To summarize one of the greatest stories ever told

The world’s greatest rapper (at the time) announces a follow up to his already classic “Road to the Riches” LP to be produced by Eric B of Eric B & Rakim fame. After an entire years worth of release date postponements “Wanted Dead or Alive” finally gets its commercial release featuring a musically advanced Eric B. Up and coming producer and protege of Paul C, Large Professor, spills the beans in “The Source” on being the real person supplying the beats for G Rap’s second album and not getting any credit/money for it. The kool genius of rap later moves family from New York to sunny Arizona, and the rumors start flying. The most circulated of rumors detailed Eric B being pissed off about the accuracy of the production credits being publicized, muscling G Rap and fam out of house and home. The real reason behind G Rap’s relocation remains a mystery today.

“I know there was a lot of rumors going around and all that shit, people talking that witness protection program shit, which it never was. Source magazine did an interview with me [at the time] out in Arizona, so it’s like how could I be in the witness protection program doing shit like that? As a matter of fact, me and Eric still talk to this day.”

Read the rest of G Rap’s interview here.

Here Dr. Butcher touches on the drama surrounding “Wanted Dead Or Alive”.

“I remember a thing in The Source where Large Professor was complaining about his credits and getting ripped off by Eric B. I imagine that caused a bit of bad blood.

I think that’s what he’s talking about – he didn’t get a lot of the credit that he wanted for that. ..On Wanted Dead or Alive, Eric B. was gonna executive produce, so Eric was like ‘I wanna sign you as my producer’. Eric was like ‘I’mma pay you!’ Large was just excited to be working with Rakim and Kool G Rap at the time, and we was goin’ to the studio every day…Large wasn’t getting no money. Eric would stop in every so often and just check-in on the session, but nobody was thinking about it…There was an interview and they asked Large about it, and it got out there in The Source.”

Read the rest of Unkut’s Dr. Butcher interview here.

And here we see Eric B avoiding the issue and inflating his ego at the same time;

“When you worked on the second G Rap album [Wanted Dead Or Alive] there were some issues with Large Professor over production credits. What are your thoughts on that situation now?

You know what? When I was doin’ all this stuff it was pretty new – new to me, new to everybody else – and when people sit there and say, ‘Oh, you put together a legendary project’ – it really hasn’t sunk in. ..I say, ‘Hey, there was some stuff that I did, it had to be done’. Actually, I say I took one for the team.”

Read the rest of Unkut’s Eric B interview here.

From Wikipedia;

“Kool G Rap is described by Kool Moe Dee as ‘the progenitor and prototype for Biggie, Jay-Z, Treach, Nore, Fat Joe, Big Pun’. MTV describes Kool G Rap as a ‘hip-hop godfather’. Rolling Stone says, ‘G Rap excelled at the street narrative, a style that would come to define later Queens MCs like Nas (who was hugely influenced by G Rap on his early records) and Mobb Deep’. Allmusic calls him ‘one of the greatest rappers ever’, ‘a master’, and ‘a legend’. A number of rappers, such as Ice Cube, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, and Nas have put him in their lists of favorite rappers.

Other artists who have named Kool G Rap as a major influence include Eminem, Jay-Z, Tajai of Souls of Mischief, Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks, Steele of Smif-n-Wessun, Rock of Heltah Skeltah, MC Serch, Termanology, Black Thought of The Roots, M.O.P., Scarface, R.A. The Rugged Man, Bun B of UGK, Rah Digga, RZA and Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan, Lady Of Rage, O.C. of DITC, Memphis Bleek, Kurupt, Pharoahe Monch and Twista, among others.”

“Some people did gangster rap, but some people did more what I like to refer to as reality rap. Ice Cube and them they did gangster shit, said gangster shit in some of they rhymes, but if you look at them as a total, as a artist Ice Cube was real positive in the shit he was saying. He was like an activist. If you listen to Amerikkka’s Most Wanted, he’s like a pro black activist pretty much. And Scarface did a lot of street shit, but when he was with the Ghetto Boys they would also do shit like Under Siege talking about how Reagan was in cahoots with Noreaga and all that shit, so these dudes was dropping science, it wasn’t just “suck my dick bitch”, “I’ll blow your fucking head off”, They had that element because that was the environment that they came from, but at the same time dudes was kicking real shit too. Some mental awareness shit. You’ve got to look at an artist as a whole.”

