Friday Flashback: Pamoja: Oooh, Baby

Here's a rare funky Northern soul groove that has recent come back on radar. It's been many years since I've heard this record and am enjoying to hear it again. Pamoja (means "together" in ki-swahili) was a group from Chicago that consisted of songwriter and arranger Keith Stevenson and his former wife, who originally released "Oooh, Baby" as a b-side in 1975 on his own Keiper Production label. Originals of this record are very hard to find because there were only 1,000 pressed for the Chicago area. However, in 2009, Lotus Land Records & Tapes reissued the 45 RPM single with one of Stevenson's other tunes called "Paradise" with a group he later formed called Jewel.

Salute To DJs: DJ Skeme Richards

Right about now we put the spotlight on a funky Philly cat by the name of DJ Skeme Richards, also known as the "Nostalgia King". I stumbled across his blog some years ago, liked what I read and have been following this guy since. He has some very interesting topics that he posts as he trotting the globe. One of his biggest passions is collecting rare 45 rpm records that he uses in his all vinyl DJ sets. For all my lovers of soul and funk, i'm sure you'll dig his "Behind The Red Door" series as I do.

DJ SKEME RICHARDS: HOT PEAS & BUTTA WEBSITE

Biz Markie: Technics SL-700 Custom Turntables

Images courtesy of Jorge Fabel Pabon for Tools of War
The image of Biz Markie and his special set of Technics turntables, custom made for 45 rpm records, is not a hoax, nor is this a Photoshopped image. These are real! Recently, he showcased these bad boys at the annual Crotona Park Jam in the Bronx just last month. I first saw pictures floating around on Facebook a couple of weeks ago and have been waiting on some actual footage before deciding to post about this. The following video is amateur footage shot by a party-goer. You can also read more about the Technics SL-700's at DJ Worx.

Gensu Dean: Wantchu ft. Olivier Daysoul

Gensu Dean certainly is no "Johnny come lately" to the music scene, having banged out many tunes on his Emu SP-1200 for ODB, Large Professor, Brand Nubian, Royal Flush and a few other Hip-Hop artists. His latest, "Wantchu" that features St. Louis vocalist Olivier Daysoul has been circulating on the net for the last couple of weeks and i'm finally getting to it to post. This one is light, upbeat in tempo and is a tale of infatuation for a young lady that keeps "I do it cause I wantchu around" in mention. I'm sure to have this one in heavy rotation and look forward to hearing this in one of my upcoming mixes. For my vinyl heads, this is the flip side of the Ramesses 45 rpm record that's available now through Mello Music Group. However, you can get the digital download of this one on them. ENJOY!