//Baracktober

So Big Brother, I mean Blogger, in its infinite wisdom, deleted the post I had written up last week to big up the two Obama fundraisers I was going to DJ at and be a part of, last week's 40 DAYS TIL CHANGE (which raised upwards of $Three Stacks to go toward voter outreach in the swing states) and this week's BARACK THE VOTE 2. In my email notification, it says they were alerted that there were links in the post that infringed on copyrighted material. I wonder which one set it off...was it the reggae Obama tribute? The spoken word Obama tribute? The DJ mix Obama tribute? The militant rapper Obama tribute? The video of David Letterman roasting John McCain on Late Night? Or was it really the YouTube video in which a 17-year-old African American emcee from LA explains that he is, indeed, Bristol Palin's baby daddy (look it up for yourself...this election takes the cake for comedy)? Such blogospheric mysteries may never be understood nor revealed in our lifetimes.

Whatever the case may be, we will keep bloggin til the wheels fall off and wheelin til the blogs fall off. We will also keep riding for Barack Obama, because as was shown in Friday's debate, he is not going to base his administration on fear and anti-Islamic hate-mongering like that other dude who kept saying that Obama "just doesn't get it." Get what, divide and conquer? Anyway, see you this Friday at Poleng Lounge with a whole host of the Bay's brightest who "get it." 1neluv.

//Keep 45s Alive!!

The 45, aka the 7 inch record. Introduced by RCA Victor company in 1949 as a big middle finger to Columbia Records' 33 1/3 vinyl LP.
...Check the math: 78 - 33 = 45!
The o.g. vinyl format spun at 78 rpms...RCA wanted to subtract the 33 LP out of the market and crush it with this little, portable, jukebox-friendly 7".
The Goldmine Price Guide to 45 RPM Records further breaks it down:

The size and format of the disc and its center hole was based on the size of the average human hand, giving most users the ability to grasp the record’s edge while placing the thumb in the center hole to avoid the handling of the grooves. Not only did RCA tout the convenient seven inch size of the disc for handling and storage, initial releases were color-coded based on the genre of the music. In their scheme, Pop Music was black, Country Western green, Children’s yellow, Classical red, Light Classical midnight blue, Rhythm & Blues cerise, and International sky blue. By 1952, however, all RCA’s 45’s were black.


I first grew fond of the 45 because of reggae music...it is the format of choice for Jamaican labels because so much reggae and dancehall comes out on riddim singles. There's nothing like a fresh riddim set to juggle 5-6 tunes from different artists on the same instrumental with matching labels! Any reggae dj worth his or her salt has a toolbox of 45s...some cats even color code their sleeves.

I remember hitting up VP Records and Original Records in Jamaica, Queens. They were like no other records stores I'd been to..just a long counter with stacks and stacks of fresh 7's. The selector behind the counter would run tune after tune, and us customers would throw up a hand when we wanted a copy. Later on, the homie I-Vier opened Wisdom Records (RIP) down the street from my grandma's in the Outer Mission with the same format. The first time I went there I dropped hellla scrill! Went home and recorded this dancehall mix that same day: which is about half new 7's I bought that day, half favorite 7's from my crates, and ALL 45s (except one 12" R&B acapella on the first track) all the way live in one take on 2 turntables with no editing:

DJ Dmadness - Knowmadic Hi-Power Sound presents Winter Riddims 2004


Big shout to DJ RED-i in Manila who periodically throws down all-45 nights at his Thursday weekly Rouge. This Saturday at GOLDEN, me & DJ Zita are throwing down a special Midnight Mix of strictly 7" vinyl in homage to the dope little record that could...KEEP 45s ALIVE!! Come thru, you know how we do!

One last treat...one of the illest displays of 45 turntable destruction of all time:



DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist
Brainfreeze (1999 Sixty7 Recordings)


Part 1

Part 2

//If We Really Want our Schools to Get Better..

OK, this is not specifically a DJ-related post but whatever, for me it's all related. If you're not interested you can proceed directly below to the music...

I have not read a book this important about addressing racial inequality in schools, which is a DAILY REALITY. It is frank and practical, and has the potential to be extremely powerful. It is well-written, and like most work that is revolutionary, is full of love for our kids and the future. I don't say that often about a book not authored by Paulo Friere or bell hooks or Jonathan Kozol. Credit is due though, the authors borrow much from two of my other favorite books relevant to the education of students of color: Lisa Delpit's Other People's Children and Beverly Daniel-Tatum's Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Now, to many educators of color the stuff in here is not new, but it is phrased in a way that makes sense especially in terms of communicating with White teachers and administrators...and once understandings of the institutional racism and White privilege in schools are made the authors address what to DO about it in schools. Peep an excerpt:

Key to closing the racial achievement gap is increasing teacher effectiveness with students of color in the classroom. Studies have shown the dramatic long-term effect on achievement when students consistently have effective versus ineffective teachers....

The racial achievement gap cannot be closed without talking about racial achievement disparities existing between White students and most student of color populations. But we cannot effectively talk about racial achievement disparity without first learning how to effectively talk about race.

A major barrier preventing change in the racial predictability of school performance: educators, especially White teachers and administrators, do not know how to talk about race...and educators of color grow weary and disengage from the conversation as well. For both groups, if we cannot talk about how race effects our schools, we cannot change our schools. This book gives practical tools for how to keep that conversation going. This is not only relevant for educators, but also community organizers, policymakers, parents, people with family members in public schools, and anyone who cares about improving public education.

