ICEWATER AND THE POSSE THROW IT BACK posted by O.W.

DJ Icewater feat. Chioke and Sizwe: Throwback Vol. 1 (snippet)
From Throwback Vol. 1 (2007)

Uh, ok...late pass. Apparently, this came out last April but I only got familiar recently and alas, it's not even avail through Icewater's mixtape site anymore :(

Just some quick history: I've known Icewater since the '90s, when he was interning for Solesides/Quannum in Berkeley. He's always been one of my favorite DJs and frankly, dude is just a funny, good-natured guy. He's also handled my mixtapes for several years now, both CD and digital form so I got nothing but love for all his support and help.

This Throwback mix is for the geeks and fanboys (I mean this in a good way) since it's wall-to-wall covers of rap songs. Note: hip-hop is arguably the only major American music genre in which cover songs don't exist in any meaningful way (remixes, I suggest, are a different beast and therefore, don't count) and it's not that hard to explain why (hint: authenticity claims). There are a few examples, such as that recent Beyond a Reasonable Doubt mixtape that was out there and of course, Snoop's "Lodi Dodi." Well, Throwback Vol. 1 is like that...only with a lot more songs to enjoy, spanning the classic '90s era but trying to give love to the different coasts, plus a balance between major label and smaller imprints. Chioke (The Dime) and Sizwe (Lunar Heights) may not outdo the original artists (and that's not the ambition anyway) but it is a rollicking good time hearing them flip on these classics. The four song snippet I put together includes my favorite span on the tape, beginning with Group Home's "Supastar" (note: Malachi's verses were vastly improved upon), then into Ed O.G.'s "I Gotta Have It," and back to Cali with Erule's "Listen Up" and ending with a most welcome surprise: a cover of the Nonce's "Who Falls Apart?" I'm getting all misty for '98 now...