DJ Kenny Parker dug up some tapes of old KRS-One sessions and shared them on the Frozen Files radio show on East Village Radio.

Legendary femcee, Boogie Down Productions crew members, and ex-wife to KRS-One, Ms. Melodie, has died. No cause of death has been revealed. Ms. Melodie, aka Ramona Parker, was best known for her verse on “Self Destruction”, as well as her 1989 Jive LP, Diva.

R.I.P. Ms. Melodie and condolences to her friends and family.

Above, Kris gives an in-depth interview with The Archivest. Meanwhile, KRS has reunited with Kenny Parker for The BDP Album, which on sale now on Itunes.
]]> http://www.hiphopsite.com/2012/01/11/krs-one-and-kenny-parker-release-the-bdp-album-on-itunes/feed/ 11 http://www.hiphopsite.com/2010/08/25/boner-inducing-deluxe-box-sets-from-pete-rock-mf-doom-bdp-coming/ http://www.hiphopsite.com/2010/08/25/boner-inducing-deluxe-box-sets-from-pete-rock-mf-doom-bdp-coming/#comments Thu, 26 Aug 2010 06:58:46 +0000 http://www.hiphopsite.com/?p=21338 [cont.]]]> DJ Pizzo just had a triple heart attack while perusing the internet for new Fall hip-hop releases, when suddenly he was blindsided by gorgeous deluxe box set editions of classic releases from Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, M.F. Doom, and Boogie Down Productions. Here they are:

Sony Music and Traffic Entertainment Group proudly present Mecca And The Soul Brother, the critically acclaimed 1992 debut album from the Mount Vernon duo, Pete Rock & CL Smooth. The album is considered as one of the greatest Hip Hop albums of all time. Boasting tracks such as the first single, “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)”, a dedication to their deceased friend; “Trouble T-Roy”, which went on to become not only their signature hit, but also one of Hip Hop’s all-time great songs. The album is propelled forward by Rock’s quick, soulful interludes; usually bits of old R&B tunes layered with his signature trumpet and sax loops. Smooth’s liquid freestyle delivery pieces together the perfect vocal match that, together, creates a sprawling, nearly 80-minute-long album on which not a single song or interlude is a throwaway or a superfluous piece. Named one of the essential recordings of the 90s by Rolling Stone, among numerous other accolades, Mecca and the Soul Brother stands up without ever really dating itself and is now available in a beautiful 2xCD box set edition.

The first disc features the original 16 album tracks, remastered from the original masters recordings. The second disc contains 15 bonus versions and exclusives. Both discs come housed in individual ‘paste on’ style sleeves with brightly-colored printed dust sleeves. A 20-page book features in-depth liner notes written by Brian Coleman with contributions from Dante Ross, Pete Rock and CL Smooth. All this plus a full sized poster to boot. This reissue of an early 90s classic is a must have for any music collector or fan of good music. Order @ UGHH.

MF DOOM is the man in the iron mask. The most mysterious figure in hip-hop has also become one of the most popular, supplying beats and rhymes for Gorillaz, De La Soul, Madlib, Danger Mouse, and Wu-Tang Clan, and drawing praise from heavyweights like Just Blaze, Nas, and Mos Def. Since 2002, DOOM has released numerous volumes of Special Herbs, one of the longest-running instrumental series in hip-hop history.

This limited edition 10-piece vinyl box set compiles the entire 10-volume Special Herbs series, much of which has never before been available on wax packaged in metallic silver jackets. In addition, the box features an exclusive DOOM poster, a download card for the entire series PLUS 10 additional DOOM beats, and a bonus 7″ with two more instrumentals from the metalfaced producer. Unlike 2006′s 3-CD Special Herbs mix, this collection contains all the beats in their full, original form, making it the definitive DOOM instrumental anthology. Order @ UGHH.

Traffic Entertainment Group and B-Boy Records are proud to present one of the most influential and original albums in music history: Criminal Minded by Boogie Down Productions. KRS-ONE’s combination of street slang and Webster’s dictionary knowledge backed by Scott La Rock’s hard hitting, minimal beats help set this album apart when it was originally released in 1986. A true classic, Criminal Minded was included in Vibe Magazine’s 100 Essential Albums of the 20th century and finally this legendary album is available in a much anticipated, 3xCD box set edition.

