Thursday, July 29th

What a week. Big up to my dudes Shan and Ben for an amazing and wildly successful NY Premier screening of their film "Downtown Calling." It's better than you can imagine. Wall Street Journal seems to think so. Much props to you guys, and I'm very glad to see all your hard work pay off.

Also shout out to my big brother Rich Medina for the success of his new Wednesday weekly "Props" with DJ Akalepse at Le Poisson Rouge. Definitely a great party, and after watching the film it was comforting to see that New York still has some real quality nights. We sure do need it because it's few and far between these days. Last night the dudes had the Beat Junkie himself J. Rocc come through a rock the spot, tearing the place down in the process. He actually did one of the coolest things I've ever heard as a DJ last night that involved an Ol' Dirty Bastard acapella and a Stevie Wonder song. Really cool, but you had to have been there. And when that dude started dropping his custom reggae dubplates, I had to leave. It was too much for me.

That being the case, me and Rich are rocking out at Deity tomorrow night. You know how we do...

The Rub History Of Hip-Hop: There are 2 mixes out this week and so you should grab them while you get the chance. The first is my latest edition of The Rub's History Of Hip-Hop series, in which I went in on the year 2008. Head over to The Rub site and check it out.

History of Hip-Hop 2008 - Mixed By Cosmo Baker (Link to Download Page)

Artwork by Rhek for Sharks and Hammers

Ron Browz – “Pop Champagne remix ft. Jim Jones”
Big Boi – “Royal Flush feat. Andre 3000 & Raekwon”
Termanology – “How We Rock feat. Bun B”
Jay-Z – “Dough Boy Fresh (Jockin’ Jay-Z) feat. Kanye West (The BladeRunners Edit)”
T.I. – “Swing Ya Rag feat. Swizz Beatz”
Rick Ross – “The Boss feat. T-Pain”
J Dilla – “No One Knows”
Pete Rock – “914 feat. Styles P. & Sheek Louch”
Camp Lo – “Lumdi”
Black Milk – “The Matrix feat. Pharoahe Monch, Sean Price & DJ Premier”
Santigold – “I’m A Lady feat. Amanda Blank (Excel Edit/Diplo Remix)”
Erykah Badu – “Soldier”
Young Jeezy – “Circulate”
Skillz – “Don’t Act Like You Don’t Know feat. Freeway”
Lloyd – “Girls Around The World feat. Lil Wayne”
Mark Ronson – “Just (DJ Premier’s Justremixitmix feat. Blaq Poet & Phantom Planet)”
G-Unit – “Rider Pt. 2 feat. Young Buck”
Ludacris – “One More Drink feat. T-Pain”
Maino – “Hi Hater”
Peedi Crakk – “More Towels”
Q-Tip – “Move”
People Under The Stairs – “Party Enemy #1″
Madlib – “Slapped Up (Snap N’ Clap)”
The Grouch – “The Bay To L.A. feat. Murs”
Dam Funk – “Hood Pass Intact”
The Roots – “75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction)”
The Roots – “75 Bars” (Emynd VS Busy Signal Blend)”
AZ – “Undeniable”
Kid Sister – “Family Reunion feat. David Banner”
Robin Thick – “Magic (DJ Rob Dinero Remix)”
Q-Tip – “ManWomanBoogie feat. Amanda Diva”
Kraak & Smaak – “Squeeze Me feat. Ben Westbeech (Original Mix)”
The Cool Kids – “What It is”
Busta Rhymes – “Don’t Touch Me (Throw Da Water On ‘Em)”
Suga Free – “That’s What’s Up”
Kanye West – “Paranoid feat. Mr Hudson”
Jamie Foxx – “I Don’t Need It”
Mary J. Blige – “Just Fine (Swizz Beatz Remix feat. Lil’ Wayne)”
Flo Rida – “Elevator feat. Timbaland”
Snoop Dogg – “Sensual Seduction”
Common – “Universal Mind Control”
Pitbull – “Krazy feat. Lil’ Jon”
DJ Laz – “Move Shake Drop feat. Pitbull & Flo Rida”
John Legend – “Green Light feat. Andre 3000″
Lil Wayne – “A Milli”
Three 6 Mafia – “I Got feat. Pimp C”
Bun B – “Damn I’m Cold feat. Lil Wayne”
Scarface – “Forgot About Me feat. Lil’ Wayne & Bun B”
Z-Ro – “If That’s How You Feel feat. Lil’ Keke”
Jake One – “The Truth feat. Freeway & Brother Ali”
Big Noyd – “Things Done Changed feat. Kira”
Lil Wayne – “Got Money feat. T-Pain”
DJ Khaled – “Out Here Grindin feat. Akon, Ace Hood, Trick Daddy, Lil’ Boosie, Lil Wayne, Plies & Rick Ross”
Shawty Putt – “Dat Baby feat. Lil’ Jon & Too Short”
T.I. – “Swagga Like Us feat. Kanye West, Jay-Z & Lil Wayne”
Ganxsta Nip – “Down South”
Swizz Beatz – “Hard Knocks feat. Drag-On”
Madlib – “Rebirth Cycle (Super Soul)”
Raphael Saadiq – “Never Give You Up”

