Wow. Well, it’s been way too long since I’ve contributed anything to this site or to That’s What’s Up.
There’s good reason for that, but it’s not something I plan on making a habit of. The good news is that I come back bearing gifts. I’ve taken a bit of time away from focusing on mixes and compilations. Instead, I’ve invested some time in honing my productions skills. It started when I was approached by the man behind GetAtMeWeezy.com
Sean Riley’s got a great thing going over at G@MW, and you should check out the write up on it here and then fan them on Facebook. I wound up throwing together 2 Lil’ Wayne mash-ups for the project, and realized two things.
So I’m attaching a Tumblr blog to the site very soon (Update: it’s here).
The domain name is already set, the Tumblr account is set up, and A-Record change is filed with my registrar. Woohoo!
So what does that mean? Tumbleblogging (or Microblogging) is kind of mash between WordPress, Twitter, and Facebook. While I currently use and like all of those services, none of them meet all of my sharing and blabbering needs at once. Tumblr allows for very quick, very easy, and very accessable posting of all sorts of things, but it does media especially well. And it also happens to play very nice with Twitter, Facebook, and WordPress.
If you want to see Tumblr in action check out my brother’s Tumblr @ ddp.kethcart.com He turned me onto Tumblr in the first place, so….Thanks, bro.
My justification for doing this is that I have a lot of stuff that I’d like to share with friends, family, and readers that doesn’t justify a full post on the main blog, or really fit in with the content and direction that I envision my main site having. So in my mind, the Tumblr site is mainly going to serve as an “et cetera” collection of movies, links, music, articles, etc…that don’t quite make “front page” material on DjFREQ.com, but that I feel should be retained in a place where I can share them with the other networks of people mentioned above.
The name came almost as a joke at first, but then instantly stuck. It comes from a recorded interview with Kimbo Slice, a now world famous MMA fighter. At the time, he was just entering into the world of professional mixed martial arts. At the end of one of his interviews, Mr. Slice very promptly and matter-of-factly ends his statement with “…that’s what’s up”.
Yep. That’s What’s Up. I like it.
Simple and concise, if not brutish and terse.
You can catch the delivery of this wonderful phrase here:
I’m motivated as hell. It’s been over 6 months since I sat down a really pounded out an honest mix. I’ve been resting on the laurels of my work from this past summer.
I’m very happy with that mix. It’s a solid, fun, and appealing mix. It’s designed to be liked by a lot of people. I’m confident that it is. But I have a confession:
I’ve been lazy.
There, I said it. No more resting. No more coasting. No more hoping people like material that was cool 6 months ago.
You all deserve better.
So far…making appearances on the upcoming mix: MGMT by way of Sebastian Ingrosso, Fatboy Slim by way of Mixin Marc, Miami and Atlanta by way of Eric Prydz, Will.I.Am and Akon by way of David Guetta (pronounced Get-uh, not Gwet-uh…FYI), and all sorts of hand-clappin’, foot-poundin’, singin’-along-in-your-car goodness.
It’s in the works. And it’s strapped to missile called motivation.
And it’s going to be posted here for you. To download. For free.
In my eyes, BT is mainly responsible for two things:
1. One of the most innovative and inspiring electronica albums of all time, This Binary Universe
2. One of the best nights of my life, courtesy of a DJ set @ Soundbar in Chicago a year and a half ago. When his set opened with the acapella from Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Goin’ On”, I knew I was in for a very special night.
It appears he’ll be adding to that list of accomplishments with what promises to be another genre-busting album. Read about it here on Nettwerk’s blog:
There are also multiple collaborators on These Hopeful Machines, like Rob Dickinson vocals on “Always” and “The Unbreakable,” Jes, (formerly of Motorcyle) on “Every Other Way” and “The Light In Things,” and The Police’s Stewart Copeland who lends a drum breakdown to “Every Other Way.”
If you’ve heard “As The Rush Comes” by Motorcycle, then you know that having Jes as a collaborator on this album is reason enough to be giddy.
