Under the Bridge

De La Soul - Pass The Plugs

Walked home to see the same building under the bridge but at a different angle and white balance.

Had a good conversation on the way home and was inspired to make a new DJ mix. It’s a hip-hop mix focused on styles that I really love. I went several layers deeper in terms of music selection and mixing techniques. I isolated voices over other beats which I haven’t done before. I mixed voices from 2Pac, Busta Rhymes, Pete Rock and De La Soul over some jazz hip hop from Japan. I had a creative bit of inspiration after watching clips from the film/play Fences. There was a great monologue done by Denzel Washington about confronting his father and becoming a man. It was very deep.

Like a lot do great hip-hop albums I added scenery to the songs like street noises as well as Denzel Washington’s monologue. It reminded me of The Root’s Things Fall Apart which also samples a Denzel Washington scene but this time from Mo’ Better Blues which I completely adore.

The result is this: Frontier’s Street Spirit

I took me several takes for just the first 3 minutes because I tried my hand at mixing four tracks at the same time. It was really tricky at first but like anything, practice makes perfect. As soon as I got over getting the first three minutes right, the rest came smoothly. That’s because I practiced the other parts the night before. Please have a listen, I love this kind of hip-hop, especially when it’s infused with jazz.