*Nas – “Nasty”

After I posted this, I was reminded that I left off a song I raved about in 2011. That’s because I created this list in hasty, sleep deprived fashion. This correction is a good thing mainly because I noticed that my 2011 list had fewer anthems that made me want to kick strangers in the chest. I’m not always in my subtle, soulful, sexy lane. While Nas isn’t saying anything profound on this track, he’s just saying it profoundly. And the beat is everything that’s good and just in hip-hop. I was never one of the whiners who wished Nasty Nas would return. I just resolved myself to not expecting much from him, but when he wildly exceeded those expectations I was paying attention again. Was a bit let down by the cliché video but it’s still a monster tune.

Thundercat – “For Love I Come”

Still a few years from 30, Steve “Thundercat” Bruner is shaking up the world of modern bass playing, excelling in roles as varied as Erykah Badu and Suicidal Tendencies while anchoring a unit of LA’s most forward thinking soulful music makers. Flying Lotus helped him craft The Golden Age Of Apocalypse, a love letter to jazz fusion and an open canvas of new textures. “Walking” gets the nod from most of the folks who turned me on to the record but this George Duke cover blows my wig back every time.

King – “Supernatural”

These three ladies conquered the world this year with only three songs. I was at a loss for words when I first heard “Supernatural”. Fortunately my man John Murph explains it much better.

Pharoahe Monch – “Still Standing” feat. Jill Scott

I probably had the most visceral emotional reaction to this song than any other I’ve heard this year. I’m just so thankful that Pharoahe Monch is still so ridiculously ill. This song is the sonic definition of triumphant.

Illvibe Collective – “Medicine Men Featuring A.R.M.”

I remember when this was a quick snippet from a lil’dave beat tape. I played it like it was a released track. Then IllVibe finally dropped the album they’d long promised to make, and the finished version exceeded my expectations. African emcees are not just the future anymore, they’re the right now. Glad that IllVibe had the foresight to grab a few of my favorites for this much played cut.

Phonte – “Who Loves You More” feat. Eric Roberson

I was thinking really hard on what a true grown man hip-hop record would sound like and could only think of a handful of albums that have fierce lyricism, musicality and mature themes that address adult concerns. Then Phonte dropped Charity Starts At Home and I felt like that album was created specifically for myself and my peers.

TiRon & Ayomari – “All My Love” feat. Yummy Bingham

A Sucker For Pumps renewed my faith that hip-hop can exist that appeals to the sensibilities of my generation while formed from the aesthetics of the current one. I hope these cats lead the way. I caned the Yummy Bingham jam at every gig I’ve had since it dropped. Now I can drool over her cameo in the vid.

Dego – “Pushing You To Begin” feat. Ferraz

And thus I begin the black Brit section of this list. Anyone who knows me knows I’ve done some of my finest stannery over the years for cats from this scene, and Dego is a god of it. 4hero, DKD, Silhouette Brown, 2000Black, and finally his own solo project. I struggled with choosing one tune as the album is such a unified whole. You have to experience it that way.

Omar & Zed Bias – “Dancing”

A party demolition bomb. The scenes in the video are what I strive for whenever I get on the decks. Perfection. I can’t imagine what bacchanal madness this inspired at Carnival. It sure did smash Sol Power every time we dropped it.

Donae’o – “I”

After assaulting the dance with “Party Hard” for the last couple of years, I was intrigued when the R&B/UK Funky vocalist dropped this soul stirring anthem on the venerable Strictly Rhythm label. It’s a nice spiritual balance to the club persona in his mainstream music. Sean Mccabe’s remix is embedded here but I’m most partial to the original.

Mark de Clive-Lowe – “The Why” feat. Nia Andrews

A profoundly sexy song. Stuck on repeat for me this year beyond the point that can be defined as obsessive. Mark’s club mix just takes it to another place, as if it were possible to increase the seduction factor. Nia Andrews says yes, it is.

And I’m not writing a long treatise about the hippity-hop. This 2010 Pitchfork piece still has that covered.

These are just the last couple of things I wrote that happen to pertain to rappers, and I hadn’t yet posted them here although it’s almost 2012.

Wait, before you read these, make sure you own this album. It’s one of the best favors you can do for yourself if beats, rhymes and heart still matter. DC stand up..

Oh yeah, my crew dropped an album this year too. I think it’s really good. And that’s not just because I was involved. DC stand up… again always.

