7" of the Day is WILLIAM ELLIOTT WHITMORE & P.O.S. - "Split"

7" of the Day is WILLIAM ELLIOTT WHITMORE & P.O.S. - "Split". This 7" split was released by Init Records on April 16th, 2011 for Record Store Day. There were 2000 copies total pressed. 1500 are standard Black vinyl and the other 500 are colored versions which include Yellow, Tan, and Grey. This split features a unique pairing of two different artists from very different genres of music. One side features the Folk/Blues/Americana/Roots music of Iowa's WILLIAM ELLIOTT WHITMORE, while the other side features Minnesota's underground Hip Hop emcee P.O.S.. Both men contribute new songs to this record which are exclusive to this release.

On Side A, WILLIAM ELLIOTT WHITMORE delivers a powerful rendition of the Traditional American Folk song "Country Blues", which was written or most closely associated with Dock Boggs. Its a classic song that's been recorded by many great musicians over the the years,(Doc Watson also recorded an awesome version), and a song that Whitmore has been playing live, off and on, for some time now. Something interesting about Whitmore's version here is that, "Country Blues" has always been considered a Banjo song, and while Whitmore is a Banjo player himself, on this recording he chooses to forgo instrumentation almost entirely. He sings the song in that weathered, emotive voice and is backed only by the steady thump of his kick drum. It gives the song a different kind of vibe and again demonstrates that no matter what he does, William Elliott Whitmore is one of the best and most important artists alive today. The track was recorded at Flat Black Studios in Iowa and Engineered by Whitmore's cousin Luke Tweedy.

Side B is a new track, "Crack a Window" from Minnesota based underground Hip Hop emcee, P.O.S., and features production from Big Cats!. P.O.S. is a founding member of the Hip Hop collective Doomtree and is also associated with Rhymesayers, as well as being involved in a couple bands such as Building Better Bombs and Marijuana Deathsquad, but he goes it alone here. He has good flow and delivers solid lyrics. This is obviously not the same as Popular rap music, as P.O.S. is definitely an undergroup Hip Hop artist and that is clear from the Big Cats! production to his lyrics and his cadence. This isn't party rap bullshit, its got more heart and brains than that.

So in a nutshell, this split is a cool little record that gives us some exclusive material from one of underground Hip Hop's brightest lights, P.O.S., and one of my personal favorite artists, WILLIAM ELLIOTT WHITMORE. Granted some fans of Whitmore, may not be interested in the Hip Hop track and likewise, some Hip Hop heads may not be too keen on the Folky, Singer/Songwriter, Roots music of WEW, but I think there are many open minded music fans who can appreciate both sides of this record. Regardless, its a killer 7" with 2 great artists, with 2 songs exclusive to this release....just shut up and buy it.
Carl the Beagle says "This is the JAMS!!"

Listen to it here:
http://initrecords.bandcamp.com/album/split-7-init-69
Buy it here:
http://initrecords.corecommerce.com/WILLIAM-ELLIOTT-WHITMORE-P-O-S-split-7.html
William Elliott Whitmore's page:
http://www.williamelliottwhitmore.com/
P.O.S.'s page:
http://www.doomtree.net/p-o-s/
INIT Records page:
http://www.initrecords.net/

Andy Sweitzer

Vinyl Single of the Day is N.W.A. - "Panic Zone"

Released in 1987 by Macola Records and Ruthless Records, "Panic Zone" is an EP from the legendary Rap group, N.W.A. was the very first release from the legendary group. This EP basically introduced the world to Eazy E, Dr. Dre, & Ice Cube, although pretty much the whole crew is on the cover. The cover photo is also the same image as was used later on the first N.W.A. album, "N.W.A. & The Posse" which was basically a compilation of tracks from this EP, a few from the Fila Fresh Crew and a couple others marketed as a full on N.W.A album. The "Panic Zone" record features only 5 songs, "Panic Zone", "Dope Man (Radio Edit)", "8 Ball (Radio Edit), "Dope Man", & "8 Ball".

The record opens with "Panic Zone" which is not really a "normal" N.W.A. type song, and in truth was written by a Mexican rapper known as Krazy Dee, with it's original title being "Hispanic Panic". This title was changed to "Panic Zone" after Dr. Dre suggested that the "Hispanic Panic" title would potentially hurt sales. The next 2 tracks are the Radio Edits of  "Dope Man" and "8 Ball", followed by the regular versions. "Dope Man" is a classic track was remixed and included on "Straight Outta Compton". This original version is largely an Ice Cube track although Eazy E does appear for a verse toward the end. "Dope Man" is also notable because it was the first collaboration between Eazy E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, DJ Yella and Arabian Prince. "8 Ball" is another classic that would be remixed and used on "Straight Outta Compton" as well. It is essentially an Eazy E song as he delivers all the verses but does feature Dr. Dre's production. Really this record is not an "Album" but rather a Single, although its ironic in that it was a Single for "Panic Zone" the weakest song on here. The other 2 songs would become classics, while "Panic Zone is largely forgotten". However, regardless of how good this record is or whats on it, the most important thing about it is its historical significance, in that it was the very first release from N.W.A., a group that would have a profound impact, at the very least, on Rap music, if not Music in general or even parts of American culture.

Andy Sweitzer