HIGHLIGHTS: Studio Equipment Configuration Acoustic Treatments 360° Beat Production Workflows Ringtone Production Remixing Disco D Pro Tools Sessions on ROM layer of DVD Choice Samples bounced from Disco D's catalog of beats Disco D MPC Sequence Data Live - Disco D Biz Negotiations Managing Business Affairs Strategies for Success and an inspiring glimpse inside the life and times of David Shaymen aka Disco D aka Gringo Louco!
Here are some of the responses to this loss from folks in the Detroit area. Please forgive the no doubt accidental confusion regarding Disco D's age from a writer who obviously cared:
Adam Graham, Detroit News
Kelley L.
Carter, Detroit Free Press
Robyn Vincent, The South End
Related Coverage:
Real Detroit Weekly ran a nice after his passing last year.
Posted by Clyde on January 29, 2007 in I've decided to begin noting the passing of well known figures in hip hop at . That's where I started blogging and it's always been a more personal space for me.
As I clarify where I'm going with ProHipHop, I'll be posting more personal and political material at Hip Hop Logic.
One of my regrets is that in attempting to enable comments at Hip Hop Logic, I discovered that it will change all the urls of my individual posts. I hope to find a solution because remembering those who passed should include the opportunity for everyone affected to share their feelings.
Please feel free to add comments to this post if you wish to pay your respects for those who've passed on.
Posted by Clyde on June 8, 2006 in There are a number of figures in hip hop who passed recently that I need to note, however, I feel it's also important to recognize the on Sunday at the age of 96. Dunham was a major figure in American 20th Century dance whose work set the stage for the emergence of choreographers such as Alvin Ailey and Chuck Davis.
She combined her early training as an anthropologist with her dance and theater activities to become one of the major connecting points for African and European traditions in modern and theater dance on stage and screen.
Dunham's involvement in trance/possession rituals and related Afro-Haitian spiritual traditions is not warmly embraced by many of those Americans who prefer to focus on her artistic and activist contributions. However, she fully describes both her induction into various vaudun groups and her struggles as an anthropologist in Haiti in the autobiographical volume .
PBS has a nice essay on drawn from their Free To Dance series.
Posted by Clyde on May 24, 2006 in Maureen Yancey, aka J Dilla's mom, recently attended a with Hustle Flow actress Taraji P. Henson (both pictured above).
In the wake of her son's death from lupus, Ms. Yancey has been encouraging the hip hop community to educate themselves about lupus and to become involved in fighting this disease that disproportionately affects black women. Because most of the folks struggling with this disease are women, men may be even less aware, but the passing of J Dilla aka Jay Dee should be a reminder that men are also affected.
My own mom has struggled with lupus for many years, though she's really doing great right now. But, along the way, there have been some dark years. Lupus is a weird disease.
I've understood it as an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks oneself but it's more complicated than that. For something more scientific on an introductory level, you can read to get a sense of how little is still understood about this disease.
One of the big problems with lupus is that there isn't a test one can take to see if one has it, though there are many symptoms and indicators.
Unfortunately, many of the signs of lupus are also associated with other diseases and so misdiagnosis has been a big issue. Lupus can also come and go, with symptoms appearing that destroy one's ability to function, then disappearing, sometimes to go into remission, sometimes to return at a later date.
Lupus also doesn't necessarily display symptoms that are visible, so someone struggling with lupus can be feeling incredibly bad to the point of not really being able to function and folks around them will just have to take their word for it.
Such a situation can get really weird as my mom discovered in the work force where saying she was having a bad day, which for her means she's having an incredibly bad day to the point of almost not being able to function, would get treated by coworkers as a mundane experience.
I'm not saying this well, but it's really difficult for folks with lupus to not only be struggling with the disease but also with the incomprehension of those around. In my mom's case, at work, it was particularly weird because she was a nurse dealing with the ignorance of other nurses!
Fortunately, awareness has advanced since that time, but we've got a long ways to go.
For more information, the National Institute of Health's is a great resource for introductory material, some of which is in Spanish.
On Wednesday, March 22nd England's Brian Daley, better known as DJ Swing, died from a rare blood cancer called Multiple Myeloma.
The has more on the life and final struggles of DJ Swing including this background information:
The former MOBO winner ex Boogie Bunch member, Brian (DJ Swing) Daley was one of the most popular, humorous and familiar personalities on the UK's black music club and party scene. Originally a member of the 'Live to Break' breakdance crew. His popularity grew throughout the 90's doing parties for artists such as Bobby Brown, Mary J Blige, Lennox Lewis, Jodeci etc.
He worked 4 years at BMG/RCA Records heading their R B/Rap Promotions Dept (TLC, Notorious BIG, Wu Tang Clan etc.) before being head hunted by legendary hip-hop label Tommy Boy Records (De la Soul etc). He also hosted a radio show on Londons Choice FM, doing a 1 hour mastermix show every Saturday afternoon.
In 1998 he collected the 'Best Club DJ' award at the MOBO awards (other nominees being Fat Boy Slim, The Dreem Teem and Trevor Nelson).
You will also find further information on British campaigns to increase the number of registered Bone Marrow donors in the UK.
Posted by Clyde on March 24, 2006 in A lot of folks were shook up by the .
Here's what some hip hop bloggers and their readers had to say in remembrance.
He's driving that pink caddy to the crossroads in the sky..
. with a KEY!
The head hangs heavy.
The heart aches. Professor X, has passed away..
..May Allah bless him.
Lumumba Carson aka Professor X of X-Clan, R.I.P.
Hashim also links to a Technorati search with , many of which I've never heard, who also pay their respects.
Plus, Davey D with:
Professor X's dad was the who died in 2002. I actually was more familiar with the activities of Sonny than the music of Lumumba, but now they're both gone.
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