Bay Area Art Collective - Keep Your Day Job / We're BAAC

Following my previous post about B-Sides Demonstrations, here's BAAC albums number 2 and 3 thanks to Jack from the great BTBB and Razoo Zo. I looked for these albums forever and they gracisously helped me, so props to them.

Keep Your Day Job is from 1997 and We're BAAC from 1998. They were both initially released only as cassettes then pressed on one double cd in 98. 

Here is KYDJ

And Here is WRB

Keep Your Day Job

Tuesday-Thursday

World Keeps Changing

The View

Times Is Ruff

Haight Streets

Refrain

The Stand

We're BAAC

Intro

Sirius

3 G's

Change

Kick Baac

Vitasoy

Attic Minds

Yes We Can Can ('98 Remix)

In The Place To Be

Soul Shakedown

Motivation

Circle Cycle Part 2

Outro: We'll Be Baac Real Soon

BoxFeedrs - Millenium Soup EP

Rapwise, San Diego rarely disappoint (at least from what I know from this scene). 

Here's another example of a great SD connection with this short-lived group named BoxFeedrs which consist of rapper Sergio Hernandez aka Surge or Splurgeo (check out his other EPs, worth the while), X0, Cal86 and the cherry on the cake, the awesome MRR on production (of MHE/MRR-ADM/Dirty Drums/Drumetrics fame -aka the best band you never heard of).

The result is amazing: the agressive raps complement perfectly the dark and in-your-face beats of MRR (you recognize some beats heard on such and such MHE comps). It's a short one but no weak track, everything is perfectly on point and when it's over you just want to press repeat again and again.

A very underrated one in my book.


Here

Intro
Polyglot ft. Man Of War
Earth Devils ft. Archie Dean
Robot Master
Mid-Lude
Ear Feeder
Attack Of The Clones
Millenium Soup ft. Sumach

Anonymous - Instrumentals At Work

Another one for the hardcore la2thebay/ Log Cabin collectors. 

This is Log Cabin's producer Neosapien under the Anonymous moniker (also aka AntiMC from Mush Records). It's his very first solo release from 1999 on cassette only, and like the title says, it's a compilation of instrumentals. Never saw this around either.

I bought the cassette a few years ago from a guy who had a large westcoast underground cassette collection for sale and who systematically offered a nice cd transfer of the tape you bought from him, with hand-made cd artwork and tracklist in different colors paper case. Now that's dedication. I don't know if he's still around making these, but props to him. I have a few others like that from him, will see which one I'll share eventually.

The last beat on this called Soldier In The Rain is used by Of Mexican Descent on a live version of Money Is Meaningless (maybe it's on the Awol One / 2Mex Flow & Tell Tour CD, don't remember exactly).

Here

Premonition Beat

People Of The Soil

Who I Am

Retro Metro

Fallin Satellites

Meko's Beat

He Said Flow

Xinxo Beat

Space Beat

Soldier In The Rain

Ceebrolistics - Spring

Another short one today: a 5-track EP from finnish rappers Ceebrolistics. 

This is from 1995, was only released on cassette and is now worth a good pile of euros.

It's also the Cee's very first release it seems. 

Although I really like their A Day Of The People In Between LP too, in the same vein (obvious influences of westcoast underground, but for the best) I always come back to that EP for the quality of the production. I really like the fresh, light hearted vibe in here and the great use of samples. Definitely something you'd bump for spring!

The only drawback is the low quality of the rip: you need to push the volume a little bit.

I really hope somebody will make a vinyl release out of this (err... I mean... Out of the original DAT/reel/whatever).

Here

Spring

Escape From Da Planet Of Apes

Spring - In Da Galaxy Of Relaxion

Escape (Space Soar Remix)

Escape (-Freestyle Escapin...)

P.E.A.C.E. & Daddy Kev - The Green Mile

Gnou just posted a link to this album on the FakeForReal forum. It's the long-awaited album (10 years or something!) from Freestyle Fellowship's PEACE entirely produced by Daddy Kev and featuring his cousin Kits and Awol. 

Until today it was just a 11-minute sampler from Kev's Penchant For Buggery DVD, and it's now a... 11 minutes EP with track names and slightly different arrangements... At least this mp3 release is for free on RapAmazon I guess.

I really hope some label will put this on vinyl though... It's worth the wait! Nice jazzy vibe kind of reminiscent from Grouch & Kev's Sound Advice. Peep it.

Here

Break It Down

G3 ft. Awol One

Slap

Dock Of The Bay

Time Of Your Life

Dime

Twenty One Precise Strokes

In This World Today

Mystery School - Manwerk EP / Timewerk 7'' / Interview

Pretty mysterious indeed. I don't remember exactly how I stumble on those guys, but chances are by buying randomly their first EP through accesshiphop -in a time when I bought anything that seemed vaguely new and exciting on there.

