Master Rob

I'm bummed that I missed DJ Rockin' Rob's set the other day down at Academy Records (no days off from parenthood, ya know). But fortunately the homie K-Prince documented a piece of the action. For those unaware Rob is OG in this hip-hop ish. He used to roll with a crew out of the Motthaven section of the BX known as the Mean Machine (not to be confused with the Sugarhill Records gang that went by the same name). As you can tell from the vid the man's skills have not diminished one iota over the years. 

I consider watching and hearing Rockin' Rob spin to be one of the great joys in life. Truly. For real for real. Every time I've seen him play the park jams the past few years he absolutely destroys it, consistently equaling or surpassing the sets by his more celebrated original school colleagues in technique, selection, showmanship etc. (Plus he only rocks vinyl.) 

Though last July's set at Crotona Park was pretty unbelievable...

... the set from St. Nicholas Park in August was great for entirely different reasons - for me some of them personal. A more intimate setting than Crotona, the whole vibe was like that of a private get-together - thanks in no small part to all the friends who rolled through that afternoon. Things were even allowed to go past curfew and into the evening after a kindly neighbor lent super-organizer Christie Z-Pabon a utility lamp so Rob and DJ partner Chuck City could see what they were doing. (Hey, who sez gentrification ruins communities!)

I persuaded a good friend and colleague who I hadn't seen in a minute to stick around 'til the very end. As we stood mesmerized by the sounds of Rob cuttin' up "Suzie Caesar" and other classics in the warm summer night's air, a bare bulb by the turntables the sole illumination, we nodded to one another with dumb grins stuck on our grills, relishing how hip-hop it all was. 

I've been fortunate enough to share the set twice with Rob - who's as humble and classy an individual as you'll ever meet - when he's graced the turntables at APT as my guest. Again both times were great experiences. (Especially that first night; the BX was mos def in the building - as evidenced by one of Rob's peeps, a hulking Zulu rep posted up by the bar all night rocking a 'Where is Kool Herc's Royalty Check?' t-shirt.) Hopefully, I can get him (I mean Rob, not the dude with the t-shirt - though he's always welcome too) back in to do his thing again before park jam season really kicks in. 

I always naturally assumed given Rob's talent and affinity for cutting 45s that it's something that he'd been doing since way BITD. But he actually told me it took him a while to come around to it; it was something he kept working at and eventually added to his repertoire at the behest of Chuck City. He's so proficient at it now, of course, that it's become his trademark. (Hence his ubiquitous donut adapter logo-ed t-shirt.) It really must be witnessed to be believed what he's capable of doing with, amongst many, many other 7s, "Get Up Get Into It Get Involved," "On Top of It," "More Bounce," "Here Comes the Meterman" and Lee Fields' '07 instant classic for Truth & Soul Records, "My World" (which if for some inexplicable reason you don't already own you must buy immediately, here). 

Maybe the coolest thing about Rob, though, is that he's passed the family trade along to his seed. You'd never guess it based on his youthful visage, but he actually has a son, DJ Flawless, who's a champion turntablist in his own right. During some down time at Crotona last summer I recall father talking about anxiously watching son compete in a recent DJ battle. It's like while most other dads his age are talking about watching their kids do high school sports, Rockin' Rob's discussing how his kid's executing his flares during battle routines and whatnot. How ill is that?

It's Your Roc

2morrow nite! Always a pleasure to welcome one of the best turntable technicians on the planet (not to mention one of the nicest dudes you'll ever meet). No word on whether Lord Sear will be assuming mic duties (as he spontaneously did last year). But the Space Echo will be in attendance and on call - as it always is - just in case. 

Welcome to the Machine

2009's first edition of "Spine Blowing Decisions" has officially been released to the listening public. (That howl you just heard wasn't the winter wind, it was the sound of the universe exhaling.) Listen on-line or DL here. This month I'm joined over the airwaves by my longtime friend and colleague, respected music journalist (and former ego trip contributor), and soon-to-be author, Mr. Dave "DCT" Tompkins. 

If you are fortunate enough to know Dave personally then you know that besides being a truly original stylist with the pen/keypad, he's extremely passionate about two things: 1) the Vocoder, and 2) anything (even tangentially) Vocoder-related. He's so dedicated to said classic voice manipulation hardware that he's been writing a book about the subject and its history (from its invention at Bell Labs and commission by the U.S. military as a message cloaking device to its prevalence on tunes like this) for I think about as long as he's lived in NYC (he's originally from and still reps North Kakilak). When we recorded this radio show I wanted to introduce him by debuting a new nickname, "Yoda of the Vocoda," but can't remember if I did or not. 

