With most producers, part two of a “Best of Mix” would be for the rarities, the underrated album cuts, the B-sides. But with DJ Premier, The Rub could do 10 of these and never run out of bangers! Gang Starr Foundation represents heavily of course, plus Nas, Biggie, Jay-Z, KRS, Rakim, and street anthems from Screwball, Royce Da 5’9″, Rah Digga and Krumb Snatcha.
For more Rub Radio producer mixes including J Dilla, Madlib and Prince Paul, and the year by year History of Hip-Hop mixes, visit: http://www.itstherub.com/category/history-of-hip-hop/
Jeru The Damaja – Come Clean
Heather B – My Kinda N***a (ft. M.O.P.)
Nas – N.Y. State of Mind (Pt. I & Pt. II)
The Notorious B.I.G. – Ten Crack Commandments
Gang Starr – Above the Clouds (ft. Inspectah Deck)
Group Home – Livin Proof
KRS One – MC’s Act Like They Don’t Know
Chubb Rock, O.C. & Jeru The Damaja – Return of the Crooklyn Dodgers
Gang Starr – Code of the Streets
Jay-Z – Friend or Foe ’98
Jay-Z – So Ghetto
Mos Def – Mathematics
Rah Digga – Lessons of Today
Sauce Money – Intruder Alert
Screwball – FAYBAN
M.O.P. – Stick To Ya Gunz (ft. Kool G Rap)
Royce Da 5’9”- Boom
Gang Starr – Full Clip
Tony Touch ft. Gang Starr – The Peacemaker
Rakim – It’s Been a Long Time
Krumb Snatcha – Closer to God
Devin the Dude – Doobie Ashtray
Best of DJ Premier
Posted: June 16, 2022 Filed under: History of Hip-Hop, Producer Series, Rub RadioThis summer The Rub is celebrating 20 years, so for Rub Radio we’re keeping it extremely Brooklyn with the best of DJ Premier! This is just part 1, with stone cold classics from Gang Starr, Biggie, Nas and Jay-Z plus personal favorites by CNN, The Lox, D.I.T.C., Griselda and more.
Gang Starr – Just to Get a Rep
Lord Finesse – Baby, You Nasty
KRS One – Outta Here
Das EFX – Real Hip-Hop
Notorious B.I.G. – Unbelievable
Nas – Represent
Gang Starr – I’m The Man (ft. Melachi da Nutcracker & Jeru the Damaja)
Group Home – Supa Star
Jeru The Damaja – D. Original
M.O.P. – Downtown Swinga ’96
Showbiz & A.G. – Next Level (Nyte Time Mix)
Crooklyn Dodgers – Crooklyn
Jay-Z – A Million And One Questions (Premiere Remix)
D.I.T.C. – Da Enemy
Rakim – New York (Ya Out There)
Gang Starr – The Militia (ft. Freddie Foxxx and Big Shug)
Charlie Baltimore – Everybody Wanna Know
The Lox – Recognize
Common – The 6th Sense
O.C. – My World
D’Angelo – Devil’s Pie
Craig David – 7 Days (DJ Premier Remix ft. Mos Def)
Capone N Noreaga – The Invincible
Nas – Nas Is Like
AZ – The Format
Torae – Get It Done (ft. Skyzoo)
Game – Born in the Trap
DJ Premier – Headlines (ft. Westside Gunn, Conway & Benny)
Dilated Peoples – Good As Gone
Rub Radio Producers Series: Hit-Boy
Posted: February 9, 2022 Filed under: Producer Series, Rub RadioA$AP Rocky – Goldie
Kanye West – Clique (ft. Big Sean & Jay-Z)
Kendrick Lamar – Backseat Freestyle
Beyonce – *** Flawless
Watch The Throne – N***s in Paris
Travis Scott – SICKO MODE (ft. Drake) / CAROUSEL
Young Money – Trophies (ft. Drake)
DJ Khaled ft. Kanye – Cold
Jay Rock – Wow Freestyle (ft. Kendrick Lamar)
Pusha T – My God
A$AP Rocky – 1 Train (ft. Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson & Big K.R.I.T.)
Big Sean – Deep Reverence (ft. Nipsey Hussle)
Benny The Butcher – Legend
Nas – Nobody (ft. Ms. Lauryn Hill)
Nipsey Hussle – Racks in the Middle (ft. Roddy Ricch)
In our first Timbaland mix, we focused on his foundation, and in the follow up, we’ve put together a mix of absolute bangers from the height of his career. #1 hits for Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, 50 Cent, Omarion and Bubba Sparxxx, plus lesser known tracks with MIA, Shawnna, Jeezy and more.
