WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.395 align:middle line:90% 00:00:03.395 --> 00:00:04.365 align:middle line:90% [GOGO MUSIC PLAYING] 00:00:04.365 --> 00:00:07.840 align:middle line:84% (RAPPING) We're going to try something new. 00:00:07.840 --> 00:00:10.383 align:middle line:84% Because we don't know really what to do. 00:00:10.383 --> 00:00:11.800 align:middle line:84% So we're going to try something--" 00:00:11.800 --> 00:00:14.185 align:middle line:84% Lead talker, keyboard, bass drum, verse. 00:00:14.185 --> 00:00:16.990 align:middle line:90% 00:00:16.990 --> 00:00:21.610 align:middle line:84% Freestyling in a real dark club on a weekend. 00:00:21.610 --> 00:00:22.930 align:middle line:90% Everybody been to the bar. 00:00:22.930 --> 00:00:26.050 align:middle line:90% 00:00:26.050 --> 00:00:28.248 align:middle line:84% This brother's name is Anwan Glover. 00:00:28.248 --> 00:00:30.790 align:middle line:84% He's one of the actors on the TV show The Wire, Slim Charles. 00:00:30.790 --> 00:00:34.648 align:middle line:90% 00:00:34.648 --> 00:00:36.200 align:middle line:84% (RAPPING) This year I ain't drink-- 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:37.900 align:middle line:90% I ain't drink no Cristal. 00:00:37.900 --> 00:00:40.510 align:middle line:84% Because they talk about Cristal too much, 00:00:40.510 --> 00:00:43.405 align:middle line:84% so I drink the Dom P and the XO, and the '92. 00:00:43.405 --> 00:00:46.340 align:middle line:90% 00:00:46.340 --> 00:00:49.430 align:middle line:84% So all ya'll niggas, I just feel-- 00:00:49.430 --> 00:00:50.390 align:middle line:90% No congas yet. 00:00:50.390 --> 00:00:51.560 align:middle line:90% Wait for the congas. 00:00:51.560 --> 00:00:53.090 align:middle line:90% (RAPPING) Listen up. 00:00:53.090 --> 00:00:54.620 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE] for the uptown crew. 00:00:54.620 --> 00:00:55.280 align:middle line:90% Uh, yeah, hey. 00:00:55.280 --> 00:00:57.380 align:middle line:90% Feel it. 00:00:57.380 --> 00:01:00.460 align:middle line:84% This is how we're going to twist to them. 00:01:00.460 --> 00:01:01.040 align:middle line:90% Fuck! 00:01:01.040 --> 00:01:02.798 align:middle line:90% What. 00:01:02.798 --> 00:01:03.730 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:01:03.730 --> 00:01:05.800 align:middle line:90% Listen. 00:01:05.800 --> 00:01:10.390 align:middle line:84% I remember back in 1988 when I first stepped on the stage, 00:01:10.390 --> 00:01:12.580 align:middle line:84% I didn't give a fuck about [INAUDIBLE] 00:01:12.580 --> 00:01:15.820 align:middle line:84% rocking the motherfucking 38, but motherfucking slugs 00:01:15.820 --> 00:01:17.115 align:middle line:90% in the gate. 00:01:17.115 --> 00:01:19.170 align:middle line:90% Had to get my own way out. 00:01:19.170 --> 00:01:21.070 align:middle line:90% Never crossed my [INAUDIBLE]. 00:01:21.070 --> 00:01:22.480 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE] 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:23.940 align:middle line:90% No doubt. 00:01:23.940 --> 00:01:25.700 align:middle line:90% Now I got a [INAUDIBLE] for you. 00:01:25.700 --> 00:01:26.560 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE] 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:29.390 align:middle line:90% 00:01:29.390 --> 00:01:32.140 align:middle line:84% So what is a go-go pocket, and why can't anyone else 00:01:32.140 --> 00:01:34.510 align:middle line:90% do it like DC? 00:01:34.510 --> 00:01:40.150 align:middle line:84% And is this fact, the fact of the feel of it, 00:01:40.150 --> 00:01:42.430 align:middle line:84% the homegrown vibe of it, the real reason 00:01:42.430 --> 00:01:47.530 align:middle line:84% why go-go has not, as they say political considerations aside, 00:01:47.530 --> 00:01:49.347 align:middle line:90% gone national? 00:01:49.347 --> 00:01:51.430 align:middle line:84% The two people probably responsible for the pocket 00:01:51.430 --> 00:01:53.260 align:middle line:84% are the drum and the conga player, 00:01:53.260 --> 00:01:55.750 align:middle line:84% and the DC conga players play on a four set. 00:01:55.750 --> 00:01:59.865 align:middle line:84% Two congas and two smaller junior congos, not bongos. 00:01:59.865 --> 00:02:01.240 align:middle line:84% A go-go pocket is a conversation, 00:02:01.240 --> 00:02:04.257 align:middle line:84% a grammar between these two types of drummers. 00:02:04.257 --> 00:02:06.340 align:middle line:84% Here's a quick history lesson on the conga players 00:02:06.340 --> 00:02:08.507 align:middle line:84% who have helped shape and define the deep percussive 00:02:08.507 --> 00:02:09.910 align:middle line:90% fabric of the DC pocket. 00:02:09.910 --> 00:02:12.490 align:middle line:84% As stated earlier, the first recorded in studio pocket 00:02:12.490 --> 00:02:14.710 align:middle line:84% was played by Gregory "Bright Moments" 00:02:14.710 --> 00:02:16.510 align:middle line:90% Gerran on "Bustin' Loose." 