The Dream Team & Funkmaster Flex - Live at the Tunnel Part 1
It's '97, and you're at the hottest club night for hip-hop in NYC.
1997 was a tough year for the hip-hop community, especially in New York City. The Notorious B.I.G.’s murder on March 9th was a brutal shock to the flourishing scene, and was not easy to bounce back from. But thankfully, Biggie left the city with two discs of anthems to blast in his memory.
On Live at the Tunnel Part 1, we catch Funkmaster Flex and his Queens-side openers The Dream Team during what sounds like a par-for-the-course spring Sunday night in ‘97 at the Tunnel (mentions of the Spring Break festival Freaknik and shouting out the Sprung soundtrack which dropped in late April 1997, plus the post-Life After Death release playlist in general, clue us in to this exact time frame best). It’s a hip-hop party for sure, and the sounds of new and old Biggie classics are ringing through the walls of the legendary nightclub where ‘90s flicks like Kids and Belly were filmed.
And like good openers should, Dream Team DJs Hotday and Jae Supreme save most of the Biggie bangers for the main attraction, minus a couple choice faves off Life After Death (Flex ends up playing “Mo Money Mo Problems” at the end of Side B too). Instead, they reach into their Queens bag, playing joints like CNN’s hot single “T.O.N.Y.” and Nas’ Q-Tip-produced “The World Is Yours (Remix)”—they even throw on Flex’s new Nas freestyle off The Mix Tape Vol. 2: 60 Minutes of Funk which had just dropped in February.
Plus, they make good use of the “Shook Ones, Pt. II” instrumental after playing Prodigy’s verse, blending it with the same Gap Band classic that Nas and Large Professor vocal-sampled on the “Understanding” hook. And the shout outs to everyone from Queensbridge, LeFrak, Ravenswood, Woodside, and more are abundant, including a shout to Cormega who must have been in the building that night, too.
The Dream Team - “We Can Make It b/w Shook Ones Pt. II”
But even with a concentrated Queens set and a collection of stellar singles and favorites from hip-hop’s finest, including some Tootsie Roll-flavored down south dance shit to mix it up, it’s clear that in his afterlife NYC still belonged to B.I.G. Once Flex gets on the decks on Side B, the Biggie joints keep coming in steadily. Sure—he throws on new CRU and M.O.P. and Redman and Rampage and Foxy Brown songs, but it’s heavy B.I.G. and Bad Boy/Junior M.A.F.I.A. family through the recorded part of his set.
Ain’t no party like a Funk Flex Tunnel party. This tape is a great listen, and a reminder of the love Biggie maintained in the wake of his passing throughout NYC, without the constant RIP shout outs either. The love came through in his music. And for the collectors out there, consider this the rookie card of Flex’s Tunnel tapes. It’s a must-have.
Oh by the way, Flex is entertaining and engaged with the crowd as ever. At one point early on he gets on the mic and asks, “How many people in the house like sex? Make some fuckin’ noise.” Now that’s how you get a reaction.
Stream Live at the Tunnel Part 1 below, and stay tuned for more 50 TAPES posts as we make our way toward the release of Do Remember! The Golden Era of NYC Hip-Hop Mixtapes, out October 3rd via Rizzoli (breaking news - our release date got moved up!)
The Dream Team & Funkmaster Flex - Live at the Tunnel Part 1 (SIDE A)
The Dream Team & Funkmaster Flex - Live at the Tunnel Part 1 (SIDE B)
BONUS: The Unspoken Rules of Being an Opener at the Tunnel (Do Remember! Extended Cut)
Cipha Sounds: You can’t play all the hot hit records. DJing now is a fucking mess. Every DJ is playing all the hot records over and over. That’s why I hate going to clubs now. Back then, you had to keep the crowd entertained, but not play all the newest hot records. You had to save those for Flex.
Also, there was a thing we used to call “the shoulder,” where I’d be playing a new song, and if it got a big reaction and Flex put his hand on my shoulder, it meant, “Don’t play that next week. Matter of fact, give me your copies and you just go get some more, but I need these.”
I remember I played Lost Boyz. I broke Mobb Deep's “Quiet Storm.” I was the first one to ever play that in the Tunnel. Cam’ron “Horse and Carriage.” There were a couple records I broke in the Tunnel that I was known for. Big Kap broke DMX's “Get At Me Dog” and Jay-Z's “Ain’t No...”
There were definitely rules to this, but that’s where the mixtapes come into play. I learned a lot of dope R&B and soul shit from listening to Ron G and Kid Capri tapes. I’d bring my walkman with the tape to Rock and Soul and be like, “What’s this song?” “Oh that’s Gap Band.” Or Frankie Beverly, or whatever. And I would buy the records because of the mixtapes. They were like the promo to the old school.