Please get acquainted with our special guest for this Saturday. He’s an old friend, great selector and resident at Philly’s Basement Soul, which is a cousin to Sol Power.

Listen to Lil’ Dave at work!

Live at Basement Soul by lildave

His first solo release also makes babies do a combination of rumba and samba. I think this dance is called ’sumba’, which should be the name of his second solo release.

Afro.Latin.Brazilian.House.Disco.Funk
With your favorite Sol Power All-stars:
Stylus, Meistro, Deep Sang and special guest:

…Philly’s Lil’ Dave (illVibe Collective)

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.

Saturday, Sept. 4
10 pm – 3 am
Dahlak
1771 U Street NW
Washington, DC

Download audio file (soulceez_uhall_072810.mp3)
[download | right-click (PC) or CTRL-click (Mac) > 'Save As']
[subscribe in iTunes]

Wednesday, Sept. 1
10pm
U Street Music Hall
1115 U Street NW, WDC
<<< FREE ALL NIGHT, 18+ >>>

A bourgie around-the-way girl intellectual friend who retains a taste for the ‘hood and overthinks music as much as I do passed on an essay deconstructing the popularity of Rick Ross’ “B.M.F. (Blowing Money Fast)” among those who should know better. “But it’s just good, ignorant Negroidian fun,” my friend countered. I can relate, as I’m prone to enjoy a brilliant robbery anthem from time to time, even though I’m no fan of actual robberies. Then I came across an amusing B.M.F. YouTube spoof.

The only thing the original and the parody have in common is they underscored how puzzled I am about the song’s huge appeal.

Yes, I know that you know that I’m no Rozay fan. But in order to slow my descent into fogey-dom, I did give Teflon Don a thorough listen after patently ignoring Rawse’s entire ascent to the top of the rap game. And you know what? There are actually some certified joints. B.M.F. just isn’t one of them.

“Super High” is textbook drop-top music that sounds like DJ Quik at the top of his powers with Dr. Dre’s Chronic era session personnel. “No. 1″ is what club bangers used to be before the term was rendered toothless by snap music’s anemic spawn. “Maybach Music 3″ is sweepingly cinematic and “Free Mason” displays some conceptual flair. There is occasional decent rapping to be found in all of these songs.

But B.M.F? A tedious dirge at best. The cheesy orchestral synth patch and 808 combo is little more than a tortured droning, but the trend shows no sign of stopping. The verses bore after one rotation. And frankly, after 20 years of rappers adopting the names of every gangster and despot from Pablo Escobar to The Taliban and even Al Qaeda, I think the super criminal nickname swag can be laid to rest.

And the tempo? Can hip-hop get any slower in the 21st century? We’ll have to start measuring it not in BPM’s (beats per minute) but in SPB’s (syllables per bar). I think B.M.F. may average a good 12 SPB at most. Bamma might as well just be doing spoken word. More importantly, how the fuck do you dance to this shit? Would dougie-ing be appropriate?

Maybe I’m just old and don’t understand modern conspicuous consumption, fantasy rap. The simplest explanation is usually the most likely, even though I still love me some conspicuous consumption, fantasy rap.

I forgot this existed until I dug up some old cd’s while cleaning up the studio. Synergy was like Refuge, except it was a long, long time ago, back in the solely vinyl days.

This still sounds really good, especially for a live recording. And the style is also a fitting compliment to Gaia this Sunday.

