Every once in a while Radio 1’s Tim Westwood would feature DJs on his rap show instead of rap artists. As a kid I was glued to my radio-cassette player and poised to hit record for any and all new sounds I heard. One evening during the Summer of 1997, I struck gold when DJ Riz took over the turntables and dished out dope track after dope track of emcees I’d never heard of before. This is an original radio rip with static fuzz through out – Sorry! – but the sound is still good enough to bang your head to. DJ Riz cut his teeth mixing for student radio station WNYU and later joined forces with DJ Eclipse to host The Halftime Show. DJ Riz was also an original member of Funkmaster Flex’s Flip Squad and MC Serch’s tour DJ. Find out more about the Brooklyn DJ here: http://djriz.net/

There are so many dope tracks in this mix. If I had to point out a few in play order, I’d probably start with Mr. Complex breaking down his trouble with women in Visualize, then Heltah Skeltah’s baritone hook for Foul Play’s That’s how it be. Unfortunately I couldn’t figure out who’s rapping at the end of Side A but there’s a nice group featuring a female emcee in there. I’d like to say it’s Natural Elements’ Essence but I don’t think so. Any help in naming the last two songs on Side A in the comments below is more than welcome!

Side B opens with a couple of older anthems from diggity Das Efx and Public Enemy before heading back to more contemporary tunes. In the long run is a bonus track off Mobb Deep’s Hell on Earth LP (Remember when CD’s featured bonus tracks over the cassette release?!) which is a nice inclusion due to it’s rare airplay. There’s also a rare joint by the Wu affiliates Wu Tang Killa Beez Bastards that was released by the RZA on a compilation album. Finally there’s two dope freestyle’s by Brooklyn’s underground kings Non Phixion.

This tape is swollen with flavour from the Nineties. Enjoy!

Side A

DJ Riz – Intro
Beatnuts – Do you believe?
Mr. Complex – Visualize
Cella Dwellas – Main Aim
Foul Play feat. Heltah Skeltah – That’s how it be (Boo Yah)
KRS One – Friends
DITC – Day One
Erick Sermon feat. Heltah Skeltah, OGC, Trigga da Gambla – If You
Non Phixion – Freestyle
Just Ro feat. Common – Confusion
Das Efx – Hold it down
Tragedy Khadafi feat. Iman Thug – Alluminati
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Side B

Das Efx – They want EFX
Public Enemy – Public Enemy No. 1
Rampage – Ramp Europe Express
Mobb Deep – In the long run
Big L feat Fat Joe – The enemy
RA The Rugged Man feat Sadat X – 50000 Heads
Wu Tang Killa Beez – Bastards
Defari – Bionic 2
Non Phixion – Freestyle
DJ Riz – Skit
Notorious BIG – Kick in the door
DJ Riz – Break
(Tim Westwood)
The 45 King feat. Champain – And you don’t stop
Diamond D – Hiatus
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