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Andres - You're Still The One
First off, sorry for the delays on Detroit week...month....year...
Second off......Andres.
Tres off......I would recomend this mans music to anyone....ANYONE!
Load this track up and hit play....and just....just...just vibe out. Feel the beat, dance, or just sit & chill. Feal the soul in the music for real. I mean...just get high off the sounds.
Allmusic.com has this to say about him.
"Not nearly as talked about and analyzed as Moodymann, his key supporter, percussionist/producer Andrés nonetheless built an extremely respectable catalog of downtempo house productions throughout the late '90s and early 2000s. Before issuing a self-titled full-length for Mahogani in 2003, he scattered a number of 12" releases for KDJ and Moods & Grooves. Andrés is also known as DJ Dez, and has released tracks under that alias on Hipnotech, in addition to collaborations with Slum Village."
Proutcast have this to say about him.
"For my personal taste, Andres has down right, without a doubt, some of the best sounds I have heard come out of the USA house scene. I first compared him to D=mon and Nicolas, some of my favorite French music makers, but now I must class him on his own. Now you might not think this song is really great or that song is really special. But, I can say with a straight face that I have NOT head one single track by him as Andres (Deep House) or DJ Drez (Hip Hop Beats) that I didn't like. And thats my word."
Side note to all you music collectors out there. If you spot the Andres full length LP or CD for a good price (or a bad one for that matter)....or any Andres on wax at all, holla at me on Soulseek or MSN. I want this guys music for my grand children lol.
Sorry for the long post but I figured I better drop all the knowledge on you I could when I got the chance. Check out Rensoul Dot Com for tons and tons of information on Detroit Urban Music. Also check out DJ Benji B's radio show on BBC for more great music Radio 1xtra. DJ Dez aka Andres was on the show (Interview and His Personal DJ Set) but I missed it. If anyone know where I can get a recording of this BBC 1xtra "Deviation" broadcast please let me know.
Much love,
Randall
...and on the 7th day, Detroit created Ghetto Tek!
At the crossroads of Detroit & Chicago fused an energetic hybrid know as ghetto- tek in detroit and ghetto-house in chi-town. Known as the funk child, Nehpets has remained a fixture of uncompromised passsion; recording on the legendary dancemania! label in Chicago to the lynch pin of Detroit, all in all str8 ghetto soul. I refuse to pin this sound down with mere words, but I will say:
"Databass Records, everybody should have two copies, & a wet t-shirt contest, MF !!!"
DJ Nehpets - Get High
So we had to take a little break from the Detroit Week thing for a few days, but we didn't forget we got 4 posts left for y'all!
Now the artist we're posting about today is one of my personal favorite musicians for sure. From his discography are just too many incredible songs to choose, so let's not attempt to do that. Besides, it's better to get briliant stuff like this on vinyl anyway.
Nah, we're just gonna present you with a little treat, a video recording of his latest performance at the North Sea Jazz festival that is going on this weekend in Holland. In the band are some of the people from the Mahogani Music crew: Andres, Piranhahead, Paul Randolph, Roberta Sweed and Nikki O.
Click here to watch it!
greets,
Jarno
Luther Vandross - Better Love
Just wanted to take another "post" as well to say thanks to Luther for his wonderful music, he will be missed. Kinda odd that I found out about this first here on Classic Trax, and there has been very little news coverage about it. Oh well, we remember you Mr. Vandross. Your music lives on. Here is my "Forever, For Always, For Love" 12" that got handed down to me. Classic!
This track got sampled by "Young Gunz" in thier "No Better Love" track.
Enjoy this Hip Hop Instrumental: Young Gunz - No Better Love (Instrumental)
More DETROIT WEEK to come.Post a comment, let us know your alive.Randall
Luther Vandross - Never Too Much
Taking a short break from the Detroit theme here after hearing Luther Vandross has passed on. Put on this CLASSIC and remember him.
Oh, and a short notice, you no longer have to register to post comments. Jarno
Classic H8Raide... Obie Trice - Welcome To DetroitDetroit Style
-mo loot
Slum Village ft Kanye West & John Legend - Selfish
Welcome to Detroit week. I almost hate to post this track as some of you may see it as too commercial or too easy, but I dont care. I love it too much. Kanye & his right hand singing man John Legend lend thier skills on this Slum Village track that uses an Aretha Franklin sample. Just so happens Aretha was born in Memphis, TN, but started singing in her fathers Detroit based "Bethel Baptist Church". Reverend C.L. Franklin was a friend of the Great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dont say I never tought you anything. And the crowd yells "Deeeeeeetroit Basketbaaalllllll".
