S2-Ep 8 - A Conversation with Jay-Z Circa 1997

In part two of New Music Seminar MC Battle For World Supremacy, our last episode for season 2, we focus on the years; 1993 and 1994! I recount the stories I heard about 1993 with MF Grimm, Mad Skillz, and the ’93 champion, Supernatural. As for ’94, I explain how my writing for local Chicago publication The Flypaper, created a lane for me to have some “involvement” and a front-row seat to many of the key happenings at the seminar that year, including getting a chance to interview Bobbito Garcia, The Artifacts, Count Bass D, Hard 2 Obtain, Zev Love X, and Muddbones (Cage and Masai Bey) for an article in The Flypaper, which never came out, and ultimately inspired Caught In The Middle magazine, that I started planning with J-bird only weeks after the seminar. And, I share the memories of being at a showcase that had Indigenous Theory, Keith Murray, Rampage The Last Boy Scout, Notorious B.I.G, Craig Mack, and Original Flavor with Jay-Z. Plus, some insight on the actual MC battle itself, which was won by Judgemental from Chicago, who I was in town with. It’s an action-packed episode!! Follow all of Kevin's work here: https://linktr.ee/kevinbeacham21 Follow Stony Island Audio here: https://www.instagram.com/stonyislandpods/?hl=en

From approximately 1985 until 1994, the New Music Seminar MC Battle For World Supremacy was one of the most exciting and inspiring things for an upcoming MC, especially those whose styles were battle-ready, myself included. Ultimately, this two-part episode is about how I went from an aspiring MC hoping to compete in the contest one day, which I never achieved but did find myself in the audience for the final one ever in 1994. Part two focuses on the years of 1993, and especially my experience attending in 1994. Part one focuses on my path to becoming a battle MC, including the Hip Hop scene in Lake County (North Chicago, Waukegan, and Zion specifically) circa '86-’90, which led to me eventually learning about the NMS MC Battle, and starting to rehearse for my chance to hopefully compete there one day. And, I also touch on the various stories and rumors I was hearing and reading about the early 80s/90s seminar events, and how that was inspiring for what I was doing as an upcoming artist at the time. Follow all of Kevin's work here: https://linktr.ee/kevinbeacham21 Follow Stony Island Audio here: https://www.instagram.com/stonyislandpods/?hl=en

From 1995-2002, I hosted/produced Time Travel Radio on WNUR FM in Evanston/Chicago. One part of the show was regularly doing theme shows telling the history of various artists. In 1996, I did a spotlight show on The Jaz (a.k.a Big Jaz, Jaz-O) and his partner Jay-Z. Then, a year later, as he was promoting his second solo album, I did a Time Travel radio spotlight show on Jay-Z. I was able to interview Jay-Z to get some historical info to use bits and pieces on the show, but I never shared the full interview until now. In this 20-minute interview, at a critical turning point in his career, we have a candid conversation that covers a range of topics, including; early inspirations, battling LL Cool J, decoding hidden lyrics in his music, his relationship with Notorious B.I.G, what happened with his deal with Priority Records, his primary goals with his music, and more! This interview also reveals where the idea for Jay-Z releasing acapellas of his music originated. Be sure to listen to the previous two episodes, which tell the story of The Jaz & Jay-Z. I guess it’s the Time Travel Radio spotlight update… Follow all of Kevin's work here: https://linktr.ee/kevinbeacham21 Follow Stony Island Audio here: https://www.instagram.com/stonyislandpods/?hl=en

For part two of The Jaz & Jay-Z special, we continue to take a look at the greatness of The Jaz with his second album, and the follow-up EP, and as he transitions into the mid-90s, which also saw him take his production skills to the next level. I also touch on some of the styles that The Jaz was a pioneer in and/or helped popularize. And, all that leads into me getting a chance to meet The Jaz, and through him, Jay-Z, and the few interviews that followed to close out the 90s, including a useful idea that I randomly gave Jay-Z... Follow all of Kevin's work here: https://linktr.ee/kevinbeacham21 Follow Stony Island Audio here: https://www.instagram.com/stonyislandpods/?hl=en

The Jaz and Jay-Z are certainly each worthy of their own stories being told, but one of my favorite things is peeling back the layers of how various stories tie things together, and that's the adventure we begin here, in this two-part special that touches not only on the history of The Jaz and Jay-Z, but touches on some other key stories along the way, including moments with Fresh Gordon, UTFO, LL Cool J, Chubb Rock, Gary Byrd, Roxanne Shante, Choice MCs, and more.... Follow all of Kevin's work here: https://linktr.ee/kevinbeacham21 Follow Stony Island Audio here: https://www.instagram.com/stonyislandpods/?hl=en

