Who remembers recording on these back in the day?

Maybe you are a DJ, an underground lo-fi producer, or somebody who just dropped their first beat tape. If you appreciate the culture, then this piece is one for the collection.

Lightweight, comfortable, retro Cassette Tape Wood Pendant custom-crafted by RIFF 170 is now up for bid. A throwback for real heads, perfect for anyone ready to make a statement and rep the culture.

Cassette Tape History

The Compact Cassette, or Musicassette, also commonly called the cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is a magnetic tape-recording format for audio recording and playback.

They were designed originally for dictation machines, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to replace the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel tape recording in most non-professional applications. Its uses ranged from portable audio to home recording to data storage for early microcomputers.

Between the early 1970s and the late 1990s, the cassette was one of the two most common formats for prerecorded music, first alongside the LP record and later the Compact Disc. Cassettes are constructed with two miniature spools, between which a magnetically coated plastic tape is passed and wound.

These spools and their attendant parts are held inside a protective plastic shell. Two stereo pairs of tracks (four total) or two monaural analog audio tracks are available on the tape; one stereo pair or one monophonic track is played or recorded when the tape is moving in one direction and the second pair when moving in the other direction.

This reversal is achieved either by manually flipping the cassette or by having the machine itself change the direction of tape movement, otherwise known as “auto-reverse.”

Magnetic Tape History: 2, 4, & 8 Track, Cartridge & Cassettes – Info Video

Another Atco’s Collection video. Music media Part 3. Little info about the sound analog magnetic tape audio reel-reel tapes, multi-track (mono then eventually eight track, 4 channel or the Hi-Fi Stereo 8) origin, and compact cassettes.

Cassette-Tapes Make a Comeback? ~ Info Video

In an age of digital downloads, cassette tapes are an endangered species. But some audiophiles won’t give up on tangled tape and fuzzy hiss. WSJ’s Lauren Rudser reports.

In the same spirit of preservation, here’s your chance to bid on a very limited-edition cassette pendant, signed and numbered by RIFF 170, a pioneering Bronx style writer from the early ’70s. These drip cassettes were painted in the birthplace of hip-hop; peep the shots we got of Riff at Boone Park a few years back.

If you happened to catch one of our pop-ups or our Beats, Slaps & Maps event, you know we had these for sale last year in Harlem and Brooklyn. We just happen to be cleaning out some old merch and found several we had left over; this particular piece is signed and numbered #2.

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Riff 170 customizing drip cassettes at Boone Ave Park
RIFF 170 HAND-PAINTING CASSETTES AT BOONE AVE PARK


Get a limited-edition cassette pendant signed by RIFF 170, pioneering Bronx style writer and UA crew alum.

Riff helped define New York train writing, known for his creative, prolific mechanical and hardstyle letters, characters and multiple aliases running across the IRT lines, and the recent sale of his DJ Kool Herc and Coke La Rock character flyers at Christie’s NYC.


This vintage flyer by RIFF 170 promotes iconic 1975 block-party-style jams featuring DJ Kool Herc and his MC Coke La Rock, hosted at The Hevelow in the Bronx.
DJ Kool Herc & Coke La Rock character flyer sold at Christie’s

Red masterpiece 1973 RIFF DO IT by Keith Baugh
1973 RIFF DO IT

This custom piece connects the analog tape era and those early block parties, the history captured on cassette recorders, to the mixtapes that changed indie distribution and pushed the culture forward, all the way to the visuals created by the first wave of style writers.


Early Bronx hip hop park jam

Kool Moe Dee vs Busy Bee Starski Dec 1981 Harlem World

The Armory 1979 – Melle Mel, Kurtis Blow, DJ Starski, Grandmaster Flash (restored)

L Brothers vs The Herculoids – Bronx River Centre 1978


Riff 170 hand-painting wood cassettes

Tape Wood Pendant by Riff 170 Product Details:
Pendant Size: 2.36″ (h) X 3.33″ (w)
Bead Size: 8mm
36-inch Wood Bead Necklaces
Black Cassette w/Drips & signature #2
Smooth Finish
One Size Fits All
Packing: OPP Bag
Quantity: ONE pcs

CONTACT INFO:
MRC PROMO – EBAY
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ARTICLE: MRC Promo
EDITOR: LaMont Rd
IMAGE: RIFF 170 Wooden Cassette Necklace