A new XXL post by Rob Markman titled "GZA’s ‘Liquid Swords’ Turns 15 Years Old" takes an in-depth look at The Genius' epic 1995 album. The article highlights some of the lyrics from Liquid Swords, but mostly covers the samples used throughout. Sadly, it seems like someone didn't follow some basic instructions and I'ma have to file an investigative report on some of that bitchassness.
If you recall, I dropped a sample set for Liquid Swords back in 2007. This labor of love was a tedious but rewarding one. Just a couple of months ago, I updated the compilation with some new artwork and, most importantly, new songs and audio snippets I'd come across since '07. When I call this a labor of love, I mean that shit. That's why I've gotta bring some of this stuff to attention. Take a quick peek at Rob's article and come right back. Do you see what I see? Look: I'm not saying I've got some sort of monopoly on covering classic rap records' samples. Far from it! There are others who do it too, and quite frankly, others who can do it better. I just compile the tracks and drop my humble pair of pennies. The e-playground is big enough for all of us. But in this case, all of the work I've put in has been swiped and claimed as the diligent digging of Rob Markman. Fall back. I'm not asking for a rubdown here, but a nice little shout-out would've been appropriate.
Now here's where the story gets interesting: I'm a bit of a geek, so I checked the website's HTML/page source to find the links to the attached mp3 files. What'd I come to find out? The file names are identical to the ones in my sample set! Not only that, but when you actually download these songs, the file sizes are identical. It doesn't take a Shaolin monk to figure out what happened here. Funny enough, Rob - or whoever thought this was a clever idea - didn't even bother deleting the embedded cover art on the mp3 files! So you're listening to an mp3 off the XXL website with some artwork that reads "Hip Hop Is Read Presents..." - unbeknown to the listener; all without giving me the least bit of credit on any of the thirteen pages of this XXL article. Now that's some ol' bullshit.
I was very grateful to XXL when they included Hip Hop Is Read amongst the "100 best hip hop websites." Here's what they wrote:
If you recall, I dropped a sample set for Liquid Swords back in 2007. This labor of love was a tedious but rewarding one. Just a couple of months ago, I updated the compilation with some new artwork and, most importantly, new songs and audio snippets I'd come across since '07. When I call this a labor of love, I mean that shit. That's why I've gotta bring some of this stuff to attention. Take a quick peek at Rob's article and come right back. Do you see what I see? Look: I'm not saying I've got some sort of monopoly on covering classic rap records' samples. Far from it! There are others who do it too, and quite frankly, others who can do it better. I just compile the tracks and drop my humble pair of pennies. The e-playground is big enough for all of us. But in this case, all of the work I've put in has been swiped and claimed as the diligent digging of Rob Markman. Fall back. I'm not asking for a rubdown here, but a nice little shout-out would've been appropriate.
Now here's where the story gets interesting: I'm a bit of a geek, so I checked the website's HTML/page source to find the links to the attached mp3 files. What'd I come to find out? The file names are identical to the ones in my sample set! Not only that, but when you actually download these songs, the file sizes are identical. It doesn't take a Shaolin monk to figure out what happened here. Funny enough, Rob - or whoever thought this was a clever idea - didn't even bother deleting the embedded cover art on the mp3 files! So you're listening to an mp3 off the XXL website with some artwork that reads "Hip Hop Is Read Presents..." - unbeknown to the listener; all without giving me the least bit of credit on any of the thirteen pages of this XXL article. Now that's some ol' bullshit.
I was very grateful to XXL when they included Hip Hop Is Read amongst the "100 best hip hop websites." Here's what they wrote:
Ever wonder where rap’s hottest producers get their samples from? This gem of a site is like a virtual dig spot, offering compiled playlists of hip-hops’s original source material, minus all the digital dust, of course.They were right about that! Much love, XXL. Too bad you've got a strange way of showing it.