Omarion – Ice Box (co-produced by The Royal Court)
Justin Timberlake (co-produced by Danja & J. Timberlake)
Timbaland – The Way I Are (ft. Keri Hilson & D.O.E., co-produced by Danja)
Timbaland – Give It To Me (ft. Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake, co-produced by Danja)
Missy Elliott – Pass That Dutch (co-produced by Missy)
Missy Elliott – Gossip Folks (ft. Ludacris, co-produced by Missy)
Ludacris – Rollout (My Business)
Jay-Z – Big Pimpin’ (ft. UGK)
Rick Ross – You Know I Got It (Reprise)
Jeezy – 3 A.M. (ft. Timbaland)
50 Cent – Ayo Technology (ft. Justin Timberlake & Timbaland, co-produced by Danja)
Timbaland – Shakin (ft. Aaliyah)
The LOX – Ryde or Die Bitch (ft. Eve & Timbaland)
Beyoncé – Partition (co-produced by Justin Timberlake, Mike Dean, J-Roc, Key Wane)
Bubba Sparxxx – Ugly
Missy Elliott – Get Ur Freak On
Timbaland – Drop (ft. Magoo & Fatman Scoop, co-produced by Craig Brockman)
M.I.A. – Come Around (ft. Timbaland)
Shawnna – Shake Dat Shit (ft. Ludacris)
Jay-Z – Jigga What Jigga Who (ft. Amil)
Tweet – Oops (Oh My) (ft. Missy Elliott)
Ginuwine – Same Ol G
Aaliyah – Rock The Boat
ICYMI: Best of Timbaland Pt 1 is HERE
Best of Timbaland Pt. 1
Posted: September 6, 2021 Filed under: History of Hip-Hop, Producer Series, Rub Radio
The Producer Series has been so much fun to work on, and our newest entry is nothing short of magical! In hindsight, Timbaland is universally accepted as the gold standard of hip-hop and R&B production, but when he first came out of Virginia Beach in the 1990s, it was like an alien had landed on Earth, bearing otherworldly technology. The double-time drum patterns, the beatboxing, the sample flips, the synthesizers: he was truly speaking a different language. In Part 1, we’ve featured many of his early hits with Missy, Aaliyah, Jay-Z, Nas and Ginuwine, with a sprinkling of forgotten gems from Tweet, Ms Jade, Nelly Furtado and Pastor Troy.
Be on the look out for Part 2, coming at the end of September!
Aaliyah – Are You That Somebody (OG + Supafriendz Remix)
Memphis Bleek – Is That Your Chick (ft. Jay-Z & Missy Elliott)
Missy Elliott – Beep Me 911 (ft. 702 & Magoo)
SWV – Can We Get Kinky Tonight (ft. Missy Elliott)
Missy Elliott – Sock It 2 Me
Timbaland & Magoo – Luv 2 Luv U
Aaliyah – Try Again (ft. Timbaland)
Nas – You Won’t See Me Tonight (ft Aaliyah)
Pastor Troy – Are We Cuttin (ft. N.O.R.E. & Ms Jade)
Petey Pablo – Raise Up (All Cities Mix)
Jay-Z – Snoopy Track (ft. Juvenile)
Jay-Z – It’s Hot
Missy Elliott – The Rain
Tweet – Call Me
Ms Jade – Ching Ching (ft. Timbaland & Nelly Furtado)
Justin Timberlake – Cry Me A River
Ginuwine – Pony
Jay-Z – Dirt Off Your Shoulderz
Rell – It’s Obvious (ft. Jay-Z)
Nas – Owe Me (ft. Ginuwine)
Lil Kim – The Jump Off
LL Cool J – Headsprung (ft. Timbaland)
Ludacris – Potion
Cee-Lo – I’ll Be Around
Fabolous – Make Me Better (ft. Ne-Yo)
Timbaland – Grab The Wheel (ft. 6LACK) co-produced by Nes
Bryson Tiller – Sorry Not Sorry (co-produced by Millibeatz)
Aaliyah – One In A Million
Tink – Million (co-produced by AnonXmous)
The Alchemist on Rub Radio: Producer Series
Posted: June 23, 2021 Filed under: History of Hip-Hop, Producer Series, Rub Radio
FINALLY we celebrate the producer of some of our favorite rap records of the past 25 years, Alan the Chemist! The breadth of this man’s career is remarkable: he started out in The Whooliganz in the early 90s, made big waves in underground hip-hop with beats for Dilated Peoples, became Mobb Deep’s in-house producer, and went on to craft hits for Jadakiss, Eminem, Nas, Cam’ron and a whole lot more. Unlike most of his peers, in 2021 he still releases at a breakneck pace, with Griselda, Action Bronson, Curren$y, Earl Sweatshirt, and the list goes on. And he raps! It was almost impossible to boil this all down into a 40 minute mix but we did it.
