The Runnin’ Blind compilation was a tight compilation which featured rap artists from all over San Antonio, Texas. The album had also featured gangs from different sets and sides of the rag. Each song is pure fire from front to back with no tracks worth skipping.
Ricé and Sean Tompkins produced one tight ass compilation album. The album was produced at Ricé’s Music Box Studios when it was located in his trailer at Westhill Mobile Home & RV Park on Pinn Road in Southwest San Antonio. Ricé produced over half the album. That is why you can hear his sound all over the album.
Sean Tompkins served as the executive producer for the whole album and pulled songs that others performed and featured on from other albums. Sean Tompkins was responsible for releasing the album on his own label which was Commerce St. Records. That label was responsible for releasing Mr. Joshay’s albums.
The album was released on Commerce St. Records in 1997 on CD and cassette format. There was no vinyl release.
Not too many people know this but Commerce St. Records was located inside of the old Windsor Park Mall in San Antonio, Texas. The address for Commerce St. Records was 7900 North IH-35, Suite L-5, San Antonio, TX 78218.
King 13 began the compilation with a piano laced opener called Naked Soul. The piano is what keeps the mood mellow sort of in a strange way. The feeling is both mellow and intense.
The song takes us through the views of a gangsta. King 13 laces the mic with such fiery and aggression in his lyrics. This is not surprising since this is gangsta rap. Every song King 13 raps on is fire! That is a fact. His presence is huge for this song.
Now Lil Paul was all over the title track Runnin’ Blind more than Lil Sin despite Lil Sin being featured on the song. This is more of a Lil Paul song. Lil Paul is part of ETG (East Terrace Gang) along with Scoot and Lil Short who were featured on other songs on this compilation.
The song has a dark eerie vibe with chilling whistles and bells. You can feel a Wild West vibe and sound due to the whistles you hear in the background as you listen to the song.
You and Your Nine was put on the Runnin’ Blind compilation by Sean Tompkins because the album was short on tracks. That was all Sean’s idea. He put You and Your Nine on the Runnin Blind compilation first before later including the album on Mr. Joshay’s 21 Crunk St album in 1998. Label mates Dirty Red and King 13 make an appearance. Mr. Joshay represented Commerce Street to the fullest.
Sean Tompkins co-produced You and Your Nine and Ricé did the instrumentation arrangements. The song has a smooth but brooding sound of uncertainty. Things get kind of eerie due to the tone and sound. Still this song is regarded as old school San Antonio hip hop/rap at its finest.
Mr. Joshay tells people not to hesitate to shoot at him if they plan on doing so. Don’t waste his time if you ain’t finna pull the trigger. The song is aimed at the weak and fake people. Those type of people are quick to grab their guns instead of actually fight because their boxing game is week. They’ll be the first ones to start shit. They don’t last long as they are not made to run on these streets.
SCG - 3 Shotz is suspense filled gangsta rap track that is filled with street drama. The sound effects are perfect as they fit in appropriately with the mood and vibe. SCG is part of Lil Sin’s SoufField click and Santee’s PRC label.
SCG is trapped in the game. He is pulling that strap and is not holding back, loc. He don’t give a fuck about the laws. Fuck them haters. Haters tried to kill him. SCG represents the SCG Click from the South Side of San Antonio.
Fuck them haters. Haters tried to kill him. He caught someone slipping. Another murder and another homicide is in progress. He don’t a fuck about another person’s death. That .9 millimeter shows no love as he pulls the hammer back. The sets doesn’t have any love for fakers. Better watch out.
Lil Short of ETG (East Terrace Gang) takes control of the song Short Rida as he explains the hustles and struggles of his life. Every day is a struggle when you are a hustler like Lil Short. The song was dedicated to those a part of the East Terrace Gang. Ricé produced the song.