The first disc features the original ten album tracks; all cuts remastered from the original masters. The second disc contains rare 12″ cuts and alternative versions as well as exclusive and previously unreleased radio spots and audio footage. Disc three offers all 10 album instrumentals plus 3 early 12″ instrumentals available for the first time on CD. All three discs come housed in individual ‘paste on’ style sleeves with a full color printed dust sleeves sporting the original B-Boy Records graffiti logo. A 44-page book boasts never before seen artwork and is packed with original illustrations by KRS-ONE himself, vintage BDP promotional flyers, unreleased photography, full lyric sheets, and in depth liner notes written by Brian Coleman with KRS-ONE. All this plus a full sized poster to boot. This reissue of this definitive rap album is a must have for any music collector or fan of contemporary American music in general. We invite you to experience Criminal Minded again for the first time. Order @ UGHH.

First of two special edition vinyl reissues (the other can be seen below), in an experiment that is likely to generate a whole bunch more similar types of products. This gorgeous picture disc of what many consider the greatest hip-hop album of all time (DJ Pizzo still prefers P.E.’s It Takes A Nation…) ships later this month. Order yours from UGHH or Amazon.com. We have.

We guess if you title your album Tashaan Dorsett, you really don’t run the risk of having another rapper copy your album title. But asking artists to be original in hip-hop these days seems like a lot, especially when today’s generation is quick to borrow album titles as if their forefathers never existed. We take a look at some of these moments over the years and decide whether they were homages, copies, or coincidences. Listed in no particular order.

1. T-Pain – “RevolveR” (2010) vs. The Beatles – “Revolver” (1966) – Pain’s yet to be released LP not so subtly borrows a title from what many call “the best album from the best band of all time”. Was Teddy Pin-Her-Ass-Down aware of the similarities? Given the single art’s western theme, we’re going to guess not. Not to mention, we seriously doubt T’s trying to put himself in the same space as the Fab Four. Although if he tries to pull some pencil drawn art for the actual album cover, then we’ll reconsider. Verdict: Coincidence

2. General Steele – “Amerikkka’s Nightmare Part 2″ (2010) vs Spice 1 – “Amerikkka’s Nightmare” (1994) – This one is kinda suspect – while Spice’s CD is a good sixteen years old, we’re going to guess that the Smif ‘N Wessun frontman is aware that it exists – maybe he just forgot about it. Verdict: Coincidence

3. Jay-z – “The Blueprint” (2001) vs. Boogie Down Productions  – “Ghetto Music: The Blueprint Of Hip-Hop” (1989) – We’re pretty confident that Shawn Carter – growing up in Marcy Projects, Brooklyn – listened to KRS’s original blueprint when he was coming up himself. How could he escape it? It was in the air. But he had plans to rewrite the whole thing – three times. Verdict: Bite

4. Prodigy of Mobb Deep – “Return of The Mac” (2007) vs. Mark Morrison – “Return of The Mack” (1996) – Given the spelling of the word “mac” – more like a gun, less like a pimp – and the fact of how much Prodigy raps about guns and ammo on this record, it’s pretty clear this was a tongue-in-cheek play on Morrison’s 1996 R&B release. Verdict: Homage

5. Cypress Hill – “Rise Up” (2010) vs. Yves La Rock – “Rise Up” (2009) - What are the chances that Cypress Hill were performing at some outdoor music fest alongside house music hippy Yves La Rock over the last year? Slim, considering they have been on hiatus for the last couple of years. Given the fact that Cypress takes the meaning to revolt against the man, and LaRock takes it to rejoice with your hands in the air while you dance to the music high on acid, there’s no foul play here. Verdict: Coincidence

6. Lil Tweety – “All Eyes On Me” (2004) vs. 2Pac – “All Eyez On Me” (1996) - There are eyes on him? Does somebody want to tell the “hi-powered solider” there that there’s already a rap album called “All Eyez On Me”? He must not know because we know he isn’t trying to put himself in the same space as ‘Pac. Verdict: Bite

7. Marco Polo – “The Stupendous Adventures Of….” (2010) vs. Slick Rick  – “The Great Adventures Of…” (1988) - Given Polo’s track record, it’s obvious that MC Ricky D’s debut was influential to the music he makes today. Probably why he tweaked the title a bit – Marco’s adventures are “stupendous”, Rick’s are “great”. There’s a difference there. Verdict: Homage

