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— Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Rahman Dukes
Artist: Sway and King Tech
Mixtape: Back 2 Basics
Representing: Hip-hop's essence
The 411: MTV's own Sway (or Swizzy, as some of us affectionately call him) enjoys bringing us the news on everyone from Tom Cruise to 50 Cent, but his first love is actually being involved when the artists are constructing their art. He and his partner King Tech continue to throw concerts with MCs such as RZA, Common and Talib Kweli; they still throw battles for up-and-coming MCs and DJs; and on Tuesday they're putting out the independent LP Back 2 Basics. B2B gives you all the flavor you love from Sway and Tech's previous mixtape albums: a myriad of MCs going for broke on the mic. "What me and Tech are trying to do with Back 2 Basics is what Rawkus Records was trying to do but in the end weren't able to do because of whatever the business reasons were to make the label fold," Sway explained. "We want to keep that platform open. Right now it's not a large variety of what's selling in the stores or what's being played on the radio. We just want to give a balance." Below, Sway explains some of his records.
Joints To Check For
- "Watch Closer" by Chino XL. "A lot of people respect that dude as a lyricist," Sway said. "A little before Eminem started coming out, Chino was coming to our 'Wake Up Show' a little before that. Cats like Thirstin Howl, Xzibit, Ras Kass, Eminem, everybody had respect for him back then. He was signed to different record companies that I think couldn't give him the right exposure, and his career suffered for it. He took a break and we decided, 'Yo, if you want to come back, let's do this. Slow down your flow a little because the game has changed. You don't have to prove yourself as a battle rapper no more because people know you got skills. Let's write some songs people could grab a hold to and let's talk about what you've been through and who you came to be.' That's what 'Watch Closer' is about."
- "Enough Beef" by Common, Chino XL and Royce Da 5'9". "Premier has always supported everything we've done, as we have with him in the group Gangstarr," Sway explained. "Royce Da 5'9", we've always respected him as a lyricist. We thought it'd be a good move to put Common on the record because Common is an unsung hero. We was like, 'We know he's going to come back, let's do for Common what we've always done for artists like Common and put him on a track we know DJs are going to play.' Chino, like I said, is the best. Three great artists that are going to offer three different things. 'Enough Beef' is an ode to lyricism."
- "Everything" by Sly Boogy. "Sly is part of that new era of MCs coming out the West Coast," Sway said. "One thing Sly has better than a lot of people is he knows how to sit in that pocket when he writes records. 'Everything' is talking about coming to your 'hood and taking over everything from your club to the streets, whatever it is. He's a funny dude, but he's a street dude. When he raps you can tell. He puts so much thought in rhymes, that's what I appreciate. It ain't no bullsh-- lines in there."
Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week
- Sickamore's I Can Make You Famous Too
- Mick Boogie's Pretox
- All Access DVD Magazine's "Real Talk 9"
- Lil Scrappy and Don Cannon's Full Metal Jacket
- Lt. Dan's Lil' Flip vs. T.I. (Screwed & Chopped Edition)
- Baby Paul's Underground Veteran
'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar
- R. Kelly - "Trapped in the Closet Pt. 2"
- Papoose - "Dedication to Justo"
- Joe Budden - "It's Whatever"
- Cassidy - "B-Boy Stance"
- Jae Millz - "I Like That's (Stop)"
- AZ - "Chillin"
- Yummy featuring Jadakiss - "Come Get It"
Celebrity Faves
Snoop Dogg is working on the Dogg Pound Gangsta Clique with his whole crew, and he says taking a gander at Young Hova and his boys is giving him even more of a spark. "I watched 'Fade to Black' last night. I seen the camaraderie with the Roc-A-Fella fellas and I remember how we used to do it before they was doing it, and it made me feel like that's an extension of the DPG. Jay-Z had Beanie Sigel and Memphis Bleek and Freeway, they was just flowing. It was perfect and sharp. I was on the back of the [tour] bus watching it like, 'Yeah.' That just inspires me. I respect the game."
The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground
Houston's do-it-all man Paul Wall is finishing up his debut LP, The People's Champ, and like his Swisha House labelmate Mike Jones did for "Still Tippin'," he's reaching back to a classic mixtape for his first single, "Sitting Sideways."
"We had Michael Watts come mix on the hook the same way we did 'Still Tippin',' " he explained. "[For] 'Still Tippin',' we took a classic Slim Thug freestyle in '99 and sampled his words for the hook. For ['Sitting Sideways,'] we took a classic freestyle from Big Pokey he did in '96 or '97 with DJ Screw on a mixtape called June 27 and sampled something he said in there. That's the most famous of all Screw tapes ever put out. The hook goes, "I'm sitting sideways, boys in a daze/ On a Sunday night I might bang me some Maze," Wall added. "When he says 'Maze,' he's talking about Frankie Beverly and Maze."
Out-of-towners may not be aware, but the collaboration between Pokey and Wall is significant because back in the day, cats from the south side of H-Town — stomping ground of the Screwed Up Clique — and Swisha House's native territory, the north side, didn't always see eye to eye.
Wall said now it's all about music, fortunately. "I been a fan of the Screwed Up Clique forever, even back in the day," he said. "We trying to come together as a city and support each other and help each other out."
"Sitting Sideways" as Wall explained it, can mean either leaning back in your car or drinking that purple Texas Tea that's so popular in Houston.
Another MC the Swisha House fam has recorded with before is Magnificent, or as he's also known, Magno. Mag has hooked up with DJ Clue and is the first artist coming from the mixtape godfather's Desert Storm South label. Clue said to look out for something from Magno on a major label soon.
Clue himself is "97 percent done" on the long-talked-about third installment of his Professional series. The previous two Professional albums went platinum with no videos, but Clue wants to incorporate at least one clip this time out.
"We gonna mix it up and show a little bit of a visual, to give it a different twist and see where it goes from there," he said.
Lil Jon, Lil Scrappy, Game, Jagged Edge, Cassidy and Fabolous are just a few MCs on the album, while Scott Storch, the Heatmakers and Clue himself are featured on production.
"I got some hot beats I produced for the album," he said. "I did a joint with Lil' Mo that me and her wrote called 'Not Gonna Cry.' I did a Wu banger, bringing that Wu flavor back."
Clue also produced a remix of Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" featuring Jadakiss and Styles of the LOX. He's negotiating to make that the first single.
For more on the role of mixtapes in the music industry, check out the feature "Mixtapes: The Other Music Industry."
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Photo: MTV News
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