Wednesday, December 26, 2012

AC/DTZ - Dap the Rap


  A solid 5 days off in a row over the holidays, complete with hibernation-inducing weather, was all I needed to get the creative juices flowing.... you never know how that's gonna turn out, and this time I decided to devote my energy to remixing some classic hip hop with funk & soul samples. I'd been waiting to use some of the Daptone Records tracks as samples since I first heard them a few years ago...

  After posting the Kool G Rap mash-up, I looked through my collection to see what a capellas I had.... slim pickings unfortunately, but I worked with what I had and came up with 4 tracks in total.  The Deee-Lite/Too Short mash-up was just so funny when I remembered the whistle sound from Groove is in the Heart ... so I made it as a gift for a good friend of mine who loves Blow the Whistle. Enjoy....



Monday, December 24, 2012

AC/DTZ - REEEEEEMIXXXXXX !!!




  The new Menahan Street Band album is great... and full of smooth beats that could be sampled to no end. It turns out that Kool G Rap's "On The Run" pairs up nicely with "Sleight of Hand" by Menahan. Gangster storytellin' raps over an ominous afro-soul beat.... hope you enjoy the remix....

Friday, December 21, 2012

S(pencer).O.T.Y



  Damn Spenny, congrats ! Sick new full video part to add to his impressive collection of coverage for 2012.... luh dat guy !
 

Countdown...


  As you can probably tell from the frequency of Arizona-related posts, I'm getting pretty antsy to bounce outta here for my southern 2nd home. Lots of brethren meeting up in the desert lands this year.... one day I might just stay....

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

MagPile - Mo' Freddy, Mo'.... Millimeters ?


  MagPile is new and Fred already got two....

   Got my hands on the first 2 issues of Journal Magazine out of Philly, from 1996. I'm a lifelong fan of Dan Wolfe's Eastern Exposure 3(Underachievers) video, and these magazines are full of photos to go along with the footage. This shot of Fred Gall switch 50-50ing a rail at some contest/demo is one such photo.... look at those wheels....   Underachievers is still one of the best videos ever to watch before going skating. Timeless....

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Park Report: Ohgoddammitthatsiti'mmoving


 I thought the end of the world was on December 21st ?

Aye, Dennis...Its Donnely And Someofyourotherteamates



  Busenitz and Donnelly have some sick clips in this....

Monday, December 17, 2012

Off the Record # 9 - 20 on the run


  This edition of OTR is keepin' it mafioso gangsta styles, with Kool G Rap's 1993 single "On the Run".... the Al Capone version. Kool G was ahead of his time and highly influential in the rap game, although the album that features the original version of this song almost didn't get released due to it's graphic subject matter. I think this remix is the best of the 3 versions I own, even found a clip of the music video re-dubbed with the Capone beat. 


  I got the single at Beatstreet in Vancouver for about $9-, and added another classic skateboard video soundtrack gem to the crate. This one appeared in the 101 section of 20 Shot Sequence, from 1994.... with a nice chunk of Gino footage to close it off. 


 Skating downtown Vancouver in the mid 90s after watching that part, with Kool G running though your head.... night sessions.... good times. Might have to bundle up and go for a roll if we get a dry evening this week....

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Weekend Hype


  Went to the DGK "Parental Advisory" premiere at Fortune on Friday night .... do yourself a favor, get this video. Full parts from everyone and some high-budget skits in between that follow some lil' shits around as they exemplify the middle-american teenager's idea of dirty ghetto (skate) life. 

  Wade.... holy shit Wade..... sooo good. Ottawa has produced some unreal skateboarders, glad to have most of them lurking close by in Vancouver... some good homies right there. Other favorites include Jack Curtain, Marcus, Kalis ( duh ), Tags-on-hat ( Keelan ), Dane Vaughn and the Godfather, Stevie. Still got it. All day every day baby !

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

MagPile - Star Power


  Small human version of Freddy from a 1992 Tracker ad.... young and innocent ? Young at least....

Monday, December 10, 2012

Off the Record # 8 - Heat in the Streets


  Every once in a while I'll buy an album based solely on how it looks.... as with this 1972 self-titled debut album from Black Heat that I got at Audiopile a few years back. When I got home and threw it on I instantly started to recognize bits and pieces that had been sampled for some classic hip hop.... including one track, "Send my lover back", that was the main loop for a beat used in Transworld's 1997 video, Interface. Not sure who made the beat, but it perfectly compliments the smooth New York street skating of Keith Hufnagel and his east coast brethren. 



  Definitely a good impulse buy... this Black Heat album is still available as a re-issue.... dirt cheap and it actually sounds great ! Maybe if I get my hands on a hard copy of Interface I can figure out who created that beat...

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

MagPile - Skunk in the Trunk


  Not sure if you'd be likely to catch Rick in the back of the van with the Trunk Boys, but he's sitting pretty comfortably on the back seat of this 5-0 at an extinct Richmond bump-to-bar... taken from the pages of the July 1997 issue of Slap. Not too much went down on that thing.... but Rick made it look easy of course. One of the best styles ever, period.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Off the Record # 7 - "Lost my heart when I found it... "


  With all the talk about longtime riders leaving Blueprint skateboards as of late, it was a cool coincidence to come across this copy of Rodriguez's 1st album from 1970, Cold Fact, at Red Cat only yesterday. As soon as I saw it on the wall I remembered Danny Brady's part from Blueprint's 2005 video, Lost & Found.... which features Rodriguez's most well known track, "Sugar Man", as the soundtrack to the tail end of Danny's section.



  Rodriguez's brief, and then re-ignited years later, career makes for an interesting read.... this album came with a bonus booklet inside featuring the story of his unlikely road in music. Really happy to have found this 2009 re-issue .... I've never seen an original.


  "Sugar man" appears at 3:26

  Sad to hear about names that were so synonymous with Blueprint leaving the iconic UK brand, but times are changing in skateboarding.... you can find some of the rider's own words on the situation online if you're up for the search. Still excited as ever to see new things from Paul Shier, Danny Brady, Nick Jensen and the other blokes wherever they end up settling down.

  Danny's whole part was sick... and then he just grew into his style for the second song.... solid and smooth like black pudding and mushy peas. Right then...