Here’s a post that brings us back in hip hop history to 1991 (before Jeru, Group Home, …), I’m warning tha real diggers not to loose their time on this because they already know this probably. Me personally didn’t grew in that time era… too bad, but I’m still interested like science on drugs. I grew up in the second Preem era (1999-2004).
Like we all know DJ Premier started in 1988 Gang Starr with Guru in Brooklyn, but their first LP didn’t s
old too much so Preem had to earn money for livin’. He more and more spread the word that he was selling beats for artists, the first real famous artist that called him was Ice-T (after they toured together), then followed by KRS-One. But meanwhile on the streets Ghetto Groovz Records talked to him.
Ghetto Groovz Records was a starting label of Jeff Murphy who had artists J-Rock, Beverly and MCM. They were from Upstate New York, where Jeff actually was a notorious drug dealer in Hudson Valley. So where shall I start? Ok, Jeff talked to DJ Premier for some beats because Preem needed money. DJ Premier said “Aight, b
ring me the artists”. The first artist that needed to get launched was J Rock, he was the only one who made a full album on the label called “Streetwize“. DJ Premier produced 4 songs on it (also Easy Mo Bee was on it), and he also produced a remix for the lead single “Neighborhood Drug Dealer“. Now more then 15 years later that lp is a real collectors item and has a value of around 100 euros. The lead single only is worth 75 euros… The video for “Neighborhood Drug Dealer” was also very rare and recently reupped on the internet. More about that video later!
or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugla1KeW7ow
J Rock had a lot of talent, sadly he was the only one of the label who could release a full album. MCM could only release one single and the talented female MC Beverly didn’t released a thing. Even she also recorded a buncha records with DJ Premier, that’s right!! Y’all think now, how come? You just have seen the video of J Rock telling a story of a drug dealer, in that clip you see the drug dealer with a bag of cocaine busted right? That guy is actually Jeff Murphy, and to take you on a more sad tour: that video became reality. Jeff were sentenced for a long jail time due to drugs dealing 6 months after that video was recorded.
So where are those unreleased records? Well, at this point no one knows. DJ Premier told us Beverly went to the south starting a family. Lord Finesse told us he actually wishes he still had the records, they were produced by DJ Premier and written by Lord Finesse! So this is the part where the Ghetto Groovz Records story ends.
I can’t tell you how much I played the J Rock LP already (re issued version), I can’t tell you how much I love that hip hop era. And still, yes, still I’m hunting that LP! If someone has a deal he can always contact me… J Rock told some real diggers that their are actually still a lot of copies left at Jeff mom’s crib who lives also in the south. This is real! If those Beverly records will ever see the dayligt will no one knows, but they are somewhere just like their are records of Biggie with Big Pun and Fat Joe.
Source: VinylAddicts, Soulstrut
Hope you enjoyed this post, this is some real DJ Premier history, “fun times” he said.
Update: Here you can find J Rock demo tape!
