DJ Assault - MrMuthafukka

DJ Assault, MrMuthaFukka excerpt (YSI link)

I realize that this week has been a nice chance to establish what this blog's all about, what sort of music everyone can expect down the road. Pound for Pound For Dummies, what have you. For the perfect follow-up to our look at Chicago ghettohouse, we head to Detroit (shout out to JH-B and my bol Hank Greenberg) and the world of ghettotech. While he's not the only dude working in this genre (and his tracks probably aren't even the best), DJ Assault has to be one of the main people responsible for bringing it out of Detroit to the rest of the world.

MrMuthaFukka is the perfect intro, a CD devoted to the best of the Assault Rifle Records label that Assault and Mr. 'De founded. It's a decent mix, covers lots of the most famous tracks to come out. The ending is a disappointment, as Assault turns things over to a new female vocalist signing who she sings over jungle beats (No, I'm not kidding). From there, it only gets worse, as there's another breakbeat-y speed rap track, nearly 4 minutes of Assault talking dirty in a whisper-y voice that will have you cringing or vomiting and some terrible rap songs. The rest of the CD is a nice intro to the Assault mixtape, with lots of stark, filthy funk tunes, classics like "Ass N Titties," "Asses Jigglin" and "Hoez Get Naked," pointless interludes and Assault's g-d awful rapping.

I've taken a good stretch from an otherwise average mix to give everyone a taste of ghettotech and its mix sound, which have surprisingly varied sounds. Check out Assault's own site to buy more of his stuff, including the 12" singles that everyone needs in their life.

Disco D -Fuck Me On The Dancefloor

Disco D, "Fuck Me On The Dancefloor" (YSI link)

Disco D, "You Need Another Drink" (YSI link)

Disco D, "You Need Another Drink (dirty dub)" (YSI link)

One year and a day ago, Dave Shayman took his own life. I've taken this hard, despite not knowing the guy, just as someone who respected and admired the music of Disco D and has struggled with mental illness. I don't have anything more to say about this a year later, it still seems senseless and sad and makes me wish that we had a country more willing to confront and treat mental illness. In lieu of a lack of words, I wanted to pay respects by putting up one his most famous singles, the Fuck Me On The Dancefloor 12," remind people of his extraordinary talent.

For me, this was the stuff I loved most. I know that his hip-hop productions were probably more skilled and brought him more attention, but the ghettotech releases are not surprisingly where I came to know about Disco D and still brings me back. One listen to "Fuck Me On The Dancefloor" and I think you will hear how he was bringing a hybrid of those genres here, with Princess Superstar rapping, D adding scratches throughout and generally bringing a little more bounce than the harder, straight ghettotech sound. "Need Another Drink" is my personal favorite, a little more traditional with the minimal drums and the repeating vocals. Disco adds this great sort of burping bassline though that gives this one a little extra funkiness that you don't hear with a lot of this Detroit stuff.

I know that this isn't an adequate tribute for one person's life, but not sure there's anything else to do but keep his music out there, keep his spirit alive and remind others that there are too many people leaving us way too soon.