Guess who’s back? The nigga who pulled a jack and did a year and a half in jail. That would be Lil Short of ETG. He has to get his. He’s jacking for keeps. It’s an everyday struggle for him. That is why he hustles and is a hustler. He goes from hitting them jack to selling them packs. They are Bout It, Bout It in the city of SA like Master P. San Antonio is city where you have to hustle. Lil Short won’t settle for less until people tell him he is the best. Lil Short is a straight rida coming from the East Side neighborhood of East Terrace.
Lil Short is putting it down like he’s supposed to. A straight 27 soulja blowing on that doja. People stare at the return of the straight rida. A shop on East Commerce Street is where he shoots at police. He won’t stop until player haters drop. He is looking for ice. He is a ghetto star you can see at the clubs. There ain’t no love in this dirty game. Looking out for rivals, enemies, and law enforcement is something a hustler must deal with.
Lil Short was a victim of the ghetto as he was raised in the East Terrace housing projects. He had to become a rida at the age of 3. He had to become a rida to keep his family fed and taken care of. He had to compete with others in these wicked streets. That is not easy at all. He thanks God for not being dead yet because he grew up fast.
Tomorrow is not promised. What little time he has is borrowed and compromised. Lil Short will ride for ETG until he dies. He will kill if he has to.
No Matter What is about how the music business and life in general has changed. Use your brain and the game will be good to you. The game will be good to you if you let it. The song has one of the coldest beats ever heard and is layered with heavy double bass guitars. The drum programming is superb.
Now what’s interesting about the song No Matter What with Lil Sin and Nino of P.K.O. is that Lil Sin used lyrics from his song The Game Done Changed from his 1998 album Who Got Yo Back. Notice these lyrics? “But it’s hard to see who’s out to cross you in your path/I done ran with thug niggaz, drug dealers, and lots of killaz on the block/My eyes are on you fuck niggaz?”
Lil Sin has the world in the palm of his hands. But it’s hard to see who’s out to cross you in your path. He’s ran with thug niggaz, drug dealers, and lots of killaz on the block. He had to change the crowd of people he associated himself with. His eyes are on these fuck niggaz who are trying to kill him for the people he associates himself with. One easy spot on the block is where Lil Sin is slanging.
Lil Sin is having things that younger G’s are hating him for. They are simply jealous of the material possessions he has. He’s changed his ways because fancy things have gotten to him. It’s gotten to the point where shady people have been watching. In order to maintain you have to use your fucking brain. Shady people will get to your money if you let them take it. Use your brain and the game will be good to you. Game will be good to you if you let it.
Nino will put his steel chrome up against your dome. You’re gonna feel the wrath from the blast. Watch your ass! SA fools are putting it down. Smoking pounds of weed on the East Side of SA-Town. Nino will fuck around and pull your card. Nino has the water and Lil Sin has them kilos. Nino is that fool others love to hate.
Sweet-P put a gangsta rap spin on the Rose Royce classic Love Don’t Live Here Anymore and turned that into You Can't Slang Here. You Can't Slang Here is about how Sweet-P will murder outside dealers and hustlers who attempt to control the drug trade on his street. Endo, Big Tiny, and Ricé produced the song. LAMM on Burnet! What ya’ll know about that?
If you’re not from this hood or from this street, you can’t slang here anymore. You can’t sell your dope here anymore. You can’t sell your drugs here anymore. If you’re not from street, you can’t hang here anymore.
These fools try to come into Sweet-P’s hood and short stop (short change) the drug trade in his neighborhood. If they keep on doing that then they will surely get murdered. Sweet-P won’t let that happen. He could understand if these hunters and dealers were paying rent to one of his dope houses. But they haven’t paid him any money.
Sweet-P is that player slanging dope on Burnet Road in Lockwood Park. He controls Burnet Street. He don’t give a damn about these haters. Task Force won’t get away with his cash because he won’t let that happen either.
Lil Paul, Scoot, and Lil Short of ETG (East Terrace Gang) made one killer classic with the song Five For Twenty. Five For Twenty was the hood anthem for East Terrace back then. Now Ricé produced some killer infectious bells and grooves on Five For Twenty. That is a fact. Lil Short of ETG shows haters no pity with his rap lyrics.
5/5*****!!