Read the rest here.

Originally released as the B-Side for “Erase Racism”.

Buy it here.

Kool G Rap & DJ Polo “Wanted Dead Or Alive” Large Professor Remix @ 320

note – the cuddie Syze out in Hawaii brought this to my attention

“The proof is in the pudding, Eric Bʻs Stellar, solo effort…http://www.discogs.com/image/R-785312-1185570075.jpeg”

hahaha

extra note – Big shout out to Matt Franklin and Syze (again) out in Hawaii for also bringing this to my attention – someone actually took the time to rip and upload Eric B’s entire solo album as separate tracks on youtube!

hahahaha

Kool G Rap & DJ Polo "Wanted Dead Or Alive" Large Professor Remix

June 29, 2010 by ssloppyssecondss

To summarize one of the greatest stories ever told

Read the rest of G Rap’s interview here.

Here Dr. Butcher touches on the drama surrounding “Wanted Dead Or Alive”.

“I remember a thing in The Source where Large Professor was complaining about his credits and getting ripped off by Eric B. I imagine that caused a bit of bad blood.

Read the rest of Unkut’s Dr. Butcher interview here.

And here we see Eric B avoiding the issue and inflating his ego at the same time;

“When you worked on the second G Rap album [Wanted Dead Or Alive] there were some issues with Large Professor over production credits. What are your thoughts on that situation now?

Read the rest of Unkut’s Eric B interview here.

From Wikipedia;

Read the rest here.

Originally released as the B-Side for “Erase Racism”.

Buy it here.

Kool G Rap & DJ Polo “Wanted Dead Or Alive” Large Professor Remix @ 320

note – the cuddie Syze out in Hawaii brought this to my attention

“The proof is in the pudding, Eric Bʻs Stellar, solo effort…http://www.discogs.com/image/R-785312-1185570075.jpeg”

hahaha

hahahaha

Nickodemus (Turntables On The Hudson) @ JembeMusic 3rd Bday + Oz Tour Promo Mix &; Departure Lounge Mix

January 13, 2010 by SOUL OF SYDNEY

JembeMusic

Friday January 15

@ Melt (12 Kellet St Kings Cross)

Nickodemus (Turntables On The Hudson & Wonderwheel NYC)

Karsten John (Vinyl Vibes Ger)

Huwston (Knowfool)

James Locksmith

Grant Naylor on percussion

Info:

Facebook Event

JembeMusic @ Facebook

JembeMusic Website

Mixes:

Nickodemus On Departure Lounge Radio (Sat 9th Jan 2010)
Nickodemus Australian Tour Promo

JembeMusic

After 3 years of specialist music services, unique events, album launches, soundsystems, and now also a resourceful blog. The independent JembeMusic is turning a big 3 years old. Celebrating in style, we have two special globe trotters coming to the party. From Brooklyn NYC, legendary DJ Nickodemus returns to the heat of the Australian summer for his “Sun People” tour (how appropriate).

Come along, dance and enjoy a unique intimate show, bringing his funk, soul, hip hop, house, disco, and global beats signature, together with the eclectic dancefloor jazz selector, direct from Germany’s Vinyl Vibes party and label, Karsten John. Also spinning, are music addicts and pushers, James Locksmith and Huwston and we have one of Australia’s most sought after percussionists, Grant Naylor hitting the skins (no pun intended). This is a birthday party that everyone is invited to and certainly one not to be missed!

Limited capacity, $15 on the door, no presales!

Doors open 10pm, close 5am, no lockout

12 Kellet St Kings Cross http://www.meltbar.com.au

info@jembemusic.net

http://www.jembemusic.net/

http://www.nickodemus.com/

Nickodemus Mixes

#1 Nickodemus Australian Promo Mix

“Gimme the Sunshine” by Sunshipp
“Nao Posso Demorar (Dubben Remix) JuJu Orchestra by Solaris
“Son Montuno” Una Mas Trio
“Brookarest” by Nickodemus feat Taraf de Haidouks (The Pimps of Joytime Remix)
“Gosalo” by The Pimps of Joytime
“Disco Trippin” by Amplified Orchestra
“N’Dini” by NIckodemus (Tal M Klein Remix)
“Jennaty” by The Spy from Cairo feat Ghalia Benali
“Tropical Treats Cumbia Re-edit”
“Conmigo” by Nickodemus feat Sammy Ayala
“Soy Del Valle” by Quantic y Su Combo Barbaro feat by Shantel
“Sun Children” by Nickodemus feat The Real Live Show (Pablo Sanchez Remix)
“Ala Shan” by The Spy from Cairo

