//Oakland Weekend: WE LOVE THE TOWN x SAMPLEd..

Two serious Oakland get-downs this weekend:

WE LOVE THE TOWN / FRIDAY JAN.29 / LUKA'S:
This Friday night is my personal favorite party to spin at, period. One, I have always loved the vibe in Oakland, and two, Zita and I always put in brisk work on the turntables here. It's a more fierce, energetic look than our GOLDEN night, which is more laissez-faire clubhouse style (which is still big fun). WE LOVE THE TOWN at Luka's, come early and join the multitude on the parquet floor at the first needle drop, and stay late cause hey, East Bay folks you ain't gotta cross a bridge!

SAMPLEd / SAT JAN.30 / PARADISO:
This Saturday I have the good fortune of not only spinning a second night in a row in The homeTown, but I also get to join one of my DJ Heroes (the real thing, not a video game) World Famous DJ SHORTKUT, plus one of the most genuine homies and skilled-on-the-fader Oakland Fader DJ PLATURN, plus my brother my ace DJ MPENZI inna di place, all under one roof the new ParaDiso in the already-bubbled Oakland Uptown. Now this new 5th Saturdays jumpoff, aptly named SAMPLEd, is set to be a musical history lesson /slash/ name-that-sample game /slash/ these.. are.. the.. breaks /slash/ all-out shake your body down to the ground now Get Down. It is a place where beat-heads, record nerds, music lovers and beautiful people will all converge for some top notch Edutainment. Lemme tell you, I witnessed Shortkut slay an all-45s set last week and to catch him in Oakland is NOT TO BE MISSED. Thank me later!

Also, I would like to announce the February return of a concept I really love, me & Zita's Looking for the PERFECT BEAT at a new SF venue!

Lastly, as thanks for making it to the bottom of this note, if I get TWENTY guestlist email replies for Friday and/or Saturday night to goodlifeoakland@gmail.com not only will you get in for cheap but I will donate my Saturday DJ earnings to Haiti relief via HERF. And as additional thanks, here are a bunch of free downloads of my mixes and live sets via the excellent Mixcrate, including my 2009Rewind mix, a live at Golden opening set from the vaults, and Stop the Fussing & Fighting! Enjoy:

//The Funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr..

The Funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr.

His headstone said
FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST
But death is a slave's freedom
We seek the freedom of free men
And the construction of a world
Where Martin Luther King could have lived and
preached non-violence

-Nikki Giovanni

//GOLDEN 2010

//Here's to a GOLDEN 2010. Recent unfathomable events, while reminding us of the tremendous inequalities that exist yes in the western hemisphere, should also remind us to heed Jill Scott's mantra to live ya life like it's golden and not take anything in life for granted. And to help in any way you feel able (like this).
//This Saturday DJ Zita and I kick off our GOLDEN year with a couple of the homies in tow. Not only are they nice djs but they are also a couple genuinely nice peoples:

//OwlBoogie (Action Figures) - This dapper dude has been around for a while now, he ain't no new jack. In fact I remember seeing him catch wreck on the wikka-wikka a good 8 or so years ago as the backing deejay for Kiwi. Know his steeze by checking out this 15min-to-the-head 4-track mix from 1993 (!!what were these young serato whippersnappers doing back in '93? huh?) and more flava here, like Low End Theory vs. Midnight Marauders for your ATCQ fix.

//DJ un.D.fine (Devil's Pie) - This cat Virak is another dj for the people. Hella soulful. Check him out on some ol' robotic futuristic George Jetson crazy joint--live a coupla weeks ago on Neitherworld Radio with his Come Ride My Spaceship mix, and of course, you can't front on his Devil's Pie Maxwell Tribute.

//Lastly, I went into the archives and pulled one of my live sets from Golden in March '09. This one in particular is an opening set (we drop the needle at 9pm)...one of the great things about spinning in the early hours of a party is being able to focus more on laying a vibe and setting a mood versus trying to keep pushing the energy higher and higher during the peak of the night. You get to express your inner music nerd and throw on some cutty album tracks and lesser-known gems that you love. Vibe with me..

DJ Dmadness Live at Golden (March 21, 2009)

//2009REWIND..