Tracklist: Read the rest of this entry »
Rub Radio: Madlib Invasion
Posted: March 9, 2021 Filed under: History of Hip-Hop, Producer Series, Rub Radio
During lockdown, we’ve been huge nostalgia junkies, revisiting all the great records we’ve collected over the years. Rub Radio fans have gotten a taste of our comfort food, as we’ve mixed the catalogs of J. Dilla, Trackmasters and Prince Paul in recent months in our History of Hip Hop: Producers Series. Madlib is one of our favorites, a beatmaker but also a prolific artist and even a jazz musician who has recorded under a dozen aliases. This mix just scratches the surface of his work with MF Doom, J. Dilla, Lootpack, Freddie Gibbs, Kendrick Lamar, Erykah Badu and a whole lot more, laced throughout with original sample sources.
Let us know which producers we should highlight next, at @itstherub on Twitter and Instagram!
Tracklist: Read the rest of this entry »
Best of J Dilla Vol 2
Posted: October 29, 2020 Filed under: History of Hip-Hop, Producer Series, Rub RadioWe did a J Dilla mix for our History of Hip Hop: The Producers series, but we could not fit all our favorites in just one mix! So here’s Vol 2, with Nas, Busta, Tribe, Ghostface, Slum, Badu, The Roots, Phat Kat, Guilty Simpson, Oh No and even Daft Punk!
Nas – The Season
Ghostface Killah – Whip You With A Strap
Busta Rhymes – Show Me What You Got
Gap Mangione – Diana in the Autumn Wind
Slum Village – Fall In Love
Bilal – Reminisce (ft. Mos Def & Common)
The Roots – Dynamite
J Dilla – So Far
Guilty Simpson – Man’s World
A Tribe Called Quest – Find A Way
Yancey Boys – The Throwaway
J Dilla – Center of the Movement
Oh No – Move (ft. Roc C)
M.E.D. – Push
Common – The Movement
Daft Punk – Aerodynamic (Slum Village Remix)
Phat Kat – Dedication To The Suckers
J Dilla – Pause (ft. Frank-n-Dank)
A Tribe Called Quest – Keep it Moving
Erykah Badu – Didn’t Cha Know
Rub Radio: Best of J Dilla
Posted: October 21, 2020 Filed under: History of Hip-Hop, Producer Series, Rub RadioHistory of Hip Hop: The Producers Series
Best of J Dilla (Volume 1)
Next in our Producer Series, we’ve got J Dilla! What can you say about one of the greatest beatmakers of all time, of any genre? The music speaks for itself, and we had so much fun putting together this mix that we’re going to drop another one next week. So enjoy the History of Hip Hop: J Dilla Vol 1, and watch this space for Vol 2, with Nas, Busta Rhymes, Ghostface, The Roots, Tribe, of course more Slum Village plus some secret gems!
The Pharcyde – Drop
A Tribe Called Quest – Get A Hold
De La Soul – Stakes Is High
Common – Dooinit
Slum Village – I Don’t Know
Jay Dee – Fuck The Police
Slum Village – Raise it Up
Phat Kat – Don’t Nobody
J Dilla – The $
Jaylib – React
Jaylib – The Red
Q-Tip – Move
Q-Tip – Let’s Ride
The Pharcyde – Runnin
Slum Village – Players
Common – Funky For You (ft. Jill Scott & Bilal)
Steve Spacek – Dollar$
J-Dilla – Rico Suave Bossa Nova
J-Dilla – Think Twice (ft. Dwele)
J-88 – The Look of Love (Pt. 1) Excel Sample Edit
Rub Radio: Best of Prince Paul
Posted: September 8, 2020 Filed under: History of Hip-Hop, Producer Series, Rub RadioWe’ve been Prince Paul fans since we were kids, starting with his production for De La Soul’s first three albums. From Stetsasonic, Big Daddy Kane, 3rd Bass to Gravediggaz, Handsome Boy Modeling School & Dr. Octagon, this tribute takes you through some of our favorites from the Doo Doo Man’s storied career. Plus you get to hear some rarities from MF Doom, a very young Jay-Z and even Marvin Gaye!
Special thanks to Brian Coleman for linking us with Prince Paul – be sure to seek out his Check the Technique books and our companion mixes – and the Spitkicker crew for hooking us up with De La Soul back in the day.
Also, take a listen to Prince Paul & Open Mike Eagle’s podcast, “What Had Happened Was,” in which Paul tells the stories of albums and groups he’s worked with throughout his career: https://starburns.audio/podcasts/what-had-happened-was/
TRACKLIST BELOW
Read the rest of this entry »