Cosmo Baker & DJ Morse Code - Live At The Do-Over: Next up is the live recording of me and DJ Morse Code from our double set from the legendary Do-Over party a few weeks back. Seriously fun, and super awesome to listen to. Definitely funky and "loose" but the #VIBES are super heavy and this whole set is really all about #LVLZ from front to back. And I've said this before and again but seriously these recorded sets DO NOT do the party justice... You really have to go there to enjoy and experience the full thing. And so with that, peep game...

The Do-Over: Week 7 Recap with downloadable sets from Cosmo Baker & DJ Morse Code (& more...)

I'm In Penthouse Magazine With DJ Premier:  I'm not sure if that shout get an "ayo" or not. No seriously, I am. I was featured in an article about DJs that love to spin vinyl and me and Primo were interviewed and quoted for it. They even got our photos up in there. Kind of crazy. The issue came out in like January or February of this year but I just bought a scanner so booyah. Anyway, here's screencaps and that shit, and links to the article I guess. Seriously though, now I can actually say "I bought it for the articles" hahah... PS, below is NSFW.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whoa now...

Hey now...

Tuesday, July 27th

Okay, so this is where I'm at: Been getting lots of work done, in and out of the house, and I'm looking forward to this weekend which is going to be dope. I'm spinning my homeboy Kenny Rodriguez's birthday party with Eli Escobar on Thursday, doing Friday at Deity with Rich Medina, and then Eli and I are off to Philly to do Mojito on the Delaware River. Definitely make sure to check the events page or, better yet, sign up for the mailing list. It's not obnoxious, I promise. But all in all things are well. And I started work on the studio this past weekend so I think that within the next couple of days it will be up and running the way I would like it for the first time in almost 10 years. So I'm very psyched about that. I was actually making a run yesterday to pick up some piping for the lab when I got the word that Melvin Bliss had died...

Breakbeat Tuesday - Rest In Peace Melvin Bliss: Melvin Bliss has died and I don't know what to say about it because I barely know anything about him. And, while it's sad when anyone passes on it's not like Mr. Bliss had a personal effect on me or on the world in the way that someone like MJ or Biggie Smalls did. Or did he?

Not too long after I first started DJing, I saved all my money and went down to Tower Records on South Street in Philly and bought the entire Ultimate Breaks & Beats collection (something every DJ should have done at one point in their career - a DJ not knowing his UBBs is like a chemist who can't recite the periodic table.) Anyway, on Volume 505 ("the purple one") there was this one song that I loved by Herb Rooney, a haunting and spooky song with dark piano and all these strange minor chords where the singer was singing about these vague ominous visions of a future world where love is replaced by synthetics. "Replacing a woman with a love machine..." So crazy, and in full listen it's a very beautiful song, musically, lyrically, well constructed, produced and mixed.

But obviously the thing that hit most hard about the song was the opening 6 seconds, which has one of the hardest drum breaks known to man. Instantly I knew it the first time I heard it. As someone who grew up on rap music in the 1980s it was unmistakable. Listening to this song "Substitution" reminded me of the first time I heard "Ego Trippin'." Do you remember the first time you heard "Ego Trippin'?" I do...