Actually, Dave is not just extremely passionate about the Vocoder, he's one of the most open-minded music enthusiasts I know, which is why chopping it up with him about records and whatnot is always both fun and enlightening. As you can tell by his selections on the program (which range from stock report readings via Vocoder to electro classics and obscurities to unknown boogie gems to beat ballad soul to something that sounds suspiciously like a long lost Nate Dogg track) his knowledge and taste are as eclectic as they are, yes, electric. So check for his byline (in Wax Poetics, the Village Voice, Stop Smiling, and other fine publications) as well as the book (title TBD) coming sometime hopefully in the not-too-distant future, and enjoy the show.

(Special shouts to DJ Monk-One for providing a few super-superb edits, a few of which we world-world-world-premiered-premiered-premiered. As the Brits say, nice one!)

Great Day

Prince Geno & the Tailormades "Brand New Man with a Master Plan Pt. 1"

Jazzy Sport

For all the (warranted) attention lavished on DWG's excavation of previously unreleased Juice Crew gems, fellow Golden Age archeologists Vinyl Addicts' latest limited edition "from the vaults"-style release has seemingly flown completely under the radar. Random rap and Paul C. fanatics (usually one in the same) are no doubt familiar with the works of the Bronx's Sport "G" & Mastermind, which 'til now amounted to all of two excellent 12s. This one:

Sport "G" & Mastermind "Live"

And another Streetwalk single, "Louder," that I never had the good fortune to catch in the field (nor the actual fortune necessary to $nipe and $pring for it on the 'bay). 

But with the arrival of the Let the Rhythm Roll EP the duo's output has suddenly quadrupled. Though maybe not the obvious slam dunk that The Juice Crew EP is, this similarly steeply priced (55 EU plus shipping) six-song offering nonetheless got the Paypal gremlins siphoning the funds from my bank account with the quickness once I checked the snippets. You see, there are a few sample sources that are pretty much undeniable to me when it comes to hip-hop beats. Number one is, of course, Bob James' "Nautilus" - which in my book is both unfuckwithable and unfuckupable, the King Midas of samples sources/breakbeats. (Show me an artist who's made a wack record out of "Nautilus" and I'll show you an artist beyond creative redemption. But you can't, because "Nautilus" is fool-proof, no matter how wack the artist. In fact I bet if Rampage da Last Boyscout had made a record off of "Nautilus" the record would have been awesome. And just think, if that had happened then the universal perception that Rampage sucks would never have caught on, he would have never been kicked out of Flipmode, never have been dismissed as Busta's sidekick, and today no one would have even heard of Spliff Star. In other words, the entire course of rap history would have been inexorably altered... Okay, bad example.) 

Well, as it turns out, there's no sign of "Nautilus" anywhere on the Let the Rhythm Roll EP anyways. But there are a few other sure-things conspicuously present. Namely, enough of Marvin Gaye's also unfuckwithable instro "'T' Plays it Cool" to put "Sport Could Get Fluid" safely in the 'W' column; plenty of "Cool's" ominous Trouble Man counterpart "'T' Stands For Trouble" on the fine legal hustle memoirs of "I Used to Be a Hustler"; and, most importantly, the heavenly break from Eddie Drennon & B.B.S. Unlimited's "Do What You Gotta Do" on the dope as hell "Catch My Lyrics." I was first seduced by "Do What You Gotta Do" when I heard Kool Herc drop it over the PA at the Roosevelt Record show years ago. If there was ever a piece of music destined to be looped it's here - the break when the strings hold that one note for what seems like forever over those "Wasp"-worthy drums while the electric piano line gently rises and falls. This needs to be continuously looping somewhere in the world at all times, it's that good. In fact, remember when Biz gave a bunch of shout-outs over it on the intro to Diamond Shell's album? (No, of course you don't.) Well I'd rather listen to that - Biz mushmouthedly talking, not even rapping, over the break from "Do What You Gotta Do" - than 99.9% of the bird-feed that passes for rap music nowadays. 

Let a good quality BX emcee like Sport "G" spit over it and voila! - you've unearthed yourself a would-be random rap essential. Frankly, I can't believe these guys didn't get another crack at a deal given the strength of these simple but really enjoyable demos. What can I tell ya - hip-hop really doesn't need to be all that complicated to be great. If by chance you feel as I do you can still order one of these bad boys for yourself, here. 