I was lucky enough to do street promotions in Chicago for Sha-Key's debut album, produced largely by Earl Blaize, as I was, and remain a big fan of that album, "A Head Naddas Journey To Aidi Skizm" ('94). This is the story of that record, including input given to me from Sha-key and Earl Blaize to help fill in some gaps. it talks about her being signed to Imago Records, and what went wrong, as well as what happened next in her career, which included a transition into the world of tech, creating one of the earliest Hip Hop platforms on the world wide web, Guillotine Hip Hop. Listen to the Sha-Keys lost classic "A Head Naddas Journey To Aidi Skizm" here: https://redefinehiphop1.bandcamp.com/album/a-head-naddas-journey-to-adidi-skizm-digital-deluxe Read Kevin's 2001 interview with Earl Blaize here: https://medium.com/@kevinbeacham/a-unearthed-conversation-with-earl-blaize-of-anti-pop-consotrium-from-2001-4a53a9a21918 Follow all of Kevin's work here: https://linktr.ee/kevinbeacham21 Follow Stony Island Audio here: https://www.instagram.com/stonyislandpods/?hl=en

From doing street promotions in Chicago for Wildpitch Records in the mid-90s, I got to work with some of my favorite artists of the time, and of all-time in some cases; including Ultramagnetic MCs, UMC's, Main Source, O.C., and The Coup. This episode talks about my work with Wild Pitch, focusing on the first two albums by The Coup, and goes into detail about a few other connections and interactions I continued to have with Boots Riley over the years, where he's remained one of my favorite artists, and I consider him one of the great elite writers in Hip Hop, and beyond, as well. I touch on all of that here... You can read the full transcript of Kevin's interview with Boots Riley here: https://medium.com/@kevinbeacham/boots-riley-of-the-coup-a-2001-unreleased-interview-deccd324b9bd Follow all of Kevin's work here: https://linktr.ee/kevinbeacham21 Follow Stony Island Audio here: https://www.instagram.com/stonyislandpods/?hl=en

I'm a huge fan of all three artists who this episode focuses on, and if you are a fan of them as well, you already know some of the connections. This episode breaks down how I personally connected with each of them, and great memories, rare demos, and additional connections that are all part of the story...To start it off, we take it back to the Ultamagnetic MC's... Follow all of Kevin's work here: https://linktr.ee/kevinbeacham21 Follow Stony Island Audio here: https://www.instagram.com/stonyislandpods/?hl=en

Many people, especially in the time before the internet, depended on the radio to hear new music, or any music for that matter, for the most part. For me, growing up on military bases, specifically in Germany most of my childhood, radio wasn't an option unless I wanted to hear Top 40. Once I heard Hip Hop, and my vow to "find everything that sounds like this", I heavily relied on trading and dubbing tapes with fellow music lovers and enthusiasts, and the most prized possessions of the 80s...tapes of New York Radio. There's a list of amazing, impacting, pioneering, and influential shows/DJs that come to mind, such as; Mr. Magic, Marley, Zulu Beats with Afrika Islam, The World Famous Supreme Team Show, Kool DJ Red Alert, Chuck Chillout, Awesome Two, Vandy C and Bill Blast, Awesome 2, and so on. This episode details those days, the passion and struggle to track down the latest tapes, and meeting all sorts of challenges along the way. And, eventually focuses on the radio station tapes that I most often got my hands on; WBLS and 98.7 Kiss FM, two rival New York stations. I also touch on a few other key radio shows that I was able to get tapes of or hear live, in the 80s, including Lady B and Mimi Brown in Philly, Electrifying Mojo, The Wizard a.k.a Jeff Mills, WKKC in Galesburg, and WNUR in Chicago. Follow all of Kevin's work here: https://linktr.ee/kevinbeacham21 Follow Stony Island Audio here: https://www.instagram.com/stonyislandpods/?hl=en

Big L is regarded by many as one of the greats of his time, and rightfully so. This episode talks about Big L's skill as an MC, and how we first met, which included me being unintentionally dismissive...well it was somewhat intentional but I just didn't know who he was... As we go on a quest to trace some roots to his style, I talk about the Fearless Four, MC Shan, Juice Crew, & Lord Finesse. And eventually, we get to how my writing for The Flypaper in Chicago in '92, my first Hip Hop journalism gig, led to me meeting Grav, who formed a group called Indigenous Theory with Black Man Zeke, who I was the producer for previous to him being in that group. And, how that led to me being in Harlem in '94, where Grav was from, and running into a young rapper who was on the come up, named "L". Follow all of Kevin's work here: https://linktr.ee/kevinbeacham21 Follow Stony Island Audio here: https://www.instagram.com/stonyislandpods/?hl=en