Posted on 10/21/2008
So my dope record radar has been kind stagnant these few months. I had been bumping stale mainstream albums and nostalgic classics and hella content with that, until I came across this Delicious Vinyl RMXXOLOGY project. I ain’t even gonna front like I went snooping through the nooks and crannies of cyberspace to find this exclusive compilation. Shit just kinda fell in my lap. I’m clicking in my inbox and boom, there it is: fifteen remix Delicious Vinyl classics from Pharcyde, Fatlip, Tone Loc, Young MC, Masta Ace, the whole nine. On top of that, the legendary Eminem got on board and produced a cut.

You know what comes next. I’m like, let me get on the horn with the music nerds who are responsible for this extra terrestrial blast to the past. A rub of the genie lamp later, I’m talking to Aaron La Crate and Rick Ross (not from the everyday hustle fame), the masterminds behind this endeavor.

Aaron, who is responsible for RMXXOLOGY’s makeovers of hits by Masta Ace, Pharcyde, Tone Loc, and Young MC, is a young ambitious House DJ thirsty to resurrect golden oldies with a rush of new blood. Rick Ross, the co-owner of Delicious Vinyl is a music junkie. He always has some clever musical term to describe any song or artist. When asked about his favorite all-time music, and in the midst of reminiscing on the Hip-Hop age of glory, he fits DV in the scheme of things. “I think what’s great about Delicious Vinyl has always been the lyrical content and style of a lot of the artists on the label. It’s always been based on kind of a sense of humor,” he proffers. “It’s a thematic fun, kind of off the wall Hip-Hop style that you find in the Pharcyde, you find it in some of the Young MC verses, and the Tone Loc verses.”

Let’s not kid ourselves, here. It’s been 20 years since these original Californian hipsters from Delicious Vinyl made a dent in the industry. When Tone Loc held dominion, Ross was an undergraduate at UC Berkeley spinning “Cheeba Cheeba.” Aaron was still a snot nose bombing a bridge with his first graffiti piece. Still, it doesn’t erase the instant recognition of tracks like “Wild Thing” which still plays at festivals, raves, and baseball stadiums across America. Although most Hip-Hop fans feel some connection to hits like “Funky Cold Medina” and “Bust a Move,” the beauty of the Delicious Vinyl movement lies in its ability to reach both the mainstream and the underground. For every Tone Loc and Young MC, there is a Masta Ace, an emcee’s emcee, whose megahit “Slaughtahouse” drew Eminem for a remix on the compilation.

“Eminem mentioned many times that Masta Ace is one of his favorite rappers,” says Ross. “That off beat, on beat style that Masta Ace has on ‘Slaughterhouse,’ you can kinda hear it in Eminem’s flow.” The RMXXOLOGY project works its rejuvenation potion on a host of Delicious Vinyl artists. Take Young MC, whose double speed flow on the revamped classic “Know How,” will have some folks peeling off the one hit wonder label. “Young MC had a dope flow,” Ross admits. “He was born in Queens. He had a kind of a Caribbean style technique where he can really drop a lot of lyrics on you quickly. The original track was probably the biggest club track in England that Delicious has ever had.“

The reward in RMXXOLOGY, as soundman Aaron LaCrate gleefully attests, comes from reinventing those 80’s and 90’s hits so that they seem like totally new songs. The funky part about the collection is that the producers become artists themselves.

“To hear a record and to be able to make your version of it. It’s mind boggling to me,” says Lacrate. “It’s the greatest thing you can do.”

And that ain’t all. This year, Delicious Vinyl plans to bombard store shelves with a faucet of hip records. After their Delicious Gutter party, which kicks off on October 24 in NYC and will be blessed with appearances from Masta Ace, Mr. Vegas, and others, DV signee and J Dilla’s younger brother, Illa J, is coming out with the highly anticipated album Yancey Boys. Aaron is teaming up with the young rhymesayer to pay tribute to Dilla’s legacy as Illa J drops fresh sixteens to a selection of the late producer’s vault beats. Ross and LaCrate also are wetting appetites for additional RMXXOLOGY volumes. There’s a wealth of songs in the DV archive that have been left untampered and rumor has it that the brothers at Stones Throw may be collaborators on a B-sides project in the near future. RMXXOLOGY is only one flake in a giant snowball.

- Sidik Fofana