January 31, 2002
I know, I know... "Hey Soulman, what's up with the update?"... "Is your site still active???"... "I was gonna order some CDs but it doesn't look like you're site's been updated in awhile, so I wanted to make sure they're still available"... "I had heard that u wuz dead so I had just wanted 2 see if you could tell me what the sample for Nas' 'Ether' wuz... holla!" Yes, I know I haven't been updating this site regularly like I've said I was going to. I actually had a new article done over a month ago, but I never got around to converting it to HTML, and after a few weeks I decided that the shit wasn't up to par so I trashed it. Believe me, I'd like to update this shit every week if I could. What it comes down to is just a lack of time... please believe I'm trying, people, like De La Soul.
The main reason my time is so limited these days is the recent birth of my second child, Khalil Malik Stroman (a.k.a. Soul Jr.). At birth weighing in at a solid 8 lbs. 4 oz., and after 2 weeks already tipping the scales at over 9 lbs.! Needless to say, Young Soul Jr. loves to keep his dear old dad up all night running to the fridge for cold ones. As much as I love beats, breaks and this website, my kids (the "Soul Children") come first- I'm sure you can dig that.
The other main reason that I'm crazy busy is that I've just begun recording tracks for a number of upcoming projects as I look to finally make that jump from being an under-underground beat cd maker and "beat" writer to being recognized as a record producer and artist. I think it's time. Hell, it's past time! But everything feels good right now, so we'll see what happens with that.
Lastly, I am still doing my CDs for the time being- until I can start getting a little bit of loot from doing records I will continue with the Soulman CDs, so for those who've faithfully supported my joints in the past, fear not... there's more to come.
In fact, I have a whole new batch of CDs to push, so please be sure to check that CD page before you click the hell away from this site. The new CDs are SOULMAN "PLAYS THE HITS", "COOLIN'" (laid back rock, soul, ez listening joints) and "DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO" (soul / dance classics). More info on the new CDs later in this article.
Will there be future articles to come for The World Of Beats? To be honest, I hope there will be, but I can't say for sure at this point. My writing, for this website and for magazines like Big Daddy & Wax Poetics, is going to have to take a backseat for awhile as I concentrate on family and music. I'll try to at least update the CDs page when I have new ones for sale, but as far as conducting interviews and all that... I don't know. Luckily these days you have a lot of decent sites on the web that deal with beats, records, diggin' etc., so even if I'm not doing my thing as much you can still check out all these other online spots and get your daily diggin' fix. Hopefully, though, I'll be able to concentrate on writing again real soon and hit y'all with more good reading material. Keep those fingers crossed...
Anyway, this time out in the "Who's Who" section we're gonna visit with my man the amazing Mo Majid, notorious record collector and the man behind those notorious "Wall Of Fame" CDs that have been astounding beatfiends, novice and veteran, for a minute now. But before we get to Mo, I know you've been dying to know what kind of shit I've been feelin' lately. Not a problem. Here goes...
MASTA ACE "Disposable Arts" lp- An excellent hip hop record that'll probably continue to be overlooked... I don't know why, since there ain't much else out there worth your attention at this moment.
CRAIG DAVID FEATURING MOS DEF & PRIMO "SEVEN DAYS REMIX"- The best R&B tune of the year, but does it get heavy rotation? Not in my neck of the woods it doesn't. I really hate the fact that we're now living in the era where dope records get tossed aside and waaaack shit gets played all day every day. The end of the world is coming, I tell you...
EBAY- I love Ebay! Dis it if you want to, I don't care. Ebay is where the fuckin' records are at, dude! Yeah, the prices get high on the rare ones. What the fuck, you expect to get "Baby Don't Cry" for $5??? Get the fuck outta here. At least you can find scarce stuff like that on there all the time... you sure as hell won't find them at your local Goodwill! If you're a baller, just outbid everybody and cop that record. If you're not a baller don't cry, just get good records that are in your price range. There are TONS of cheap finds on Ebay every single day. I can't tell you how many unknown gems I've found in 2001 for less than $20, stuff that everybody just straight slept on. Just as there's a science to diggin' out in the field, there's a science to diggin' online. As always, do your homework and the secrets will begin to unfold.
