The Beginning: Vinyl
The love for music started way before the Fatback Band, Curtis Mayfield, The O’Jays, The Isley Brothers, Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes, etc was all that was played in his home during the early 70s ( everybody mom’s was cleaning up on Saturday morning before Soul Train came on )..His unique listening to music has helped a lot of mixtape djs with their ideas even today..

Which comes from his collecting of mix tapes since the late 70s until even today. Who do you know have early S & S, Doo Wop, Ron G, Kay Slay, Juice, Dexterity, Clue, Iroc, Double R, Kool Mike Ski, Craig G, Luv Bug Starski, Brucie B, Starchild, Chubby Chubb, Jazzy Joyce, The Legendary Showtime, Chill Will FTE & others all on tape ???? The live party tapes ( Harlem World, Red Zone, Empire Roller Rink ) was thrown out by accident..lol..But he made up with the radio mixtapes ( Chuck Chillout, Red Alert, Funkmaster Flex, Awesome Two, Hank Love )..

The name Tapemasta started from listening to early Doo Wop tapes stating that he was the Bouncemaster of the mix tape game, so he flipped it & started calling himself Tapemasta ( Not Tapemaster, who was a person supposedly taping djs at certain parties back in the days )..This made an impact with his collection of mixtapes..Ask Tapemasters Inc how they got the name ( He still got the DMX mixtape )…lol !!

Basically, the collection started by listening to Red Alert, Awesome 2, Hank Love & Half Pint, Chuck Chillout, Marley Marl, Supreme Team, Awesome Two & others on the radio..When one radio station went to commercial, he went to the other radio station & keep recording until the tape stops ( which usually was on 90 or 120 minute tapes )..Then early Sunday morning be outside playing all the hot stuff on the Monster Radio on the block…There’s a lot of the radio tapes in the collection also…

Next move: Mix tapes
He used be in Harlem every Friday night waiting for Jamel ( The flava man ) to bring the hot joints to the corner on 125th - Back then his Grandfather used to live on 116th ( Lenox & 7th av ) so he knew when all the stuff that was going to drop the day before because everybody was running around with these hot tapes in Harlem ( everybody was on 145th in front of Willie's Burger playing the hot joints )…

So when he got to Bklyn, it was a wrap !!! Stereo Plaza/Palace ( Steve, Jeff, Wanye & Tyrone ) was the spot to get all the mix tapes. Harlem & South Bronx was the home for this mix tape store back in the late 80's early 90's ( shout out to Rock n Will on the 7th av )..Next stop was the lady called Sandy ( South BX, 149th & 3rd av ) & Keith ( Ness Sportswear )..Sandy changed the mix tape game because dj's didn't want to give her masters..Keith ( 149th & 3rd in the front of the BX 15 ) had the Queens dj’s bringing him black Maxell tapes..( only the ol’ heads going to understand that saying )..Ask Clue or Doggtime about the spot !!

So now you know that's how he got hooked on this thing called Mix Tapes..So basically, He was in all boro's collecting tapes from dj's like Luv Bug Starski, Hollywood, Kid Capri, Grand Master Vic, Dr. Rock & The Force MCs, DJ Priiest ( Original Spinderella ), Early Dirty Harry tapes ( on 60 minute tapes ), Kay Slay, Chill Will FTE, Clue, Boo Tha Barber, Rello & Jadel , Doggtime, Ike Love, D Lyfe & others..
Believe it, the collection is bigger than ever before..He can boast about having over 3000 mix tapes & that's not even counting the mix cds which came later on. A certain person ( Justo of Mixtape Awards ) wanted to take some of his mixtape collections ( the tape covers ) & put it on the big plaques for the current winners of the mix tape awards.

That would have been a good thing for the djs worldwide because then people would have known what they dropped for the entire year or their careers..So came with the idea about reviewing mix cds..but he would only do hot joints & not the corny ones- to him that was a waste of time & energy….Remember the saying about selling you the cover & the cd is free..That’s Tapemasta & King Apex concept…lol !!

There's a lot of hot djs ( Mixtapes, Club, Mixshow, DVDs ) in the world today, believe me they're not just in NYC either - so he felt it was his luv for Hip Hop to let people know about this thing called Mix Tapes..Now practically, everybody is jumping on the bandwagon of the mix tapes, which now they turned into mp3's...the explosion of mp3's has turned record labels into practically a shell of itself...thanks to Itunes & ipod's..

