dj format presents a right earful
following on from the recent steinski and madlib mixtapes antidote have allowed brightons best cut-n-paste/crate digger to let loose on his fave old school hip hop jams and make the listener swing. reviving some long lost tracks by some familiar namse and many not-so familiar, formats' hours digging in the right places means we get to hear the good stuff with very little effort and expense .. i'd say this is a perfect result, and, even if I saw some of these tracks in the bins I would not know that it was a good’un and pass it buy - then again I rarely buy 12" hip hop singles, that’s like serious hard work man, and that’s what mixtapes like these are for !
opening with a slice of the styles that format is well known for the pace is immediately dropped into the fine-n-funky abdominal and dj faze track telling the passions for artery clogging fast food products from this superb opening chapter we know that format is going to entertain us for the next hour, so you want to know what else is on offer : edan and ugly duckling mixtape exclusives, do i have to tell you what they are like ? surely you know the ducks sound .. its more of the same - no complaints then ! there there are old originals from black sheep, the pharcyde, the alkaholics, souls of mischief as well as some non-hip hop offerings from little barrie, the upsetters and gonzales at the end which proves that rock-n-soul sits well in the funked up party sounds and brings everything to a close in fine style.
this mix has a great flow, from the fun to the funky via the bassline dips and loopy swerves, mixtapes like this only add more polish to the phrase 'golden age' and hopefully will inspire people to dig out some of the lesser known albums in the racks hidden behind the glut of roc-a-fella/dre/wu related stuff that fills the normal hip hop sections.
so, thanks format for allowing us into your obsessive behaviour world (keep your nose in those crates man, that's an order !) and spreading these fine sounds. bring on the sunshine to go with this perfect soundtrack.
tracklisting:
down south - oh my
abdominal and dj faze - fast food (dj format remix)
freestyle fellowship - inner city boundaries
madkap - phuck what ya heard
souls of mischief - a name i call myself
nautilus - record making manual
lord sear - ya mouth stink
edan - humble magnificent
ugly duckling - almond rocha
brand new heavies and main source - bonafied funk
the pharcyde - for better or for worse
the wascalz - the dips
the alkaholiks - turn the party out
king tee - we got the fat joint
kurious - what's the real
black sheep - still in the ghetto
double j - operation desert storm
edan - funky rhymin'
little barrie - give me a microphone
the upsetters - popcorn
gonzales - funky frith street