Eventually I came to realize that the Herb Rooney was just the composer & producer of the song and that it was actually performed by Melvin Bliss. Mel (born Melvin McClellan) was a Chicago native who eventually relocated to New York to work on the jazz / lounge singer circuit here. Somehow Mel linked up with Herb Rooney of The Exciters fame to release a 7" single for New York based Sunburst Records, which was the song "Reward." (As an aside, here's an incredible early 60s "music video" of Herb with The Exciters doing "Tell Him" in a zoo. Incredible find!)

So Mel recorded "Reward" and the story goes that they just needed a B-Side for the single and so Rooney came up with "Synthetic Substition." None of the dudes even knew what the song was about but they knew it had quite a groove. So they put it down, starting with a thunderous 6 second drum beat laid down by none other than Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, one of the most prolific and influential drummers of American music history. The record did well at the time but these guys couldn't look into the future and see how they were changing the world. And that's exactly what they did. A short 6 seconds and everything is different now, with the appropriation of the Substitution beat and they way that it was instrumental in becoming one of the building blocks of hip-hop and eventually modern pop-culture. I was talking about this with my man a few weeks back about how these dudes had no idea how large this was to become. They were just in their groove, but with all the right elements in place - the drums are microphoned up just right, the levels on the board are perfect, drummer on point of course, tape rolling... and before you know it run that through a filter 15-20 years later of some guys from Bronx or Connecticut or West Philly. Allow that to marinate and before you know it, you have 6 seconds of drums, or even so far as to say the individual kick drum hit, the individual snare hit, that are instantly recognizable by an entire generation of people. You don't know shit about some 45 that came out in 1973 on Sunburst by a lounge singer Mel Bliss. But you do know this record, you grew up listening to this record even if you didn't realize it. Substitution is so deeply ingrained in the collective consciousness of our generation that it's ridiculous. Now I don't even know what "Reward" sounds like but I know "Substitution" like the back of my hand. I own a lot of records but the original Sunburst 45 is something that has been elusive to me for years now. I've never gotten around to ponying up the $150-$200 for a copy. One of these days though... One of these days. It's an integral song, an integral piece to have. If the UBB's are hip-hop's periodic table, "Substition" may be its Carbon. And there's nothing like having the real thing, no substitution...

And so thank you for your contribution to the planet, Mel. You helped change the world in a wonderful way, whether you knew it or not, by just doing what you do. Rest in peace to the one and only Melvin Bliss.

EDIT: Check out this fantastic and moving write-up obituary style written by Matt Rodgers courtesy of Wax Poetics Magazine. Thanks to my dude Monk-One for sharing this on his Twitter account.

Here is the original version of "Synthetic Substitution" as well as some more goodies. My man Monk-One did an article recently on Mel Bliss for Wax Poetics and (although I haven't read it yet) I only expect the absolute best from him. You should grip Volume 42 now while you can, and in the meantime here are a few edits that Monk decided to bless us with. First is his re-edit of "Synthetic Substitution" that takes all the parts and piano chords and chops them up in a really lovely and engaging way. The second his his "Bonus beats" where he takes the "Impeach The President" drums and replays them in the "Substition" pattern (much like the way that Dilla played the "Long Red" drums in the "Big Beat" pattern on De La Soul's "Verbal Clap")

Melvin Bliss "Synthetic Substitution" (Sunburst, 1973)

Melvin Bliss "Synthetic Substitions (Monk-One Re-Edit)" (2010)

Monk-One "Impeach (Substitution Pattern)" (2010)

And last but not least, here's a great mix by my man the incomparable Matthew Africa which showcases 47 songs that sample these legendary drums. Great mix, great concept, greater dude. Peep game below and show some love.