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Mr. Joshay - Playas Life album reviewMr. Joshay - Playas Life album was an album filled with songs from the vault that have never been heard before which Mr. Joshay recorded from 1996 to 2007. Ricé put the album together with the very first songs that Mr. Joshay ever recorded. He was the one responsible for getting his album released.
Not many people know this but this album was Ricé’s project and not Mr. Joshay’s. Mr. Joshay did not care too much if his second album was released or not. He says these songs were just songs from the vault. He is glad that the album was released anyway. Mr. Joshay was still developing his sound. Nino helped produce and rapped in a couple of the songs.
The album was produced at Ricé’s Music Box Studios when it was located in his trailer at Westhill Mobile Home & RV Park on Pinn Road in Southwest San Antonio. Ricé’s production style is double bass and double guitars on top of high quality sound. Ricé is known for his smooth production. That is what you can hear all over this album.
The album was released on CD in 2006 on Commerce Street Records and re-released in 2016 on the Japan-based label II TIGHT LLC. That label was responsible for releasing Mr. Joshay’s albums. Mr. Joshay represented Commerce Street to the fullest back the 90s and 00s. He was their up and coming artist of the century for that time.
Not too many people know this but Commerce St. Records was located inside of the old Windsor Park Mall in San Antonio, Texas. The address for Commerce St. Records was 7900 North IH-35, Suite L-5, San Antonio, TX 78218.
Funk meets rap on the funky rap song Diggy Down. Ricé and Mr. Joshay make it funky with the sound that is provided. Diggy Down is a song about his neighborhood.
Mr. Joshay is from this hood which people call Diggy Down. Mr. Joshay was coming up funky from the start. He came up funky from the start as his neighborhood was funky. Now he’s got the fever for the flava. His rhymes are deep like a creek. Nothing can save ya.
Mr. Joshay is staying down but keeping his composure. Mr. Joshay is staying down for his neighborhood. He gets around from the underground. He’s got the juice if you’re thirsty.
Inside Looking Out takes us through the viewpoints and perspectives of an inmate in jail. The song features Nino of PKO. Sometimes you don’t know what to do when you’re on the inside looking out especially when you’re in jail or prison. That is when things are hard. There’s no more caddy or freedom when you’re in jail or prison.
Wicked Crazy World represents the wickedness and craziness that goes on in this world. The theme is almost similar to the song Gang Story. Lyrics to the song represent the insanity of life on the streets. It’s enough to make you lose your mind and worry.
Throw Dem Thangz is a song about his Cadillac. Mr. Joshay is burning rubber on his loced out Cadillac. That is his gangsta ride. Laying low like a mack. He has the sunroof down so the air blows. He also has the window on the driver side down. Riding off into the sunset is what he does best Mr. Joshay is in his Cadillac.
5/5*****!!
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Jun Fukamachi - Quark album review
Jun Fukamachi - Quark is one of the more darker jazz albums from Japan that has a dark ambient sound and style. Jun Fukamachi goes in a different direction by going experimenting with avant-garde jazz by performing his own compositions of composed melodies which have different tonalities. Electronic meets jazz on this Jun Fukamachi album. As usual, Jun Fukamachi does beautiful work on the piano and synthesizer as these songs are relaxing.
5/5*****!!
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Jun Fukamachi - The Soundtrack "Mishione" (海潮音) album review
The Soundtrack "Mishione" (海潮音) is one of the more rarer albums from the extensive discography of Jun Fukamachi. The sounds of ambient New Age music are what you can expect to hear on this album as Jun Fukamachi plays a calming synthesizer throughout the entire album. The songs on this album are 海鳴りand 新しい季節を求めて. The only downside is this album lacks in longevity and number of tracks. There are only 2 songs instead of 10 or 20 songs. So one could call this recording a single due to the number of tracks.
The tracklist is as shown below.
A 海鳴り
B 新しい季節を求めて
海鳴り is Hemingway Ri and 新しい季節を求めて is In Search Of New Season.
