The backstory on this cat is pretty deep. He was killing this style on a pair of these when I first met him on the U Street scene almost 15 years ago:

That was back in the Amphibians days. Then he moved on to this:

Eventually he was hauling a whole desktop around to gigs, rocking an array of virtual samplers and synth modules and a MIDI controller. That’s just how mad scientists do. I think he’s on Reason now. But anyway, you know this joint, right? Blackberry Jones + Asheru + Heron Gibran = Black Lincolns.

Blackberry Jones, previously known as Aychell made a bunch of amazing music with this guy that never came out.

They were called K.H.E.Mystery. They both rapped and did beats. Did you know that Slimkat78 (of The Els and Op Swamp 81, formerly known as Akuaman) used to rhyme? You should ask him about it. He was quite good. I have a lot of that stuff in the archives. And now you have some too, thanks to Rule4080.com.

To close, I’ll leave you with Blackberry’s classic Dilla tribute.

I think I’m going to have to do more posts like this. Joey and Shatungwa say so too. Folks talk about DMV hip-hop and have no concept of history.

Available through all the usual online outlets.

We gave the record a test drive on WPFW last week.

I met up with Marsha of Soul Culture UK when I was in London and we ended up having a long conversation about one of my favorite subjects, DC music. In much the same way as my associates have been pushing London’s progressive artists here, folks over there have been taking an interest in our output.

Soul Culture is really on their grizzly right now, so I graciously accepted an invitation to write the intro (under the good gubmint name) to their Chocolate City Special. Kudos are definitely in order for the final product, as it spotlights folks like Bilal Salaam, Green Tea, Muhsinah, Oddisee and more. Props to the Couch Sessions crew who also contributed.

Washington DC Record Fair
Saturday, May 9
Warehouse Next Door
1021 7th St NW
10am – 4pm

Full bar, food & 30 record dealers.

Special guests:

Daptone Records
Chuck Brown

DJ Lineup:

Stylus (all vinyl set, 12 – 1 pm)
Eurok
Lunch Money & Almighty Dollah
Neville C.
Deep Sang
Gavin Holland & the Nouveau Riche Crew
Provoke
D-Mac
Dan Amitai
Nitekrawler

Friday, May 1
9:30 pm
Rock N Roll Hotel
1353 H Street, NE, WDC

In the upstairs space.
No cover.
All vinyl.

Chris Burns’ description:
Disco, boogie, cosmic, rock, funk, early house, 90s house and more.

My interpretation:
All the funky but slightly odd rekkids that never come out of my house because I don’t know who I’d play them for. And a few sing-along joints that you all know.

Temporarily retired:
Serato, CD’s and any other form of digital paraphernalia.

GET IT NOW!

As I was listening to this, I felt a strong urge to don a Madness hat, some Nike boots and walk up and down Georgia Ave drop kicking wack rappers in the throat until the riot squad came to subdue me. I told Oddisee this, just in case someone would be needed to explain the situation to the reporters that would show up to cover the story. It just might happen. My alibi is prepared.

I got the email too.

DJ Hut friends and customers,

We have some sad and disappointing news to share with you. DJ Hut can no longer battle the dual headwind of the demise of the music retail industry and the economic downturn. As a result, we are forced to shut down the store and go strictly online at the end of April. Effective immediately, all vinyl records, CDs, DVDs and books will be liquidated at the rate of 20% off the regular price.

We would like to thank you for your support over the last 7 years at the store and we look forward to your continued support online.

Best,
DJ Hut Crew

So many of my formative years as a DJ, and later my sense of community in the DC music scene were wrapped up in that place. The last time I reminisced on it, they were recovering from a fire.

We could all probably see this one coming with the way things are now but it’s still a huge blow. It also delineates some interesting market trends, as other stores that cater less to DJ’s/artists and more to niche collector types continue to do well, or at least okay. I’ve still got those long overdue posts about DJ’ing in the digital age to write.

*Sigh*

Farewell to The Hut/12-inch and thanks for the memories.

We’re back from WMC and ready to rock. Did you miss us?

1st single: Who I Be

Diamond District Mini Documentary from Diamond District on Vimeo.
Filmed by T. Purnell for Packing Light Productions & Humble Monarch
Edited by Humble Monarch

GODISHEUS w/ Poem-Cees
Friday March 13
Asylum
2471 18th St NW Washington, DC
Cost: FREE!

Forgot about us?

A refresher’s in order. I’m with these guys:

We’ll be guests of these guys:

WATCH:

LINK UP:

Myspace.com/OpSwamp81

PURCHASE:

iTunes

Took a few flicks too.

The Chocolate City Cultural Alliance (CCCA) is proud to present a soulcialist inauguration event. Come and celebrate the 44th president and his Platform for the Arts.

