When I first realized that music expressed my world way better than words, I was listening to recordings on the Stax/Volt label. Otis Redding is my favorite artist, and this particular song is so iconic—I think it expresses the Stax sound: the raw funk, the big personalities, the great voices, the Southern common sense. I loved it from my first listen, and you did too. Here’s one of the best 45s I have on that label, and the songs that it inspired. And if you like the Stax label, we may have some real treats here for you soon! Continue reading →
Now that the dub mix is posted, I can catch up on some new music and I’m excited about Mistah F.A.B.’s new one as well as Undun from the Roots. I was surprised running across this though—looks like the legendary KRS-1 will be dropping an album soon as well! Check it out!
Especially fun that it’s produced by Mad Lion, who has always been down with BPD and was featured on my most recent edition of the Fire series of mixtapes.
Those of you who know me well (or even just read my last post), know that I love dub music. Although many of the most famous reggae tracks ever are associated with great vocalists, there is no doubt that drum and bass is the foundation and enduring truth of reggae music. This is my tribute to dub. Continue reading →
As many of you know, I am a big fan of Roots Reggae Dub music. Not dubstep or any digital offshoots, but the original spacey, big bass tunes of live musicians being tweaked by a crazed genius in a smoke filled studio. A great way to explore the instrumentation of reggae, a great genre to inspire meditation and wonder. I’ll write more about the genre later, but wanted to give everyone a little teaser of a mix CD I plan to be releasing within the next few weeks. Read more and download the tracks below! Continue reading →
I’ve mentioned before that Oakland gives me an opportunity to surround myself with some really great DJs. This week we feature Matthew Africa, a soul encyclopedia who is also frequently the answer to the question “who is your favorite DJ’s favorite DJ?”
I heard Notorious BIG‘s “Juicy” on the radio at work lately and heard dozens of 13 year–olds singing along, reminiscing on “The Rappin’ Duke” and Heavy D being photographed in limousines in the pages of Word Up magazine. The irony was extreme, considering the children were born long after Biggie was dead, and long long after Heavy D had fallen from the pages of Word Up magazine. (Since I initially wrote this, Heavy D has passed away. Much to my surprise, Word Up is still published. Hate to think who is in the limousine now).
I also realized that many people my age probably also didn’t know anything about Rappin’ Duke. Hopefully they know enough about “The Duke” John Wayne that they’ll be amused at the novelty tune. What ever happened to novelty rap, anyway? Or is that what Krayshean and Lil’ B are?
John Wayne
If you like novelty rap, the tune is a classic. Above is my copy of the 45, there are quite a few available I imagine, since the song reached 73 on the charts in 1985. The beat is the same as “Blowjob Betty” from Too $hort, and the lyrics mostly refer to John Wayne, but also reference other pop culture touchstones from the ’80s, even comparing Ronald Reagan’s ascendence to the presidency to the Beverly Hillbillies. Of course. Enjoy the original video below, and look out for the track to make an appearance on my next 45s only mixtape.
As many of you know, Heavy D passed away this afternoon. I was always a fan because his songs were danceable and fun, and he always kept it classy and clean which was a big plus for those of us who had to sneak rap albums into the house.
He was always loved by the entire music, and strangely enough I was just doing a whole separate blog post that referenced him as well. Recent tributes have pointed out that he recorded with Biggie, Supercat, Michael Jackson, and the entire Stop the Violence Movement—how many could say that?
Below are a few of my favorites by the man. This Saturday, DJ Odiaka and I will be holding down the Lucky Lounge, and we are already working on our Heavy D tribute set. Come out and enjoy.
My favorite at the time, mostly because it was based on the original reggae tune by Third World. I especially liked that the vocals featured Aaron Hall.
Here’s the original song:
Another favorite of mine. I definitely taped this off of Yo! MTV Raps.
A later 90′s tune of the Heavster.
He was born in Jamaica, and always paid tribute to the Jamaican roots of Hip Hop, as well. Check him out with Supercat and Frankie Paul.
Here’s a 45 I played last weekend, and will now play again this weekend.
Check back to this post for some tribute mixes over the next few days, I’ll see what comes out.
As many of you know, I am a bicycling fanatic. Ok, not like a spandex guy, but I simply don’t see the reason to operate a car in a situation where you can ride a bike. I ride my bike to work as often as possible… no matter what work it is!
The bike I ride…. everywhere.
In the 90′s I did a radio show and played hundreds of parties, bars, and clubs, but didn’t have access to a car. On reflection, it was pretty crazy how I got one of the best Reggae record collections in America across Los Angeles County using such a weird variety of bummed rides, bicycles, skateboards, shopping carts, tool boxes, and backpacks.
In the vinyl days, one thing DJs constantly did was hone their record collection to be as efficient and light as possible, without leaving behind any key songs. Today, Serato and dozens of other digital DJ programs have taken care of the vinyl weight factor for us and I can finally ditch the car for most gigs and never be missing a song.
In college, probably 1996, I came up on this back pack at an Army Surplus store.
It was an old British Medic’s bag, according to the sign. $10, and the perfect size for about 70 12 inch records—the perfect compliment to two tool boxes of 45s. Or it can hold 15 records and all the things a Serato user needs.
I‘ve never been shy about my love for the wonderful soul music the Stax/Volt label released through out its lifetime, and I’ve been planning a tribute mix for the label for years. Of course, someone beat me to it… but for a change I’m not mad at all!
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