"The Dig Up" - Hosted by DJ Evil Dee

I have to be completely honest, I hate the neo concept of what a "mixtape" is.  It's evolved into fully formed albums with concepts, art and high profile artists. Now they're used as albums to promote albums and blah, blah, blah.  (old man rant... get off my lawn... it's my football now!) 

That being said, I realized I was at point where I needed to either adapt to the current biz model or just get left behind.  (like the major labels not understanding the digital age and treating their consumer base as an enemy)  So, here I am at a point realizing I had a collection of work, but none of my current projects were close to being finished.  I had tracks that I did with other artists and joints that didn't necessarily fit on any of my current projects and instead of letting these them collect digital dust, I decided to put them together.  Oddly, I discovered that when putting these tracks together, they may not have fit into what I was current working on, but together they all worked as a nice comp/mixtape.  And being that I'm from a different era of "mixtape," I decided to take it to the decks.

If I was going to make a mixtape, I wanted it to be a mixtape that I would want to hear and be a nod to the era I came up from.  As I was in the early stages of compiling this I was listening to "Soundbombing," my old B-Mello and Beatjunkie tapes and studying the vibe/tone to wrap my head around the whole concept.  What made Soundbombing so dope?  Well... you had a DJ like Evil Dee on the decks and hosting the mixtape laying in the cuts building the mix like a how a DJ would kill a live set. (C'mon KICK IT!)  I then decided, why not shoot for the stars and see if I could get someone I've looked up to for SO long on the project. I contacted his manager and...

(see iphone convo) 

The moment my jaw dropped.

This was a moment where I honestly tried to be as cool as possible, but found myself on the verge of screaming like a little girl watching a "One Direction" music video.  I was sitting at my desk at work with my boss behind me trying to keep composure as my 13 year old Bootcamp fanboy was bubbling up. 

Once that was locked... it was on.  So, I started digging into old session files, demos and completed tracks to start compiling the mix and connect all of the dots.  What came together was not only a collection of b-sides and collab tracks, but some new music made just for this and previews of upcoming releases.  In many ways "The Dig Up" is like a audio resume highlighting my emceeing, DJing and production.  I hope you dig it, no pun.

Thanks to: Ryan Fresh, Corey Ball, Evil Dee, Luvva-J, Smoke, Dee Supreme, DL Orion, Josh G, Domingo, Wizdom, Ace-One, Just Another DJ, RA Scion, Heretic & SOS, Big Fletch, Po'Safe and everyone that helped compile this. 

There will be a limited edition release of this on cassette that will be following shortly.  (preorders available on the bandcamp site)  Till then...

 

The Proforms - Elroy Preston (EP)

A couple years ago The Proforms released their impressive debut "Atavism" that, when released, was easily one of the best LPs to come out that year.  In the short time after its release, we were greeted by releases from the group's members in the form of solo and group projects. Helping extend their branches like the blueprint Wu-Tang made in the 90s, The Proforms extended their brand with Cutcamp, BDK etc. 

As we were blessed with all of these additional projects, the ultimate question continued to be raised if they would ever follow up their debut. A year ago, it seemed like the answer would be "no" when Joe Harvey decided to move with his family to Korea.  It would appear that the nail was in the coffin for any future Proforms releases... but, it wasn't.  Before I knew it, Joe Harvey hit me up and said he was excited that they already had an EP finished. 

Say word? 

A short period of time passed and Joe let me hear the rough version of the project and it was EXACTLY the follow up that compliments "Atavism."  Seven cuts deep Joe, Skittz, Ace and Spoolz drop a better EP than most artists do in an ENTIRE album. 

The EP starts off with what was also their 1st single, "Here Come the...", which is like a war chant declaring they are BACK on the scene.  In it's short track listing, every track leads to the next one and compliments the one that plays before and after it. And before you know it, the exit interlude is playing and you're left exactly where you were after "Atavism" finished playing for the 1st time.  (wanting more) 

The Proforms easily have done it again. "The Elroy Preston EP" is here.

The Proforms (@theproforms)

Ace One (@ace_one_)

Joe Harvey (@proformjoe)

Skittz (@skittzformpro)

DJ Spoolz (@djspoolz)

Mastered By:  John W. Ripley for Ripley Recording

Artwork By:  Ben Long (www.fabcrew.com)

http://www.audiomack.com/album/the-proforms/the-elroy-preston-ep

Dig These Records Ep. 3 (interview with Dawhud)

DJ Ian Head from DollaBin started up a podcast titled "Dig These Records" where he interviews DJs/beat-heads & music aficionados.  Recently he interviewed me and we talked about how I got into digging, the story behind "Battle Anybody" and how I discovered Bob James. 

www.everydaybeats.net
https://soundcloud.com/digtheserecords

Early Excavation (pre Dig Up Mix)

Before "The Dig Up" drops on 4/22, check a mix of additional remixes, b-sides and collab cuts.  I realized while putting "The Dirty Tape" together I had more material than I thought and instead of leaving it out I decided to do a quick mixtape to wet your appetite. 

The "Early Excavation" features remixes I did of Black Moon, Nas, Method Man, Mobb Deep along with tracks I did with Mergence/Rhyme Commission, Dl Orion, Josh G and an unreleased track from the shelved Trans Atlantic project.

Shout out to Po Safe, Dee Supreme, Josh G, Corey Ball aka Just Be, Big Fletch and Dl. Orion.

Black Moon - How Many Emcees (Dawhud Remix)
Mergence feat. Dawhud - Foundation
Nas - Ain't Hard To Tell (Dawhud Remix)
Method Man - PLO Style (Dawhud Remix)
Josh G. feat. Dawhud - Fell The Vibe (original version)
Dl. Orion feat. Dawhd - Back to the Essence
Trans Atlantic - Say Yes
Mobb Deep - Shook Ones Pt 2 (Dawhud Remix)




Enjoy