Fresh LP (DJSA)

DJSA's Vinyl Collection (rip)

Was going through old pictures and found a few shots from the last time I'd had the chance to really connect with a friend of mine before he passed away. I had the chance to write about his life when I was in college in New Mexico for a short story class. On some of my cassette tapes, I have conversations of us discussing his past, his record collection, family life, living in Montana picking beets, and his life as a radio dj in the borderlands. He'd amassed a collection of records we'd share from time to time when record pools were mailing promo to college radio stations. Through our connection to the station and on his own, DJ SA would receive music straight to his crib that I'd have the chance to learn about and borrow. Through him I learned of the Dakah Hip Hop Orchestra, of Skratch Bastid, and his connection with members of the Pharcyde who were putting out these real cool pieces around the mid 2000s. I tried remembering the name, I know it was connected to something Humboldt. Around the time, I'm not sure if it was Serato, but they even hooked DJ SA up with the program. It was cool to watch DJ SA figure out this new technology I couldn't even wrap my head around. He'd have that PC breathin' heavy as he joyfully played with the turntables and recorded his sessions on CD for me to check out on the way home. One of my favorite discoveries through the big homie was the Y Society album Travel at Your Own Pace. He let me borrow it, and I remember thinking man, maybe I could hold this one!  

I think it was a few months before he passed away that he gave me a call and told me he'd finally had the chance to retrieve his collection of records from El Paso. Records he was separated from for years. Just a dope archive of his past life, prior to the trauma of a car accident that left him with the need to get around in a wheel chair. We talked about that too, a story I've played back in my imagination like a movie you wish never happened, over and over again. When I arrived to his crib, I remember his old collection of records were all over the place. All around the house, just boxes and boxes of lps, some with damage, but just all kinds of work. Bro wasn't doing too well and wasn't able to get around to show me what he had, so I took a moment to look through the boxes of recs. We confided in each other that we'd have time to go through it together when he got better. I took a moment to pull a few pieces to the side and take pictures. I was happy that my brother had finally had the chance to get his stash back and hopeful for the day we could hang out and listen to him pick through his story of recs. It pained me to learn time wouldn't be on our side. I'll always think about his record collection and what it meant to him. Especially what it meant to share with those he was close with. 

Thinking about brother...always, Still Alive, Spanish Aztec.

Hope I get time to share more notes, songs and audios I got tucked away in the lab that are connected to the big homie. May DJSA's memory be available to Hip Hop through those that remember him. Til' the next...

Flossin for Smiles Hip Hop & Dentistry

Flossin for Smiles Volume 2
((Cinema)) by Jav the Dentist feat. El Da Sensei,
John Robinson & Mandella Eskia
-listen- @ Southern Vangard Episode 476
Start at 53:15

I've had a track on my mind all summer for a minute now thanks to the brothers (Meeks & Jon Doe) over at Southern Vangard. At the start of the summer I pressed play on Soundcloud as I normally do to get a day started and as usual Jon Doe was just...one exclusive after another, like that kid from Fresh, he be sayin', Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! And yeah, there was one track that I tried to track down since I got lost in how dope that Milano Constantine sounded and the Shabaam Sahdeeq spin, but after the smoke cleared, I kept wondering, what was that track? I know I'd heard Sci, but I just got lost in a hurricane of great songs after that I was just trying to make a mental note of. 

I remember a while back Doe mentioned following Southern Vangard on a streaming playlist to source some of the tracks they play, but I was never able to locate it. I started my own #WeAretheGard playlist where I add what's available to reference later for the full project or to simply support. And man, after listening to a few more Southern Vangard sessions, I couldn't get this one track out of my head still that I'd mentioned before. At this point, I was pressin' play on Sahdeeq's album Outside the Lines. Southern Vangard's like an avalanche of new music so by the time you get a few more shows in one can easily lose track of when this track or that track caught a spin.

Summer's just about over, and I still, can't get this song out of my head. It takes a while cause of work to get around to revisiting, posting or finding stuff and it would take me a lil' more time to revisit the playlist. I lucked out as I dropped the player on one of the SV Soundcloud links where I was last seen and it landed right where I needed it to. Right between where I'd first heard it, after ((How it All Started)) by Milano Constantine and Morockko Plus and before ((Windows Down)) by Shabaam Sahdeeq & ES-K, ILL Dose, and Slim Chance. The track is called ((Cinema)) by Jav the Dentist, El Da Sensei, John Robinson (Sci!) and Mandella Eskia. Appreciate you on the playlist documentation Meeks, otherwise how would we ever know?

As I'm searching for album cover info and the like, I end up learning something even cooler about this particular track. It's part of a community initiative with Dr. Javier Lopez aka Jav the Dentist, a dentist out the Bay and Hip Hop music producer. He's the founder of Flossin for Smiles, a community dental non-profit that put out a music project (see cover above designed by Eligh of the Living Legends crew, follow @therealeligh) titled Flossin for Smiles Volume 2. As featured on the track I've had on my mind all summer, it includes forreal eMCee underground icons and artists from across the country. On their IG it states, "Every stream, share, ticket and ounce of support helps continue providing free dental care and education for underserved kids". The story is deep and here are the links to get on track with the movement, to support and listen. At it's best, this is where Hip Hop is at work. Respect to all those involved. The links above will open where I was first introduced to it listening to Southern Vangard. I set the link to open right on the spot where you'll get to listen to ((Cinema)) as spun in the moment by the world famous DJ Jon Doe. It's how I've returned to some of my favorite exclusive tracks as spun by Doe. One I remember and need to track down is Blame One's ((Path of the Kings)). It was another one of those nights cruisin' to the Gard that you just don't forget. What an archive. 

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Peace to Jav the Dentist!