Back at it again this Thursday at St. Ex for some feel good hip-hop and r&b. Myself and the brethren DJ 2-Tone Jones will be spinning the platters that matter.
Come thru..
And for those of you who have not heard 2-Tone's "Shaolin Jazz: The 37th Chamber," here's a little sample below. Highly recommended for all hip-hop fans, jazz fans, and subscribers to the Wu Wear Garment Renaissance.
So I said I'd make more of an effort to share & showcase some of the tunes I'm loving and listening to these days...here goes!
Whether you know the name or not, you very likely know their voices, because Nina Sky have been on some pretty big records in their time. Move Ya Body, Hold You Down...well, I guess that might be about it(!?), but still, those are 2 big songs in my book!! As I think about it, what's most appealing about their sound is that it immediately reminds me of New York...which, I suppose makes sense since they are from Queens.
Anyways, Nina Sky kind of disappeared for a period, but they have resurfaced recently with a new EP called 'The Other Side'...and their sound has definitely grown a bit. While I'm not enthralled by every song on the EP, they DO have some great stuff on there.
It's nice to hear their Sagat-borrowing "Funk Dat" rendition ("You Ain't Got It,") and "Only You" is a good one also. But the real hit on this EP is "Beautiful People." Just some feel-good party stuff...kinda like what put them on the map in the first place. I can only hope that DJs aren't sleeping on this one, especially in New York.
NOTE: I've posted the video version for download. The EP features a different version, but this is the one you want.
So I was driving the other night and popped in my CD copy of "Reverse Discourse" from my man Joe Beats...it had been a while. A long while in fact. But, without fail, as track 1 got underway, and seemlessly blended into track 2, I quickly recalled why I fell in love with these sounds in the first place.
I won't pontificate too too much here, but just believe me when I say it, that Joe is truly one of THE BEST true school hip-hop producers of our time. Further, he's got the mindset of a DJ and most of his solo albums play as a continuous mix...which makes sense since much of his work is of the instrumental variety.
I had the chance to catch up with Joe back in 2008 when he rolled through DC on tour, and we sat down for an interview that aired on my show "Pitch Control" on XM. We talked about a lot of things, but more than anything, just our mutual love of hip-hop, and DJs and stuff.
Below is a link to the interview as it aired. I will listen to this over & over again..it was one of those instances where meeting an artist in person re-affirmed what I thought I already knew about them: this cat lives hip-hop.
"I take it more as a positive bitterness, if that makes any sense..cuz this guy was such a pioneer on every level. Back in the day, people pretended not to hear the beat from Mecca & The Soul Brother, cuz it was too complicated, it was too deep, and they weren't ready for it. Mr. Long and Large Professor would go 3 or 4 loops deep, whereas Pete Rock was going 6, 7, 8 loops deep to make a beat...he was that ahead of the game." (Joe Beats, 2008)
I was DJing a brunch the other day, filling in for a friend. The weather kinda sucked, but I always love spinning brunches, because more often than not, it's an opportunity for me to play a lot of soul, r&B and funk music that I do not often get the chance to play out otherwise.
One of the diners at this particular spot approached me to ask about a certain song I had played. I was glad to hear that folks were enjoying the selections, and especially when it's such a great tune like this one.
