The College Dropout celebrates its 10 year anniversary

Say what you want about Kanye West, but its hard to argue with College Dropout. Released February 10, 2004; College Dropout is still a masterpiece 10 years later. I would talk people into submission about the perfection of this album. Its production made me hunt for the originals. The lyrics were a look into Kanye's Soul, raw and untainted by fame & fortune.

Receiving 10 Grammy nominations, I did my first homage to Kanye, immediately after he won the Grammy for Best Rap Album in 2005.

This is one of my favourite mixes that I have done and hope that it can help you see through all the bullshit & drama and appreciate Kanye's art:


Happy Anniversary Kanye & College Dropout.

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#RIPJMJ

11 years ago today (October 30), Jam Master Jay was inexplicably shot and killed in Jamaica, Queens. The mentor of many legendary DJs; JMJ brought the DJ from the back of the stage, to a important member of any group.

Ranked at number 48 on Rolling Stone's Greatest Musical Acts of all time, Run DMC was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship. psychology pays tribute to JMJ And the music of Run DMC with The Diamond In The Rough: The Run DMC Session.



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RIP Isaac Hayes (August 20, 1942 - August 10, 2008)

August 10th, 2013 marked the 5 year anniversary of the death of the legendary Issac Hayes.
Isaac Hayes, aka Black Moses, was an American soul and funk singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, arranger, composer, and actor. He was also a film score composer for motion pictures, including the 1971 blaxpoitation film, Shaft, which he won an Academy Award for Best Original Song (the first Academy Award received by an African-American in a non-acting category).
Influential albums, like Hot Buttered Soul were important bodies of work, molding Soul music and laying the ground work for many artists to follow. Some of his most cherished works include his transformation of Burt Bacharach pop songs, like Walk On By and The Look Of Love into soulful, lengthy, orchestral epics.
More recently, he was known as the voice of the beloved Chef on South Park.

psychology found it only fitting to pay tribute and honor one of the most soulful men to ever exist by composing The Diamond In The Rough: The Isaac Hayes Tribute, which, since it first was released 5 years ago, has become a favorite to many.



RIP Isaac Hayes
August 20, 1942 - August 10, 2008

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RIP Barry White (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003)

July 4th, 2013 marked the 10 year anniversary of the passing of legendary composer and singer-songwriter, Barry White.

Best known for his deep bass voice, Barry was an amazing producer & arranger. During the course of his career in the music business, White achieved 106 gold albums worldwide, 41 of which also attained platinum status. White had 20 gold and 10 platinum singles, with worldwide sales in excess of 100 million.

Barry White is also considered one of the pioneers of disco music, seamlessly combining R&B music with classical music.

psychology pays homage to the genius that is Barry White with The Diamond In The Rough: The Barry White Tribute.



Download The Diamond In The Rough: The Barry White Tribute HERE

RIP Barry Eugene Carter
September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003

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The Diamond In The Rough: The Run DMC Session

This past October 30th marked the 10 year anniversary of the inexplicable murder of a Hip Hop Legend. Jam Master Jay was shot and killed in a Merrick Boulevard recording studio in Jamaica, Queens.

JMJ was a talented musician who played trumpet, bass, guitar, and drums in various bands prior to discovering turntables. In 1982 he hooked up with Joseph "Run" Simmons and Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels just after they graduated from high school and agreed to DJ for them because he " just wanted to be part of the band".

Run DMC was one of the most well-known hip hop acts in the 1980s who, along with LL Cool J, signified the advent of the new school of hip hop music. They were the first group in the genre to have a gold album (Run–D.M.C., 1984) and be nominated for a Grammy Award. They were the first to earn a platinum record (King Of Rock, 1985), the first to earn a multi-platinum certification (Raising Hell, 1986) the first to have videos on MTV, the first to appear on American Bandstand and the cover of Rolling Stone. The group was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them number 48 in their list of the greatest musical artists of all time.

psychology pays tribute to arguably Hip Hop's most influential group, with The Diamond In The Rough: The Run DMC Session.



God Damn that DJ made my day.
RIP Jason William Mizell
January 21, 1965 – October 30, 2002

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RIP Heavy D

November 8th marks the one year anniversary of the loss of one of music's most loveable and talented artists. Dwight Myers, aka Heavy D, passed away from pneumonia leaving many heavy hearts.

