1001IT-reqiredaudio.qx 8/1/01 1:30 PM Page 136 REQUIRED AUDIO TEXT{JOELMARISIGAN} REQUIRED AUDIO: ZULU KING MARK LUV / VARIOUS ARTISTS / IMPORT TUNER MAGAZINE release to the day you find it under all those dusty textbooks. To do that we had to find someone that had an ear for the sleeper-hits that become respectable collectibles. Here it is. Import Tuner proudly presents the first issue of what we hope might be a long line of music—Required Audio Volume 1: Zulu King Mark Luv. We first previewed Mark Luv in our August Issue (if you don’t know someone that has it already pick one up at importuner.com). He’s a resident DJ in many Los Angeles clubs. He’s a Zulu King. He’s a hip hop head. He’s a Soul Assassin. He’s a producer. He’s probably at Fat ASCENSION Beats Hollywood right now rockin’ the turntables. PEP LOVE Oh my goodness. It’s here. Finally. Let me He is the DJ’s DJ. He knows what you’ll like to HEIRO IMPERIUM see…Who was on here again? Oh yeah! If you hear, and he knows what you’ll like to dance to. haven’t heard of these artists yet I have no wor- His 17-plus years of crowd-rocking experience Pep Love reduces overused metaphors and ries, with the talent they’ve got there will be a day almost guarantees uncontrollable head-bobbing. embellishments and raps to you straight up. when you will. With all honesty I think that we’ve got a CD that Ascension strives to be what it’s entitled. Pep It’s been a long project for us here at Import will keep you tuned in and locked for its entirety. I Love remarks, "It’s to help bring the listener and Tuner. You see, when we first came up with this highly suggest you book him for your next gig. Hit myself to a higher level through my music, and idea, we didn’t know what you would want to hear, him up at [email protected]. that’s from revealing personal truths about myself and moreover, what we were getting into. One of Make sure you check out the three and trying to reveal grander truths about mankind the things we did know was that we wanted to give freestyles Mark Luv put together. Pulling our readers something for all the support. artists together is not easy. You’ve got to have REQUIRED AUDIO PLAYLIST Some of you liked that good ol’ West Coast a family-type relationship for instances like gangster-ish, but we figured the readers we’ve got this. The freestyles are originals and can only 1. Import Tuner X-clusive—Apathy & Celph Titled are from all over and although it’s very popular, it be found on this CD. Big thanks to Iriscience, (Demigodz) and Nick Fury & Big Oak (Lexicon) might miss the mark (no pun intended) of accep- Ras Kass, 2Mex, Life Rexall, Key-Kool, 2. A Sight for Sore Eyes—Kan Kick featuring The Visionaries tance we’re aiming for. Metalogik & Longevity (Dark Leaf), Otherwize, 3. Sparkdala—DJ Design featuring Madlib & Then we thought maybe we’d put together an AWOL One, Mykill Miers, Subtitle, LMNO, PSC, Quasimoto old-school tape that "documented" the ‘90s era. MURS, Poseyedon, Able Body, and Xololaxinxo 4. Scratch prelude into Makin’ It Blend—Q-Tip & Wordsworth But then we thought that you’d get that stuff from (Of Mexican Decent) for making Volume One 5. Scratch prelude into Let Me Tell You Something you favorite radio station—(deep radio voice) "the virtually unmatchable. The first cut "Import (remix)—Foreign Legion afternoon old school mix" or "old school Tuner X-Clusive" is also an original produced 6. Yo, Yo, Yo—The Beatnuts featuring Greg Nice Saturdays." by DJ Cheapshot of Styles of Beyond. 7. Sound clash scratchstrumental—DJ Mark Luv 8. This is it y’all—Rasco Many of you like that rave-type music—"Drum "Import Tuner X-Clusive" was done by Apathy 9. Live Rhymes #1—Iriscience, Ras Kass, 2Mex and Bass," "Jungle," "Trance". It’s a very popular and Celph Titled (the Demigodz—check their stuff and Life Rexall (Shape Shifters) type of sound. We considered it, but maybe it’s out at: artists.mp3s.com/artists/146/demigodz.html) 10. Detour (prelude)—DJ Mark Luv 11. Detour—Emanon featuring Dr. Oop not a good choice for our first time out. We’ll and Nick Fury and Big Oak (Lexicon—go to 12. Just You Wait—Boogieman leave that to mags like URB which are experts in spytechrecords.com). The cut is pure dope and 13. Flare Scratch—DJ Flare that stuff. It’s not that we don’t listen to that genre with a track programmed by DJ Cheapshot you 14. The Crab Inn—Heltah Skeltah 15. Neva Forget—Cali Agents of music, it’s just not our "expertise." can’t