Tommy Wright III aka The 1 Man Gang is an underground gangsta rapper who is considered a legend in his hometown Memphis, Tennessee. In 1994 Tommy Wright III formed Street Smart Records, and the rest is history. To the horrorcore murder rap scene all of his albums are recognized as classics, and collectors of his cassette tapes & CD’s are willing to spend skrilla for his original music on eBay! and Amazon.

Tommy Wright III began his career in the early 1990′s putting together his own rap group called Ten Wanted Men, which featured the rappers Jesse James, La Chat, 2-Face, K-Rock, C-Roc, Lil’ Ramsey, Mac T-Dogg, Project Pimp, Princess Loko and of course himself Tommy Wright III. He also released numerous solo albums such as Memphis Massacre,  On The Run,  Feel Me Before The Kill Me, Behind Closed Doors & Ashes 2 Ashes, Dust 2 Dust. Tommy Wright III is also the head of many Memphis rap groups including the Manson Family, who’s latest album is titled Heltah Skeltah.

Recently Rap Music Guide caught Tommy’s attention, so he sent over a promotional package with some of his music and autographed posters. Much respect playa!

Tommy Wright III also supplied us with several ways for you to stay up to date with all of his latest projects. You can like him on Facebook, send him a friend request on Myspace, follow him on Twitter, collaborate with him on ReverbNation, or to support him the most; purchase Tommy’s albums on CD Baby! Also be sure to visit the Street Smart Records Facebook fan page for more information.

In 1992 “Mobo” Joe Paynes started the label Mobo Records out of his West Bank Expressway record shop. What made Mobo Records more unique than any other label from New Orleans during that time was the line up of gangster rap albums such as Dog House Posse “Dope Gets No Heavier”, Lower Level Organization “Wanted By Five-O Feared By Most”, Ruthless Juveniles “Hard As Tha Fuck”, and Death “Possessed By The Ouija Board”. Behind all of the releases was Ivory Joe Paynes (aka Mobo Joe) backed up by his vice president Kenneth M. Taylor. Mobo Joe rapped on a few of the albums and handled some production, although most of the music was handled by Death of the Ruthless Juveniles.

The label eventually fell into obscurity in the early 2000s because the president Ivory Joe Paynes was arrested, and ended up doing time in federal prison. When Mobo Joe was eventually released from prison he released his first solo album in 2004 titled Federalli.

To find out more about the history of Mobo Joe Records and his entire catalog of New Orleans rap albums, read the article titled West Bank’s Finest.

By looking at just the album covers it’s almost impossible to tell the difference between the two releases. Even when you turn them over and look at the rear traycards, the barcode and the artwork are almost identical. In order to really tell the difference you will actually need to look beyond the album cover and checkout the jewel cases they came in. The easiest way we found to spot the re-release is by the clear jewel case that allows you to see the traycard artwork which has advertisements behind the cd for 15 other albums by Travlyrics. The original version came in a standard jewel case and does not feature any artwork on the inside traycard. Below are both releases side by side so you can see the difference in jewel cases. The original Bink “Something 2 Ride To” is on the left, while the Bink “Something 2 Ride To” re-release is on the right

If for some reason you still cannot tell which version you have, open it up and check out the additional linear notes and artwork. The original will have a large Fly Records logo when you open the cd case, while the re-release has the track listing for the album printed in black & white. Below are scans of the original in on the left, and the re-release on the right.

There are also slight differences in the way the cd art was printed. On the original release seen on the left you will notice the track numbers 4, 5, 6, & 7 were cut off during the pressing. While the re-release on the right all of the tracks are clearly printed to the cd. Also printed on the re-release is Compact Disc Digital Audio logo located beneath the title of the album, which is not found on the original. Also it’s important to notice that the original version of this album has 14 tracks, while the re-release has only 13 tracks.

Finally of course the ringcodes do not match. The original ringcode is on the left is: BINK/DISC MEDIA CA/#240 CD 00999-04, while the re-release on the right is: CD231-011G Bink JLM/CA

If you follow the Free Gold Watch blog, then you have probably seen the leaked photo of our new line of Rap Music Guide t-shirts that are in the works. If not, check out the article titled “Free Gold Watch Enterprises“. We chose Free Gold Watch to help make our couture fashion dreams come true because their brand is not just a quick trend, but a phenomenon. Also because their clothing/printing store is conveniently located in San Francisco, CA right behind the famous Amoeba Records at 1767 Waller St. in the upper Haight. Our Rap Music Guide shirts will be available in December, which will be perfect timing for those of you who need to get your holiday shopping on.

Aside from being the official printer of the Amoeba Music t-shirts, Free Gold Watch counts rappers such as Berner, Evenodds, Town Thizzness, and SMC, the label that puts out music by rap artists such as The Jacka and Messy Marv, as some of their regular clients. As opposed to the more cost effective and widely used auto-press method of printing, Free Gold Watch embraces the manual press, which involves the human hand, eye, and the squeegee in order to produce a product that reflects the qualities of human creation. In a society that is constantly moving towards machines, perfection, and the removal of human involvement, we appreciate Free Gold Watch for their artistic rawness, imperfection and the preservation of man-made artistry.

Be sure to stay tuned, because Rap Music Guide is about to keep you fitted, and dipped in butter with our new line of freshly pressed garments. If you’re interested in pre-ordering, please contact us directly, or leave a comment with your contact info and shirt size.