Heavy D & the Boyz were the first group signed to Uptown Records; releasing 6 albums with the label which Heavy D later became president. He helped to develop rhythm-and-blues singer Mary J. Blige's career and hired Sean Combs as an intern. During this time, Myers also developed the sensational R&B boy band Soul for Real, and was the executive producer and principal writer of several songs on the group's breakout album, Candy Rain. He later became the senior vice president at Universal Music.

psychology pays tribute to a Hip Hop icon, with The Diamond In The Rough: The Heavy D Tribute. This edition of DITR is a humble celebration of the music of one of the most loved & respected men in the music biz.



RIP Heavy D
May 24, 1967 – November 8, 2011

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The Diamond In The Rough: The Das EFX Session

April 7th 2012, marked the 20th anniversary of the release of the debut album, Dead Serious, by Hip Hop duo Das EFX.

The album was a certified hit, peaking at 16 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, topping the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for five weeks and reaching platinum sales by 1993. Well-received upon its release, Dead Serious has since been regarded by music writers as a significant and influential album in hip hop.

Dead Serious caused an immediate sensation upon its release in March 1992.[2] The album went platinum on the strength of the singles Mic Checka and the Top 40 pop hit They Want EFX, by 1993.Giving it a 4 out of 5-mic rating, The Source's Matty C compared the duo's lyrical style to that of Busta Rhymes, Treach, and EPMD, writing "Not only have they innovated a new rhyme flow that expands on all these styles, but they have brought back fun filled hip-hop".

Their clever pop culture references were rhymes that have a permanent place in the memories of many Golden Era Hip Hop fans.

In honor of their 20th anniversary, psychology digs in the crates & pays homage to Skoob & Dray with The Diamond In The Rough: The Das EFX Session; premiering tonight ( April 12) on K103 radio at midnight.



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Supreme Clientele Celebrates its 11th Anniversary

On January 25th, 2000, Ghostface Killah dropped his sophmore solo album; which many argue is the greatest solo Wu-Tang album of its era. Like most sophmore solo albums from WTC, Supreme Clientele was not produced entirely by The RZA. However, RZA did oversee the overall production and mixing, being credited as executive producer along with Ghostface Killah.

Supreme Clientele continues to remain on many top 10 lists of hip hop albums of the new milenium. It is probably most known for the single, Cherchez LaGhost, which contains a sample of Cherchez La Femme by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band.

psychology digs in the DITR archives & "reissues" his homage to Ghostface Killah, The Diamond In The Rough: The Ghostface Killah Session. Rumor has it, that it this mix at one point landed in the hands of Ghostface Killah.. Hopefully he liked it, as I hope you will too.. Enjoy!



Download The Diamond In The Rough: The Ghostface Killah Session HERE.

Make sure you pick up Ghostface's latest release, Apollo Kids.

Step In The Arena Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary

January 15th marked the 20th anniversary of the release of Hip Hop Legends, Gang Starr, 2nd studio album, Step In The Arena. Released on January 15th, 1991; the album contained classics like Who's Gonna Take The Weight & Just To Get A Rep.

All the tracks were written & produced by DJ Premier & Guru; as was the norm back in the gloden age of Hip Hop...

When released, it received 3.5 mics in The Source; 4.5 stars in Rolling Stone & a perfect 5 Stars at AllMusic. In 2007 it was named the greatest hip hop album of all time by IGN.com.

psychology digs in the archives & pays homage with one of his favorite DITR mixes, The Diamond In The Rough: The Gang Starr Session.



Download psychology's Gang Starr tribute HERE.

R.I.P. Guru (July 17, 1966 – April 19, 2010)

Mama Said Knock You Out celebrates its 20th anniversary

August 27th marks the 20th anniversary of the release of LL Cool J's 4th studio album, Mama Said Knock You Out.

The album spawned four hit singles: The Boomin' System; Around the Way Girl; 6 Minutes Of Pleasure & the hard-hitting title track, which to this day is STILL one of the most hard hitting Hip Hop songs released(When Bob Dylan recites a verse from MSKYO, you know it's a classic).

Although LL specifically tells us, "Don't Call It A Comeback!"; MSKYO was made as a comeback album after the critically disapointing Walking With A Panther. The album helped restore LL's reputation as a hip hop icon. In 1998, it was listed in The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums

To help celebrate the anniversary of MSKYO, which is also my personal favorite album from LL, psychology digs in the archives and blows the dust off a classic edition of DITR.

Tune in to K103 radio tonight (Aug. 26) at mdinight for The Diamond In The Rough: The LL Cool J Session.



Download The Diamond In The Rough: The LL Cool J Session HERE