In Memory of Disco D

Disco D, Live at Nouveau Casino Paris France 11.22.2003 (YSI link)

I'm having a hard time sleeping tonight, as it's been a long, sad day. I really didn't want to end on a sad note with Disco D, as I want to make sure that we remember him for all that he gave us.

I first came to his music years ago, with the release of his A Night At The Booty Bar, a ghettotech mix that Tommy Boy released. He was one of the public faces of the genre, a charismatic young guy with an atypical background (UMichigan Business School, under 21, etc). But, don't get it twisted, the dude made it because he was as talented as they come, a student of the music, a talented DJ and an excellent producer.

He eventually moved away from the ghettotech label, producing for some of the biggest names in hip-hop and r&b. If you want to hear how good his ear and sound was, give a listen to the original productions above. He dropped an excellent mixtape in 2005, which is a paen to booty music and bass, covering both its classics and its newest sounds emanating from Brazil and its favelas. He's continued to grind, DJing in NYC and around the world, producing great tracks, discovering new talent in Brazil and even founding a rolling paper company called .

It's hard listening to the music and his interaction with the crowd without feeling even sadder, thinking of all that we lost and could've expected in the future. This live DJ set above from November 2003, straight out of a small club in Paris called Nouveau Casino, France, is one of the best I've ever heard. I put up in the pantheon, right up there with live Diplo. It's a lesson in booty music, covering the essential sounds of Miami bass, ghettotech, ghetto funk, the masters like Two Live Crew, DJ Funk, all with a mind to killing the dancefloor. It's the best tribute I have to Disco D, a man who left us far too soon.