00:02:16.510 --> 00:02:18.490 align:middle line:84% Gerran used a two set, and after touring 00:02:18.490 --> 00:02:22.030 align:middle line:84% with the Soul Searchers, split to play with Gil Scott-Heron. 00:02:22.030 --> 00:02:24.730 align:middle line:84% To our knowledge, he has not played go-go since. 00:02:24.730 --> 00:02:27.190 align:middle line:84% While the Soul Searchers were away enjoying the success 00:02:27.190 --> 00:02:29.920 align:middle line:84% of "Bustin' Loose" a young band named Rare Essence, 00:02:29.920 --> 00:02:33.640 align:middle line:84% also known around town as the Baby Soul Searchers, 00:02:33.640 --> 00:02:34.480 align:middle line:90% added the two-- 00:02:34.480 --> 00:02:37.720 align:middle line:84% It's true-- They used to open for and copy, 00:02:37.720 --> 00:02:40.690 align:middle line:84% and they actually copied and conquered. 00:02:40.690 --> 00:02:42.730 align:middle line:84% Added two junior congas to their pocket, 00:02:42.730 --> 00:02:45.460 align:middle line:84% and with Tyrone "Jungle Boogie" Williams hitting the skins, 00:02:45.460 --> 00:02:47.110 align:middle line:84% more percussive definition was added 00:02:47.110 --> 00:02:50.860 align:middle line:84% to the basic home base first gear pattern made popular 00:02:50.860 --> 00:02:52.300 align:middle line:90% by "Bustin' Loose." 00:02:52.300 --> 00:02:54.580 align:middle line:84% Milton "Go-Go Mickey" Freeman replaced Jungle Boogie 00:02:54.580 --> 00:03:00.120 align:middle line:84% and continued to expand what could and could not fit 00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:01.200 align:middle line:90% into the pocket. 00:03:01.200 --> 00:03:04.350 align:middle line:84% The Junkyard Band, a group of youngins from the Barry Farms 00:03:04.350 --> 00:03:07.710 align:middle line:84% dwelling in Southeast DC emerged playing buckets, 00:03:07.710 --> 00:03:10.740 align:middle line:84% tin cans, and toy horns, and after appearing in 00:03:10.740 --> 00:03:13.920 align:middle line:84% Def Jam's "Tougher Than Leather" and recording two singles-- 00:03:13.920 --> 00:03:17.160 align:middle line:84% "Sardines" and "The Word" for Def Jam Records-- 00:03:17.160 --> 00:03:20.430 align:middle line:84% had the nerve to abandon their plastic homemade instruments, 00:03:20.430 --> 00:03:23.190 align:middle line:84% graduating themselves from a pocket to what they 00:03:23.190 --> 00:03:25.200 align:middle line:90% coined as a socket. 00:03:25.200 --> 00:03:29.223 align:middle line:84% So after that, after that the pocket was old folk's business. 00:03:29.223 --> 00:03:31.140 align:middle line:84% Old people in the go-go, Chuck Brown and them, 00:03:31.140 --> 00:03:32.250 align:middle line:90% they danced slow. 00:03:32.250 --> 00:03:34.480 align:middle line:90% They come in the club. 00:03:34.480 --> 00:03:36.030 align:middle line:84% The youngins come in ready to go. 00:03:36.030 --> 00:03:38.462 align:middle line:90% 00:03:38.462 --> 00:03:40.170 align:middle line:84% So the pocket wasn't good enough anymore. 00:03:40.170 --> 00:03:43.740 align:middle line:84% So Junkyard Band created something called the socket. 00:03:43.740 --> 00:03:46.800 align:middle line:84% Played by a young fellow named Wink or Winko, 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:49.800 align:middle line:84% The Junkyard-- the J Y B, Junkyard Band, socket, 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:51.660 align:middle line:84% and the murder of their drummer Heavy One 00:03:51.660 --> 00:03:54.208 align:middle line:84% constitutes the end of the Golden Age of go-go. 00:03:54.208 --> 00:03:56.250 align:middle line:84% I'm going to let you hear Junkyard on the buckets 00:03:56.250 --> 00:03:58.458 align:middle line:84% and then I'm going to let you hear a Junkyard socket. 00:03:58.458 --> 00:04:06.540 align:middle line:90% 00:04:06.540 --> 00:04:10.050 align:middle line:90% It all started 1979. 00:04:10.050 --> 00:04:13.290 align:middle line:84% Two groups of nappy headed dirt poor youngins, 00:04:13.290 --> 00:04:18.420 align:middle line:84% down in the projects, Barry Farms, Southeast Washington DC. 00:04:18.420 --> 00:04:22.740 align:middle line:84% One group, led by none other than himself, The Heavy One. 00:04:22.740 --> 00:04:25.860 align:middle line:90% Another group led by Buggs. 00:04:25.860 --> 00:04:30.425 align:middle line:84% Both groups, playing on boxes, buckets, and can, 00:04:30.425 --> 00:04:31.800 align:middle line:84% didn't know what they were doing. 00:04:31.800 --> 00:04:34.060 align:middle line:90% Just having some fun. 00:04:34.060 --> 00:04:36.720 align:middle line:84% Even the drum set is made of buckets and crates. 00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:40.590 align:middle line:90% [GOGO MUSIC PLAYING] 00:04:40.590 --> 00:04:45.100 align:middle line:90% 00:04:45.100 --> 00:04:46.367 align:middle line:90% Come on, Big Daddy. 