#2 Nickodemus On Departure Lounge Radio, Flight #9010

Radio 2SER (107.3) Saturday, 9th January, 2010

Flight Over the Hudson with Nickodemus

Download Here

Check out Departure Lounge on Radio 2ser 107.3 or streamed @ 2ser.com Saturdays 3-5pm with El Chino for weekly Nu-Jazz, Funk, & Soul

Facebook fan page Here & previous show podcasts/tracklisting Here

Sun Children by Nickodemus feat The Real Live Show

Nickodemus – Funky In The Middle

Picnic Social Warehouse party feat: LOVEFINGERS (NYC) Sat, 9th Jan + Lovefingers Australian Promo Mix tape & Interview

January 3, 2010 by SOUL OF SYDNEY

Picnic Social Warehouse party feat LOVEFINGERS (nyc)

Saturday, 09 January 2010

St Peters Sydney

Info/links: Check out Facebook event or Resident Advisor for ticket details & more information

Mixtape: LoveFingers Australian Promo (Download)

LOVEFINGERS (NYC)

psychedelic. warehouse. disco. party. could four words be any sweeter? after the Sydney festival first night blow-out, picnic’s here to save you with some serious fun times in our inner city warehouse, just 10 minutes away from martin place.

special guest LOVEFINGERS (blackdisco/ny) – hipster hero and crate digger, party rocker and all round awesome bro – has flown over especially and is doing a 3hr set for us. he’s the lock of the week for picnic – solid jams on blackdisco, just signed to modular and is a favourite of dj harvey and rub n tug and garth and metro area and loads of others.

he also runs that little website: lovefingers.org. it’s a bit special.

getting down to business are our local jocks, THE LOIN BROTHERS, alongside everyone’s favourite PERFECT SNATCH, STEELE BONUS and picnic head honchos/all round party animals KALI and VIVI, and your host MC GAFF E.

tickets are $15 presale and no more than $20 on the door.

full picnic turbosound system installed on the night!

—

Andrew Hogge aka Lovefingers needs little introduction amongst the global disco elite, his world famous lovefingers.org has had a undeniable impact, on the burgeoning eclectic dance scene of today and has enabled him to bring his eccentric taste and unique DJ style on tours throughout the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

A Los Angeles native, Andrew and collaborator Nitedog have been hosting the standalone monthly event Blackdisco Social Club since 2001 which have included guests like LCD Soundsystem, Prins Thomas, Rub’n’Tug and many more before heading off to New York where he resides today. Lovefingers and Nitedog, also founded the top notch disco re-edit label Blackdisco well know for its discerning tastes, Black Disco releases have found there way into the bags of top jocks like Harvey, James Murphy and their debut 12″ was recognized as #2 in Phonica’s Top 10 Disco of 2008 as well as Tim Sweeney’s Best of 2008 Beats in Space.

Lovefingers’ left-field sensibilities have also led him into the art world including performances at PS1 MoMA’s Summer Warm-Up, Doug Aitken’s Sleepwalkers exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, sculptor Eduardo Sarabia’s Salon Aleman installation at the 2008 Whitney Biennial, avant-garde designer Henrik Vibskov and fashion icon Diane Pernet. Keep an eye and ear out for new projects dropping this year, The Stallions a production duo with long time cohort and DJ partner Lee Douglas and singer Findlay Brown and the kick off of Loverfingers own original imprint ESP Inst.

