Tales From D&D Studios: Part 4
..One of the best things about being in the industry or any creative forum,is being there when something great happens.I guess it would be the closest thing to seeing a child being born,minus the yelling and screaming.To say you were there when it happened,at the beginning of it,you can’t beat that.Being at D&D in the greatest era of Hip Hop,I have had the privilege of “being there” on many occasions. I cant really recall the exact time of year we started but it was around the time that they had their lil deal with Pay Day Records.It was then I was put into the whole Roc A Fella Records mix.The epitome of do it yourself,these 
cats were really bout their hustle.I mean they had every door shut in their faces.Not a lot of folks at the labels were messing with em,and if they were, they giving em low ball money.The streets loved em though and that’s all you really needed back then.Street love equaled big money interest..eventually.Now this was before Beans,Freeway,Kanye and all that.It was just Jay heading the bill with Memph in the wings awaiting his turn,soaking up everything.The dynamic was simple..Jay did the music…Dame and Biggs did the business.More than often as most would find to be true,Dame was the one who did most of the business dealings and handling the day to day,cause Jay needed to focus on the music.Jay would have his say of course,as did Biggs,but Dame was the one who had to carry out the missions most times.Cause that was his thing!
..Don’t get it twisted,they did have tough times in the beginning.It wasn’t always peaches and cream.I remember getting paid for sessions in singles and fives,maybe a ten or a twenty will show up,but yall get the idea.One time in particular will always stick out. Dame came to me when he was ready to pay with his Dame Dash shit on full tilt,as usual ..”Yo Did-Ex..my nigga..how much we owe?”..me..”$2,500″..him..”Aight hold up”..Now Dame was good for wearing sweats all the time, unless he had to carry money, back then.Depending on the amount it was either cargoes or fatigues, cause all the loot was loose bills.Today it was cargoes.He’s reaching into every possible pocket pulling out money and putting on top the piano in the “A” room vocal booth.Now there’s a pile of money sitting in front of me, he points at me and says..”It’s all there..Peace”..me..”HOLD ON MONEY!”..him,real calm..”Wah?”..me..”You stay here while I count this madness,you always do this shit Dame”..him..”Aight Aight Calm Down..Lemme get Biggs and Jay we gotta sort some shit out with this kid”..me..”Sort away nigga”.
..Few seconds later Jay and Biggs walk in,with some kid,I can’t remember who, but he was lookin a lil disgruntled.Dame..”What’s the problem Nigga?!”..me(to myself)..(yikes!)..dude..”Yo I aint makin no money with all this shit yo,I’m sayin,this shit is crazy right now man ..I dunno..”..Dame..”Yo HOLD ON!”..(me again to self)..(YIKES!)..back to Dame..”NONE OF US ARE MAKIN MONEY RIGHT NOW NIGGA!”..Dame proceeds to lay into this kid with a series of “Shits” “Damns” and “MotherFuckers”,not in any specific order.The kid is now nervous as all out doors and the room is a lil tense..and I lost count of the friggin money..DAMMIT!Dame now thoroughly heated,begins to poll the room..”Jay you makin money yet?”..Jay..”Nope”..Dame..”Biggs you makin money yet?”..Biggs..”At all”..Dame back to dude..”nigga we tryin to make this money nigga but we gotta sacrifice!We the only ones payin up this bitch anyways…why you complainin?!..I don’t see you complainin when everybody up here having a ball and shit,so what’s the problem?!”..Dame then turns to me..”This nigga here is probably the only one makin money!”..my reply..”yea right!”.Few more words are spit in dude’s direction by Dame as Jay and Biggs look on and occasionally chuckle at Dame’s antics.Homie’s train is now derailed and my money count is done..$2,500 is present and placed in the envelope..me..”Dame we good”..him..”I told you nigga..fuck outta here..I ain’t that type”..me..”I gotta do it son,you know!Nigga You Know!”..him..”Yea yea nigga I got you..Fuck outta here though(ha ha!)”..me..”Asshole”..
Written by Dexter Thibou
WEDNESDAY CLASSICS: Crooklyn Cuts Vol. III (Tape D) (1997)
gimantalon, August 18th 2010 |Fat Beats Announces Closing Of New York And Los Angeles Retail Stores
After 16 Years, Fat Beats And Fans Bid Farewell To The Legendary Record Stores; Online Retail, The Label, And WholeSale Distribution Will Continue.
After 16 years, Fat Beats has announced the closing of the legendary label’s two remaining retail locations in New York and Los Angeles. Fat Beats will celebrate the legacies of the stores, which are scheduled to close in early September (New York: September 4th, Los Angeles: September 18th) by throwing a series of blow-out sales and tribute parties open to the public during their last weeks. Fans can check www.FatBeats.com for updates.
Fat Beats’ longest running and most famed location is at 406 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan. Since the 1994 opening of Fat Beats’ flagship retail location, hip-hop fans have traveled far and wide to visit the iconic store. With locations soon following in Los Angeles (7600 Melrose Ave.), Atlanta, Amsterdam, and Tokyo, the record stores were a place to experience hip-hop culture and its legacy, which became a global phenomenon. “The closing of Fat Beats is just like one of my friends passing away. They promoted vinyl at its highest degree for the culture of good music and that makes it more difficult to say goodbye,” says DJ Premier.