Aaaand… these guys too. I’m really proud to say they’re part of the DMV. Good brothers, good music, hard work paying off.

Check the vid for “You Don’t Have to Be A Star” and the remix featuring Bahamadia, Monie Love and MC Lyte (!!!)

Ok, now for the other stuff I was talking about…

In concert: G-Side at DC9 (The Washington Post)

I was pleasantly surprised by this duo and had to do an internal reassessment of my feelings on where southern hip-hop is these days. Wish that happened more often.

Common’s Growing Pains (The Root)

Wasn’t feeling Rashid too tough this time around, but I want more from hip-hop, not just from him.

Rapper J. Cole shows his star power at the Fillmore Silver Spring – Washington Post

In concert: Meshell Ndegeocello at the Birchmere – Washington Post

The mourning process is putting all of his substantial career accomplishments in context. There’s a lot to celebrate there. But there’s more to it than that, which is why this loss is hitting me harder than I would have anticipated.

It’s not just that he was an icon for me in my youth, although nostalgia does play a major role. What really stands out is how he was universally loved and respected. And how he always extended himself to others, whether professionally or personally. And how in a cutthroat business full of ugliness and people trying to exploit others, he was always a class act who thrived on positivity and optimism. And how he was able to diversify his work to sustain a successful post hip-hop career, always setting and reaching new goals as an artist. Hev was doing everything right, yet he was cut down so prematurely. At least he made the most of his time. That’s the lesson.

I’ve said a lot this week, and others have said even more. Here are a few that deserve attention.

Heavy D (1967-2011) – by yours truly, over at D-Mac’s spot

Heavy D tribute on Decipher hip-hop radio, WPFW 89.3 FM – via my crew, The Soul Controllers.

“Heavy D danced the way big men work the back line in tennis. Not a lot of sweat or hustle, just a few clutch moves that make it look elegant.” – NPR’s Michelle Norris

RIP Heavy D – Cosmo Baker

Things We Can Learn From the Overweight Lover’s Legacy – Afrobella

Grap Luva on the Death of Heavy D – Washington City Paper

Here’s my assessment:

In concert: Van Hunt at the Birchmere, 9/20/11

photo by Josh Sisk/FTWP

Jill Scott at Verizon Center, 8/7/11

Morris Day and The Time at Birchmere, 8/1/11

For the second anniversary of Michael Jackson’s passing, The Root invited me to discuss his music from a DJ’s perspective. How do I use MJ’s songs to create an experience on my dancefloor? Here are the 15 tunes I picked:

Michael Jackson’s Best: Reflections of a DJ

Also, a couple of re-ups:

• SoulBounce’s Summer of Michael Jackson vol. 1 – Sunshine (download), 2010
• Michael Jackson party at The Main Ingredient (download), 2009

Ray-Ray is flawless.

Big Freedia, N’awlins bounce queen: [Posterior] Everywhere!

^^click!^^

After getting acquainted with a curiously bipedal, brachycephalic pup with a surprisingly developed taste in progressive soul, you might be persuaded to help kickstart the full-length A Pug Named Fender book.

Shoutout to Fave. This is actually our second collaboration. The first is here, in case you missed it, cuz he used one of his many pseudonyms and all.

Joy Jones – Over (Vibe Conductor vs. Markus Gramm retouch) by DJStylus

“I’m supposed to be the franchise player!”

But first…

Hip-hop legend DJ Scratch has been on tour for Smirnoff since he won the 2010 Master of the Mix final. Let’s show him how we get down in DC.

Scratch will be at Layla Lounge hanging out before the main event the following night. Limited edition posters signed by Scratch will be given away along w/complimentary Smirnoff (while supplies last).

Featuring sets by:
DJ Roddyrod & Supa Qool DJ Quartermaine
21+, NO COVER
Fri, April 8
10PM-2AM

Layla Lounge
501 Morse Rd, NE
Washington, DC

On Saturday, DJ Scratch will showcase his world famous techniques and scratching abilities. This is a party not to be missed! As well as myself, The Vibe Conductor, we’ve also got MoTM judge and super producer Just Blaze on the wheels. Like all great producers, Justin got his start as a DJ and still rocks it. Limited edition posters signed by Scratch will be given away along w/complimentary Smirnoff (while supplies last).