FREE ON BET'S "106 & PARK"- Damn, have you seen the booty on ma? She gets the J-Lo Extremely Cupable Rounded Ass Award for 2002, fa sho'. Forget the videos, BET needs to give that girl's big ol' butt it's own show! Whoever's producing 106 & Park, can you please get Free to wear really tight pants and turn her backside to the cameras more often? Thank you.
SOUNDBWOY SUPER STATUS REGGAE BREAKS AND BEATS "Volume 3: The Hard Way" compilation lp- How the mysterious men behind these comps keep coming up with the ill reggae joints is beyond me. Totally ridiculous break on Winston Wright’s "Untitled Jam", but the killer is Solid Foundation's "Solid Funk (Rhythm)"- solid funk is right.
PABLO "Story Of Sampling" ep- Very interesting hip hop record out of the UK, the main feature being the way the song "Story Of Sampling" was made- all the vocals are sampled from rap records and stitched together seamlessly so that every line rhymes and makes perfect sense. This is a concept I wanted to try myself for years, but never got around to taking on the endeavor. Listen to this song, then ask yourself... how freakin' long did it take for Pablo to go through all these records to find the right samples to fit together so perfectly? Daaamn. Plus the beats on this ep are very dope... all in all, a nice piece of art by an artist you need to check for in the future.
THE SITH ELEPTIKAL GEMS PART TWO cassette- You may remember The Robotonus Twins, AME & DVL, from the "Who's Who" I did on them awhile back. Since then they've dropped their second "Sith.." joint, and it's the dopest thing I've heard lately. Frankly, they are dropping fireball after fireball on this tape.... so many crazy beats, breaks and grooves from every genre that my brain went numb before I could even finish listening to the entire joint. Europe kicks cratediggin' ass once again!
AEIOU cassette- Philadelph-I-A represents again with this joint by my man Tony Larson. Now being pumped hard at spots like The Sound Library, this tape features not only a heavy dose of drugs (sick records... come on, you know the Soulman slanguage by now, don'tcha?), but also a classic monologue by infamous record dealer Stinky Steve! Hearing the deep philosophies of the smelly one plus hot beats is an invincible combo. Stinky gets 5 mics, no question... we're waiting on that Stinky Steve solo debut now, Tony!
THROWBACK JERSEYS- Man, I've been rockin' the authentic jerseys and caps from Mitchell & Ness (Philly represents yet again!) since the 80's, but damn... paying $250 to $350 for a shirt is a mutha! Especially when there are all these ultra expensive records out there that I still haven't copped yet. But I gotta do it, man. The main reason I'm looking at making some extra cash by putting out some records is so I can get my throwback jersey collection locked down! The Dr. J ABA joints (Nets and Squires- gotta have 'em both), Gale Sayers, Jim Brown, Wilt Chamberlain... those jerseys are musts. Right now I'm big pimpin' the Randall Cunningham Eagles joint, Ronnie Lott Raiders black jersey, Monte Ervin Newark Eagles Negro League joint and a few others. But I saw a sweet Bob McAdoo Buffalo Braves jersey yesterday that's just calling for me.... man, if wifey finds out how much these shits cost I might get a frying pan thrown at me for filling my closet with 'em!
MICHAEL JORDAN- Though he'd tarnish his legacy, huh? No, he's ADDED to it. He's not what he was, but even an old MJ (and he most definitely is old now) is still one of the best players in the world. He's willed the worst team in the league to be respectable, and that's just as big an accomplishment as any of his championships were.
1. Third Guitar "Baby Don't Cry" 45- given to me by record dealer Bob Gibson at one of those New York record shows. I think he regretted giving it to me, 'cuz people wanted to buy it afterwards even though it had a nice chunk taken out of it!
2. Power Of Zeus lp- found for a buck at a flea market, got it home and saw it had a hairline fracture. Whattaya know, it still plays without a skip or even a pop!
3. Brothers Johnson "Ain't We Funkin' Now" 12"- broken in half in the mail, luckily it was insured so I got my dough back.
