LP of the week: Lakim Shabazz-Pure Righteousness (1988, Tuff City) the classic and legendary debut album from New Jersey's conscious and Afro-centric rhymer Lakim Shabazz, also an original member of The Flavor Unit.
Pure Righteousness was a dope album full of classic breaks and samples from the likes of the late, great James Brown, The Fatback Band, Maze, Dennis Coffey, Afrique all hooked up the legendary DJ Mark The 45 King.
Singles released were the title track, "Black Is Black" (which contained the dope B-Side "Your Arms Too Short To Box With God")...after his debut, Lak released a couple of 12"s, appeared on various albums and dropped his second (and final) LP in 1990, The Lost Tribe of Shabazz and in 2006, Ol' Skool Flava released an album of rare and unreleased material.
Lak also worked with Diamond-D on his classic, Stunts, Blunts and Hip Hop album
LP of the week...Keith Murray-Enigma (Jive Records, 1996), superb follow up to his 1994 debut, The Most Beautifullest Thing In The World, Enigma once again featured great beats from the legendary Erick Sermon, Sugarless, Rod "KP" Patrick and "Dangerous Ground" and the first single "The Rhyme" featured a remix from the late, great J-Dilla (as part of The Ummah) guests included L.O.D. (50 Grand and Ron Jay), Kel Vicious, Busta Rhymes, Jamal, Redman and Erick Sermon.
"Call My Name" was aimed at Prodigy and Mobb Deep and the album was peppered with disses towards other acts inckuding Jeru The Damaga (I have never been sure why though).
Singles off the album were "The Rhyme" b/w "Yeah" and "Hot To Def" b/w "Love L.O.D." (Promo only)...Enigma peaked at 39 on the US Billboard 200. Courtesy Comrade And Affiliate DJ Jaz Ford, check out his blog at http://coldrockdaspot.blogspot.com
Hip-hop duo Logic & Raze have released their debut collaboration album "...STILL untitled" to the world today after a successful local launch over the weekend.
The album that the Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel calls "a solid, entertaining album full of songs of substance with hard-hitting rhymes and hilarious stories that sound great together" can be streamed in it's entirety on Logic & Raze's Bandcamp site as well as previewed and purchased on the industry standard iTunes.
As an added bonus, Logic & Raze are also offering limited edition t-shirts through their Bandcamp site.
One week before the elections, New Zealand underground hip hop groups 'Home Brew' and 'Tourettes' team up on this political track "Socialism for the rich capitalism for the poor"
The First track released from Madlib and Freddie Gibbs Thugin EP, the EP will be released as a 12' with two Freddie Gibbs & Madlib Tracks "Thugin" and "Deep"