Sat, April 9
RSVP HERE

The Warehouse
411 New York Ave, NE
Washington, DC

It was my first time, and with all things late pass related, the prevailing wisdom is that the best days have passed, despite SXSW 2011 being the most attended in all of the event’s 25 years. Assessments of shark jumping are usually based on the indie spirit giving way to mainstream tastes and corporate control. Or in the words of the homie Phonte:

I can dig it. Kanye threw a massive, “secret” concert on Chevrolet’s dime, Pepsi turned an entire city block into a brand awareness playground and I drank gallons of free Miller Lite. But there were still weirdos who would never have any connection to sponsorship or a record label playing in every nook and cranny of the city. And a festival that started out focused on rock music has gradually been making space for hip-hop as well as DJs and electronica. Regarding how the music game has collapsed changed, the genie can’t go back into the bottle. But if one is looking for a new business model, SXSW may hold some clues.

I also must add that for an event of its size, SXSW was very well run. Being an official showcase artist resulted in some great perks. (thanks, Senari!)

If you’re not familiar with my WMC exploits, SXSW is similar, where one must maintain a breakneck pace to keep up with all the fun to be had and talent to be discovered. Since my rookie status required me to acclimate, I didn’t go as hard as I should have. So this roll call is of Artists I Regret Missing Whom You Should Definitely Support:

The Adrian Younge Black Dynamite Sound Orchestra
Andreya Triana
Belleruche
Chromeo
Matt And Kim
Homeboy Sandman
Los Rakas
Tanya Morgan

As WaPo’s Chris Richards smartly noted:

…in 2011, you don’t go to SXSW to discover your new favorite bands. You go to see if they can do justice to the MP3s you’ve been gorging on all winter.

So I did end up seeing artists I’ve seen before and had long since been stanning for. Missing new folks in order to see Kokayi, Black Milk, Quadron, J*DaVeY and Little Dragon deliver exceptional sets in Austin was worthwhile and scratched my fanboy itch.

But I’d be remiss to travel all the way to Texas to only see folks I already like. The best experience I had seeing someone for the first time was an intimate, front porch performance by Meklit Hadero at an Ethiopian restaurant in East Austin. Her mix of jazz and folk was the perfect set of nuances and depth to balance out the frenzy of everything else happening during the week.

As noted above, DJ’s are gradually infiltrating SXSW. I didn’t get to check out nearly as many as I would have liked, which meant not enough dancing to balance out standing around and watching shows. DJ Jaycee‘s set at the Two Sevens Clash really stuck out for me. I missed DJ Nu-Mark, who was superb from what I heard. But ATL’s own Jaycee told a seamless and funky story with the contents of his 45 case. Very classy, and also my first time seeing him spin.

Also notable was witnessing Cousin Cole, Tameil and Tim Dolla demolish shit at the Baltimore Love Thing. I pretty much abandoned B-more Club once the hipsters latched onto it years ago but observing some masters put it down made me consider re-introducing club to my arsenal.

Other DJ nerd highlights included DJ Yoda‘s live video mixing showcase…

DJ Yoda “Stop Look & Listen” from DJ Yoda on Vimeo.

…and a couple demos from DJ Big Wiz at the Serato booth. Learned a lot very quickly about The Bridge, Video-SL and adding MIDI controllers to your rig from a cat whose chops I’ve been studying for a number of years. I’m proud of myself for not shoplifting that SL4.

As for my actual SXSW gig, it started out slowly with the Sol Power All-Stars rocking to a scarce but appreciative group of early birds, and ended with Nadastrom on some punk rock shit throwing beer, breaking things and setting off mosh pits. In between I was most impressed by DJ Sabo and Toy Selectah. Definitely looking forward to rocking with all those dudes again.

1. Cop the 5th anniversary compilation to get up to speed.

2. Listen to my mans Lil Dave rock the RBM classics and exclusives.

3. Be on the lookout for my first RBM release this year.

Enter Axel F.

’80s and ’90s have been done as well as disco and soul classics. New Jack Swing hasn’t been done PROPERLY (yet). Golden era hip-hop is done a lot. We love all of those and continue to rock them, but there’s a period that hasn’t been examined.

From roughly 1977 – 1987 (folks tend to debate those dates but there are some clear markers) popular black music transitioned between the disco era and hip-hop’s rise to prominence. There were a lot of synthesizers and some androgynous fashion choices, as well as hair disasters. Some call this stuff “boogie”. We file it under the mantle of champagne soul and jheri curl funk, with some new wave thrown in, because we like stuff like Talking Heads and want to play that too.

