Rare Records: "Whats The Secrets For"?: Well For years now it has been one of the Hip Hop DJ's most secret doctrines of practice. Not telling what, where or how you obtained a record is the most sacred of usery mechanisms on keeping your record collections exclusive; not to mention being the man with the new/obscure sounds, many of which are always sort after. Besides all this It is one of the oldest No No's in the Hip Hop DJ Community. This ranges back to the early 70's when DJ's were merely only mixing record to record (before cutting and scratching) in what is known as Kool Hercs "Merry Go Round" ( More widely known as Back spinning) Then a few years later scratching & cutting helped further the craft of DJ's set the tone all varied across today's wide style of DJ Genres & and applying of on Mixshow/radio, Mixtape or Party rocking tunes. Listen to this: I was at a Graffiti Hall of fame Jam back in 2007 at 106 & Park when I heard a good friend of mines by the name of "DJ ROCKIN ROB" Play this weird crazy Funk record that I immediately Bugged out about, it was nothing I ever heard before...It just had the words "Boo..Boo..Boo..Baah..Baahh..Bee...Beee...Bee..Bee..Bee" Sampled throughout it with an infectious 70's soul funk beat, so simple yet so dope.
I immediately asked Grand Master Caz who was standing right beside me "Yo Caz man what is the name of this record" He looked at me with that Big Casanova Grin and said "Maannn I dont even know, ask The DJ". Now whether Caz actually knew or not. I was innocently Breaking the rule here, by asking about a rare record that probably not many DJ's have or had at the time (or patrons there heard for that matter). At this time I was already of course DJ'ing out heavily myself I wasn't a novice so I very well knew about the code of conduct, But it wasn't going to stop me from aleast taking a shot and asking lol. Matter fact, get this; I used to ask a very well known mentor of mines back in the 90's the names of break beats and Oldschool Hip Hop records and he knew them all and would tell me gladly, but he wasn't A DJ though. That was the difference; Sharing comes with the state of mind for which application(s) it applies to. For example If you want a Mcdonalds Recipe for something to improve or mimmick a product of your own and you are a burger King agent, you aren't going to obtain it by going to Mcdonalds representatives. Pepsi never shares it's secrets with Coke. This however does not stop companies and competitors from doing research and going around patents or loop holes now does it. With the advent of the world wide web, it has made it so much easier to find what your looking for, for example if you know the portions of a song, a chorus of an artist) who's in that song etc. You can simply just google it and find the record. I call this 'Digital digging" And I have mastered that since 2005 and on because many DJ's come to me for what are some of the easiest to obtain cuts even today. I sometimes think in my head "Wow hes looking for this, its pretty easy to find". Makes me feel good; Needless to say I bless them with a "Digital slab of vinyl". But Now You easily can you tube a song and we also now have the revolutionary "Shazam" App for our phones which allows us to let out smart phones hear parts of a song and Identify the album, artists and song conveniently. I've done this a bunch of times being out at events or while driving and listening to XM Radio, it gives you the song and artist right on the XM Screen but The phone will easily keep the info for me for later (as we all know) So we can go download it or even dig for it later. It is a very convenient tool in the new age I admit
Back to ROCKIN ROB, When I had asked him the name of the record, He replied "Umm Im not sure its on a compilation Vinyl with no name. I think its called the Boo Boo song" Lol My Man Rob, what these guys kind of did in a way (intentional or not) was teaching me to find this record. The unintentional part was not breaking that code of silence (whether he knew it or not) that Any Good DJ Has come to practice since the dawn Of Urban DJ/Cultural history. I toiled with the title online trying to find it on vinyl for weeks (This was way before Shazam or Before I was really as good at digital digging as I am now). I used to order Vinyl on this website called "Gemm.com" Or Ebay Which somehow eventually I got Rob through repeated asking to get me the title and I bought two copies from Gemm.com. Many of y'all are familiar with Gemm. Finally The name of the Record was "Dirty Fingered Bboys - The King Is Here" Which was an unlikely Title to me because it had no singing, chorus lines etc, so I would of never got this one. Till this day, it was probably one of the trickiest records to find. Sometimes songs trick us when looking for titles we have no clue of and is something none of us would of ever guessed especially from the sound of the song. My best suggestion is trust your ears, listen to lines, listen to grooves, listen to voices. As nifty as the digital age is you always have to use human intuition too. Way before the technological advances of the internet or any digital means, Imagine what Earlier DJ's went through, or what we all went through for that fact, up until about 10 years ago because this whole thing is still new.