Links & More Info:

Event at Facebook & Resident Advisor
Picnic Social on Facebook & Web
Lovefingers (NYC) Australian Tour Download
Love Fingers Interview (blackmail.com.au)

Love Fingers Interview

blackmail.com.au

Chances are you already know about the Lovefingers website, quite possibly the best site at the moment for downloading rare unearthed music from the past 30-40 years. What you probably don’t know is that the man behind the site, Andrew Hogge, is one of the most friendly and laid back guys going around. A native Californian who currently resides in Brooklyn, he’ll probably tell you himself that he’s lazy. However he still manages to hold down a full time job and at the same time run two record labels, update his website with daily ‘fingertracks’ and mixes, work on his own music as one half of production duo The Stallions, party with the energy of an 18 year old, and tour the world djing. Recently he even became a father. Steele Bonus caught up with Lovefingers a month outside of his second trip down under.

Steele Bonus: Tell us about your origins in music. How did you come about collecting records and djing?

Andrew Lovefingers: I grew up in a musical home, mum was a music teacher and we played and sang together from as far back as I can remember. I started playing drums when I was seven or eight. It was pretty cool, after I first set up the kit my mum jumped on and dropped some beats, I couldn’t believe it! As for records, the first was a huge box of my dad’s 45s, mostly Beatles and Beach Boys. My first purchased records were probably Run DMC and Zeppelin. I got into metal, punk and hardcore later and started compulsively collecting 7″s which led to everything else.

SB: Did you ever play in bands? Do you miss jamming with a band?

AL: Yeah a handful of punk bands in high school, and later some stoner rock bands, no need to name any of them… but I guess the last band I played in was Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti. Yeah I haven’t had a drum kit for a while, I need one badly!

SB: So you’ve been working on a bunch of tracks lately with Lee Douglas. You guys also travel and dj together a fair bit. How did this partnership come about?

AL: We actually grew up in the same area and hung around the same punk kids, and have always had a lot of mutual friends. Funny now we also live a block from each other. I dunno, we just started hanging out a lot and listening to records all the time. So it was just inevitable that we started laying down tracks. I was asked by Findlay Brown to remix a song for his new album, so it was our first real project after a lot of talk. Then Findlay was really happy with the remix and his label asked us to produce some original material for him in the studio, and it ended up being a super great collaboration. Now we’re remixing a handful more artists and working on an album together. And since it seemed like we had to make up a name we are calling ourselves The Stallions.

SB: You made the move from LA to NYC a couple of years back. Did the music scene in NYC influence this decision? Do you think the music/club scene in NYC is all it’s cracked up to be? Are there any djs, bands or producers in NYC that you think the rest of the world needs to know about?

AL: I’ve always loved NYC but moving there had nothing to do with music. It was more work related really. But I’m a million times happier with the music scene in NYC than LA. I grew up in LA and it was just time for a change. Not to talk bad on LA, it’s a great place, and full of great people (despite the reputation). The music scene in NYC has always been amazing, but it’s by no means some disco-laden wonderland. There is a small pool of djs and record freaks and we all go to each other’s parties. It’s actually a super tough place to play in right now, money is low and people are jaded, but we still have fun. Underground parties are always where it’s at. I can’t really think of anything new in New York that people need to know about, TBD is the jam and also my buddy Speculator has a new label called Willy T… his release for Hunee is dope.
SB: Djing has taken you to play gigs at plenty of different locations around the globe. Any of them stand out as being the most memorable? Any crazy stories you feel like sharing?

AL: I love Turkey. I went to this little beach town in southern Turkey this summer and it was just amazing. Girls dancing in the knee high water under a full moon til the sun rose. Yeah of course when you are out all night weird things and people are involved but no real standouts. It’s all a blur. Just really awesome to meet such cool people and real music freaks all over the place! Stallions just played a fantastic gig last night in Stockholm and we’re on to Berlin tomorrow. Later in the week we’re over to Serbia to play in Belgrade, that’s really got me excited!

SB: Lets talk about your site. I have heard that you are going to stop once you reach 1000 tracks. It’s currently up there in the nine hundreds right? There mustn’t be long to go. What will happen when you hit 1000?

AL: Yeah maybe 30 something more to go. Not sure what will happen at 1000 but I’ve been trying to figure out a way to make it a radio station. Not sure. It’s really a long mix, and a lot of tracks are totally specific to the time they were posted, but if you listen to the catalogue in its entirety it’s the best, so I might just make it stream. I wish there was a way to package the 1000 song mix but it would end up being a ridiculously large box set.

