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Billboard B | Dance Mix 31.05.10
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Your Monday Morning Mix : Dance Mix 31.05.10
Shake a leg and get into the groove.
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Billboard B. Where the hits reside.
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Mondays are known to suck y’alls. Mine don’t.
Shake a leg, and enjoy.
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Billboard B. Where the hits reside.
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**Disclaimer: minimally NSFW, depending on where you work **
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Billboard B | Dance Mix
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Folks, been a minute innit?
The first installment, 20 minutes of hot dance mixes of your favorite pop songs.
Look out every week for new installments from yours truly, Elroy Jackson aka The Dance Don.
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Gym it. Train ride it. Study it. Proper ting.
Billboard B. Where the hits reside.
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photo credits: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Random music quote of the day: David Dundas
“It’s the weekend, and I know that you’re free so pull on your jeans and come on out with me”
- Jeans on, David Dundas
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Here’s to a safe and fun-filled weekend
Happy Friday y’alls!
History of the DJ 101
So let’s chat about the most popular person in the party. No not the champagne girl, not one of the groupies and no, not the guy who buys all the drinks for every girl at the bar.
I’m talking about the DJ.
This is a little history lesson, a timeline that shows where it came from to where it is today.
- In the 1880s Emile Berline invented the gramophone, yes, the first record player.
- In the 1920s radio became the damn thing, but no hip hop and reggae just yet, jazz and swing music were the hot plates of the day. Back in those days, the DJ was both the presenter and the salesman.
- In the 40s and 50s two guys by the name of Al Bensen and Eddie O’Jay created something called RnB.
- In the 50s and 60s the youths took over and the idea of top 40 music explodes. So at this time, DJs began to replace bands at ball rooms and dances. The idea of discothèques started in wartime France. DJs could now earn a living spinning at jazz and twist clubs. Oh the swinging 60’s, good times in London and New York. The music scene now began to revolve around the DJs. At this point we get the idea of sound systems from a guy called Alex Rosner at the world trade show, with the introduction of the first mixer called the ‘Rosie’.
In Jamaica sound systems like “King Tubby” and “Sir Coxsone” were spinning Ska and Rocksteady, and reggae emerges and the dubplate was used. Jamaica distinguishes the sound of the DJs with the use of the echo and the rewind or the “pull up!!”
- In the 70s disco comes alive in NY. Then comes beat-matching, the pioneer was a guy by the name of Francis Grasso.
- In the 80s came Warehouse, also known as “house music” out of New York, from the legendary Frankie Knuckles from Chicago and Larry Levan. At this time the consensus was that “disco sucks ass”. We then travel to Detroit to meet Derrick May, Kevin Sanderson and Juan Atkins for techno. Then with the emergence of the electronic age, the drum machine became the proverbial sliced bread.
And now for the hip hop heads….
- From the ghettos of the Bronx in New York, the DJs created this music, hip hop, that has since taken the world over by storm, and driven certain cultures society to date. DJ Kool Herc, who introduced breaks, funky and percussions, went on to influence Grandmaster Flash who developed manual sampling and looping.
- Then came Grand Wizard Theodore who invented the “scratch”. A far cry from what is today, it was much less advanced, just push and pull the record once or twice, but back then, that ish sounded like oil was discovered.
- To date, hip hop is the biggest selling music in the world, thanks to the DJs of course.
So the next time you at the party, why not give the DJ a pound (for the non-Caribbean crew, this would be a friendly greeting that involves the connecting of closed fists, please do not give loose change), out of respect for those that came before him or her.
It’s Elroy, educating the masses.
Inky Decisions
So ink is on the brain and you are wondering, “What should I get? I will just search the Internet and find a tattoo that someone has that I love, and get the exact thing.”
You have no idea what it means, why they got it, or if it would even look good on you. Yes, if it would even look good on you. Some may say it’s not like clothing or jewelry.
One question, you wear it don’t you? I believe that nodding of the head up and down is the international signal for yes.
At all times, remember that tattoos are permanent. Unless of course you are a faker who uses temporary tattoos only to have it redone ever so often – shame on you. Now, back to the real inkers . Figure out why you would like to get a tattoo and do your research. If you saw a picture of a tattoo on the Internet that someone else has, strive for understanding and figure out what it means. Ask questions. Do your research. You wouldn’t like to realize two years after having inked yourself that THAT particular lightning bolt displayed on your arm gives the impression that you are racist, or that the 88 on your ankle can also stand to mean HH, Heil Hitler, or worse. A Russian friend from school once explained to me that in Russia, a huge castle on your back is understood as a mafia tattoo. If you find yourself in a jam or in jail and you don’t belong to a mob, you will find yourself deceased. The world is getting more and more connected my people, lets be smart.
So if this happens to you, you say it can be removed. Simple. No it isn’t. Removing a tattoo is more painful than putting it there! Not to mention the issue of scarring.
Again, tattoos are about research. Just like you would buy Prada from the Prada store and not from a vendor selling oranges, do the same with your tattoos. Have a look at the artist’s work, do research on the shop, and look at the surroundings. Have a consultation with the artist, figure out if you are comfortable with his/ her point of view. Take a look around.
~ Is it sanitary?
~ Are they using clean needles?
If you feel uncomfortable with the artist, find another shop and another artist. You can get a lot more out of a tattoo shop than tattoos.
Many times I have seen people frequent the tattoo shop where I get all my work done at, (yes I am always there, My name is Elroy and I’m addicted to ink). They either need a cover up because it is the wrong tattoo (a whale looks like a frog), or they have been scarred and want a cover up. Remember folks, cover-ups mean bigger tattoos; you pay twice for one tattoo, spending a lot more money all because you haven’t done your research.
Research. Research. Research. Ensure that the tattoo will look good on you. This is no joke. I mean, guys with tramp stamps, NOT COOL!!! Your complexion determines what colors you can use in your tattoo, if you can use color at all.Tattoos are not for everyone, make sure it’s for you, know what your health is like, make sure the shop is licensed and so are the artists, and ALWAYS get something you wouldn’t mind gawking at for the rest of your life.
It’s Elroy b!*ches, saying Be smart. Tattoos are a taboo lifestyle. YES you are marking your skin for life, the least you can do is make sure it looks good and you know what the hell it means. Take my stupid advice and then let’s get inky!!!
P.S.: Be aware of where you are putting your tattoo, I mean, don’t tattoo your eyelids or your wrist and you work as a bank teller, the corporate world hasn’t caught on to the lifestyle. Plus you wouldn’t want to put yourself in an unwanted confrontation with the cheque writer.
Elroy Jackson
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