Download audio file (synsess4.mp3)
[download | right-click (PC) or CTRL-click (Mac) > 'Save As' ]
[subscribe in iTunes]

Beanfield – Corso
Vikter Duplaix – Manhood
John Coltrane – Naima (4hero mix)
Chick Corea – The Slide
Angie Stone – Wish I Didn’t Miss You
Seek – Surrender
Gwen Guthrie – Ain’t Nothing Going On But the Rent (dub mix)
Lucy Pearl – Don’t Mess With My Man
Earth, Wind & Fire – Evil
Minnie Riperton – Gettin’ Ready For Your Love
Petal Pusher – Rely On Me
Tortured Soul – How’s Your Life? Part One
Abstract Truth – Get Another Plan
Seek – The Story Of Us
Meikbar – Sunshine
Kaskade – Brighter Day
Banda Favela – Samba 1250 (Alex Phountzi rmx.)
Shaun Escoffery – Let It Go
Nuspirit Helsinki – Get Over

Saturday is Hip-Hop and Soul night. Sundays are days of rest, so my set will comprise chillout selections and gentle grooves.

Also, it’s my birthday.

Gaia at The Fridge
Sunday, August 22
4 – 8pm
Rear Alley, 516 8th St SE WDC
$10 at the door, or buy in advance

Yoko K and Aphrodizia (organic electronic music)
dj Stylus (classics and downtempo)
Dblend (video – animation)
Enoch Chan (light design)
Kim Reyes (body painting and body art on demand)
Kolai (flute, tenor sax)
Tom Pipkin (percussions)

This weekend it will finally happen.

Lil SoSo Productions & 88 with support from Scion are proud to present:

THE SOL POWER BLOCK PARTY
SATURDAY AUGUST 14TH – 1PM-6PM – FREE!
Marie H Reed Recreation Center (Adams Morgan)
2200 Chaplain St NW DC (Enter from 18th St between Kalorama & Wyoming)

Afro.Latin.Brazilian.House.Disco.Funk

Featuring SOL POWER All-Stars: DJ STYLUS & MEISTRO
Plus Special Guests: JUAN ZAPATA & JOE L

Live percussion, mural painting and food vendors on site.
SOL POWER is a family friendly ALL AGES event.
Sweat to the rhythms of Cuba, Brazil, Puerto Rico & West Africa.
Samba whistles, shekeres & cowbells welcome!

Listen, download and share DJ Meistro’s Sol Power Block Party Promo Mix

Sol Power Block Party Promo by Meistro

Inspired by a recent check-in on the folks over at Can You Play That One Song, I’ve finally decided to share a few of the missives that patrons have handed to me that didn’t end up jettisoned back at their foreheads in a wadded up ball.

As far as irksome behaviors go, letter writing is far less problematic then singing at me, yelling out track numbers or waving a cell phone in my face. It still exposes some curious thought patterns that we can begin exploring in this space. There are so many layered assumptions and entitlement issues. Let us begin.

Is this chronological or priority order? I guess they were doing me a favor by giving me some options to choose from and opening with a polite salutation. I could have made their heads explode if I played a mash-up of all of these. I’m sure one exists.

A humble approach and a quality pick? Rare indeed so take heed on how NOT to make me hate you.

I’m clearly not hip enough to know what this is. This person was clearly pleased with themselves.

I have no idea what this even means. I’m going to assume the emoticon represents sarcasm.

This must have had no other purpose than to elicit a chuckle. Well played.

I saved the best for last. I love the exaggerated greeting that attempts to mitigate the retardery of what follows. I don’t know who’s going around telling folks that DJs really care about your birthday but you might want to let that one go, unless you’re cutting checks. And there will never be Drake’s “Fancy” at an underground classics party that I’M playing. Not even if a tiddy pops out of your leopard print.

Stay tuned for more of these to come…

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

Classic Soul, Hip Hop, Funk, Disco, House

Wednesday, July 28
10pm
U Street Music Hall
1115 U Street NW, WDC
<<< FREE ALL NIGHT, 18+ >>>

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.

Join us this Saturday for more Afro.Latin.Brazilian.House.Disco.Funk.

With your favorite Sol Power All-stars:

Stylus and Meistro.

SPECIAL GUESTS:
Jahsonic (WPFW / SoulControllers)
DJ Ausar (ATL)
Tom P. on percussion

ALL beers are $4 (including Leffe & Redstripe)

Saturday, July 3
10pm
Dahlak
1771 U St, NW (18th & U)
21 and Over
Free before 11 pm, $5 after (get your ass there early!)

