For all the DJ Shadow, Blackalicious, Latyrx, Solesides/Quannum lovers out there, this one is for you.
SoleSides was a legitimately wonderful label. That's not meant to be taken as disrespectful towards Quannum, especially since it was essentially the same label with a larger roster, but Quannum's releases were a little more all-over-the-place and generally not as focused. Blackalicious never recorded another record as incredible as Melodica (though the A2G EP came close), Latyrx never recorded another album and most of the other Quannum releases were very "audience oriented", or more specifically, if you weren't into recordings of High School marching bands performing funk classics or other peculiar side-projects, Quannum just wasn't really for you. Lyrics Born did go on to become a great solo artist though, and most of the crew reunited for the Mighty Underdogs album, though that simply didn't live up to it's potential. Nonetheless, SoleSides had that boom-bap, Cali hip-hop going on and the Greatest Bumps compilation, while sadly incomplete, still does a great job of showing why the crew is fondly remembered.
Regarding that SoleSides Greatest Bumps comp, if you have a physical copy and have read the liner notes in detail you've probably noticed that Asia's Verse has an interesting story behind it. Specifically...
If you're one of the lucky 500 or so who have an original copy of Radio Sole, or one of the thousands that have a bootleg, you already know. If not, welcome to the madness. This is the long lost verse, back from the days when Lyrics was still Asia Born, that edited any cipher, and always brought down the house. Recorded during The Auditions sessions.
Those notes were a little misleading as the version of Asia's Verse that appeared on the Radio Sole comp was actually performed live, whereas the the version on Greatest Bumps was indeed a studio version, but it was enough detail to make me want to find out what else I was missing. What was missing was a lot, including freestyles, early demos, live performances and hidden funk classics. Of course, it wasn't easy to find a copy of Radio Sole, at least not initially. I found mine on a pressed bootleg CD, and while the sound quality was far from perfect I have to assume none of the original cassettes sounded all that hot either. But sound quality isn't the point, the Radio Sole tape is a document of SoleSides' early years, showcasing their raw talent and sheer audacity. For those reasons, it's essential.
There were 500 official tapes made of Radio Sole, all of which are assuredly impossible to find, but rips are around and here is one from that CD I purchased. Put this on and you'll surely be in heaven shortly thereafter, especially when hearing things like the demo of Blackalicious' Paragraph President from years before it was eventually re-recorded for release, the beat for Latyrx's Burnt Pride in an early form as Red Ants, Shadow cutting on the radio and much, much more! Go ahead, rock it like it's 1996 and Lateef's The Wreckoning was the coldest thing you'd heard in years! You know you want to!
The SoleSides Crew - Radio Sole 1
01 The Sound That Nobody Took Seriously
02 Lateef - The Wreckoning (Live At The DNA, San Francisco 9/95)
03 Shadow - Groove Robber #1 In The Act
04 Shadow - 90.9 Bonus Beat
05 From 90.3... (Radio Bullshit 91)
06 Asia's Gem
07 Gift Of Gab - Lyrical Anthem (Freestyle 9/95)
08 Blackalicious - Paragraph President (4 Track Demo 91)
09 Shadow's On The Air (Three 12"s and A 45)
10 Lyrics Born - "Stone" Cold Lyrics (Live At The Stone 2/93)
11 Zen's Bad Side
12 Make Way For The Originals (Word Of Mouth 85)
13 Huh? Hmmm. Now!
14 Chief's Pick: Lyrics Born - Red Ants (Instrumental)
15 Lateef, Gift Of Gab, Lyrics Born & Shadow - Live At Barony (Freestyles 6/94)
16 Shadow - Gangsta Jazz (Demo 91)
17 The Chief and Shadow's Xmas Present
18 Blackalicious, Lateef & Lyrics Born - 360 Degrees Back Home (Live In Sac 4/94)
Does anyone else find it funny that they named the tape Radio Sole 1 since there wasn't a follow-up?
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