Unboxing the lost Syracuse Orange mixtapes

Maybe you’ve caught the “Bash Brothers Experience” special on Netflix, but what you might not know is that we’ve uncovered a Syracuse Orange goldmine of previously unreleased music. During recent campus construction workers found a box of recordings in a closet at M Street Records. That box ended up in a garage sale in Central Square, and sources gave TNIAAM an opportunity to take a listen.

We know that a lot of athletes were dipping their toes into the rap game, but before YouTube and Soundcloud, Syracuse athletes had to go into the recording booth. What we’ve (“definitely, really”) discovered might shock and surprise you so take a look at who was dropping rhymes — “bars” weren’t a thing yet — in between practices and games.

Elvir Ovcina and Marius Janulius recorded under the names Big E and Da Real MJ. The duo was probably ahead of their time on the lead track “Euro-steppin’ to the A.M.” but the rest of their EP seemed to stick to the fundamentals like “Bounce Pass to the Post” and “Use the Window.” One has to wonder how Boeheim responded when he first heard “Adios, Iona.”

Everyone knows that special teams players often have free time on their hands at practices. Apparently Pat Shadle used some of that time jotting down ideas in his rhyme book. The Syracuse kicker/punter hit the booth under the name Shady to release Pooch Punts and Squib Kicks. Seems like the West Virginia native was true to his roots on “Country Toes (Kick it Long)” and Shadle had probably watched Ace Ventura a few times when he wrote the lyrics for “Laces Out.” The real twist was how he incorporated The Pride of the Orange on the track. Maybe when the Orange had the ball Shadle was working on the arrangements with the tuba section.

It wasn’t just the revenue athletes trying to capitalize on their notoriety, either. We also found some tracks from Joel White and Drew Jenkins. The lax middies project called Diggin’ Groundballs featured tracks like “Clear, Shoot, Score” and “Dat (Long) Stick Work.” Not to be outdone, women’s lax star Katie Rowan jumped in on “Free Position Flex” and collaborated with women’s basketball guard Erica Morrow on “Syracuse Sharpshootaz.”

We’ll keep digging in the crates for some other lost Syracuse records. If you get your hands on some of this hot fire, be sure to let us know.