Part of it may have been an attempt to avoid going back to the dark emotional place of June 25, 2009, but my crew decided we were going to hold off on the Michael Jackson memorializing until his birthday on August 29. I did re-post the recording from our epic MJ church service at Marvin last year. Then I got the call from SoulBounce to be a part of their Summer of Michael Jackson.

They had the fresh idea to release a series of themed Michael Jackson mixes based upon the refrain from “Blame It On The Boogie”. It was a hard choice, but I decided to take on “Sunshine”. The main reason is that there’s so much great material in the early Jackson catalog that goes unrecognized. And when you experience it in a big dose, it’s astounding how gifted Michael was as a child and teenager.

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

Jackson 5 – I Want You Back (Z-Trip Remix)
Michael Jackson – We’re Almost There (DJ Spinna Remix)
Jackson 5 – Chained
Michael Jackson – People Make the World Go Round
Michael Jackson – Buttercup
Michael Jackson – Rockin’ Robin (Grant Phabao Remix)
Michael Jackson – Rockin’ Robin
Jackson 5 – I Want To Take You Higher (Live)
Jackson 5 – Can’t Get Ready For Losing You
Michael Jackson – All the Things You Are
Jackson 5 – It’s Too Late To Change The Time
Jackson 5 – Don’t Know Why I Love You
Jackson 5 – Don’t Let Your Baby Catch You
Jackson 5 – It’s Great To Be Here
Jackson 5 – Get It Together
Jackson 5 – The Mirrors of My Mind
Jackson 5 – Love Is the Thing You Need
Jackson 5 – Who’s Lovin’ You (Live)

This week there’s an extra treat. And the sunsets are always amazing.

Thursday, June 24
6pm
Free with RSVP
Donovan House: Rooftop Pool Deck
1155 14th Street NW
Washington, DC

The sunsets are amazing.

Rich Medina, Sam Burns & DJ Stylus are:

Yella Bros.
The Lightskinned’ed Wrecking Cru
3 The Redbone Way

We’re starting the new era of our collective triumph this Friday, even if we have to bring out El Debarge as a secret weapon.

Deep, soulful house. Afro bombs. Disco nuggets.

Get some. ESPECIALLY if you missed my last appearance at Red Fridays.

June 18, 2010
10:00pm
U Street Music Hall
1115 U St NW, WDC
$10, FREE before 11PM | 18+

It might be the sexiest mix I’ve done, so I’m bringing this one back by special request. It’s about that time.

Download audio file (djstylus_summerinthecity.mp3)
[download (right-click, 'Save As') | subscribe in iTunes]

1. Outkast – You May Die
2. Quincy Jones – Summer in the City
3. Zansika – Beyond
4. Quintessence – Delirious
5. DJ Spinna – Summer Madness feat. Fresh Daily & Daniel Joseph
6. Roddy Rod – This Time Around feat. Phonte & Carlitta Durand
7. M64 – Rhythm of the Drum
8. Minnie Riperton – Inside My Love
9. Slakah the Beatchild – D.A.N.C.E.
10. Lewis Taylor – Lovelight
11. Bennson – Let The Love
12. Janet Jackson – And On and On
13. Azymuth – Dear Limmertz
14. Real to Reel – Love Me Like This
15. Basia – New Day For You
16. Reel People – Ordinary Man
17. The Rebirth – Love Issue
18. Metro Area – Piña
19. Omar – Little Boy (Jaycee in da Mix)
20. Anthony Nicholson – Dirty Soul (Can’t Lift It)
21. Pirahnahead & Diviniti – Music
22. Zaki Ibrahim – Money (King Britt rmx)
23. Jeremy Ellis – Kissed By The Sun
24. Yaminah – 7 Days (Pirahnahead Remix Mellopella)
25. Yaminah – 7 Days (Pirahnahead Remix)

With your favorite Sol Power All-stars:

Stylus, Meistro
& the one Hermon Farahi on percussion.

