Thank You Dj Ready Red!

Looks like we lost another one. Man, I remember buying the "Making Trouble" Lp back in 88 and first hearing the title track and thinking that this was the hardest rap song I had ever heard. Prince Johnny C & The Jukebox sounded more like a harder, criminal version of Run-Dmc with their back & forth style of rhyming and mixture of rap and rock production but it was the guitar stabs and scratching by Ready Red that stole the show. I never got to see you guys perform live but I kept the Making Trouble Lp on repeat.  Thank You Dj Ready Red!

Thank You Aretha!

 You moved the world as a jazz singer long before I was born. Soon after you became "soul sister" #1 and showed the world what it's like to be young, gifted, and black. During my high school years your production from Luther Vandross and Narada Michael Walden kept you on every black radio station and BET's "Video Soul". Your voice has moved mountains. Thank You Aretha!

Hustler Status:GizmoVintage Honey

Me & Giz go back like a Cadillac with 4 flats. We used to rock parties together all over Phoenix back in the day. Nowadays, Giz spends her time in "Bed Stuy" Brooklyn hustlin the finest of vintage clothing.  Whether she's Dj'ing, modeling, or acting, it's the clothing hustle that Giz is most passionate about.  From the flea market to the corner to various shops in Bed Stuy,  you can find Giz lacing New Yorkers with the grooviest digs. I always make it a habit to check her out when I'm in town and I wanted to introduce her to you.  

Gucci down to the socks!

XL WEST COAST TOUR 2018

The day of this show I was hanging out at Crates Record shop when Serg the owner told me that Sadat X, El, & Ed O.G. would be stopping by to record a song in the store's recording studio. Ten minutes later they all walk through the door accompanied by Dj Kaos. I say my greetings and bounce back to the crib to grab some vinyl for these guys to autograph. After returning to the shop, we all hung out in the studio and it was cool to talk rap with Ed O.G. I go all the way back to "Be A Father To Your Child". In fact, I own every record from all three of these emcees. Later that night at the show, the crowd was kinda light(hmmmm…. is this a result of the gentrification of rap?), but the energy was strong. After the opening acts, Sadat X hit the stage for a shorter set than expected. I love Brand Nubian but was hoping to hear more of his solo joints like "Lump, Lump", "Hang Em High", or "X-Man" but it's cool, I mean, how you gonna be mad at hearing "Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down","1999", & "Slow Down".

   Ed O.G. went on next and proceeded to blaze the spot up! He started with a few songs from his new Lp "Freedom" then went down memory lane with "Love Comes And Goes" & "Be A Father To Your Child". Ed's entire set was rock solid and he still spits with excellent breath control and doesn't break a sweat. 

Finishing off the night was El Da Sensei. El did his thing and of course ran through the Artifacts classics. At the end of his set he invited Sadat X back to the stage to perform a song from their upcoming "XL" Lp which was the title of the tour. I thought they would be doing an entire set of these songs but no, just the one. Hopefully this will be an upcoming tour.

Sadat X, Serg, Dj Kaos, El Da Sensei,& Dj Twist

  

That One Time At Kid Capri's House

  I'm a huge fan of Kid Capri. I've been collecting mixtapes for years and have always enjoyed his style of Dj'ing, my favorite type of "party-rocking" dj'ing.  I've had the pleasure of meeting him on a few occasions, like the time I interviewed him before the Def Comedy Jam show in Milwaukee back in the late 90's, or the time he rocked Club Pompeii in Tempe, Arizona back in the mid-2000's, or even the time he burned down Crotona Park at the Tools Of War show with his famous 45 set back in the summer of 2011. This latest encounter was a different story.
  While vacationing in New York this summer (2018) I linked up with this record dealer that I know to pick up some funk and rap 45's he was holding for me. He took me to some of his digging spots in New Jersey and he told me that he had some vinyl that he needed to take to Kid Capri and that I could roll with him if I wanted to. Ok, cool. A few evenings later we are at Capri's crib hanging out in his studio listening to records. After a while, I pull out a 45 and tell Kid, "Here's a "break" I know you don't have". "I don't know man, I got a lot of breaks", he replies. I hand him a copy of  Kaleidoscope "Tempe, Arizona" and he throws it on the decks and clearly expresses that he's digging it. Then he stands up and says, "follow me". We walk over to a different area of his studio and he shows me his collection of 45's. He pulls out a box and proceeds to play me some of the illest breaks on 45 I have ever heard while occasionally looking over and saying,"DON'T SLEEP ON THE KID BOY, I GOT JOINTS!" After about an hour of listening to breaks he brings up the beef between Funkmaster Flex and himself breaking down the entire situation. Some of those details I can't repeat but everyone knows Kid would destroy Flex in a battle.
  For the last few month's Kid has been talking about his new upcoming album called "Top Tier" which is a collection of songs produced by him featuring some of the top battle Mc's in New York. I got a chance to listen to the entire project and let me tell you, it's fire.
   It's always flattering to hang out with talented individuals you admire and chop it up about the culture, especially the Dj/vinyl culture. It's amazing that no matter who you are or how big your record collection is, someone can always put you on to gems you've never heard of.