DOWNLOAD

This summer The Rub is celebrating 20 years, so for Rub Radio we’re keeping it extremely Brooklyn with the best of DJ Premier! This is just part 1, with stone cold classics from Gang Starr, Biggie, Nas and Jay-Z plus personal favorites by CNN, The Lox, D.I.T.C., Griselda and more.

Gang Starr – Just to Get a Rep
Lord Finesse – Baby, You Nasty
KRS One – Outta Here
Das EFX – Real Hip-Hop
Notorious B.I.G. – Unbelievable
Nas – Represent
Gang Starr – I’m The Man (ft. Melachi da Nutcracker & Jeru the Damaja)
Group Home – Supa Star
Jeru The Damaja – D. Original
M.O.P. – Downtown Swinga ’96
Showbiz & A.G. – Next Level (Nyte Time Mix)
Crooklyn Dodgers – Crooklyn
Jay-Z – A Million And One Questions (Premiere Remix)
D.I.T.C. – Da Enemy
Rakim – New York (Ya Out There)
Gang Starr – The Militia (ft. Freddie Foxxx and Big Shug)
Charlie Baltimore – Everybody Wanna Know
The Lox – Recognize
Common – The 6th Sense
O.C. – My World
D’Angelo – Devil’s Pie
Craig David – 7 Days (DJ Premier Remix ft. Mos Def)
Capone N Noreaga – The Invincible
Nas – Nas Is Like
AZ – The Format
Torae – Get It Done (ft. Skyzoo)
Game – Born in the Trap
DJ Premier – Headlines (ft. Westside Gunn, Conway & Benny)
Dilated Peoples – Good As Gone

DOWNLOAD

The Producer Series has been so much fun to work on, and our newest entry is nothing short of magical! In hindsight, Timbaland is universally accepted as the gold standard of hip-hop and R&B production, but when he first came out of Virginia Beach in the 1990s, it was like an alien had landed on Earth, bearing otherworldly technology. The double-time drum patterns, the beatboxing, the sample flips, the synthesizers: he was truly speaking a different language. In Part 1, we’ve featured many of his early hits with Missy, Aaliyah, Jay-Z, Nas and Ginuwine, with a sprinkling of forgotten gems from Tweet, Ms Jade, Nelly Furtado and Pastor Troy.

Be on the look out for Part 2, coming at the end of September!

Aaliyah – Are You That Somebody (OG + Supafriendz Remix)
Memphis Bleek – Is That Your Chick (ft. Jay-Z & Missy Elliott)
Missy Elliott – Beep Me 911 (ft. 702 & Magoo)
SWV – Can We Get Kinky Tonight (ft. Missy Elliott)
Missy Elliott – Sock It 2 Me
Timbaland & Magoo – Luv 2 Luv U
Aaliyah – Try Again (ft. Timbaland)
Nas – You Won’t See Me Tonight (ft Aaliyah)
Pastor Troy – Are We Cuttin (ft. N.O.R.E. & Ms Jade)
Petey Pablo – Raise Up (All Cities Mix)
Jay-Z – Snoopy Track (ft. Juvenile)
Jay-Z – It’s Hot
Missy Elliott – The Rain
Tweet – Call Me
Ms Jade – Ching Ching (ft. Timbaland & Nelly Furtado)
Justin Timberlake – Cry Me A River
Ginuwine – Pony
Jay-Z – Dirt Off Your Shoulderz
Rell – It’s Obvious (ft. Jay-Z)
Nas – Owe Me (ft. Ginuwine)
Lil Kim – The Jump Off
LL Cool J – Headsprung (ft. Timbaland)
Ludacris – Potion
Cee-Lo – I’ll Be Around
Fabolous – Make Me Better (ft. Ne-Yo)
Timbaland – Grab The Wheel (ft. 6LACK) co-produced by Nes
Bryson Tiller – Sorry Not Sorry (co-produced by Millibeatz)
Aaliyah – One In A Million
Tink – Million (co-produced by AnonXmous)

Download

FINALLY we celebrate the producer of some of our favorite rap records of the past 25 years, Alan the Chemist! The breadth of this man’s career is remarkable: he started out in The Whooliganz in the early 90s, made big waves in underground hip-hop with beats for Dilated Peoples, became Mobb Deep’s in-house producer, and went on to craft hits for Jadakiss, Eminem, Nas, Cam’ron and a whole lot more. Unlike most of his peers, in 2021 he still releases at a breakneck pace, with Griselda, Action Bronson, Curren$y, Earl Sweatshirt, and the list goes on. And he raps! It was almost impossible to boil this all down into a 40 minute mix but we did it.

Tracklist: Read the rest of this entry »

DOWNLOAD

During lockdown, we’ve been huge nostalgia junkies, revisiting all the great records we’ve collected over the years. Rub Radio fans have gotten a taste of our comfort food, as we’ve mixed the catalogs of J. Dilla, Trackmasters and Prince Paul in recent months in our History of Hip Hop: Producers Series. Madlib is one of our favorites, a beatmaker but also a prolific artist and even a jazz musician who has recorded under a dozen aliases. This mix just scratches the surface of his work with MF Doom, J. Dilla, Lootpack, Freddie Gibbs, Kendrick Lamar, Erykah Badu and a whole lot more, laced throughout with original sample sources.

Let us know which producers we should highlight next, at @itstherub on Twitter and Instagram!

