Did I ever tell you about Jay-Ski?

He was the first hip-hop DJ I ever knew (somewhat) personally. Way back in the late 1980s, I was in 7th grade and would call around to Bulletin Board Systems (don’t know what I’m talking about? You better ask somebody!) from my middle school’s computer lab. There was one I called into that was run by a metalhead, but I bumped into one other user on there named Gemini that was into hip-hop. That was Jay-Ski. We talked once about trying to work together (this was back when I was just starting to write lyrics), but that never came to be. Probably for the best since I was completely wack at the time.

I only met Jay in person once, when he was working at Sound Express (Jersey’s answer to Funk-O-Mart/Sounds of Market) in Willingboro. Then Jay got famous showing up all over Philly radio. We’ve caught up online a few times in recent years. He’s good dude. And crazy talented. Check Jay out these days over at PureElementz.net.

Anyway.

On this episode, they do a giveaway for an Erick Sermon/Def Jam show in New York. The winner gets to ride in a “a phat stretch limo with a television, VCR, and all that” and hang with Mike Elliott and Shelly Shel. This results in a pretty hilarious call-in section where people call in telling why they should be the ones to win the tickets.

There’s some outstanding music here, especially for fans of that 93 sound. Lords of the Underground, The Mexakinz, Original Flavor, PRT, post-Large Pro Main Source… it goes on and on. Some tasty remixes and lots of heavy signature Jay-Ski cuts. There’s one track called “That’s Life” from a Philadelphia group that seems to like to reference Sweden (I couldn’t make out their name when Mike Elliott said it… something Soul).

Fat Joe shows up in studio, but for some reason, I cut that part out. The real treat comes on side B when Souls of Mischief roll through to hype their upcoming ’93 Til Infinity.

Definitely worth checking out. Total runtime is a little over an hour.

The studio was packed full of guests, including DJ Kam, Courageous Chief (aka “Horrendous Teeth” according to G), Awol, a boisterous Tony D (fresh from the studio having recording some new tracks with the Poor Righteous Teachers), the Hillbillies (“straight out of Muck Holly”… and seriously, does no one remember “Bottom of the Hamper Jam”?), and others.

Perhaps the main reason to check this one out is the primary in-studio guest: a 23-year-old Apache (RIP). “Gangsta Bitch” had just hit and the album (Apache Ain’t Shit) was on the way. It’s kind of strange to come across this particular unlabeled tape so shortly after Apache’s death.

In addition to the typical “what’s up with your album”-type questions, we find out important things like Apache’s favorite ice cream flavor and how he knows “this thing ain’t gonna last” because he doesn’t like “industry people.”

Side B features a great Thursday Night Live session with DJ Kam on the wheels:

• Awol
• Tony D (RIP)
• Courageous Chief
• Baby Chill (RIP)
• Almighty Poppa S-Man (from the Dungeon Lords)
• The Coup Man (?) (from the Dungeon Lords)
• EP (from The Hillbillies) (sounds like the only one that comes off the top)
• B-Struck (from The Hillbillies)
• EP
• Tony D

The show features music from Cutty Ranks, Show and AG, Positive K, Heather B, Main Source, Chubb Rock, Das EFX, Grand Puba, Ice Cube, Diamond D, and The Funk Family.

The show closes out with G discussing some upcoming extended-length shows. He also pimps one of the early episodes of Vibes and Vapors.

This is a great 90 minutes. I hope I come across the earlier part of the show at some point.

This episode kicks off with some ultra-downtempo breaks then works its way towards illbent, jungle, and dub.

1. Eclipsed by Sadness… Prince Charming
2. Make It Go Away… kHz
3. A Tongue of Flame (Unidentified Flying Dubplate Mix)
4. Sound Check… Sub Dub
5. Eating Sweetheart Valentine Candygram Vertebrae… Prince Charming
6. Here I Come (Jungle)… Barrington Levy (Remixed by Ridley Don)
7. Armoured D… Dillinja
8. Glactic Funk (Tau Ceti mix)… DJ Spooky
9. Mr. Dubfire… Mad Professor & Lee Perry
10. Stoned Again… Culture

(As a reminder to explain my goofy show titling/dating convension: the episode number of 029701 can be translated pretty simply: February 1997, first mix of the month. The “star date” was just my stupid way of designating specifically when the mix was done by writing the date backwards (so 79.31.10 is February 13, 1997).

This episode mixes the some glitch with some world dance music and illbient with old school ragga jungle.

1. Peek 824545201.. Aphex Twin
2. Soulus (Submarine Variation #2)… Loop Guru
3. International Times (Haunted Dancehall Mix)… Transglobal Underground
4. Skank… Higher Intelligence Agency
5. Thoughts Like Rain… DJ Spooky
6. Jungle & Western Cowboy Style… Josie Wales, Beenie Man, & Ini Kamoze (Remixed by New Blood Crew)
7. Intro… DJ Spooky
8. Copper Shot Dub (Music Is My Occupation)… King Tubby/Scientist
9. Miss Know It… Scientist/Roots Radics
10. Why Hip Hop Sucks In ’96… DJ Shadow

(As a reminder to explain my goofy show titling/dating convension: the episode number of 019702 can be translated pretty simply: January 1997, second mix of the month. The “star date” was just my stupid way of designating specifically when the mix was done by writing the date backwards (so 79.30.10 is January 30, 1997).