8. Jay-Z – “Kingdom Come” (2006) vs. King Tee – “Thy Kingdom Come” (1998) – This one is pretty suspect because of the fact that Dr. Dre produced on both albums, one of them not ever officially making it to store shelves. Did Dre call up Jay and say, “Hey Jay-Z. Why don’t you call it “Kingdom Come”? Because I ain’t never putting that King Tee album out anyway! Bahahahahahahaha.” Nah, nothing like that. This was Jay’s return to the game after “retiring”, and it was named after the DC Comics graphic novel in which Superman came back to earth to save his peers. Don’t get it twisted, jive turkeys. Verdict: Coincidence

9. Geto Boys – “The Resurrection” (1996) vs. Common – “Resurrection” (1994) – While things may have changed at this point, we’re going to go out on a limb and say that Willie D and Bushwick Bill weren’t bumping second Common’s album two years earlier. Verdict: Coincidence

10. “Suge Knight Represents The Chronic 2000″ (1999) vs. Dr. Dre – “2001″ (1999) – Talk about one of the biggest cock-blocking moves in hip-hop history. When Suge heard Dr. Dre would continue his legacy with “The Chronic 2000″, Suge took advantage of the fact that Dre takes forever to put albums out and released an album by the same name months before, in order to create consumer confusion. Dr. Dre found a way around this by taking it to the next level with 2001. Verdict: Bite

11. Magic Mike & The Royal Posse – “Represent” (1994) vs. Fat Joe – “Represent” (1993) – “Represent” was a buzz word in 93-94, overused and beaten to death by rappers, much like “swag” was last year. Everyone was beating this word into the ground at the time, except us out west. We signified. Verdict: Coincidence

12. Young Buck – “Straight Outta Ca$hville” (2004) vs. N.W.A. – “Straight Outta Compton” (1988) – Given the fact that Young Buck was signed to G-Unit Records, under Shady / Aftermath, it’s pretty obvious he was paying tribute to the good Doctor here. Verdict: Homage

13. Murs & 9th Wonder – “Fornever” (2010) vs. Hoobastank – “For(n)ever” (2009) – Clever title isn’t it? But did Murs snatch it from Hoobastank? We doubt Murs or 9th Wonder listen to Hoobastank. We doubt anyone listens to Hoobastank. Verdict: Coincidence

14. The Luniz – “Bootlegs & B-Sides” (1997) vs. Ice Cube – “Bootlegs & B-Sides” (1994) - No doubt about here, from L.A. to the Bay. Verdict: Bite

15. Reflection Eternal – “Revolutions Per Minute” (2010) vs. Rise Against – “Revolutions Per Minute” (2003) – Close call since Rise Against is a fairly well known punk outfit, but given Kweli’s sense of honesty and originality throughout the years, it’s highly unlikely they stole this album title. Although we definitely think System of A Down copied The Coup with “Steal This Album”. Verdict: Coincidence

16. Jay-Z – “The Black Album” (2003) vs. Prince – “The Black Album” (1994) - While we’re sure Jay-Z’s a Prince fan (isn’t everyone), we think the actual inspiration for his Black Album title was to be the antithesis of The Beatles White Album. Danger Mouse would agree. Either way… Verdict: Bite

17. Snoop Dogg – “Malice N Wonderland” (2010) vs. Nazareth – “Malice In Wonderland” (1992) – Snoop’s got a long track record of craptacular album titles, which leads us to believe this was all his idea. The “N” replacing the word “in”, in the title, clues us in that Priority Records’ legal department advised him that Nazareth had beat him to the punch on a title he thought he probably thought he came up with himself. Verdict: Coincidence

18. Puff Daddy “Forever” (1999) vs. Wu-Tang “Forever” (1997) – Oh come on. That’s all Puff did back then was copy. “P.E. 2000″? Puffy is good, but Wu-Tang is for the children. Verdict: Bite

19. Slaughterhouse – “Slaughterhouse” (2009) vs. Masta Ace Inc – “Slaughtahouse” (1993) – This many 30-something super-rappers in a group, one of them from Brooklyn, and nobody was pumpin’ The I.N.C. in the Jeep in ’93? Great LP, nonetheless. Verdict: Bite.

20. Young Jeezy & Don Cannon – “Trap Or Die 2: By Any Means Necessary” (2010) vs. Boogie Down Productions (1990) - “By All Means Necessary” – Yeah, we get the Malcom X theme on both records, even if we’re not sure how it applies to Jeezy selling crack in the trap. But surely Jeezy – or at least Don Cannon – knew Kris used this title years before. Verdict: Bite.

Disagree? Did we miss any? Sound off in the comments section below.