Detroit is known for alot of things. But what comes to mind right this second is the Pistons. (Dont worry, I wont post any Rasheed Wallace free'style tracks lol). See, I'm not sure if you readers out there like basketball, but it really is a way of life, or a big part of life for cats like me (for cats all over the world in fact). We love the NBA, but over the years it has fallen off. That is before teams like the Pistons gave it a spark. So, having said that, I was really hype about the Pistons beating the Lakers (I hate Kobie & Shaq) last year, and I was pulling for them this year. Well, even though they lost in the finals to the Spurs (You got to love Manu Ginobili's game) , they represented Detroit to the fullist & pleased alot of b-ball fans around the world with there streetball tactics, solid head coaching, team minded players, & Super Defense.
Speaking Detroit Defense.....Throw That D.
Slum Village ft Lo Louis - Throw That D 
"Community activists on a level that gives them few rivals in hip-hop, the Slum Village trio dedicated Dirty District, their 2002 mix tape for Sequel, to breaking over a dozen fellow Detroit MCs. Boasting a darker, dirtier sound than the group's 2000 debut, most every track on Dirty District was recorded at one studio, with Slum Village compatriots Ralph James Rice and T3 overseeing the production." AllMusic.com Enjoy a slice of Detroit Hip Hop.
Your Boy Proutcast
Jay Dee - Welcome 2 Detroit
So we got a little theme this coming week, we'll update daily with a track representing the Detroit. There's just so much great music coming from the Motor City that it's hard to boil it down to seven posts, but that's what we're gonna do so stick around cause we'll have music by artists ranging from The Spinners to Slum Village.
We thought it would be fitting to start off with one of the dopest producers from Detroit, the one and only Jay Dee. Just a short little intro track that gets us in the mood.
Theo Parrish - Falling Up
Of course we won't leave you hanging with just this 50 second track, we also got a much longer tune by the genius Theo Parrish. This track appeared on the compilation Detroit Beatdown vol. 1 and even though it's 12 minutes long, I wouldn't have minded it one bit if it would have lasted even longer. That rhodes sounds just so magical. If you don't know Theo Parrish go check his albums right now or some of the releases on his Sound Signature label, you're about to discover some briliant music.
You can order the Detroit Beatdown compilation here.
As if that wasn't enough the guy's a superb DJ as well, the Dutch Rush Hour site has a great set by him online, highly reccomended.
Just click here to check the set.
greets,
Jarno
Quasimoto - Seasons Change
Best album of the year so far? If you ask me it's Quasimoto's insanely briliant second full album release "The Further Adventure's Of Lord Quas". I'm not gonna attempt to put it in words, just go check it if you're open minded and not too stuck up in that same old house shit!
-I keed, I keed!-
Too bad this cut didn't end up on the album though, word has it Mr Ayers didn't let them sample his track DC City for cheap, so they decided to leave it off the album. Damn shame... Oh by the way, here's the Ayers track as well:
Roy Ayers - DC City
from the album:
So you got 2 tracks in one day, it's getting quite busy here lately huh? We're spoiling y'all. ;)
Still can't get enough? Go check Soul Sides, the best blog around!
-Jarno
Cal Tjader - Afro Blue
Summertime is definitely here in Holland, one hot day after another! As usual, the weather is having a big influence on my taste in music. For example, on dry and sunny days like this I'm in no mood to throw on some Kraftwerk.
Nah, today I'm going for this classic Cal Tjader album called Soul Sauce. Classic for a couple of reasons, for one the cover which I just love. Another reason would be the great line up. Take this track for example, it features Donald Byrd, Kenny Burrell and Jimmy Heath all getting down, so you just know you can't go wrong when you play this.
Or to put it in the words you all know from the Fresh Prince:
"Here it is the groove slightly transformed
just a bit of a break from the norm
just a little somethin' to break the monotony
of all that hardcore dance that has gotten to be
a little bit out of control it's cool to dance
but what about the groove that soothes that moves romance
give me a soft subtle mix
and if ain't broke then don't try to fix it
and think of the summers of the past
adjust the base and let the alpine blast"
Now i'm off to get some more sun!
