Ghettotech

DJ Assault, Off the Chain for the Y2K (excerpt)

You have heard the rumors, you have heard the talk. It's finally here, ghettotech time at Pound for Pound. That's right, the blog that gave you Booty Week (ok, whatever, Booty Month or two) has decided to get right to the heart of the matter. Right to one of booty's epicenters, Detroit. I look forward to trying to give a sense of this music over the next week or two, or at the very least, bring it back to the people's attention after a few years out of the limelight.

Anyway, I have decided to start with a look at some of the main players in the genre, starting with DJ Assault. Assault is the most famous name, the one who brought the genre its attention a few years back, and who would slap me for calling it ghettotech. His production skills and pimp persona define the genre, and he was my first exposure to the music.

Above is a brief excerpt from his mix CD, Off the Chain for the Y2K. I would normally not post up more than a few tracks from any given album, but there are like 90 tracks on this one, each song lasting no more than a minute. Therefore, I decided to put together a sample of the mix, 15 minutes or so of Off the Chain. So, give a listen to this one, a pretty typical example of the genre and Assault's oeuvre. I will delve more into all of this over the course of the week, giving some more links, history, personal thoughts and criticisms. More Assault tomorrow, as we continue to give you a look at one of the main figures in booty music.

-Speaking of booty, I absolutely loved the picture that I saw over at Dan Charnas' blog, taken in a store window in Washington Heights. I really do hope that this is a sign of the changing times (not just the mannequin times), but I highly doubt that this will become the norm at Bloomingdales any time soon. Ladies, badonkadonks are the new black, from what I hear.

-Speaking of booty (or lack thereof), I caught this flic of Christina Ricci over at DJ Benzi's site, and was taken aback. What happened to her? She looks like she has some sort of wasting disease or something. It is really sad to see woman starving themselves to look 'beautiful', fitting the unrealistic and unattractive Hollywood notion of beauty.

-Thanks to Notes from a Different Kitchen for the link, as it is much appreciated. For those coming to hear the reggaeton mp3s, I will be uploading everything again today. Different Kitchen is one of the best, an amazing source for links on music, politics, art, and everything else that is good in life.