DOUBLE K REST IN POWER

Awww man this is terrible, upsetting news. Way too young. Happy to have seen them perform live in London about 10 years ago and was able to briefly talk to both Thes and Double K after the show. Thes was a regular on the board here years ago and an all round good dude in his interactions here. PUTS had an incredible run and some of the best beats in hiphop. Period!

  Comments


  • staxwaxstaxwax 1,474 Posts
    ketan

  • Just finished writing this in the RIP thread but Double deserves his own thread. Fuck. 

    Oh my god, that's awful news. Shit. 43 years old. 

    I will never forget the P show in Berkeley when I was a student there, at the student union bar or something, PACKED to hell, and the crowd was jumping so hard to "The Hang Loose" that the whole PA system cut out and they finished the song a capella and still rocked it.

    Seeing Double DJ like he did as well, jumping from the mic to scratch interludes, was kinda mind blowing to me as a fresh faced turntablism nerd too. Scratching didn't have to be for 80 dudes in hoodies stock still squinting at somebody's knuckles vibrating on a stage, it was for a fucking party. Their music has been part of my life since I was fifteen. It's the rap I recommended to cloistered types in New Zealand who didn't "get" the genre yet. Some great live memories and great records.

    I love his music, I hope it lives forever. Thanks for the memories. Peace to Thes and all family. Really bringing a tear to my eye.
    dizzybullstaxwax

  • nzshadownzshadow 5,518 Posts
    Absolutely shit news.

    My heart goes out to Mikes family & of course Thes. We all send our love.

    staxwaxJimstersticky_dojah

  • staxwaxstaxwax 1,474 Posts

  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
    Such sad news. PUTS were an integral part of this web site's legacy.  Though he never posted on here, you knew he was down with the Strut.  RIP.

    On a side note, what is with all these Gen X'rs (especially hip hop folks) passing lately?  I guess I'm at that age where this shit is a reality, but DAMN... way too young!

  • dizzybulldizzybull Eerie Dicks 336 Posts
    I have so many fond PUTS memories. I remember I was in Oakland once for work, and PUTS was doing a show in San Francisco.  I met Meaty Ogre there that night for the first time.  Serg and Stef (RIP) were there, and a whole gang of other Bay Area strutters.  PUTS put on a great live show like they always do.  I got drunk, which is what you did, and then I remember riding around san francisco with them after the show.  I just remember being in the car with Thes and Double K... on a warm san francisco night...

    I remember another show they did here in La Jolla, and hanging out backstage with them and Ugly Duckling before the show, and I'm just a regular dude but because of the 'strut here I am hanging out backstage goofing off.  They ended the show with everybody singing "on a warm san diego night" and afterwards we went to the hotel they were staying at and hung outside drinking beers late into the night. I think Cas was hammered that night.

    Facebook tells me this was 2009.  Can it really be that long ago?


    PUTS knew how to rock a crowd.  Their shows were always LIVE, and always FUN.  I think in the beginning people thought they took themselves seriously, and maybe that's why they came out with FUN DMC, to let people know they were having fun. They walked their own path. It didn't matter what trends were popular in  music. Album after album they came with their own and stuck to it.  I respect them both so much for it.

    I never really knew Mike that well, but it's a strange feeling.  PUTS put out their last album, but I still just sort of assumed they would always be there, Chris and Mike. Even if they weren't still making records together.  It's not fair that he's not going to be able to grow old and look back at it all, and think "I did that".  I don't really know how to put it into words, but it's just not fair. My heart hurts for Chris, and all of Mike's friends, family, and loved ones.
    RAJJimsterklezmer electro-thug beatsbillbradleyRishanElectrodestaxwaxSPlDEYpara11ax

  • RishanRishan 454 Posts
    Great post^^^^^

    Words that I would have tried to write, but couldn't. 

    One love to all PUTS family.

    RIP Double K
    RAJ

  • Great tribute DizzyBull. 

    Condolences to his family and all who knew LA Mike, especially Thes.

    I only met him once after a gig but his friendliness and affection for Hip Hop made a big impression. 

    RIP  


  • ketanketan Warmly booming riffs 3,155 Posts
    RIP to Double K and peace to his fam and Thes.  Mike had that rare and imo essential characteristic of a great MC, which is a voice that effectively communicates a persona.  I don't know how well it relates to who he really was (Mike Turner IRL) but his voice as an MC made you feel like you knew who he was (if that makes sense).

    RAJ said:
    On a side note, what is with all these Gen X'rs (especially hip hop folks) passing lately?  I guess I'm at that age where this shit is a reality, but DAMN... way too young!