SPECIAL GUEST: Jahsonic (WPFW / SoulControllers)

Samba whistles, shekeres and cowbells welcome. Sweat to the rhythms of Cuba, Brazil, Puerto Rico & West Africa.

Saturday, June 5
10pm
Dahlak
1771 U St, NW (18th & U)
21 and Over
Free before 11 pm, $5 after
ALL beers are $4 (including Leffe & Redstripe)

Meistro, Deep Sang, and DJ Stylus SOL POWER (3.2010) Part 3 by Meistro

With resident DJ Adrian Loving, live percussions by Tom P and guest DJ Stylus

Thursday, June 3
Donovan House: Rooftop Pool Deck
1155 14th Street NW WDC
6pm – 12am
Free with RSVP
Space is limited!
List closes at 2pm on Thursdays.
Please try to limit your number of guests to 1-2 because capacity on the roof is 250 and we cant exceed that. Names on list get first come first serve entry.

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.

Classic b-boy, Timberland, Puma suit, shelltoe Adidas, chewstick, Carhartt, backpack, Coogi sweater, Dickies and Chucks, Cazal, creased Levi rap.

Friday, May 21, 2010
10pm
cover: $7
The Black Cat
1811 14th Street NW, WDC

Get ready to take a trip that will span the globe! LSP and Smirnoff team up for what promises to be one of the most memorable events this year. AudioTRIP will take attendees to new musical heights with an amazing line up of dj, live music and fashion talent. Frequent flyer miles are included for travelers 21 and up.

RSVP for free entry and access to all the terminals and special in-flight Smirnoff cocktails.

Featuring three terminals of music:

Terminal One:
DJ Spinna w/DJ Handspeak & Maze One
Special Guest Host: Nikki Strong of “Strong in the City” WHUR (96.3FM)
Live Musical Performances by: Ne’a Posey & AB
Sponsored by: CASRAM & Monument Arts Festival

Terminal Two:
Daz-I-Kue & Waajeed w/DJ 2-Tone Jones & Roddy Rod
Sponsored by: BELLA & The Capitol Hip Hop Soul Festival

Terminal Three:
Rich Medina w/The Soul Controllers (DJs Stylus & Jahsonic)
Live Painting by: Aniekan Udofia
Sponsored by: The Adinkra Group, Biribelle & The Black LuvFest

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

Then join us this Saturday for more Afro.Latin.Brazilian.House.Disco.Funk.

With DJs Stylus, Meistro and Deep Sang and Hermon on percussion.

ALL beers are $4 (including Leffe & Redstripe)

Saturday, May 1
10pm
Dahlak
1771 U St, NW (18th & U)
21 and Over
NO COVER (that means FREE)

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

The Dunes invites you to “Off Ramp,” an Earth Day Celebration with Live Music by U.S. Royalty w/Matthew Hemerlein.

DJ Sets:

Sam Burns
Stylus
Jamil “Jahsonic” Hamilton
Two Sisters
Harry Dixon
Jerome Baker III
Brown Rice Collective
Tom Pipkin on percussion.

Vegan Cuisine by Lauren Von Der Pool and Design Exhibits by Architecture for Humanity.

