//Pharcyde lovers, here is an excellent interview the homie Shing02 did this summer in Japan with Tre and Lip. In it, they discuss how the producer of Dazz Band was an instrumental mentor, their musical foundations in the church(!) & grandparents' house parties...and the finiteness of seedless fruit. Great stuff.
And for the heck of it, here's one of my favorite Pharcyde joints - originally off a compilation called State of Emergency it was later redone on the Labcabincalifornia album as "Devil Music"...but like many things in life, the original is better! The Pharcyde - "My Soul" (Mad Sounds, 1994)
Beyond The Limit DJ'ing at St Rose High School. Circa '87
//It is not widely known that the roots of Filipino American Bay Area DJ scene goes as far back as 1978 with the formation of the mobile crew Sound Explosion at Balboa H.S. in the Excelsior/Outer Mission ...and is a lineage that gave birth to our great Pinoy turntablists Q-Bert, Apollo, Mixmaster Mike, et.al. We really gotta ask the homie Oliver Wang/DJ O-Dub about all this cause he wrote his doctoral dissertation on "A History of the Filipino American mobile DJ scene in the Bay Area, 1978-1995."
There was actually an exhibit a few years back called "Tales of the Turntable: Filipino American DJs of the Bay Area" at San Mateo County History Museum. In addition, here is a photo gallery of old school flyers, business cards, and photos (including the above images) compiled by DJ Slammin Sam and posted by Patrick De La Cruz. The heyday of the mobile scene in the 80s with more than 100 active crews in existence...and guess what, most of the records in the crates were not hip hop, but freestyle!! I mean it was the 80s, and they were all about rockin the house...and it was hella Filipinos at the parties that were all about blowin up the dancefloor like it should be!
According to Wikipedia, "In Miami, the freestyle name evolved after confusion between Tony Butler's track "Freestyle Express" by Freestyle and Debbie Deb's "When I Hear Music", a slightly older but more popular track that was produced by Butler. The sound became synonymous with Butler's production, and the name of the group he was in, Freestyle, became the genre's name." Here is a longer essay about the history of freestyle music if you feel like reading it (it was interesting to me), it gives a lot of credit to some guy Lil Louie Vega. Whatever the case may be, Freestyle is the missing link between Afrika Bambaataa and the Triple Threat DJs, the connection between Filipinos and the two turntables.
So it is with profound gratitude and great humility that Zita and I dedicate a special GOLDEN Midnight Mix to the sounds of '80s Freestyle. Much respect always to the pioneers. 1neLuv.
Another Obama post, why not? Especially when the final version of this track off The Abstract's new LP does not have the sample of the 44th prez speaking on hope:
The People's Choice. It's been 24 hours and I still can't believe it. But what does it really mean? We have these days to reflect and four years to find out. 1neLuv. Ray Darwin - "People's Choice" (Tad's, 2007)
I'ma keep it simple on this one: I've attempted to do a Round-Up of the DJ mixes that are out there. If anyone has more, hit me up with the link or leave it in the comments. Not many words to say about tomorrow, just keeping my fingers crossed. 1neLuv..
First off though, my man Pete, another teacher-by-day, ____-by-night fam laid this song and video down way before Obama even won the Dem primary:
This year Halloween fell on a weekend. But we were not trick-or-treatin with the Geto Boys, we were paying tribute to them Oakland boys and women who are some of my heroes. Because it was the We Love The Town party, I believed it was a must to represent Oakland. And who more timely and relevant (and "scary" hahaha) than our Oakland originals, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, founded in October 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale (above). Peep game on this just-released documetary on the Panthers' roots at Merritt College (when it was located in West Oakland):
With the help of Uncle Lester (2nd from left) it all fell into place. Uncle Lester is a longtime community activist, AC transit driver, middle school campus supervisor, and founder of the Cougar Cadet Corps. He was also a Panther from SF State back in the day, and at one point Angela Davis' bodyguard. Uncle Lester loaned us the berets and schooled us on the fashion: Oakland Panthers were well dressed, with black leather jackets, dress pants and nice shoes, and the shirt underneath was distinctly baby blue. East Coast Panthers were the first to adopt the more paramilitary style, with black army fatigues, for ruggedness and affordability (leather ain't cheap!). Uncle Lester also came through the party and celebrated his 60th earth day with us!
Regardless of fashion, what was most influential to me was the Panthers' revolutionary agenda which called for pride, power, solidarity among people of color and oppressed people, knowing your rights, an international anti-war stance, community-based programs like their Free Breakfast for School Children, and basically putting the ideology of Malcolm X into action. No wonder the Panthers were targeted by J Edgar Hoover's COINTELPRO, infiltrated, leaders murdered, and shut down from within. Their legacy, however, remains. It was an honor to rep the Black Panther Party. ...And no less revolutionary was West Oakland's finest and the costume winner DJ Aebl Dee as The Black Hockey Player! Plus big shout for the illest concept ever, the fam Arnizzle & Janizzle as BA-ROCKERS!! Last but never least, a musical shot: one my fave late nineties 12" singles was Buckshot's (of Black Moon) take on Rakim's classic record "I Ain't No Joke." Pay attention to the first couple bars of the 2nd verse where Buckshot takes The R's lines I got a question As serious as cancer Who can keep the average dancer Hyper as a heart attack, nobody's smilin'
and flips it into: I got a question Who remember The Panthers? Who can get the average man to Think with a military mind prepare get ready..
//Pharcyde lovers, here is an excellent interview the homie Shing02 did this summer in Japan with Tre and Lip. In it, they discuss how the producer of Dazz Band was an instrumental mentor, their musical foundations in the church(!) & grandparents' house parties...and the finiteness of seedless fruit. Great stuff.
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