SOME STUFFS: “Renegades Of Rhythm” show in Oakland to be released on VHS

If you attended DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist’s recent Renegades Of Rhythm shows, you know it was not just a celebration of hip-hop in general but it celeberates the legacy of Afrika Bambaataa and the records he used and collected in his life. A performance of this show in Oakland was recorded and will be made available for purchase.

Renegades Of Rhythm: Live In Oakland will be released on VHS tape. You got that right, VHS. Yes, VHS is a dead format but so is Betamax, and there have been many times in the last 30 years that vinyl was supposed to die too. While the demand for anything on VHS these days is beyond minimal, hardcore music buffs still flock to VHS tapes that have not been released on DVD or Blu-Ray officially. Just as there are hardcore collectors who consider laserdisc is superior, the VHS is still very much alive and well by many. Only 300 copies of this tape are being made, each one to be individually numbered. DJ Shadow has sold his share of titles on VHS over the years, from the Slurp show to the tape with well known funk and soul drummers so add this to the -ography as well. It’s a bit pricey (well, for me at least) but this is a limited edition and some of you will transfer it digitally immediately anyway. You can pre-order it over at DJShadow.com.

FREE MP3 DL: “An Adventure To Pepperland Through Rhyme & Space”

If you read the title and know what Pepperland refers to, then you know it most likely has to do with The Beatles, and it does. Now you look at the graphic and are saying “but wait, I see Ol’ Dirty Bastard here. What’s going on?” In this case, it’s a remix project where Beatles samples were used to create new instrumentals for hip-hop songs. Look at all of the people who are on it, it’s insane. Here’s the track listing:
Part 1
Intro
Hello Hello – Edan
Mr Mustard – Big Daddy Kane
Second To None – Rakim
Taxman – The Notorius B.I.G.
Gentle Thief – Nas
Where I’m From – Large Professor
Country Grammar – Talib Kweli & Bun B
Parlay – J-Live
Twist – Salt-N-Pepper
Birthday Dedication – Busta Rhymes
Open Mic Session pt. 1 – Masta Ace, Percee P, Lord Finesse, Frankie Cutlass, Easy Mo Bee & KRS-One
Number Nine – YZ
Self Titled – Heltah Skeltah
Bang Bang – MOP
Pepper – Kool G Rap
Bring Your Friends – Public Enemy
Interlude / Bridge – MC Shan
Last Forever – Artifacts
For The Children – Freddie Foxxx
Ringo’s Big Beat Theme – Spoonie Gee
Hold Poppa’s Large Hand – Ultramagnetic MC’s
Open Mic Session pt. 2 – Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane & Rakim
The End – Run DMC & Afrika Bambaataa
Circles – Wu-Tang Clan
Brooklyn Walrus – Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Buckshot , Masta Ace & Special Ed
Part 2
Intro
Secrets – Slick Rick
Beneath The Diamond Sky – The Genius/GZA
Within Tomorrow – Busta Rhymes
The Beginning – Sunz Of Man
Gentle Drama – The RZA & Rugged Monk
Becausizm – KRS-One & Channel Live
Mary Jane – Tha Alkaholiks
Bong Water – Viktor Vaughn
Hold On
Love In Summertime – Ghostface Killah & Beyonce
And I Lover Her Crazy – Jay-Z & Beyonce
Ruffneck Soldier – MC Lyte
Hey! – Beastie Boys
Get Back To The City – Large Professor
Hard To Leave Home – Nas
The Flyest – AZ
And Who? – Heiroglyphics
Lonely Thoughts – The Notorious B.I.G.
Can You Dig It? – Gravediggaz
How To Smile – 2Pac & Scarface
A Day In New York – AZ, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah

Stream it in full above or if you just want to download it and carry it with you on your travels, head to MonkeyBoxing.com.

BOOK’S JOOK: Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force’s “Renegades Of Funk”

Book’s Jook is a column dedicated to placing a record within my dream jukebox, if I were to have one. The Seeburg jukebox shown below is similar to the one I have wanted since I was a kid. To read more on why I started this column, click here.

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When I moved from Honolulu to the Pacific Northwest in 1984, I was a fan of funk music for a long time. I was also familiar with who Afrika Bambaataa, for he was the man behind one of the greatest songs of 1982, “Planet Rock”, which felt like an anthem back home. As a kid who listened to a small share of records on Tommy Boy, Bambaataa was very much the man; when I moved to a new city and state. finding someone else who liked him was great, especially in a place that was unfamiliar to me. He was a new neighbor who lived just down the street, a kid named Travis. As someone who had a copy of Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me”, he wanted a copy and felt that the only record he could trade it for was Art Of Noise’s “Beat Box”. I didn’t hesitate. I don’t remember what record I obtained the Bambaataa 45 for, but when I saw it and liked the song, I needed it. This may have been the first record on Tommy Boy I had seen pressed as a 45rpm 7″ single, so at the age of 13, I didn’t want to pass this up.

The song, made once again with The Soul Sonic Force, sounded as if it was out of this world, pretty much part of the theme heard in many electro songs like Jonzun Crew’s “Pack Jam (Look Out For The OVC)”, Planet Patrol’s “Play At Your Own Risk”, and G.L.O.B.E. & Whiz Kid’s “Play That Beat Mr. D.J.” It was something to pop and break to, so “Renegades Of Funk” was something to dance to, even if the privacy of my own bedroom. You were able to get into place “many, many galaxies away” and while we didn’t know when we were going to come back, heading out into that unknown land was about exploring the future that was beyond 1999.

I loved the chants within “Renegades Of Funk” and yet what I loved more was its B-side, “Renegades Chant”. I wasn’t sure if Bambaataa was speaking English, making up his own language, or simply bringing in the power of the Zulu Nation. As a kid who was curious about this Zulu Nation from afar, it seemed like it would be something to want to understand, even if it was bits from other well known songs. The song was produced by Arthur Baker and John Robie so by default, it felt not good, but great. I never realized he was dropping a bit of mathematics when he said “knowledge…wisdom…understanding…the funk” but before I did, that was my favorite part of the the song, as if he was about to explore due to the power of the funk, which I completely understood in my own way. I felt a need to learn this language and join Bambaataa’s mothership, even if it would take me a lifetime.

Years later, I would find the 12″ single for the song, complete with the color cover, which was somewhat of a rarity in some circles. Yet I still have that original 45 to this day, and that one will never part from me.

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