Big up to my school administration for giving every adult a copy at the beginning of the year as required reading. And big beginning of the year shout to all my teachers. Check this book out for real...I'm down to pass my copy around too.

We now return to our regularly scheduled musical selection, already in progress. 1ne luv.

Lauryn Hill "World is a Hustle" (unreleased, 200?)

Barrington Levy "Teach the Youth" (Joe Gibbs, 1980)


2Pac & Nas f/ J.Phoenix "Thugz Mansion" (Sony, 2002)

//We *heart* Oakland

What's in a place? Why do we humans so often devote so much energy to repping where we are from? Why is it so much a source of pride? T-shirts, songs, war... Where you from, where you been, where you at? In Be Kind Rewind, Jerry flips on Mike talking bout "What's so great about this city? Why do you even care about it so much?" To which Mike responds,

"The people."

And that my people, is the story. Oakland's not about the Lake or the Coliseum or the AT-AT cranes at the Port. We don't even own that stuff. It's about the people.. Oakland is Barbara Lee and Boots Riley and Pam the Funkstress and Del the Funky Homosapien. Oakland is Raphael Saadiq and Keyshia Cole and Kirby Dominant and En Vogue and the Black Panthers. Oakland is Ledisi and Goapele and Bruce Lee and Mac Dre.

Oakland is the O.G. veteran teachers my first year teaching at Calvin Simmons Middle School way back when. Oakland is that 6th grader we had way back then who was gunned down last week at age 22. Oakland is that 6th grader we had way back then who is at UCLA on a Fulbright. Oakland is the dudes on San Leandro Blvd & High St. waiting to hop on the back of a truck to go on a day job. Oakland is the Persian homie with the fronts at the Seminary Gas station who would give me the playa price on a pack of American Spirits when my wife would make me go buy them (thanks for quitting love). Oakland is San Francisco, Richmond, Berkeley, Alameda and the The Whole Damn Yay too. Oakland is Manila, Managua, Reykjavík, Chicago, Brooklyn..and so on and so forth.

Come thru to WE LOVE THE TOWN this Friday.. it's a celebration of us, the people, and we got mad love for The People! Plus we got free stuff from Oaklandish and OakBook too so you can show your love on your sleeve!

In parting, here's a coupla sure shots from one of The Town's greats, whose new LP drops this September. 1neluv.

Raphael Saadiq "100 Yard Dash" (Sony, 2008)


Raphael Saadiq "Different Times (live at the LA House of Blues f/Ledisi & Goapele)" (Pookie, 2003)




DJ ZITA (B.A.S.S.)
DMADNESS (Knowmadic DJs)

Classic Hip Hop, Dancehall & Oaktown Love!

+Giveaways from our sponsors:

//One in a Million..

1/16/79 - 8/25/01

..hasn't been an r&b diva like her since. In memory of, here is the extra awesome anime clip done for her epynomous 2001 album by the homie Warren Fu who is a dope graffiti artist-turned-Star Wars-designer (and whose earth day, incidentally is today). I always tell my students the story of back in the UC Berkeley days how Warren ran up on Aaliyah at KMEL Summer Jam to give her an illustration he had done of her...and how down the line he ended up doing this. See kids, follow your instincts and your heart (and stop playin video games!). 1neluv.



Aaliyah "Last Night in a Million (DJ Neta remix)" - DJ Neta on myspace


Aaliyah "I Miss U (Remix f/ Jay-Z)"

//Red Alert

Meet DJ RED-i, who just might be the tightest selector in Manila and is a cool-ass homie to boot. On our honeymoon in the motherland me & Z had the great opportunity to link up with kindred spirits:





RED's lady SOUL FLOWA, an established dj in her own right, called us up the day after we touched down in Manila to invite us to spin with them at their Thursday weekly called Rouge at the "MCafe", the Cafe of the Ayala Museum in Makati. The next day, they were taking us digging at secret cutty spots, putting us up on local designers like TeamManila, and flipping records at their fly crib over some iced San Miguel Red Horse.


Red put me up on knowledge that Lupe Fiasco's "Kick, Push" is driven by a sample from an old Filipino record by Celeste Legaspi.. and dropped actual facts with many other ill records he pulled from his shelves.

Celeste Legaspi "Bolero Medley"




On top of all that he laced me with hella volumes of dope mixes we bumped on the beach. Out of all of them, my favorite is called My Show and really exemplifies his eclectic taste and smoove style.



The intro makes me smile every time i hear it: "Well, you see, we are scientists of sound/We're mathematically puttin it down!" Tune in to the A-1 sound:

DJ Red-i | My Show - Mixtape Vol.5


Big shout out to Red & Astrid, thanks for holding us down in Manila. This one goes out to you brother, freshly ripped from the 7" vinyl from one of my favorite riddims of all time, Dave Kelly's Gangster's Anthem. 1ne luv.

Donovan Steele "Red Eye" (Mad House, 1994)

//I Feel Good

I love music that makes you feel good...who doesn't? I love to feel good. I loved FeelGood, the Tuesday night jumpoff that Mai-Lei and Sake1 used to do at Soluna. I love the feeling of good Jamaican 45s. Especially ones by Hugh Beresford Hammond, who incidentally has a late August birthday too. Beres Hammond feels good. How do I know? He has a Stevie Wonder type career...filled with good tunes that feel good. His new tune is called "I Feel Good" and I can tell he wasn't lyin' when he was singing it. He is one of the greats. Press play below and feel good too. 1neluv.

Beres Hammond "I Feel Good" (VP, 2008)