I Can Hear My Mother Call

Holy f*cking sh*t.

Sorry, Ms. Jackson

But the creepy femmebot B-side dub mix with faux-Trevor Horn slapstick-stabs wins again.

Janet Jackson "Miss You Much (Oh I Like That Mix)"

Essential Useless Records Vol. 1

There is no good reason for this to exist. I should know, because if ever there was a target audience for a Group Home live album it would be me. For me, GH's Livin' Proof is one of the great hip-hop albums of the '90s. It's better than The Chronic. (Not that I've got anything against The Chronic. But if you told me that I'd never be allowed to hear The Chronic again I wouldn't be too upset. If you told me that I'd never be allowed to hear Livin' Proof again then we'd have a serious problem.) 

But the rappers are wack, everyone always says. You know what - who cares? They say funny, memorable sh*t (e.g. "I'm eating curry chicken and rice/And these hoes look nice") and their voices sound great over Premier's beats - which just happen to be the best beats Preemo's ever made. When I glowingly reviewed it for Rap Pages BITD I was furious when the (L.A.-based) editors (two of whom would later join the ranks of the ego trip People) changed my rating from an '8' to a '7' without telling me, while elsewhere in that same review section I think the Mannish album (you know, the guys down with this rap icon) got a '9'. Mannish. (I've never really forgiven ego trip's L.A. posse for that one.) At that point in my heavily regionally biased rap writer life that was proof enough for me that my Westside brethren would never understand real hip-hop. (I've, of course, since learned to be a little more open-minded. A little.)

Yet for all my love and support of Lil' Dap and Melachi the Nutcracker, and their Brainsick Enterprises and A-Mob associates, even I cannot endorse the musical massacre that is Group Home Live in London. I've probably listened to Livin' Proof hundreds of times but in all the years I've possessed Live in London I've never been able to sit through it once from start to finish. In fact, nobody really needs to hear this - unless perhaps you're planning on recording your own live rap album and need an example of what not to do: The recording levels fluctuate unpredictably, the hype men's mics are significantly louder than Dap's and Mel's, there's minimal crowd participation, Lil' Dap repeatedly asks for the lights to be turned down to the point where you start to suspect it's some sort of behavioral tic, and the set eventually goes off the rails into some sloppy posse cut that I never heard of because I guess I'm just not a big enough Group Home fan. Oh, and if you thought Melachi's rapping was bad on the album wait till you hear him on the version of "Supa Star" here. (I only hope there was an oxygen mask somewhere backstage.)

So why is this a permanent fixture in my record collection? (Keep in mind it doesn't even come with any cool artwork - just a plain white 12" sleeve.) Because like I said up top there's no good reason for it. It makes no sense. There's zero entertainment value in this recording - it's not bad enough to be fun to listen to (although I suppose you can judge for yourself here). But I just love the fact that it somehow got made, a terrible idea seen to its fruition. I'll never get rid of this record even if I never listen to it again. It is an essential useless record. 

Birthday Party

Della Reese "It Was a Very Good Year"

It's Our Anniversary

This Saturday, to be exact. Dope Man (Dope Man) in the building. It's gonna be a beautiful night...

In Review

The latest edition of the "Across 135th Street" program on RBMA Radio is up and ready to stream here. This month's show is my attempt at an '08 year-in-review mix. I say "attempt" because (in addition to the requisite sloppy mixing - hey, at least you know it's live) sometimes (actually, a lot of the time) I forget which songs officially came out this past year and which snuck out at the end of '07. Also, in order to ensure that the program is as unique and special a listening experience as possible I didn't include anything that I might have played on a show from earlier in the year. Which isn't as huge an issue for me as it might be for someone else since (in case you didn't notice) I have a tendency to live in the musical past at the expense of current releases, but it nonetheless required some preparation and mental labor on my part. (I gotta do something to earn those Red Bull Buck$.) And, of course, that didn't stop me from including older music that was reissued in '08. 