Featuring Music By:

DJs JahSonic and Stylus (The Soul Controllers WPFW 89.3 FM)

Daz-I-Kue (Bugz In the Attic, UK)

Live PAs from:

Ne’a Posey
Taylor McFerrin
Head-Roc, “The Mayor of DC Hip-Hop”
Bassey Ikpi

Art Installation By:

Aniekan Udofia

First drink and light breakfast buffet included!

$25 presale tickets:
http://cccainaugural.eventbrite.com/

Friday, January 16, 2009
10:00pm
903 U St. NW
Washington, DC

Wherein the music activities collide with the day job for the first time ever…

Join washingtonpost.com’s Going Out Gurus at the Going Out Guide’s first monthly happy hour of 2009.

The evening features Going Out Guru Rhome (aka DJ Stylus) spinning tunes in the DJ booth, free food, plenty of drink specials ($3 draft beers, $3 Yuengling and $4 cocktails and selected bourbons) and the chance to win a pair of tickets to see Thievery Corporation at the 9:30 Club.

Going Out Guide Happy Hour
Wednesday January 7, 2009 (6-8pm)
Bourbon
2321 18th Street NW WDC 20009

Thanks again to the biggest Hip-Hop Hebrew in the game.

DC hip-hop: We take this rap shit serious.

HI-RES VERSION

The history in this crew is ridiculous. Noyeek, Grizz and Theory have been holding down the Diamond District since before there was a hip-hop scene. Live Society, Infinite Loop, Head-Roc War Machine, and now the New Golden Era. This jont got me psyced, joe.

They also got the schmoovy shmoove introspective jont, directed by the homie Pete Rosenberg.

[DOWNLOAD]

And if you’re still wondering, “who is this guy?” you can get caught up here FOR DE FREE.

[Tracklisting]

[Free Download]

Best Urban/Alternative Performance
(For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances, with vocals. Singles or Tracks only.)

* Say Goodbye To Love
Kenna
Track from: Make Sure They See My Face
[Star Trak/Interscope]

* Wanna Be
Maiysha
Track from: This Much Is True:
[Eusonia Records]

* Be OK
Chrisette Michele Featuring will.i.am
Track from: I Am
[Def Jam]

* Many Moons
Janelle Monae
Track from: Metropolis: The Chase Suite (Special Edition)
[Wondaland/Bad Boy]

* Lovin You (Music)
Wayna Featuring Kokayi
Track from: Higher Ground
[Quiet Power Productions, LLC]

Open the door and let us in. Raheem got another one too.

Best R&B Song
(A Songwriter(s) Award. For Song Eligibility Guidelines see Category #3. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)

* Bust Your Windows
Salaam Remi & Jazmine Sullivan, songwriters (Deandre Way, songwriter) (Jazmine Sullivan)
Track from: Fearless
[J Records; Publishers: Nappy Puddy Music/Universal Music-Z Tunes, Salaam Remi Music/EMI April Music, Soulja Boy Tellem Music/Croomstacular Music]

* Customer
I. Barias, Raheem DeVaughn, C. Haggins, K. Oliver & J. Smith, songwriters (Raheem DeVaughn)
Track from: Love Behind The Melody
[Jive; Publishers: Universal Music-Z Tunes/Ahmad's World/Universal Music/Nivrac Tyke Music/Fresh Paint Music/HC 1030 Publishing/Universal Music/Tetragrammaton Music/Melodic Piano Productions/HC 1030 Publishing]

* Heaven Sent
Keyshia Cole, Jason Farmer & Alex Francis, songwriters (Keyshia Cole)
Track from: Just Like You
[Geffen; Publishers: She Wrote It/BMG Songs, J Vibe Publishing, Lex Project Publishing]

* Miss Independent
M.S. Eriksen, T.E. Hermansen & S. Smith, songwriters (Ne-Yo)
Track from: Year Of The Gentleman
[Def Jam/Compound; Publishers: Pen In The Ground Publishing, Universal Music-Z Tunes]

* Spotlight
Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen & Shaffer Smith, songwriters (Jennifer Hudson)
[Arista Records; Publishers: Super Sayin' Publishing/Universal Music-Z Songs, Sony/ATV Tunes, EMI Music Publishing]

DJ Z-Trip w/DJ Stylus & Deep Sang
Friday, November 14, 2008 at 9:00pm
The Rock And Roll Hotel
1353 H Street NE WDC
$20

From 9pm-10pm, Buy 1 Drink, Get 1 Free w/ RSVP at http://washington.going.com/z_trip

Grim History:

[NPR: From Riots to Revival in a D.C. Neighborhood]

Transition:

Explosion of Joy:

WATCH:

READ:
Bounceworthy: Tamara Wellons (Soulbounce.com)
Underrated Female Soul Singer Spotlight: Tamara Wellons (SITKOL)
Soul Watch: Tamara Wellons (Honeysoul.com)

LINK UP:
TamaraWellons.com
myspace.com/TamaraWellons

PURCHASE:
Traxsource

EXPERIENCE:

October 29, 2008
Bohemian Caverns
2001 Eleventh Street NW WDC 20001
Doors open at 7pm, Show starts at 8pm

The evening before Phonte tore it down at INAS, we had a little friends and family gathering to welcome him to DC.

