Friday, October 3rd followers gathered in the church of Hip-Hop for a service presided over by Ministers Shadow and Cut Chemist. This week’s sermon was in praise of the prophet Afrika Bambaataa, who in the days of the 19 hundred and 70s helped bring peace to the gang violence of the South Bronx with the divine power of what would later be called “Hip-Hop” and “DJ” culture. Amen.
The Hollywood Palladium concert venue was truly a place of worship this past Friday when the Renegades of Rhythm tour hit the LA scene, a home coming for co-headliner Cut Chemist. In what has been titled a tribute to Afrika Bambaataa, one of the 3 credited Godfathers of Hip-Hop, could have also been viewed as a battle cry for vinyl, loudly proclaiming “records are not dead” in a year that has seen sales of the medium up 38% and growing. Shadow and Chemist, both avid crate diggers (a DJ practice credited to Bam) stood side-by-side for 2 full hours rocking 6 turntables, 2 drum machines and several crates of vinyl. This wasn’t just any vinyl, it was carefully picked 12” records mined directly from the personal collection Bambaataa played out of in those legendary Bronx River Projects parties, The Roxy and around the world 3 decades ago. What made Bambaataa legendary was his ability to find the Funk in all music from every corner of the globe and effectively blend them together in a way that kept the party going. Originality and style used to be a coveted skill in the trade, a feet that is almost impossible today in the age of Shazam and free downloads.
“It’s a seamless reintroduction into bambaata’s crates”
– DJ Nu-mark (Jurassic 5)
“It was great to take a step back from all the turnt up club music and watch Shadow and Cut Chemist really paint the picture of where Hip-Hop and DJ culture came from. With Afrika Bambaataa’s records no less, They were DJing with artifacts.”
– DJ Jayceeoh
The night was broken into 3 sets: the Funky classics, rare selections and B-Boy breaks. The duo seamlessly created live mash-ups using the original pressings of James Brown, Sly Stone, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Kraftwork and a soul shaking array of Salsa, African percussion, Classic Rock and of coarse Funk breaks. Orchestrated to perfection, there was no shortage of turntable tricks performed completely in the pocket as to not throw off our moving feet. Trust me, young or old, whether they understood what the DJs were technically doing or not, they were all moving. Without fail, B-Boys formed circles across the venue completing the visual time travel to the birth of the culture. The only thing that could have heightened the experience is if we were outside under the night sky surrounded by the concrete giants of NYC.
“Certain songs [the younger crowd] know. They might not get it but it’s a good education for them.”
– DJ Rhettmatic (Beat Junkies)
The tour is only beginning its West Coast leg and will be traveling the Pacific Coast and Canada throughout October and November. Check out LiveNation.com for show dates and tickets.
Words: Dominic Painter
Photos: Jeanna Ross