-Jarno
Windjammer - I Thought It Was You
Quick post before the weekend comes. I just had this song playing and thought I would let you enjoy it as well. The thing that sets it off right is the synth. I just love that sound. And that 80's hand clap beat is a sure thing. Don't know much about Windjammer. Info on the net was hard to find but oh well. Enjoy
Peace
Randall / Proutcast
Funk Master Flex - Biggie & Tupac Freestyle
Good to see Jarno back once again. Holding it down. I wanted to kind of play off J' Dub's last update with shoes and hip hop. We were talking footwear and I was telling him about how I have been rocking Lugz for the past 3 years or so. Other than that & Reebok classic's, I don't wear much else.
The Lugz relate to Funk Master Flex, and the first thing I thought about with Funk Flex and music was that Classic Big And Pac freestyle on his "Tunnel" Album. Look, lets get this straight right off the bat; I'm no Tupac "disciple" or Biggie "ball swinger", but these guys did make a major crate full of "classic trax" in there time, and hearing this short song with them together is a nice treat. Listen to every bar, and laugh/enjoy at the creative flow. "Where Brooklyn At?" "Slappin babies at the crisining" "My slow flow is remarkable"....
For those of you who are not feeling the hip hop run, have no fear. I have been spotting some house samples as of late and will have some nice funk/disco/soul cuts posted soon. As Funk Flex would say, "Thass ah guoowd look".
-Randall / Proutcast
The Streets - All Got Our Runnings
Glad to see that my man Prout was already updating again here! So here I'm back with a new post as well. I've been quite busy with shit in college, the little bit of spare time I had left was spent playing GTA San Andreas with my roommate or hanging in the pub and/or coffeeshop.
I got plenty of spare time this weekend though, I spent all my remaining cash for this month on travelling to Amsterdam for a Moodymann live show on friday and a pair of sneakers. So now I'm broke and then there is only one track that I can really relate to.
-Jarno
Dove Shack - Summertime In The LBC
EDIT: Yo, for those who know, check the classictrax g-mizzle for a working link.
Wow, it's summer, 2005. Anyone remember the G-Funk era? Summer 1995? West Coast low ridin' , g funkin', who-bangin'? Like any kind of musical movement, The G-Funk era had its good sides and its bad. Those who created it and expanded it, and those who used it and abused it. But this track by Dove Shack (down with Warren G and the other West Coast Hip Hop Fathers) is the total sum of the G-Funk Mindset infused with the bliss that is summertime. Clear your mind, play this track, and be transported to a saturday somewhere in the L.B.C. Smell the food on the grill, sip the cool aid, see the fly girls in those daisy dukes, reunite with family, chill out on the porch, play b-ball untill 8 PM or later because the hot sun just wont go down, check the low riders bouncin down the block, and just....enjoy summer. Warrren G was a beast in the 90's. He created a west coast sound that you cant find today. Even guys like me who were introduced to hip hop by way of the New York style enjoyed it.
"Chords, Strings, We brings, Melody.......G-Funk, Where rhythm is life, And life is rhythm"
The words of Warren G. Regulators ..........hmmm Im off to listen to Demon's Midnight Funk - Regulate.
SING "Now they droppin' and yellin', It's a tad bit late, Nate Dogg and Warren G had to regulate". Peace
Randall - Proutcast
MFSB - Something For Nothing
Note: Yo, for those who know, check the classictrax g-mizzle for a working link.
"It's Hard To Yell When The barrel's in your mouth" <--- Ouch.
MFSB, which stands for Mother Father Sister, has made many a classictrax. I poped on this one after I heard it's lush horns get flipped for the Black Album which I personally think is a classic in in of itself.
"Now you know a** is willie, When they got you in a mag, For like half a billi, And your a** ain't Lilly, White, That mean that s*** you write must be illy, Either that or your flow is silly" <---- O_o
Just take time and listen to the track. The music goes from "Walking down the street, la la la, it's a sunny day, I think I'll stroll over to Mr. Rogers neighborhood and roll a ...". Then transitioning into a triumphent, gladiator style(haha, just realized that description is funny because of the Russell Crowe sample used at the begining of J's track, heh, funny how that worked out), almost 1978 gangster pimp intro / theme music. All in the course of a few musical bars.
And no I'm not through with it, In fact I'm just previewin it, This ain't the show I'm just EQ'in it, One, Two and I won't stop abusin it <--- Wow.....
MFSB crafted what is called the "Philadelphia Soul" sound, & created the Soul Trian Theme & parts of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. These guys were'nt a band, they were an orcestra. Also check "Freddie's Dead" with Curtis May. & and "Love Is The Message". What more can I say?
