Monday, February 23, 2009

T.R.O.Y.

T.R.O.Y.

XXL: Nas Illmatic, 15 Years Later

Posted: 23 Feb 2009 03:30 PM PST

When was the last time you bought a hip-hop magazine? Basically, I never buy new hip-hop magazines but I had to make an exception for the new XXL April 2009 Issue. In the beginning of this month when the magazine cover was revealed, I noticed that there was going to be an article commemorating the 15th Anniversary of Nas's Classic 1994 LP "Illmatic". With subtitles of DJ Premier, Large Pro, Pete Rock, & Q-Tip, I knew that it was going to be worth the reading.

Yesterday, after copping the issue, I immediately skipped to the "Illmatic" article. I was stunned by seeing these old hi-res '94 pictures of Nas; there's a picture of Premier, Large Pro, Faith, Nas, Q-Tip, & L.E.S in the studio. I would like to thanks Timmotep Aku, Carl Chery, Clover Hope, Rob Markman, Starrene Rhett, Anslem Samuel for taking a trip down to memory lane and compiling a classic article on a perfect album. Below are all the representers who each took their time to talk on the making-of of their incredible work on the track which they appeared on. This isn't something that you've seen before, you will learn a lot of new trivia... Below that is the scan of the article.

Representers Download 9-Pages Scan (Hi-Res)

Make sure to support this issue by buying it at your local bookstore. This is the type of issue that will truly become a collectible. There are other noteworthy articles included in the issue that are worth reading after "Illmatic."

-- Thomas V

Editor's Note: Don't forget to grab today's other exclusive: Rakim "The Cellar EP".

Rakim "The Cellar" EP

Posted: 23 Feb 2009 12:30 AM PST


Peace to our readers from every corner of the world. I'm going to keep this short and simple. Tweet this: T.R.O.Y. has Rakim The Cellar EP for you to download. 'Nuff respeck to DJ Mike Nice for the generous hook up.

The facts as they are reported at Soundtable (who collaborated with LA-based Tres Records and NY-based No Sleep Records on this):
Rakim: The Cellar EP
The Cellar EP is a collection of three unheard Rakim sessions and instrumentals; previously unreleased and limited only to this 300 pressed vinyl.

"Man With A Gun".
Recorded by Rakim in 2002, this song was done strictly for an underground buzz 12" that was never released.

"Once Upon A Rhyme" (Original Version).
Recorded by Rakim in 1995, this song/version was a last minute deletion from the "18th Letter" LP.

BONUS TRACK "Show Me Love" (Rugged Version).
Recorded by Rakim in 1996, this version had to be remixed for the "18th Letter" LP, due to sample clearance issues.

All songs are produced by Nick Wiz.
All scratches are provided by D.J. Slyce.
My take: this shit is really dope. It's Rakim. "Once Upon A Rhyme" shares some lyrics with "Various Shades Of Black." It's a damned shame Rakim didn't release an album in 1995.



Note: The instrumentals are not included. Cry me a river.

-- Thun

Don't forget to grab today's other exclusive: Illmatic 15 Years Later (pdf scan from XXL magazine)

Blog Building - T.R.O.Y. Movement

Posted: 22 Feb 2009 04:00 PM PST




There's a bunch of new things going on at the T.R.O.Y. Blog. Those of you following our updates via RSS aggregators, email, and Blogger might want to point your browsers to our home page and see for yourselves. We've significantly revamped our sidebar for starters. Don't casually assume that these changes are merely cosmetic, however. We want the blog to be as inclusive and participatory as possible. Take some time to familiarize yourself with what we have to offer.

At the top of the sidebar is a simple mission statement I recently penned: "We flip the hip hop of yesteryear with a brand new twist. Join the T.R.O.Y. movement." There it is. We're into bridging gaps. One project that we're especially proud of is our Sounds Like The 90s series, in which we compile contemporary songs that hearken back to the music we grew up on. 

But that's not all. We're currently working with an emcee/producer from the younger generation on a project called "Classically Trained." He is recording music inspired by the old school, going so far as to flipping the same sample and choruses differently. We're of the past but looking towards the future.

Under the mission statement, you'll notice an icon with our email address; click on it when you want to send us a suggestion, inquiry, or a request. Or maybe even a piece you've written or an idea for collaboration. Under that icon is a link to visit us at the T.R.O.Y. Forum - sign up and become part of one of the most frequented and lauded online communities devoted to throwback hip hop. The volume of knowledge and music exchanged at the forum everyday has to be experienced to be believed.

Under the forum link, you'll see a link to subscribe to our RSS Feed in virtually any feed reader/aggregator (or by email update if you so prefer). Not up on RSS? Read more here - those of you having trouble keeping up with their favorite blogs should definitely consider this time-saving option. I strongly recommend Google Reader. Below the RSS link and counter, you'll see links to our pages at our three favorite social networking sites - Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. We love using these sites to make new connections and communicate with our readers. We also export our post links to these services, and in the future we'll be developing content geared specifically for them, so follow us, friend us, and add us. Below those links is a widget that shows the users following us via Blogger. So if you're a Blogger blogger, start networking with the other bloggers who have taken an interest in this site.

In the bottom sidebar, you'll notice that we're featuring our official projects. This week we have a link for Valentine Funk Drops, Verge's collection of joints to get your funk on to. Check that space for updates. Below it we've installed our first poll asking if you'd like us to cover any one of four topics more extensively: 80s hip hop, Non-U.S. hip hop, graffiti, or Turntablism. Be sure to vote; we'll have a new poll up each week. 

Beneath the poll we've installed a widget that displays our blog's top labels (or tags). We noticed that many readers wanted the site to be more navigable, and in response we are undergoing a massive cleanup and reorganization of our labels. We're now using a standardized set of labels, so it'll be that much easier to find what you're looking for. The widget isn't all inclusive yet, as we have to clean up a lot of redundancies, but for now it's displaying every label that's been tagged eight or more times. Play around with it and find posts you missed out on. There's also a convenient blog-specific search bar provided by Blogger in the upper left corner of the blog.

Below the labels we have the Blog Archive, which we've adjusted to archive weekly, so it's easier to navigate and far less obtrusive. Feel free to explore. Last but not least we have our "All Eye Seeing" widget, which is really just a display of our Google Reader shared items feed. In other words, posts from around the rap blogosphere that we feel are worth a glance. Please check this often, and if you're a blogger that wants to be featured there, please contact us and let us know that your blog exists!

Well that's all for now. I hope that the new developments seem promising. We've got a great week ahead, but don't forget to read the recap of last week in case you missed something. Leave a comment and let us know what we're doing right, what we're doing wrong, and what we're not doing yet. -- Thun

at 4:02 PM