Matthew Africa "2 Busy Saying Yeah 19 - Substituition"

1. Ultramagnetic MCs: Ego Tripping
2. Xperado: Watch Your Step feat. O.C.
3. Divine Force: Holy War
4. Ghostface Killah: Mighty Healthy
5. N.W.A.: Real Zaggin Don’t Die
6. Too Poetic: God Made Me Funky
7. Onyx: Throw Ya Gunz
8. Pharcyde: Ya Mama
9. Pete Rock & CL Smooth: For Pete’s Sake
10. Public Enemy: Don’t Believe the Hype
11. Willie D: Put the Fuckin’ Gun Away
12. MC Jr. Cas: Walk On the Wild Side [Club mix]
13. Almighty RSO: One in the Chamba feat. M.O.P.
14. Group Home: So Called Friends
15. T-Wiz: Good Thing Goin’
16. Knowledge: Put On Your X
17. Def Jef: Black to the Future RMX
18. Top Choice Clique: Peace of Mind
19. Biz Markie: Cool V’s Tribute to Scratching
20. Supreme Nyborn: Versatile Extension
21. Ultramagnetic MCs: Pluckin’ Cards
22. Freddie Foxxx: Crazy Like a Foxxx
23. Percee P & Ekim: Now They Wanna See Me
24. Robbie B & DJ Jazz: Comin’ Correct
25. AMG: Trunk of Funk
26. Zhigge: Toss It Up
27. Public Enemy: Brothers Gonna Work It Out RMX
28. Public Enemy: Brothers Gonna Work It Out
29. Von Love: This Is How It Should Be Done
30. Choice M.C.: This Is the B-Side feat. Chill Phill & MC Sergio
31. Ol Dirty Bastard: Cuttin’ Headz feat. the RZA
32. Wu-Tang Clan: Clan In Da Front
33. Naughty by Nature: Yoke the Joker
34. Ghostface Killah: The Champ
35. Funk Lab All-Stars: La Da Da
36. Digital Underground: Tie the Knot
37. Too $hort: Hoes
38. EPMD: Mr. Bozack
39. De La Soul: Stone Age
40. Coolio: I Remember feat. J-Ro & Billy Boy
41. Method Man: All I Need
42. Scarface: Murder by Reason of Insanity
43. Eazy E: Eazy Street
44. Gang Starr: Code of the Streets
45. New Style: Drop the Bomb
46. C.E.B.: Get the Point
47. Brotha Lynch Hung: 24 Deep
48. Melvin Bliss: Synthetic Substitution

Rest In Peace Al Goodman: Also yesterday we saw the passing of another of the unsung heroes of the music industry and a true soldier of soul, the great Al Goodman of The Moments and Ray Goodman & Brown fame. His musical legacy will live on for ages.

Brother To Brother "Hey, What's That You Say" (Turbo, 1975)

Monday, July 26th

Downtown, Everything's Waiting For You: The above clip is from "Downtown Calling" a brand new film chronicling the pocket of time and creativity that has pretty much directly effected every facet of pop culture in the world in the 21st Century. Like everything. So basically everyone and everything else can sit the fuck down cause this is where it's at. The film is so crazy good and that's not colored by the fact that my longtime friend Ben Velez produced it and my other friend Shan Boogie directed it. But big up to my friends. Congratulations, dudes.

The New York premier is this Wednesday at the New York International Latino Film Festival. You need to see this movie for real, and I suggest that you purchase your tickets immediately. The screening is at 9PM at the SVA Theater, Screen 1 on 23rd St. @ 9th Ave.

Here's some Youtube and WMD goodies to get you in the mood. First one is by Konk which actually was the band my homie Jonny Sender was in back in the day. Jonny and I used to DJ together at Den Of Thieves on Houston back in the early to mid 90s. Great dude, great DJ. Just don't ask him about the night he cleared our dancefloor with a Kiss record. Quickest club mass-exodus ever...

Next up is the seminal group Liquid Liquid helmed by NY's own Sal Principato. You can catch Sal still spinning around NY, most notably at subMercer (one of my favorite spots in NY, that just happens to have a new blog up.) Anyway, everyone knows "Cavern" but I wanted to post another song that doesn't get as much love as it should. I chose "Bell Head" and I got my copy of this back in the day when my mom's friend Phil dropped off a bunch of his old records to my crib cause he heard I was getting into DJing. Thanks Phil.

Liquid Liquid "Bell Head" (99 Records, 1981)

And of course history changed when "Uptown" came "Downtown" in the form of hip-hop music. So much has been waxed poetic about this over the years so I'm just going to leave you with this crazy footage of one of the greatest rap groups of all time, the almighty Cold Crush Brothers. I never saw this footage before but it's pretty ill.

Shout out to DJ Charlie Chase. I really need to step my game up and start wearing fingerless leather spike-embedded gloves when I DJ. Cats these days got NO sense of style. This is how it's done, sucker...

