Rob One needs to rock rock on
December 6th, 2006 by bse
Bahamadia - UKNOWHOWWEDU (Rob One’s Bring It Back To Philly B-Boy Mix) 1996
DJ Rob One who tragically died of cancer in 2000 was a legend in LA Hiphop. A b-boy’s b-boy whether getting up with his CBS Crew, gettin down on KCUN Radio with his “Fly ID Show”, putting out classic mixtapes or working for Hiphop at EMI.
The above remix appeared on an EMI Promo titled “No tricks in 96′ it’s time to build”. The 12″ also featured a remix of “UKNOWHOWWEDU” by a favourite of mine Kool DJ EQ from Las Vegas, along with a couple of ten-minute mixtape style blends of EMI’s impending releases for 96 (AZ, D’Angelo and Rappin’ 4-Tay). The star of the show though is Rob One’s masterful remix of Bahamadia’s infamously catchy single.
Rob takes us back to Grandmaster Flash’s “Adventures” and even further back to the parks and rec rooms of ground zero: The Bronx. Cutting in “Rocket In The Pocket” throughout is even better than having a beat by Ski on the original, ‘cos you know Cerrone was the break if you was diggin’ in the crates…
Rob cuts in snippets of all the Philly legends Bahamadia shouts out, a la Spinbad’s intricate reworking of “Hip-Hop vs. Rap”. Cash Money, Lady B, Charlie Mack, Schoolly D, 3-D and on and on.
DJ remixes that eschew MPCs, SP1200s and instruments in favour of blackplastic are as Hiphop as Hiphop gets. Like Rob One, whose memory needs to rock rock on.
Further reading: Rob One Tribute at the Vinyl Exchange | Rob One with The Shape Shifters on Discogs
Posted on December 6th, 2006 by bse 
Dope song. I never heard this joint before and it’s done really well (obviously). Can’t wait to put this into my next mix.
December 6th, 2006 at 8:11 pmhey, what’s up? i just recently turned my site: Beats for Sale (http://www.jeejuh.com) into a blog. i was wondering if you could add a link to us as a resource for your readers. i dig your site, its got some interesting content. hit me back sometime soon.
-mike
December 9th, 2006 at 11:29 pmOG Rob ONE Fan…
This thread reminds me of all the rob one tapes I lost when my car was stolen… If you have any Rob One tapes or rips, hit me up. I’m down for a trade.
T
December 20th, 2006 at 11:16 pmi knew that cat he was mad cool,,,remember me and him boosttin vinyl in a london record store …..was good people rip
February 24th, 2007 at 12:54 amRob made a super dope Wu-Tang remix on a tape I had years ago. He took a radio performance of theirs and spiced it up even better than Rza could prolly do, no joke!
I happened to run into Rob One on Melrose, might have been shortly before his death. Either way I gave props and hugged the man before he left us.
Rest in peace, Rob.
September 19th, 2007 at 6:37 pmThe last time I saw Rob One was at the Pasadena City College Record Swap Meet. We were both looking for records and ran into each other. We talked about our EMI Records days, as his desk was right next to mine in the radio promotion department. It was not until I did a road trip and went into a local record store in Denver that I saw Rob One’s mixtapes. The owner of the store was all over me, bombarding me with questions about what Rob One was like, what was he working on, etc. Rob One was so cool and low key at EMI but he knew they had a few hot releases which the company had absolutely no idea how to promote (D’Angelo, Gang Starr, etc.) as EMI did not have an urban promotion department. I still have this photo of Rob One with the UK group Eternal, him in the front, the girls and me behind him. It was not until later when I wound up doing vocals for a jungle track by Motherless Child that I realized I needed Rob One’s expertise in promoting the single; my online search brought me the horror of all horrors that we had lost Rob One. I will always have that memory of our meeting at the swap meet; we planned to keep in contact and hook up soon; we hugged and went on to look for more records. Miss you bunches, Rob One, you were my coworker, my friend and bro. Thanks for providing me with the perfect example of making your own way in music—even when you have no support. Rob One lives—Mark Matlock/Andromeda International Records androintl@earthlink.net
February 17th, 2008 at 1:44 pm