A few months ago, when this whole crazy blog first started, I made a post about go-go, DC’s club music of choice. I was about to move away from the Washington Metropolitan Area, and I guess I was feeling a little sentimental about that subgenre of hip-hop unique to DC.

OK, so technically unique means “existing as the only one or as the sole example; single; solitary in type or characteristics,” and for a while I thought that was the right word to use for DC go-go. After coming down here to Georgia, I found out that Atlanta’s got its own burgeoning go-go scene.

XO Band - I Love It
First, we’ve got the XO Band, whose name shows they’re willing to keep in the go-go tradition of groups such as the Junkyard Band, Backyard Band, Total Control Band, and Take Over Band. With this song, they pull another classic go-go move and take somebody else’s track (Young Jeezy’s “I Love It,” in this case) and make it their own. Sure, a song about dealing drugs is, ya know, cool and all, but why not just rap about how much you like go-go and namecheck DC? Cuz you know I love that.

Gucci Mane - My Chain (Mr. Singh’s Go-Go Remix)
It shouldn’t be any surprise that go-go bands play covers like this, since taking something else and making it your own is a big part of what hip-hop’s all about. Atlanta DJ Mr. Singh finds another way to do this, making go-go remixes of some of his favorite Dirty South tracks. A go-go remix of a song by Atlanta native Gucci Mane struck me as a good way of summing this whole thing up.

Posted by Mat on 04 Sep 2007 at 01:25 pm

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I’m not much for introductions, so I think I’ll just go right into it. Watch this spot for more on music, tv, movies, religion, cults, and other fringe lunacy.

Everybody’s been comparing Kindercore to a zombie risen from the dead, and I can run with that. Remember Weekend at Bernie’s? Me neither, but I think it’s about a dead guy that gets resurrected by a Voodoo spell. Like a zombie, right? Sort of, but this guy only moves when there’s music playing. And if Kindercore’s gonna move, it’s gonna need something to move to.

Wale feat. TCB - “Ice Cream Girl”

That’s where Wale comes in. He’s from my hometown, Washington, DC, and I have to laugh when I hear his line about putting DC on the map (It’s the nation’s capital, it’s on even the least detailed maps of the US,) but when I hear this song, I wanna believe. DC hasn’t ever really been a major player in the hip-hop scene, but the one thing it has that no other city does is go-go, live bands with badass rhythm sections playing beats you can bounce to. Go-go has never really gotten much national recognition, but you can hear its influence on tracks like Amerie’s “One Thing” and a dozen others produced by DC native Rich Harrison. Ludacris and Justin Timberlake have played go-go versions of their songs live, but these never seem to make it on the radio outside of DC.

On “Ice Cream Girl,” Wale pays dues to the homegrown style with a beat courtesy of TCB, or Total Control Band. Right now it’s a regional hit, blowing up DC stations like WPGC and WKYS. I’d love to see go-go get more attention on a national level, and as great as this track is, I’m not sure it’s going to be the song to do it.

Posted by Mat on 30 Jun 2007 at 08:30 pm

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