 

Wednesday, July 21st

So you might have wondered why I'm not updating much this month. First of all around my birthday I took a little time off. Also I've been spending time between hanging with my family, and working on a few projects. But the main reason is because the new site cosmobaker.com version 2.0 is about to launch, like probably in about 2 to 3 weeks. So I've been getting the content for the new site ready. Thanks for your loyalty and patience and I promise the new format is going to blow your minds...

Limb By Tung: Speaking of projects, here's one that we just completed. For the July 9th’s Skratch Bastid Presents: LET’S BUILD party at The Drake in Toronto, I flew in early to send a couple days practicing routines with Bastid for the show. During onr of our sessions him and I were playing the new Cam’ron & Vado heatrock “Speakin’ In Tongues” and I started chopping up different parts of the beat, flipping it inna dancehall stylee. We threw Cutty Ranks’ immortal “Limb By Limb” acapella over top of it and it and, as Bastid puts it, "instantly smoke filled the room and an airhorn sounded from the distance. Magical." We performed it live at the show to a great response. Here is a studio remix of the cut, so that you can mash up the party wherever you play it, be it desktop, poolside or club. Check it:

01 Limb By Tung (Cosmo Baker & Skratch Bastid's Harlem meets Jamaica mix) by cosmobaker

Please feel free to VOTE for this track on HYPEM, post to your Twitter, or share on your Facebook page. All the love is much appreciated for sure... and that's no lie! And for good measure, here's some great Cutty Ranks yourtube videos... Dude was always one of my favorites!

Big shout out to Skratch Bastid and Mike D for having me up, and shout to the folks at WeSC for helping make it happen (and for the nice headphones.) Also thanks as well to Andre and the Drake Hotel crew for consistently having great events in a comfortable room in a big city. That’s how it’s done. Check the photos here and below:

Rest In Peace Randy Flash: On a terrible note, our friend Rendell Miller AKA DJ Randy Flash, was shot in a senseless act of violence and succumbed to his injuries on Monday night. He leaves behind him a tremendous amount of family and friends that will miss him terribly. I said that he was too good for this world, and the world suffers for his absence. I'm trying not to think about the absolutely mind-boggling senselessness behind the act that took him away from those who loved him. It's better to think about what he contributed to this world through his kinship with people, his energy, generosity, spirt, gentle nature and love for music.

I first moved to New York in 1994 and then moved back to Philly in 1996, proving well the old saying that "One doesn't leave New York, they just fail." I really didn't know what I was doing with my life and was quite despondent about things. With no real prospects, I applied for a job at Sound Of Market on 11th and Market. Randy was the guy who "showed me the ropes" and got me situated in my new life. By the end of that first day on the job, I was truly able to say to myself "This guy is my friend." And that is the kind of person he was. He will sincerely be missed by his family, friends and the entire community of Philadelphia. Also, peace to DJ Lee Jones who has really taken upon himself so many of the responsibilites of rallying the people to commemorate our friend. Lee is a true mentch. There will be a memorial benefit for Randy next Thursday so please try to come through and spread some love. A viewing will begin at 9 a.m. Monday, July 26, at Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church, 1008 N. 48th St., where a funeral service will follow at 10.

This one is for Randy... Be well my dude, and we will see you when we get there.

Ten City "Only Time Will Tell" (EastWest, 1992)

Tuesday, July 6th

This is a quick and incomplete update as I've been running around and had one of the busiest weekends in a while. But, I try not to neglect the scheduled Breakbeat Tuesday cause I know a lot of folks check for it on a regular basis. Well, this week we're starting the first ever guest appearance of Breakbeat Tuesday - something that a lot of people have asked about doing and I have a lineup of writers in the cue. With no further hesitation, it is my honour, as an honourary Canadian, to present the first extra special guest - Skratch Bastid. The Bastid is a good homie, and for my money, one of the best DJs in the word, no question.

When he got with me to collaborate on a 4 turntable project in his Toronto home I jumped at the chance. Working on a whole bunch of of tightly scripted routines we're fin to take the 2X4 game to the next level for the one night only appearance, this Friday at The Drake in T-Dot. That also is going to be my birthday so you know it's going to be fun for me no matter what. So when he said he wanted to contribute a BBT in conjunction with the Friday show we're doing together, it made perfect sense. So here you are, the first ever guest, Breakbeat Tuesday, as told to you by Skratch Bastid...

