A few months ago, when this whole crazy blog first started, I made a post about go-go, DC’s club music of choice. I was about to move away from the Washington Metropolitan Area, and I guess I was feeling a little sentimental about that subgenre of hip-hop unique to DC.

OK, so technically unique means “existing as the only one or as the sole example; single; solitary in type or characteristics,” and for a while I thought that was the right word to use for DC go-go. After coming down here to Georgia, I found out that Atlanta’s got its own burgeoning go-go scene.

XO Band - I Love It
First, we’ve got the XO Band, whose name shows they’re willing to keep in the go-go tradition of groups such as the Junkyard Band, Backyard Band, Total Control Band, and Take Over Band. With this song, they pull another classic go-go move and take somebody else’s track (Young Jeezy’s “I Love It,” in this case) and make it their own. Sure, a song about dealing drugs is, ya know, cool and all, but why not just rap about how much you like go-go and namecheck DC? Cuz you know I love that.

Gucci Mane - My Chain (Mr. Singh’s Go-Go Remix)
It shouldn’t be any surprise that go-go bands play covers like this, since taking something else and making it your own is a big part of what hip-hop’s all about. Atlanta DJ Mr. Singh finds another way to do this, making go-go remixes of some of his favorite Dirty South tracks. A go-go remix of a song by Atlanta native Gucci Mane struck me as a good way of summing this whole thing up.

Posted by Mat on 04 Sep 2007 at 01:25 pm

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The treasure hunters at Soul Jazz Records took a break from digging through the reggae vaults and hunting down rare no wave vinyl to put out another ESG compilation.

Seven years ago, A South Bronx Story gave many of us the chance to hear this trio for the first time. It drew a picture of a band with a sound that was as cohesive and well-developed as it was difficult to classify. The ESG narrative I’ve come across most often puts them at this strange intersection between the post-punk, hip-hop, and disco scenes of New York in the early 80s, but placing them in any one of these categories would be a misleading simplification.

Whether this was the intention or not, the “sequel,” South Bronx Story 2 (Collector’s Edition: Rarities) makes ESG’s ties to these scenes a little clearer. SBS2 replaces the cohesion of the first comp with flexibility, to the point of being almost nightmarishly elastic. The cavernous production of “Standing in Line,” as well as the affected British accent, make it sound right at home at Factory Records, a big ally of the band’s. The alternate version of “Moody” takes on some of the production values of disco and early house, but some tracks like “In the Streets” sound like just what you would expect from ESG.

All in all South Bronx Story 2 doesn’t hold together as well as the first comp, but it still has a lot of good tracks and shows the band in the context of the larger New York music scene, which is cool if you’re into that sort of thing.

Even if you’re not into that sort of thing, at least check out this track from South Bronx Story 2, which is either the classiest pro-drinking song I’ve ever heard or some sort of double entendre I don’t understand.
ESG - Six Pack (Original Version)

If you’re so inclined, you can buy the whole album or individual tracks here.

Posted by Mat on 09 Aug 2007 at 08:41 pm

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I’m not much for introductions, so I think I’ll just go right into it. Watch this spot for more on music, tv, movies, religion, cults, and other fringe lunacy.

Everybody’s been comparing Kindercore to a zombie risen from the dead, and I can run with that. Remember Weekend at Bernie’s? Me neither, but I think it’s about a dead guy that gets resurrected by a Voodoo spell. Like a zombie, right? Sort of, but this guy only moves when there’s music playing. And if Kindercore’s gonna move, it’s gonna need something to move to.

Wale feat. TCB - “Ice Cream Girl”

That’s where Wale comes in. He’s from my hometown, Washington, DC, and I have to laugh when I hear his line about putting DC on the map (It’s the nation’s capital, it’s on even the least detailed maps of the US,) but when I hear this song, I wanna believe. DC hasn’t ever really been a major player in the hip-hop scene, but the one thing it has that no other city does is go-go, live bands with badass rhythm sections playing beats you can bounce to. Go-go has never really gotten much national recognition, but you can hear its influence on tracks like Amerie’s “One Thing” and a dozen others produced by DC native Rich Harrison. Ludacris and Justin Timberlake have played go-go versions of their songs live, but these never seem to make it on the radio outside of DC.

On “Ice Cream Girl,” Wale pays dues to the homegrown style with a beat courtesy of TCB, or Total Control Band. Right now it’s a regional hit, blowing up DC stations like WPGC and WKYS. I’d love to see go-go get more attention on a national level, and as great as this track is, I’m not sure it’s going to be the song to do it.

Posted by Mat on 30 Jun 2007 at 08:30 pm

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