3:00pm – 9:00pm
Long View Gallery
1234 9th St, NW
Washington, DC

Download audio file (djstylus_byos.mp3)
[download | subscribe via iTunes]

1. Gil Scott Heron – Intro
2. Ohmega Red – Chocolate City
3. Wayna – So Long Heartache
4. Chuck Brown – Playing Your Game, Baby
5. Raheem Devaughn & Backyard Band – Guess Who Loves You More
6. MVP – Feelin’ Free
7. Ne’a Posey – Gotta Be
8. Priest da Nomad feat. Asheru & Kokayi – Holding It Down
9. Ne’a Posey & PPP – You Should Be
10. Ave.To – Sand To The Beach
11. Oddisee feat. yU – Searching
12. Tamara Wellons – Corcovado rmx
13. Kenny Allen – Kissing You
14. Kokayi – Own Soul
15. Kev Brown feat. Raheem Devaughn – Heaven
16. Muhsinah – Once Again
17. RPM – Poetry Bum
18. Nicholas Ryan Gant & Pharcyde feat. Amma – I Ain’t Ready
19. Bilal Salaam – Metro Groove
20. DJ Stylus – O Fim Dos Tempos
21. Unspoken Heard – Truly Unique
22. JLaine, TFox & Wes Felton – Don’t Really Know
23. Kev Brown – Allways
24. Kokayi & Foreign Exchange – Where Did The Love Go?
25. Marky, Jazzanova & Clara Hill – No Use

Last year I did a happy hour with SoulBounce and put together a collection of DMV soul that was created before Beltway outsiders extended long overdue acknowledgement.

[I really miss Vegetate. | photo credit: Ne'a Posey]

It was only given out on site to folks who attended the party and has languished on my hard drive since then. It’s not that undiscovered new-newness, but a collection of modern DC soul that leans toward the indie and progressive. The main names of the scene over the past decade are included as well as a few bits you might have missed. And of course, there’s a taste of go-go. Without it, this mix would be improper.

I noticed a strong connection between the vibes on this mix and our current combination of warm sun, cool breezes and mild temperatures. I highly recommend this mix for the following activities:

- cruising in the sunshine
- relaxing at a cook-out
- Friday evening pre-gaming
- Saturday morning bunning-up
- Sunday afternoon housecleaning
- hipping people to DMV music
- flaunting your good taste when you pull up next to a cutie at a red light

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.

Party people of good taste and mature bearing, this is really important.

There are douchebags among us. (I can hear a chorus of “No shit!” echoing through cyberspace)

You know who I’m talking about:

- They can’t hold their liquor.
- They wear sunglasses in the club.
- They can’t dance without violating all western norms of personal space.
- They badger and often insult the DJ with inane requests.
- They think they can command the DJ because it’s their birthday, they’re wearing a maiden douche-crown (aka “bachelorette veil”) or got their tiddies out.
- They have an urban safari mentality regarding hot spots. They’re scared to go to these places until the folk invested in the scene have turned them into something with a buzz then they drive from far away to overrun these places on weekends.
- They won’t dance to anything that’s not on the radio… at least until they’re drunk.

[can you spot the douches?]

What I’m telling you is… we need these people. They are an important part of the social ecosystem.

Well, I need these people. And other DJs like myself need them.

There are some DJs that play in a different league. They can play deep, progressive, creative music without catering to popular trends. Huge crowds of people will come see them, they never have to compromise and they get paid well. These are your Rich Medinas, your Louie Vegas, your DJ Spinnas, etc.

I’m not one of those DJs and most of your favorite local music obsessives that rock your bodies on a regular basis are not either. We are blue collar and we are in the trenches. We have pro skills but varying paydays. We’ve paid dues for years, even decades. We do this for the love of music and sharing it with others. We do not have the luxury of always having a full room of like-minded folk who trust us 100% to be the artists that we are.

So why do we need douchebags? Because they spend money. They spend lots of money. This is what club owners care about. This helps us get paid, or at least get more gigs and stay off the ho stroll.

[these bammas are probably also douchebags. two related concepts.]

And frankly, with the exception of a core group of you whom I love dearly (you know who you are), a lot of you with progressive tastes are fickle. You don’t buy drinks. You don’t buy music. You’re always texting someone to get on a list. If we haven’t hung out and kicked it or at least spoken, then I don’t hear from you until I have a major gig, you know you’re going straight to voicemail with that “so what’s up with guestlist?” madness. I will not call you back. Now you don’t have to ask why. Some of you do this while I’m in the middle of dj’ing. You are not helping the cause.

