I promised myself that I would upload another hip hop mix this past weekend, mainly to showcase a few of the records that I tend to gravitate toward this time of year. Before the emails hit my inbox, I don’t wish to enforce the belief that these are the “most slept-on records of the ’90s” or take a stroll down the tired “remember when hip hop was good?” memory trip. Rather, this is simply a result of a rare few hours with my records on a Saturday afternoon. I stuck to two rules during the process: the artists had to be from New York, and each release had to fall within the time frame of the mid-’90s, give or take a year or two. Take the title of the mix with a grain of salt as well, as I couldn’t be satisfied with “November Hip Hop Mix” or something similar. Enjoy.

“The Five-Borough Bum Rush” – Floodwatch 76:54 (November 2006)

“Off the Books” – Beatnuts feat. Big Pun & Cuban Link (Relativity 1997)
“Pluckin’ Cards” – Ultramagnetic MCs (Polygram 1992)
“Fakin’ the Funk” – Main Source (Capitol 1992)
“Mad Izm” – Channel Live feat. KRS-One (Capitol 1994)
“The Mad Wunz” – Masta Ace (Delicious Vinyl 1993)
“Pull Ya Card” – Lord Finesse (Fat Beats 1994)
“Fast Life (Remix)” – Kool G Rap feat. Nas (Epic 1995)
“Black Smif-N-Wessun” – Black Moon (Nervous 1993)
“Heavy Ammunition” – Artifacts (Atlantic 1994)
“Return of Crooklyn Dodgers” – Chubb Rock, O.C. & Jeru the Damaja (MCA 1995)
“Verbal Intercourse” – Raekwon feat. Ghostface & Nas (Loud 1995)
“P.L.O. Style” – Method Man (Def Jam 1994)
“Get Lifted” – Keith Murray (Jive 1995)
“Do What Ya Feel” – Redman feat. Method Man (Def Jam 1996)
“Trife Life” – Mobb Deep (Loud 1995)
“Whirlwind Thru Cities” – Afu-Ra (Gee Street 1998)
“Stress” – Organized Konfusion (Hollywood 1994)
“M.U.G.” – O.C. feat. Freddie Foxxx (Payday 1997)
“Rappaz R. N. Dainja” – KRS-One (Jive 1995)
“Rather Unique” – AZ (EMI 1995)
“Me or the Papes” – Jeru the Damaja (Payday 1997)
“Tha Realness” – Group Home feat. Jack the Ripper (Payday 1996)
“Sound Bwoy Bureill” – Smif-N-Wessun (Wreck 1995)