//As we bid adieu to 2009 and the first decade of the millenium, take a minute (or 78) to reflect with me on the year in music. It's always easier to focus on what sucked out there, but as I began compiling tracks it became apparent that it was still an excellent year for new works. The returns of Maxwell, Sade, Goapele & Souls of Mischief, dope Bay productions from Trackademicks, lots of extracurricular woodshedding from ?uestlove and Mighty Mos, next gen cats like Kid Sister, Wale and Jay Electronica (that's Jay ElectRamadaan Muhammad Asalaamica Rasoul Allah Supana Watallah through your monitor to you!), African voices via Nneka & K'naan.. and don't even get me started on the riddims! This year I went to Jamaica for the first time and tunes like "Call on Me," "One More Night" and "Life" were ruling alongside riddims like Go-Go Club, Style & Swagga and many more reggae and dancehall joints I couldn't fit.

//So there you have it, my humble take on music I was feeling in '09. I recorded it live, one-take with no editing or mastering so excuse any roughness around the edges. Interestingly, after spinning vinyl since '94, it's been exactly one year since converting to Serato and for better or for worse this mix would not have been possible without it..

//Come thru tomorrow night for the GOOD LIFE New Year's Eve with myself, ZITA and DJ VNA and I'll have a few free cd copies available to take with you into the next decade. Happy New Year and 1ne Luv..

2009REWIND - DJ Dmadness - 12.30.09

1 Roses - Georgia Ann Muldrow & Mos Def
2 I Wanna Be Where You Are - The Roots with Erykah Badu
3 Love You - Maxwell
4 How I Got Over - The Roots
5 My Sweetie - Wale
6 Neva Believe U - Mavado
7 Come From Yard f/ Juakali - Kush Arora
8 Making Money f/ Warrior Queen - Kush Arora
9 Bill - Gaza Kim & Lisa Hype
10 A Nuh Whore - Demarco
11 Stronger - Einstein
12 Good Inna - Beenie Man
13 Wanna Be Ballaz - Assassin
14 Alive (Nightmare) (feat. RATATAT) - KiD CuDi
15 Cheeba (Nottz Remix) f/ Bilal - Shafiq Husayn
16 Chasing Pirates (Santigold and Snotty Remix) - Norah Jones
17 Purple Flip - ?uestlove, Foreign Exchange, Zo! & Carlitta Durand
18 Ay Yo (Soulquarians Mix) - Melanie Fiona
19 History - Mos Def f/ Talib Kweli
20 Down Azz Jawn - Kid Sister
21 Off the Pacific f/ Casual & San Quinn - TD Camp
22 New Wu f/ Ghostface Method Man - Raekwon
23 Walking (J.Period Remix) f/ Jay Electronica - Nneka
24 Soldier Of Love (Platurn Edit) - Sade
25 The Lovecats - 1-O.A.K.
26 Exhibit C (Sake1 DJ Edit) - Jay Electronica
27 Poets - Souls of Mischief
28 Just Begun f/ Jay Electronica, J. Cole & Mos Def - Reflection Eternal
29 Brooklyn (Go Hard) - Mos Def
30 2009 BET Hip-Hop Awards Cypher - Mos Def, Black Thought, Eminem & DJ Premier
31 Empire State Of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys) - Jay-Z
32 Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Broken Down - Alicia Keys
33 Milk & Honey - Goapele
34 Milk & Honey (Sake1 Refix) - Goapele
35 Heaven In Your Eyes - Gappy Ranks
36 Soul Rebel - Gappy Ranks & Nerious Joseph
37 Call On Me - Jah Cure
38 All About You - Wayne Wonder
39 Can't Stop Now f/ Mr. Vegas & Jovi Rockwell - Major Lazer
40 One More Night - Busy Signal
41 Life - G Whizz
42 T.I.A. - K'naan
43 Fly Away - Wale
44 Flight School f/ T-Pain & Kanye West - GLC
45 For Your Sorrows f/ Too $hort - Big Boi
46 Bedroom Lights - Idle Warship
47 iFEEL f/ Blu - J*Davey
48 This Time Around f/ Phonte & Carlitta Durand - Roddy Rod

//We've Only Just Begun..