Jun Fukamachi pays tribute to Earnest Hemingway on the song 海鳴り(Hemingway Ri). Jun Fukamachi delve toward an experimental sound within the New Age genre for this song. The sounds of jazz meet experimental New Age music genre.
新しい季節を求めて (In Search Of New Season) is one of the more relaxing songs that has a calming vibe. The flute is what gives this song a calming vibe. Flutes and synths can make a song soothing and calming in one setting depending on how the instrumentation arrangement is laid out.
3/5***
Jun Fukamachi – Fantastic Suite - A Dream on a Spring Night Based on "The Tale of the Heike"「春の夜の夢」album review
Jun Fukamachi – Fantastic Suite - A Dream on a Spring Night Based on "The Tale of the Heike"「春の夜の夢」is one of the most underrated electronic albums to have ever been released from Japan. People overlooked this album during the time of release. Now this Jun Fukamachi album leans more towards an electronic sound than jazz as is the case with many of his albums.
Jun Fukamachi plays a calming synthesizer throughout the entire album as he did on his The Soundtrack "Mishione" (海潮音) album. This album also has that traditional Japanese sound with the woodwinds and percussion. His whole album is based on medieval samurai fiction and literature.
The Tale of the Heike (春の夜の夢) is a war tale based on an account compiled from the 1200s of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). The medieval age of Japan began in 1185 with Taira's defeat and the establishment of a new warrior government by the victorious Minamoto clan. Prior to the new warrior government established by the Minamoto clan, the Taira clan members occupied so many of the major government positions in Japan. Over half of the provinces of Japan were under control by the Taira clan prior to 1180. The theme of “conquer and defeat” prevalent in The Tale of the Heike.
Sound on this album can get very loud at certain times in some of these songs. So a wise suggestion would be to turn down the volume of your speakers so the sound does not tear them up or distort them.
The tracklist is as shown below.
序章 [Prologue]
祇園精舎の章 [The Bell Of The Gion Temple]
栄華の章 [The Prosperous Heike]
落日の章 [The Sinking Heike]
修羅の章 [The Scenes Of Bloodshedding]
水底の章 [The Heike Sent To The Sea Bottom]
水霊の章 [The Specter Of The Destructed Heike]
終章 [Epilogue]
The album starts off with a prologue hence the title 序章 [Prologue]. The opener 序章 [Prologue] is a cold chilling atmospheric opener backed with flutes, synths, and traditional Japanese instruments. This song is atmospheric and chilling due to the wind blowing in the background. Jun Fukamachi plays dark notes from his synthesizer throughout the song. Jun Fukamachi plays a synthesizer throughout the entire album as usual.
祇園精舎の章 [The Bell Of The Gion Temple] is one of the more electronic songs on the album. Jun Fukamachi plays some loud thick notes from his synthesizer throughout the song. Notice how thick and loud the synths are playing during this song.
2/6ths into the song is where things start to clam down and unwind into a much calmer sound and vibe. Jun abruptly cuts off those synths and a flute starts playing. Halfway into the song is where his synthesizer comes back with that same loud presence. It is truly amazing and staggering how he can make his synthesizer sound very much similar to a flute.
This song gets very loud. So one wise suggestion would be to turn down the volume of your speakers so the sound does not tear them up or distort them.
栄華の章 [The Prosperous Heike] is one of the louder songs backed by a piano. This song is much different from the rest of the songs due to the presence of a loud electric Yamaha piano and quadruple-layered instrumentation. Now here is what the quadruple-layered instrumentation consists of: an electric Yamaha piano, a drum kit, synthesizer, and flutes. The Prosperous Heike represented the Minamoto clan taking control of Japan.
This song is extremely loud due to the quadruple-layered instrumentation. So one wise suggestion would be to turn down the volume of your speakers so the sound does not tear them up or distort them.
落日の章 [The Sinking Heike] calms down the mood for this album with a much more relaxed mellow sound, tone, and vibe. Electronic synths can make a song extremely calming depending on how the instrumentation arrangement is laid out.