SB: I think lots of people are going to miss the updates. Especially after recently similar ‘track of the day’ type sites Bumrocks and Dream Chimney have shut down. Do you think it is a bit of an end of an era?

AL: Let’s just say that these specific sites you mentioned are the cream. I feel like Bumrocks, Dream Chimney and my site have accomplished something pretty cool, but honestly they’re kinda the only ones I pay attention to. The point is to promote great music and artists and get their music out there, but not to replace the actual records. That’s why the files are not high bit rate, its just to sample and then you need to go out to the record store, or at least the online record store. There is too much at your fingertips these days and it’s really overwhelming. So easy to get lost in the computer and its much better to get in, get out and get on with your day.

SB: Any plans to follow on with a different project? Or are you just looking forward to a break?

AL: Yes my new project is my new son Jaspar! I can’t think of anything more rewarding than listening and playing music with him. He’s got his favourites already, and he’s only a month old!

SB: There’s been a lot of hype, mostly taking place on the internet, about a resurgence in ‘cosmic disco’ music. Have you noticed much of a change in the popularity for this kind of music over the last few years in regards to the interest in your djing and your site?

AL: Meh, buzz words I guess. I mean the sub-genre thing is quite boring to me. It’s like when people put mixed styles of music together it’s all of a sudden “cosmic”. That’s not at all what I think of as cosmic. It’s a vibe not a genre. Unless I guess you’re referring to Baldelli’s classic jams from that era, which I really love, but mixing it all up is the way I like it and I’d never consider anything I do cosmic.

SB: So you are coming down under for the new year and some of January right? It’s been a long time coming and almost didn’t happen. Are you excited? Where are you playing?

AL: Yeah man I’m super stoked! Playing at The Toff on New Years Eve and at the Picnic party in Sydney the next week… a handful of other parties as well, I’ll post ‘em all on my site soon. Will be super cool to hang out with all you guys again, and especially to get a second shot at summer!

SB: What sort of stuff can audiences here expect to hear you play?

AL: Disco, house, sleazy rock jams, maybe some chanting monks and snake charming music? I got a bunch of new things too.

SB: So tell us about this new label you are starting up, the ESP Institute. What sort of stuff are you going to be putting out? Did you start it with a certain kind of music or certain acts in mind to release? How will it be different from your other label Blackdisco?

AL: Blackdisco is just about servicing djs and the dancefloor, it’s all edits and rework of songs for that specific use. ESP Institute is new music. Totally open minded beautiful sounds. Lots of great things from friends in Japan as well. My wife and I have also started a children’s clothing label under the ESP Institute called ESPno.1… Other things will follow and hopefully a boutique one day.

SB: Run us through some of the releases you’ve got coming up on the two labels.

AL: For Blackdisco, I will do another edit 12″ at some point but things that are for sure are a 12″ from Thriftcotheque (Eddie Ruscha of Laughing Light Of Plenty) and a 12″ from Justin Vandervolgen (TBD, Try and Find Me). The debut release from ESP Institute is Journey To The Centre Of The Sun by Sombrero Galaxy (which is two good buddies Tako and Jonny Nash) with a remix on the b-side by The Stallions. It’s out end of January. After that is a release by Chee Shimizu of Discosession. A super deep promo mix CD will be out first and probably free with the first shipped 12″s. The rest will be sold and the profits will all go to benefit music programs for children. The artwork for ESP is also going to be great, Mario Hugo is doing the whole package and he’s an amazing NYC artist.

SB: On your Blackdisco label you recently put out an edit by a guy from Brisbane – Julien Love. Julien is a very talented guy, but is still relatively unknown around these parts. How did it come about that you ended up putting out his music?

AL: A friend of mine played me his edit of The Jacksons and I just had to contact him to let it come out on Blackdisco. He’s sent me heaps of super fantastic edits and hopefully we’ll do another 12″ soon. He’s a great dude and everyone should fly him over for parties. Also check his music videos on Youtube, total dopeness.

SB: Thanks man, one more question, now that you have the responsibility of being a dad do you think you’ll slow down on going out partying till the wee hours of the morning?

AL: Everything is OK in moderation.

Lovefingers plays at Melbourne’s the Toff In Town on December 31 amongst other shows.