CHECK THE TECHNIQUE VOLUME 2:
MORE LINER NOTES FOR HIP-HOP JUNKIES
The long-awaited follow-up to 2007's acclaimed Check the Technique
(Villard / Random House)
544 PAGES, 25 CHAPTERS, 80+ INTERVIEWS, AND OVER 350 IMAGES
FEATURING INTERVIEWS WITH: ICE CUBE, 3RD BASS, STETSASONIC, MANTRONIX, NAUGHTY BY NATURE, RAEKWON, MF DOOM, DR. OCTAGON, DJ JAZZY JEFF, THE COUP, EDO G, LORD FINESSE, YASIIN BEY (MOS DEF) & TALIB KWELI, COMPANY FLOW AND DOZENS MORE
Foreword by Adam Mansbach (Go The F*ck To Sleep, Rage Is Back).
Cover artwork by Romanowski.
"My circle of liner notes junkies runs deep, and we spend many hours dissecting the chapters in Brian Coleman's Check the Technique series. FINALLY someone has put in perspective the stuff I have been DYING to know about!!!! I can't get enough.
-- Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson
"A fantastic guide for all we do."
-- Chuck D
Presenting never-before-told, behind-the-scenes histories ranging from influential '80s masterpieces like DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper and 3rd Bass' The Cactus Album to '90s classics like Ice Cube's AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, Mos Def's and Talib Kweli's Are Black Star and Dr. Octagon's Dr. Octagonecologyst, the book's approach is one that Coleman calls Invisible Liner Notes - retracing the story of an album step by step, in collaboration with the artists themselves.
Weighing in at 544 pages, the 25-chapter book includes lively, in-depth, provocative interviews with more than 80 artists, DJs, producers and industry insiders. All in all, 325 hip-hop songs are discussed and dissected, by the artists who made them.
As Coleman explains, "This third edition of my Check the Technique / Rakim Told Me series is the one that I am proudest of, by far. The interviews are deeper than ever before, the chapters are longer and more in-depth, and I have spent months gathering the 350-plus images that are included in the pages which really bring the stories of these amazing albums to life."
CHAPTERS:
3rd Bass The Cactus Album
The Beatnuts Intoxicated Demons: The EP
Black Sheep A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing
Company Flow Funcrusher Plus
The Coup Steal This Album
Diamond and the Psychotic Neurotics Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper
Dr. Octagon Dr. Octagonecologyst
ED O.G & Da Bulldogs Life Of A Kid In The Ghetto
Gravediggaz Niggamortis [aka 6 Feet Deep]
Ice Cube AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted & Kill At Will
Jeru The Damaja The Sun Rises In The East
KMD Black Bastards
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo Wanted: Dead Or Alive
Kwamé The Boy Genius Featuring A New Beginning
Lord Finesse & DJ Mike Smooth Funky Technician
Mantronix The Album
Masta Ace Incorporated SlaughtaHouse
Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star
Naughty By Nature Naughty By Nature
Nice & Smooth Ain't A Damn Thing Changed
[Chef] Raekwon Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…
Smif-N-Wessun Dah Shinin'
Stetsasonic In Full Gear
Various Wild Style Breakbeats
[Digital versions of Check the Technique Volume 2 include five additional chapters which have never been released in digital format]
RETAILERS:
For information or assistance regarding Check the Technique Volume 2 stocking / orders, please contact Traffic Entertainment mikeq@trafficent.com, 617-845-0088, or Gingko Press orders@gingkopress.com, 510-898-1195.