WGCI.

There’s a high possibility that you may have never been to the Chi, but still know that those call letters have significance in Midwestern Hip-Hop. During the 90′s, I’d often spend spring break in the city. That’s when WGCI and I became the best of friends (second or third, with Harold’s taking the top slot), because you know how radio stations in other cities sound amazingly better than your own city’s. Well, Mikey Love has gathered WGCI’s Bad Boy Radio freestyles just to prove to you that WGCI’s radio > your local frequencies.

Seriously, I’m not one to wax nostalgic often but when I do look back at the Bad Boy Radio days, I realize today’s on-air DJs could never have the “freedom” that we had in our heyday. The cultural impact of Bad Boy Radio is still felt on Chicago radio today so I wanted to compile a lesser known but important segment of the show, the live in-studio freestyle sessions. By the millennium it was rare that a rapper could kick a verse without cursing so our interviews with rappers stayed just that, interviews. But in the early days every MC that stepped foot in the studio had to kick a verse. That said, there are some real gems here, from the classic “All About The Bad Boyz” (arranged by me) to Common’s freestyle over the “Invocation” beat (from One Day It’ll All Make Sense), to the late Big Pun exchanging verses with Fat Joe, to Twista jappin over Aaliyah’s One In A Million instrumental, to the entire Flipmode squad rhyming for 10+ minutes over a Master P track, to Juice’s crazy & completely off the dome freestyle, to DTP’s Shawnna noticeably stepping her rhymes up when former Infamous Syndicate partner Teefa steps in the studio, to KanYe West & Lupe Fiasco bringing the era to a close. Radio history was made.

Just way too much, audio sensory overload. Hit the break to see what the business is. Today’s soundtrack awaits you.

1. All About The Bad Boyz-Chi-Town All-Stars (D.A. Smart, Common, Crucial Conflict, Do or Die, Twista) (1997)
2. Common Freestyle #1 (1997)
3. Crucial Conflict Freestyle (1997)
4. Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz Freestyle (1997)
5. Kid Capri Freestyle (1998)
6. Shaq Freestyle (1998)
7.Fat Joe/Big Pun Freestyle (1998)
8. Allen Iverson Freestyle (1998)
9. Flipmode Freestyle-Busta Rhymes, Lord Have Mercy, Rah Digga, Spliff Star, Baby Sham, Rampage (1998)
10. Twista Freestyle (1998)
11 Juvenile Freestyle (1998)
12. Brand Nubian Freestyle (1998)
13. Outkast Freestyle-Big Boi (1998)
14. Juice Freestyle (1999)
15. Profound Freestyle (1999)
16. Go-Getters Freestyle-Timmy G, GLC, Kanye West (1999)
17. Q-Tip Freestyle (1999)
18. DaBrat Freestyle (1999)
19. Common Freestyle #2 (1999)
20. Shyne Freestyle (2000)
21. Bad Boy All-Stars Freestyle-Mark Curry, Black Rob, Loon (2001)
22. DTP Freestyle-Ludacris, Shawnna, I-20, Tity Boy, Lil Fate, Teefa (2003)
23. 50 Cent Freestyle (2003)
24. KanYe West/Common Freestyle (2005)
25. Lupe Fiasco Freestyle (2006)

Download — Mike Love Presents – The Best of Bad Boy Radio Freestyles (1997-2007)

Kudos: FSD