Per DJ Jahsonic‘s original concept, Eddie Murphy’s turn in Beverly Hills Cop became Axel F’s muse.

Now we’ll be paying homage to a different ’80s movie every month. February is the debut of Black Kevin Bacon.

Join myself, DJ Jahsonic and DJ Adrian Loving for another sweaty, grooving night of synthed out Reagan era dance classics.

Saturday February 26
9pm
LIV Nightclub
2001 11th Street NW
Washington, DC

We’ve already got four mixes up for you to download in preparation. Here’s a glimpse of last month’s fun.

Download audio file (AxelF_Jan152011_part3.mp3)
[download | right-click (PC) or CTRL-click (Mac) > 'Save As']
[subscribe in iTunes]

I wasn’t paying much attention to Good Fridays until this dropped like an anvil on my skull. Kanye and Lupe body their verses. Pharrell’s verse is forgettable but he’s redeemed by the production. If I made that beat I’d just walk around with a boombox blasting it, repeatedly pointing to it then back to myself then telling everyone to kiss my ass.

Black Milk – “Keep Going”

This makes me want to carjack someone. In Black Milk’s case, naming your project Album Of The Year isn’t hyperbole.

Big Boi – “Shutterbugg”

My favorite party record of the year. Rocks from the flossiest club to an underground jam. Luscious Left Foot can’t fall off.

Slum Village – “Dance” feat. AB

In the midst of a lot of confusing and depressing controversy the trio managed to drop an amazing album. Why choose this over all of the other brilliant tracks? Because I really miss slick, playful Baatin. And because I already have two songs on this list that make me want to punch people in the face.

Zo! – “Flight of the Blackbyrd”

Reminds me of all of my favorite jazz fusion records. It’s clear that Zo! and I listened to the same ones. Makes me want to dance like this.

Gilles Peterson’s Havana Cultura Band – “Roforofo Fight” (Louie Vega’s EOL Mix)

How do you improve on something that’s already perfect? Put it in Louie Vega’s hands. Fela has a home in Cuba. Ashé!

Peven Everett – “Burning Hot” (Timmy Regisford Remix)

Biggest house record of the year. Inspires to people to metaphysically levitate off of the dance floor. Makes me want to crowd surf while dj’ing.

Ian Friday feat. Chris Rob – “Found Myself” (Yoruba Soul Vocal)

My chosen runner-up to King Peven. We’d been waiting for Ian to drop another anthem for a couple years. He didn’t disappoint, and the original is exceptional even though I’m highlighting Osunlade’s version here. As with all enormous records, it inspired a gang of hot remixes.

Akua Allrich – “Hard To Get”

Glad to have a DC representative on this list. This beautiful jazz singer implanted this song in my head where it dwelled there for most of the year, spreading a feeling of warmth and fond memories. You can’t really get the full effect until you watch the video. Bonus points for it being shot in my neighborhood! If only summer could always be like this.

Prince – “Sticky Like Glue”

Prince dropped a new album that you could only get in a newspaper. Sonically, it referred to the style of his classic stuff. Straight Linn Drum and chicken grease. This was my personal highlight.

• Honorable Mentions
Kokayi – “Wynter of My Discontent”
Erykah Badu – “Gone Baby, Don’t Be Long”
Jamiroquai – “She’s A Fast Persuader”
Sandra St. Victor – “F.M.A.O.-ocity”
Donwill – “Love Junkie” (Wallpaper Rmx ft The Park)

We even posted 90 minutes of our Eighteenth Street Lounge debut. Click on Sol Power Sunshine Dude’s smiling face below to listen to it.

Aloe Blacc takes the soul train to the Rock & Rock Hotel – The Washington Post

Josh Sisk/FTWP

Then we took it outdoors for some fun in the sun, block party style.

Now it’s time for the next chapter: moving to one of the best rooms in the city and a venue that has earned international acclaim, Eighteenth Street Lounge.

We’re pretty excited, and not just because it’ll be much easier to promote. Here’s why everyone wins:

- awesome sound system
- great wooden dancefloor
- multiple bars
- outdoor deck in warm weather
- multiple floors, one of which has a jazz band. so you can alternate between chilling out and partying hard.