I’m dating this one at early July 1992. For those OCD nerds that are interested in how I came to that… all of the newer tracks they played were released in 1992 and there’s a very short snippet of a commercial from the episode discussing Greek Picnic Weekend in Philadelphia, which in 1992, was on July 11 or 18.

There’s a little back and forth between Easy M and G on here as we join them partway into the show. They do a ticket giveaway for an Arrested Development/Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy/Me Phi Me show at Mahorn’s. They also mention an upcoming Pete Rock and CL Smooth show at the same joint. Mahorn’s was a club in NJ owned by former 76er Rick Mahorn. The club shut down a year-and-a-half later due to an issue related to gun violence, if I remember correctly. The segment in the linked video starting at 5 minutes shows the club’s final night ended in fights, captured on camera by Philly’s DJ Ran:

Kam and Chief are headed up to the studio but are late, apparently because they “took a wrong exit off the warpath.” The Crusaders for Real Hip-Hop are also on their way. The only guest in the studio is Harold from Up and Up Productions, a local recording studio that I think was in Willingboro (or maybe Trenton) and used to air ads on PRB featuring local talent. G also mentions the “phat package,” a giveaway batch of CDs and promo materials.

Tracks of note include the “brand new” “I Ain’t Da One” from Brothers Uv da Blakmarket, a Paterson, NJ-based crew associated with the Flavor Unit that put out one album on Select. Also work checking, the Little Bastards’ “Stunt, Get a Job” (the clean version of the A-side “Bitch, Get a Job” single).

The side ends with a “Time Vault” segment of old school cuts from Busy Bee and the Masters of Ceremony.

Artists featured include the James Carter Quartet, Cecil Taylor, Cassandra Wilson, spoken word artist Daz (from the group Daz Tempo, Black Rock Coalition member, and co-owner of Green Skunk Records), Muhal Richard Abrams, and plenty more.

Enjoy.

I first heard Tone on WPRB back in 1989 when flipping through local radio stations, looking for something to listen to. I was 13 at the time and absolutely obsessed with hip-hop. Back then in the Philly area, there weren’t a whole lot of stations playing hip-hop, so when I stumbled on a college radio show that was not only playing dope music, but also laying into the commercial crap at the time like Young MC, I instantly fell in love. Over the next four years, I’d listen faithfully every week to Club Crush/Raw Deal, taping almost every episode.

Tone’s presence on the show was always very big. He would never step to the mic and sound tired or bored. He was always hyped up about pushing his latest production or promoting an upcoming PRT show. Any time there was a Thursday Night Live session, he was in the thick of it, freestyling or dropping verses that would later show up on his solo album or the Crusaders for Real Hip-Hop project. You could tell there were times where he had some disagreements with Easy M or G along the way (like when his name was mysteriously chopped out of drops for the show), but he would always find his way back on the air and make some noise.

Back in 1990 I sent Tone my first (very) crappy demo tape and then pestered him for several weeks to see if he had listened. He told me one week that he had received it, and a few weeks later he told me that he didn’t have it. “It was in my bag,” he told me, but either he had lost it or it had been stolen. Looking back now, I realize that he was just being polite to a 14-year-old kid who had sent him a seriously awful demo. Rather than telling me I sucked and crushing my dreams, he chose the higher road and didn’t say anything. I really appreciated that courtesy, once I realized what he did.

Post-PRB, I kept up with his music and periodically listened to my old PRB tapes for old times sake. Then, in 2003 or 2004, I dropped him a line and we started talking about music and the radio show. He joined up with Paul from WPRB and co-DJed the “Tenth Planet” show for a while in 2004. His involvement there was unfortunately cut short — I think he said it had something to do with management. I ended up a recording a bunch of those shows as well.

When I launched Normal Bias, Tone was absolutely psyched. Anytime I posted a new show, I’d let him know and he’d download it. We chatted about behind-the-scenes stuff with the show and he’d share new tracks he was working on. Word is that there was even a “Raw Deal” reunion in the works. How great would that have been? I’m going to miss those chats.

The audio included here kind of goes against format in that it was recorded off of a stream directly to an MP3 file rather than cassette, but it’s a great 3-hour set from the September 11, 2004 edition of “Tenth Planet.” Tone’s on the wheels the entire time. The playlist for the show is still online (and included in the comments ID3 tag on the MP3).

RIP, Tone and deepest condolences to your family.

(Also, a few things you may have missed: comments from Tony here on Normal Bias: 1 2, and memories of Tone from G: 1 2 and Pumis.)

