Admit, you've been waiting for it! :)
Yes, through Portishead, DJ Shadow, DJ Cam, Beastie Boys and Ninja Tune I came to hip hop. Big time - not just rap, but all the aspects of the culture. This was the rise of internet, though we were still mostly reaching it at the internet cafes. Through what DJ guests on "Radio Styl" were explaining, I was learning more and more about the whole culture and then was spending hours at the cafe, searching for more information on the topic. Soon I've found myself hanging out with rappers downtown and even managed to meet some of the key figures on the Belorussian hip hop scene and even working with one of them. But let's take it from the start.
Early spring of 1999. Almost every evening I was tuning to "Radio Styl" to hear more and more new stuff that I've never heard. In the array of Ninja Tune artists I suddenly heard this song. And that was it - this was my essence of rap. The rhymes, the flow, the beat (which was also produced by DJ Shadow!), the vibe - it all was so different from the mid-to-late 90's stuff I saw on TV and sounded so true, so essential.
I think, if I wouldn't discover this EP, I'd never really get into hip hop the way I did. This was and still remains my "Can I Kick It", "California Love" and "Bring tha Ruckus" - all in one. Everything else was after this tune.
Yes, through Portishead, DJ Shadow, DJ Cam, Beastie Boys and Ninja Tune I came to hip hop. Big time - not just rap, but all the aspects of the culture. This was the rise of internet, though we were still mostly reaching it at the internet cafes. Through what DJ guests on "Radio Styl" were explaining, I was learning more and more about the whole culture and then was spending hours at the cafe, searching for more information on the topic. Soon I've found myself hanging out with rappers downtown and even managed to meet some of the key figures on the Belorussian hip hop scene and even working with one of them. But let's take it from the start.
Early spring of 1999. Almost every evening I was tuning to "Radio Styl" to hear more and more new stuff that I've never heard. In the array of Ninja Tune artists I suddenly heard this song. And that was it - this was my essence of rap. The rhymes, the flow, the beat (which was also produced by DJ Shadow!), the vibe - it all was so different from the mid-to-late 90's stuff I saw on TV and sounded so true, so essential.
I think, if I wouldn't discover this EP, I'd never really get into hip hop the way I did. This was and still remains my "Can I Kick It", "California Love" and "Bring tha Ruckus" - all in one. Everything else was after this tune.
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