"Lettin these clowns nit pick at me, Paint me like a pickiny, I will literally
Kiss Tee-Tee in the forhead" <---- Say What?
The Maybach roof is translucent,
Randall - Proutcast
Common - I Used To Love Her
EDIT: Yo, for those who know, check the classictrax g-mizzle for a working link.
Title: I Used To Post Here: I Used To Love Her
"Don't call it a come back" LL Cool J....
What up once again to everyone I know that reads this blog & to all those who I don't know. We havnt posted in a minute but I'll try to commit to posting more often. Life is busy no doubt. I wanted to keep the classic hip hop theme that Jarno started going, but I picked the wrong song to do it with. Why is this the wrong song you ask? Because it's way to deep for one blog. Basically, if you let me, I could write a small essay on this track. If fact, that's what I started to do, then realized I would bore you kats to death.
So basically this song is crazy. I swear I almost passed out the first time I heard it when at the end of the track, Common says boldly "And who I'm talkin' bout' yall is Hip Hop". I know everyone who heard that right then and there hit the rewind button & began to understand all the metaphors. I could ramble on & on about how right, and how deep, and how true everything he said in this track is. But all I will say is that it came out in 1994, & it is now 2005, yet his words still speak volumes about Rap music. You could even apply his words to house music....or anything in life that has changed for the commerical. Deep stuff.
Now, you know me, I gotta talk about the wonderful George Benson sounds that help left this track into true New Yorkian deep & soulful hip hop bliss that it is. Tracks beat HARD yet BEAUTIFUL at the same time, & that's tuff to pull off.
So put you fist in the air, yell "YES YES YALL, AND YOU DONT STOP" , bop yo head & and break yo neck to this hip hop history tale, state of affiars classic that every 2 bit, microwave popcorn, money hungry thugy, good for jack nadda, 25 cent and chingalingin, thinks its a game, corn ball forsted fruity loop pop cripsy flake rappers in the world needs to be slapped with. That's my word.
Your boy,
Randall - Proutcast
Notorious BIG - Party & Bullshit
Remember the opening post of this blog? Probably not, I hardly do myself, but I do remember promising putting up some hiphop. So far the focus has been on disco a lot, nothing wrong with that, but now it's time for a little change with this post, time to party! Notorious BIG is of course one of the all time greatest mc's, there's just no doubt about that. Hearing him just makes you want to get up, especially on this track.
His album Ready To Die is pure classic stuff from the intro to the dramatic ending. The follow up album Life After Death was alright, but in my opinion couldn't touch the raw quality of the debut album. This track right here isn't on either album, but it is from the Ready To Die-era and you can hear it. Biggie sounds so agressive and uplifting. Just play it and you'll hear what I mean.
-Jarno
Bob James - Westchester Lady
The Place: Home...done with work, sick of the computer, ready for down time, after hours, thoughts of relaxation on the mind. Music: press play, set the volume, preset #2, dont forget to plug in the subwolfer. Chill on the sofa, sinks in the middle. Highs, mids, lows, it all flows, let the music take you somewhere else. The sounds: a pimptastic bassline and chords, a sliding drum beat, visions of city at night, street lights, the spot, visions of ladies dancing, not a fast dance but a groove, a sexy 1, 2 step. I've been here before, looks familiar, music pics up. There she is... enter the Westchester Lady. She whipsers to me...what did she say? Pick up the what.....pick up the phone?
Oh snap...I must have drifted off to sleep...heh, wow, music can take to some stange places. Check the caller I.D.,sigh...stupid telemarketers.
What up my peoples, I think alot more people look at this blog than I first thought. Well, I hope this Bob James tune trips you out as much as it did me.... Ok, maybe not that much.
Peace & God Bless,
Randall
Gary's Gang - Spirits
We shouldn't have left you, without some smooth disco to step to. Think of how many weak songs you slept through, time's up. Sorry we kept you, thinking of this, you keep repeating you miss the blogs from a classic blogcrew like this.
And you sit by your speaker, hand on the mouse, soon... as you hear it, pump up the volume. Dance with the speaker 'till you hear it blow, then plug in the headphone 'cause here it go.
It's a 4 letter word when it's heard it control your body to dance, you got it...SOUL
Alright, that was pretty cheesy, but I didn't really know what to say about this track, just that it's awesome and by far the best on the otherwise mediocore Gangbusters album.
Anyway, we'll be back with some more goods soon!
Greets,
Jarno
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