Back when I was trying to figure out what Clash "T"'s "Non-Stop" was, I remember listening to the lyrics closely for clues and seizing on the references to "DJ Prince Ice" and "All City". My first thought (hope?) was that it was Prince Ice from the Bay.
Prince Ice spun for KMEL in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was a member of Sway & King Tech's All City Productions crew. Back in the day I used to go up to the Wake-Up Show regularly to kick it and bring Joe Quixx breaks and samples to play. Although Prince Ice wasn't the DJ for that show, he was often around, along with other guys like Fredwreck, Franzen, Alexander Mejia, etc.
I met Prince Ice plenty of times but didn't really trip until years later when I heard these two megamixes that he did:
I have really low patience for megamix records-- the only rap-related genre I hate more is cut & paste records-- but I love these two 12"s.
Drawing on what were probably the two best years ever for mainstream rap music, Prince Ice plays many of the hits as well as some slightly left-field stuff (Life-N-Def! Stezo! MC EZ & Troop! a King Tech remix of "Girls I Got 'Em Locked"!). Although both mixes drag a little towards the end, for the most part he flies through the selections in a way that's deft and super-smooth.
Kinda in the same vein, I saw that someone has uploaded a few more classic Dr. Dre mixtapes. I haven't had a chance to check them out yet but the previous ones I've heard were pretty face-melting.
DJ Shadow's Diminishing Returns is, on most days, my favorite DJ mix ever.
Shadow recorded it in 2003 as a BBC Essential Mix. Essential Mix is a long-running weekly show featuring mixes from big-name producers and DJs. More often than not, it's 2 hours of indifferently mixed techno from guys who make a lot of money in Ibiza.
Shadow's mix was a completely different thing. It's an amazing selection of eclectic, mostly unheard songs that's cleverly sequenced and masterfully mixed. It was far beyond what anyone else was doing at the time and, to me, remains the apex of the hip hop-influenced digger/DJ mix.
The first 80 minutes of the mix are largely built around unknown late-'80s rap. Diminishing Returns was made at about the same time as the random rap craze was taking off and it's hard not to hear it in light of that. DJ Ivory had already dropped one volume of Hear No Evil and Ultimate Breaks & Beats-based NYC obscurities were starting to draw a lot of attention from other DJs and collectors.
While Shadow covers some of the same ground that Ivory and others did, he leavens some of the oppressive purism of those mixes by incorporating a lot of other stuff-- current mainstream Southern sorta hits (8ball & MJG's "Put Your Hands Up") and oddities (Tow Down's "Country Rap Tune"), backpack experimentation (Beans's "Mutescreamer"), ancient regional goofs (SF's RSP Crew on "MC School") and neglected classics (Mantronix's "Hardcore Hip Hop"). There's some scratching, some doubling, some blends and enough variety in the mixing that it never feels static. Shadow then closes out the first half with a series of oddball covers (Gary Numan, Hall & Oates & Queen) and silly dialogue that act like comic relief before changing up styles completely.
The second part of the mix is largely made up of '60s psychedelic rock. As with the first half of the mix, most of the selections are things that were largely off the radar of both other DJs and collectors-- not necessarily incredibly rare or even unknown, but not sweated collectibles either. The selections are impeccable-- moody and haunting but also soulful and even a little funky. The mixing in this part is really outstanding because he takes songs that are really difficult to blend and makes them segue in ways that feel really natural. While the transitions are incredibly musical, he also follows a lyrical/conceptual thread from song to song. Seven years later, it still blows my mind.
Diminishing Returns is available directly from Shadow's website on CD or as a download. If you don't own it or haven't heard it, I can't possibly recommend it highly enough. He also has a lot of other worthwhile mixes for sale there, like the Miami bass mix I'd heard about for years but only heard recently.
***
There are a lot of great records that Diminishing Returns led me to. Some I stumbled on, others I sourced from the internet and a few I got from Shadow himself. Shadow never provided an official tracklist, but through collaboration most of the tracks have been identified over the years.