00:04:46.367 --> 00:04:57.090 align:middle line:90% 00:04:57.090 --> 00:04:59.640 align:middle line:90% In 1980, came Derek McCray. 00:04:59.640 --> 00:05:02.190 align:middle line:84% He brought together the two groups, Heavy One's group 00:05:02.190 --> 00:05:03.390 align:middle line:90% and Buggs's group. 00:05:03.390 --> 00:05:04.620 align:middle line:90% He made one group. 00:05:04.620 --> 00:05:06.690 align:middle line:90% They called it Junkyard Band. 00:05:06.690 --> 00:05:08.430 align:middle line:90% They called him Big Daddy. 00:05:08.430 --> 00:05:10.470 align:middle line:84% They took the band out on the streets of DC, 00:05:10.470 --> 00:05:11.970 align:middle line:90% performing all around. 00:05:11.970 --> 00:05:13.140 align:middle line:90% Became a tourist attraction. 00:05:13.140 --> 00:05:16.680 align:middle line:84% Became a commercial attraction, playing on boxes, buckets, 00:05:16.680 --> 00:05:19.320 align:middle line:90% and cans on the streets of DC. 00:05:19.320 --> 00:05:22.010 align:middle line:84% (SINGING) Here's a story about the Junkyard Band 00:05:22.010 --> 00:05:24.610 align:middle line:90% that started four years ago. 00:05:24.610 --> 00:05:27.600 align:middle line:84% We were playing in the alley [INAUDIBLE] 00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:29.666 align:middle line:90% in Southeast Barry Farms. 00:05:29.666 --> 00:05:32.280 align:middle line:90% Southeast Barry Farms. 00:05:32.280 --> 00:05:33.690 align:middle line:90% The Junkyard Band-- 00:05:33.690 --> 00:05:36.760 align:middle line:90% They had a Radio Shack Casio. 00:05:36.760 --> 00:05:38.790 align:middle line:84% You can hear it in the background. 00:05:38.790 --> 00:05:45.210 align:middle line:90% [GOGO MUSIC PLAYING] 00:05:45.210 --> 00:05:47.820 align:middle line:90% The public started loving it. 00:05:47.820 --> 00:05:50.500 align:middle line:84% We were finally getting our [INAUDIBLE].. 00:05:50.500 --> 00:06:11.690 align:middle line:84% And when sitting [INAUDIBLE] Foot loose Rob, Little 00:06:11.690 --> 00:06:13.410 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE] and Reeses. 00:06:13.410 --> 00:06:15.150 align:middle line:90% It's mostly chitlin buckets. 00:06:15.150 --> 00:06:18.330 align:middle line:84% [GOGO MUSIC PLAYING] [INAUDIBLE] It's the Junkyard Band! 00:06:18.330 --> 00:06:35.598 align:middle line:90% 00:06:35.598 --> 00:06:36.390 align:middle line:90% You feel all right? 00:06:36.390 --> 00:06:37.770 align:middle line:90% This it. 00:06:37.770 --> 00:06:38.850 align:middle line:90% Now imagine that. 00:06:38.850 --> 00:06:41.460 align:middle line:90% Five years later, we grew up. 00:06:41.460 --> 00:06:42.805 align:middle line:90% We listened to hip hop. 00:06:42.805 --> 00:06:43.680 align:middle line:90% Hip hop's everywhere. 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:44.640 align:middle line:90% We want to be hard. 00:06:44.640 --> 00:06:45.690 align:middle line:90% We want to be tough. 00:06:45.690 --> 00:06:47.550 align:middle line:90% We about to be in high school. 00:06:47.550 --> 00:06:50.490 align:middle line:90% Girls don't like buckets. 00:06:50.490 --> 00:06:52.140 align:middle line:90% The pocket is old. 00:06:52.140 --> 00:06:55.267 align:middle line:90% We got jobs now, fresh gear. 00:06:55.267 --> 00:06:57.600 align:middle line:84% So usually that'd be like, well, do what you want to do. 00:06:57.600 --> 00:07:00.058 align:middle line:84% You're going to suck anyway because you're just some bucket 00:07:00.058 --> 00:07:00.940 align:middle line:90% players. 00:07:00.940 --> 00:07:03.310 align:middle line:84% But these kids took over the city. 00:07:03.310 --> 00:07:08.650 align:middle line:90% [GOGO MUSIC PLAYING] 00:07:08.650 --> 00:07:10.522 align:middle line:90% Give me a socket, [INAUDIBLE]. 00:07:10.522 --> 00:07:13.230 align:middle line:90% 00:07:13.230 --> 00:07:14.586 align:middle line:90% Whoo! 00:07:14.586 --> 00:07:16.014 align:middle line:90% Right from the old school. 00:07:16.014 --> 00:07:18.688 align:middle line:90% 00:07:18.688 --> 00:07:19.230 align:middle line:90% That cowbell. 00:07:19.230 --> 00:07:22.650 align:middle line:90% 00:07:22.650 --> 00:07:25.590 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE RAPPING] 00:07:25.590 --> 00:07:27.100 align:middle line:90% 00:07:27.100 --> 00:07:27.600 align:middle line:90% Congas. 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:32.910 align:middle line:90% 00:07:32.910 --> 00:07:33.930 align:middle line:90% Lead talk. 00:07:33.930 --> 00:07:38.640 align:middle line:90% 00:07:38.640 --> 00:07:42.360 align:middle line:90% What if that's a prosody? 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:45.300 align:middle line:84% What if that's a rival to iambic pentameter? 00:07:45.300 --> 00:07:50.880 align:middle line:90% 00:07:50.880 --> 00:07:53.550 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE RAPPING] 00:07:53.550 --> 00:08:03.170 align:middle line:90% 00:08:03.170 --> 00:08:04.670 align:middle line:90% Four-- congas. 