Statik rolled down from Philly to kick it so we ran a three-man rotation.

Enjoy. More of these coming later in the week.

[photo by Sondai]

I’ve explained before that a prime motivation for what I do is attaining those all too brief moments of magic. Not dissimilar to a drug high, I’m always chasing those fleeting experiences that flood the soul, whether on stage, in the booth or in the studio.

Last night was one of those moments.

It ranks up there with my favorite memories of what our band of Maroons have been able to accomplish on the DC scene over the years:
- the Headphone Addiction release party at State of the Union (who remembers that? It was a milestone moment for me)
- the 10 year anniversary of Low End Theory tribute show at the Black Cat
- Poem-Cees, Infinite Loop & Team Demolition at the 9:30 Club
- Mark de Clive Lowe & Bembe Segue’s first DC show
- Alice Russell’s first DC show
- that night at Science Club right after Dilla passed that everyone poured their emotions out onto the dancefloor until 3am
- the Dilla celebration at XM
- Harlem In Paris

There have been so many… and last night will definitely be something that people will talk about for years to come.

After Wayna blessed the first INAS and set the bar pretty high, the Head Mistress and I kicked around a few ideas that didn’t come together for various reasons. Then I thought “Phonte! THAT’S IT!!!” Kat was immediately enthused. I just had to make the pitch to Tay Gravy.

It was clear to me. Take a creative dude with a huge personality and put him in the equivalent of a living room full of people that adore him. Give him free reign to stretch outside of what he’s known for and watch the magic happen. But it took some convincing. There was some concern about possible corniness. And how he’s not the comedian that people think he is (bullshit!). How LB joints wouldn’t lend themselves to an acoustic setup (wait ’til the video comes out). And what could he possibly do for 40 minutes? If you were there you are laughing hysterically at that last one. I think once we added Zo to the mix, he warmed up to the idea, to put it mildly.

With Zo leading The ELs in acoustic jazz trio mode and everyone in dapper finery, Phonte took the stage and gave a SHOW. On some supper club shit. Like when folks would get dressed to go to dinner and cats in the mold of Sammy Davis Jr. would pull from their singing, dancing and comedic/dramatic skills to truly entertain you. Like what our parents and grandparents experienced on Black Broadway back in the day. So it was truly fitting that it all went down on U Street.

With side-splitting monologues and pinpoint comic timing, Phonte wove together a set of Little Brother, Foreign Exchange and Zo & Tigallo Love the ’80s joints into a performance that had folks singing along, snapping fingers and rolling in the aisles. I can’t say much more than that because there are so many surprises that I wouldn’t want to ruin.

[photo courtesy of Butta]

And then there was the interview, which pretty much consisted of me tossing him easy underhanded softballs and him mashing them out of the park. There aren’t too many folks in hip-hop who can transfix a room just by sitting on stage on a stool and talking, whether it’s his hilarious impressions, rapid fire jokes or sober takes on life.

And there was the after party. Two-stepping at Marvin and holding court among friends out on the deck. Good times.

Video soon come. And more plans to keep those memorable moments flowing. Much love to my DC arts community, the LSP crew for their professionalism and dedication and Phonte for being the damn fool that he is.

DC STAND UP!!!

Word to Go-Go Granny in the orange.

Maybe we really can bridge the divide. Anyone willing to recruit The Good JYB to go out on the campaign trail?

Wow… as if Ruff It Off wasn’t enough. They took Tiddy Balls to New England.

EACH AND EVERY SUNDAY AT THE IBEX!!

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.mediafire.com/?zz6eitaqe9t

LINK UP (and laugh really hard):

http://coolceebrown.blogspot.com

Your holiday weekend jump-off right here.

DJ Stylus
DJ Jahsonic
Harry Hotter
Adrian Loving
DJ Roddy Rod
Quartermaine
DJ Double o7
DJ Sonny

rocking everything that’s funky, soulful, deep and REAL.
from 75bpm to 130.
from b-boy beats to broken beats.

9pm – 5am
Sunday August 31 (yes, there is a typo in the flyer)
That Warehouse Spot
411 NY Ave NE, WDC
$15

DAYLIGHT Rhomiepalooza IV – Return from Bahia
Classic Music: R&B, Dance, Rare Groove, House, Funk, 80′s Pop, Early Hip-Hop… and some Brazilian flavor thrown in… you know I found the record stores in Salvador.
Bohemian Caverns | Liv
2001 11th & U St NW, WDC
Metro: U ST | CARDOZO (Green Line)
Sunday, Aug. 24
cover: $5 (includes buffet)