GZA - Labels (Demo)

[Buddah_MAC]

It's a 1995 remix using the acapella found on the 95 white label vinyl as the basis.

http://www.discogs.com/GZAGENIUS-Labels/release/510964

On the vinyl acapella, you can hear the original track, the RZA remix of Labels, underneath throughout the whole track. When you listen to this "demo" version, you hear the original beat bleeding through, especially around :50 when the piano drops out.

The track as it is on the youtube clips originates from the DJ Swarm Exclusive Cuts CD and is one of two songs specifically listed as "exclusive".


02-bronze_nazareth-mitten_behemoths_exclusive.mp3

08-gza-labels_(unreleased_exclusive_remix).mp3


As you see, the other is an Unknown (Bronze's group predating Wu affiliation when he was going by Half Entity) track that is passed off as an exclusive Bronze cut but Bronze was selling on his own before & after he linked up with Wu. So no real exclusives here.

There are 2 legit RZA mixes of Labels and RZA didn't need to use the dirty bleeding through remix acapella to make the LP version, so why would he not use the clean vocal track used to make the original two in the first place instead of lifting vocals from the remix for a third version? So where did this come from?


If you look at the guy's Youtube page, he makes a bunch of claims on there that he got it from a giant collection of NY rare tracks, that it played on radio, he checked w/ Stretch Armstrong for answers, etc...

2 things:

1) He keeps claiming this is the original version that they had to rerecord because the label wouldn't clear it. How can it be an original version when it's using the acapella to an already existing track? Can't be.

2)

I had to check back to where I got it from, and yes this is INDEED authentic, this came to me a few years ago with a bunch of rarities from East Coast rappers, also come to find out that it was IN FACT played on Stretch & Bobbito's show, but the raw version came from DJ Swarm's Rare & Unreleased Wu-Tang Compilation from ions ago. It's real, get over it.

He admits what he posted came from the DJ Swarm tape anyway, which came out in 2006. If he had the original song like he's claiming, he could pop up a better version of the song than the DJ Swarm version.

It does come from Stretch & Bobbito though. Right when the Youtube poster says plus someone in the comments links to a Sept 28th date they played it again & someone hints to the producers:

http://dirtywaters.blogspot.com/2010...mber-1995.html

Godfather Don & V.I.C. from Beatnuts were producing under the name Groove Merchantz back then & they'd done a few remixes here & there and on top of ones like Nas' One Love One L remix w/ Sadat X & House of Pain's On Point remix, and supposedly they did the beat in question here. Now, did it ever actually release on white label? Is it a legit for release remix or did the or the DJs just blend a Groove Merchantz instrumental w/ the Labels remix acapella for a radio track? Did they want to keep their names off it in case there was any label backlash from the track when they worked with Tommy Boy just a year back? Who knows.

My guess would be that it was something just for the radio as no white labels have surfaced & the DJ Swarm version seems to be the same as the 1995 radio tape version, similar quality, length & all.


But it's not a demo & it's not RZA produced.

[claaa7]

^ very interesting.. to me it's almost even iller if this is actually a Groove Merchant remix considering how few songs they made together, all amazing. i don't really understand why you would think it's Groove Merchants though? were there the hosts of that Stretch & Bobbito show?

[Buddah_MAC]

^ very interesting.. to me it's almost even iller if this is actually a Groove Merchant remix considering how few songs they made together, all amazing. i don't really understand why you would think it's Groove Merchants though? were there the hosts of that Stretch & Bobbito show?

A couple of the Stretch & Bobbito heads credited it to them, but also people contacted Stretch & he said he didn't remember who did it, so it's more an educated guess. But Groove Merchantz were friends of the show w/ Godfather Don being part of Fondle Ems first sigining in the Cenobites & VIC being down with the Beatnuts, so the connections make sense.

Ultimately the evidence out there mainly disproves this being a demo or a RZA production rather than prove who ultimately did the beat that got tossed over the RZA remix acappella for the radio.

http://hiphop-thegoldenera.blogspot....bito-show.html

[mantis_fist]

There are 2 legit RZA mixes of Labels and RZA didn't need to use the dirty bleeding through remix acapella to make the LP version, so why would he not use the clean vocal track used to make the original two in the first place instead of lifting vocals from the remix for a third version? So where did this come from?

First: I'm not debating if it's a rza beat.
Second: Listen to some old school wu songs and you can hear the HEADPHONE bleed on lots of wu-tang beats. Rappers listen to beats, while in the vocal booth, at extreme levels and that is picked up by the mic. BAck in the days it was a lot harder to chop out the parts where the mc is not rapping as it was on tape. Now with Pro tools it is very easy to remove the dead air between vocals.

[Buddah_MAC]

First: I'm not debating if it's a rza beat.
Second: Listen to some old school wu songs and you can hear the HEADPHONE bleed on lots of wu-tang beats. Rappers listen to beats, while in the vocal booth, at extreme levels and that is picked up by the mic. BAck in the days it was a lot harder to chop out the parts where the mc is not rapping as it was on tape. Now with Pro tools it is very easy to remove the dead air between vocals.

That's not what I'm talking about though. I'm talking about the RZA remix beat that you can still hear just turned down in the RZA remix acapella that was used for the third version of the song on Stretch & Bobbito.



That's the acapella from the white label which you can confirm if you search the VLS and it's the same one used in the remix at the beginning of this thread which you can tell mainly off how the vocals are dubbed but also the :50 mark where the background beat is heard.

Groove Merchantz or whoever did this beat got their vocals off of the acapella from the white label meaning it's more likely than not that it's not an official remix (as they'd have access to the actual vocals) to be released and just a remix/blend done for the radio.

[hiphopjunky]

There's an advance version of liquid swords that has the original version of labels on it...it's not impossible that this is it.I've seen the disc one time on ebay but shit was like 200, so I passed on it. I confirmed with the seller that the version was not the album or rza mix. I'm not aware of another official version...

[truemath4th]

I think its 4th disciple
It sound like beats he did for shabazz the disciple at the same moment

[brainghost]

Better quality than the one that was posted, taken from one of the Stretch & Bobbito rips: https://mega.nz/#!bUdnhYLb!62ViEq_d5...hxPwIVBk-A5XaQ
I really like this remix, gives the song a whole new vibe

[hiphopjunky]

^^^^ thanks!

[rzatrax]

Better quality than the one that was posted, taken from one of the Stretch & Bobbito rips: https://mega.nz/#!bUdnhYLb!62ViEq_d5...hxPwIVBk-A5XaQ
I really like this remix, gives the song a whole new vibe

good looking on this. thanks.

[SL33]

Idk.

RZA has never been keen on scratch, for some strange reasons. Aside from Ice Water, Chessboxin, Tres Leches and few others, which are epic, he has never used scratch a lot.

RZA and scratch issue is thread worthy btw.

[hiphopjunky]

RZA and scratch issue is thread worthy btw.

I think they make a cream for that

[MikeAll]

Idk.

RZA has never been keen on scratch, for some strange reasons. Aside from Ice Water, Chessboxin, Tres Leches and few others, which are epic, he has never used scratch a lot.

RZA and scratch issue is thread worthy btw.

Iirc 36 Chambers liner notes says scratches performed by 4th Disciple so yeah that might not be his thing

[SL33]

Iirc 36 Chambers liner notes says scratches performed by 4th Disciple so yeah that might not be his thing

Yeah I forgot about that.

[ForensikZ]

Lol i got duped thinking this was a new thread so im lookin for the thread i remember talking about this on and its this thread itself.

Buddah mac with the info. It cant be legit if you hear the original labels beat jn background. Just a blend. Cool tho for sure.