Scattermish has told me to help build the Melbourne hype. Here is part one.
The once infamous Scottie B, Unruly CEO and Baltimore Club DON, is coming to Melbourne.
I am a big fan of Baltimore Club music, and you can hear me pound some out Saturday Nights at Revolvers “THE LATE SHOW” with Dj Ransom and crew. Ransom worded me up on this years ago, like he does with heaps of stuff, so lets say it is because of him Scottie is heading our way.
I sent Scottie a list of 16 questions about Baltimore Club music and his involvment, as well as a request to post one of his tracks. He was quick in response, and gave me permission to put up some of his heat.
QUESTIONS: SCOTTIE B “FROM BALTIMORE WITH LOVE”
1. IS BALTIMORE CLUB A FORM OF “BREAK BEAT” MUSIC?
No. it has been around before breakbeat. Actually has been around before rave and techno hit the u.s.
2. THE ‘TOP END LOOPS” ARE VERY SIMILAR SAMPLES, CAN YOU GIVE UP THE NAMES OF THE MOST COMMONLY USED BREAKS USED FOR MAKING THE BALTIMORE SOUND?
Sure, u got Lyn Collins-think and Gaz-Sing Sing. they r the two common ones. and there are countless variations on each one.
3. WHAT DOES “UP THE HILL” MEAN WHEN WE HEAR ROD LEE SCREAMING IT?
Actually,rod lee just recently said it.u need to give that credit to dj frie or lil j.they r the two that said it originally and have been sampled a lot.up the hill means harford rd.,which is in east baltimore,and down the hill means a neighborhood called cherry hill,which is in south baltimore.but actually,people now use those sayings with no specific intent
4. WHEN I WAS IN AMERICA I SAW POLICE REPORTS FROM BALTIMORE WITH THIS ROUGH BROAD ALMOST KILLING THIS SKINNY THUG IN A DRUG DEAL TURNED SOUR? IS BALTIMORE AS AGGRESSIVE AS IT PORTRAYED ON TV?
Yes,it can be.and right now it is going thru a surge in violent crime,as if it wasnt high enough already!
5. IS CLUB MUSIC AN OUTLET FOR THE TOUGH NATURE OF BALTIMORE?
At the beginning ,it specifically was, as we labeled some songs “fighting songs”. but now ,it has gotten away from some stuff specifically having words about one area fighting another.
6. WHAT YEAR WAS YOUR FIRST PIECE OF PRODUCTION?
1991. Dj Scottie B and the Equalizer-”i got the rhythm”
7. YOU RUN THE LABEL “UNRULY RECORDS”, WHO HAS BEEN THE LABELS BIGGEST SELLING ARTIST?
dj class is one,k swift is one,i (scottie b) have been one.
8. WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRESTIGIOUS REMIX TO DATE?
i think the scottie b and king tutt “u can call me al” or “almighty unruly simon joint”. same song, depends on the label, they name it different.
9. FOR A SOUND THAT IS OVER 20 YEARS OLD, WHO WAS FINALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR TAKING THE BALTIMORE SOUND OUT OF BALTIMORE CLUBS AND INTO THE WORLD?
there r a lot of answers. obviously, hollertronix – diplo and low budget started playing this stuff for the cool hipster audience. and i give us baltimoreans credit too for sticking with it and keeping it going so that it still got to them and for it being hot that their audiences started requesting it.and b4 hllertronix,the rave crowd had a legendary party in baltimore called fever that people from all around used to go to.it was not attended by the crowd that went to our parties, obviously. dj feelgood was and is a big time dj from baltimore that is world famous in that scene and in the mid 90..s he actually was the first dj that took baltimore club and played it at raves in baltimore and all over the world. and a lot of those people are in that hipster scene today.
10. WHO IS THE NEXT GENERATION OF BALTIMORE ARTISTS?
say wut,king tutt.but the older crew still rules!
11. K SWIFT IS ONE ARTIST I SEE WORKING HARD IN THE BALTIMORE CLUB SOUND AS WELL. WHAT IS YOUR INVOLVEMENT WITH ARTISTS OUTSIDE OF THE UNRULY STABLE?
she actually releases her stuff on unruly,but its just mixed cd’s.she actually isnt an artist.she doesnt produce music.she is a dj.but she is the radio voice of baltimore club and a great ambassador for the sound as a dj.as far as artist other then unruly artist,at one point or another,they all have come through us and we have done business together.its all love.
12. BALTIMORE STYLE PRODUCTION AND FUSIONS SUCH AS LOW B OR CURTIS VODKA (NON BALTIMORE NATIVES). IS THIS GOOD PROGRESS FOR THE “BALTIMORE SOUND”?
excellent,because it says that its now legitimate.and would u know those guys if it wasnt for baltimore club?no,and that in itself is saying something,because they are very good at what they do and are sucessful.some times people criticize that if people aint from baltimore ,then they are not a real baltimore producers.thats garbage!is t.i.,ice cube,common,or scarface not rappers because they arent from the south bronx in new york?case closed!
13. PHARRELL WILLIAMS (NEPTUNES) SAYS HE IS GOING TO JUMP ON THE BAND WAGON. WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE TO HIM?
he been said that 2 years ago,and told me that about five years ago,way before all this hype.and right after he told me that he tried it with the justin timberlake “let me love u”remember the hard drums and repetative sounds?and recently the give it up joint.they r ok,but honestly they sound like someone trying to emulate club.no disrespect,i think he’s great.if he wants to thats great.i think he should do what he does best,not what other people have struggled for almost 20 years to do and for him to pick it up when other stuff has gotten boring to him.what he should do if he wants to be involved is to co-produce with someone like me.now that would be hot!anythng else,even with legitimate intentions,may be looked at as being an opportunist by the bloggers,and we already had one of those!
14. WE HEAR THAT YOUR NEXT MIX CD “FROM BALTIMORE WITH LOVE” IS A BIT OF A MIX UP THAT REFERENCES ACTS FROM ALL OVER THE GLOBE. IS A SCOTTIE B DJ SET STRICTLY “BALTIMORE” THESE DAYS?
not at all.i like to play a lot of stuff that is touched or touched our sound.i play old electro and chicago house,i play that switch,sinden and herve stuff.and they will tell u that their biggest influence is baltimore club.and sinden is a GREAT friend of mine!one of the nicest and most genuine people out there!and i know people are gonna say some of those people aint from baltimore,but the point is that the SOUND is,and look how it influenced the WORLD.
15. WE HAVE SEEN THE WU TANG DANCE COMMONLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE BALTIMORE CLUB SOUND. IS THIS A BALTIMORE THING, OR IS THERE A DANCE MORE NATIVE TO BALTIMORE?
it is ,but only in philadelphia.they love baltimore club there,but in baltimore,they dont even know what “wu-tanging“is.they used to have a “slide to the left”joint,based on a blaqstarr song,but right now there isnt one.
16. IS THIS THE PEAK FOR BALTIMORE CLUB MUSIC?
not at all.actually it can go further,but i like where it is right now,because it will last longer.for
real ,for real-at this level,it would never go away because its just low enough to be a dj tool and just high enough to get recognized everywhere.lets keep it that way.and everybody can contribute,so everyone feels involved.
THANX FOR THE OPPORTUNITY WITH THIS INTERVIEW ,PAZ!