Tracklist: Read the rest of this entry »

We did a J Dilla mix for our History of Hip Hop: The Producers series, but we could not fit all our favorites in just one mix! So here’s Vol 2, with Nas, Busta, Tribe, Ghostface, Slum, Badu, The Roots, Phat Kat, Guilty Simpson, Oh No and even Daft Punk!

DOWNLOAD

Nas – The Season
Ghostface Killah – Whip You With A Strap
Busta Rhymes – Show Me What You Got
Gap Mangione – Diana in the Autumn Wind
Slum Village – Fall In Love
Bilal – Reminisce (ft. Mos Def & Common)
The Roots – Dynamite
J Dilla – So Far
Guilty Simpson – Man’s World
A Tribe Called Quest – Find A Way
Yancey Boys – The Throwaway
J Dilla – Center of the Movement
Oh No – Move (ft. Roc C)
M.E.D. – Push
Common – The Movement
Daft Punk – Aerodynamic (Slum Village Remix)
Phat Kat – Dedication To The Suckers
J Dilla – Pause (ft. Frank-n-Dank)
A Tribe Called Quest – Keep it Moving
Erykah Badu – Didn’t Cha Know

History of Hip Hop: The Producers Series
Best of J Dilla (Volume 1)

Next in our Producer Series, we’ve got J Dilla! What can you say about one of the greatest beatmakers of all time, of any genre? The music speaks for itself, and we had so much fun putting together this mix that we’re going to drop another one next week. So enjoy the History of Hip Hop: J Dilla Vol 1, and watch this space for Vol 2, with Nas, Busta Rhymes, Ghostface, The Roots, Tribe, of course more Slum Village plus some secret gems!

DOWNLOAD

The Pharcyde – Drop
A Tribe Called Quest – Get A Hold
De La Soul – Stakes Is High
Common – Dooinit
Slum Village – I Don’t Know
Jay Dee – Fuck The Police
Slum Village – Raise it Up
Phat Kat – Don’t Nobody
J Dilla – The $
Jaylib – React
Jaylib – The Red
Q-Tip – Move
Q-Tip – Let’s Ride
The Pharcyde – Runnin
Slum Village – Players
Common – Funky For You (ft. Jill Scott & Bilal)
Steve Spacek – Dollar$
J-Dilla – Rico Suave Bossa Nova
J-Dilla – Think Twice (ft. Dwele)
J-88 – The Look of Love (Pt. 1) Excel Sample Edit

DOWNLOAD

We’ve been Prince Paul fans since we were kids, starting with his production for De La Soul’s first three albums. From Stetsasonic, Big Daddy Kane, 3rd Bass to Gravediggaz, Handsome Boy Modeling School & Dr. Octagon, this tribute takes you through some of our favorites from the Doo Doo Man’s storied career. Plus you get to hear some rarities from MF Doom, a very young Jay-Z and even Marvin Gaye!

Special thanks to Brian Coleman for linking us with Prince Paul – be sure to seek out his Check the Technique books and our companion mixes – and the Spitkicker crew for hooking us up with De La Soul back in the day.

Also, take a listen to Prince Paul & Open Mike Eagle’s podcast, “What Had Happened Was,” in which Paul tells the stories of albums and groups he’s worked with throughout his career: https://starburns.audio/podcasts/what-had-happened-was/

TRACKLIST BELOW
Read the rest of this entry »

DOWNLOAD

For our fourth installment of The Producers, we’re diving into The Trackmasters’ catalog of hits! The duo of Poke & Tone were responsible for a ton of hits in the mid to late 1990s, when we were starting out DJing clubs, so these songs all hold a special place for us. Their classic sound is a chopped up breakbeat with familiar old-school samples – think Mya & Jay-Z “Best of Me” Remix, with the Biz Markie samples. But if you dig a little deeper, you find that they worked the boards on all kinds of stuff, from Kool G. Rap and Pudgee tha Phat Bastard in 1992 to super top-40 towards the end of the decade, like Will Smith “Gettin’ Jiggy With It” and Destiny’s Child “Independent Woman.” So there should be something for everyone, and we hope you enjoy the mix.

Mary J Blige – Be Happy
Foxy Brown – Get Me Home (ft. Blackstreet)
Soul For Real – Candy Rain (Heavy D & Trackmasters Remix)
Notorious B.I.G. – One More Chance (Puffy & Trackmasters Remix)
Mya – Best of Me (Trackmasters Remix ft. Jay-Z)
Mariah Carey – The Roof
Nas – If I Ruled the World (ft. Lauryn Hill)
City High – Caramel (Trackmasters Joint) ft. Eve
Cam’Ron – Horse & Carriage (ft. Mase)
50 Cent – How To Rob
Jennifer Lopez – Jenny From the Block (Remix ft. Jadakiss & Styles P)
Destiny’s Child – Independent Woman Pt 1
Jay-Z – Jigga that N*gga
Noreaga – N.O.R.E.
Nature – Natures Shine
Nas – The Message
Notorious B.I.G. – Respect
LL Cool J – I Shot Ya (Remix ft. Fat Joe, Foxy Brown, Prodigy & Keith Murray)
Kool G Rap – Ill Street Blues
Pudgee Tha Phat Bastard – Life’s A Bitch
Slick Rick – Me & Nas Bring It To You Hardest
Notorious B.I.G. – Juicy
Michael Jackson – Butterflies (Remix ft. Eve)