: ( Legendary MC Guru in a coma

UPDATE: There have been some false rumours going around about Guru passing, but this is not true, he is in surgery still.


Absolutely tragic news, Keith Elam, better known as Guru had a heart attack and is in a coma, please read the following from Hip Hop DX, and if anyone has any more info, please contact me. Guru is one of my favourite MC's of all time and he is in my thoughts and I really hope he pulls through, according to DJ Premier, Keith is due for surgery tomorrow.

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.10731/title.gang-starrs-guru-goes-into-cardiac-arrest-in-a-coma

Guru-Lifesaver (DJ Premier Remix)

http://sharebee.com/2f2f4d9e

Joe Scudda - Not Your Average Joe

Click Here To Download

Stussy x J Dilla Documentary Part 2

Stussy x J Dilla Documentary Part 1

Stussy x J Dilla Documentary Part 3

Can you ID these tracks?

Over at the infamous Philaflava, T.R.O.Y. forum, there is a section called "Track ID's

http://www.philaflava.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=106067&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

and we use spot this to ID obscure, rare and forgotten tracks from Hip Hop's golden age etc.

We have a very good team of really knowledgeable heads in there, but some tracks are sometimes difficult and we need your help please.

If you know who the artists are for any of the following, please leave a comment







Peace

Craze - Keep Watch Mishka Mix

Click Here To Download

Inspectah Deck – The Manifesto

01.Tombstone Intro
02.The Champion
03.Born Survivor Feat Cormega
04.This Is It
05.Luv Letter Feat Ms Whitney
06.P.S.A
07.T.R.U.E Feat Meshel
08.We Get Down
09.The Big Game Feat Raekwon & AC
10.Tombstone Interlude
11.9th Chamber
12.Really Real Feat Carlton Fisk & Fes Taylor
13.Serious Rappin’ Feat Termanology & Planet Asia
14.Do What U Gotta
15.Crazy
16.Gotta Bang Feat Kurupt & Billy Danze
17.The Bad Apple
18.Brothaz Respect Feat Cappadonna & Fes Taylor
19.5 Star G
20.The Neverending Story Feat Pleasant

Click Here To Download

Big Tone - Chocolate

Falside of Poorly Drawn People presents "Dollars Make Change" The Mixtape

Falside has got beats kid...download this and leave a comment with your thoughts...

Falside's latest free mixtape, "Dollars Make Change" is now available. The Providence beatsmith has compiled an extensive display of his different varieties of production for the mixtape, including his recent collaborations with such wordsmiths as Reef the Lost Cauze, C-Rayz Walz, El Da Sensei, Pacewon, Reks, Poorly Drawn People, Vast Aire, Slaine (La Coka Nostra / Special Teamz), Intuition, C-Chan (Slow Suicide Stimulus) and more.This is 19 tracks worth of dope that can be appreciated by leaders of the new school and boom bap veterans alike. (This mixtape is presented by Poorly Drawn Recordings (Providence RI) and Leedz Edutainment (Boston MA). Enjoy.



"Dollars Make Change"

http://usershare.net/2DopeBoyz/ju7ygioo7zgx

1. Dollars Make Change Introduction
2. Catching the Strange ft. C-Rayz Walz
3. King of the Jungle Remix ft. Blaq Poet, Jaysaun (Special Teamz), Termanology
4. Too Many Mc's ft. El Da Sensei, Pacewon, Exposition
5. No Gentleman ft. Alex Minor
6. Al Bundy Remix ft. Intuition
7. Tape on Drugs Remix ft. Reason (Poorly Drawn People)
8. Hit That Shit Remix ft. thekeenone (Audio Hustlaz), B-Real (Cypress Hill), Reg Riddem, Ill Bill (La Coka Nostra)
9. Shallow and Hollow ft. Reef the Lost Cauze, Blak Madeen
10. Juice Barz Freestyle ft. Amadeus the Stampede
11. Hall of Game ft. C-Rayz Walz
12. Umbrella's and Mac 10's ft Dirty Hank
13. The Crush (Original) ft. Vast Aire (Cannibal Ox)
14. Designer Kids ft. Reason, Storm Davis (Poorly Drawn People)
15. Headlines ft. Reks
16. Say Your Prayers ft. Good Brother, Amadeus the Stampede
17. Educated Suicide ft. Rite Hook, C-Chan (Slow Suicide Stimulus)
18. What Rap Don't Say ft. Stu Cat
19. Too Much ft. Slaine (La Coka Nostra/Special Teamz), Amadeus the Stampede

