Promo Player: DJ Neil Armstrong - Originals 10th Anniversary Box Set

Okayplayer is proud to be the first blog (ok, except for his own, maybe) to crack the seal on the 10th anniversary Box Set Edition of legendary turntablist, Jay-Z tour DJ and all around good dude Neil Armstrong's infamous Original mixtape series (pretty sure we only got this because as a young DJ fresh off the bus I happened to sit in on the desktop publishing session in which then-5th Platoon manager Chris Sealey designed the very first Original cover art around Neil's baby pic. My contribution: I suggested the caption: "I used to be a lowercase G," which was summarily rejected).

We're also proud to be pioneers with this review/preview of what is--to my knowledge--the very first *Mixtape Box Set* in rap history. In case you are unclear on what that might even mean, the 10th anniversary package comprises an actual box set embossed in gold ink, a shrink-wrapped cassette copy of the first Originals mix (released by Neil ca. 2001) a handsome booklet with cover art, tracklisting and detailed info/liner notes and a customized USB card containing the rest of the series in digital form--4 in total, including the latest installment: Original All Out King. You can listen to the sampler below but suffice to say that the new mix applies the template from the other 3 mixes--recreations of essential hip-hop beats from their constituent samples using virtuoso turntable technique to cut breaks and loops together from the original vinyl, all with plenty of vocal scratches. These are like a million of those youtube cratedigging tutorials strung together in a form you could actually rock out to at a houseparty--edutainment! The newest mix also contains some surprises, digging up unexpected vinyl originals for heavy new-school hits (Diana Ross on Chris Brown's "Look At Me Now", for instance, or the Rocky II sample on Drake's "Forever"). This limited edition object is only coppable in a handful (assuming you only have like three fingers on one hand) of physical stores, so you have to purchase at Neil's site (where you can also get a quick 'unboxing' vid demo-ing the customized packaging)

[audio:https://www.okayplayer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DJ_Neil_Armstrong-Original_All_Out_King_Sampler.mp3|titles=DJ Neil Armstrong - "Original All Out King Sampler"]