The announcement of the closings is a reflection of the woes that have been plaguing the industry for years. Global chain HMV closed their last US location in 2004. Tower Records shuttered in 2006. Last year saw the close of the last Virgin Megastore, and the story is no different in 2010. For Fat Beats, maintaining two stores well into 2010 is a testament to the stores’ importance to the music and to fans and consumers continuing to support independent hip-hop.
While news of the stores’ closing marks the end of an era, the future is not doom and gloom. Digital sales continue to increase industry-wide; for Fat Beats, currently operating a profitable and growing online retail store, this has provided a boon to business as fans continue to order mp3s, vinyl, and CDs from FatBeats.com. Although digital sales continue to grow, executives at Fat Beats understand the importance of independent retail stores and are planning to re-open a brick and mortar hip-hop lifestyle location sometime in the near future.
The future looks just as bright for Fat Beats Distribution and the label. Fat Beats Distribution, which has been renamed FB Distribution, continues to strike noteworthy distribution deals with independent and major labels worldwide and is now working with different genres of alternative music. Fat Beats Records will continue to release notable albums from their own impressive roster of artists including ILL BILL, TruMaster/KRS-One, Black Milk, Trinity, Sha Stimuli, Q-Unique, and more. Fat Beats owner and President Joe Abajian says, “This is the start of a new era for Fat Beats. We’re adapting to meet the needs of our demographic by revamping and improving our existing systems. While our website, which stocks everything available in our retail stores, continues to do very well, we’re still exploring our options for alternate retail locations in the future. We’re proud of our legacy and will continue to re-invent ourselves. For now, we’ll see you online at FatBeats.com”. (audibletreats)
R.I.P. Fat Beats Record Store NYC & LA, this is not good for hip hop, not good at all… Shout out to DJ Eclipse and the staff at Fat Beats, it became reality… think about it… this say a lot of the state of music today… protect your neck… I know I’ll always have my vinyl.
Sing Like Bilal Freestyles, Joell Ortiz new or original Masta Ace/Craig G/A.G./Emilio Rojas/Ill Bill/Apathy ?
So the crowd went pretty hyped on the new Joell Ortiz freestyle over the Sing Like Bilal beat (released on Beats That Collected Dust Vol. 1, what a sick beat). Joell Ortiz one is mad dope, but I prefer the original. Which one do you? Lets get the original out the old map for you:
Joell Ortiz & DJ Premier – Sing Like Bilal Freestyle (2010)
Props to LiveFromHQ Blog.
Vintage: Rare Full D&D Studios Clips Now Online
The 40’s and Blunts party was recorded and used for the epk from D&D’s first release The D&D Project on Arista Records. The ideas was to team up new and upcoming artists with all star producers who worked out of D&D. The single One, Two Pass It was produced by the legendary DJ Premier and was recorded this evening during the 40’s and Blunt’s party. ***Side note…soooo many people wanted to get into the party…it was insane…..we had to say no to many people who we knew….one of them Jay-Z—–opps!!!
The long awaited album Body of the Life Force on D&D/Koch Records was finally released after a misfire on Gee Street/V2 Records. Check out Afu walking around New York City and D&D Studios talking about his debut album.
Craig-G recorded the last song and album (besides the Ownerz) at D&D Studios called “This Is Now” In this epk he talks about his involvement in writing all the freestyles for the movie 8-Mile.
Agallah, Buckshot, Craig-G, Afu-Ra, Search, Steel, Eon, Tigger, Tony Touch etc. From the D&D Project 2 we recorded a long ass freestyle song produced by Curt Cazal. We told all of the MC’s we wanted it off the top but not everyone could deliver! Not sure how many of you got a chance to see this….so here it is!
For more rare video clips from the D&D vault, check out D&D Studios YouTube Account here.
Live From HeadQCourterz (08/13/2010)
gimantalon, August 15th 2010 |Bun B – Let ‘Em Know Live w DJ Premier @ BB Kings
Great line up for Funk Flex B-Day part, Mr. Luva Luva Shaggy, Group Home, Ja Rule, … Dope.
