Baltimore Hip Hop History Lesson #1

When most people think of Baltimore Hip-Hop, they think of Los, Lil Nay, MullyMan, Labtekwon, Skarr Akbar, and Kevin Liles ( just to name a few, we all know I could go on and on, it'd take too much time, I respect anyone who makes real Hip Hop. I know how rappers do when they feel disrespected, this is not that time.) Today I aim to share some information about one of the early groups from Baltimore,MD. They are considered to be the first group to get put on. After talking to several early Baltimore artists, many of them list the Z 3 Mc's as the premier group from Baltimore. They were signed to Beauty and The Beat Records, and were a renowned group, known in many Baltimore High Schools.

Just Riden (Coast to Coast) - Saafir

"Bored bored in my house it's time 4

Me to hit the streets and find me

A freak without a bra unda." These are the starting lines of a classic song by Saafir. Saafir has been one of my favorite MC's for the longest. He's the leader of the Hobo Junction crew from Oakland, but he's most known for playing the role of "Harold" in Menace 2 Society. His debut album "Boxcar Sessions" is another classic album that dropped in 1994. He stood out amongst several MC's that had a large buzz from the West Coast. At the time, when people thought of West Coast Hip Hop, they automatically thought of Gangsta Rap. That assumption was reasonable since, their pioneers are King Tee (The Foundation, this will be explained in an upcoming article), Ice T, and N.W.A. (Dr. Dre, Easy E, Mc Ren, Dj Yella, Ice Cube). Saafir and Hobo Junction came out during a new wave of Hip Hop. Alongside several Mc's who would meet together and perform at the GoodLife cafe. This includes, Freestyle Fellowship, Souls Of Mischief, and many others. (Apparently Fat Joe, performed at the GoodLife cafe and got boo'd. Maybe because he was from the East Coast?, Not to cast assumptions but that could've been a factor. It could've been because he was a little raw and wasn't the D.I.T.C. Fat Joe who we all miss.) 

Boxcar Sessions helped to set a standard for rap albums. As long as I'm concerned his legacy isn't rooted in albums but in battling. Many West Coast Mc's were fierce battle opponents (Ice Cube, Nuff said). He led Hobo Junction in a battle against the Heiroglyphics Crew ( Led by Del the funky Homosapien.) Legend states that the battle happened because Heiro was upset about the fact that Casual ( Heiro Mc, underground legend, check out Fear Itself....), featured Saafir on his album, and Saafir didn't return the favor. If you're interested in hearing the battle, you should visit youtube. Whoever won the battle is irrelevant, it changed battling just as much, if not, more than how Kool Moe Dee changed battling when he battled Busy Bee (Another classic battle.) Anyway, I decided to give props to one of the Mc's who I consider to be the "Foundation." If you don't know, now ya know...., you should check Saafir out. I'm done, Finna bump this west coast classic, "Just Riden."

Verse I'll Never Forget #1

Why should I say that I feel like Cassius Clay.
Just a little bit older, No I'm still me,
I give the girls the cold shoulder.
But I write about my favorites like MF DOOM.
When I die bury me like King Tut in a tomb,
But not before I bury my bone in a womb,
Im so messed up,
Reason why the cops never try to make me fess up
Cause I'd rather die in Jessup,
Said I was going balls out,
No that's the way I dress up.
Ima say it exactly how I feel,
From the place where brains go to waste,
And children have to steal, food off tables,
Clothes out of stores,
Where boys become pimps, and their moms become whores,
I've been poor before and can't take it anymore
Your life as OMG, while mine was SOL,
Homies moving baking soda, while
I was just trynna sell rhymes,
I've seen more Nicks (Knicks) and Dimes,
Than a fellow,
Who resembles Carmelo Anthony,
I spit so legit, you hypocrite
Your rhymes are blasphemy
I feel sorry for, whoever has to go after me
After Me

Affiliate Spotlight #2 : Devon Daley

This article revolves around the homie Devon Daley. The young spitta/producer from Poughkeepsie is another affiliate on the rise. Last year when myself, 4 Bricks and Willie B, dropped "High School" (https://soundcloud.com/dskillzharris/high-school-dskillz-feat), Devon contacted us to see if he could get on the remix. We listened to some of his songs and said "Most Def." He makes Hip-Hop and we make Hip-Hop, why not work together. The song by him that stood out the most to me at the time was his version of Elevators by Outkast (https://soundcloud.com/devondaley/devon-elevators). He went in on one of my personal favorites. I sent him the instrumental and he laid his verse down within a week and sent it back. Time passed and we recorded " 3 Verses" ( https://soundcloud.com/dskillzharris/3-verses-dskillz-feat-4-bricks). I planned to put Young Charisma/ Charismatic Sky from FYN and Tj Rock$ on the High School Remix. Time passed and it never got finished. My junior year of high school ends and I drop the first version of my mixtape, 2014 (http://www.datpiff.com/Dskillz-Harris-2014-mixtape.554861.html). I had a song on their called Young Black And Gifted. This song had space left for a last verse. Devon hit me up and asked if he could fill that time in and add it to his tape. I said hell yea. He drops his tape "The New Idea" (http://www.datpiff.com/Devon-The-New-Idea-Mixtape.527511.html) and it was dope as hell. The whole tape (Especially the "Inkredible Switch Up) and his Young Black And Gifted verse. He came correct with that, flow was on point and the punchlines caught me off guard. He said " If I'm number 2, then I'm shittin' on 3."
I start working on my new mixtape "Dopest Out" and album "Rebel" and I went across some of his beats on soundcloud. I heard his IronMan beat and had to use it. It became the instrumental for a song on my album (http://www.reverbnation.com/dskillzharris4/song/18514274-i-am-prod-devon-daley). After I recorded this song, I recorded a song I wrote to JDilla's Gobstoppers, and left some verse space for Devon. I sent it to him and he killed it (https://soundcloud.com/dskillzharris/represent-me-ft-devon-daley). He may be an affiliate but he's also an honorary member of DownByLaw. He's currently working on his next project and is also featured on my next mixtape and album.
If you like Real HipHop, he's definitely someone you should check out.
Peace http://www.datpiff.com/Devon-The-New-Idea-Mixtape.527511.html

Affiliate Spotlight : Dan Rogers

Danny is a close affiliate of ours, who is a junior in High School right now.
He's a Dope MC/Producer from Baltimore,MD.
Currently working on his first Mixtape which will be released in 2014.
He's featured on Dskillz's next tape and album.

DBL Cypher #1, before the show.
Willie B, Tj Rock$ and Dskillz Harris.

Dskillz Harris, Willie B, and Tj Rock$ 2013 performance.

Album Single

https://soundcloud.com/dskillzharris/things-done-changed-feat-tj
New single from Dskillz Harris' Upcoming Album : "Rebel".
Featuring Tj Rock$ and Willie B.
(Prod. Dskillz Harris)
Nod To Biggie, "Things Done Changed."