DJ Stylus – The Vibe Conductor

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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

White people… BEHOLD THE POWER OF GO-GO!!!!

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!!

The beat your feet movement came a whole generation after my days of doing the happy feet (when I wasn’t b-boying), which was a generation before the hee-haw but I can definitely say that the laws of evolution are in effect in this lineage because the youth took it to another level.

I’m way too old to catch the young’uns beating their feet at the go-go but I was pretty proud to see them beating up the Apollo stage recently.

A while back I spoke on a panel when Farafina Kan brought the Krump Kings to DC. I was honored to be invited and I left inspired.

African drums and krumping… pretty breathtaking visually and mentally.

They also pitted the krumpers in a friendly battle against some beat your feet kids. While the dance styles may be a bit too different for the match up to work, the energy and positivity exchanged between two groups of kids from opposite sides of the country with similar stories was a treat to witness.

Gotta connect with some kids in Bahia for sure. Definitely won’t have any trouble finding drums or dancers!

It’s pretty criminal that I’ve been sitting on this for a minute.

Booka Booka Booka Booka!!!

1. Mighty Peace Makers
2. Go-Go Lorenzo – You Can Dance
3. Mass Extension – Happy Feet
4. Rare Essence – Body Moves
5. Experience Unlimited – Ooh La La La
6. Class Band – Welcome to the Go-Go
7. Pumpblenders – Loveboat (live)
8. Trouble Funk – Double Trouble (live)
9. Trouble Funk – Trouble Funk Express
10. Experience Unlimited – Take the Picture (Pose)
11. Rare Essence – Dance to the Drummer’s Beat (live 1983)
12. Chance Band (live)

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“A lot going on there!!!” – © David Letterman

BUY THE ALBUM
BUY THE ALBUM
BUY THE ALBUM

Buy it.

Walaaaaaaay!!!

Another big influence on my youth, a DC ambassador to the world, a go-go grandfather, and a contributor to numerous hip-hop jams.

Just caught the news from Upset the Setup via City Paper.

I was just cranking this this morning too.

Actually, I play it pretty regularly. Boosts my spirits.

SWEET LAWD JEBUS THIS JONT CRANK!!!!! [props to Nah Right]

DC hip-hop, get my U Street on!

Young! I’m cised! I can’t even post straight.

Cuzzin.

Yo.

Sheeeeeeeeiiit…

Sunday, bammas! It’s on! Rehearsal was tight!

Feeling a rush of hometown pride lately. About to take the 9:30 Club stage with my fam and an all DC lineup in a couple weeks. Caught this vid of Raheem on the red carpet at the Grammys. And been spending time catching up with Mambo Sauce (be sure to listen to “Letter to Go-Go”).

I am ashamed but also grown enough to admit that I slept on them for a minute. I’d heard good things about them but I don’t interface with many youngsters these days and hardly ever listen to the radio so the groundswell of support they’ve been amassing was late in reaching my old ears. I might actually have to get down to P.A. Palace to make sure I stay current.

I’d also heard them dismissed as “pop” but my verdict is that these bammas crank, joe. They’re polished but still aggressive. I dig the rapping dude and the vocalist, and the cutie pie female drummer, and the fact that the members have put in work with some of the most important bands in the city (NEG, Suttle and more). Call it corny if you must but I dig the POSITIVITY. I dig that the kids like them. I’m probably most pleased with the musicianship.

This jont is like Linkin Park playing go-go.

I’m no A&R but my instincts tell me that a national audience might eat this up.

Stop taking us lightly.

I’m sorry, I had to do it again. It just makes me too happy.

It looks like this vid made its way to YouTube from the U.K. and I’ve heard that Trouble Funk was big over there. I’m still trying to track down that BBC go-go documentary.

(in case you were ever wondering about Special Ed’s “Monster Jam”)

It’s hard to explain to folks who aren’t from the DC area. Actually, I’ve met natives who have no concept of go-go but that’s another social/economic/racial discussion. You can get some pretty accurate musical and historical background but the first time you step into a go-go you’ll either be profoundly puzzled or something will resonate deep within you. I’ve seen it happen both ways, that’s why I’m often hesitant when out-of-towners tell me they want to experience go-go when they visit DC.

To put it bluntly, go-go is some really black shit. It’s visceral. It’s the drum. It’s been hyper-regional for the entirety of its existence. It’s something that you don’t feel like you have to represent because once you’ve been inoculated with it at a young age it’s always in you.

My musical upbringing included hip-hop, the church, my mom’s record collection, and Top 40 radio. Go-go fit in a bit differently because it was something that was fully integrated into the world I experienced outside of my home. It was the language, aesthetic and landscape of a kid growing up in different hoods in DC in the ’80s. I left DC when I was 13. The timing was good because crack was ravenously devouring the city. I put my Junkyard tapes away and threw myself into hip-hop which really shaped my teen years. By the time I returned I was a college student and strident hip-hop head. The go-gos were too violent and I was a budding backpacker.

I’ve seen a lot of the world since those days. I’ve explored many musical paths. And now, I rarely go to go-gos anymore. It’s not really “rarely”, it’s more like “almost never”. My social universe doesn’t intersect with the go-go world. Sometimes I try to force an intersection. I’ll drop go-go joints in my DJ sets. The problem with that is that my core audience and the crowd at most of the gigs I play are not DC natives. I can fit in one classic Essence joint maybe, or of course that one Def Jam single that everyone loves.

And if I were to play for primarily DC natives, they wouldn’t really embrace all of the other musical lanes I like to travel in, with a few exceptions.

I know folks like me. They may have lived in other countries. Their music collection might have Radiohead next to Manu Chao next to Art Tatum. They might have advanced degrees from fancy universities. But drop a crankin’ ass socket on ‘em and they’ll work it like they were sweating at the Metro Club.

We’re a small tribe. As a result, I have fleeting reunions with my old friend. I’ll crank up the radio when I’m driving if I happen to catch a ‘PGC or ‘KYS go-go segment. If you see me at a stop light I am not having a seizure. I trade digitized versions of old PA tapes with friends on the internet. I scour the used record bins for classic go-go vinyl releases. I’ll grab PA tape re-releases from the kiosk at PG Plaza or the sweet CD-R section at CDepot.

I’m renewing my relationship with my old friend. I don’t know how exactly that will come out in what I do musically but, maaan… I MISS THIS SHIT.

It’s no coincidence that I’m gravitating towards NEG lately. For me they represent a great intersection of classic breakdowns and musicianship with the percussive aggression of modern go-go.

WARNING: THIS VIDEO IS RATED “SC” FOR “SERIOUS CRANK”

and of course, the good JYB…
KNOCK ‘EM OUT THE BOX, WINK!!!! (direct link, embedding disabled)

This one puts a lump in my throat… Cap Center, Heavy One (R.I.P.) on the buckets (direct link, embedding disabled)

When I was a shorty I wanted to be these dudes SO BAD. I’m damn near crying now.