Catch The Flava KNOWLEDGE #2 - What's wrong with THE MUSIC
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- čas přidán 17. 04. 2014
- Second of the knowledge videos from last Catch The Flava Outbreak Camp by Alien Ness, Moy, Focus and Jeskilz.
What's wrong with the MUSIC?
www.catchtheflava.com
I'll give you all my perspective as a DJ:
James Brown's "Turn Me Loose, I'm Dr. Feelgood" is 147 bpm
"Get Yourself Together" by The Soul Snatchers is 136 bpm
"Another Day In The Life Of Mr. Jones" by The Bamboos is 130 bpm
"I Believe In Miracles" by Hi-Rise 120 bpm
Don't Joke With A Hungry Man ft. Spanky Wilson by Quantic is 110 bpms
"Get On Up" by James Brown is 108 bpm
"The Choice is Yours" by Black Sheep 100 bpms
So let me break this down from what I've seen as a DJ. 90-110 is easy grooving but also hard rocking because of rap beats. 110-119 is a little more rocking and picking up the pace, still able to groove out. 120-136 is where I see most bboys go there hardest and still have control. 136 and up, however, ... then they start going super sonic and are all over the place.
Though it's not just about how fast or slow a song or beat is, it's about the feeling and the energy. There was a bboy from Chicago who once told me to play some house music, I looked him in the eye and said "No, this is bboy jam." No DJ should ever play techno esc, house prodigy music for bboys because it isn't appropriate. Though I will say that it was a treat to see bboys going hard when I dropped a mix of "Rock The Dragon" (DBZ). Would I do that normally... maybe haha ! Though they got into and killed it! (freaking Atsuki and Assassin fushion-ha comando and don't even have DBZ music playing? Come to Detroit if you want to do that for real or bring me your way). Bottom line is there are certain genres of music that DJs shouldn't play, and bboys/bgirls shouldn't ask for.
Funk is the corner stone and the foundation of what I spin because it's a given. It gives bboys the chance to show their style, flavor, and character. Though I don't just do all funk, to bring out different characters, I switch it up with some mixes here and there of my own. Blending things together for optimal range is key (funk, latin, rap, my mixes, etc). I've been putting myself in check ever since I met Skeme RIchards a few years back, and it's helped a lot. I've reached out to my mentors in Detroit, and to this day they still lend me a hand when I need help.
So honestly, when ever I hear about "wack DJs" I have no idea who you are talking about, and I honestly don't care. I'm working on my stuff and raising my bar as much as I can. Maybe there should be a follow up on this video by DJs who spin for bboys/bgirls since I have yet to ever see a promoter/organizer host a DJ workshop. There needs to be more of an open discussion about this because there is a huge loss in translation that I'm honestly ignoring so I can keep building strong.
I've already started checking myself, so start checking these other DJs. Stop bitching about it and organize something. Don't wag your old man canes around on the internet and do something. Just do it!
Ohhhh Yes ! Thanks for spreading the truth ...
Baki from France
Thank you for that. This really help me a lot to take some decisions, ideas that were on my mind for a while. Since I'm a DJ that dance too, I was feeling something were wrong...
i agree so much with the first part, i listen to Nas, and Wu tang, and people call their beat breakbeats. i Don't consider any of that stuff a breakbeat. a breakbeat to me is a band playing music.