Hip hop Archives - Neil Martin - Beats, Business and Life

London Posse’s Money Mad, the 1988 Justice 12-inch with Rodney P and Bionic, the Bad Meaning Good documentary, and a record that still sounds like London.

Money Mad by London Posse: The Record That Let British Rap Sound British

London Posse’s 1988 12-inch, the BBC Two documentary where I first saw them, and what a record made in their own voices says about doing it your way.

The Notorious B.I.G.’s Juicy, the Mtume sample behind it, and the demo tape and DJ that started it all. The record for dreaming big and starting small.

Juicy by The Notorious B.I.G.: The Record for Dreaming Big and Starting Small

Beats, Track by Track

The Biggie record that starts with a kid reading a magazine, the demo tape and the DJ behind it, and why it’s the one to play when your dream feels a long way off.

I Can by Nas

Beats, Track by Track

I Can by Nas is my track for quiet resolve: nothing comes easy, it takes practice, and if you want to be the noun you have to do the verb.

Moment of Truth by Gang Starr

Beats, Track by Track

Moment of Truth by Gang Starr is my track for patient generosity: actions have reactions, and we never really know what’s going on for other people.

Abstract constellation of nine stars around a gold centre on midnight blue

The people who shaped me before I’d ever met them

Life

In 2016 I made a list of people who’d changed my life without ever meeting me. Who was on it, what each one gave me, and a question that might help you find your own list.

Lovely Day (DJ Eleven Remix Do-Over): Bill Withers Meets Biz Markie

Beats, Track by Track

Bill Withers over Marley Marl’s beat for Biz Markie. You won’t find this DJ Eleven do-over on Spotify, so here are the two records behind it, and why I use it to close a set.

Sleeve of Street Sounds Electro 6 on a dark blue background

Roxanne Shanté, a borrowed tape and the first rap beef I ever heard

Beats

In 1985 a ten-year-old me heard a tape at a birthday party and fell for a 14-year-old MC from Queensbridge. The story of Electro 6, Roxanne’s Revenge, and what answering back can do.