However, I have what may be a better episode for this week of tributes to Tony D. This episode is from February 8, 1990. Easy M was off DJing a party somewhere in Jersey, so his partner from “Too Smooth” (later “Sounds from the Underground”) Fresh J filled in as a co-host. Easy’s absence meant that Tone was given a full two hours on the wheels. And, man, was Tone in full promotion mode. Tons of great Trenton acts, special announcements about groups that were to become legendary, and even some MC Serch references. This really is a classic episode.

So, side by side:

Side 1 (10:05-10:48pm)

The show kicks off with some technical difficulties, but Tone steps up to the wheels to kick off his two hours and displays some nice turntable work when he starts things off with Gang Starr’s “Words I Manifest.” From there, he moves into Marky Fresh’s underrated “Mack of Rap” and then hits a couple of Trenton cuts from Too Kool Posse (“Music Makes You Move”) and YZ.

During the first break, Tone pimps an upcoming show for the first of many times. The show sounds like a killer, put on by the Awesome Two in New York City at Quando’s (which was on 9 East 2nd Ave). It featured A Tribe Called Quest, LONS, Freshco and Miz, Robbie B and DJ Jazz, Poor Righteous Teachers in their first NY appearance, and Tony D. When Tone mentions Tribe, he asks G, “Have you heard of those guys?” and G replies that he has but has trouble remembering the name of their first single. Seems weird now, huh?

Among the tracks in the next set are “The Gas Face,” which surprised me not only because they didn’t cut out the repeated “Oh shit”s, but because that was the track that kicked off the Tony D-Serch feud (quick recap: Tone mistook Serch’s dis to “Tony Dick” as a shot at him and then fired back at Serch on vinyl). Debuted on the show is one of my favorite all-time cuts that’s nearly impossible to find, 360 Degrees’ (made up of Prophecy and Gusto) “The Harmony.” Back in December, Tone was selling the EP for $500 on eBay.

Side 2 (10:49-11:35pm)

Some great banter on this side (“Lance, Lance with the dookey stain pants”). Tone hints at a possible “Serch vs. Tony Part 2″ and the upcoming New York show (“If Serch comes…”).

Also on this side, a Tony D-voiced ad for the “Sound of Trenton” record store, an 8-minute anti-apartheid song with Black Rock and Ron, Brand Nubian, and many others (can’t find what this song might be — any help?), the premiere of “Listen to Me Brother,” and more Tony D, Blvd. Mosse, and PRT goodness.

Side 3 (11:35pm-12:15am)

At the end of the night, Tone debuts a new track with PRT that didn’t even have a name yet (it later became “Can I Start This?” and kicked off PRT’s Holy Intellect). They also play the top track in their new countdown and close out the show with some funny back and forth between Tone and Fresh J before it kicks into Fresh J’s “Too Smooth” underground house show.

Let’s start with a few select Tony D moments from this tape (1991-1992). Every week when I tuned into WPRB, I hoped for a Thursday Night Live session, not just for the guests but to see what Tone would bring to the table. He was often trying out new lyrics that either wound up on “Droppin’ Funky Verses” or the Crusaders for Real Hip-Hop album.

Here are just a few minutes of my favorites…

Side 1 starts right off with in-studio guest DJ Polo.  There’s a lot of interesting stuff that comes up throughout.  Polo is shamelessly pimping a 1-900 number where he’s encouraging MCs to call and rhyme.  He guarantees three rappers will get contracts.  Polo also discusses an upcoming solo album that will feature Eric B., Father MC, and Brand Nubian.  He says he rhymes on one of the songs, too, but declines G’s offer to step up for a Thursday Night Live freestyle.

Honestly, Polo comes off as a bit cocky (to say the least), proclaiming that he discovered Kool G. Rap and that without him, there would be no Eric B. and Rakim.  He also talks about a new TV show that will be debuting “in a month” that sounds like a precursor to Cribs where Polo will go to rappers’ houses and interview them there.  “I’m gonna take you up to Big Daddy Kane’s house when he’s all up in his drawers, and all that,” Polo promises, “’Cause I’m down with all the rappers.”

As far as I know, the Polo solo album never materialized and neither did his show.  And who knows what became of the 900 # record deal offer.  Nevertheless, Polo steps to the tables on side 2 for a dope Kool G. Rap set.

The real gem, though, comes at 20:26 on side 1, where they play a tape (?) copy of a brand new track from G. Rap and Polo called “Keep It Swingin’.”  This version is completely different (and a thousand percent better) than the version that showed up on 1996’s Rated XXX compilation.  It definitely feels like it would have fit on Live and Let Die right next to “Operation CB” or “Letters.”  Anyone know if this version is actually available anywhere else?  I’ll go out on a limb and say it’s one of G. Rap’s best.

Mike Elliot from Krush Video and Krush Radio is also in the studio.  He briefly mentions a new venture with Tony Mitchell as well as his upcoming book, The Unsigned Rapper’s Guide to Getting a Record Deal, which he self-published and eventually made a 15x return on his investment.

Side 2 closes out with the first 18 minutes of Sounds of the Underground.

(Update: I should have added that I did cut out a lot of commercials and a few songs, as I occasionally did to save tape. All the interesting stuff is still here, though.)