215HIPHOP.COM ~ Philly Hip Hop » Vinyl Archaeology By DJ Phillee Blunt (ill!)

October 2008
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Vinyl Archaeology By DJ Phillee Blunt (ill!)

Posted by TZR in Philly Freelance

Cut Chemist

Vinyl Archaeology – Diggin’ in Philly
Words by DJ Phillee Blunt
Featuring commentaries by DJ Cut Chemist and Blaak the 9th Man

ar.chae.o.lo.gy or ar.che.o.lo.gy (n): the scientific study of ancient cultures through the examination of their material remains, for example, buildings, graves, tools, and other artifacts usually dug up from the ground .Encarta World English Dictionary

Perhaps the most significant word in this definition is “culture”, because it’s one thing to discover material remains…and yet another to understand the forces that created it. But why should anyone care about long-lost cultures and their practices? What is the purpose of revisiting the achievements of those that have come before us? The answer is simple: inspiration. And it is “inspiration” that separates us from all else. We can all perform the basic functions of survival just like any other animal: eating, sleeping, social interaction etc. But we are always seeking more than just the bare minimum. We dig deep within ourselves, into the achievements of our contemporaries, or into the ground to figure out what has inspired our past, but we’re always digging to satisfy that need.

For those of us that consider ourselves part of the Hip Hop culture, the term digging is not an unfamiliar one. In fact, it alludes to the foundation of Hip Hop: the DJ. During the mid ’70’s, the DJ’s were always on a constant search to find music that would inspire them and their audience equally. Without realizing it, these DJ’s were indeed laying the groundwork for a brand new culture by re-discovering the music of the past, no matter how recently it was recorded.

These “musical archaeologists” would dig through all genres of music such as funk, soul, rock, jazz and obscure jazz just to name a few. No matter what type of music they found, it had to inspire them in some way; enough for them to take the risk of playing those records to a packed house of eager music lovers/dancers without losing their attention. Mixing all of these different types of sounds together to create something new is, in a nutshell, what Hip Hop is all about. It is a culture that constantly redefines itself by drawing inspiration from anywhere and everywhere.Upon further research into the beginnings of Hip Hop, New York City (specifically the South Bronx) is credited with being the birthplace of it all. But being that it was such a powerful and creative urban experience, it is no wonder why the culture spread like wildfire to all the other major metropolitan areas in America including Chicago, L.A., San Francisco, Atlanta, Washington D.C. and its closest neighbor Philadelphia, which has produced some of the world’s most significant DJ’s. We’re talkin’ A-List cats such as DJ Cash Money, Jazzy Jeff, King Britt, Josh Wink, Vikter Duplaix and Rich Medina. Dig a little deeper, and you’ll find that Philly’s local DJ scene has always carried a reputation for immense talent, skill and overall mastery of the DJ craft.

Blaak the 9th Man, or “Blaak” as he is commonly called, is 1/3 of the West Philly super-group known as “84″. He’s the group’s DJ and handles a large portion of their musical production. He is also a local legend/guru in the realm of diggin’ for records, especially in the Philadelphia area. Not only does his vast knowledge of music aid in his music production, but in his skills as a DJ as well. He was born and raised in West Philly during the early ’70’s and still remembers everything that inspired him since day one.

Blaak The 9th Man

“As a kid I didn’t want toys, I spent most of my time in record shops with my father..at 5 years old I could run down John Coltrane’s whole discography..if I got toys that was cool, but I was more focused on having my own record collection as big and incredible as my father’s. He worked for one of the biggest record distributors in Philly at the time called Universal, which was on Broad St. He was also one of the illest DJ’s, and could rock a party with a component system and a tape deck. This was the early 70’s, he didn’t have belt drives (turntables) or nothin’…my father was my Kool Herc, him and my Uncle William. They were both just lovers of music, before anything and I dig for records the same way, I buy everything.”

When asked about the unsung heroes of the Philly DJ scene that really made an impact on him when he was coming up, he recalls: “..the first DJ that I ever saw scratch records was DJ Cubby Cub Dough Love..in ‘79. I had never seen anyone scratch records before…his timing was all that, and his scratching was so clean..he was cuttin’ up “Long Red” by Mountain…and he was rockin’ the party at the same time, but he was just a local cat in my neighborhood. And there was also cats like DJ Groove (tha most), Skeme Richards, DJ Too Tuff from the Tuff Crew, Master Vick, Exotic Don, DJ Lightening Rich, Disco Rat, Dr. Shock and the Pioneers of Funk, Astro Funk, Boogie Disco, DJ Pork, DJ Bones, Baby DST, Ryan Rockwell, K.D. who was Steady B’s DJ, Randy Flash…there was so many cats that unfortunately no one talks about anymore.”