00:08:04.670 --> 00:08:06.170 align:middle line:90% Talking that talk. 00:08:06.170 --> 00:08:06.860 align:middle line:90% In a foot. 00:08:06.860 --> 00:08:11.160 align:middle line:90% 00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:12.230 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE] 00:08:12.230 --> 00:08:18.590 align:middle line:90% 00:08:18.590 --> 00:08:20.590 align:middle line:84% "Bustin' Loose" was both a blessing and a curse, 00:08:20.590 --> 00:08:23.230 align:middle line:84% because it took the Soul Searchers out of DC 00:08:23.230 --> 00:08:24.320 align:middle line:90% for more than a year. 00:08:24.320 --> 00:08:25.480 align:middle line:84% And they returned, they discovered 00:08:25.480 --> 00:08:26.980 align:middle line:84% that their sound had been duplicated 00:08:26.980 --> 00:08:29.770 align:middle line:84% and watered down, musically, for the consumption 00:08:29.770 --> 00:08:31.450 align:middle line:90% of young bodies and young ears. 00:08:31.450 --> 00:08:33.640 align:middle line:84% They heard aspects of themselves everywhere, 00:08:33.640 --> 00:08:37.730 align:middle line:84% in EU, Rare Essence, Trouble, who became Trouble Funk. 00:08:37.730 --> 00:08:38.230 align:middle line:90% Oh. 00:08:38.230 --> 00:08:38.320 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:08:38.320 --> 00:08:39.159 align:middle line:90% That's a great song. 00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:40.617 align:middle line:84% Who had become Trouble Funk and who 00:08:40.617 --> 00:08:43.030 align:middle line:84% has signed with Sugarhill Records 00:08:43.030 --> 00:08:45.640 align:middle line:84% and released the now classic hybrid of golden age 00:08:45.640 --> 00:08:47.410 align:middle line:84% go-go meets early rap "Pump Me Up." 00:08:47.410 --> 00:08:48.493 align:middle line:90% Everybody knows that song. 00:08:48.493 --> 00:08:49.510 align:middle line:90% Pump, pump me up. 00:08:49.510 --> 00:08:51.490 align:middle line:84% You got to hear that real quick, hold up. 00:08:51.490 --> 00:08:52.360 align:middle line:90% That's a big deal. 00:08:52.360 --> 00:08:54.010 align:middle line:84% I hated the song, but you know what? 00:08:54.010 --> 00:08:56.110 align:middle line:84% New York-- this is a go-go song that I hated, 00:08:56.110 --> 00:08:59.950 align:middle line:84% but New York, hip hop people loved it. 00:08:59.950 --> 00:09:04.560 align:middle line:90% [GOGO MUSIC PLAYING] 00:09:04.560 --> 00:09:06.150 align:middle line:90% That's a busy pocket, right? 00:09:06.150 --> 00:09:08.220 align:middle line:90% It's not even a pocket. 00:09:08.220 --> 00:09:09.840 align:middle line:90% It becomes what we call crank. 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:12.840 align:middle line:90% Like, machine like. 00:09:12.840 --> 00:09:14.378 align:middle line:90% The vibraslap. 00:09:14.378 --> 00:09:16.170 align:middle line:84% You hear the timbales going crazy in there. 00:09:16.170 --> 00:09:19.750 align:middle line:90% 00:09:19.750 --> 00:09:20.650 align:middle line:90% Very street, right? 00:09:20.650 --> 00:09:23.800 align:middle line:90% Very jungle, actually. 00:09:23.800 --> 00:09:27.340 align:middle line:90% Just in the activity of it. 00:09:27.340 --> 00:09:28.550 align:middle line:90% But check it out. 00:09:28.550 --> 00:09:30.490 align:middle line:84% This is a Sugarhill Records release. 00:09:30.490 --> 00:09:32.455 align:middle line:84% This comes right after "Rapper's Delight." 00:09:32.455 --> 00:09:35.020 align:middle line:90% 00:09:35.020 --> 00:09:38.060 align:middle line:90% Pump, pump, pump, pump me up! 00:09:38.060 --> 00:09:38.560 align:middle line:90% Bass. 00:09:38.560 --> 00:09:47.470 align:middle line:90% 00:09:47.470 --> 00:09:50.037 align:middle line:90% They actually don't try to rap. 00:09:50.037 --> 00:09:52.120 align:middle line:84% So you know the youngins hated them, if they say-- 00:09:52.120 --> 00:10:02.810 align:middle line:90% 00:10:02.810 --> 00:10:03.980 align:middle line:90% It's well-organized. 00:10:03.980 --> 00:10:10.920 align:middle line:90% 00:10:10.920 --> 00:10:13.040 align:middle line:90% Pump, pump, pump, pump me up! 00:10:13.040 --> 00:10:14.790 align:middle line:84% Like the man with the super S on his cape, 00:10:14.790 --> 00:10:18.500 align:middle line:84% we gonna jump to the funk like we got no way. 00:10:18.500 --> 00:10:20.600 align:middle line:90% Very Sugarhill. 00:10:20.600 --> 00:10:22.915 align:middle line:90% We weren't having that in DC. 00:10:22.915 --> 00:10:23.915 align:middle line:90% They loved it in London. 