DJ Rashad
Double Cup
Footwork/Trap/Electronic
Rating: 4.5/5
For Fans of: TNGHT, araabMUZIK, Rick Ross
Release Date: October 30th, 2013
Miley Cyrus’ performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards will likely end up being the biggest music event of the year, the event that spawned more diatribes, disses and think pieces across the world wide web than any other. Perhaps the most legitimate charge directed toward the pop star was that she was just another white performer appropriating black culture for commercial gain. The cycle continues into a new generation, so they say.
But I’m optimistic that culture’s true trailblazers will eventually get their due, and DJ Rashad is a case in point. His new album Double Cup is one of the best records of the year, an album that ideally will bring smiles to the thousands who stumble across it after slamming “twerk” into their search bar enough times.
DJ Rashad is a central figure in the footwork scene of Chicago. A predecessor of sorts to twerking, the term “footwork” refers primarily to a dance style but also to a supplementary music genre. Both are high velocity endeavors involving freestyle repetition, precision sequencing and rapid movement, often producing some intoxicating viewing. DJ Rashad (real name Rashad Harden) has been involved from the start, fully affiliated with the popular TEKLIFE crew and a couple of tracks highlighting the buzz worthy Bangs & Works compilations celebrating Chicago’s unique scene. He’s produced a few records in his time that work within footwork’s standards, a watermark he slightly maintains in Double Cup despite his employment of a variety of styles and rhythms.
This is perfectly clear within the second track, “Show U How.” Opening with a rush of chopped samples and high-hat rhythm, the track suddenly slows down, opening into a wide hushed refrain with just a few synths twinkling low into the mix. It’s a sensation akin to driving over the horizon right at twilight, just in time to see the city light up ahead, a vision probably similar to the record cover. Such dynamics can be found all across Double Cup, the key factor to the record’s accessibility.
But Double Cup is more than an invitation to glimpse inside the genre DJ Rashad calls home. Rather than lean toward outside influences, some tracks here seem more like the perfect realization of footwork’s potential.
“I Don’t Give A Fuck” is a prime example, using the power of the spoken word (sampled from Tupac Shakur’s performance in the film Juice) to imbue a fresh sense of furor into an accelerating fit of synth rhythms and bass, altogether a remarkable feat of sound. Less explosive but just as interesting is Rashad’s mastery at weaving repetitive footwork beats into pure melodies, heard on tracks like “Pass That Shit” and “Drank, Kush, Barz.” Slowed down and thickened up, there’s no mistaking the craft involved in creating these precision-based rhythms, but certainly DJ Rashad has achieved a universal excitement by pushing those already far set boundaries.
Click here to listen to the full album Double Cup on Spotify.
Suggested tracks: “I Don’t Give A Fuck”, “Only One”, “Show U How”