Jun Fukamachi does beautiful work on the synthesizer as this song is very relaxing. He never fails to disappoint with his synthesizer. The woodwinds and synthesizer are is what give this song a calming vibe. 落日の章 [The Sinking Heike] is an example of fine electronic music from the 1970s era.
修羅の章 [The Scenes Of Bloodshedding] is where things start to pick up again and get dramatic as this song is where the war begins. Things start to get bloody and gory here. Notice the foley effects? The same electric Yamaha piano is used on this song as was the case with 栄華の章 [The Prosperous Heike].
修羅の章 [The Scenes Of Bloodshedding] represents the war aspect in The Tale of the Heike. The song also is based on and represents the death of Atsumori. Kumagai Naozane came into war as a combatant militant warrior with the intention of intercepting one of their great captains Atsumori Tsunemori. He ends up killing young captain Atsumori Tsunemori at the end of this war.
水底の章 [The Heike Sent To The Sea Bottom] symbolized the defeat of the Taira clan and melancholy of war. Taira no Koremori, grandson of Taira no Kiyomori, threw himself into the sea and downed to his death after being defeated in war by the Minamoto clan. 水底の章 [The Heike Sent To The Sea Bottom] is one of the more relaxing songs that has a calming vibe which is sad and mournful at the same time. Sadness is the theme for this song.
水霊の章 [The Specter Of The Destructed Heike] is one of the shorter songs representing the defeat of the Taira clan and rise of the Minamoto clan.
終章 [Epilogue] is the dark closure for this album. The song uses thick multi-layered electronic synths from a synthesizer. The song is another representation of the melancholy of war. Jun made a perfect choice by selecting this song to be the last song for this album.
5/5*****!!
The Soundtrack "Mishione" (海潮音) is one of the more rarer albums from the extensive discography of Jun Fukamachi. The sounds of ambient New Age music are what you can expect to hear on this album as Jun Fukamachi plays a calming synthesizer throughout the entire album. The songs on this album are 海鳴りand 新しい季節を求めて. The only downside is this album lacks in longevity and number of tracks. There are only 2 songs instead of 10 or 20 songs. So one could call this recording a single due to the number of tracks.
The tracklist is as shown below.
A 海鳴り
B 新しい季節を求めて
海鳴り is Hemingway Ri and 新しい季節を求めて is In Search Of New Season.
Jun Fukamachi pays tribute to Earnest Hemingway on the song 海鳴り(Hemingway Ri). Jun Fukamachi delve toward an experimental sound within the New Age genre for this song. The sounds of jazz meet experimental New Age music genre.
新しい季節を求めて (In Search Of New Season) is one of the more relaxing songs that has a calming vibe. The flute is what gives this song a calming vibe. Flutes and synths can make a song soothing and calming in one setting depending on how the instrumentation arrangement is laid out.
3/5***
Jun Fukamachi – Fantastic Suite - A Dream on a Spring Night Based on "The Tale of the Heike"「春の夜の夢」album review
Jun Fukamachi – Fantastic Suite - A Dream on a Spring Night Based on "The Tale of the Heike"「春の夜の夢」is one of the most underrated electronic albums to have ever been released from Japan. People overlooked this album during the time of release. Now this Jun Fukamachi album leans more towards an electronic sound than jazz as is the case with many of his albums.
Jun Fukamachi plays a calming synthesizer throughout the entire album as he did on his The Soundtrack "Mishione" (海潮音) album. This album also has that traditional Japanese sound with the woodwinds and percussion. His whole album is based on medieval samurai fiction and literature.
The Tale of the Heike (春の夜の夢) is a war tale based on an account compiled from the 1200s of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). The medieval age of Japan began in 1185 with Taira's defeat and the establishment of a new warrior government by the victorious Minamoto clan. Prior to the new warrior government established by the Minamoto clan, the Taira clan members occupied so many of the major government positions in Japan. Over half of the provinces of Japan were under control by the Taira clan prior to 1180. The theme of “conquer and defeat” prevalent in The Tale of the Heike.