4. Cerrone "Live In Concert" lp- smashed in the mail due to faulty packing. Didn't get my dough back.
5. Chet Ivey "Get Down With The Geater" 45- yet another one fractured in the mail (along with Chet's "Bad On Bad" 45). People, please pack those records well when you send them!
6. Dennis Coff "It's Your Thing" 45- got it at a record show for five bucks. Wow, that's a bargain, right? I get it home and notice the nearly invisible hairline break. Grrrr...
HELLO! MY NAME IS:
Mo Majid
REPPIN':
Bristol, UK
CLAIMS TO FAME:
Not much! I've removed a few cataracts but that's about all.
(Yet another modest beatdigger... man, when will you guys learn that a closed mouth don't get fed? My boy Mo is well known for his CDs "Wall Of Fame Volumes 1 & 2" featuring all the rarest and most ridiculously expensive breaks on the planet, his Beats 29 website and his insanely obscure Ebay auctions with breaks found in the caves of Istanbul! Mo is the man, please believe it.)
THE MO MAJID STORY, FROM THE INTRO:
(I started collecting records around) '85 or so. My man Stephen Pang had ALL the Live Convention, Africa
Islam, KISS FM tapes with Red Alert & Chuck Chillout and company. They used to cut up breaks on those and that got me wondering as to where they were from, especially after I'd hear them in hiphop tunes.
Then I went along to the St Paul's Festival in Bristol and saw the Wild Bunch playing a few of the same breaks. I went up to check 'em out and Nellie Hooper dropped a cover over the label!. Everything was secret in those days! I was with Stephen at the time and I think he felt sorry for me, so he dropped me three names to find, just the tracks, no artists!. "Catch A Groove" (the one that was playing), "Apache" and "Take Me To The Mardi Gras". I found "Take Me To The Mardi Gras" first, but not the correct version... that's another story! And no, it wasn't the Biz version either!!
INSPIRATION FOR THE "WALL OF FAME" CD'S
All the Soulman tapes of course! "World of Beats, Baby!" (Aww, Mo... now you're making me get all misty eyed and shit! Thanks for the props.-- sm)
LET US KNOW, MO- ANY STYLE THAT YOU USE ON YOUR CD'S THAT YOU FEEL PUTS THEM APART FROM THE PACK?
I just put down what I knew I'd like to hear. They were initially made for me to listen to in my car, 'COs the Big Bird kept jumping! I guessed that if I liked them, most beatheads would too. They're mainly about the tunes. Stuff that people have heard about, but may not have actually heard (hence "Wall of FAME") AND stuff that very few will have heard before.
The trick now is to put in stuff that people haven't heard before, which is difficult with all the re-issues and comps. With volume 3, I've kinda separated them into different genres. There's a lot of new stuff in there and a lot of heavy duty stuff too.
FAVORITE TYPES OF JOINTS TO SAMPLE OR DO OTHER FREAKY THINGS WITH:
I don't know, man! All kinds of shit. Anything with a nice tune, a cool groove, a nasty drum break! I don't think you can really be too selective here. Nice pieces come from all over!
WE ASK MO: HOW IMPORTANT WILL SAMPLING BE IN THE CREATION OF HIP HOP FOR THE FUTURE? WILL KEYBOARD BEATS MAKE SAMPLING EXTINCT ANYTIME SOON?
Beats and Breaks have always been pivotal in hip hop and in my honest opinion always should be! I'm always listening for the breaks used in a track. What and how it's flipped is usually the first thing I listen for. If that element is missing, it's just not as interesting to me.
Thinking about it, breaks and sampling have gone from strength to strength. Even pop stars and commercials are sampling breaks now! I don't see it buried in the history books just yet.
THE MOST ILLEST DRUMBREAK OF ALL TIME IS:
There are many but if I have to choose one, it has to be "Sangandongo" (by) Niagara. If I'm asleep, my head will still nod to that beat!.
