July 24–31, 1997
disc quicks|hip-hop
Deep Concentration: The Future of Experimental Hip-Hop
Various Artists (OM)
The two-CD set Deep Concentration tackles the history of the hip-hop DJ, packing 12 largely loop-a-rific tracks by upcoming and famous artists on disc one and a dope-ass CD-ROM mixing station on the second.
The music disc kicks off with a six-minute spiel by LA's Cut Chemist, "Lesson 6—The Lecture," which offers a step by step lesson on old-school mixology. Beginning with samples from what appears to be an actual chemistry class, the track evolves into more mix-related discussions, like the cons of simultaneously sampling Zeppelin and Sinatra.
The big name here is Prince Paul. Though more commonly known as the producer for De La Soul and Stetsasonic, the Prince conducts an ego-stroking, Native Tongues-esque scratching seminar, replete with samples of the many MCs who've extolled his virtues on wax.
Radar, a 19-year-old San Francisco spinner, offers the Buddhist-inspired, trance-heavy "Radar Frees Tibet" and The X-Men give the old school a postmodern scratching on "A Turntable Experience."
But the real treat here is the mixing station on disc two. With a selection of eight loops and 240 samples taken mostly from the music disc, any whitebread can wick-wick-wack off with a little self-indulgent, digitized compu-mixing of their own.
