Let’s get the obvious over first: these are some of the best looking tapes to drop in to our collection. And with Seekersinternational Black Mazda Soundclash, ewonee’s ’73 and Bless Vol. 2 coming to us this year that’s saying something.
Stencilled with a SP-303 and SP-404 on to the cassette – for Jazzilator and Ol’ Dirty Kung Fu respectively – it’s a stunningly simple idea, complicated to manufacture but beautifully executed. Hats off to Vingthor the Hurler and @Krisblade who are credited with bringing this together.
Vingthor is not only the beatsmith attributed alongside DJ MVP to Jazzilator but also the cat behind Asgard Records. A killer cassette label “dedicated to promote Underground, Raw, Boombap Hip-Hop tapes”, Asgard has notched up some 29 physical releases in it’s three years trading. There’s a killer roster of regulars including Vingthor, Lord Beatjitzu and DJ MVP regularly turning out limited edition tribute and beat tapes.
And to be fair they’re all pretty stunning in design. Just check the description for The Sesame Street Beat Tape which dropped in 2005:
“C-44 min ferric tape in red “Elmo”, blue “Cookie Monster”, green “Oscar the Grouch” and yellow “Big Bird cassette shells (pick your favorite one!), with a beautiful custom cardboard box printed on both sides, inside hand drawn artwork by Keon Ching (Vingthor’s 6 years old son), outside artwork comes with wiggly eyes, every cassette comes with free stickers.”
Shit looks good. And for those without a walkman that love the label’s design work you can always grab a t-shirt or even a pin lifted from the Thor vs Doom release of 2014.
Jazzilator first made it’s way to tape in 2013, now on it’s third repress (or whatever the cassette equivalent is). Sequenced by Vingthor using only an SP-303, Kaossilator and vinyl, with DJ MVP providing cuts, it’s proper organic headnodding material. Tracks are arranged, not mixed together but manage to flow nicely, pure vibes start to finish.
At 16 minutes in length it may be also be accused of coming up short, but in that time the beat tape delivers moments that I sometimes search whole albums for.
Getting a physical release for the first time are two beat tapes in one from the understated but much revered Lord Beatjitzu. Side B is 5 Element Ninja which originally dropped digitally in 2006 and was the first full length offering from the beatsmith. Drawing on the Wu-Tang influence it’s no surprise that the 35 minutes of beats are spliced with kung-fu samples. But the most notable aspect what comes through is just how perfectly raw it is.
Ol’ Dirty Kung Fu (A Tribute To Ol’ Dirty Bastard) – as you’d expect – is equally rugged. Designed to “represent the raw energy that was Ol’ Dirty Bastard” the beats were freestyled on the spot, using just the SP-404 and mastered to an Ol’ Dirty cassette. Mad tape hiss is part of the charm.
As with other Lord Beatjitsu releases there’s no full digital available. So to appreciate the full 41 minutes you’ll have to dust off the walkman. And having turned this one over a few times in the last couple of weeks I can tell you it’s well worth the effort; Lord Beatjitsu’s work is on another level.