twelve inchers: Philosophy

Living abroad (I'm from the States) for a few years, I relied on the internet and file-sharing to keep up with music. Being a DJ/vinyl collector, MP3's function as stand-in's for me; I'll download a track I already own, or if I don't own it, I'll go out and buy it if it stands the test of time (i.e. repeated listens). I love how the industry has evolved from "pay to play" to the state that it is; I think it's a revolution of sorts that has been due in part to the narrow-minded dominance of the majors and big radio. If anything, people are listening to more music (and a diverser collection of it) due to file-sharing, and if the cost of it is that the majors make less profit, I'm all for it. Of course, it's on you to support the artists that actually make the dope shit (by buying the music "legally"), regardless of what label (if any) they're on...that's how we can truly take the music industry back. [For the lawyers out there, and for the record, "I don't advocate illegal file-sharing in any way", and if you are a copyright holder and believe I'm exploiting your music illegally, contact me and I'll remove any links to your music that might be up.]

That being said, I have an obsession with Golden-age (early 90's) hip hop, as well as mid-90's indie records. I hosted a hip-hop radio show ("Mixed Flavor") at WEFT in Champaign, Illinois from '96-99, and got addicted to digging in the process. The concept of this blog is 12" singles, mostly hip-hop from the 90's (although related genres, i.e. downtempo and r&b may float in and out). You'll find some relatively obscure records here (a la the Vinyl Addicts blog), but I'll also hit some classic singles that you should definately know about if you don't. I'll be posting a new 12" every day, so be sure to check back frequently.

There are a sh*tload of people that know more about the music and era than I do; I'm a fan like everyone else, and am interested in sharing the singles I've come across, and attempt to provide a little context for them as well with each post. There are enough music blogs out there now, that you can be easily overwhelmed by the quantity of music. I know everyone is perfectly capable of figuring out what they do and don't like, but I think of the descriptive posts as a kind of filter, enabling you to make a more informed choice about what you choose to spend your time listening to and what you don't.

Naturally, comments and feedback are welcome and appreciated.