A STRANGE DIGGING STORY:
The sickest I've felt whilst diggin' was when I found this old guy who owned a small record store. Real tiny shop. He was quite reclusive, but I got talking to him as he'd had some eye problems in the past. I gave him a little advice about it and he decided to invite me down to his basement. I couldn't believe what I saw! Like maybe 200 thousand records from his personal collection. Rows and rows of shelves all in this basement
below a tiny shop front.
He let me look through and I pulled out shit like Meter's lp's, Skull Snaps, Rufus Harley, Dorothy Ashby, like maybe 100 lp's of crazy shit. What made me feel sick is that when I asked him how much, he told me they
weren't for sale!, just thought he'd let me check out his collection... he didn't even like Soul/funk!!.
I still have that guy's number, 12 years later and I still haven't managed to get a single lp from him. I'm sure others have discovered this place and it's not a nice thing to say, but when that dude passes, I'm buying that place out... it's still there and he won't sell shit!!!
MAKE YOUR CHOICE, MO: A NIGHT WITH J-LO'S ASS OR FINDING AN ILL-ASS BEAT?
Ooooh, ummmm. DAMN! I'll check for beats another day.....
BEST DOLLAR BIN MIRACLE FINDS
Between £0.25 and £10- Younger Generation 12, "Vibes from the Tribe", "Honky Tonk Popcorn", "Marchin' On", Marie Queenie Lyons lp, Honeydrippers (multiples) , Melvin Bliss (Multiples) "Pussyfooter" 12", three sealed copies in the same shop about three years ago. I found a few nice beats in India for a few rupees, like 10 cents worth. There are a lot more, but most (I found) a long time ago.
ARE THE DOLLAR BINS STILL A REALISTIC SOURCE FOR FINDING STUFF TODAY?
Hell yeah! Even though I work 80 odd hours a week, I still go diggin'. It's the main way to get stuff that's new and fairly unknown. When I get out to a conference, you know my Soundburger is going with me!
HIP HOP PRODUCERS WHO ARE KILLIN' EM OUT THERE
I've always liked the Beatnuts, but The Creators, Mark B and my man Mr. Serve are pretty cool.
FAVORITE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT
My Sound Burger!
BEST AREA FOR FINDING BEATS
Doesn't matter where you go, it's been tapped. I've hit a few old dealers that still have nice stuff stashed away..... but to score these days, you need perseverance or luck!
MO'S TAKE ON EBAY:
Ebay has been good and bad for everybody. When I first started Ebaying, like 4 years ago, I used to pick up all kinds of crazy shit for cheap. Now there are too many beatheads, so all the prices are sky high. It's still a
good place to pick up records you can never find. It's also good to get put up on new stuff and to put people up on stuff too. It's kind of like a worldwide diggin' community. We all put in and we all take out and most people are happy with that.
As for the Ebay price debate, fuck it! No doubt it's driven prices up, but if you want that shit pay for it, if you don't wanna pay, don't play! Know your limits! And don't forget the number of times you've scored
multiple copies of stuff that others aren't up on!
THE ULTIMATE RECORD ON THE WALL OF FAME
Tough one, there are a few. Maybe the Wayne Mcghie, although it's not the rarest.
MOST EVER SPENT ON A ROUND BLACK PLATTER WITH GROOVES CUT IN IT
Too much!
MO'S NUMERO UNO WANT OF THE MOMENT
Messenger's Inc lp. It was the Soul Expedition, but I found it recently.
MO'S FAVORITE JOINTS
My favourite beat? "Midnight Theme" or "Synthetic Sub". My favourite tune... Penny Goodwin "Too Soon You're Old".
IS MO HATIN' ON ANY GREASY DEALERS OUT THERE?
Nah, if you hate you don't get!
HOW MANY RECORDS YA GOT, AND CAN SOULMAN HAVE ANY OF THEM (I'M STILL WAITING FOR SOMEBODY TO GIVE UP SOME DAMN RECORDS!)
Lost count... 10,000? Yeah, I got put up on this Leo Sayer record on the soulstrut.com board. You can
have that, but I need a damn fine trade, my man! :-)
ANY SECRET TIPS ON DIGGIN' UP THOSE RARE GEMS?
Firstly, nothing is secret in 2001... BUT the bargains don't have internet access!!
