COLLECTOR SPOTLIGHT: KEVIN SCHWENK


PHOTO CREDIT:  ALL PHOTOS BY KEVIN SCHWENK VIA INSTAGRAM

Kevin Schwenk's crazy collection caught our attention real quick.  We witnessed the madness on Instagram.  The first thing that stood out was his minty collection of Cassette Singles in quantity.  Luckily, we were able to get Kevin's permission to post photos straight from his IG Feed.  Get ready to see a lot of classic pieces.  You can also see what Kev's up to to on Instagram and Twitter @kevinschwenk.



(SC)  So do you remember which one of these was the first one you popped in?

I remember the first tape I bought myself was Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill in 87 and I bought it at the naval base at Annapolis MD. It was all Def Jam everything for me around that time and where I grew up rap wasn't in record stores. So it was a vacation with family and I finally found my first tape.

(SC)  Are all these from your old collection?

I had my collection completely stolen in the early nineties which would probably equal to what I have today so that's a bummer. The reason after that I started buying mostly cassette singles because I started to excessively make pause mix tapes.  Around that time hip hop really exploded and I didn't have the money to buy every full length tape but I wanted to. Instead I was only buying the ones that I knew or thought would be dope from beginning to end.

(SC)  Do you think Hip Hop changed after they stopped making tapes?

 Hip hop for me really changed when the record stores where I grew up and still live today stopped selling cassette tapes. It was like with all this new technology, came all this stuff to me that was just wack. Cassette tape era marks the golden era of hip hop. That said, for a long time after tapes I was kinda aggravated with hip hop and all the shit that shoulda stayed unreleased. So I stopped buying music almost all together and took that time to broaden my musical taste. But it's always been about good hip hop. Today I pick and choose the good from the bad but there is without a doubt more wack shit than there is good music. With tapes that wasn't an issue. Chances were, even if you didn't know the artist on the tape, you were about to buy it because it was gonna be ok. Basically, there wasn't alot of crap on cassettes back then.  I have to thank people like Buttonpusha, Bang2000xl, Apathy (Demigodz) & Chris Cammack for making me appreciate hip hop again because no lie I was totally frustrated with the state of hip hop. At this point of my life I don't have the time to sift through all of the bullshit to get to the few that is worthy to be called hip hop. In case y'all that know me don't know I am a simple truck driver always away from home working 70 hrs a week to support my family. So time is scarce.


(SC)  So what do you think is next for tapes?  Are they dead?

As far as the state of cassettes goes. I'm fine with people not knowing about them too much. It just let's me know that their taste in hip hop is totally different from mine.  For those that do know about the era of rap on cassettes...they will always know good hip hop.

(SC)  As we promised in the introduction, here is Kevin Schwenk's Tape Feed, raw and uncut.


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11 comments:

  1. Wow that was a good read. Thank you Kevin for all the cool pictures and chats that we have had off the back of them. Above all I respect you for the humble, hardworking family man you are. I'm pleased that we have helped rekindle your love of that classic era hip hop. Thank you for the shout out also.

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  2. I am going to have to piggy back a little bit on Cammack979's comment. I remember when I first saw your collection, I had to pick my jaw up from the ground. I've never seen so many fresh tapes at once. That was when I realized that there are so many people out there who are passionate about Hip Hop's Cassette era. I knew I had to build this blog. Thank you for willing to share your story and inspire others to think about some of the things that made the Golden era....Golden.

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  3. Slang Disco3.1.12

    this was a great read kevin thanks for sharing your stories and collection

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Thanks y'all I had to cut myself off or I woulda just kept droning on...thanks @buttonpusha for doin this.

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  5. What was the removed comment???

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  6. @kevinschwenk Thanx again for doing the feature. I know alot of people can relate to your words. Myself included. The removed comment was from a good homey of mine; Jeff. He said that he enjoyed reading your interview and that he was brought back to the golden era by looking at your collection and seeing both tapes he had and didn't have. I don't know how the comment got removed tho...

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  7. Stu Linden Jr (@slindenjr20119.2.12

    The article was very true to the golden era of hip hop. Nowadays hip hop on radio and new artist coming out are all wack I think. Thanks for your photos and wish you all the luck with your family. Peace One Love.

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  8. Dope! Great read about a true fiend. More please.....

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  9. rumerx1.10.12

    You have an amazing collection yo...great interview.

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  10. Kevo is a tape beast..I got to watch out cause now hes also gonna be a double threat with vinyl..great article with an equally great guy..salute the true heads.

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