And with a city full of DJ’s and music lovers alike, it’s a no-brainer to figure out that Philly was a great place to dig for records. DJ Cut Chemist, one of the two DJ’s/producers from the California-based Hip Hop group Jurassic 5 (the other being DJ Numark), remembers Philly in a special way himself:

“The first digging trip I ever took was in Philly, in 1986. I was 13 years old. I found myself at Funk-O-Mart, when it was on Market Street for over six hours. And the second time I went diggin’ in Philly, Tat Money told me where all the hot ish was.”

Blaak concurs: “..when Funk-O-Mart was official and you had to go down the steps…it was, I think right around 11th and Market St…it was like how “Downstairs Records” was to New York..Funk-O-Mart was Philly’s “Downstairs Records”..and this dude Chino that worked there was the ultimate as far as getting’ those breaks…there was a break section but they were all original copies…Funk-O-Mart was THE beat store, THE break store..when it was really poppin’ Tat Money used to work there…and up the street was another cat that was sick with the breaks named Lance, and he worked at Sound of Market…matter fact, I lent him a stack of breaks, and I’m talkin’ very..rare…pieces… that I haven’t seen since I was like 15…so Lance if you’re reading this…I still got love for you but I want my f*&%in’ records back! And of course I can’t forget about Armand’s Records, when it was just a room directly across the street from city hall. My man DJ Todd One used to work there, and the records they had in there were incredible. And it didn’t hurt that my dad worked at the distributor, which carried everything…so I did a lot of diggin’ there too. Then there was Plastic Fantastic, which used to be on Chestnut St., but then it got moved to Ardmore. 3rd St Jazz was a real hot spot..as I got older there was Footwork at 3rd and Market…and now Cue Records at 4th n South..there was so many places…but the best spots are peoples houses and in the trash, seriously. Zounds was another spot too, before they closed down..they were at like 13th n Chestnut. And there’s always Val’s (Val Shively’s out in Upper Darby) but you had to have dough..and they don’t really let you dig in there, you have to know what titles you want and they’ll go get it for you..but I’ve definitely spent some money in there too.”

Knowing where the spots are is only half the battle. Once you’re in the store, how do you decide to pick up a particular record and leave the others in the bin? Among thousands of titles, and all different types of music, how do you find what you’re after? Each collector has their own instincts and guidelines to help them sort through it all. Blaak explains:

“..sometimes you gotta take a chance..anything with white dudes that have afros on the cover GOT to be funky..but there’s always that chance that it’s not…but of course, as my homie Fatnice said, there’s no such thing as something that can’t be used, at least from a production standpoint. And I carry three or four books with a want-list in them, that I use when I’m out diggin’..”

Cut Chemist now uses a different approach: “The year and the label. I stopped relying on covers. Certain years produced good music, and labels that are private/local are interesting to me.”

Despite their opposing views on how to find that special piece, they’re both in accordance on what has changed about the search since the early days. Cut Chemist feels that “the availability has changed. It’s diminished quite a bit because of the internet, and stores closing down etc.” And Blaak states that “the record shows (just like baseball card/comic book shows) are ridiculous now, I don’t even go anymore. Everyone is there, looking for the same record that say Kanye West just sampled. Before he used it you could find that particular record for a dollar or two. Now the dealers know you’re looking for it and they jack up the price to 20, 30 even 50 dollars..for a record that’s only worth 2 or 3. And it’s not fun anymore because a lot of dealers hold things for certain buyers, but they have no idea what I might want to buy so it makes no sense.” According to Cut Chemist, besides the language “the major difference overseas is that I don’t recognize any records. There are so many weird covers that look great, but are terrible [musically]”.

“Right now I consider the whole diggin’ thing kinda trendy” says Blaak. “..because cats aren’t really diggin’, it’s just the “in-thing” to do. They don’t know the rules of diggin’, and how to do it. Like for example..There’s no talkin’! Cats is givin’ up titles and names…that’s not cool! Put in that work! Go in there clean and come out smellin’ like you just ran 15 games of roughhouse…get dirty. But I guarantee you’ll come out with a win. These younger cats just don’t know, and they don’t want to be mentored in any kind of way. No one is really diggin/ anymore.”

To quote Mr. Len (Smacks Records, Roosevelt Franklin, Company Flow): “What’s the point of diggin’ for records that someone else has already used? Look for something that no one has used yet and create something new with it.” Which brings us back to the idea of diggin’ for that inspiration. Whether it’s finding music that will make people dance, or discovering a new style of music that you didn’t even know about that can give rise to your own creative spirit; it’s all about the search. Cut Chemist put out his first solo effort last year (2006) and said “I wanted this album to reflect my musical tastes over the years. There are some songs that made me stray away from what I like to listen to…to challenge myself. I find myself now buying more punk, indie rock, etc..”

Diggin’ is a way of life for so many people, regardless of what kind of artist you are: visual, musical or whatever. If he weren’t a DJ/Producer for a living, Cut Chemist would be creating “visual arts for films, or a graphic designer”. But regardless, it would be some sort of creative outlet, requiring the constant search for inspiration. Inspiration is what dreams are made of. Blaak remembers “growing up, I wanted to be like three people..Shaft, my pop, and Cubby Cub”.