Excessive Ephemera

Bigger Than Life Productions Cassette

Posted Jul 25, 2009
Bigger Than Life Productions Cassette

Here's a cassette-only release from the first crew Shadow was affiliated with, Bigger Than Life Productions from Oakland, circa 1989.  Paris mixed two of the tracks.  Shadow did scratches for the second release, which he says he hasn't seen in years.  "If I had it, it would definitely be the rarest thing in my discography," Shadow says.

Mr. Nice Guy Cassette

Posted Jul 25, 2009
Mr. Nice Guy Cassette

A cassette-only release circa 1990 from Mr. Nice Guy, whom Shadow credits for instilling his passion for 45s.  "Mr. Nice Guy was from New York, and brought out an SP-1200 and stacks of 45s.  He was able to show me all of the samples that 45 King used on his early break records.  From then on, it was a wrap."  Notice artwork by Shadow's longtime collaborator 8th Wonder.

Hip-Hop Reconstruction Art

Posted Jul 26, 2009
Hip-Hop Reconstruction Art

The 8th Wonder's design for the promo package that accompanied Shadow's first tape. Entitled "Hip-Hop Reconstruction from the Ground Up," the packages were sent to peers & industry types between '91 and '92.

Reconstruction Volume 1 Tracklisting

Posted Jul 26, 2009
Reconstruction Volume 1 Tracklisting

This flyer accompanied Shadow’s first ‘Reconstruction’ tape from 1991.  The entire track listing of the tape is revealed.  

Hip-Hop Reconstruction Volume 1

Posted Jul 26, 2009
Hip-Hop Reconstruction Volume 1

The first demo tape that Shadow ever produced. This tape was sent out to friends and industry folk in the hopes of drumming up production work. This is also the tape that earned Shadow the winning slot in the Source's "Unsigned Hype" column in '91.