I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this, but it took a tip from a Zurich-based pal to get me into The Rub’s History of Hip-Hop series. I mean, these Rub folks live less than an hour away from my Atlah headquarters. They should be part of the cultural air I breathe. But, oh no, it took a denizen of north-central Switzerland to pass the word. So things go in the Age of The Tubes, I reckon.
In any event, glad young Mr. Kennedy offered the lead, because the series is great—nearly two dozen mixtapes, organized according to year. They’ve been my constant companions during my morning runs; for some odd reason, hearing a pre-fame Talib Kweli discuss “wishing well water imported from Pluto” got me through a tough fifth mile the other day. The whole series is highly recommended, starting with Volume 17 (MP3).
Jordan // Mar 25, 2009 at 9:28 pm
I’ve been trying to explore the hip-hop that I missed during the 90s due to a rather limited view of what was good at the time. Pandora is also a pretty good free resource for such journeys.
Thanks for the tip. While I’ve listened to a good chunk of what they’ve got up, there’s clearly more out there for me to hear.
Brendan I. Koerner // Mar 25, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Glad you’re enjoying. Early WEFUNK shows are also worth checking out. I posted a link to #170 last week–a classic.