Anyhow Come to find out it wasn't actually a 70's record at all but a more modern band cut that was pressed on 45 only (From what I know) and is A intended to be a Bboy record. The earliest None Record masters Like Bambaataa, Herc, Flash, Kent, Disco King Mario, Theodore etc. Were indeed trendsetting DJ's who would shop at these import stores and find all sorts of weird, rare and eclectic Vinyl that no one paid attention to; many of which were pressed from small little known labels, were available only on albums as fillers or were Imports from European countries and other places. Why do you think the early electronic music became wide spread amongst the Black community? It was Guys Like Bam Finding these Euro albums and singles, "Taste making" & then breaking the music to their crowds who would never otherwise hear such sounds. It has always been the secret of DJ's on where they get their stuff, mainly for competition purposes Because that is "HIP HOP", This code of silence was all derived as an answer to the culture of "Biting" "Mimicking" as an Agent against that. Just like In Bboying, Mcing anything. You wouldn't practice your rhymes in front of a crowd of folks and you certainly would not use your best moves until it is time to battle or kill a circle, not to mention "Teach some one your moves" that was absurd right..I feel that today all DJ's ought to keep a community of sharing records, titles and info where we do not have to compromise this hard rule at the same time. Helping each other out is the way to keep the DJ Community strong and nourishing. I guess if it is a very hard to find rare record many things are worth keeping to yourself.
This is why I personally created this site "Oldschool archives" Because I don't mind sharing. If you take a look at the songs here, I tend to shift toward rareties, or hard to finds especially out of the Digital world (Or in the digital world based on what has been easiest or best for you and your situation). Sometimes songs are easier to find on Vinyl If you straight-out purchase online and then again 9 out of ten times you can dial them up online and get them with no problem all while eating a bowl of corn flakes. I ultimately do respect the DJ Culture from the especially from the 1970's & on up though. And I fully understand the whole aesthetics of how The DJ Culture works mainly with Record collecting, guarding your hard earned collections and not letting the world know your secrets. A DJ Indeed always strives to be the first if not one of the first to premier a record on air or at an event. Many of our popular radio DJ's do it today and have always done it, this has not died only now they mainly recieving the records straight from the artists through email/blogs as opposed to waiting till pressing (Sometimes still recieving them from our early Urban stars, taking a lot longer of course due to the physical means) Now The Bloggers and a slew of websites play the record stores we once used to visit for our musical fixes. Suppliers & indie artists are able to get the music out to the radio and popular blogs quickly Over night. DJ's who premier exclusives and new music through radio and digital means now will almost always use their brand name tags on the record to say; "Look I'm DJ Leggs and I got this record first" The bigger the DJ The easier this is in most cases since they have world wide appeal. In the BX as far as the early Hip Hop generation goes, when you heard something for the first time you knew who made that record bore the airways because you were at the parties and park jams first hand. This was a bit different when Hip Hop culture started to penetrate the US, physical record pools have always been that answer for promo and mainstream material No matter the genre
It is the same as it was for the Hip Hop DJ In 1975 as it is for The DJ In 2012...Only thing is now we live in a digital age where you can find most any music online by simply googeling titles, going to you tube or asking a buddy to email you a record. Still many DJs arent so affluent with digging. Ive had big name DJ's, Pioneers come to me asking If I had certain sounds, espeically after I do my Mega Email blasts sharing music. So with that Said I err on the side of sharing (for the most part) I think it makes the world go around n any culture, If I have a record and you want it or need it you know what; "here you go brotha take it". However hard lessons in digging for yourself and learning how to go after your own sounds can never be traded in for the true DJ In you, I believe also. Furthermore Using Digital Digging online is great but we all have to go out and physically do things like actually collecting vinyl, finding out history, attending jams and enjoying live music. And the true arts of Vinyl digging should/will never die with the real DJ Community.
Peace & Blessings
Oh and by the way here is that "Dirty Fingered Bboy" Joint "The King Is Here' Listen/download below :)
Download:
http://www.hulkshare.com/pbm3p9xzla80
Backup:
http://soundcloud.com/leggs401/dirty-fingered-b-boys-the-king
