Posted on 06/07/2007

 

We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dream. To the layman, a deep crate would be something you find in the back of a supermarket, in stacks of ten or more. For the vinyl junkie, a deep crate is a term to suggest that someone has a lot of quality records in their collection, be it in an actual milk crate or storage boxes. The term generally applies to those with a love for hip-hop music, and its sampled roots, be it soul, funk, jazz, or the ever popular "other". These crates can be seen right next to the DJ in a club, at a recording studio, at home, or perhaps at their place of employment. Director Jeremy Weisfeld released a documentary DVD called Deep Crates a few years ago which looked at that unique phenomenon of the beat digging culture, the practice of someone going on the hunt for records that may have unknown beats and samples. For a first effort the DVD was a bit rough in terms of editing, continuity, and audio quality, but Weisfeld has brushed up the metaphorical dust to come up with a very impressive follow-up, aptly titled Deep Crates 2. The DVD has Weisfeld interviewing respected hip-hop producers who have made cratedigging an essential part of their careers and lives. Pete Rock talks about what made him cross the tracks from casual music listener to funky archvist, and he says it had a lot to do with family. Once he caught the bug for looking for new and unknown records, he knew there was no turning back. Marley Marl says that for him, it was about a need to capture the true spirit that rap music was bringing to him back then, which was rhyming over old records. On wax, old school hip-hop consisted of rappers backed by studio musicians. In time, he would borrow those sounds from the old records and use them in the studio, and while he may not have been the first to have digitally sampled a record from another artist, that sound would end up creating an era for the old school while starting the definition of the new. For Marl, it was his brother who had the collection of records that were fairly common then, but it was Marl who grabbed a few and started manipulating them to make new music. For DJ Mark The 45 King, he earned his moniker for obvious reasons, but the reason he became the 45 King, according to the DVD, was something as simple as economics. If all you needed was the funky break, you could find it on a "little record". It was also cheaper to get a box of 45's no one wanted, opposed to albums that might go for a price you couldn't afford at the time. The 45 King also reveals that when he first started making his loops in the studio, it consisted of an open reel tape loop, which should be a revelation for young producers who now have the convenience of digital technology.

A lot of little secrets such as those are talked about in-depth on Deep Crates 2, which also features interviews with Ced Gee, Grand Wizard Theodore, Jake One, Tony D., King Of Chill, Marco Polo, Domingo, DJ Muro, and many others who talk about their craft in their studios, in their record rooms, or at record stores. Hearing stories about how one of them discovered a song that they felt was worthy to turn into a new track, or what makes a record valuable, or why sampling has become such an important part of hip-hop music's sound, is what makes this DVD a must have, along with the shots of crates, boxes, and heaps of records in the corner of a dark room that will make any record collector tingly all over. Pete Rock does talk about the Tom Scott record that Large Professor gave to him, and also clears up the issue on who really produced "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)", and J-Zone's interview segments are a major highlight.

One thing the documentary doesn't do is ask the importance of hip-hop DJ's and producers as unofficial archivists of albums and artists that perhaps would have been ignored or forgotten had they not been examined and explored. Weisfeld does bring up the issue of collecting digitally, where one is able to find any and every rare beat and sample with a few clicks, and mix them with Serato. The responses are quite interesting, especially when one is confronted with the elimination of those cherished crates. It's entertainment, but it's also education for these guys, and anyone who watches Deep Crates 2 will be entertained by the opinions and memories shared, and find it educational for those who have always wanted to know some of the secrets behind the music.