Well, we made it. I never thought that this blog would take off like it has. I have all of you to thank. It’s because of you, who come back day after day, and mix after mix, that keep me going. For that, I have to say thanks. I got a request for a Hip Hop mix a while ago, so I figured I’d put together a 12″ of some artists (and producers) I really respect. Hip Hop is where it all started for me. I grew up watching Yo! MTV Raps and listening to New York and Philadelphia radio. DJs like Red Alert and Marley Marl had my head spinning. From there I tried to buy all the Hip Hop I could get my hands on. I went every week to the record store and with the money I saved from my part time job, I bought Hip Hop cassettes. I bought some records too from the local K-Mart ( I still have the original Eric B. and Rakim “Paid in Full” 12″ remix by Coldcut I got there), and that’s when the obsession took off. Too bad those tapes are long gone, another victim of one of my parent’s yard sales. I do, however, have all the Hip Hop 12″s that I started collecting when I started out DJing. There’s a lot of them, and some of them were used on this mix . Hip Hop got me to start questioning where these samples came from, and made me start seeking out these records I write about today. I owe a lot to Hip Hop, and I’m sure a lot of other DJs around my age feel the same. That being said, here’s some 12″ Hip Hop I picked out for my 100,000th Hit. I had a blast making this mix, and I hope you enjoy it as well. Keep Diggin’!

100,000 Hits and Runnin’ Tracklist:

45 King – Baseline/ Tuff City
Mos Def – Ms. Fat Booty (Prestige Remix) w/ Medina Green Beat/ Rawkus
Audio Two – Top Billin’/ First Priority Music
Jeru the Damaja – D.Original/ FFRR
De La Soul – Breakadawn/ Tommy Boy
Nas – Nas Is Like/ Columbia White Label Promo
The Roots – Dynamite/ MCA
Nice and Smooth – Funky For You/ Fresh
Gangstarr – DWYK/ Chrysalis
Jurassic 5 – Jayou/ PAIS
Public Enemy – Time Bomb/ Def Jam
Grand Puba – 360 Degrees/ Elektra
Cash Money and Marvelous – Mighty Hard Rocker/ Sleeping Bag
Big Daddy Kane – Raw/ Prism
Pete Rock and CL Smooth – T.R.O.Y./ Elecktra
Eric B. and Rakim – Juice/ MCA
Run DMC – Beats to the Rhyme/ Profile
DJ Premier – Unreleased Beat/ White Label

1- 45 King – Baseline This is from an all instrumental record entitled The Lost Breakbeats: The Grey Album that found it’s way into my crates via a lot of Hip Hop records I bought at an auction. I always admired his production, and his digging skills were always inspirational. You don’t get called the 45 King for nothing. If you haven’t seen him work doubles on two portables, scour the internet for the video, it’s dope.

2- Mos Def – Ms. Fat Booty For me, this record is all about the beat. Preemo chopped that Aretha Franklin sample to bits. I thought I’d take it a step further. I jacked the acapella and put it over the Medina Green beat for Crosstown Beef. Produced by Plug One of De La Soul.

3- Jeru the Damaja – D. Original Another Preemo produced beat. Here he samples Guru’s voice, and Jeru spits some hot fire from the full length The Sun Rises In the East. I still listen to that record today, it’s that good.

4- De La Soul – Breakadawn Coming off of Buhloone Mindstate, many De La fans were asking WTF they were doing on that record. This record always brings back good memories for me, of Summertime, and just hanging out. I’ve been a De La Soul fan from the 3 feet High days, and I’ll ride for these guys any day.

5- Nas – Nas Is Like Half man, half amazin’, that’s what Nas is. Another smoking Preemo beat, and a great offering from an otherwise dull full length. I can’t recall where I got this promo, but this version is called the “Cocaine Main Mix”. This record was dropped in 1999. It made Nas fans like me still appreciate the cat, knowing that he still had it, and could kill it like the Illmatic days.

