Hio
David
‘WHEN WE CAME OUT THE MOTIVATION WAS TO BE CREATIVE'
Ali Shaheed Muhammad
hop’s homeboy heroes
llock remembers hip hop’s golden years as ALI SHAHEED MUHAMMAD
and MASEO put in sets in Edinburgh and Glasgow, respectively.
‘ atiye 'I'ongues was just a tag we put on N ourselyes when we was goin‘ out to clubs together." says l'ormer 'I‘rihe (‘allcd Quest decksman .-\li Shaheed Muhammad ot' the loose collectiye his hand formed at the turn of the 90s with such other groundhreaking hip hop crew's as De La Soul and Jungle Brothers. all three also counting themselyes as memhers ot' the 7.qu Nation. "l'hen it got out there and it just grew and expanded. In that time period when we first came out. the music husiness was a w hole lot dil'l'erent. The motiyation was to he creative. to enjoy and haye l'un. .-\nd that's what we did. We had no idea at the titne that the music we were making would go on to he so groundlu‘eaking and influential.‘ .-\lthough their star has waned in a mainstream sense in er the years. a 'I‘rihe (‘alled Quest haying dishanded in NW. hoth they and De La Soul do indeed occupy a specilic and utterly legendary niche in hip hop history. \Vith e\cessi\'e sampling ol‘ soul and pop classics and a
lyrical style that focused on uniyersal suhject matter
married with chiming summer melodies — rather than hleak tales of. ganghanging and machismo. or even ('huck I) polemic ~ they hoth hrought hip hop firmly into the record collections of the mainstream tread: young. white America). yet managed to avoid selling otit the tastes of the young hlack New" York communities from which they emerged.
.\'ow. how'eyer. is as good a time as any to celebrate the groups that gave us such all-time classic records (in a uni\ersal sense. eyen disregarding the reductiye classifier ol genrel as 3 Feel High and Rising and The Low [int] 'I‘hcory‘. particularly as two of their prime
32 THE LIST .‘ ~".“ Let‘ .l‘fl‘
moyers are I).ling in Scotland this fortnight: Muhammad at lidinhurgh‘s Scratch and De La Soul co— M(‘ Vincent ‘Maseo‘ Mason at (ilasgow is Belo.
'Wc all looked out for each other] recalls Muhammad
of he and Maseo's hands. ‘\\'e would take each other out on tour. we‘d share the same tastes and loye of
music. and when it came to life. we were all conscious of ottr origins as .-\l‘rican-.-\mericans. We were inst homehoy s. y'know '.’
‘l’lus we challenged each other. De La would go in the studio and record something that would he ama/ing. you‘d listen to it and realise they had something to say. then you'd go in the studio and make your own contrihution. We wanted to raise the consciousness. to raise awareness oi one's sell. and one's culture.‘
The result was a collectiye hody oi work which still sounds rel'reshingly unlike anything else in hip hop history. These days the memhers of hoth hands are relegated to a more stipporting role. with the still-actiye De La Soul's guest spot on (iorilla/ ‘Iieel (iood lnc' single and Quest \ocalist Q-Tip's many collahorations (including the (’hemical Brothers' '(ialyani/e‘i among their most notahle forays.
.-\t the \ery least. howeyer. when .-\li Shaheed promises ‘a set for open-minded music loyers. with hip hop as just the t‘oundation'. you know you’re in tor a lesson from a legendary turntahlist.
Ali Shaheed Muhammad plays Scratch at the Bongo Club, Edinburgh, Fri 3 Feb; Maseo plays Belo, Glasgow, Sat 4 Feb.
llil *
THE BEST DANCEFLOOR ACTION
* Soul Biscuits The last chance to enter their MC battle before the final. plus freaked out hip hop and random weirdness from the Penpushers (pictured). Cabaret Voltaire. Edinburgh, Fri 3 Feb.
>I< Colours An 1 1th birthday special for the Colours juggernaut. with a typically star studded line-up: Danny Howells. Dimitri From Paris, Seb Fontaine. Steve Angelo. Mark Knight and Jon Mancini. The Arches. Glasgow, Sat 4 Feb.
=l< Messenger Sound System The consistently excellent dub and reggae specialists celebrate Bob Marley's birthday in style with a selection of his finest cuts. The Bongo Club. Edinburgh, Sat 4 Feb.
=l< Miso Icelandic electronica from Blindfold (a side project of the band Ampop) with supporting bleepage from St Petersburg's Skoud means a night of head music at the Note. 73th Note. Glasgow. Sat/1 Feb. >l< For Your Eyes Only . . . Bond-themed night of good music (Aberfeldy appearing as Blofeldy) and 90—90 madness (DJs and dancersl. The Bongo Club. Edinburgh, Thu 9 Feb.
=l= Cosmic Fury Fred Deakin of Lemon Jelly/lmpotent Fury fame and Tom ‘Cosmos’ Middleton continue their mutual love-in over everything from techno to pop. Sub Club. Glasgow, Fri 70 Feb.
>l< Club Noir It's time for the Club Noir Charm School, the latest irregular instalment of Scotland's finest burlesque night. With live music from Lou Hickey and the Love Bites. DJ Loveless on the decks and all the risque regulars. Carling Academy, Glasgow. Sat 77 Feb. * We Are . . . Electric Massive midweek electro get down with the masterful Felix da Housecat providing a set of the most up-to-date electronic funk. Rare super intimate, super cheap date. Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Wed 75 Feb.