A treasure chest of unheard hip hop history has just been pulled from the vaults and released to the public in desperate need of golden era bars, beats and breaks. In the late 80's, a small studio / hang out spot on Manhattan’s Lower East Side called Top Shelf Studios was open for business, and was a spot visited by some of the most elite hip hop artists ever to bless a microphone. Artists like Biz Markie, Big Daddy Kane , MC Lyte Doug E. Fresh, Masta Ace and the Jungle Brothers would head to Top Shelf to work out new music and piece rough ideas together in an artist friendly environment, away from prying eyes of label execs and their minions.
History was in the making until one unfortunate and violent incident occurred. On the weekend of August 6th & 7th 1988 a riot took place on the outskirts of Tompkins Square Park. Clashes between police and demonstrators lead to catastrophic damage to the neighbourhood. When the smoke cleared the following Monday, August 8th, the producers returned to their studio to find much of their equipment was looted during the riot. More importantly, the masters were gone as well. Shortly after the studio closed its doors; and along with it a little-known chapter in Hip-Hop history.
For three decades the content of the missing tapes was never heard until now... Top Shelf has compiled the audio from these late 80's recording sessions and have let them loose on the public. Check out this piece of hip hop history and share your thoughts with us. You can stream the project below or hit the jump for more.