I get crazy excited when I run into Hip Hop that significantly shaped and influenced me for the better. I grew up in the suburbs of Massachusetts and never actually heard one of their radio shows until recently, but I can still say that both Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito were responsible for much of my good taste in Hip Hop music.
I owe my discovery of Organized Konfusion’s first album to Bobbito’s album of the year column in the now defuct magazine Rap Pages. It wasn’t until many years later that I realized Pharoah Monche and Prince Poetry had turned sampling and rhyme style completely upside down.
It was also because of a DJ EV & Stretch Armstrong’s "Back 2 Back" mixtape, which I heard back in ’96 during my freshman year at Umass-Amherst, that I knew how a mix should REALLY sound. The cuts that EV did in the intro to Ghostface’s "Daytona 500" blew my mind and kept me studying his technique for months. Imagine how crazy it was when I ran into Stretch’s blog that actually had a copy of the Back 2 Back mixtape, not to mention hearing the live show where Q-Tip phoned into the show completely torn up.
Check it out and get a nice chunk of classic Hip Hop.
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