Out of all of the records on the mix, this one evaded me for the longest, bothering me like an itch I couldn't scratch:
I don't know anything about Clash "T" or any of the other artists on the EP this is drawn from. I asked Shadow about this song years ago and I remember him telling me it was from Ohio but there are no explicit signs on the label to bear that out.
The whole release is incredibly lo-fi-- it sounds like it was mastered from a 4-track cassette-- but I love the rawness and enthusiasm of it. Also, the way Clash "T" rides the beat is amazing.
I just got around to listening all the way through the homie DJ B.Cause's tribute to Roger Troutman, Playin' Kinda Ruff: The Troutman Legacy and it's a really enjoyable listen.
Although I know and love most of Roger and Zapp's hits, for whatever reason I never listened to much beyond the first 2-3 LPs. Josh's mix draws together all of the much-played, much-sampled classics, some of the rap songs that stem from them and a whole lot of other stuff you probably haven't heard, from pre-fame recordings with the Human Body to oddball collaborations from the 90s. Josh is an incredibly skilled DJ and knows his way around a multi-track, so he's able to make all kinds of transitions that I would never attempt sound smooth and natural.
Speaking of Roger, a recent Soulstrut post reminded me of this, which is one of my favorite performances by him:
Vontel: "4 My Homiez" feat. Roger Troutman (Fo' Life, 1998)
Vontel's an Arizona rapper. The album this is drawn from was partly produced by Battlecat, but this track was produced by Dre LeSean and Robert "The Professor" Anderson. Troutman's ad-libs are gorgeous.
2 Busy Saying Yeah 10 - Matthew Africa & DJ Fuze Are So International!
This week I'm joined by one of my favorite DJs, DJ Fuze.
Fuze is a Bay Area rap legend best known as the DJ for Digital Underground and the Luniz and for being one half of the group Raw Fusion. He has toured everywhere and has produced Digital Underground, 2Pac, Dru Down & the Luniz. He is also a phenomenally hard party rocker with great skills and deep knowledge of many styles of black music, from rap to funk to the music of Africa and the Caribbean. In the second half of the show, he joins me and drops a great mix of dancehall that's too new for the club plus some classic soca and African hits. I had no idea how big a Vybz Kartel fan Fuze is, but there it is.
In the first half of the show, I play a mix of some of my favorite African funk records. Since comps long ago outpaced my African digging, almost all are from those. Nearly a third were taken from Soundway's phenomenal Ghana Soundz 2, which is a great place to start if you want more in this style.
1. Ebo Taylor Jnr. & Wuta Wazuri: Mondo Soul Funky
2. Honny & the Bees Band: Psychedelic Woman [Bonobo remix]
3. Orchestra Baobab: Kelen Ati Len
4. Orchestre Poly-Rhythmo De Cotonou: Dis Mois La Verité
5. Marijata: No Condition Is Permanent
6. Matata: I Want You
7. Orlando Julius Ekemode: Alo Mi Alo
8. Ebo Taylor: Atwer Abroba
9. William Onyeabor: Body & Soul
10. Sir Shina Peters & His International Stars: Yabis
11. The Sahara All Stars of Jos: Take Your Soul
12. Oscar Sulley & the Uhuru Dance Band: Olufeme
13. Asiko Rock Group: Lagos City
14. C.K. Mann: Funky Hi-Life
15. The Ogyataanaa Show Band: Disco Africa
16. Shina Williams & His African Percussionists: Agboju Logun
DJ Fuze!