Tales From D&D Studios: Part 3
..September 10th 2001..starts off like any other Monday.Dollar cab ride to the “D” train,”D” train to 34th st., walk to the studio, set up for Preem and waaaaiiiiit.While waiting,the phone rings and Preem is on the line..”Yo what reel you got up now?”..me..”Nothing,waiting on you.We doin GS today right?”..him..”Nah we gotta do a remix for this kid Craig David”..me..”Fuck is a Craig David?”..him..”Some kid from London,supposed to be big,find a reel with some space I’ll put something together by the time he gets there”..me..”Aight.”So I find my reel,set my space,lay the SMPTE,all that good engineering stuff and resume waaaaiiiiting.Preem walks in a few minutes later,kinda early for him but from his tone earlier it’s a rush job,gotta get it done quick!He’s in there doing what he does and then Craig David walks in.Tall,light skinned “good hair” having R&B cat I saw on MTV just that weekend,making chicks loose their minds along with their underwear.OK,now I can put a face the hype.He’s a cool cat though.Me,him and Preem kick it for a minute while he tells Preem what he wants the remix to sound and feel like,that he plans to have Mos Def spit on it and that he can’t go to the mall without a police escort nowadays..WOW!..A little while later Preem comes up with a nice lil something for dude to vibe to,he goes..”That’s it right there,I’m going to the hotel and write my part tonight.I got pro tools on my lap top so I can do a reference vocal, and we’ll see if you like it”..Preem..”Aight then”..looks at me and we concur without speaking..”We don’t have pro tools here”.Time is set for the next day,which no one shows up on time for anyways, and Craig takes off to his hotel with his lil pro tools and me and Preem leave shortly after,him to Queens,me to Brooklyn.It’s around 2am September 11th and my session is at 11am,I’m taking a cab home…
…September 11th 2001, around 8:30ish in the am.I just stumbled into my lil BK basement apt a few hours ago.Phone rings.All types of mental expletives are flying around in my head.Can’t go off on who might on the line,could be moms…me(groggy voice)..”Hello”..my then girlfriend..”Dex turn on the TV…the World Trade Center is on fire!”..me..”Shut up yo,it’s to early for these games you playin”..her..”Dude I’m serious,turn on your TV”..me..”Aight”..fumbling around for the remote,on goes the TV,quickly switch to NY1….SHIT!IT’S ON FIRE..me to her..”I’ll call you back”.As I’m sitting there watching the coverage of the tower bellowing smoke, a small figure appears out of nowhere.I thought,because I’m still groggy eyed, it was a bird.No sir it was a commercial airliner,similar to the one that hit the the other tower moments before.”What The…!!”..”How is this happening!”On my block,people are going cookoo!In my apartment,I’m remaining calm.The phone rings..it’s her..”They evacuating the city,no trains,buses,nothing,I gotta walk home”..me..”Get to walking babe,call me when you get home!”..click!..My mental rolodex is on 100 right now.Who do I know that works in the Towers?Shit who works in that area?I’m watching people scampering for their lives,diving out of the towers and thinking damn,this is crazy.This is CRAZY!.Soon after there is no phone service what so ever,and only one channel broadcasting.I’m hearing about planes crashing all over the place,the Pentagon got hit,supposedly LA was gonna be next,all types of madness.”Stay calm dude and stay in your crib”.My landlady knocks on my door..”Are you seeing this?..me..”Yeah’..her..’My God what is this”..”I wish could tell you something Paulette,I really wish I could”.New York stood still for the next few hours and it felt like an eternity.At some point,I managed to fall asleep..not sure what time but it seemed like only seconds before my phone rang and woke me up..”Yo..sorry but Preem said we may have to go in tomorrow”..me..” Eddie you jokin right”..
..September 12th,2001,10 am.Another day but not like the others.You can feel the tension.People are scared to death, as we should be.We just watched a landmark crumble and lives lost and couldn’t do anything about it.There no answers but a slew of questions.NY is resilient and bounced back quick,not at full strength,but we back at it.The routine ensues..dollar cab ride to “D” train,”D” to Manhattan.Damn…look at this.As the train crosses the bridge to my left I see what’s left of the towers.Still smoldering.Everyone on the train is silent for a minute,or sobbing as they look out the window.”What the hell happened yo?”..this kid across from me asks looking dead at me like I had the answers.”Duke I dunno”..Few minutes later here comes my stop.34th street..I exit the train..exit the station..go out on to the street and pause.Silence.34th street at 11am..and nothing is happening.All the stores are closed,there is no traffic in any direction,literally I was walking down the middle of 34th st without dodging a vehicle.It was surreal.The air was filled with the smell of smoke, it felt eerie.Yet here I am in the city on my way to work!Got to the studio,second routine done and I wait..Eddie shows up and we wait.Gordon shows up and we wait..Preem shows up and says..”Let’s get this done,I wanna get outta here!”No shit we shouldn’t be here in the first place bruh!But we gotta get this shit done regardless.Mind you the kid David..he was on the first thing smoking outta the US…like Fuck u guys I’m going Home.So we working,Preem’s making music..me, Gordon and Eddie are watching TV for coverage,well repetitive BS about yesterday’s events.”What a mess”..I’m thinking as I watch expert after expert dissect this thing.All of a sudden Preem bursts out the room..”Yo they just called in a bomb threat at the Empire State Building…Let’s get outta here..fuck this!”..I don’t think I ever locked up the studio so fast,cause Gordon was giving me a ride home, and any second less than the time he said to be downstairs he woulda left my ass…no joke.We zoom outta Manhattan,cross the bridge and Gord drops me off at my crib…”Good Lookin”..him..”Yea Laterz”..He’s out and I’m in my basement apt.Sits on the couch and turns on the TV..nothing new..I turn it off.Cell phone rings..answers..”Yea?!”..then girlfriend..”you aight?”..me..”yea I’m home,we gonna do the joint another day”..her..”You know when?”..me..”Hmmph..maybe tomorrow..yea..maybe tomorrow”…
Written by Dexter Thibou
