Godfather Don!

who got the spark to spark the unsparkable?! u know i'm remarkable. u can't fuck wit da fatha so don't even botha!!

Yo, today I'm going to cover the legendary Don of Hip Hop which is no other then Godfather Don. I wasn't sure if I'd cover all of his releases (Though I'll skip the Hydra Beat ones) but I figured I might as well because they are all pretty much dope! I know I usually say "this gotta be my favorite group/artist bla bla", but when I say it now I hope you understand clearer. Just look at the number of productions & releases this guy has done and simply everything he has done is quality music. Sure, some are better than others but much of his material holds a top-notch standard when it comes to flow, rhymes, production & lyrics. He is as I said truly the godfather of Hip Hop. At least in my opinion! Just as the previous post I'm going to start off by his first release and so forth. You will get every release he has done in this post so take your time now and don't just mass download. Please listen to the material deeply because I swear it is all very good stuff I post. So..enough talking now and lets get onto the music! Uhm, oh.. of course I shall post a short biography as well as I do with every artist/group I blog about!

Godfather Don is a producer and rapper from Bushwick, New York. He has done 13 releases and 5 instrumental LP's. He is a member of The Cenobites along with Kool Keith which also have contributed to the game a lot. But lets focus on his homie Don for now! Godfather Don also appeared in the group The Groove Merchantz. Obviously both Keith & Merchantz are worth checking!

I don't think there is anyone out there or has been out there in the game ever that is as good as Godfather Don. That is of course my own cents but if you listen to his material you're going to know what I mean.

If you all want a personal biography of the man himself I highly suggest you click HERE. There you have an in depth interview from him. Defenetly worth reading! So, with this said lets go on to the music!

I wasn't sure I'd post his first release because I do not feel the 91 sound that much but I changed my mind and figured I'd share his first album with you because it is classic material and the fact that the album is classified as an nostalgic and perfect album. I cannot say I don't agree, but it is just that it is personally 1-2 years too early for my ears. But that is a matter of personal taste as we all know!

His first album is called "Hazardous" and was released 1991 on Select Records - a label which had artists/groups such as Chubb Rock, Main One, Red Hot Lover Tone, Black Madness, Mack Da Maniac, Kid'N'Play, King Just and more. We can all say that the label offered a loooot of flava if you like that. (Of course you do..)

I personally like the track 8 Million Stories but my favorite track of this album gotta be:



Yep yep!

Download CD

I'm not going to post year by year here because I'm not fully sure which release that was released before the other etc. so I'll just randomly post all his releases, aiight? Okey, on to another release called "Styles By The Gram". This 12" was released on Hydra Entertainment in 1997. Hydra Entertainment is a label YOU MOST CHECK OUT! Nuff said. Anyway, my winner on this wax is the track "Styles By The Gram" eventhough every track of the 3 is amazing.



Download VLS (I'm sorry there are no instrumentals on this 12")

Next up is his "Piece of the Action" 12" which was released on Hydra Entertainment as well and the year is just as the previous post 1997. This release might be one of my favorite (At least it is the one which I've been playing the most I must say.) It's very hard for me to decide which track I like the most of the two but if I had to pick I'd say "Seeds of Hate" takes it. His rhymes & flow are soooo sick on this one. Sure they usually are but I mean especially on this track:



No words on this track, really. I mean...no..fuck it..i'll let your ears/minds do the talk instead.

Download full VLS

Next up is his "Life Ain't The Same" which is (argh..I'm going to keep saying the same thing here on each release..) one of my favorite releases and I've been listening a lot to this one as well. This was released on Hydra Entertainment as well and the year is still 1997. I personally like both tracks but I'd say "On The Other Side" is a bit better in my opinion. On this 12" you'll hear both Sir Menelik & Mike L features. Below is the winner track:



phew..

Download full VLS

Next up is the "Live From New York" 12" which he did with the Screwball member Hostyle. This was released on Hydra Entertainment and the year is still 1997. "3 The Hard Way" is heat! I like it when R.A. The Rugged Man and Prince Po spits here and the beat is great!



Yet again I am sorry I do not have the instrumentals for this VLS. I hope you'll be fine anyway. Also, don't mind the cover I used on the embeded link from YouTube, hehe.

Download VLS

On to his second album which is called "Diabolique" and was released on Hydra Entertainment in 1998. This album is really underrated if you ask me. Not much more to say apart from that my favorite track on this has to be "Live & Let Die" eventhough "Kaos" is a great track too! Worth to mention is that O.C. & Scaramanga features on "Live & Let Die" and did a very well done job! Also - they are obviously worth checking out more on if you haven't heard much from them but I guess most have!



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Next up is the "Fame" 12" he did. I personally find this release a bit weak compared to the other stuff he did. Don't get me wrong, it is a dope 12" but compared to his others I say it's abit behind but we all have different taste and some may find this his best. It was released in 1998 on Hydra Entertainment. Check it! Winner for me is "Da Bomb Baby". Beat is defenetly on point!



Download full VLS

Next up is the "Do You Know?" 12". This was released on Hydra Entertainment in 1999. I find this 12" pretty weak as well compared to a lot of his material eventhough "Do You Know?" is a veeeery nice track, but it was on the "Diabolique" album as I've already posted but I will still post this 12" for you heads.



Download full VLS

I hope you're all enjoying what I'm posting so far. Now it's time for another album again. An album which was released 2007 on Hydra Entertainment and contains previously unreleased tracks from the ninties. This album is so wicked! My favorite track on this album has to be the "Sleep" track:



So fucking perfect! Seriously people, do you realize by now how good this guy is? If you don't you shouldn't listen to Hip Hop at all or claim whatever you like today is Hip Hop. Because THIS is Hip Hop! Nuff said.

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Next up is "The Slave of New York E.P." which is quite obscure and hard to get. This was released in 1997 on "Diggers With Gratitude" and limited to 150 copies. I prefer the "Inverted" track. What about you?



Download EP

I will skip to upload the "Billy Bathgate" EP which I was going to do now but I chose not to because I ain't feeling it at all. Holla if you want it personally sent!

Next up is the "Ill Funk Freaker EP" which was released in 2009 on "One Leg Up Records". I personally find "8 Million Stories" the best on here this as the previous is a limited release to 100 copies.



Download EP

Next up are are very obscure 12" called "Stuck Off The Realness" which was released in 2000 on Hydra Entertainment. This 12" is limited to 100 copies. I can't really say which track I prefer of these but I'll say "Status" if I had to pick!


Perfect track. I fully understand why this 12" is so wanted!

Download full 12"

I'll skip to blog about the two Cenobites releases. I hope you don't mind. This post took me almost 3 straight hours, heh. Please show me some appriciation! Give me feedback, it's fast and it's easy. And as I have said two times before: The more feedback I get the more I will post.

Thanks and I hope you've enjoyed this post!