NOLA Tapes: Threat Williams

Threat (of Black Menace) Drama Az Usual
(1997, Strugglin' Strivin') cassette rip -> 320 kbps

I post a lot of shit with a completist's desire to unturn every rock, but this one's just really fuckin good. Rich, funk productions by Precise, Ice Mike, Tre-8, Carlos Stephens and Tha Jaz - who the fuck is Tha Jaz? He does expert work on "4 My Dawgz" and look at the cover, the mentioned "drama" here is Threat on an ice cream scoop of diarrhea at the cities farthest, wildest edge trying not to drown in this pool of nuclear waste that's ruled by alligators and is dissolving these handcuffs, bodies, knives, bills, cars, suitcases and this really small janitor or car mechanic but this is all in the future and Threat sees it as he lowers his shades or he's dead and he's looking down at earth, remembering it all. And the complementary image - grieving in a Black'n'Mild cloud.

Tre-8's track ("Abrokeni-Astressing") is crazily dissonant and cool.

"Ohh-Ohh" bangs hard and I can't believe a sampled vocal imitation of Enigma's "Return 2 Innocence" chorus works as well as it does.

I want Ice Mike to, like Quincy Jones, score major motion pictures, like Death Wish.

NOLA Tapes: It Ain't the Same No Mo

Mobo Click & Da Grace DJs present
Marvelous & Peaches Wobble on Dat Stick
(1999, Mobo) cassette rip -> 320 kbps

Posting a lot of Mobo releases coming up (including the label's first release). This short EP is fairly pure bounce in the sense that it obeys more rules than it breaks. Strong Female vox except when they are weak and per usual, I like the weed anthem (the first one). Although I don't like the cover artwork, I do like the name of the designers - Blue Dog Graphics.

Interested in whatever paraphernalia accompanies Becoming A Mobo Soldier by way of a 3x5 postcard mailed to the Mobo Soldier PO box. Did anything ever come out by the P-Cola click? This blog is like an arcade magic 8-ball. I drop money in (in the form of mp3 archives) and ask questions.

NOLA Tapes: Da Rangaz

Da Rangaz All Night Flightaz
(1999, Last Chance Records) cassette rip -> 320 kbps

Production by Kenneth "DJ Chicken" Williams & Terrance "T-Bone" Johnson, shout-outs by Wild Wayne. Excellent a capella weedhead skit, stranger telephone comedy on "Buncha Bitches". Good, hype bounce on the title track and "Score It, Roll It". Very Brown beats throughout. Actually, "Get Wild With It" sounds like a Bounce adaptation of a Ying Yang riff, and "All Night Flightaz" is built around a similar two-note piano line to "Fuck the Ying Yang Twins". I'm not trying to say this connection means much, just that I saw it.

NOLA Tapes: The Wickie Wickie

South Coast Shorty The Hot Girl
(1997, South Coast) cassette rip -> 320 kbps

I realize T&G has been full of empty promises of late, but this time I'm shouting "We're Back!" and meaning it. The good news is that at the breaking point where most blogs like this die, this one just paused.

The first in a line of many: South Coast Shorty aka Trinice Ricks. As fond as I am of P&P style photoshop composites, I think I might prefer an alternate reality where colored pencil fantasy art like this drawing by Jay "Genisis" Alexander (who must've done the Southern Raw Females comp art) blew up in the same way. But to each his own - you can find this cover included on this list of Worst Rap Covers along with all my other favorite record covers. www.thug.com is a fucking masterpiece of a cover and in my dreams I'm blogging this on Thugscape Navigator.

I've heard that bird chirp siren sound from 'From the Back" in a Jubilee track before. What is that thing? Lots of sort-of 1980s hyper-melodic synth lines that it seems like only became popular a few years ago when mainstream rap turned so overtly pop.

Nows a good time for re-up requests, btw.

Highlights: "Represent", "Hott Girl", "Gots' No Time (Wickie Wickie)"

Just caught this on MTV jams. I think the sample is a live version of "My Juvie" by Magnolia Shorty. Surprised to hear such a raw New Orleans sample be the backbone.

Bounce By Bounces Best

Looks like yall heard about this and its a definite come-thru, but let me repeat it once again just incase you have disposable income, you can see on the fundraiser page they still need more, so...

A handful, well more than you can fit in your hand, of Bounce's brightest are headed to the most unlikely of industry showcases, SxSW, so long as you can lend a small bit of support. They are almost at the happen-point so please push them to the limit.

It will be a great opportunity for one of the country's most region-specific art forms to reach outside and give some lame, ambitious indie-rockers a run for their money. It will also be a great opportunity to watch Acid Mothers Temple watching DJ Jubilee.