Breakbeat Tuesday, With Special Guest Skratch Bastid: These are 3 songs that I think have perfect breakbeats. My favorite types of breakbeats are ones that leave a lot of options for a DJ to cut doubles of them. Beats that become a song themselves inside of their original composition. I think that's what makes the concept of breaking and sampling so interesting: a certain part of the record can spawn whole new songs or ideas when rearranged. Long breaks that have simple yet interesting changes provide a lot of choices for DJs that want to create something new out of an existing song. Of course, it's always a trip to hear bugged out moments of greatness on unsuspecting records, but there's more value in a break that you can enjoy for more than 5 seconds. Songs that are actually dope in their entirety and that a listener can enjoy from front to back, but which a DJ can rearrange the best parts of to make their own on-the-fly edit of the song.

Most of the songs on the Ultimate Breaks & Beats series fall into that category, and one of my favorites off of those records is "Funky Music Is The Thing" by The Dynamic Corvettes (Abet, 1975). Released on 7" in 2 parts, it's a Sly & The Family Stone-ish ode to good music, punctuated by horns, vocal harmonies, and a heavy beat. The b-side opens up into a big 30 second break half way through the side, drums pounding, fuzz guitar wailing, and the greatest cowbell player known to man doing their thing. Heavy. A lot of fun to loop. Steinski, Twin Hype & JVC Force all had fun with it, but from a production tip you gotta love how the king Mantronix freaked it and recreated it on Just-Ice's "Cold Getting Dumb". Here's an extended mp3 of Parts 1 & 2 pieced together.

Dynamic Corvettes "Funk Music Is The Thing Pts. 1 & 2" (Abet, 1975)

A similar break is Booker T & The MGs' "Grab Bag", off their album "Universal Language". The band behind the bulk of Stax's early success. Without question one of the best rhythm sections ever. This album kind of sucks, though. When I first started buying records, I skipped through this album quickly and passed over this track entirely. Not long ago, my homie Birdapres sat me down to listen to this track and I was shocked to hear this. Pretty much the saving grace of the album. This is a really dope beat to break. The guitar/bass melody lead-in into the drums lends itself to different patterns. You can hear it in the chorus of Big Daddy Kane's "Set It Off".

Booker T & The MG's "Grab Bag" (Asylum, 1977)

The last record contains one of those breaks that is satirically long. Compared to your average song, you could say that the above two breaks pretty lengthy. It's a lot to ask the band to shut up for more than a few bars to let the drums go for dolo. It's gotta stay interesting somehow. But by the time the disco era hit, it would seem that fans/dancers were a little more accustom to hearing beats and grooves on their own and in a more drawn out arrangement. What happens in the last 4:30 of The New York Community Choir's "Express Yourself" 12" takes the length of a 'break' to a whole 'nother level. The bass and singing fade out and the drums ride out solo into one of the tightest 'straight-ahead' disco breaks I've ever heard. It speaks for itself, and takes it's time while doing so. Listen.

Enjoy! Try them out. Get busy. Shouts out to Cosmo for setting off the nerdery and for the guest spot. I'm out. -Skratch Bastid

The New York Community Choir "Express Yourself" (RCA, 1977)

Thanks, Bastid for doing that for the site and thanks to everyone who took the time to read that. One of the things about the whole BBT thing on this site is emphasizing the personal connection and significance of these records, so it's nice and refreshing to get someone else's perspective. And don't forget that me and Skratch Bastid will be performing our 2X4 set at The Drake this coming Friday, which is also my birthday, so even if you have to steal a car to get there, you better be in the house.

The Rub History Of Hip-Hop Series: In the meantime me and The Rub crew have been full steam ahead with our History Of Hip-Hop series. We started chronicling our favorite rap songs for each year in hip-hop starting from 1979 and going all the way to 1999. 20 mixes in all, and we've just relaunched the series to tackle the first decade of the 21st Century. So peep us at www.itstheub.com for a new year every Thursday, and check out the archive of past years here.