ARTIST: K-Swift

TITLE: Chicken Scratch b/w Bang Bang!

FORMAT: 12"

YEAR: 1992

LABEL: Profile Records

Vinyl Addicts keeps blessing you with the dopeness!

To be honest this record was on my ‘ignore list’ for quite some time. For some reason I was always under the assumption that it would be wack or something. Maybe I was expecting a bunch of chickens bustin’ rhymes or some shit like that. After discovering some dope but fairly unknown Profile releases from artists like A.O.K., The Prophet L-Cee, E. & J. and Atmospheric, I thought “that K-Swift 12” might be dope as well” so I gave it a try. And I’m glad I did because it’s dope with a capital D.

ARTIST: Poison Ladd S.L.R.

TITLE: A Thing Called Jazz b/w Who's The Man?

FORMAT: 12"

YEAR: 2010

LABEL: Solid Ground Records

If you’re talking about random rap pieces from the early 90s I’m positive that the “Another 1-4-U-2-N-V” EP from Poison Ladd S.L.R. & Beats In General makes the top 5 of most wanted records from that era easily. Throughout the years more and more heads discovered this milestone in the history of Philly hip-hop and nowadays this record fetches up to $250 on (auction) sites like eBay and Discogs. Personally I will never pay that much money for a record, so I was quite happy to get a cassette copy off eBay about a year and a half ago for $30 (shipping included). Like many vinyl heads out there (who are likely to never find a copy of the original EP and don’t have the funds to buy one online) I was excited when Poison Ladd S.L.R. and Beats In General announced the re-release of the “Another 1-4-U-2-N-V” EP late last year. While I can imagine that the price was still a bit too high for some heads out there this re-release (which is cleverly titled “Still Another 1-4-U-2-N-V”) still offered more than enough value for your money. Not only did they put all tracks from the original EP on this release, they also included tracks from the other two Poison Ladd releases (1987’s “Rock The 8 (808)” 12” and 1994’s “I Put You To Rest” cassette) plus an exclusive freestyle not to be found on any other release. And the fun didn’t stop there, because for this release they also had the artwork redone and while this is probably not as appealing as the original artwork, it is still dope.

ARTIST: Madd Phlayva

TITLE: Niteliphe b/w Hookas

FORMAT: 12"

YEAR: 1993

LABEL: Rollin' Records

More dopeness from the vaults of Vinyl Addicts!

What we have for you today is the debut single from Madd Phlayva, b/k/a Da Phlayva. Now I wouldn’t be surprised if neither of these names sound familiar to some of y’all out there, but believe me when I tell you that back in the early 90s this crew was destined to blow up big time. As a matter of fact they were the first hip-hop group from their hometown (Charleston, South Carolina) to sign with a major label, but for some reason (according to one of their producers – Robert Dyches - the group was marketed badly) the group never quite lived up to their potential and they failed to blow up.In my opinion female MC’s don’t get enough credit for their involvement in hip-hop and that’s why today I’d like to do a feature on Lichelle Laws, a female MC you probably know as Boss.

ARTIST: Hoodratz

TITLE: Bootlegga b/w Ms. Crabtree

FORMAT: 12"

YEAR: 1993

LABEL: Epic

BACDAFUCUP!!!!!

Remember those days when a group of bald headed roughnecks from Queens named Onyx took the world of hip-hop by storm with their trademark grimey sound and hits like “Slam”, “Throw Ya Gunz” and “Shifftee”? Well, if you know Onyx it’s very likely that you know the Hoodratz as well. It’s even possible that you heard a Hoodratz song and mistakingly took it for an Onyx joint. If there would ever be a competition for hip-hop groups who completely ‘bit’ another group’s sound and image the chances are slim that the Hoodratz won’t be the winner. They had the same grimey sound, the way they rhymed was completely identical to the way the brothers from Onyx rhymed, and yes, they even had the same shiney bald heads. And there are some more similarities. Both groups were from Queens; if the information I found is correct they were even from the same neighborhood: Southside, Jamaica. And if that isn’t enough, both groups were signed to labels that fell under the roof of Sony Music Entertainment. Now I remember that at first (because of all the similarities) some people thought that the Hoodratz were protégees of Onyx, but that was clearly not the case. What makes it all extra strange is that on the printed innersleeve of the group’s “Sneeke Muthafukaz” LP they surprisingly give a shout out to Onyx in the ‘thank you’ notes (why would you thank the group whose style and image you carbon-copied?) and I even noticed that they used a sample from “Throw Ya Gunz” on one of their songs (“Had A Bad Day (2/16/93)”). It’s all very strange to say the least! It’s as if they were challenging or stone cold dissing Onyx or something. Or maybe I’ve got it all wrong and this album was some sort of tribute to Onyx? Who knows? Well anyway, no matter what was goin’ on there, I’m sure you are wondering why we put up a Hoodratz review on this site? Well, because despite bein’ one of the most unoriginal groups in the history of hip-hop the Hoodratz still recorded some dope ass tracks!

ARTIST: Dredknotz

TITLE: Causin' A Menace / Concentrationb/w Tha Anthem / Respect

FORMAT: 12"

YEAR: 1994

LABEL: Elektra Entertainment

The record we’re featuring today is one I’m sure many of you will have in your crates. By no means this is a rare record, but it’s dope so I just had to write a little something about it.

I first heard about the Dredknotz when I read an article in UK’s Hip Hop Connection magazine back in ’94 and while the article was fairly short and didn’t reveal a lot of information it definitely sparked my interest. Back then there was no internet were stuff like this was easily accessible and most record stores over here only stocked the more common hip hop records, so it took me quite a few years to dig up a copy of the retail “Causin’ A Menace” 12”. Years later (when I had access to internet and visited newsgroups like rec.music.hip-hop and alt.rap; remember those days?) I found out that there was a promo version of the Dredknotz record with some bonus joints on it and so I had to get that one as well. And of course I did get it but it was a more difficult task than I first expected, because Elektra (the group’s record label) felt it was necessary to do another promo with the same tracks as the retail release. So I ended with three copies of the wrong promo before gettin’ the right one…

ARTIST: The Gifted One

TITLE: Brooklyn Kids

FORMAT: 12"

YEAR: 1994/95

LABEL: Mercury

Today on Vinyl Addicts we’re featuring a record which I assume is Jemini The Gifted One’s first record. It’s a somewhat of a strange record really. First there’s the omission of Jemini in the name. Now maybe this was done for a specific reason, I don’t know, but if you want peeps to recognize the name The Gifted One you shouldn’t change it later on in my opinion. Or if you want to be known as Jemini The Gifted One that’s what your records should read as well. Another thing I think is quite strange is that – apart from a Bronx phone number – the labels do not reveal any information. No label name, no production or recording credits, nothing. There’s a catalog number etched in the run-out grooves though and based on that number I’m positive that this is an official Mercury promo release that pre-dates the other Jemini releases.