DC Hip-Hop

I had the pleasure of DJing a happy hour for Words Beats & Life recently, as the opening event for the organization's Wu Tang-themed "Philanthrobeat" fundraiser. It didn't pop off like crazy or anything, but there were some good people in the house. And I know they were treated to some good music on all accounts. Part of the theme of the happy hour was to showcase some local blogs, to support the independent voices in the greater DC community that are supporting dope music from our area and beyond. So, part of my set included music from some of my favorite DC hip-hop artists, and I figured I'd share some of them with you here. Check it out.. The Package - Look Out Below

Tabi Bonney - Duhh Diamond District - In the Ruff, Streets Wont Let Me Chill

Asheru - BMIG Kev Brown - Work in Progress XO - Hands Up K-Beta - Inglorious Beta (Intro) Y Society - Never Off (On & On) And last but not least, I want to shine a light on this song here curated specifically for Words Beats & Life's "Bumrush The Boards" annual Hip-Hop Chess tournament by my man DJ RBI...shout out to RBI, DJ 2-Tone Jones everyone at WBL and all the artists involved..

Nu Shooz

Not sure the back story on how Nu Shooz became a hit record, or even a big record amongst the hip-hop crowd...but considering how addictive this song is, I'm not really sweating it too much. When my friend DJ Shame first put me onto this single back in the mid-90's, I had no idea what it was, but just picked it up on the strength of his recommendation...and I'm glad I did, because to this day, it's still something I play from time to time. "I Can't Wait" was first released around 1984, so I don't know that too many younger folks are familiar with it...but it's something that I figure anyone can relate to, so I think it's worth showcasing here.


I'm not going to post the original or one of the remixes that most DJs play, but instead I wanted to share this unplugged/acoustic version below. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do..
Nu Shooz - I Can't Wait (unplugged)

I'm comin out of the boooooth

For those of you that don't get the Adam Sandler/Tollbooth Willy reference there, check this out.

(BTW, Worcester/central MA is where I'm from..used to dig this album a lot back in the day.)

Anyway, Thursday I'm back at St Ex for my monthly jam "Like This 'n Like That."

And tomorrow (Wednesday) I'm kicking off an every-other-Wednesday happy hour at Blackbyrd (14th and U streets.)

Repeat after me..

This may have been the best $5 I ever spent in my life when I bought this record back in '01. Too bad Bathgate's album never came out though...

Just thinking about it for a second, I group this record in with Sporty Thievz "Cheapskate" and similar songs...not that that's a bad thing, but sort of a novelty I guess. Either way, check this joint out.

Shout out to Cornerstone mixtape for putting me on to this track in the first place too..

Bathgate - Fuck That