00:10:23.915 --> 00:10:26.560 align:middle line:90% 00:10:26.560 --> 00:10:28.310 align:middle line:84% As well as in all other bands, those bands 00:10:28.310 --> 00:10:29.510 align:middle line:90% were using as opening acts. 00:10:29.510 --> 00:10:31.070 align:middle line:84% Truth be known, the city rejected 00:10:31.070 --> 00:10:33.860 align:middle line:84% Chuck Brown on his return and the future of go-go struggled 00:10:33.860 --> 00:10:37.320 align:middle line:84% for quite a few years on the live circuit until, of course, 00:10:37.320 --> 00:10:39.350 align:middle line:84% he found the perfect studio and live 00:10:39.350 --> 00:10:41.900 align:middle line:84% blend with "it don't mean a thing, 00:10:41.900 --> 00:10:44.030 align:middle line:90% if it ain't got the go-go swing. 00:10:44.030 --> 00:10:45.530 align:middle line:84% It go doo wop, doo wop, doo wop." 00:10:45.530 --> 00:10:47.517 align:middle line:84% Chuck Brown remade Duke Ellington's classic. 00:10:47.517 --> 00:10:49.100 align:middle line:84% And that just took the city back over. 00:10:49.100 --> 00:10:51.080 align:middle line:90% And only he could hear it. 00:10:51.080 --> 00:10:53.900 align:middle line:84% Only he could hear in the jazz licks and scatting riffs 00:10:53.900 --> 00:10:57.800 align:middle line:84% of "Moody's Mood for Love" the rhythm of a famous woodpecker 00:10:57.800 --> 00:11:01.110 align:middle line:84% pecking wood and hidden in Porky Pig's "A-b-b-b-b that's all 00:11:01.110 --> 00:11:01.610 align:middle line:90% folks." 00:11:01.610 --> 00:11:03.290 align:middle line:90% Chuck loved to sample cartoons. 00:11:03.290 --> 00:11:05.180 align:middle line:84% The feeling of a brand new groove. 00:11:05.180 --> 00:11:08.030 align:middle line:84% But go-go's smooth sound of a brand new groove 00:11:08.030 --> 00:11:10.782 align:middle line:84% didn't last long, and the effects of the CIA sponsored 00:11:10.782 --> 00:11:12.740 align:middle line:84% crack epidemic and the influence of gangsta rap 00:11:12.740 --> 00:11:14.750 align:middle line:84% soon took hold of the streets in Washington DC, 00:11:14.750 --> 00:11:17.390 align:middle line:84% and the pocket under attack spoke back, 00:11:17.390 --> 00:11:20.150 align:middle line:84% and more and more homegrown go-go rappers 00:11:20.150 --> 00:11:24.770 align:middle line:84% like Fat Rodney, Vinny D, Rapping Reds, and Stinky Dink 00:11:24.770 --> 00:11:28.040 align:middle line:84% made weekly appearances with specific go-go bands. 00:11:28.040 --> 00:11:31.560 align:middle line:84% And it wasn't all male energy either. 00:11:31.560 --> 00:11:37.250 align:middle line:84% In fact, in 1986 to 1988 Meshell Ndegeocello, 00:11:37.250 --> 00:11:40.250 align:middle line:84% then known as-- we all know her, right? 00:11:40.250 --> 00:11:42.620 align:middle line:84% Then known in DC as Michelle Johnson, 00:11:42.620 --> 00:11:45.800 align:middle line:84% rapped and played bass for Little Benny and the Masters 00:11:45.800 --> 00:11:47.810 align:middle line:84% and released a single titled "Who's 00:11:47.810 --> 00:11:49.590 align:middle line:90% that Knocking at the Door." 00:11:49.590 --> 00:11:52.130 align:middle line:84% It's hard to find that single anywhere other than on wax, 00:11:52.130 --> 00:11:56.720 align:middle line:84% but Ndegeocello did revisit her go-go roots on a CD "Cookie: 00:11:56.720 --> 00:11:58.730 align:middle line:84% The Anthropological Mixtape" with a song 00:11:58.730 --> 00:12:02.330 align:middle line:84% called "Barry Farms," a narrative of experience 00:12:02.330 --> 00:12:06.560 align:middle line:84% over seductive go-go beat that reroutes the usual male energy 00:12:06.560 --> 00:12:08.960 align:middle line:84% by regendering and redefining go-go's 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:10.633 align:middle line:90% so-called freak-a-deak zone. 00:12:10.633 --> 00:12:12.050 align:middle line:84% It's one of the critiques of go-go 00:12:12.050 --> 00:12:15.050 align:middle line:84% and hip hop is the high masculinity. 00:12:15.050 --> 00:12:16.430 align:middle line:90% But listen to what Michelle-- 00:12:16.430 --> 00:12:19.040 align:middle line:84% Right, who's queer, but who came up, 00:12:19.040 --> 00:12:20.840 align:middle line:90% cut her teeth in go-go bands. 00:12:20.840 --> 00:12:22.850 align:middle line:84% The only female musician in those days 00:12:22.850 --> 00:12:25.280 align:middle line:90% did with go-go sound. 00:12:25.280 --> 00:12:26.600 align:middle line:90% The narrative is a bit rated x. 00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:28.227 align:middle line:90% A bit adult, so you know. 00:12:28.227 --> 00:12:29.060 align:middle line:90% [GOGO MUSIC PLAYING] 00:12:29.060 --> 00:12:30.740 align:middle line:90% So go-go music is party music. 00:12:30.740 --> 00:12:34.810 align:middle line:90% 00:12:34.810 --> 00:12:37.795 align:middle line:84% He slowed it down because it's love time. 00:12:37.795 --> 00:12:45.620 align:middle line:90% 00:12:45.620 --> 00:12:47.660 align:middle line:84% Cuz you know there no love songs in go-go. 00:12:47.660 --> 00:12:54.670 align:middle line:90% 00:12:54.670 --> 00:12:55.720 align:middle line:90% Size 'em on up. 00:12:55.720 --> 00:13:11.820 align:middle line:90% 00:13:11.820 --> 00:13:15.723 align:middle line:90% [SINGING] 00:13:15.723 --> 00:13:24.872 align:middle line:90% 00:13:24.872 --> 00:13:27.865 align:middle line:90% She was about 17. 