DJ Stylus – The Vibe Conductor

I didn’t pay Scratch to say those complimentary things about me.

Getting rusty. Need to get this in more often.

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

I went. I saw. I overindulged on food trucks. I also survived several nights of this:

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.

Ever wondered why ’80s parties tend to ignore a whole body of R&B, funk, rap and electro, like those genres didn’t contribute really awesome songs to that era?

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.

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Shoutout to the homie Kokayi who just got back from rocking Paris with Pharoahe Monch and Jean Grae, ably assisted by DC fam Zo!, Jon Laine, Ezra, naturalaw-dp, and Quartermaine.

Seems like a fitting time to share a rare joint I often reach for when on my Kokayi stannery soapbox.

This live recording of Joni Mitchell’s “Free Man In Paris” features Vinia Mojica and Kokayi, when the latter was touring and recording with Andy Milne.

Yes, that Vinia. The “Saturdays/Verses From the Abstract/Climb” Vinia. The original Native Tongue vocal sweetheart Vinia.

*sigh*

*swoon*

Koke did an album for her that never saw the light of day. I wish I could have caught those rare gigs they did together.

Oh well.

And now, the O.G., because it’s amazeballs. Word to Jaco Pastorius.

Got ‘em.

loosies by DJStylus

It’s been a year since we’ve been at Dahlak, and since then many asses have shaken, we did a Sol Power block party and gave you lots of goodies to download.

Flashback to Meistro’s b-day at Sol Power a year ago:

We’re not only celebrating the anniversary milestone this Saturday, but we’re welcoming back brother Hermon Farahi on the drums. He’s been gone for months traveling the globe, doing important work for the people and accumulating wisdom. We’re just glad to have him back on the beats.

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

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, Oct. 2
10 pm – 3 am
Dahlak
1771 U Street NW
Washington, DC

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

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.

Because it was that dope.

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