1, 2, 3, 4, get it!

Kev E Kev & Ak B: Listen to the Man
From Listen to the Man 12″ (DNA, 1988)

Solid piece of East Coast ‘88 rap here from the likes of fresh fly fellows Kev-E-Kev and Ak-B. You’ve got a drum machined out loop of “Funky Drummer,” incorporating both the horn intro and the drum loop, with a bit of the Mowhawks’ “The Champ” thrown in to keep things on the Ultimate Breaks and Beats tip. Ak gets halfway throug the first verse putting sucker emcees to bed before he realizes that he forgot to introduce Kev, the DJ on the mix who will always produce. I really dig how the scratching of JBs vocal count off continues through the verse, because you don’t really hear a lot of that sort of thing without it getting in the way of the rhyme. Another sure shot with the engineering clout of one Paul C. McKasty.

Shouts out to Kevvy Kev, host of KZSU’s “The Drum,” without whom I might not have put a needle on this record years ago. One more reason San Diego is HURTING without a proper FM college station.

note: This post is of a slightly duplicitous nature. While I’ve been wanting to write about this peice for a while, the recent catastrophy in New Orleans has given me added incentive. Through a discussion on Soulstrut, everone’s favorite record nerd/political rant/rap fued website, a concerted effort to raise relief money through the sale of serious records has been mounted. So for my part I’m tossing my OG copy of this up. No ebay, simply go to the board, read the instructions (every thread with a red pin is an auction for a donated record) and help out through the passing on of some fantastic music (seriously, Open Sky Unit?!? Pazant Brothers??!!!? Impeach the President?!!?? bonkers, out of control…). And if you can’t get down with the grails, you can always make a donation of any amount to order@vanguardsquad.com via PayPal. Spread the love, folks