00:13:27.865 --> 00:13:31.470 align:middle line:90% Just young and fine. 00:13:31.470 --> 00:13:34.500 align:middle line:84% She had the kind of kisses that made you sad. 00:13:34.500 --> 00:13:37.740 align:middle line:84% You never hear women macking on women in go-go songs. 00:13:37.740 --> 00:13:41.283 align:middle line:84% She liked to flirt with me, then act like she didn't know me 00:13:41.283 --> 00:13:45.062 align:middle line:90% when her friends came around. 00:13:45.062 --> 00:13:46.026 align:middle line:90% But I didn't mind. 00:13:46.026 --> 00:13:50.860 align:middle line:90% 00:13:50.860 --> 00:13:52.670 align:middle line:84% Because when her friends weren't around, 00:13:52.670 --> 00:13:55.212 align:middle line:84% Shorty and I, we'd hang out real tight; just sit up and talk. 00:13:55.212 --> 00:14:03.860 align:middle line:90% 00:14:03.860 --> 00:14:07.920 align:middle line:84% But one night she wanted to see just how far it could go. 00:14:07.920 --> 00:14:10.878 align:middle line:90% 00:14:10.878 --> 00:14:12.850 align:middle line:90% Just how far I would go. 00:14:12.850 --> 00:14:15.748 align:middle line:90% 00:14:15.748 --> 00:14:17.206 align:middle line:84% She couldn't love me without shame. 00:14:17.206 --> 00:14:18.581 align:middle line:84% She only wanted me for one thing. 00:14:18.581 --> 00:14:24.640 align:middle line:90% 00:14:24.640 --> 00:14:28.460 align:middle line:84% But you can teach your boy to do that. 00:14:28.460 --> 00:14:31.082 align:middle line:90% Can you love me without shame? 00:14:31.082 --> 00:14:32.249 align:middle line:90% I need you when I feel pain. 00:14:32.249 --> 00:14:33.249 align:middle line:90% You like ot mess around. 00:14:33.249 --> 00:14:46.800 align:middle line:90% 00:14:46.800 --> 00:14:48.480 align:middle line:84% Stop it before we get to the nasty part. 00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:51.857 align:middle line:84% So for a while the pocket struggled 00:14:51.857 --> 00:14:53.940 align:middle line:84% to find new patterns and conversations with itself 00:14:53.940 --> 00:14:56.460 align:middle line:84% to match this newfound hip hop influence boldness. 00:14:56.460 --> 00:14:59.640 align:middle line:84% Michelle represents one aspect of that boldness. 00:14:59.640 --> 00:15:02.190 align:middle line:84% Tupac came to DC and performed with go-go bands. 00:15:02.190 --> 00:15:05.250 align:middle line:84% Scarface of the Ghetto Boyz was a frequent stage presence 00:15:05.250 --> 00:15:07.500 align:middle line:90% at Backyard Band shows. 00:15:07.500 --> 00:15:13.650 align:middle line:84% Biz Marquee and Cut Master Cuvee dropped the single 00:15:13.650 --> 00:15:16.830 align:middle line:84% "To My Boys," A roll call-ish go-go beat dedication 00:15:16.830 --> 00:15:18.930 align:middle line:84% song that pays homage to Rare Essence 00:15:18.930 --> 00:15:22.110 align:middle line:84% by saying the names of go-go members White Boy Funk 00:15:22.110 --> 00:15:22.860 align:middle line:90% and Foote. 00:15:22.860 --> 00:15:24.840 align:middle line:84% While a student at Howard University, 00:15:24.840 --> 00:15:27.240 align:middle line:84% Sean Combs heard go-go but gave up 00:15:27.240 --> 00:15:30.090 align:middle line:84% on it when he was rejected during a dance audition 00:15:30.090 --> 00:15:31.830 align:middle line:90% by Rare Essence. 00:15:31.830 --> 00:15:32.730 align:middle line:90% It's true. 00:15:32.730 --> 00:15:36.450 align:middle line:84% Puffy tried out to be a backup dancer for a go-go band 00:15:36.450 --> 00:15:38.190 align:middle line:90% when he was in college. 00:15:38.190 --> 00:15:41.610 align:middle line:84% And then when they rejected him he turned off 00:15:41.610 --> 00:15:45.210 align:middle line:84% from go-go, and years later when Rare Essence went to New York 00:15:45.210 --> 00:15:48.330 align:middle line:84% to record for Andre Harrell, Puffy 00:15:48.330 --> 00:15:50.250 align:middle line:84% rejected all their singles after he was big. 00:15:50.250 --> 00:15:51.640 align:middle line:90% It was a big deal. 00:15:51.640 --> 00:15:54.810 align:middle line:84% So he put his foot in go-go's ass, 00:15:54.810 --> 00:15:56.910 align:middle line:84% and the street knows him for that. 00:15:56.910 --> 00:16:00.210 align:middle line:84% Years later, the Puffy produced Biggie Style would influence 00:16:00.210 --> 00:16:02.850 align:middle line:84% a whole generation of new go-go rappers, including 00:16:02.850 --> 00:16:07.170 align:middle line:84% Los, of Backyard, who made the song 00:16:07.170 --> 00:16:10.590 align:middle line:84% "Warning" by Biggie a weekly staple at backyard 00:16:10.590 --> 00:16:14.400 align:middle line:90% shows in 1996 and 1999. 