Beat Junkies..."For the Record" 20 years in the game

West Coast hip hop history isn't complete without a chapter on the World Famous Beat Junkies. This summer, I turned my back for a minute and missed the Beat Junkie tourkick-off at the Echoplex in June. But, the tour is headed your way...here's the tour schedule.

• Hip Hop Kemp,  Hradec Králové, Czech Republic 17th August
• Royal Arena,  Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, 18th August
• MC Theater , Amsterdam, Netherlands 19th August
• Jazz Cafe, London, UK 23th August
• Nouveau Casino, Paris, France 24th August
• Cassiopeia , Berlin, Germany 25th August

• Mighty, San Francisco, CA 30th Sept.
• Brooklyn Bowl, New York City, NY 21st Oct.
• more U.S. dates to come.

Luckily, I can share this documentary to commemorate the Beat Junkies' 20th anniversary released by clothing label, LRG. Thanks for the schooling and amazing interviews!

The 14-minute video that outlines the history and influence of this influential DJ scratch crew from California with commentary from DJs Jazzy Jeff, A-Trak, Peanut Butter Wolf and Q-Bert.

The Beat Junkies - For the Record from LRG on Vimeo.

LRG also released a Beat Junkie snap back baseball cap and t-shirt for all the DJ heads out there.

LA's Low End Theory club...roadblock

Last Wednesday, Mary Anne Hobbs, ex-BBC Radio 1 DJ and Ted speaker, came to Los Angeles as a guest DJ. She was on the billing at Low End Theory, the bass-driven, dub-step loving, low-tempo club that has sparked a worldwide revival in head-nodding!

Residents of Low End Theory read like a who's who of the scene: Daddy Kev, The Gaslamp Killer, Nobody, D-Styles and MC Nocando. Read more about the club (affectionately named after the seminal Tribe Called Quest album of the same name) at the LA Times.

LOW END THEORY Video for Qetic from Qetic Channel on Vimeo.

Roadblock and U-turn  Little did I know that arriving 45 mins after the doors opened was a sure way to wait in line behind 100 clubgoers! And the club doesn't look that big! Should I have known? Well, school is out, Mary Anne Hobbs is a fave of this scene  and may be EPROM, the other headliner, is big too. What I do know is that I didn't wait in line. Instead I returned home and downloaded the podcasts to enjoy in the comfort of my "yard."

Moral of the story  You can't sleep when you're trying to outpace 100 tweeting youngsters. Get connected! ;) And check out those podcasts...there are 20+ of them, including Mary Anne Hobbs.

Resources

• Low End Theory radio:  Check out this Last FM radio channel dedicated to the resident DJs and various artists who have featured at Low End Theory over the years.  

• Low End Theory podcasts: download the podcasts (I recommend iTunes)

• Mary Anne Hobbs's mixes and podcasts 

Hot MARY ANNE HOBBS Cloudcasts on Mixcloud