During the time of that first release era I did the only existing interview (in my knowledge anyways) of one of their member, producer Ruggedryhump. It was in 2003 and that was for the now-defunct french site WestCoastIndies (big up Jeantu, big up Aka, etc.).

The interview is not exactly of a great help if you want to reveal the whole Mystery thing: not sure who they really are, where they really from (many hints point toward California though, lots of La2thebay connections), what they look like... Hell giving the pile of cryptic talks they might as well be an obscure Circus side-project for what I know.

They made the Manwerk EP in 2002, the Timewerk 7'' in 2004, a couple of less interesting side-releases and that was pretty much it.

Members/collaborators can be spotted on the Infidelity Project compilation also.

I'm not even sure those records have ever been ripped.. Anyways here's a rip of my EP and 7'' as well as some part of the 2003 interview... My cousin & I used 'Manbelowunderground' and 'Isillsmokydead' for a Chocaholics mix-cd and they're by far my 2 favourite cuts from them.

Here

MANWERK EP

Break'n The Man (Ill Smoky Vs. Phonesoldier)

Manwerkrebeatyou

Manbelowunderground

Werkwhine Argonauts

Werkresamplesection

Littlebitoftimeleft... (Ill Smoky Vs. Phonesoldier)

Manwerkrebeatyouinstra

Manbelowinstra

Werkwhineinstra

Isillsmokydead?

TIMEWERK 7''

Werking Stiffs ft. Inaudible Jon

Brain-Power ft. Ill Smoky

Brain-Power (Instrumental)

Lo2TheMax ft. Awol One & Xololanxinxo

Skit ft. An Alien Hooker W/ A Robot Leg & Die

Tears Of An Ant

RUGGEDRYHUMP - 2003 INTERVIEW FOR WCI

Hi... Who's behind Mystery School? Can you 

introduce each member and point everyone's discography?

I am the ruggedryhump. I am a 3rd degree mystery scholar. The Mystery School was founded by Ill Smoky in an unknown time. Here are the current students and projects:

iLL Smoky - 7th degree - Physical Wack CD

Don Brilliante - 5th degree

Chance Brilliante - 5th degree

Hieronymous Kine - 3rd degree - Manwerk E.P 12"  

Inaudible - 3rd degree - Manwerk E.P 12" 

Ikadry - 3rd degree - Production Tools - 12" and CD

Royal Bloodsman - 3rd degree - Heaven and Hell CD

The Ruggedryhump - 3rd degree - Manwerk EP 12"

                                                     - Smokers Breaks 12"

                                                     - Rat vs Squirrel 12"

                                                     - Fresh ScratchRecord 12"

How do you met each other and decide to do Mystery School? Who's the director of that School?

The Mystery school was brought together by the brothers Don and Chance Brilliante under direction from Ill Smoky. There are 7 known degrees (or levels) of the Mystery School. The higher degree you are, the more information you are given about the origins and teachings of the Mystery school.

You release that Manwerk ep and it seems to have a concept behind this... What the little speech back of the record meant? Where do you get the name 'Manwerk'?

ManWerk was the first in a series of Werk releases. Man refers to ManKind, Humans (men and women) werking together for a common goal. There is too much seperation in the world. We need to put in more werk together instead of against eachother. Real werk, ideas and people cannot be seperated, even in U.S.A. the land of rocket ships.

What are your influences musically and lyrically? Maybe i'm wrong but itfeels sometimes close to the Shapeshifters ...

It changes all the time, but right now I cant stop listening to Dub, King Tubby, Agustus Pablo, it's as organic as music gets. My all timers are people who had abnormal styles like: Alan Lomax, Roland Kirk, Wesley Willis, KraftWerk, Johnny Cash, Jello Biafra, guys like that break the traditional rules, thats what I like. I am a long time listener of the Shape Shifterz, I respect and appreciate all that I've heard from that crew.

Can you tell us more about Subvert Underground Press?

Subvert approached the Mystery School and agreed to put out a series of 

projects, they give us full creative control. We have them to thank for the oppurtunity to manufacture the music we have made. Most of the Mystery school projects can be found at their website www.subvertundergroundpress.com

What's the future projects for Mystery School? Any solo albums?

We have recently put out a series of dj Battle/production tool records:

Rat vs. Squirrel; Smokers Breaks; Ikadry  feat. Xololanxinxo (OMD), Tommy V, Hieronymous Kine, Inaudible and more...

And coming soon the new ILL Smoky CD - World War 69 feat. remix by DJ Swamp.