Who's Holding Down Your Town?
jinx74
2,287 Posts
im not talking about digging or dealing... but history and research. im curious to know whos out in your neighborhoods getting the history put together about a specific region... who was bringin the Funk in the early days? who were the Soul bands that were making some noise? those kinds of questions more or less...ill throw you some examples from what i know...dante : ohio (and the other 49 states)kevin : DC (VA/MD? and is our very own nightkrawler)john : arizona (hey, its not THAT big a state)dennis : bay area (40's-early 60s)me, josh davis, josh bea, dave : bay area (mid 60s-present)eothen, jason : indiana brian : georgiaim sure im missing some... but id be curious if there are cats in your areas doing the same...
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They are the ones that get looked down on or ignored by all the wanna be hipster b-boys, who then appropriate the culture for their own benefit, diluting it, and generally missing the point. ie: you
So anyway, max respect to the Dynasty Rockers, Breaking in Style & Breaks Kru who hold down Williamsburg, Bushwick and Ridgewood.
This foll KNOWS the local music history. I remeber when Preme started doing research for this comp and he was very thorough. He put flyers all over town about old funk records and funk groups and was driving all over the hood talking to people everywhere. He was in barbershops, old radio stations, ice cream shops, bbq spots, night clubs, restaurants. We were in R&L BBQ one day and Preme put a flyer on the wall about buying old Seattle funk records. The waitress read the flyer and said "What you want those old records for?" Turns out her boyfriend was in one of the old school bands that ended up on the comp. She was mad cool and said "I'll have him call you." Seattle is a small town like that.
ummm... im confused... did you post this in the wrong thread? i also dont understand the breaking/dancing/boogie crew references either.
yeah d does have shit on lock up there... thanks.
whatchu know about this heat!! haha
yo j holler re: b williams
So Rock Steady Crew don't rep Bx history either? I'd say they do and then some.
If you are talking in terms of liner notes produced, then Aaron Fuchs ownz you all. But we all know that's not keeping it correct and the dude is full of shit and don't give a shit about any history.
I think Justin was referring to history beyond (just) hip-hop and breaks man... be easy
I think there are very few, if any, dudes that are holding down a history of NYC music pre-hip-hop. Everyone in this town fancies themself a hip-hop scholar. Half of RSC don't know what the fuck they're talking about.
At least people have the latin scene here pretty well-documented... what about the soul scene? Noone I know of. Of course, the NYC rock scene has been well-documented too.
there's also a couple older 45 dealers I'd rather not mention (cuz they give themselves too much credit already)
thanks jon... yeah while the breaks and hiphop scene may be well doc'd by the bboy crews of present and past i was referring to (mostly) soul and funk music and the history in certain regions around the country...
and aaron, from my understanding, is more a businessman with partial knowledge from his music acquiring than actual research and interviews... however, this is just my understanding and can be completely 100% wrong...
(lawyers: did i write all of that out so as to not implicate me in any wrongdoings against someones name and character?)
I could see that from the references to funk and soul in the original post. I was just trying to push the envelope.
Yes, the history here is written by people who once took a peek through a keyhole, so to speak.
As for the RSC not knowing what they are talking about.... no comment. Although I'd say they have a vested interest in interpreting history a certain way.
I've had a bunch of visitors from the UK, some of them considered authorities on Hip Hop, who don't know the first thing about North Brooklyn. First thing they want to know is which trains get them to Fordham Rd. I'd say the RSC have something to do with this.
Well you know I said half.... there are lots of kids out there who just rep the crew, doesn't matter who was where or did what, it's all RSC if you ask them...
So yeah, RSC has a big part in bigging up the BX but also sometimes unnecessarily... There could be better history of Brooklyn as an entire borough... is there some defining work being done on Decepticonz/Lo Lifes? The only documentation I have is the Mop Tops video....
Aaron's been writing liner notes since the late 60s, I'm sure he knows about blues music, and I'm sure he doesn't give a shit about repping his city correctly.
He does have a good amount of money in the bank though....
i wasnt trying to start hassling with you about breakdancers and their crew knowledge or aarons overall music knowledge.
...and we all have money in the bank cuz...
JP - understood. You are Mr. Fair and Balanced round here. Perhaps you need to make that docu?
I'd love to see something that ties in all the neighborhoods from E. NY/Crown Heights, to Ridgewood (which is of course in Queens) and beyond, like L.I.
for nyc, that is a good question... who's got all the fatback band b-team projects? "daddy love" by gi gi... winley records... perception... sceptor...
I wasn't trying to draw hassle from you... I just think that it's about much more than crew history/knowledge round these parts and that you can't really separate the music from the kulcha. Apart from the b-crews and the City Parks Foundation (that's a semi-joke), who else is repping the legacy of BT Express, Crown Heights Affair, Mandrill, Brass Construction? etc etc. Not many people.
I think Winley and Tuff City might be in the same chapter: Essential Cunts
GiGi? Did you just find a cheapie?!
Does anyone have a discog or further info on MINT RECORDS?
interesting. i mean, that's what i like about NYC: you can play "bra" by cymande or "do it til your satisfied" and have people who weren't even alive then digging it (and i don't mean hipsters), b/c it's been passed down thru nyc hip hop/block party culture... all of those records are on those "dance classics" white labels you can buy at beat street/rock n soul... i think the thing is, there hasn't been some geeky dude putting out a compilation of the stuff and letting the record nerd public in on "re-discovering" these lost sounds...
David Griffiths has been doing some research of the 60s-70 Bed-Stuy soul scene over the past few years.
on a block by block basis, i hear...
yeah, i've def. heard him play some obscure nyc soul stuff...
( i traded my "daddy love" from s**lcr*ck*r (did i do that right?) a year ago... i believe for "save me" by nina simone... still got more of those!)
Justin,
What's the update on All Bay? I'm excited to read the fruits of the research you and Josh have done.
yay!
and if you havent seen this yet...
http://www.beout.com/superhyphie.wmv
J, that shit still has me laughing dude.
Don't forget the hommie Chuck Huss!
YES
naw for real, i dont think any heads care about pittsburgh's vast musical history enough to do research and dig up info on old heads