TELL THE TRUTH, MO... YOU'RE RICH, AREN'T YOU?
In the US, doctors are well paid. In the UK, they're overworked and underpaid. So, in answer to your question, I'm not rich, but I do alright after I put the hours in!!
| TOP TEN TUNES TO CHECK OUT ANY WHICH WAY YOU CAN... LIKE BUYING THE "WALL OF FAME" CD'S! ;-) |
| 1. Soul Expedition "Night Life" |
| 2. Harlem Pop Trotters "Penwick" |
| 3. Boogaloo Combo "Hot Pants Road" |
| 4. Chris Harwood "Wooden Ships" |
| 5. Placebo "Balek" |
| 6. Har-You Percussion Group "Feed Me Good" |
| 7. Monty Alexander "Love and Happiness" Damn right! |
| 8. Vincent Germiani "Insidieusement ...." |
| 9. Richford and Torossi "Feeling Tense" |
| 10. Joao Donato "Boca Menino" |
Three new joints are now being served up straight outta the Drugstore, fresh for 2002. The expiration date is whenever I run out of CDs! Here's the rundown-
SOULMAN PLAYS THE HITS
This CD features nothing but originals that have been sampled in recent hip hop songs. The usual suspects' samples have been located and presented for your approval- shit used by Jay Z (most of the stuff on his "Blueprint" lp), The Beatnuts, Cormega, De La Soul, Hi-Tek, Ghostface Killah, Wutang Clan, Primo, Jadakiss, Kool G Rap, Master Ace, Pete Rock, M.O.P., Dilated Peoples and others. Sorry there aren't more underground backpack samples or downtempo samples or pop or whatever, but I don't listen to most of that kinda shit so I don't know shit about it! WARNING: if you're expecting this CD to be a funky boogaloo breakdown shingaling funk party type of thing, you might not want to buy it. Oh, there's some funky stuff but also a good amount of slow soul songs and other types of good music they may not necessarily make you want to get up and do the James Brown or even nod your head to it. No, you may actually be compelled to just listen to it and say "Wow, that's some nice music, man!" Or just "Aha, so THAT'S where they got that from!" The people who know what's up will.... well, know what's up. I'll never say never, but I'm 99 and 9/10ths sure that this'll be the last CD I do that focuses on records that have been sampled by others. From here on it'll be about moving forward and trying some other shit. That's the plan anyway.... 1/10th of uncertainty can be mighty powerful. Just ask Michael Jordan.
COOLIN'
One of the two new ones from the "Best Of Archaeologists Classics" series. Since a lot of dudes have told me that they like the mellow stuff more so than all that funky funk that everybody's still buggin' over, I did a CD of laid back joints for those who like to chill. Folkish rock, soul and easy listening get played on this one. I repeat, this music is laid back like a mug, so don't expect some ish that's gonna make you jump up and start jitterbuggin'. If you want to hear some cool out music, though, this CD has some of my personal favorites. Song lists are included, but keep it on the downlow.
DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO
The other new "Best Of Archaeologists Classics" joint, this one features straight up classics of the soulful dance scene. Not straight up disco, just mid 70's uptempo soul... I guess maybe they were calling stuff like this "rare groove" a few years ago. I dunno, I'm not really big on all the titles people like to give stuff. Some of the joints on this CD have been seen on various comps in the past, but since most cars don't have turntables in them it's cool to have this stuff on CD to listen to while you're on the move (plus I'm sure some of these cuts haven't made it to the world of comps yet... so much stuff is getting put on comps these days that I really can't even keep up with them all). Anyway, we're talking about 15 official bangers, all of them personal favorites that I never get tired of rockin'. Once again, song lists are included.
Before I go, just want to tell you to check out www.breakz4dayz.com for an interview I did a minute ago (and also a new interview with my boy Egon from Stonesthrow that’s actually a better read than mine is!). A few other interviews and exclusive mixes should be showing up on various websites in the near future... since I don’t know how soon my next update on this site will be, be sure to sign up for my mailing list for any news on what’s happening in the World Of Beats (check the “News” page for info on how to join up).
Until next time (whenever that may be), be safe.