stop bangin’ this minute-and-a-half drop 16. Move It Like That—Declaime We didn’t want an MTV "party-in-a-box" type CD. over and over. 17. Live Rhymes #2—Key-Kool, Metalogik & What we wanted was a mixtape that could be That’s it. I hope you enjoy our early Christmas Longevity (Dark Leaf), Otherwize, 2Mex, and universally enjoyed anytime—from the day of its present. Hell, it’s a free CD. I’d love to hear your AWOL One 18. Platinum Plus—Big L comments, and especially your suggestions for the 19. Raise It Up (prelude)—DJ Mark Luv next project. Just open your eyes and your mind. 20. Raise It Up—Slum Village 21. Fresh Rhymes—Sound Providers 22. Live Rhymes #3—Mykill Miers, Subtitle, Peace, LMNO, PSC, MURS, Poseyedon, Able Body, [email protected] and Xololaxinxo (Of Mexican Decent) 136.WWW.IMPORTTUNER.COM 1001IT-reqiredaudio.qx 8/1/01 1:31 PM Page 138 REQUIRED AUDIO in general." He takes you to that level through UNIVERSAL "Grime and Grit," "US," and "Black People (Melanin K-OTIX Magnetic)." Then he returns you to Earth with a BRONX SCIENCE props-to-the-hood cut "Pacific Heights" and a Dilated Peoples chip-in-movie-inspired cut "Fight Club." Dilated, with their attitude-adjusting hype- music by Evidence, scratching by Babu and a chorus by Iriscience (Rakaa), is a sure rocker. In addition, guest appearances by Tajai, The Grouch (Living Legends), and dancehall-rapper Major Terror pass through to help on accents. hieroglyphics.com GOLDEN STATE OF MIND Gangstarr, and Boo-ya Tribe has got to know some DJ SERG rapping roots. Groups like this keep the history of INSIDUOUS URBAN RECORDS hip hop fresh and for that Numbs is the word. Numbs.com The Bay Area, though still dropping bomb mater- Guaporecords.com ial, released some underground heaters back in K-Otix’s Universal LP seems to sum up their rap- ping style. Letting this album run from beginning ANGLES WITHOUT EDGES to end you’ll catch the obvious hints of Cali- and YESTERDAYS NEW QUINTET NY-underground styles mixed together in a way STONES THROW RECORDS that seems appropriately, well, universal. The tracks are cleverly laced with loops of funky bass lines, violins, pianos and a hypnotic sample from the Eric B-made-famous "Mahogony." Sure-hitting tracks "Mind Over Matter" and "World Renown" are set to blow, but it’s a verse from "Take a Breather" that got me: "With these fly raps that’ll out tap Sevion / let a player play on / snatch the mic back from kids give them crayons / play with that / facts the day whose sound took paths that drifted away purer than Evian / I capture and train rapper like from the stereotypical, pimp-oriented topics of Pokémon." I tell ya, if it weren’t for Beyoncé, Kelly, Too Short or that NorCal slangin’ E-40. DJ Serg and Michelle, K-Otix might have been the hottest puts this album out to highlight the many thing outta Houston…OK maybe not, but on an Northern Cali underground hits circa 1992-1997. underground level they could come close. Artists like Rasco, The Dereliks, Hobo Junction, Plan B & Saafir, Bored Stiff and DJ Shadow, NUMBS THE WORD Wait a minute. Is this funky jazz? It’s Stones among others, donate their gold placards to help NUMBS Throw Records so it must be hip hop. “Angles ensure the remembrance of past accomplish- GUAPO Without Edges” is best classified as Madlib ments. Cuts like Blackalicious’ "Swan Lake," and (Lootpack) produced five-man funk/jazz album Peanutbutter Wolf’s "Lunar Props" are examples Salt Lake City, Utah, represent! Flavors of a funk- from a hip-hop perspective. It’s not bad. I actual- of the "wait-a-minute-I-know-that-cut" syndrome inspired, Beastie-Boy-type energy over live snares, ly had a jazz aficionado take a listen to it. It came that Serg is stepping toward to cure. He’s on his kicks and high hats is the type of formula that back with a "It’s pretty good" rating and a com- mark with Golden State Of Mind. helped them sell out shows back in SLC. It’s the ment about the choppy drum breaks—it’s beat insiduous.com type of equation that got them opening for Del the juggling. Madlib’s side step from hip hop takes Funky Homosapian and Aceyalone. Numbs adds a him into a new realm of music where his experi- subtle flavor of late ‘80s early ‘90s hip hop to their mentation with bass and electric guitars clashes cadence and their props-to-the-old-school cut with his vibraphone, Fender Rhodes and Hohner "Recognition" explains where their love comes Clavinet to put him in a jazz era of the ‘70s.