17. Demarco: Roof Over My Head
18. Vybz Kartel: Life Sweet
19. Vybz Kartel: Versatility feat. Indu
20. Konshens: No Money to Give You
21. Erup: Pop Dat
22. Laden: Time to Shine
23. Mavado: Mockingbird
24. Beenie Man: Stack & Pile
25. Beenie Man: Pop Off
26. Elephant Man: Horny Wine
27. Vybz Kartel: Mentally Insane (DJ Fuze’s Town RMX)
28. Vybz Kartel: Gaza Commandments
29. Demarco: Some A Seh
30. Mr. Vegas: I Am Blessed
31. Vybz Kartel: Dollar Sign
32. Serani: Badmind
33. Keak Da Sneak: Super Hyphy (DJ Fuze’s Anger Management RMX)
34. Mistah F.A.B.: New O.A.K. (DJ Fuze’s Anger Management RMX)
35. Vybz Kartel: Go-Go Club
36. Konshens & Dario: Do D Ting
37. Mr. Vegas: Gallis
38. Mavado: Never Believe You
39. Isaac Blackman: To the Ceiling
40. Machel Montano: Fly Away feat. Collie Buddz
41. Soca: Hot & Groovy
42. Traffik: Sweetness feat. Shayne Bailey
43. Busy Signal: Up In Her Belly (Magalenha)
44. Fay Ann Lyons: Wine Fast feat. Beenie Man
45. Benjai: Tanty Say feat. Scarface
46. Magic System: Premier Gaou
47. Awilo Longomba: Karolina
48. Les Championnes: La Ronde Des Fillettes
49. Ellon DJ & Mix DJ 1er: Bobaraba
50. Romain Virgo: Mi Caan Sleep
51. Marcia Griffiths: Keeping It Real feat. Busy Signal
Just in time for Halloween, the homeboy DJ Day and Exile got busy with "Thriller" last night at the Root Down in LA:
Their live routines are incredible.
Here's another from a few months back in which they go in on D-Train's "You're the One for Me":
Incidentally, Exile's most recent album, Radio, is very good. The concept is wild-- he made an entire album out of sounds sampled from the radio (voices, static, buzz, tones, instruments, etc.)-- and the execution is even better. I prefer it to a lot of the other more-hyped dublab stuff from L.A.
He also produced the entirety of Fashawn's Boy Meets World, which I bought the other day but haven't got around to digesting yet. Fashawn's free Alchemist-produced mixtape was pretty enjoyable (Leon Ware! Jackson Sisters! Sammy Nestico! etc.!).
I was really sad to read that Grandmaster Roc Raida passed away, especially so soon after the death of DJ AM. I only met Raida once but he seemed like a really genuine and humble guy.
There's no question he was one of the greatest scratch/battle DJs who ever did it, but when I think of him the first thing that comes to mind is always this, which he and Knobody produced:
The X-Ecutioners: "Let It Bang" feat. M.O.P. (Loud, 2001)
I can't think of any other song that gets me charged like this does. It's also about the only time M.O.P.'s rap/metal fuckery has fully clicked for me, aside from maybe "Cold World". (I love M.O.P. but dudes, please, less Mash Out Posse, more First Family 4 Life.)
The sample always cracks me up because it starts off sounding like Devendra Banhart covering the intro to Arrested Development and then goes from soft-hands to max power out of nowhere.
Last Tuesday I went out to 330 Ritch for the relaunch of Sake One's PST party, which had been packing the Levende Lounge on Thursday nights for the past few years. I guess Sake felt like the party was getting away from what he wanted it to be, so he took the brave step of uprooting it and starting all over again clean.
Sake did it big with guest DJ Spinna and a live performance by Goapele. There were some great moments, like seeing Chuy Gomez dancing to Moodymann, meeting SF house legend David Harness and seeing a lot of folks I don't generally see out.
I took a whole bunch of photos, although for photos that are actually good, you should probably go see Fred at Suckafreeze.
D-Sharp prowls, Chuy does the robot
Willie Maze poses with Sake One and his pants of many colors
Spinna's smile is bright, but Hakobo's shoes are electrical
Like every other time I've seen him, Spinna was great-- the guy is a master of all trades, playing breaks, house, afrobeat and even rocking a "not bad meaning bad but bad meaning good" routine in the middle of a rap classics set.
