It’s been a long time since these two grown men became aware of each other whilst both comprising their versions of the ‘Lessons’. These brothers of the dusty groove were inspired to make their versions of Double Dee & Steinski’s ‘Lessons’, which would later become official parts in the series, both laying claim to part 4.
Since that point a beautiful bromance has ensued with a kind of Batman and Robin sock it to ’em with a bunch of 45’s style of play. They have given us and toured with the groundbreaking Brainfreeze which was followed up by a larger tour for Product Placement with more buzz, motorbike engines and chef hats, featuring a plethora of our favourite DJ’s who supported the 45 cause across many shores. Then came the Hard Sell, the amazing feature in the setting of the Hollywood Bowl, a place which has played home to many iconic bands and artists but never DJ’s spinning 45’s and using foot pedals to loop. The Hard Sell is a real piece of specialness which I don’t think I’m wrong in saying, wasn’t as successful as it’s predecessors shifting numbers, but as a performance, well, their biggest 
privilege pre Renegades of Rhythm. In between, and since the 3 dope projects I have just covered, there have been various solo and group projects which show and prove that they are geniuses within their field without each other but a perfect partnership when they want to bring something to the world of DJing, performing and curating which hasn’t been done before and with their unique original flavour.
In my eyes and through my ears, senses which have laid witness to the best DJ’s from all over the world, there are no other DJ’s who do things with such purpose, consistency and timing. I mean… all the DJ’s in the world and the 2 who are approached to play Afrika Bambaataa’s treasured record collection are..? Exactly.
Renegades of Rhythm :: DJ Shadow Cut Chemist Afrika Bambaataa
As I have mentioned before in a previous post, I asked Cut just how it came about and how he was feeling about the upcoming project which would see himself and Sha-Sha-Shadow not only touring with and playing with, the Master of Records records… but would give them access to his archived collection which resides as part of the Cornell University Library Hip Hop Collection, the largest collection of Hip Hop culture in the world. His answer, among other words of explanation, was a resounding ‘This is definitely the biggest thing we have ever done’.
I relate to Shadow and Chemist. Funny and sounds stupid I know but, the way Shadow runs his shit, I have followed and taken from that since 2006, I studied the way he cuts and my style has a similar shaping. The diversity of Cut Chemist, his skills, record collection and the projects which he involves himself in, are all inspirational.
I have always wrote sets and mixes down, and originally thought ‘am I nuts noting whether the record should play on the left ‘L’ or right ‘R’..? Are others penning the mixes pitch to the decimal? +1.7 or -3.3 on scraps of paper or in books?’. Well it seems that I am not the only one with this method (sure there’s more), as I found out many years after owning and watching Product Placement. If you own the DVD, look inside the cover, you’ll see some receipts in the collage of images, that is exactly how I have done it for years, and even with Serato present, I continue to do so, it’s got to be a DJ’s version of a rhyme book.
I have been privileged to feature on 2 DJ Shadow vinyl releases with Irn Mnky and am working tightly alongside Cut’s good friend and brother Marc 7 of Jurassic 5 whilst working on his new album, so the first time this show approaches the shores of England you can bet that I will be trying my hardest to find a way of taking two of my heroes digging at Vinyl Tap, as well as getting some more inside information on the creation of this no doubt stand out performance featuring records that we just can’t get a hold of.
Renegades of Rhythm sees DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist touring the U.S. and Canada as of September 1st. My homie Colourblind Bob will be attending the New York showing (the fortunate soul), and if you are looking to do something similar… go and check out the dates here.
Want to read more? Go check out the relative websites and read their point of view:
- DJ Shadow – Renegades of Rhythm
- Cut Chemist – Renegades of Rhythm
- Rolling Stone – Renegades of Rhythm
Keep in time,
S