//I rarely post the newest-new tracks because usually it's just some overblown innernut hype. But when I woke up to this track off Reflection Eternal's forthcoming comeback record I was incredulous. The star is really Hi-Tek's beat, from the sick intro to the horns..with everyone still jocking Jay Dee (respect) can't another brother who's been doing it just as great for just as long get some shine? And of course you've got the Funky Four Horsemen: Jay Electramadan coming off "Exhibit C", J.Cole who I was never trippin on but who holds his own well, and the brothers BlackStar dropping references to Othello, the Dalai Lama, Coming to America, New Orleans' fleur-de-lis, and hip hop quotables like "the devil at the dancehall, thirsty for a partner" and "Pure power don't power trip." Could the paradigm finally be shifting in hip hop? I mean it's been horrible for so long, maybe we just need to get out of this decade. Tracks like these are taking us there.. 1ne Luv.

Reflection Eternal f/ Jay Electronica, J.Cole & Mos Def - "Just Begun" (Warner Bros, 2010)

..and for the heck of it, here's the dope B-Side off Kweli & Hi-Tek's first 12" single pictured above, the title and intro passage of which are quoted from Ghanaian author's Ayi Kwei Armah's 1973 novel (which incidentally James Cameron should have read before making Avatar).
Reflection Eternal - "2000 Seasons" (Rawkus, 1997)

//GOLDEN Winter Breakdown..

//Ah yeah, it's GOLDEN Time! We were on hiatus last month thanks to support from the homies Willie Maze and DJ VNA... and we're back to close out the year the OG way, just me & the Mrs.

//Look for newness from Golden Soundscapes in 2010, including the 4-year Anniversary of GOLDEN, a January WE LOVE THE TOWN, a rebirth of one of our other beloved musical ideas on a 2nd Saturdays night, new mixes ...and the whole nine.

In the meantime here's a little retrospective of the GOLDEN Midnight Mixes, which we retired earlier in 2009. All are mixed live by yours truly Dmadness & DJ Zita at GOLDEN 3rd Saturdays at Laszlo SF:


MIGHTY MOS DEF - Feb 09


HAPPY 30th B-DAY AALIYAH! - Jan 09


3 THE HARD WAY (the RZA/DJ Premier/Dr.Dre) Apr 09
- GOLDEN 3 Year Anniversary


DEEP IN THE 90s - Mar 08


IT'S A LOVE THANG - June 08

//Good Life Reunited..

//This Saturday marks the one-night-only return of GOOD LIFE!! At Bliss Bar in Noe Valley after the Pacquiao fight..

//GOOD LIFE was a weekly Wednesday night event at Luka's in Oakland that DJ VNA and I started in 2004. We moved our night SOUL TRIP (Wednesdays '02-'04) over from the Lucky Lounge after Luka's opened. We held down that night, carry heavy crates of vinyl up the stairs to the booth every week for two years. During that time we had all our dj fam come through and rock with us, keeping it as Oakland as possible: Mpenzi, Proof, PantyROBber, Toure, Fuze, D-Sharp, Willie Maze, Tim D, Sake1, DJ Eleven, Pam the Funkstress, G-Smoove, Backside, Icewater, Crimson, G-Smoove, Oliver Orzal, Kaution, Lovelee, Treat-U-Nice, Phatrick, Lenior... and it has the distinction of being the night through which I met my wife! I had booked Zita to spin before actually meeting her in person.

//For the one-year anniversary of GOOD LIFE (which Zita spun at) we gave away these cds, which we recorded live with vinyl at VNA's crib. Listen to the needle dropping and the pops & crackles on the first record..
Good Life Vol.1 (2005) / DJ VNA & Dmadness//We decided to end the night while sitting down to dinner before spinning one indian summer night in 2006. VNA was starting law school and I was just getting burnt from 4 years of Wednesdays. Now VNA's done with his JD and passed the NY bar, so it's time to celebrate.

//By the way, GOOD LIFE was christened long before Kanye graduated. The night got its name from records by Anthony B, Cocoa Tea and Nancy Wilson. Also wanna send a big shout to our folks Tommy Wong, who created the original visual for GOOD LIFE, which has definitely stood the test of time in its simple elegance.

**As a bonus, here's another live mix VNA & I recorded and pressed up back in 2003 when we were doing the night at Lucky Lounge:
Soul Trippin' - Live at the Lucky Lounge (2003) / DJ VNA & Dmadness