When Spinna played this, I just about ran from one end of the room to another to find out what it was:
Gichy Dan's Beachwood #9: "On a Day Like This" (Anonymous Simple & Plain edit) (www.djanonymous.fi/, 2008)
Gichy Dan was a protégé of Kid Creole who cut one LP, 1979's Gichy Dan's Beachwood #9. The original version of this song also appears on Strut's recent compilation of Kid Creole's productions. The version I've posted (which I think is the one Spinna played) is a re-edit by Finland's DJ Anonymous. I grabbed it from his excellent blog, DJ's Delight.
Anyhow, back to PST, my only gripe, which isn't really a gripe, was that a special invited guest who was in town that night and who was rumored maybe possibly hopefully to be coming didn't in fact make it through. Here's an aural love note from Rahiem to him:
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious 5: "Dreamin'" (Sugarhill, 1982)
It's an insanely goofy rap moment, even if it doesn't involve actual rapping.
Last Thursday, I went out to Sake One's PST party. It was my li'l homie Jules's birthday, but I would have been there anyway to check out DJ Spinna, who was DJing at the party along with Sake and with Hakobo from the Culprits.
Spinna is a great, great DJ-- his mixing was impeccable and his selections were cool and varied-- some Dilla, some classic rap, some dancehall and some classic samples (I remember thinking, "Wow, he's playing the Turtles and people are whylin' out!").
I was really enjoying myself (i.e., too much Chimay) when, at about 1:45, something strange and awesome happened. What follows is a reconstruction of my experience:
It's cool that Spinna's playing "The Most Beautifullest Thing in the World"... I don't hear this song that often.
Who's that guy who grabbed the microphone? He looks like E da Boss.
Wow, he seems to know a lot of the lyrics.
Wow, he probably knows more of the lyrics than anybody except Keith Murray.
Oh, shit, that IS Keith Murray! Holy fuck! YAHHHHHHH!
I wish shit like this happened at my parties.
It was already a great night, but the surprise performance from a long-M.I.A. rap legend put it over the top. So, in Keith Murray's honor, here are a couple of tracks from an obscure 12" he cut with Curt Cazal (!) a couple years before he hooked up with Erick Sermon and came out on Jive.
He acts like he doesn't believe it when I say it to him, so I'll put it in print for the world to read: Sake 1 is the best DJ in San Francisco. My man is so good on so many levels-- taste, skills, versatility, flavor-- that it floors me.
Sake's not one of those DJs you always read about online or see in magazines, but in San Francisco he is loved. His signature party, Pacific Standard Time, packs the Levende Lounge each Thursday and he uses the platform in really cool ways, bringing in legendary DJs (Danny Krivit, Kool Herc), giving up-and-comers a chance to shine (the Honor Roll) and giving back with frequent benefits for community groups. If I grow up to be a little more like him, I won't be even a tiny bit mad.
Anyhow, I bring it up because the boy has a new mix-- an actual, legitimate, commissioned-by-the-label mix entitled Fania Live 03 from the Fresh Coast-- and it's great. The story goes like this: a couple of years ago, Emusica bought the catalog of the great salsa label, Fania Records, and began reissuing tons of amazing music from the '60s and '70s. To promote this stuff to the niños, they commissioned compilations from Gilles Peterson and DJ Muro, and mixes from several DJs, including Sake.
Sake has done a number of mix CDs that I've really enjoyed over the years (this one especially!), but this may be the best example of what he's about as a DJ and a person. The selections, from the likes of Willie Colon & Hector Lavoe, Eddie Palmieri and Ray Barretto, are great on a musical level, but deliver lyrically, too. You don't have to speak much Spanish to catch the themes of community and social justice in songs like "Mi Gente", "La Revolucion", "Justicia" and "Paz", particularly when coupled with Sake's gentle use of dialog. The mixing is really smooth and tasteful, too. Man, it's just good.
The CD came out last Tuesday and should be available in stores, online, etc. Sake is having two release parties for the CD-- one in SF at PST on March 20th with Bobbito and one in Los Angeles on March 22 with Bobbito, Francisco Aguabella and Chuchito Valdes (!). The entire album is currently streaming here.
