Corner 2 Corner Anyday 12" Random Indie Rap Super Rare

$

260

Super rare rap, promo copy in near perfect condition, was sealed, I opened it and played it three times. Here is Smoovs review from Vinyl Addicts..... 

I first heard of the group Corner 2 Corner back in 2003 when I listened to radio show #37 of Alex Poulikakos’ Vinyl Heaven website. Amongst tracks from King Sun, Black Moon, Powerule and Simply II Positive this “Corners 2 Corporations” track was one of the standout cuts of the show for me and I knew I just had to get a copy of this 12”. But as always this wasn’t was easy as I wanted it to be. After three and a half years of bad luck and frustrations, June 3rd, 2007 was my lucky day as I found a copy of the Corner 2 Corner 12” for only five Euros on the monthly Vinyl Addicts digging trip.

As with most groups who only released one or two independent singles there wasn’t a lot of information to work with, but that seems to be the story with every update on Vinyl Addicts, right? Well anyway, Corner 2 Corner was a trio from Brooklyn, NYC consisting of John “CJ” Faison, Luis “Panama” Escobar (a.k.a. Lou Esco) and Leslie “Les” Watts. Now I’m not 100% positive, but I think this single right there on Timeless Entertainment Inc. is the only record the trio ever put out. According to the guy who helped them promoting the single they recorded a lot more material though: ’They had so much other ish that was fire, and I wish could have seen the light of day’, so hopefully one day one of the group members decides that it’s time to put out more Corner 2 Corner stuff on wax.

The first few times I heard the lead track “Anyday” I wasn’t really feelin’ it. I guess I was expectin’ a track that sounded almost the same as “Corners 2 Corporations”, and that just wasn’t the case. After a few listens though the track definitely started to grow on me. Group member Luis “Panama” Escobar laced the beat and his slow-paced creation with the continuous R&B-ish background vocals works pretty well. While not the most gifted lyricists out there all MC’s flow well and can hold their own with some nice lyrics:

 

“I’ve been told that my talents are exquisite / What up God? What is it? Been a while since your last visit / I’m tryin’ to learn I’m beyond fightin’ crooks / Writin’ rhymes now, but in the future I’ll be writin’ books” 

 

“Corners 2 Corporations” gets served on the flipside and this track still sounds as fresh to me as it did when I first heard it on Vinyl Heaven’s radio show. Behind the boards this time is a guy name Aurthur Rhoden (a.k.a. J-Funk) and his creation sounds darker and has more funk to it than “Anyday”. As for Corner 2 Corner, I think the following lyrics tell you what they’re all about:

“Cuz see money’s like a son to me / I try to raise it right and I’m protective so I keeps it right in front of me / Ain’t no comparison of where I am to where I’ve been / And bein’ broke, well I ain’t tryin’ to go there again / I knew my history before ‘Roots’ / And history shows that when you blow up watch them shorties and their lawsuits / Nowadays you can’t ignore inflation / So Corner 2 Corner were goin’ from rap click to corporation!!!”

Hard to tell exactly when this record was released, but if I had to guess I’d say that it was put out somewhere between 1994 and 1996. Without question this is one of the better independent 12’s of the mid 90s and definitely one of my best scores of this year so far.


I will grade this very conservatively as VG++, has one superficial 2 cm paper sleeve mark on the A side that was on there when I unsealed it, may be a pressing defect. However, it makes absolutely no sound whatsoever. I tested this on a Denon 62 L with a Grado Gold cartridge, a Sansui AU 999 Receiver and B & W 610 bookshelf speakers.  Has one of the best dreamy thai stick induced rap beats ever! Good luck, I will ship this anywhere in the world for the appropriate amount. US Media Mail is $4.00. I will wrap this in a sturdy cardboard mailer and have it mailed out within three days upon receiving payment. I will be selling alot more rap, funk, jazz, tropicalia, classical, psych, prog and more soon, I have been selling records for 8 years now. Bid with confidence.