• 8/10/2023
    milehighhouse - Out Of Thin Air Volume One (MHHRLP 001)

    2004 compilation from the milehighhouse crew discussed at length in today’s Seafoam interview. My pick is “Algorythmic.”

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  • 2/12/2023
    Joyce Sims - Come Into My Life (SLX-28)

    Another Mantronik ultra-classic - in particular, we like the beats, the beats that are a bonus. My copy’s unfortunately a little noisy, especially on the A side. Tried a couple of those vinyl de-clicking tools without a luck, hit my line if you’ve found one that works for you. .

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  • 12/30/2022
    Young Pop - Let Me See U Jit (41348Z3)

    Super early ghettotech record from 1993, via In-Motion Records. The future electrofunk formula is totally intact, as is pointed Miami bass influence - Young Pop and M.C.T. trade Splack Pack flows on the vocal track, while the bonkers instrumental intersperses Detroit-style funk guitar flourishes and scratching pulled straight from the Miami tradition. .

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  • 12/29/2022
    Technics - The Chris Tucker Theme / The Bootie Theme (KOK-7)

    Super simple, but “The Chris Tucker Theme” is one of my absolute favorites from Technics - a couple clips from Tucker’s spoken intro to Michael Jackson “You Rock My World,” backed by some particularly slammin drums. No idea what “The Bootie Theme” is sampling - it’s in the vein of a cartoony chomping-down-on-sandwich sound effect - but I’m not on that side of the record very often anyway.

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  • 12/29/2022
    Various - Midas Touch Records (MIDAS-2)

    Details are hazy, but I believe this to be a self-released sort of label sampler from Tony Kurtis, Baltimore r’n’b guy, with a couple DJ Technics remixes thrown in. Tony’s best-known for “Bedsqueak” (the “Moments” mix of which is a pleasantly novel flip of you-know-what), with a shelved debut album and a couple co-writing credits with Gina Thompson (!) to his name as well.

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  • 7/24/2022
    Troy Brown, DJ Patrick, Dukeyman - Who Shit Is This / Turn It Around (QR-034)

    Pretty leftfield as these things go, this is one of a number of multi-artist cyphers that Quiet Records put out around the turn of the millennium. Because it’s fun to mythologize, I’m more than happy to attribute 80+% of the weird brilliance of these tracks to “Troy Brown,” a virtual ghost save for one other Quiet release (QR-020, Clap Yo Hand - for the record I’m quite sure that the Discogs entry thereof confuses this Troy for another guy who was active around the same time, but is quite clearly Canadian).

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  • 6/26/2022
    Precise - Suzie Homemaker (PC305-12)

    I know very little about Go-Go to begin with, and less still about the one-off(?) “Precise” crew that’s on the label here (always warms the heart to see how relatively well-documented a group like Rare Essence remains, though). Speaking of which, the other (non-Groove Records) issue of this single is the sole non-Rare Essence release among 30 or so on a label called “Sounds of the Capital.” So, maybe that’s something. Anyway, sick tune in all four variations.

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  • 6/21/2022
    Supa You T & Simi Disciple / Mystic Levi - House Of Confusion / Rivers (LCR 001)

    Some of my favorite sounds of all time - spent quite a while chasing this down after hearing “Rivers” (at 33rpm) on DJ Python’s erstwhile YouTube channel / lifestyle vlog. I’ve got next to no context for the release, besides the “Digital Roots” genre tag, but all three current uploads somehow managed to summon either Simi Disciple or Mystic Levi into the comments ro provide a little bit of background. (See comments from “troy gordon” here: ”Land by the river is the original vocals to this tune written by Simi Disciple,hence 'Rivers' became it's anthem!For the record,T.Gordon is Simi which is me!”).

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  • 6/21/2022
    DJ Fatman - Traxx 4 The Playaz (DM 178)

    An all-time Dance Mania footnote from DJ Fatman, approaching a private press vibe - I assume he was somebody’s cousin or something. Production comes courtesy of DJ Skip, whose “Count On Me” remains my favorite DM record ever - Skip was the skipper, so to speak, of the Pushpac Productions imprint which released mostly his own work, but also records like this and the even less-documented Dat Nigah Tha Schit - Pu_sy Pop. Maybe they were all aliases, no idea.

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  • 5/22/2022
    Diamond K Presents Big Ria - The Answer (Am I A Bomb?) (PM 6007-1)

    I was moved to pull this back outta the boxes after a series of DMs with the inimitable billdifferen, whose 2022 club music survey raised a couple questions about exactly how far back the “club rap” sound went. Rather than Rod Lee, who you could make some galaxy brain case for as the Rod Wave of the broader club music universe, I think the main Baltimore guy responsible here is Diamond K, steward of Pimphouse Music and High Rolla Records. Now some kind of current events YouTuber, his channel has at least one ancient upload of a show at the Baltimore club Hammerjacks, mainstay of nostalgic comments on Baltimore club videos across the site.

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