Final Fridaze w/ Tige Fresh & Darrell D

Thank You Ja'Net!

You were that sexy, strong, independent, beautiful, afrocentric black woman that every black man admired. You will be missed beautiful queen. Thank You Ja'net! 

Darrell's Dj Spotlight f/ Mars1

Code: Mars1

Resting Place: Phoenix

Steez: Funk Doctor, Vinyl Inspector, Beard King

DD- For those who don't know,tell everyone who you are.                                                                               

M1- My name is Mario, I go by Mars1 from South Phoenix Arizona born and raised. Grew up down the street from South Mountain.  Don"t really have a big family, I mean i'm sure there's a lot of fam out there but I don't know. My friends are my family. 

DD- How did you get into dj'ing?

M1- I got into djing a few years ago actually. I'm pretty new to this world. But it happened for me at a local radio station here in South Phoenix. KDIF 102.9. One day a guy who goes by Durok was cool enough to open his turntables up to us at the station. And me having some old funk and rock records lying around jumped at the oppirtunity. From the minute I played the first song I was hooked! 

DD- what was the first record you ever bought?

M1- First record i bought was a Sublime Lp with that song "Santeria" on it.  I love that song. Still to this day that band is one of my all time favorites to jam out to. 

DD-  Why did you choose to use vinyl instead of a computer?

M1- I think for me, having a physical copy of the music means more to me than anything. I think people get lost in the hustle and bustle of this business and convenience plays a huge part for those who do major gigs but i'm not in this to play music I dont like, or make this my main source of income and that might sound crazy but if I don't like it i'm not playing it. lol.  So if i don't like it I won't buy it and i can't play it. Me being a collector in general helped me lean towards vinyl, the mystique of owning a record few people do was a major draw for me in that aspect. 

DD- Do you have any good digging stories?

M1- One good digging story is when I was in Vegas and dug through records for about 3 hours. This guy had no rhyme or reason to his collection, and I was about to call it quits with two stacks left to go through. I decided to flip through the last two piles and like the 3rd record from the last one i flipped was a Sealed Platinum Hook Lp thats pretty hard to find. And to find it sealed just made it better. 

DD- Who are your influences?

M1- Everyone around me in this dj world influences me. Local AZ guys especially. Anytime they speak I try to soak up as much as I can about this life as possible. A few dj's out of California like Debo, Loser and Mr. Groove from the FunkFreaks crew inspire me. Also another guy by the name of Dj Omargod is another one who in my opinion is one of the best. Dj Melo D and Dj Babu as well.

DD- What has been your greatest Dj moment?

M1- My first time playing at Bikini Lounge in Phoenix was a great moment for me. To be new on the scene in a crew that was barely born and to get an invite to be a guest for Djents was huge. And to go to that place knowing what those parties were like was nerve rackin for me. But the crowd danced the night away and I killed that set!  Felt right at home after the needle hit that record. 

DD- What's next for Mars1?

M1- Whats next for Mars1 is to continue to push my crew the Phoenix Funkeros Boogie Crew and the music we all love which is that 80s boogie funk! Individual goals in this dj thing are not really important to me. What is important is building the funk scene in Arizona and representing it the right way. I feel like the Funkeros do that and the passion for the music can be felt when you come out to our shows. We have some big things coming in 2020 and i'm looking foward to whatever comes our way! 

     

Darrell's Toy's & Collectibles (Pt.4)

Here's a few more gems from my private collection that are up for sale.

Styles Consistently Burning 2019 Phoenix

This past summer in Phoenix yielded another funky fresh display of street art by some of AZ's finest.  The mighty Phoenix Funkeros held down the turntables while the artists did their thing. Special thanks to Tianne Pitz for the pics!

 

All photos by Tianne Pitz

Funk Brothers Vol.1 Mixtape

Just released. This is my latest mixtape of all funk 45's. I share the wheels on this one with Funk Machine from the mighty Phoenix Funkeros. Limited and funky! Get at me for your copy.

From Chino D To P.E.

Back in December of 2006 I got a call from my buddy Chino D saying that Public Enemy was appearing at a local comic book shop. I knew P.E. was in town for a concert with X-Clan but why would they be appearing at some comic store? Needless to say, I had my doubts but just in case Chino was right, I wanted to be ready so I left my job early,went home, & filled a bag of P.E. goodies I wanted autographed. These items included 2 records, some action figures, & a sneaker. When I pulled into the parking lot of Atomic Comics located outside the Metro Center Mall, I saw a crowd of people standing outside to the left of the store in front of a stage where a dj was spinning classic rap jams. I thought to myself, "Maybe Chino was right." I approached the stage and ran into several hip-hop heads I knew including Chino D. "I told you." My response, "I'm glad you were right." P.E. hadn't showed up yet so I went inside of the store to look around and check things out. I was shocked to find that the store was packed with people already lined up. Upon further inspection, I concluded that there was no way most of these people were here to see this "pro-black" rap group. After a little "ear-hustlin", it became clear that most of the folks inside were there to see Flavor Flav and Flavor Flav only. See, this was during the time when the "Flavor Of Love" reality show was popular among slow witted millennials and single moms in their 40's. I was irritated having to wait in line behind these "non-belivers" to see one of my favorite rap groups but I kept it cool.  An hour goes by before P.E. shows up and it was well worth the wait! They sat down and filled every request of the fans which included  pictures, interviews, & autographing their new comic book simply entitled, "PUBLIC ENEMY" which now made since why they were at a comic shop. After a few hours of this, they stepped outside to perform a mini concert before the group(minus Flavor Flav) returned inside to finish the "meet & greet". Flavor remained outside to perform a solo set being that he had just released a solo CD. During this time I got to hang out with Professor Griff, Brother J from X-Clan, & Dj Johnny Juice, the Puerto Rican brother who is responsible for all of the scratching on the early P.E. albums. Even though the concert was cancelled due to light ticket sales, P.E. did perform at the "Blunt Club" later that night which was a smaller but more intimate venue. Can't wait for another occasion like this!  

Darrell's Toys & Collectibles (Pt. 3) RUN-DMC Style

Here are some classic toys i've sold from my favorite rap group of all time.

Pretty dope right?!