How many people in entertainment will be revealed as predators on children? Afrika Baambata is the Godfather of Hip-Hop and the father of Electro-Funk. To be fair he has not been convicted of molesting any children, but prosecutions are barred by the New York state statute of limitations which is hardly a ringing endorsement.
When I first heard rap in the early 80s I did not take to it – rap pronounced crap as Neil said. I had missed Rapper’s Delight, the first rap chart single in the UK, but the only exposure to rap in the UK was The Message and White Lines (Don’t Do It) by Grandmaster Flash. The only other exposure to New York City street culture was Malcolm McClaren’s Buffalo Girls and a few breakdancing tracks like Hey You, The Rocksteady Crew.
I did hear Afrika Baambata and the Soulsonic Force occasionally on David Jenson’s show in the evening, but my tastes were very rock and indie in those days.
By the late 1990s the experience of all those foreign holidays had enlightened me to dance music. I had started buying mix compilations by DJs, initially The Ministry of Sound Annual series, but then spreading to other compilations, a lot of which had Ibiza in the title (obviously marketing said a link to the isle of hedonism helped sales).
It was the era of the super club and the super DJs, like Paul Oakenfold, Judge Jules and Pete Tong. In the UK I rarely had the time or energy to go a big club. Occasionally we would go to Liquid on Colchester High Street (it went through many different names) but it was not a superclub.
My taste is for trance music and trance music means Gatecrasher. Originally from Sheffield Gatecrasher’s resident DJs included Tiesto, Paul van Dijk and Judge Jules – all big exponents of trance. Sheffield was not an option but I did buy some of their CDs. I heard this track on Disco-Tech.
The era of superclubs appears to be gone. It is possible that night clubs are dying too. Following the 2008 crash younger people took to loading up on alcohol before going out due to the cheapness in supermarkets compared to pubs or clubs. Clubs always were ridiculously priced due to some sense of exclusivity.
I always hated the dress codes there were in clubs. In the 80s it was no trainers, no jeans and no T-shirts. They were meant to be places for young people but the dress code was a hangover from when night clubs were places the wealthy went for a meal and a show. The codes eased bit by bit, though strangely much faster in London than in the country. If you are going to dance you need to be comfortable.
Maybe clubs will come back to the British High Street – it will depend on whether Covid-19 is something to live through or the new normal.
Afrika Shox
Five Miles Out 