Starting November 6, Our ESL schedule will be 1st Saturdays, every OTHER month. So our sessions will be just frequent enough for you to miss us in between.

Afro.Latin.Brazilian.House.Disco.Funk

with Sol Power All-Stars DJ Stylus, DJ Meistro, Deep Sang and Hermon Farahi on percussion.

21 & up
$5 before 11 pm, $10 after. We play all night long.
1212 18th ST NW Washington, DC

You also should check out the new Sol Power site, because there will be treats:

www.SolPowerDC.com

(aka The Day Job).

Hearty congratulations are due to a crew who have survived 15 years in a business that eats souls, and managed to create a few certified hip-hop classics in the process.

I wish I took more photos. But you can check out some glimpses of my Do Over debut here:

This is how I feel about the fact that the recorder was broken and there was no audio preservation of my set.

(consolation prize update: Do-Over setlist)

But you can hear what Cecil, Carlos Mena and myself played at Yoruba Dance Sessions.

Got it live with Sake-1 at Eve Lounge for Leftism. No photographic or audio record of that night either, and it cranked considerably. Fail. Sexy room with even sexier bartenders. Looking forward to getting Sake and J-Boogie in DC.

Shoutouts are also due to Jamie Strong, Chris Haycock, The Whooligan, Imani for putting me on to the ill fish taco spot, the homegirl Cheryll and b-day girl Candikate as well as her neighborhood taco truck. I ate so many tacos. When I didn’t eat tacos, I had a breakfast burrito. Every time was like the first time.

Come sweat to the rhythms of Cuba, Brazil, Puerto Rico & West Africa.
…Samba Whistles, Shekeres & Cowbells welcome!

Free before 11, just $5 after, and all beers are just $4 all night (including the fancy ones)!

Saturday, August 7
10 pm – 3 am
Dahlak
1771 U Street NW
Washington, DC

After 23 sessions since October of 2009, we’re retooling the Refuge concept and putting it on ice for a while. Stay tuned to this site for information on the next Refuge incarnation.

Thanks to everyone who came through to have a drink with friends, spend some quality time with progressive music, and occasionally party like it was your job. Shouts out to all of our special guests: Brett from Boundless, Zo!, Tamara Wellons, Erik Rico, Nicholas Ryan Gant and Stef Renee. We also had evenings devoted to exclusive presentations of projects by Anthony Velez, Silhouette Brown, Sade and Sergio Mendes.

I can’t leave you without another round of Refuge highlights from my last set. These are dedicated to everyone who loves what they hear enough to come up to me and ask for track titles. I appreciate that more than you know.

Suntzu Sound presents 1Luv – “Black Daylight” (Blakai remix)

You might recognize the Slope remix as the anthem for our beloved Daylight DC. Shouts to the Suntzu Sound famalam out in Seattle. Blakai (one of the INNUMEROUS Bugz in the Attic permutations) first wowed me on “Afrospace”. I dig their bruk’ed take on this.

Oddisee – “Juba May”

This raw, jazzy instrumental workout is a cornerstone of Odd Spring, Oddisee’s final installment of his four EP seasonal series. Dude can really do no wrong in my eyes, on the boards or on the mic.

Ty – “Little Star” (feat. Wreh-asha)

Yes, I’m always talking about how dope Ty is. That’s because Ty is dope as hell. No, that isn’t circular reasoning. The progression from Awkward to Upwards to Closer and now Special Kind of Fool has been very rewarding to follow with ’nuff bangers along the way. Ty’s been a Refuge pick before but I really can rock every joint from the last album consistently in sets.

Till Brönner – “No Fusion Generation” (Mark de Clive-Lowe remix feat. Ovasoul7)

Well before the Serato era, I was obsessed with collecting everything that Mark de Clive-Lowe put out. I ordered a couple of cd’s from his native New Zealand because that was the only way to cop them. And when I tracked down a new copy of this 12-inch, I felt like I won a prize. This was a Vibe Conductor staple for a long time. This tune ended up on a compilation of MdCL collabs, remixes and loosies so it’s not as hard to find as it once was.

Told y’all not to miss AudioTRIP. Peep the flicks and the video.

After half a century of blessing the world with the sounds of Brazil, jazz treasure Sérgio Mendes is releasing his 37th studio album and we’ll have it in hand for a listening session.