He has been associated with Mixtape Awards ( Honorary Board Member ), Mixtape Elements ( Mixtape Reviews ), The Foundation Magazine ( Mixtape Reviews ), LXG ( A group of Djs, Graphic Designers, Mix Tape Critics ), Entourage DJ’s ( G Spot & The Fam ), www.Rapmullet.com ( Pushin Tapes ), www.Tapekingz.com ( Mix Tape Reviews ), The Connex List Magazine ( Mixtape Madness ), Scratch Academy, a DJ academy that was founded by late pioneer DJ, Jam Master Jay (of Run DMC notoriety), Nasty Nes & The Rapattacklives ( Reviews with King Apex ), Mixtape Madness ( The first web-site to review mix tapes with King Apex ), The Technition Magazine ( The first magazine to bring mix tape reviews to the Record Labels - Scrap Dirty, send me my check now - lol – Ask Clinton Sparks how he got into the mixtape game ), Grind Mode Entertainment ( Kenyetta, I still luv ya ), Media ( Mix Tape Reviews ) & other Web Sites/Magazines….Google the name & see what pops up next…

PS: He's been in the mixtape game for over twenty years behind the scene-whether reviewing or just collecting tapes, cds or downloads - which he's still doing today. He's now putting together a catalog on mix tapes for everybody to see the collection worldwide ( yeah, he knows it’s been years – but it’s a lot of stuff )…..
See some samples of the old tapes below...You got to “luv” the dated mixtapes with no covers or playlist though..

For any info requested you can contact Tapemasta at: Tapemasta2@yahoo.com or http://www.myspace.com/tapemasta...

Here's a taste of the collection...enjoy !!!

This month is going to be a little different for the masses worldwide..Now you get to see everything first hand & imagine seeing all of it..Mixtapes is considered a threat to some people & a joy to others..So i've come up with another idea to smash the "weak" ideas...Enjoy what you read..

First, some noise from the trenches:

Of the 27,000 albums released last year by the recording industry, less than 5000 sold over 1000 units. Since 1988 only 16 classical albums have sold more than a million copies in the United States; five of them were put out by Victoria's Secret. The source of most music listening hours is neither Cds nor radio; it's video games. When pop star Sting needed a marketing partner for his 2000 album release he chose Compaq Computer. "Ten years ago, rock musicians would never listen to dance music and dance musicians would never listen to classical music. Now, most of the rock musicians I know own samplers and most classical composers I know also are listening to dance music." -- Moby
Worldwide entertainment and media spending will reach $1.4 trillion by 2006, (PriceWaterhouseCoopers).



THE NEW MUSIC ECONOMY
The news is good and bad. We're seeing nothing less than a global restructuring of the economy. This isn't a brief shudder; the organizational structures of the last century are being torn apart. Business worlds are deconstructing and reconstructing. Everything is blurred, fuzzy and vague. And the meanings of 'work' , 'career' and 'job' are being re-written. We're also witnessing (and feeling the effects of) the end and beginning of the music business. Like humans, industries pass through developmental stages: birth, youth, maturity and death (or transformation). Our industry grew rapidly, matured, plateaued and is now in the throes of transformation. How successful this transformation will be depends on how creatively the musical industrial complex can dance with the changes.

Unfortunately, so much of the music industry is beholden to corporate owners itchy for corporate-size profits and driven by rigid corporate imperatives. This wrecks havoc with "artist development"; hell, it wrecks havoc with business development, and necessitates high turnover of both artists and employees. Complicating industry maturation is an event no one saw coming: a new distribution channel called the Internet. The big labels are contracting as a vast Web is spinning around them. The Internet is both threatening to take the rug of necessity out from under vast sectors of the traditional music business AND providing musicians and songwriters with direct access to global audiences.

All of this adds up to a picture today where it is no less risky to "go indie" than to "get signed", signed, that is, as an artist or as an employee. Choosing to go indie is exploding across all industries not just music. We need only think of indie film or book publishing. Independence is a mark of the times we're living in. We are profoundly on our own in this milieu.
And that's the rub. We're beginning to accept that we will never return to the more static, less opportunity-rich but also more comforting world in which most of us were raised. The changes we're living through are both permanent and dynamic. The real social revolution of the last 30 years is the switch from a life that is largely organized for us to a world in which we are all forced to be in charge of our own destiny. That's the scary challenge. And also the exciting opportunity. Today we have three different music 'industries' developing side by side: The mainstream pop/rock business, which will continue to market established stars like Celine Dion and Whitney Houston.

The chaotic illegal record business, involving at one extreme pirates and bootleggers, at another experimental and political artists refusing to accept the restraints of copyright law; and in between the usual variety of pirate broadcasters, home digital distributors, and so forth. The indie, genre music scenes, local players connected through web sites and digital radio, but commercial in their niche, making enough money to go on making music but not necessarily seeking to play 'the game" of ever-increasing ladder-climbing success.

The first industry is contracting; the second is and always will be present; and the third is poised for quantum development. The lesson: Unless you're seeking Britney Spears-level fame, then avoid the major labels and prove yourself in the independent sphere first. Someday you may want to partner with a major company (record company or otherwise) but, for now, focus on creating your own success, building your value, maintaining control of your career and music trajectories, following your muse and your spreadsheets with utter dedication and focus.

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