25/11/2022
https://www.mixcloud.com/jamesmonkman/dj-heavy-stylus-freak-the-funk-2022/
Heavy Stylus - Freak The Funk
A 40 Minute Journey Through Rock 'n' Roll Soul, Fonky Breaks and Heavyweight Hip Hop.
'Freak the Funk' is an extended re-recording of the interval mix I played at 2022's Hatherleigh Carnival between the two sets played by local indie rockers 'The Wreckords'. DJing after a band is always a challenge, especially if you're a hip hop DJ facing a crowd that have been whipped up into a frenzy by a band playing uptempo classic indie covers for the past hour. Unprepared and desperately flicking through my box looking for an accessible launch record, I pulled out Jimi Hendrix's 'Crosstown Traffic' and its sample borrowing UK cousin 'I'm Ready', before cutting into the Nas classic 'Hip Hop is Dead' and War's 'Me and Baby Brother'. From that point I was on a roll - working through a stack of raw 60s r&b and funk before breaking back into hip hop with 45 Live's release of the previously lost Outlaw Posse cut 'Living in Hackney', purely selected because after a few pints 'Hackney' sounds not too dissimilar to 'Hath'leigh', twisting the track into an unintentional rural anthem!
I've no doubt that the majority of the dancers would have preferred a straight-up indie rock set, but by the time I dropped Daytoner's Wiseguys-apeing 'Ooh Lalo' they were well and truly won over. And then the band came on again and smashed it out of the park.
Anyway, I'd been working on the bar all evening prior to my set and was a few pints in myself, so I couldn't recall exactly what else I played during the intermission, but this mix pretty much covers what I do remember. Although I'm pretty sure I dropped Back by Dope Demand, White Lines and Super Fly at some point, which didn't make it into this version. Recorded straight from the mixer in a single take for that authentic live vibe, raw and uncut, this is rock 'n' roll soul!
'Freak the Funk' is an extended re-recording of the interval mix I played at 2022's Hatherleigh Carnival between the two sets played by local indie rockers 'The Wreckords'. DJing after a band is always a challenge, especially if you're a hip hop DJ facing a crowd that have been whipped up into a fre...