It's a shame how certain mc's get overlooked....Even with the help of the internet, it is hard sifting through the abyss of Hip Hop releases to find those true precious jewels.....One of the reasons " Black I " didn't recieve the acclaim he should have, is because many people in the states didn't have access to his music. { Toronto was his homebase } ..
In 1996 I was lucky enough to catch " No Laws " on a KCSB mix show....I couldn't believe what the fuck I was hearing....This was that official next level dope....That song was on heavy rotation in my walkman for the next few months, and I refused to give dubs of it to my crew who loved the track as well ( This was before the internet was really poppin HAHA )...
Somehow my tape got all fucked up, and when I tried to splice it back together the " Black I " joint was all out of wack...I tried to track down this record on vinyl, but the radio show never announced who made the song...But the phrase " no laws " kept poppin up , so I tried to hunt down the title.....
It's 13 years later and I am listening to a interview with " Maestro Fresh Wes " ( Real Frequency ) and he is talking about a fallen Hip Hop soldier named " Black I ".....In the interview he discussed how " Black " used to be a dancer back in the day, but was a dope m.c. as well...
I still didn't make the connection until I heard a best of Canadian Hip Hop mixtape, where Black had a song called " Where I'm From "....Yeah I thought to myself, " That's the same voice from " No Laws "....That's him, that's the guy....
And now the 13 year " HIP HOP BATTLEFIELD " mystery has been solved...I finally know the title of the artist and what compilation " No Laws " was released on ( Beat Factory : Rap Essentials ).....R.I.P. Black I....This is one of my favorite joints ( PERIOD )....Now I am on a quest to find every release you ever put out on vinyl.....And if you are not up on " Black I ", prepare for the shock of the hour....YOU BETTER CHECK IN.....TORONTO STAND THE FUCK UP...
GBK/NS/HR/SOA
5 comments:
Yeah...I had this joint on one my KCSB mixes as well -it's dope. Come to think of it, you probably got this track from me and then got all stingy with the dub --trifling!
YEAH MAN...BUT DO YOU STILL HAVE THE SAME TAPE?
AT LEAST WE BOTH KNOW WHO MADE THE SONG NOW
...KCSB FROM 88-96 WAS THE SHIT....
I can't front, if hadn't been for your research I would have never heard this track ( or many others for that matter) again -- thanks for putting in the work. I do still have a couple shoe boxes full of old KCSB tapes. I do miss the days when I could turn on the radio and get hyped up.........
THANX DIGGZ FOR CHECKING IN..IF ANYONE HAS ANY INTERESTING " BLACK I " STORIES, FEEL FREE TO DROP A COMMENT....
ALSO IF DDZ, T-STONE, ETC IS OUT THERE, GET AT ME
yo i wanna say respect first yo for giving it up for black i ,this is vince price aka Drk the man behind black i's music and friend for 19 years deep. again respect from me to yall keep on reppin the real.
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