Yeah, i remember getting tight with one of the main cats from the most prestigious underground hip-hop ripping crew (I won't name names to protect everyone involved) and man those months that we were in contact I was eating good after lacing him with some exclusive joints from a certain underground rapper. I had access to everything they ever ripped which for a true mid 90s underground hip-hop head was heavenly. shyt i remember getting the albums fxp'ed to me and it took about 18 fukking seconds as soon as it was pre'd. shyt blew my mind. We fell out months later cause I couldn't consistently get exclusive unreleased shyt and I couldn't spend tons of hours on irc but while it lasted it was ill. Had access to anything I wanted.
The Man Who Broke the Music Business(Great read on Pirating/bootleg music)
- Thread starter Brady-Carter
- Start date
Yeah, i remember getting tight with one of the main cats from the most prestigious underground hip-hop ripping crew (I won't name names to protect everyone involved) and man those months that we were in contact I was eating good after lacing him with some exclusive joints from a certain underground rapper. I had access to everything they ever ripped which for a true mid 90s underground hip-hop head was heavenly. shyt i remember getting the albums fxp'ed to me and it took about 18 fukking seconds as soon as it was pre'd. shyt blew my mind. We fell out months later cause I couldn't consistently get exclusive unreleased shyt and I couldn't spend tons of hours on irc but while it lasted it was ill. Had access to anything I wanted.
I remember WCR would have a lot of big releases...they had Blueprint 2....RNS had ALL the major shyt tho, murdered the competition...even ESC had some good releases.....FTD was goat for underground hiphop
Learning IRC and subsequently learning how to "eat"
Nostalgia
Learning IRC and subsequently learning how to "eat"
Nostalgia
I was in OSC doing Promo CDS for a short while before the dude in the article joined and knew RickOne (used a diff nick at the time). Then lost my connect and moved to VINYL and did some mixtapes. Was completely out of the scene by the time Graduation/Curtis came out, so was surprised to hear the dude went to OSC, as they never really had a ripper who got big releases like that.
Yes I loved reading about a song or project on the internet and being able to find it and get it. Time will make any project or song disappear after awhile on casual internet but sites was like the secret vault. There were a lot of really good hiphop groups. CR always had that west coast piff, RAGEMP3, FTD...
This is definitely one of the most interesting reads I've ever come accross.
Dap + Rep
It's crazy how a group of internet/computer fiends who never even met could carry such an operation of grand proportions such as this one. Everyone was in sync just off of chatrooms and phone calls, meaning they took this shyt very seriously. For a full decade, enough to destroy record labels and many artist careers who could've popped off if it weren't for these leakers.
On one hand, I can understand the disappointment regarding these dudes not capitalizing on what they were doing. But on the other hand I must confess these men knew and respected the high risks of what they were doing. They never got delusional about being the next bill gates or Napster king. They were minorities (plus a couple of white dudes) who knew that their model was gonna get them in an even worse whole had they come out of the shadows of their operation.
Dap + Rep
It's crazy how a group of internet/computer fiends who never even met could carry such an operation of grand proportions such as this one. Everyone was in sync just off of chatrooms and phone calls, meaning they took this shyt very seriously. For a full decade, enough to destroy record labels and many artist careers who could've popped off if it weren't for these leakers.
On one hand, I can understand the disappointment regarding these dudes not capitalizing on what they were doing. But on the other hand I must confess these men knew and respected the high risks of what they were doing. They never got delusional about being the next bill gates or Napster king. They were minorities (plus a couple of white dudes) who knew that their model was gonna get them in an even worse whole had they come out of the shadows of their operation.
ivailoivailoto
Rookie
yoo what about that dude that was ripping videos,Warrier vidz or smth like that,I tried to find some info on him,but all I got is some old ass messageboards.
Could anyone familliar clarify,input is greatly appreciated ;)
Could anyone familliar clarify,input is greatly appreciated ;)
Dope article, thanks for posting it. I remember getting in with a few ripping groups in the late 90s/early 00s. I couldn't believe it when I got into an IRC channel that had a bunch of RNS members, including kali, plus members of CMS, FTD, EGO etc... Shoulda known he was a fat Indian
Then the group ESC appeared later on.. think they were French.. They dropped a few albums that never even got released..
Clipse-Exclusive_Audio_Footage-RETAIL-2000-ESC, and that Kiley Dean/Timbaland album, crazy shyt
This article was so throwback.......Excellent read
kingdizzy01
ATXBBOY
hitemup changed to streethop, i recall it was shut down due to links to retail albums being posted. the dante/daz threats never happened, daz had the afeni attorneys after him for that mak n dillinger album. daz was tryin to push that for $100 and a whole lotta people ended up gettin their money took. daz has the masters to those tracks, thats why them songs will never be on a legit pac album, except they dont give a fukk about us because a mixed down copy of the master exists while the original master is damaged. the 'og vibe' tapes were something me and dante worked on.
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Great ass read...I had a rough idea how these groups got their stuff, but god damn I didn't think the scope was that wide or that intricate.
I used to always read the NFO's and laugh too.
Classic shyt
I used to always read the NFO's and laugh too.
Classic shyt
At this dude single-handedly helping Kanye win the "battle" against 50
On one hand, I can understand the disappointment regarding these dudes not capitalizing on what they were doing. But on the other hand I must confess these men knew and respected the high risks of what they were doing. They never got delusional about being the next bill gates or Napster king. They were minorities (plus a couple of white dudes) who knew that their model was gonna get them in an even worse whole had they come out of the shadows of their operation.
Exactly.......all they really had was the thrill of being exclusive....It was artwork to them. When the top dog is stressing not to make money off of it...Thats art. And look what happened in the end. The top dog doesnt go to prison and Glover does 3 months.
RNS and the others fed me back in highschool 1996-2000
I was in a small school and the only one who had a cd burner for a while. I was selling mix cd's for $30 a pop. Didn't even need to get a job til halfway through my senior year. People were amazed when I told them I could make a mix cd like 
They would give me a list and I'd hop on IRC or the FTP sites and grab it over a few nights. Then one of my friends got a burner and started undercutting me selling em for $10 
ruthless
WheresWallace
Superstar
What were they REALLY trying to say?