00:16:14.400 --> 00:16:16.530 align:middle line:84% I would play it, but we're running out of time. 00:16:16.530 --> 00:16:18.510 align:middle line:84% As the hardening surface of go-go, 00:16:18.510 --> 00:16:20.760 align:middle line:84% fueled by the proximity of Baltimore 00:16:20.760 --> 00:16:22.350 align:middle line:84% and the hit series The Wire, continued 00:16:22.350 --> 00:16:26.370 align:middle line:84% to borrow from hip hop, there was really a go-go love song 00:16:26.370 --> 00:16:29.790 align:middle line:84% until Chuck Brown, in search of a way to again re-establish 00:16:29.790 --> 00:16:36.630 align:middle line:84% his mafioso-like ambassadorship and in a rapidly changing DC, 00:16:36.630 --> 00:16:38.700 align:middle line:84% released the Chucky Thompson produced 00:16:38.700 --> 00:16:40.350 align:middle line:84% "We're About the Business," which 00:16:40.350 --> 00:16:43.020 align:middle line:84% featured a clean and steady and spacious cover of the love 00:16:43.020 --> 00:16:45.840 align:middle line:84% theme from the film The Godfather. 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:47.230 align:middle line:90% May play that. 00:16:47.230 --> 00:16:49.270 align:middle line:90% Let me try it. 00:16:49.270 --> 00:16:52.578 align:middle line:84% It's the closest go-go has come to a love song. 00:16:52.578 --> 00:16:55.554 align:middle line:90% [GOGO MUSIC PLAYING] 00:16:55.554 --> 00:17:32.310 align:middle line:90% 00:17:32.310 --> 00:17:34.730 align:middle line:90% You can see where that's going. 00:17:34.730 --> 00:17:37.230 align:middle line:84% That's important because that's produced by Chucky Thompson, 00:17:37.230 --> 00:17:38.430 align:middle line:90% who was actually a part of-- 00:17:38.430 --> 00:17:40.650 align:middle line:84% Puffy didn't realize he had, in his crew, 00:17:40.650 --> 00:17:43.100 align:middle line:84% someone who he had met at Howard, 00:17:43.100 --> 00:17:44.400 align:middle line:90% who was a big Chuck Brown fan. 00:17:44.400 --> 00:17:45.640 align:middle line:84% And he worked with him for years. 00:17:45.640 --> 00:17:47.182 align:middle line:84% So anyway, I can tell you that story. 00:17:47.182 --> 00:17:48.270 align:middle line:90% But blah, blah, blah. 00:17:48.270 --> 00:17:53.260 align:middle line:90% 00:17:53.260 --> 00:17:55.870 align:middle line:84% OK. whole gen-- da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. 00:17:55.870 --> 00:17:59.320 align:middle line:84% His mafioso ambassadorship like [MUMBLING].. 00:17:59.320 --> 00:18:02.090 align:middle line:84% Thompson, who played congas and keyboards 00:18:02.090 --> 00:18:04.090 align:middle line:84% during the beginning of the bucket age of go-go, 00:18:04.090 --> 00:18:06.400 align:middle line:84% left DC and honed his craft as a member 00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:10.810 align:middle line:84% of Bad Boy Entertainment's hit man team of in-house producers 00:18:10.810 --> 00:18:12.220 align:middle line:90% during the 1990s. 00:18:12.220 --> 00:18:14.440 align:middle line:84% Thompson, who produced that song, right, 00:18:14.440 --> 00:18:17.710 align:middle line:84% Thompson's production of Nas's "One Mic" in 2002 00:18:17.710 --> 00:18:19.720 align:middle line:84% is legendary, as it was conceived 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:22.210 align:middle line:84% during a short beef between Nas and Jay-Z. 00:18:22.210 --> 00:18:24.910 align:middle line:84% The music rises and calms, rises and calms, on the three, 00:18:24.910 --> 00:18:27.520 align:middle line:84% and "One mic, all I need is one mic." 00:18:27.520 --> 00:18:29.680 align:middle line:84% Rises and calms like the moment before a fight, 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:31.990 align:middle line:84% the fight itself, and the not so calm afterwards. 00:18:31.990 --> 00:18:33.640 align:middle line:84% The marriage of go-go and hip hop 00:18:33.640 --> 00:18:37.030 align:middle line:84% finally came home in 2007 when Thompson and Chuck Brown 00:18:37.030 --> 00:18:40.270 align:middle line:84% released "Chuck Baby" with Chuck's daughter KK holding 00:18:40.270 --> 00:18:43.840 align:middle line:84% down the hype spot, flowing sort of like Eve, above a bouncing 00:18:43.840 --> 00:18:47.470 align:middle line:84% beat pushed by horns and riddled with the referencing 00:18:47.470 --> 00:18:49.490 align:middle line:90% punctuation of plastic buckets. 00:18:49.490 --> 00:18:51.560 align:middle line:84% So when Chuck turned to Chucky Thompson and said, 00:18:51.560 --> 00:18:52.540 align:middle line:90% give me something new. 00:18:52.540 --> 00:18:53.890 align:middle line:90% Give me something different. 00:18:53.890 --> 00:18:56.890 align:middle line:84% Chucky Thompson turned back to his roots and said, Chuck, 00:18:56.890 --> 00:18:59.290 align:middle line:84% I want you to use the buckets in your song. 00:18:59.290 --> 00:19:01.670 align:middle line:90% And Chuck was like, what? 00:19:01.670 --> 00:19:02.420 align:middle line:90% This is what came. 00:19:02.420 --> 00:19:04.230 align:middle line:90% This is what happened. 