http://www.falside.com

Diamond District, Blu, Fashawn, Exile & Trek Life - Freestyle in Paris

Exile!!!!!

DJ Babu - The Beat Tape Vol.2

01. Intro
02. I Don't C U
03. K Dub
04. 2024
05. Earthfire
06. No Secret
07. Sunshine Days
08. Mr. Lone Lee
09. Hold The Mark
10. Sillu
11. Ya-Cht Hop
12. Forever
13. Here I Am
14. Nelson’s Cesar Salad
15. Takeova
16. Ready
17. Reneg
18. Canned E
19. Do Not Dispute
20. G Yeah
21. Strive To Be A Godfather
22. Ghost Romper Room
23. Lil Juanito
24. Shack Of Soul
25. Dracoola
26. Who Can’t Hear
27. Blackfoot
28. Kallen Durr
29. Mortay
30. Manferd
31. What R U Doing
32. Funkydromedary
33. I Heart U For All
34. Finally
35. Elec Trick Sim Phone
36. Innernathional Thylee
37. Phlip The Trac
38. Preach B Dub
39. I’m Gonna Stay

Click Here To Download

D-Styles and Shlohmo - Low End Theory podcast Episode 12

Click Here To Download

DJ Babu Celebrates Dilla Day

J Babu’s new project 'The Beat Tape 2' out on February 27th.

AraabMUZIK On The MPC Pt. 2

Exile Builds A Beat (Live @ Left Fest, San Francisco, CA. - 1/28/2010)

Freeway and Jake One - The Stimulus Package

01 Stimulus Intro Ft. Beanie Sigel
02 Throw Your Hands Up
03 One Foot In
04 She Makes Me Feel Alright
05 Never Gonna Change
06 One Thing Ft. Raekwon
07 No What I Mean
08 The Product
09 Microphone Killa Ft. Young Chris
10 Follow My Moves Ft. Birdman
11 Sho' Nuff Ft. Bun B
12 Freekin' The Beat Ft. Latoiya
13 Money Ft. Omilio Sparks / Mr. Porter
14 Free People
15 Stimulus Outro

Click Here To Download

ThaiMex, Hue of Intuition, Infinite Shades of Gray

A proud native of San Diego, CA, ThaiMex has been in the Hip Hop game for more than a few years and produced for some notable dope acts, including ICONS, Scribe Sayar, and Riccasshay, ThaiMex is a writer, performer but is probably best known as a producer and for being part of the collectives Hue of Intuition and Infinite Shades of Gray and as a former member of the seminal Chicano spoken word poetry collective The Taco Shop Poets.

 Way back in 1994, ThaiMex first started getting busy recording and producing beats for fellow classmates, out of this work Hue of Intuition formed in 1995 and in 1996 his Thoughts project, a tape that he made dubs of out his bedroom and gave copies out for free, this tape of beats was handed around and MC's used his beats to freestyle over, because of this ThaiMex added 3 songs to make it an even hour long, put a cover together, and had it duplicated
for “official release.”

Hue of Intuition eventually grew to a collective of 10 members known as Infinite Shades of Gray, ThaiMex was an MC in the group and the group's sole producer, he was involved with the group for seven years and then decided to focus on his professional and personal life and left music for a while.

As ThaiMex was finishing up college, music came calling again by way of the English Department at San Diego State University and he was recruited as a writer and performer by the internationally recognized spoken word poetry collective known as Taco Shop Poets late in 2002.

His membership with this group consisted of extensive travel and performances as
well as occasional stints as an instructor of poetry and performance workshops and artistic
residencies.

