Dart Adams Is In Deep Concentration AKA 17 Days

Today I offer for your downloading and listening pleasure, OM Records’ Deep Concentration series of hip hop compilations. Each compilation consists of tracks produced, composed and arranged by the top turntablists in the game circa 1997-2000 as well as some great tracks from the eras leading underground hip hop groups.

San Francisco’s OM Records (home of Ming & FS, People Under The Stairs, El Stew, Afro Mystik and Mark Farina’s popular Mushroom Jazz series) started out as an indie label that made some innovative releases by using the Enhanced CD format as well as releasing albums that featured to turntablists, underground hip hop, trip hop and other forms of electronica. They were the West Coast version of Asphodel but with a little more vision on the technical (as evidenced by the interactive CD features on Deep Concentration and Deeper Concentration) side of things. Deep Concentration came with a second CD containing an original beatmaking program called OM’s Digital Beat Box and the second was an Enhanced CD with Mixman Studio remixing software (Windows only, so screw it...The Mac goes “Rrrring”!) installed on it. The third edition didn’t come with any added special features on the retail disc.

Featured on these three CD’s is a proverbial Who’s Who of hip hop’s illest DJ’s and turntablists such as Cut Chemist (Jurassic 5), Prince Paul, Radar (Bombshelter DJ’s), The Angel (check her score for Kidulthood...ill!), Eddie Def, X-Men (X-ecutioners), Peanut Butter Wolf, DJ Babu & J-Rocc (Beat Junkies), Beyond There, Q-Burns Abstract Message, Ming & FS, DJ Revolution, DJ Sole, Plagaiwrists, DJ Infamous, Bulletproof Space Travelers, DJ Craze, DJ Cash Money (Philly reppin’), Danny Breaks, DJ T-Rock & DJ Faust (Third World Citizenz), Highlanders, DJ Apollo (Invisibl Scratch Piklz), J Boogie, DJ Spooky, Saga & Mei Lwun, DJ Ill Media, Task Force, Mix Master Mike (Invisibl Scratch Piklz), Push Button Objects, Part 2 (New Flesh For Old), and last but not least the Scratch Perverts.

Including in this series are tracks by underground groups like Latyrx (“Say That”), Siah & Yeshua DapoED (“The Cure For Your Stagnation”), Mass Influence (“Demo Type Shit”), Organized Konfusion (“Murder By Syntax”), People Under The Stairs (“Afternoon Connection”), Planet Asia (“Fresno State Of Mind”), and Blak Forest (LMNO, 3rd Degree, wiz.onder & DJ Rhettmatic of the Beat Junkies) (“Lovin’ Every Minute Of It”). These compilations not only contain some of the best DJ tracks assembled at the time but the people at this label really A&R’d the hell out of these projects and produced excellent product that still sounds fresh today as when it was first released to the public. The liner notes in the first release even feature a chronological timeline of early hip hop DJ’s and the people they, in turn influenced. Cover art on the final two releases was done by legendary aerosoul (yeah, I spelled it that way on purpose) artist Doze. Download ‘em and get your head nod on.

For full tracklistings, cover art and more info on these uploads check http://www.discogs.com or do a regular Google search. Each upload is a Zip file, enjoy ‘em:

Deep Concentration (1997)
http://www.sendspace.com/file/o0hksd

Deeper Concentration (1998)
http://www.sendspace.com/file/j2vybm

Deep Concentration 3 (2000)
http://www.sendspace.com/file/frmmtk

One.