Bom Tempo showcases songs from the crème de la crème of Brazilian songwriters (including Antonio Carlos Jobim, Gilberto Gil, Joao Donato, Carlinhos Brown, Jorge Benjor, Milton Nascimento and Moacir Santos) and a song from his old friend Stevie Wonder, written especially for Mendes in 1977, the simmering “The Real Thing” (first recorded on Sergio Mendes and the New Brasil ’77 album). While many of Mendes’ friends and long time collaborators are present on the album (including drummers Mike Shapiro and Vinnie Colaiuta, bassists Nathan Watts and Alphonso Johnson, guitarists Paul Jackson Jr. and Kleber Jorge, percussionist Gibi, vocalist Gracinha Leporace—the bandleader’s wife—and songwriter-arranger-vocalist Carlinhos Brown, who was integral to the success of the Brasileiro album), newcomers are also in the mix.

Next we’ll be graced by some live vocals from dear friend, arts maven and all around fly girl Stef Renée. After serving as a pillar of the Philadelphia arts scene, she’s back in her native Washington and I’d like to welcome her home properly.

Wednesday, June 2
Sérgio Mendes listening session and Stef Renée feature
Tabaq Bistro (basement)
1336 U St NW, WDC
9pm – until
21+, no cover

So yeah, I kind of left you all hanging after Nicholas laced us last month. I only did that to give you more time to cop everything in the archives. (err… right.)

The brother brought a packed room full of admirers and sang his face off to tracks from Border Breaker, Hittin’ Switches and a few surprises.

And here are some highlights from my set.

Slakah The Beatchild – “The Answer” (Feat. Melanie Durrant)

The T-Dot beatmaker is already responsible for what has been a Refuge anthem since week 1. This samba is so sexy that I actually had to play it twice. Expect “The Answer” to become a staple.

A Tribe Called Quest – “Go Ahead In The Rain”

Shout-out to all the beckies who come up to the DJ booth asking if I’ll play some Tribe while I’m spinning something from People’s Instinctive Travels… This doesn’t happen at Refuge of course, but at other gigs.

Wednesday, May 5
Refuge featuring Nicholas Ryan Gant
Tabaq Bistro (basement)
1336 U St NW, WDC
9pm – until
21+, no cover

Erik Rico came through and did the damn thing last week armed with Ableton Live, a mean Moog plug-in, BHE‘s MIDI controller and gang of new and old material.

[credit: Marq Few]

Of course there were a few warm up tunes before the live set.

Emmanuel – “Getaway” feat. Celetia Martin

SoulCulture hipped me and now I’m hipping you. I’m getting a faint but nice bit of Loose Ends vibes mixed with some Patrice Rushen on this tune. You know those are always good things in my world.

Johnny “Guitar” Watson – “In The World”

The bass line is EVERYTHING.

See you May 5? It’s like having your music collection come to life in your living room before having a house party. Next month we’ll have someone equally dope.

This year the family reunion vibe trumped the hustle, and I’ve come to appreciate that a lot more. I don’t know how much of it is the economy, a shift in the industry or a waning interest in WMC but attendance was noticeably lower. Last year I noted a recession effect and this year my mans John Crooms accurately quipped how South Beach was trying to get us all to pay for it. The gouging was ill this year.

[credit: John Crooms]

Even at a low point in the cycle, I was able to get great performances from the names I trust to always bring it, and also those moments of discovery when you get to experience artists and DJs you’ve heard about but never seen live before.

I didn’t make it to any Louis Vega associated parties or anything that had to do with South Africans. This was a huge FAIL on my part. Black Coffee and a bunch of his South African compatriots are making a big splash in the deep house world and they had some hot events at WMC this year. I’m really happy to see them blowing up. “Superman” is a big record now and we’ve been banging “Even Though” over here for the longest.

I’m pleased that Jahsonic and I were able to get our dynamic duo on and grateful to the folks who let us grace their sets. Afrique Electrique was a fun way to get the week started with a nice intimate room of appreciative dancers. Shouts to Salah Ananse and the whole ATL massive. Playing in memory of James Brown at Godfather IV was a deep honor. And our set at The G++dness was us showing everyone how we get down back home in DC. Much thanks to Daz-I-Kue for both of those.

[credit: Shelley Nicole]

Despite not hitting as many events as I usually would, here are a few highlights.