Sound on this album can get very loud at certain times in some of these songs. So a wise suggestion would be to turn down the volume of your speakers so the sound does not tear them up or distort them.
The tracklist is as shown below.
序章 [Prologue]
祇園精舎の章 [The Bell Of The Gion Temple]
栄華の章 [The Prosperous Heike]
落日の章 [The Sinking Heike]
修羅の章 [The Scenes Of Bloodshedding]
水底の章 [The Heike Sent To The Sea Bottom]
水霊の章 [The Specter Of The Destructed Heike]
終章 [Epilogue]
The album starts off with a prologue hence the title 序章 [Prologue]. The opener 序章 [Prologue] is a cold chilling atmospheric opener backed with flutes, synths, and traditional Japanese instruments. This song is atmospheric and chilling due to the wind blowing in the background. Jun Fukamachi plays dark notes from his synthesizer throughout the song. Jun Fukamachi plays a synthesizer throughout the entire album as usual.
祇園精舎の章 [The Bell Of The Gion Temple] is one of the more electronic songs on the album. Jun Fukamachi plays some loud thick notes from his synthesizer throughout the song. Notice how thick and loud the synths are playing during this song.
2/6ths into the song is where things start to clam down and unwind into a much calmer sound and vibe. Jun abruptly cuts off those synths and a flute starts playing. Halfway into the song is where his synthesizer comes back with that same loud presence. It is truly amazing and staggering how he can make his synthesizer sound very much similar to a flute.
This song gets very loud. So one wise suggestion would be to turn down the volume of your speakers so the sound does not tear them up or distort them.
栄華の章 [The Prosperous Heike] is one of the louder songs backed by a piano. This song is much different from the rest of the songs due to the presence of a loud electric Yamaha piano and quadruple-layered instrumentation. Now here is what the quadruple-layered instrumentation consists of: an electric Yamaha piano, a drum kit, synthesizer, and flutes. The Prosperous Heike represented the Minamoto clan taking control of Japan.
This song is extremely loud due to the quadruple-layered instrumentation. So one wise suggestion would be to turn down the volume of your speakers so the sound does not tear them up or distort them.
落日の章 [The Sinking Heike] calms down the mood for this album with a much more relaxed mellow sound, tone, and vibe. Electronic synths can make a song extremely calming depending on how the instrumentation arrangement is laid out.
Jun Fukamachi does beautiful work on the synthesizer as this song is very relaxing. He never fails to disappoint with his synthesizer. The woodwinds and synthesizer are is what give this song a calming vibe. 落日の章 [The Sinking Heike] is an example of fine electronic music from the 1970s era.
修羅の章 [The Scenes Of Bloodshedding] is where things start to pick up again and get dramatic as this song is where the war begins. Things start to get bloody and gory here. Notice the foley effects? The same electric Yamaha piano is used on this song as was the case with 栄華の章 [The Prosperous Heike].
修羅の章 [The Scenes Of Bloodshedding] represents the war aspect in The Tale of the Heike. The song also is based on and represents the death of Atsumori. Kumagai Naozane came into war as a combatant militant warrior with the intention of intercepting one of their great captains Atsumori Tsunemori. He ends up killing young captain Atsumori Tsunemori at the end of this war.
水底の章 [The Heike Sent To The Sea Bottom] symbolized the defeat of the Taira clan and melancholy of war. Taira no Koremori, grandson of Taira no Kiyomori, threw himself into the sea and downed to his death after being defeated in war by the Minamoto clan. 水底の章 [The Heike Sent To The Sea Bottom] is one of the more relaxing songs that has a calming vibe which is sad and mournful at the same time. Sadness is the theme for this song.
水霊の章 [The Specter Of The Destructed Heike] is one of the shorter songs representing the defeat of the Taira clan and rise of the Minamoto clan.
終章 [Epilogue] is the dark closure for this album. The song uses thick multi-layered electronic synths from a synthesizer. The song is another representation of the melancholy of war. Jun made a perfect choice by selecting this song to be the last song for this album.
5/5*****!!
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