The 10 year strong Taco Shop Poets decided to call it a day in 2004 though due to personal commitments of the members

For a time, ThaiMex decidedly remained low-key. He focused on other areas of artistic output such as a small role in an independent film called “3 Ways to Sunday.” He was also a very active participant in two multimedia sculptures called “Soy Beaner” and “PhoZole” created by cutting edge artists Jamex and Einar De La Torre.

Inspired by a letter he had written to his new born daughter in 2007, ThaiMex realized that he still had things left to say and after putting his pen to the pad he began working on an album titled Brand New Starts (2009) which was produced, arranged and performed by ThaiMex.

Available for purchase here: http://www.accesshiphop.com/store/?itemid=18856

Thanks to ThaiMex here is the full history of Infinite Shades of Gray

Infinite Shades of Gray Members:

ThaiMex – Rhymes/Production
Tan Phact – Rhymes
Mxyzptlk – Rhymes
Splerge One aka Wordup – Rhymes
The Mage – Rhymes/Guitar/Bass
Justifeye – Rhymes
Didactic – Rhymes
Kazoo – Poetry
Syko – DJ/Turntablist

The origins of Infinite Shades of Gray start at Helix High School in San Diego, CA. ThaiMex, Tan Phact, and Mxyzptlk all knew of each other and participated in rhyme circles on occasion during lunch breaks, however, the three never connected since ThaiMex was two years older and graduated before anything could happen.


It just so happens that ThaiMex’s younger brother, Didactic, knew Tan Phact from their childhood days of little league baseball and, as he heard more and more of Tan Phact’s rhyming, he suggested Tan Phact and ThaiMex should meet since ThaiMex had recently purchased some equipment and was now making beats.


Although they spoke a few times, ThaiMex and Tan Phact did not start discussing music in a serious way until both Tan Phact and Mxyzptlk graduated from high school and, coincidentally, along with ThaiMex, all three found themselves attending Grossmont Community College in 1996.


Initially, Tan Phact and Mxyzptlk were a group called “Mind Over Matter” and were only interested in ThaiMex providing them with production. This was not a problem since ThaiMex’s main interest was making beats. In addition, ThaiMex was in a separate group with Splerge One called “The Low Down.” However, Splerge One ended up having to leave town due to some family issues and Tan Phact and Mxyzptlk ended up asking ThaiMex to rhyme with them to speed up the song creation process. ThaiMex agreed, however, asked to change the name to “Hue of Intuition” after discussing a lecture he and Tan Phact had attended for a Humanities class they had together. Plus, ThaiMex didn’t like the potential idea of people referring to them as M.O.M.


From about 1997-1998, Hue of Intuition began the process of recoding songs, making underground tapes, and performing up and down the California coast. During this time; ThaiMex’s brother was constantly writing rhymes; Splerge One came back into the picture; and Jusifeye, Kazoo, and The Mage ended up coming around more and more due to their love for writing and music. This group of artists was in constant association and discussions that took place at a coffee shop that Hue of Intuition used to hang out at every night called “The Living Room.” They were able to hang out every night due to the fact the coffee shop was open until 2am every day. As a way of including everyone, ThaiMex named the collective “Infinite Shades of Gray.” The name came from everyone’s extremely diverse backgrounds and views on life.


As is apparent in various forms of organization, there is indeed strength in numbers, but numbers are also difficult to manage. The group began growing apart due to a number of reasons including the direction of the group, people moving away, varying levels of substance abuse from different members, and egos. First, it seemed that the split was right down the middle with two camps emerging. One had Mxyzptlk, Kazoo, The Mage and Splerge One; the other had ThaiMex, Tan Phact, Didactic, Justifeye and Syko. However, shortly after this happened, Splerge One moved to Georgia; The Mage moved to Los Angeles, CA; Mxyzptlk moved to Arizona; and Syko moved to Fresno, CA. So, with no one else around, Kazoo ended up associating with the remaining members again.