    Hip-hop is rooted in black and brown communities, and black and brown people in America have a raw deal from before they're born (i.e., the fate of their children starts with how black and brown families experience life), and it affects their health and well-being across their life.  So it's actually not surprising, but it's a real sad lesson to see our black and brown heroes affected by disease and death before our other heroes.  (I know this sounds pedantic, but I'm a social epidemiologist and I teach people, so I can't help it!)


  • dizzybulldizzybull Eerie Dicks 336 Posts
    ketan said:
     I'm a social epidemiologist 

    Busy lately, I would imagine.


  • ketanketan Warmly booming riffs 3,155 Posts
    dizzybull said:
    ketan said:
     I'm a social epidemiologist 

    Busy lately, I would imagine.

    You would think, but thankfully, I'm not involved in responding to the pandemic. I am trained to understand it and all that, but I'm busy enough exhausted by my own workload and family life so I try not to pay too much attention to the pandemic!  (Off-off-topic now, but they just announced that our schools are going to re-open next week, and wifey and I are over the moon.  Such a huge wave of relief washing over....)


  • ketanketan Warmly booming riffs 3,155 Posts
    CLASSIC



  • staxwaxstaxwax 1,474 Posts
    Hey guys - my brother is a huge PUTS fan and a member of their subscriber service, not sure what its called. He shared what Thes wrote on there about Double Ks passing and im sure as Thes was a part of this community he wouldnt mind me sharing it here




    RAJDuderonomyketanbillbradleyElectrodeppadilhaklezmer electro-thug beats

  • staxwaxstaxwax 1,474 Posts



  • billbradleybillbradley You want BBQ sauce? Get the fuck out of my house. 2,904 Posts
    @4YearGraduate Thes, thanks for sharing those words with us. 

  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
    @4YearGraduate Thes, thanks for sharing those words with us. 

    Seriously.  PUTS needs a memoire / proper doc.  

    Not many hip hop "groups" have made an impact on me like PUTS.  I always admired how they chose their own destiny and kept it Real.  The fact they did it all themselves is mind boggling. 

    billbradleyklezmer electro-thug beatsketanDuderonomystaxwax

  • If there's a silver lining, after those words from Thes, it's that Mike did what a lot of artists who leave us too young don't get to do - think about their final art and words to the fans and put them out there exactly how they wanted to.
    "Rock on."
    Duderonomy

  • Reynaldo82Reynaldo82 NorCal 73 Posts
    Too young. RIP DK

  • staxwaxstaxwax 1,474 Posts
    dizzybullklezmer electro-thug beatsketanppadilhaElectrodeJimster

  • Thes' mix tribute on twitch last night, playing the records that made up PUTS' music, was pretty touching. Had a who's-who of strutters past, DJs and musicians paying tribute in the chat too. He was giving Mike a real public send-off, saying he'd probably never listen to those records again because of what they represent. 1200+ people getting emotional with Thes was pretty amazing. He didn't have to do something public for fans to grieve to but he did. I think that's really cool.
    DuderonomybillbradleyketanElectrode

  • dizzybulldizzybull Eerie Dicks 336 Posts
    RAJketan

  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
    What a tribute last night.  I was emotional just as much as anyone.  I wish I had one of those 10%er New World Ales to sip along with Thes.

    Unfortunately, the Twitch video was pulled (probably for a few reasons.)  I managed to DL the audio feed before he pulled the plug.

    Sharing it here for Strutters to enjoy privately.




    billbradleyJimsterDuderonomyklezmer electro-thug beatsketanstaxwax

  • Essential heads comprehend the transaction
    Duderonomystaxwax

  • ketanketan Warmly booming riffs 3,155 Posts
    RAJ said:
    What a tribute last night.  I was emotional just as much as anyone.  I wish I had one of those 10%er New World Ales to sip along with Thes.

    Thanks for sharing that, Raj.  

    Thes, that was beautful and illuminating.  


  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
    Here's an official mix Thes put together without the emotional commentary:




    staxwax

  • strataspherestratasphere Blastin' the Nasty 1,035 Posts
    RAJ said:
    What a tribute last night.  I was emotional just as much as anyone.  I wish I had one of those 10%er New World Ales to sip along with Thes.

    Unfortunately, the Twitch video was pulled (probably for a few reasons.)  I managed to DL the audio feed before he pulled the plug.

    Sharing it here for Strutters to enjoy privately.




    He uploaded it to YouTube 4 days ago for anyone that missed it or would like to watch it again. 






    staxwax
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