00:19:04.230 --> 00:19:06.020 align:middle line:90% Listen underneath. 00:19:06.020 --> 00:19:09.749 align:middle line:84% Maybe he created the sound, but he didn't create the bucket. 00:19:09.749 --> 00:19:16.520 align:middle line:90% [MUSIC - CHUCK BROWN, "CHUCK"] 00:19:16.520 --> 00:19:18.378 align:middle line:90% That's the bucket. 00:19:18.378 --> 00:19:19.670 align:middle line:90% Taking the place of the congas. 00:19:19.670 --> 00:19:22.600 align:middle line:90% 00:19:22.600 --> 00:19:26.312 align:middle line:84% Well baby girl K, tell me what cha do. 00:19:26.312 --> 00:19:27.440 align:middle line:90% [INAUDIBLE] 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:29.650 align:middle line:84% And Chucky B, let them know what we do. 00:19:29.650 --> 00:19:31.640 align:middle line:84% I used to say I would never not in my days, 00:19:31.640 --> 00:19:32.580 align:middle line:90% never change my ways. 00:19:32.580 --> 00:19:35.060 align:middle line:84% Too good at getting away with all them games I played. 00:19:35.060 --> 00:19:37.730 align:middle line:84% Smooth walker, slick talker, anything I did, 00:19:37.730 --> 00:19:40.850 align:middle line:84% get out of a jam quicker than MacGyver, ya dig? 00:19:40.850 --> 00:19:42.050 align:middle line:90% I think I'm sprung now. 00:19:42.050 --> 00:19:45.346 align:middle line:84% I seen a dude up town who makes me want to settle down and have 00:19:45.346 --> 00:19:45.990 align:middle line:90% his son now. 00:19:45.990 --> 00:19:47.250 align:middle line:90% He might be the one now. 00:19:47.250 --> 00:19:48.570 align:middle line:90% I can't explain it myself. 00:19:48.570 --> 00:19:50.280 align:middle line:90% I let my daddy Chuck Brown. 00:19:50.280 --> 00:19:53.520 align:middle line:84% I've been around the world from London to Chicago, 00:19:53.520 --> 00:19:56.150 align:middle line:84% but I ain't never met a girl like you. 00:19:56.150 --> 00:19:59.210 align:middle line:90% Shorty take a look into my eyes. 00:19:59.210 --> 00:20:00.856 align:middle line:84% Said she heard I was a crazy guy. 00:20:00.856 --> 00:20:03.960 align:middle line:84% I hit and run, the Georgie Porgie type. 00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:06.944 align:middle line:84% You like to kiss the girls and make them cry. 00:20:06.944 --> 00:20:09.310 align:middle line:84% I told her, don't believe the hype because I'm cool. 00:20:09.310 --> 00:20:10.530 align:middle line:90% Enough about me. 00:20:10.530 --> 00:20:12.050 align:middle line:90% Let's talk about you. 00:20:12.050 --> 00:20:14.450 align:middle line:84% I want to get to know you and make you my boo. 00:20:14.450 --> 00:20:15.710 align:middle line:90% It's all on you-- 00:20:15.710 --> 00:20:17.162 align:middle line:90% Here we go! 00:20:17.162 --> 00:20:18.740 align:middle line:90% Chuck baby, don't give a what. 00:20:18.740 --> 00:20:19.452 align:middle line:90% And she said. 00:20:19.452 --> 00:20:20.660 align:middle line:90% Chuck baby don't give a what. 00:20:20.660 --> 00:20:21.232 align:middle line:90% And he said. 00:20:21.232 --> 00:20:22.440 align:middle line:90% Chuck baby don't give a what. 00:20:22.440 --> 00:20:24.372 align:middle line:90% And they said. 00:20:24.372 --> 00:20:25.580 align:middle line:90% Chuck baby don't give a what. 00:20:25.580 --> 00:20:26.582 align:middle line:90% And you said. 00:20:26.582 --> 00:20:27.790 align:middle line:90% Chuck baby don't give a what. 00:20:27.790 --> 00:20:29.792 align:middle line:90% That ain't true. 00:20:29.792 --> 00:20:31.000 align:middle line:90% Chuck baby don't give a what. 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:32.416 align:middle line:90% I love all of you. 00:20:32.416 --> 00:20:33.624 align:middle line:90% Chuck baby don't give a what. 00:20:33.624 --> 00:20:34.560 align:middle line:90% You know what I do. 00:20:34.560 --> 00:20:36.950 align:middle line:90% Chuck baby don't give a what. 00:20:36.950 --> 00:20:38.240 align:middle line:90% So I shoot a couple of jokes. 00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:39.675 align:middle line:90% He laughing, he giggling. 00:20:39.675 --> 00:20:42.260 align:middle line:84% Tell by the look in his eyes, he know I'm feeling him. 00:20:42.260 --> 00:20:44.810 align:middle line:90% 00:20:44.810 --> 00:20:46.760 align:middle line:90% So that's the height. 00:20:46.760 --> 00:20:49.340 align:middle line:84% That's the last amazing Chuck Brown 00:20:49.340 --> 00:20:52.780 align:middle line:84% song before his death, produced for him and Chucky Thompson. 00:20:52.780 --> 00:20:53.780 align:middle line:90% I'm looking at the time. 00:20:53.780 --> 00:20:54.920 align:middle line:84% So I'm going to kind of stop right there. 00:20:54.920 --> 00:20:55.580 align:middle line:90% But don't go. 00:20:55.580 --> 00:20:59.350 align:middle line:84% We're going to do Q&A. I'm going to read a poem. 00:20:59.350 --> 00:21:00.000 align:middle line:90%