mp3 - Synchronic kemistry

You're talking about things I haven't done yet
I went to bed planning this post about Goldie, graffiti and teenaged memories of London. "Yes, nice one," I told myself as I dozed off. So I was more than a bit surprised this morning when I found that Spen78 had assembled something remarkably similar while I slept. Scenius at work, innit.



This photo is from the May 1991 issue of Hip Hop Connection (the UK equivalent of The Source). I had it for years before I made the connection to Mr. Platinum Breakz himself. Apparently Goldie was quite the aerosol bomber before he started making music. (He was also living in Miami as the Bass scene was taking shape, which is interesting given recent discussions of possible Miami/Ardkore links.) I'm assuming that the piece is named in part for his friend Kemi of Kemistry and Storm - the pair who reputedly introduced him to Fabio and Grooverider's breakbeat experi-mentalism at Rage in 1991.

mp3 - Goldie "Kemistry" (Grooverider Mix)

In April 1991, my mom and I went to Britain - Leeds area to see family and London for fun. I was excited about buying music in a real city and sussed out what seemed to be the best spots. The funny thing is that I was looking for American Hip Hop which was practically impossible to find where I lived (an isolated lumber and shipping city a half hour north of the Minnesota border). I remember walking right by a gold mine of 12" 'Dance' vinyl at HMV on Oxford St. - undoubtedly teeming with fresh copies of "Mentasm," "LFO," "Mr Kirk's Nightmare" and all the rest of it. I was interested in Rave at the time, but I had no idea what to look for and, more so, I was on a mission to beef up my collections of Dancehall and Afro-centric Hip Hop. And I did, in spades. Paris, Shabba, X Clan, Gangstarr, Stetsasonic... All great stuff that I wouldn't have found otherwise. But within a couple of months I became aware of just what I'd missed out on. It's still agonizing to think about. Luckily, obsessive trawling of p2p nets helps take the edge off. Now my hard drive is full memories I always wanted but never had.

mp3 - X Clan "Heed the Word of the Brother"

mp3 - Top Buzz @ Fantazia NYE 1991

So, lesson learned. At the moment, my (soon-to-be) wife and I are tossing around the idea of a trip to London and this time I'll be better prepared. I just need to figure out which Tube line will get me to Rhythm Division.

PS: Happy New Year everyone and look out for more Darkside posts (including a Goldie/Rufige installment), a couple of Hip Hop series and maybe a Favela Funk exploration in the coming weeks. Brap!