But for the rest of you, the people that inspire me to rock with finesse and who are steadfast in your support of real DJs, I need you to increase your douchebag tolerance. I KNOW this is a lot to ask, but it should be easier when you consider the mathematical and psychological aspects.

Douchebags are followers. Some desperately want to NOT be douchebags, at least subconsciously. These precious few can be saved! Some of them just don’t know any better. They’re compelled to follow the social cues of cool folk, but this only works when the MATH is right. If the douchebags greatly outnumber non-douches, they run amok. They’ll step on your feet and spill beer everywhere while doing the limbo in the middle of the club. They’ll come up behind the ladies and grind on their behinds without introducing themselves first. But in my scientific observations, it only takes 1/4 to 1/3 of a room’s population to be composed of cool folk in order for the energy to shift in our favor.

When there’s a nucleus of people on the dancefloor who dance well and express excitement and knowledge about the music being played, others naturally gravitate to them. The socially afflicted want to be part of the “in” crowd. They want to have as much fun as the cool people are having. This is what we call the “Party People In a Can” science. Use this to your advantage. It would help me out a lot, otherwise I’m stuck playing shit songs to drunk assholes until 3 a.m.

I’d like to get paid AND enjoy playing music. I’d like to have more opportunities to play good music for you in nice spaces. Until I can break through the popularity barrier, we must tolerate douchebags for this to happen.

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

2000black Records features artist Silhouette Brown with a new dimension in modern Jazz/“Nu soul” music, warm subtleties of HipHop and London flair. The highly anticipated LP titled “two” (releasing February 8th, 2010) follows up its well received and self-titled album “Silhouette Brown”. “two” is available on cd and digitally via www.2000black.com and iTunes with promotions from Giant Step and OkayPlayer.

Silhouette Brown resides in the US and emerges from the ranks of London’s musical hub. Produced by the trilogy that is Dego (2000black/4hero), Kaidi Tatham (2000black/Agent K/Bugz In The Attic) and co-writing/production talents of Bembe Segue, Silhouette Brown is currently joined by the unmistakable vocal sounds of Philadelphia’s Lady Alma.

The performance will take place on the main floor at Tabaq and will be transformed courtesy of staging provided by Gaia and Asahra. Tickets are available at www.lilsoso.com, with special discounts for multiple ticket purchase.

Sunday, April 11, 2010
Tabaq Bistro
1336 U Street, NW
Washington, DC
Doors @7PM, Show @8PM
$12
Drink samples and specials provided by Ciroc

What is U Street Music Hall?

It has the most ridiculous sound system in the city. The kind where you’re submerged in the bass without feeling assaulted by it. It is the anti-club (no dress codes, table service, velvet ropes, not even photography). It’s all about DJs and dancers. It has a cork cushioned hardwood dancefloor. It’s owned and managed by DJs and while they do bring in the big names, they give locals prime bookings.

I’m pretty amped about this.

What are Red Fridays?

In 2005, Red closed after nine years of operation. This place was little more than a small basement with giant speakers crammed into it. Awesome things happened there. It was the gravitational center of the city for people who loved their house music deep, banging and transcendent. Sam “The Man” Burns tended his flock there, as well as a fraternity of cats I learned from like Doug “95 North” Smith and Oji. The folks behind U-Hall are programming each night of the week around a theme, and Fridays are the deep house night.

So if want to lose yourself in soulful house, latin house, deep house dubs, disco classics, boogie, broken beat and various hues of uncompromising blacktronica, please join me this Friday. It will mean a lot to play to folks who will really go THERE with me in the only space in the city designed for it.

DJ Stylus at Red Fridays
Friday, April 9
10pm
FREE before 11:30pm, $10 after
U Street Music Hall
1115A U Street NW, Washington DC