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Monday, October 30, 2006

Opportunities lost and found...

As I stew in my own misery over lost chances and wrong paths, I'm occasionally reminded of opportunities lost. I hear Rap versions of House songs done 10 years ago by forgotten DJ's whose importance is lost on those outside of the music style. We as House DJ's and Producers rarely justify our choice of music by sometimes getting a bone thrown our way with a Madonna remix or a Janet Jackson import single dance mix but when I hear Bubba Sparxxx's "Nu Booty" on the radio with a blatant lifting of a hook from Soundmaster T's "2 Much Booty" I wonder if he gets more than a cameo in the video. Hopefully he gets a partial songwriting credit and some royalties. But what happens to DJ Skip's "Let 'em Hang" which is obviously the precursor to Jibbs "Chain Hang Low" or DJ Chip's "Chickenheads" that was taken by 36 Mafia..... You know what? Most people don't care who did what as long as they can dance to it truthfully. DJ Deeon (Deebo G) has yet to see money from the his now infamous "Uh Oh" that has been everywhere from radio "beds" (songs radio jocks play under their talking in between songs and commercials) to commercials for VH1 workout shows which when contacted regarding royalties was unceremoniously yanked from airplay once VH1 realized someone owned publishing on it.

The only guy seemingly cashing in on House is DJ Funk with an occasional minimix in some forsaken cheerleader movie. Now don't get me wrong, I love watching "barelies" doing acrobatics with gratuitous kicks and splits like any other dude but our music form is more than an edit mix reserved for loud chicks with spirit. Whomever told you lied, Disco never died! Madonna's whole career is a looooooooonnnngggg Disco mix and I could swear I see visions of glow sticks on Justine Timberlake's last two videos. 30 years ago that Spears chick would be a Disco Diva and K-Fed would be wearing wide-collar open shirts and gold chains!

Now when you see me on some Rap video doing the fatman twist while the rapper of the moment is redoing one of my old songs and making it platinum, don't think that I have "sold out" or something. I'm just getting some cash so I can produce more House music and get my "babymomma" off my back about my son's college fund. It is called the music business, not the music hobby! We do need to make some money.

One last thing, everyone song that has a dance beat to it is not "Techno", ok? A tape with your favorite songs is not a "mixtape" unless the songs are blended together and Madonna is a Disco Diva no matter what her record label says. Anyone who hates Dance music just can't dance.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Mixtapes

Just finished a new rap mix that is getting some good reviews. Now when I say mix I mean a blended mix like you would hear in a club, not a compilation of songs put together by your average ipod user. Any true DJ will tell you a "mixtape" is a labor of love and showcase of your talents as a DJ so don't take it wrong if you catch ugly looks when you refer to your "compilation" of songs you put together last Friday night to listen to while you jog or vacuum your livingroom as a "mixtape" but it happens too often. People try to categorize and box in things and often mis-label things based on popular terms they have heard. If you think I'm not being fair to the masses, ask a DJ what a mix is and then come back later and we will discuss it.

Friday, March 31, 2006

What happened to business cards?


I just finished making changes on myspace.com. I have two accounts for music and a personal account. While editing I happened upon a bunch of people I knew from DJing in Chicago. WTF! It's like an advertising frenzy in there. Soon it will all look like so much junk mail. You do remember mail, don't you?