For cassette tape enthusiasts, and those of us who still have shoe boxes filled with mix-tapes, this may be sad news for you. But while it might be depressing to think tapes are so old school that they can’t even make it into the dictionary, Oxford’s decision kind of makes sense. Most kids now don’t even know about cassette tapes, and some are hardly aware of CDs. Thanks to the introduction of file-sharing and iTunes, the main form of music now comes in the form of a file you can download. But Rap Music Guide readers know the truth, cassette tapes have some of the purest lyrics and hardest beats ever recorded. That’s why we continue to search, hoard, trade and at times sell our rare cassette tapes in order to buy more.

To drop some knowledge on you, the peak of cassette sales came in 1990, when more than 442 million cassettes were shipped to retailers. From then on began the decline of the cassette tape, and the rise of the CD, which had its peak in 2000, just before giving way to the digital era.

If you’re not already familiar with the Westwood Boyz, they consist of a number of homeboyz from the same North Bay neighborhood. The album features primarily Rabbit, Frosty and Puppet. All of them each have over 10 years of music experience. Its very unfortunate, but many set backs have prevented these artists from hitting your headphones. They started rapping and recording in 1998, which was also the year they were in the middle of a fierce gang war that left their entire neighborhood in an uproar. In 2008 Rabbit was released from the California state prison system after doing 8 years for shooting of two rival gang members. This new album is the launching of not only a project, but an adventure into new era of better opportunities and a brighter future.

Just like many of the classic albums from the Bay, the Westwood Boyz are way ahead of their time, and are seriously killing it not only with their lyrical skills, but their professional beats. From track one, all the way to nineteen, our heads was bobbin to their unique sound. Without a doubt their style of flows and delivery is unlike any other rap group we’ve ever heard. We also could not help but notice the attention that went into mastering this album. The levels are prefect on all the tracks, and the bass is clear and it hits hard. All of this coupled with some of the craziest album artwork we’ve seen in a while, makes the Westwood Boyz album a must have for your rap collection. Don’t sleep on this album!

Rabbit is seriously no rookie to the rap game! Back in 1999 he released his first album under his own record label, Rabbit Records. The album was titled Strychnine Gangstaz and it featured himself; 18 Rabbit, along with many others from his North Bay neighborhood such as Puppet, Don Pagliaccio, Mr. Beretta, Lex Loco, Blootshot, Chela, Andre Champoux, and El Monstruo. Strychnine Gangstaz was only released on cassette tape with limited distribution throughout the Bay Area. If you have this cassette tape in your possession consider yourself lucky and a straight G.

Rabbit also supplied us with lots of ways for you to find out more about the Westwood Boyz and their new album. You can like them Facebook, add them as a friend on Myspace, subscribe to their YouTube channel, collaborate with them on ReverbNation, or to support them the most; purchase their album on CD Baby! Also be sure to visit their official website www.Westwoodboyz.com for more information.

1. Big Poohb & Young Willz – Dank Smoke
2. Rich The Factor – Parachute ft. Young Fe
3. Doesia Click – Chronic Bionic
4. 3XKrazy – Hood Smoke
5. Richie Rich – Pillow ft. Dewayne Wiggins & Rame Royal
6. Tha M.O.B.B. – Legalize It
7. Mr. Mostafah – Drop’s On A 20 ft. Kilo, Playa P & The Double Up Click
8. Luniz – I Got 5 On It ft. Dru Down, Richie Rich, E-40, Digital Underground & Spice 1 (Extended R8R Blend)
9. San Quinn, Silk & Master P – High Fo X-mas
10. Lil E – Smokin The Dank
11. Marvaless – Bring The Bomb
12. Mr. Doctor – No Bitch
13. West Side Industry – Fienin For A Sac
14. Triple Beam – I Get High
15. A.M.W. – Gettin’ High
16. Young D Boyz – Mr. Chronic
17. G-Ism & Kenny Mack – Smoke Fills My Chest
18. U.D.I. – Waiting To Inhale ft. Mark C
19. A-Town Click – Mile Hi Bomb
20. Mac Dre – I Need A Eighth ft. Da Looies & Dubee

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?j0trvqkw9338r1i

Hard copies (which include split tracks) on this album and past mixes are available for purchase. Please contact R8R & L-wood direct at djpmix@yahoo.com for further information. Feedback is also welcome. Here are the other available limited edition mixes for purchase, be sure not to sleep on these!

From the intro track “In My City”, to the last song “Never Stop”, there is no doubt that Chaz & Epic 1 have their own unique style and song writing abilities. The Chosen Few Crew’s album features 2 beats from Demolish Beatz who has supplied tracks for rap artists such as Tech N9ne, Krizz Kaliko, and Big Scoob. To purchase the album visit the iTunes store, here’s the direct link: The Scarlet Letter MCs

To find out the latest info about the group including events, new songs, and updates on what the group is doing, you can follow them on Twitter, like them on Facebook, add them as a friend on Myspace, or visit their website www.ChosenFewCrew.com.

For those of you not familiar with Yung Gee Da General, he began making a name for himself in the Lower East Side of Manhattan participating in street rap battles, and has since performed at various showcases in New York City and Pennsylvania.

Skye Lab also supplied us with a very professional artist information press kit which makes it easy for us to read up on Yung Gee without the need to hop on our computers. It showcases Yung Gee’s biography with his Facebook, Twitter & Myspace links. There is also a business card for Moment-of-Truth Productions, the entertainment company that is putting out Yung Gee’s music. We’re very impressed with the great promotional material they provided to us, check it out!

Yung Gee’s music can be purchased on iTunes, just click this link: Loved By Few, Hated By Many. One of the tracks we were feeling the most we found featured on YouTube. This one is titled Dangerzone.

Click here to view the embedded video.