Yusef Lateef's Detroit

Pick up every Yusef Lateef record you can find. And, as long as I'm giving you orders, leave some comments! Man, since I stopped posting Bollywood, this place has become a ghost town. Well, I've got two tracks from Yusef Lateef's Detroit for you. First is a track called "Bishop School." It's the opening track of the album and comes out punching! Just listen to that rhythm section! Obviously you can't go wrong when you've got such heavy hitters as Ray Baretto on conga, "Tootie" Heath on percussion, AND Bernard Purdie on drums! Then, you've got Yusef going off on the scat vocals towards the end.

The second track is called "Eastern Market" and once again has a powerful rhythm punctuated by Pretty Purdie's licks. Yusef lays down some beautiful flute on top of it all before he starts spreading the word of the produce for sale at the market. Embarrassingly, I first heard this song on MF Doom's "Who You Think I Am?" which I've also included. But, it wasn't like I went out searching for Doom's sample for the track. It was one of those pleasant surprises when you put on an old jazz record and realize, "Hey, that's where that came from..." Oh, and leave some comments.


Bishop School by Yusef Lateef from Yusef Lateef's Detroit
Eastern Market by Yusef Lateef from Yusef Lateef's Detroit
Who You Think I Am? by MF Doom from Doomsday

Billie Jean in a Rasta Style

I really like this record. Reggae Disco Twelves are just beautiful. Check out that jacket! Now, the first time I heard a reggae version of Billie Jean was from Shinehead. Great track, but so slow people look funny when they dance to it. Then, last summer, while visiting friends in Santa Barbara I popped into a record store I had scoped out in the yellow pages. After browsing a little bit and not finding anything of interest I headed out the door, but was stopped when I noticed a stack of reggae records on the floor. I stooped down, flipped through a couple of Third World records, and was stopped by the bright green of this jacket. I read "Dist. By: Randy's Records", "Billy Jean", "M. Jackson", and "Wayne Jarrett" and decided right there I was leaving with the record. Until picking up this record I had no idea there was another reggae version of "Billie Jean" besides Shinehead's. There may be hundreds, I don't know. Truth is, this version doesn't make people trip over themselves when they dance to it because it's too slow. So take a listen to both sides and don't ignore the B side which brings us the instrumental version called "Summer Jeans" since they throw in a little lick from the "Porgy and Bess's" "Summertime".

Billie Jean by Wayne Jarrett from 12"

Summer Jeans by I Life Band from 12"

Herb Albert meets Public Enemy

Mash ups or blends or whatever you want to call them haven't disappeared yet. They are definitely still with us. I don't mind them. In fact I'm a sucka for things like Rapture Riders. Before Dangermouse and his Grey album, I heard the following track on college radio over five years ago. I was blown away by it. Public Enemy's "By the Time I Get to Arizona" over Herb Albert's "Whipped Cream". It was basically the first time I heard a mash up. The group, Evolution Control Committee are responsible for this. I believe they have some loose affiliation with the group Negativeland who became semifamous when they were sued by U2 for naming an album U2 and sampling heavily from them. Well, Evolution Control Committee have had their run ins with the law also, their motto is "Copyright Violation for the Nation." So check out their website here and don't forget to check out the sounds section where you'll find some great stuff including "Rocked by Rape" and a reinterpretation of the song "Axel F" only using samples of Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" called "Fock it".

By the Time I Get to Arizona (Whipped Cream Mix) by Public Enemy Remixed by Evolution Control Committee

Sockpuppet Soundsystem Show this Friday and a Mix

I'm going to shill a show I'm a part of that's going down this Friday in San Francisco. Fellow Sockpuppet Jaybee will be spinning along with guest DJ Sonny Ray from East Village Radio. I'll spin a few records (no Bollywood I promise) and some dude named Pinched Nerve will be performing with his cheap ass keyboards. Props to fellow Sockpuppet Matt Manley aka Dig This for the outstanding flyer.

Here's a little mix of soul and funk 45's I put together a few months ago.


45 mix by K-mac

West Coast Gangsta

No more Bollywood! I can't really think of a theme or anything to get started on so I'll throw up two tracks by Above the Law. I found this twelve inch at the flea market at Laney College in Oakland a few weeks ago. Murder Rap is the from the A side and features that Quincy Jones synth that was used by Quentin Tarrentino all over Kill Bill. The B side, Another Execution, is a nice slow track that features a wha wha sample. I'm a sucker for wha wha. Two great examples of early Dr. Dre production that aren't quite as well known as NWA or the DOC.


Murder Rap by Above the Law from Livin Like Hustlers
Another Execution by Above the Law from Livin Like Hustlers