wood Drumstix feat. DOOM
18. Glamour Sho75 (09)
19. 10,000 Watts
20. 9th Caller
21. Make It Fast Mega Mix (Unadulterated Mix) feat. Diz Gibran
22. 24K Rap feat. Havoc of Mobb Deep & Raekwon
23. Big City
24. Pay Day feat. Frank Nitty of Frank n’ Dank
25. See That Boy Fly feat. Illa J & Cue D
26. Coming Back
27. Mythsysizer
28. KJay and We Out

Happy St. Patty's Day.

House of Pain - "Jump Around" (Pete Rock Remix)

...don't act like Jump Around wasn't the shit. It's a classic. Don't front. But here's the often forgotten Pete Rock version of this joint. Just as hype, but more jazzy. Now go drink a Guinness.

J Dilla & Pete Rock To Release Album.

This is great news, hip hop fans. J Dilla's mother, Maureen Yancey (a.k.a. Ma Dukes) and Dilla's idol and legendary producer Peter Rock are planning to release a posthumous Dilla album of unreleased beats and samples, called Jay Stay Paid (J$P). This album will be released June 2, and will feature music pulled off of Dilla's old floppy disks and DATs, as well as tracks Dilla made while he was in the hospital.

The format of the album plays like a radio show with Pete Rock acting as a radio DJ. The album will be mostly instrumental, but will feature verses from Black Thought of The Roots, MF DOOM, and M.O.P.

Snoop Is All About The Cash.

Snoop Dogg is out for the cash...Johnny Cash, that is. Off the strength of his country music inspired song “My Medicine” with Willie Nelson, the Doggfather is set to appear on a Johnny Cash remix album due out in October. Snoop will remake the Man In Black's classic song “I Walk The Line” which will be co-produced by Teddy Riley and DJ Quik. Snoop said that if you take the time to listen, country music is very similar to rap. Well yeah, with the exception of the fascination with material wealth, strippers, bottles of Chrys, gun clapping, and drug trafficking, they're exactly the same, Snoop.

Legendary producer Pete Rock will also remix Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" for the upcoming remix album. It'll be interesting to see how he pulls that one off.

Pete Rock on Karmaloop TV

One of my favorite producers chops it up with one of my favorite places to do online shopping. That's no coincidence.

The Wackness Drops Their Purple Tape.

The Purple Tape. Any Hip-Hop head knows the reference immediately. When Raekwon dropped Only Built For Cuban Linx and it came out on a purple cassette, kids were blown away. Not to mention the music was next level.

Well, the upcoming movie, The Wackness, is trying to recapture that nostalgia. The movie—which follows a weed-dealing teenager in the summer of 1994 in NYC—features a soundtrack filled with classic ’90s New York rap shit that will get you in that summertime mood. It's only fitting that they gave out a special (purple) mixtape at the screenings with 35 classic joints that didn’t make the soundtrack. With acts like Biggie, The Wu, Tribe and Nas, it’s an ill collector’s item for the rap junkie who has everything. But don't worry, if you weren't able to cop the actual tape...we got the digital version for your iPods.

DOWNLOAD: The Wackness Mixtape: Part 1 | Part 2


THE A SIDE
1. The Notorious B.I.G. “Party And Bullshit”
2. Boogie Down Productions “Duck Down”
3. Brand Nubian “Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down”
4. GZA & Method Man “Shadowboxin’”
5. Gangstarr “Take It Personal”
6. Diamond D “Fuck What U Heard”
7. Intro “Love Thang”
8. Mobb Deep “Give Up The Goods”
9. Redman “Can’t Wait”
10. Faith Evans “You Used Love Me (Remix)
11. UMCs “One To Grow On”
12. Eric B. & Rakim “Know The Ledge”
13. Ultramagnetic MCs “Raise It Up”
14. Keith Murray “The Most Beautifulest Thing In This World”
15. Mary J. Blige & Smif-N-Wessun “I Love You (Remix)”
16. Group Home “Suspended In Time (Remix)”

THE B SIDE
1. Onyx “Throw Your Gunz In The Air”
2. Black Moon “I Gotcha Open (Remix)”
3. Ol Dirty Bastard “Brooklyn Zoo (Remix)”
4. EPMD “Headbanger”
5. Das EFX “They Want EFX (Remix”
6. Nas “Represent”
7. Total & Keith Murray “Can’t You See (Remix)”
8. Main Source “Fakin’ The Funk”
9. Fu Schnickens “La Schmoove”
10. Nice & Smooth “Old To The New”
11. Wu-Tang Clan “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nothin’ To F’ Wit”
12. Chef Raekwon “Glaciers Of Ice”
13. A Tribe Called Quest “Electric Relaxation”
14. Method Man “Bring The Pain (Remix)”
15. Pete Rock & CL Smooth “Good Life”
16. Jeru The Damaja “D. Original”
17. Lords Of The Underground “Chief Rocka (Remix)”
18. Jodecei & Raekwon and Ghostface Killah “Freekin’ U (Remix)”
19. Run DMC, Pete Rock & CL Smooth “Down With The King”


BTW. Go see The Wackness. Trust Me. It hits select theaters tomorrow.

Pete Rock Beats and Breaks Mixtape

One of the greatest to ever do it, Pete Rock has been an icon in the hip hip world for almost 20 years. His sample techniques and ear for finding rare soulful gems makes him one of the most influential producers of all time. From The Bricks has put together a dope mixtape that blends some of Pete Rock's illest beats with the original samples he used.


Download: FDB’s Pete Rock Mixtape

1. Pete Rock ft. Max B & Jim Jones - ‘We Roll’

2. Pete Rock - ‘Pete’s Jazz’

3. Pete Rock ft. Inspectah Deck & Kurupt - ‘Tru Master’

4. Pete Rock ft. Raekwon, Prodigy & Ghostface - ‘Tha Game’

5. Onyx - ‘Shout (Pete Rock Remix)’

6. Pete Rock - ‘Placebo’

7. Nas - ‘The World Is Yours’

8. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - ‘In The House’

9. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - ‘Mecca & The Soul Brother’

10. YGz - ‘Ghetto Celeb’

11. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - ‘Can’t Front On Me’

12. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - ‘What’s Next On The Menu’

[NEW] Kurupt - "Yessir" (Prod by Pete Rock)

LA and New York connect like JFK to LAX. Check this new heat from the Dogg Pound's own Kurupt Young Gotti produced by NY's Finest, Pete Rock. This is a good look for both of them. And is just me, or does Pete Rock find the best horn samples ever?

Kurupt - "Yessir" (Prod by Pete Rock)

Now that's gangster.

Old School Video of the Day

Pete Rock & CL Smooth - "Straighten It Out"

Photos from DJ Premier vs. Pete Rock

From Scifen.

This past Friday April 18th, 2008, marked a historic event in Downtown Los Angeles as two of hip hop's most recognized DJ's and producers were side by side as what was originally billed as "A Legendary DJ Battle." What actually went down was a memorable back and forth set of classic break and hip hop records that kept the crowd rockin'. To finish it off, the last thirty minutes was packed with a three for three mix of classic Primo and Pete Rock tracks that one can only hope was recorded for a mix tape or something. Be sure to look out for some live video clips, I'm sure it will start hitting the net soon...