Download Fantasy Realm (right click and select “Save Link As…” or “Save Target As…”), or listen here:
01. Dead Can Dance – The Carnival Is Over
02. LTJ Bukem – Music
03. Formula 7 – Soundboy
04. Organized Konfusion – Bring It On
05. Massive Attack vs. Mad Professor – Protection
06. Poe – Trigger Happy Jack (Acapella)
07. Bill Laswell feat. Liu Sola & DJ Rob Swift – Ancient Style
08. DJ Krush feat. Twigy & Rino – Kiro
09. DJ Krush – Meiso (DJ Crystl Drug Deal Instrumental Mix)
10. Tricky – Overcome
11. Future Sound Of London – Snake Hips
12. OC – Time’s Up (Acapella)
13. Automator feat. Sinister 6000 – A Better Tomorrow (Pt. 2)
14. DJ Solo & DJ Aura – Wreckin’ Shit
15. Nobukazu Takemura feat. Menelik – Science Fiction
16. The Singers Unlimited – Since You Asked
17. The Ballistic Brothers – I’ll Fly Away
18. Portishead – Mysterons
19. Ruby – Heidi
20. Chino XL – Ghetto Vampire
21. Templeroy – Dubometer
22. Tricky – Hell Is Round The Corner (The Hell & Water Mix)
23. Lateef & Lyrx Born – Latyrx
24. 2 Player – Extreme Possibilities (Wagon Christ Mix)
25. Aquarius & Tayla – Bringing Me Down
26. The Pharcyde – Otha Fish (LA Jay Remix)
27. Nobukazu Takemura feat. Nadja – Serene
I followed up my “Underground Hip Hop 1996 Volume 3” mixtape with “Fantasy Realm”. My goal was to highlight some of the more interesting music that I had come across at that time (i.e., stuff that was forward-thinking and really pushed the envelope). I also wanted to showcase some unique mashups and blends of the different musical genres that were beginning to emerge.
As a DJ, the music of the mid-90’s was a lot of fun to mix with. Rap, Drum & Bass, Indie Rock, Trip Hop, Dub, Acid Jazz, Big Beat, etc., were all totally different styles of music, but they all had matching BPM’s and similar moods that complemented each other. This made for a very weird, strange vibe that seemed fresh and new. Some of the music was literally foreign-sounding to our ears, as demonstrated on this mixtape by the rapping in Japanese and in French, the singing in French, and the combined rapping in English of two different MC’s at the same time (a la “Latyrx”).
This mixtape allowed me to break into the Lansing and Ann Arbor markets, as well as network and generate some new contacts at the record/clothing stores in those two college towns… thus laying the foundation for future mixtapes of mine like “Old School Hip Hop” and “Universal Magnetic B-Boy Scientific” to be sold in those stores and slowly start to get my name known outside of Flint.
