Ecko Unltd. and The Lyricist Lounge Present Underground Airplay Version 1.0 Mixed by DJ Spinbad

For years I have been searching for my copy of this that I somehow managed to lose. I first got this for free when I purchased something; I can't remember if it was a magazine or a ECKO T-shirt, but I remember how dazzled I was with the CD. At the time I wasn't really that heavy into the underground or Independent hip-hop scene, so names like "Quasimoto", "Self SCientific", "Zion I" and "Casual" didn't ring a bell when I looked at the CD's tracklisting. I really didn't have that many expectations, I mean I was ignorant to what those guys were all about; Christ, I was bumping DJ Clue and Kay Slay mixtapes, I had no idea who "Mystic", "Tahir or "D-Stroy" was. I was much more familiar with guys like the Lox, Wu-Tang and Jay-Z. I admit it, I was a little bit of a closed minded guy. Rarely did I venture out of my hardcore comfort zone and try listening to something that was different. I knew a few kids at my school that were what I used to ignorantly refer to as "Backpackers", lol, and I figured that this had to be the type of hip-hop they were listening to. Anyway, long story short, I popped the CD into my stereo and I was really taken back, perhaps even a bit confused. A lot of these artists, whom I didn't know of were really precise, and really, well, artistic. A lot of their rhyme and song patterns were real unorthodox. The subject matter was different as well. One second they could be rhyming about some street shit, the next they could be rhyming about how to maintain a healthy vegan diet. Partially blown away, and partially unable to comprehend the dense subject matter at the time, I found myself knee deep in a CD that was very intriguing to me. Previous to this release the most underground type of music I had been fuckin with was Wu-Tang, and much like this new piece of strange, when I first discovered the Wu, I was also very skeptical, but after a few albums, eventually through their music I would find a new outlook on religion and politics. Of course any real Wu head will confirm that their music can be very enlightening at times, especially when you really look for the meaning behind some of the lyrics that employ five percent mythology and political jargon. After listening to "Underground Airplay" I found that a lot of the guys on this CD were definitely cut from the same cloth artisticly as Wu-Tang, in the sense that they touched on serious topics as well. Although there was a stark difference because they were turning up the volume a little bit. More in-depth references to shit that was going on in the community, radical political ideas and the open discussion of alternative lifestyles (i.e., female MC's delving into serious rhymes about being with another woman) were way more prevalent on this tape than in any other hip-hop I had messed with previously, shit they were way more prevalent than they were in any other music in general that I had ever heard previously for that matter. With an older sister that was always bumpin stuff like Green Day, Paul Simon, Bob Marley, The Beastie Boys and Tupac I am not exaggeratting about the open minded and diverse types of music that I was exsposed to in my house either. Even though I had heard guys like Marley and Pac growing up, there was still a big, big difference in this type of underground hip-hop. It was very direct in relaying it's ideas and the sometimes subtler underlying messages in my sister's "political" music wasn't stacking up to this at all. This tape just had it all man....on top of the A List underground talent that was featured on it, there was also a couple DJing legends who blessed "Underground Airplay" mix as well. DJ Revolution and The X-ecutioners both come thru and cut up a storm on their respective tracks. I really feel like a fool in hindsight man. I disregarded this pretty quickly after I got it, so much so, that it's now lost somewhere in my mom's crib. I just wasn't ready man. I think that my outlook on the world at that point was so small; there was my block, my peooples and my girl. I wasn't worried about the system or politics. I didn't have any conception about how things would be as I got older or what stances I would take on artistic expression. I had no idea how stale the hip-hop world would become. So this tape kind of introduced me to the "other" side of hip-hop. I would actually go on to spend some time living in Portland, Oregon, where there is a thriving underground scene and learn some more about a lot of these artists, which was relatively easy to do seeing as how many of them routinely did shows there. Another thing that this Mix introduced me to was Great underground production. It was on here that I heard beats from DJ Khalil, Will Tell, Madlib and Chops for the first time, all of whom are now staples in the underground scene in New York, Los Angeles and internationally. This is just a great, great mix that I have to commend Marc Ecko and The Lyricist Lounge for putting together and getting out to the masses free of charge. They really don't do stuff like this anymore and it's a shame. The Lyricist Lounge is pretty much defunct now and Marc Ecko is buying Baseball's for hundreds of thousands of dollars, but still remains pretty active as a philanthrapist and activist. Even though I stopped rockin Ecko gear a long while back, I still respect duke quite a bit. He's fought for Graff artist's rights in NYC and raised money to help save endangered Rhinos in Africa. Be sure and check this out man, it's a look back at how ill the underground was, and I know it will spark an intrest in at least one new artist for you....

-BIG D O

1. Intro - DJ Spinbad
2. Heat Of The Moment - Killah Priest (prod. by NIROCIST)
3. Lounge Promo - HOM (prod. by Dart La)
4. Nuthin' You Can Do (W.Y.B.) - Skeme Team (prod. by Block McCloud)
5. Return - Self Scientific (prod. by DJ Khalil)
6. 54th Regiment - Maspyke (prod. by Maspyke)
7. Bisexual - Jane Doe (prod. by 88 Keys)
8. Same O.G. - Casual (prod. by V.I.C.)
9. Boom Bip - Zion I (prod. by 418 Hz & Cuts by Willie Maze)
10. Ol' Time Killin' - Kardinal Offishall (prod. by Mr. Attic)
11. Jam On It - Mos Def (prod. by Lil' Wikki From The Bronx)
12. Just You Wait - Boogieman (prod. by Nottz)
13. Acknowledge - Masta Ace (prod. by Xplicit)
14. Let Me Be - Punch & Words (prod. by Curt Gowdy)
15. It's Time - Hemisphere (prod. by DJ Dug Boogie)
16. Clear The Lane - Phil The Agony (prod. by E-Swift)
17. We Will - Lord Have Mercy (prod. by Ice Pirate)
18. Yo! - Obie Trice (prod. by Mike for Backdoor productions)
19. Truly Unique - Asheru & Blue Black (prod. by Usef Dinero)
20. Holiday - Tahir (prod. by Tahir)
21. Perfectionists - Invincible (prod. by Supa-Dave-West)
22. Special Forces - Bahamadia ft. Planet Asia & Rasco (prod. by Chops for Mountain Bros. Inc)
23. Curse On You - Quasimoto (prod. by Madlib)
24. The X (Ya'll Know The Name) (D-Prosper Remix) - The X-ecutioners ft. Pharoahe Monch, Xzibit, Inspectah Deck and Skillz (prod. by D-Prosper)
25. Current Events - Mystic (prod. by Chops for Mountain Bros. Inc.)
26. I Love It - Young Zee ft. Rah Digga (prod. by Rockwilder)
27. Blazin' (Stay Building Eternal) - Rise & Shine (prod. by Levelz)
28. Smokey - The Bad Seed (prod. by Dirty Swift)
29. Roll Out - D-Stroy (prod. by The Shadow Of Norway)
30. Good Luck Bad Luck - Richie Balance & Rack-Lo (prod. by Will Tell)
31. Center Of Attention - San Quinn (prod. by P Kid)

http://rapidshare.com/files/107330065/ECKO_UNLTD_presents__Underground_Airplay__DJ_Spinbad_.part1.rar