In 2000, after a short time with this version of the crew, ThaiMex decided he couldn’t see himself being 40 years old, jumping on stage trying to convince the crowd of how dope he was. He decided to step away from music and focus 100% on completing his college degree. He had hoped the crew would continue to work on projects in his absence, but it didn’t happen in any way, shape, or form.


Strangely, music still found ThaiMex in the University setting. ThaiMex majored in English and Literature and found himself surrounded by many writers and poets. After some time, he soon began associating with and was eventually recruited as a writer and performer with the globally recognized “Taco Shop Poets” who were founded in 1994. With Taco Shop Poets, ThaiMex toured extensively across the United States and some of Mexico. This lasted from about 2002 until the Taco Shop Poets disbanded in 2004.


At this point, ThaiMex simply thought it was time to be a “normal” grown up man and thought he was done with music. He participated in two multimedia sculptures with the cutting edge artistic team of Einar and Jamex De La Torre and played a significant role in an independent film called, “3 Ways to Sunday.” There were occasional acapella/spoken word performances that were well received but he didn’t seem to enjoy it anymore.


Then, once his daughter was born in 2007, ThaiMex began writing while she took naps. One day, he compiled them and began reading them and realized he felt inspired again. Thus, work on “Brand New Starts” began and brings us to the current day.

Pics of the crew (thanks to ThaiMex)

Hue Of Intuition

Infinite Shades of Gray

Lowdown

Thanks to a post that started with a request for Infinite Shades of Gray's "Seasons Change" on Philaflava's infamous T.R.O.Y. forum, I was contacted by 619archive and he sent me this message"

i have a roommate who's older brother's friend was in both "hue of intuition" and "infinite shades of gray." my roommate gave me a bunch of their stuff on CD and i liked it so i was searching for more, which is how i came across your post on philaflava.

We e-mailed back and forth, talked about getting hold of ThaiMex (and we did) and eventually he uploaded these albums, which ThaiMex is cool with me sharing here on CRDS, so a massive thank you to ThaiMex and 619archive and I Smell Like Un Kasa...this post is for you, I hope you enjoy this music as much as I have.

Hue Of Intuition-No Lucciano, Just A Drum and Piano (2001)

http://thaimex.bandcamp.com/album/no-lucciano-just-a-drum-and-a-piano

Infinite Shades of Gray-Blind Issues (2000)

http://thaimex.bandcamp.com/album/blind-issues-an-anti-violence-racism-project

Infinite Shades of Gray-Intuition Is The Key (1999)

http://thaimex.bandcamp.com/album/intuition-is-the-key

Hue Of Intuition-Californians

http://thaimex.bandcamp.com/album/californians-b-w-whos-this-12-single

http://thaimex.bandcamp.com

http://www.discogs.com/artist/ThaiMex

http://www.myspace.com/thaimexproductions

If any fans out there have any material that is missing please contact me

Statik Selektah - 100 Proof (The Hangover)

01. Inside A Change (Intro)
02. So Close, So Far feat. Bun B, Wale & Colin Munroe
03. Critically Acclaimed feat. Lil Fame, Saigon & Sean Price
04. Night People feat. Freeway, Red Cafe & Masspike Miles
05. Follow We feat. Smif-N-Wessun
06. Do It 2 Death feat. Lil Fame, Havoc & Kool G Rap
07. Come Around feat. Termanology & Royce Da 5'9
08. Drunken Nights feat. Reks, Joe Scudda & J.F.K.
09. Life Is Short feat. Consequence
10. 100 Proof (Interlude) feat. J.F.K.
11. The Thrill Is Gone feat. Styles P & Talib Kweli
12. Get Out feat. Skyzoo, Rapper Big Pooh, Torae & Lee Wilson
13. Laughin feat. Souls Of Mischief
14. The Coast feat. Evidence, Fashawn & Kali
15. Fake Love (Yes Men) feat. Reks, Kali, Termanology & Good Brotha
16. Eighty-Two feat. Termanology
17. Walking Away feat. Kali & Novel

Click Here To Download

Sean Price – Figure Four