So even though the show is titled "Chairman's '08 Faves" it's more like "Chairman's Fave '08 Leftovers." BUT... as those of you who may have enjoyed a homemade lasagna or turkey dinner over the holidays can well attest, leftovers often taste even better than the meal did when it was originally served. Chew on that sh*t while you peep the play list:

Across 135th Street Vol. 20: Chairman's '08 Faves/Fave '08 Leftovers Edition

Q-Tip ft. President Barack Obama - Shaka (Motown)

Flying Lotus ft. Dolly - RobertaFlack (Warp)

Erykah Badu - The Healer (Motown)

Mayer Hawthorne & the County - Just Ain't Gonna Work Out (Stones Throw)

Jazzanova ft. Paul Randolph - Let Me Show Ya (Sonar Kollective)

Al Green ft. Anthony Hamilton - You've Got the Love I Need (Blue Note)

Marvin Gaye - Mercy Mercy Me (Rapson Edit) (SPM)

Menahan Street Band - Going the Distance (Daptone)

Jake One ft. Freeway & Brother Ali - The Truth (Rhymesayers)

Black Spade - Where I'm Coming From (Om)

Ludacris - MVP (Def Jam)

The Knux - Fire (Interscope)

eLZhi ft. Black Milk - Fire (Fat Beats)

eLZhi ft. Royce da 5'9" - Motown 25 (Fat Beats)

The P Brothers ft. Roc Marciano - Caviar (Heavy Bronx)

The P Brothers ft. Milano - Digital B-Boy (Heavy Bronx)

Q-Tip - Move (Motown)

Homeboy Sandman - Lightning Bolt. Lightning Rod (Homeboy Sandman)

P. Casso ft. Von Pea & Homeboy Sandman - Best in Show (High Water)

Homeboy Sandman ft. P. Casso - Wise Up (Homeboy Sandman)

Invincible - ShapeShifters (Emergence)

Baron Zen - Burn Rubber (Dam Funk Remix) (Stones Throw)

Todd Osborn - Wait a Minute (mp3)

TV on the Radio - Crying (Interscope)

Dam Funk - Galactic Fun (Stones Throw)

Cosmic Force - Ghetto Down (Kenny Dope Remix) (Truth & Soul)

Mellow Madness - Save the Youth (Kenny Dope Extended Remix) (Kay-Dee)

Kings Go Forth - You're the One (Mr. C's)

Karl Hector & the Malcouns - Nyx (Now Again)

Amp Fiddler w/ Sly & Robbie - Blackhouse (Paint the White House Black) (K7)

J. Rawls Presents the Liquid Crystal Project - Another Tribute to Dilla (Polar)

Wee - Trying to Tell You How I Feel (Owl/Numero Group)

Capital Nourishment

Trouble Funk "Trouble Funk Express (Instrumental)"

Grand in D.C.

For those in the vicinity I'll be infiltrating Cap City tomorrow evening to sit in at the homie DJ Nitekrawler (a/k/a Kevin Coombe)'s monthly, Moneytown. I've never spent any real time in D.C. as a grown-up, so I'm really looking forward to getting down there, taking in my first meal at Ben's Chili Bowl (like any good tourist would), looking at some records (of course), and soaking in the pre-inauguration vibe. Kevin's been a regular guest at Bumpshop the past few years and he's responsible for the fantastic dcsoulrecordings.com site, which lovingly documents records released by D.C./Baltimore area soul and funk artists and record labels from the 60s, 70s and 80s. 

It's always humbling and informative as hell talking shop (or more accurately, eavesdropping on record-related conversations) with regional specialists like Kevin, the Scorpios, or Jason Perlmutter - the depth of their knowledge is such. I don't have a ton of D.C. stuff (though this Joe Quarterman-produced joint has been a recent favorite). Here's one that attracted some attention last year when tastemakers overseas started playing it - a funky-ish grower from a group better known for sweet soul. 

Skip Mahoney & the Casuals "Town Called No-Where"

Hub-Tones

As many of you know Freddie Hubbard passed away last Monday in Los Angeles at age 70. He was one of my first trumpet heroes - his sound as fluid and dexterous and rich and beautiful in tone as anyone who ever picked up the instrument. During high school I remember spending a good chunk of practice time trying to learn the melody from "Red Clay" and could probably still sing along to his solo on it note for note. But "Crisis" - another favorite from this gem of a session...

... was a little easier to navigate. I'm nowhere near enough of a jazz know-it-all to give any sort of authoritative overview of his recordings. But for starters I can highly recommend the above hard bop classic, as well as this...

... the semi-"out" calypso-influenced title track of which is a highlight. For the past two and a half days Columbia University's WKCR here in NYC (which also streams on-line) has been playing nothing but Freddie Hubbard - from his work as a sideman with Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy and others to his early electric period - and they've still got about nine hours to go in their marathon memorial program. When host Phil Schaap's on the mic you'll get about as much insight into this legend and his career as you could hope for. And of course there's all the great music as well. A proper way to spend your New Year's Day. RIP.