Favorite Party: The Do-Over

The perfect end to the week had me dancing on a backyard patio for 8 hours, eating burgers, drinking cold Mexican brews and experiencing some inspired, ridiculous displays of mixing records. Experiences like that will always allow me to be a fan, especially when you see how the big dogs in the game are all fans too. I love it. Still haven’t been to the Do-Over in L.A. but I now know what’s up.

Maceo of De La Soul was on when we arrived and I was a teen fanboy again. At first I was surprised by how he was as equally versed in broken beat, UK Funky and electro as he was with hip-hop, soul and funk. Then I remembered that he’s been doing this for 20-some years and rocking parties all over the world and I felt dumb. Jeremy Sole followed Mase, more on that later. Vikter Duplaix broke down to jazz after Jeremy and built back up through neo-soul, raw hip-hop and reggae before bringing the tempo up. Masterful. Rich Medina followed him with an all 45 set that made me feel like I knew nothing after collecting records for 20 years. Cosmo Baker was up next and he was one of the dudes I was most looking forward to hearing for the first time. After a whole day of monstrous sets, Cosmo stepped up and spanked it. Boogie, deep funk, disco, breaks, all handled with a party-rocker’s expertise. All on original vinyl. And his dashiki was cleeeeean.

The party was going into overtime with Daz-I-Kue, Jeremy Ellis and John Arnold among others next on deck. I could barely walk at that point and was obsessed with getting some delicious Tap Tap.

Runner-up: TRIBE Records with Peven Everett, Nathan Adams, Ian Friday & more

I caught the tail-end of the TRIBE jam since we were rocking at Godfather at the same time. When I got there, Peven Everett was in full holy ghost mode in the last couple of tunes of his show, working himself into a pentacostal trance. Ian Friday got on and damn near had folks coming out of their clothes out on the sand and under the palm trees. But that’s how he always do.

Favorite DJ set: Jeremy Sole at The Do-Over

I try to stay up on my research. I knew about Jeremy Sole‘s Afro-Funké party in L.A. I knew about his band Musaics. What I didn’t know was that he was going to stomp a funkhole into the Do-Over amid a band of heavy hitters dropping bombs of their own.

Is that cumbia? Plena? Is that an original edit? What break is that? Jeremy’s set sparked tons of mental notes and even more furious dancing. It was a well paced, seamless, ridiculously funky tour through classic and modern beats of the latin diaspora. I still won’t rest until I get every record in his set list. It’s that serious.

Runner-up: Ezel at The G++dness

Young master Ezel put on a clinic on the 2nd floor of Jazid at The G++dness. I think he caught Shango. His house set was very aggressive but well paced. He reminded me of Karizma in that way. It’s scary to think about how much iller he’s going to be in years to come on the decks and behind the boards.

Records you should be checking for:
At least the ones that I can mention… my trainspotting had me blowing up records on Twitter that aren’t out yet!

Aloe Blacc – “I Need a Dollar”
Ezel feat. Tamara Wellons – “In My Lifetime”
The Goodness EP

Rico has continued to evolve as a producer and artist and now fuses elements of live music and electronic music into a style of music that can best be described as “electrosoul”. “I see our generation as the last ones to bridge the gap between the organic human feel of live musicians and the computer generation.” Rico’s philosophy is that having the best of both worlds to extract from makes it easy to truly explore all the limitless options that art has to offer.

Wednesday, April 7
Refuge featuring Erik Rico
Tabaq Bistro (basement)
1336 U St NW, WDC
9pm – until
21+, no cover

Scoot over to Lifenotes Music if you’re tardy on the releases. And if you’re broke, cop this free download of his album of classic covers.

Erik will be rocking the joints you know as well as exclusive joints, like these right ‘chere.

For real, you should come through.

With DJs Stylus, Meistro and Deep Sang.

Forecast for Saturday:
Abundant sunshine. 85 degrees (!)

Now that’s some Sol Power. Last month was crankin’ like a Lagos disco inferno.

Meistro, Stylus, and Deep Sang Live @ SOL POWER (3.2010) Part 1 by Meistro

Meistro, Deep Sang, and DJ Stylus SOL POWER (3.2010) Part 2 by Meistro

ALL beers are $4 (including Leffe & Redstripe)

Saturday, April 3
10pm
Dahlak
1771 U St, NW (18th & U)
21 and Over
NO COVER (that means FREE)