6- The Roots – Dynamite I always respected the Roots Crew outta Illadelph, and I would have put Proceed on this mix had it not gotten stolen by some cocksucker. If you’re reading this, you know who you are asshole, and you took my original Illmatic too. You see, I had a nice promo of the second Roots record (scored for a quarter), and it mysteriously disappeared, along with said Nas record. At any rate, this offering by Philly’s best live Hip Hop band, produced by Jay Dee (RIP), is some slick shit. Also a late 90’s track, I still dig it. Nod your head to it, will you?

7- Nice and Smooth – Funky For You Dizzy Gillespie did not play the sax, but this track is a favorite of mine, despite the wack lyric. (see the Ego Trip book for more tomfoolery in rap lyrics). One of Nice and Smooth’s better tracks, and it runs right into the next side on the mix, which features them as well.

8- Gangstarr – DWYCK An all time favorite track for me to play out. I could play this at the lamest party and get people up. You need to have some Gangstarr in your life. Of course another Preemo track.

9- Jurassic 5 – Jayou I bought this record in Dublin, and instantly fell in love with these guys because of it. The DJing and production of Cut Chemist and DJ Numark, plus the old school harmony style lyrics from the rest of the J5 crew kept me coming back. I eventually got to do some promoting with them on the Vans Warped Tour one year, and was stoked to hang with them. They were all down to earth guys and the show really kicked ass. They shared a bill with Dialted Peoples, who were super cool as well. I have a ton of photos I took back then, I’ll have to dig them out one of these days.

10- Public Enemy – Time Bomb What can I say about PE that hasn’t already been said? My friend’s little bro turned me on to these guys, and music changed forever for me once again. The Bomb Squad lifted the Meters sample for “Just Kissed My Baby”, and well, the rest is history.

11- Grand Puba – 360 Degrees Grand Puba has a great flow on this single from his solo record, shortly after parting ways with Brand Nubian. I was delighted to find out way back when that he used Lowell Fulsom’s “Tramp” in this side. I love that tune, and it made me dig this record even more.

12- Cash Money and Marvelous – The Mighty Hard Rocker Philly represent here folks. What’s not to like about a World Class DJ and his crew. Forget “Ugly People Be Quiet”, this is my shit. I picked it up in London from a friend who’s roommate left all his vinyl at my friend’s flat. There I am in London with all UK pressings of PE and EPMD and De La, and what appears, this record. I liked it even more when I saw how the Chemical Brothers flipped it on their Evening at the Social Mix (which you should get).

13- Big Daddy Kane – Raw This here folks IMHO, is the greatest MC to ever touch the microphone. Many might disagree, but to me, he’s the pinnacle. King Asiatic Nobody’s Equal, ’nuff said.

14- Pete Rock and CL Smooth – T.R.O.Y. Another one of my favorite producers, Pete Rock. Mecca and the Soul Brother is a great offering from this duo, and it made me rush out and search for the Tom Scott sample. There is only one Pete Rock, and that’s a fact.

15- Eric B. and Rakim – Juice Know the ledge fool! Would GQ ever compare to the DJs of today? Was Tupac really imitating his real life? These are things we may not be able to answer. What I can answer is that this Eric B. and Rakim side is one of my favorite. I am a sucker for “Paid in Full” or “Microphone Fiend”, but still can put this on positive blast for sure.

16- Run DMC – Beats to the Rhyme An offering from Tougher Than Leather, I love the beat and of course the Kinnison sample. I wore this damn cassette out twice.

17- DJ Premier – Unreleased Beat Probably my most favorite producer of all time (and Preemo heavy on this mix), I scored this at a flea market for 50 cents. It doesn’t disappoint and is a great way to close out this first mix.

Download or listen to 100,000 Hits and Runnin’ Mix by DJ Prestige for 100K hits on FMF! Thank You!

Keep Diggin’!