Twelve 12″ Live Vinyl Mix by Mark The 45 King

Rob Pursey:

DJ Mark The 45 King was perhaps (with the exception of Marley Marl) the first producer I remember just wanting to own all the records that he’d produced, remixed or had a hand in. The simple, hard hitting loops of some of his early classics coupled with the fact that all the MCs he worked with – Lakim Shabazz, Chill Rob G, Latee, Markey Fresh, Latifah etc. – all had the kind of flawless, commanding flows that just demanded you listen, mean that to this day it’s hard to compare his music to anyone’s and as a resul just have a ’45 King zone’ in my brain. Seeing him get his huge paydays later in his career with ‘Hard Knock Life’ and ‘Stan’ was perhaps, to me, one of the most rewarding stories in rap history, but this mix is definitely about that late 80s/early 90s zone that he just dominated for me. However, loving pretty much every damn record he produced, this had to be a Part 1 of sorts, as I could never have included all the gems that he committed to wax. Hell I even missed out my personal favourite ‘Court Is Now In Session’ just so I’d have to do another! Anyway, enjoy some of the most unheralded, but dopest rappers in history (along with a couple of well-known legends of course) over that classic Mark The 45 King sound. More dusty than digital – enjoy!

Via egotrip.