In the early Spring of 1995, Northern Virginia’s burgeoning hip hop crew known as the DL Demolition Circle, descended upon the campus of Howard University for the legendary annual Howard Hip Hop Conference. The crew, made up of artists and musical collaborators: Lower Life Forms, Kreative Natives, Chaz the Natural and Props the Optical, swarmed through the event passing out hundreds of free copies of what would later be simply known as, “The Orange Tape.” The compilation cassette featured just seven songs, but served as the promotional springboard for what would soon become the Depth Charge Recordings label. Cassette and 12 inch singles from the Lower Life Forms and Optical would follow in 1996 and 1997. In 1998, the crew released their first 12 inch together as a crew under the moniker, Team Demolition, and began laying significant building blocks for what would become the DMV Hip Hop scene.
Recently, Depth Charge and Demolition founder, Zechariah Wise, transferred the original four track analog recordings into the digital realm and re-mastered the entire tape as well as original answer greetings from the Demolition Hotline and two never released bonus tracks from the Lower Life Forms, Optical and Chaz the Natural. The Orange Tape is now streaming on major music platforms.
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The Depth Charge Recording Group 