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.

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.

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.)

Side B is 45 minutes of “Sounds of the Underground,” presumably from the same night (technically the next morning since the show started at midnight).

Something I noticed here, and in several other episodes: a lot of the drops that people did for the station had been very obviously editted. Usually it’s something like “I’m listening to Raw Deal with Easy-M (awkward cut) and my man G,” which means that Tony D’s name may have been cut out. I was thinking it was some sort of dis, but they shout to him on this episode, so I really don’t know.

Stuff to listen for:

• Biz Markie’s cover of “They’re Coming to Take Me Away.” I totally forgot he had done this track back in ’86.
• Lots of talk about violence at movie openings. Juice was opening that day, but they didn’t want to give away any tickets because of shooting incidents at a lot of recent “urban” movie openings.
• Radio drops from Gang Starr, UMCs, Black Sheep, Treach, and and the Ultramagnetic MCs.
• Side 1, from 25:02 through 25:11, my shout-out/friendly dis to the DJ I was working with at the time… always thought this one was kind of funny.
• A nice track from Jaz, “Hypocritters.”
• Easy-M relating how he showed a guy at Armand’s (a legendary record spot in Philly) his belly button ring (?!).
• A kind of baffling sore-throat losenge ad for Cepacol and Cepastat.
• Kicking off side 2, an underground track from some of Marc’s friends, Groovy Productions. It’s titled “Up to the Top” and I’m willing to bet this one never made it to vinyl. Sounds like it’s played off of cassette. Dope cut.
• The “Hip-Hop Concert Calendar.”
• G and Easy talking about the PM Dawn/KRS-One incident (2nd paragraph).
• Black Poets’ “Clockwork.”
• Studio guests include Clay Money and the Black Poets.
• Tung Twista’s “Hocus Pocus,” which was the B-side to the “Mr. Tung Twista” 12″, but didn’t make it onto the album (a stupid move because the album was pretty short, IIRC).
• A radio drop freestyle by DJ Kam and Zulu the One Man Gang (“Turn off your TV and tune into 103 / Because the radio doesn’t suck on PRB.”).
• A public service announcement from the Lifers Group.

Side 3 ends with some house music from Easy-M’s “Sounds of the Underground.” It kicks off with a pretty jazzy little track.

But, what a 45 minutes it is.  Here’s a run-down of what you get, all from 1990-1992 “Thursday Night Live” sessions:

• Intro
• Treach
  The Naughty By Nature frontman does some familiar verses that later wound up on albums.
• Supreme (?)
  Performing an interesting track titled “Delilah and Jezebel.”  Not 100% sure who the artist is.
• Tony D
  “I’m gonna do some TV stuff” he says before dropping into some lyrics that later wound up on the Crusaders for Real Hip-Hop album.
• Rza
  This here is the gem.  A pre-Wu Tang Rza (Prince Rakeem) kicks a clever rhyme with hidden meaning.  I’ve always wanted to ask him about this one.
• Tony D
• 2 Black 2 Strong
  “I ain’t messing up on the air, man!”  Um, too late?
• Tony D (w/ Dre and others)
• Tim Dog
• B. Chill
• B. Fine
• Mr. Law
• Tony D
• Zulu the One Man Gang
  Performing his LL parody, “Mama’s Gonna’ Whoop My Ass.”
• Zulu and Courageous Chief
  Zulu and Courageous Chief (who is still around, now going by Popa Chief) go back and forth.  An interesting bit comes at the end where they try to get G to rhyme.  G says, “I’m gonna hold off… maybe next week” and claims to have been working on something.  I don’t think this ever materialized.
• Zulu
  Performs “Drug Dealer Man.”  The second verse is pretty funny.
• Poor Righteous Teachers: “Rock This Funky Joint (remix)”
  This was released on 12″, but I loved it when it came out so closed out side A with it.

I looked forward to “Thursday Night Live” every week because you just never knew who was going to show up.  This tape is a good sampling of what came out of those sessions.

What’s up, Laze. We’ve corresponded about this PRB stuff before. I noticed the most recent entry and had to dig into my tapes to send you something. I have a freestyle featuring most of the folks you mentioned in the post. Could be the missing half of the most recently posted show. At the very least, it would make a good submission to the site.

When I listened, I clearly remembered this episode, so I must have it on tape somewhere as well. Thanks for sending it in, Tom!

And so, here it is, an excellent Thursday Night Live session from 1992: