Review: 2 more gems from the ever growing Dynamite Cut 7 inch series. First up and first time ever on a 45 featuring Linda ''Tequilla'' Logan on vocals on a dirty funk drenched groove. On the flip the rare super sexy 7 inch version of the infamous Turn Off The Lights taken from the original tapes is presented here. Infectious essential classic funk for the nu & old generation alike.
Review: Dynamite Cuts have pulled out another classic from the Afro-jazz canon here. It's one of the many gems from the catalogue of The Last Poets and was sampled by some big hip-hop artists back in the day including The Jungle Brothers. The original track is some ten minutes long but here it has been edited down to a short and sharp for minutes for an exclusive 7" pressing. Soon as you drop the needle you will be hypnotised by the saxophone and vocals as the energetic groove lifts you up and away.
Review: Dynamite Cuts is one of the most aptly named labels in the game. Its latest releases have focused on The Last Poets with 'Tribute To Obabi' droopy on the same day as this one to kick off 2023 in style. As per that 45rpm, this one features a special 7" edit of a longer tune in 'Blessed Are Those Who Struggle'. It's laced with musings on oppression and slavery with funky drumming and speak-sung vocals making for a compelling mood. On the A-side is the Afro-jazz of ''It's A Trip' complete with unique vocal styles and funky basslines.
Review: 1977's Delights of the Garden, which saw The Last Poets accompanied by legendary soul-jazz sticks-man Bernard Purdie, remains one of the proto-rap innovators' greatest albums. The team behind the Dynamite Cuts label clearly agree, because they've decided to stick two of the set's most magical tracks on one must-have 45. On the A-side there's a chance to savour LP highlight 'It's a Trip', where the band sings and speaks over skittish, loose-limbed Purdie breakbeats, fizzing funk guitars and rubbery bass. Turn it over for special (and tastefully executed) 7" edit of 'Blessed Are Those Who Struggle', a classic chunk of politically charged proto-rap featuring killer drum work from the ever-impressive Purdie. In a word: essential!
Review: Occasionally a single comes along that shows off a contemporary group's samplework. 'Hustler's Convention' from Dynamite Cuts is one. This new 7" recalls funk supergroup Lightnin Rod's album of the same name - originally released in 1973, it is renowned for being one of the major influences on hip-hop, bringing a sociopolitical commentary to black music at the time. Here the original track 'Sport', named after one of the album's protagonist hustlers, is blended with the B-side 'Four Bitches Is What I Got', which builds a smoke-filled narrative story involving poker tables and underworld czars around the funk backing.
Review: While Last Poets are rightly regarded as the 'godfathers of rap', others would insist that Hustlers Convention - a 1973 solo album from member Jalal Nuriddin under the Lightnin' Rod alias - had more influence on the birth of hip-hop. In part, that's down to the funk backing he received on the album from his chosen backing bands, which included the mighty Kool & The Gang. Here, Dynamite Cuts prove the point by offering two killer cuts from the set on 7" for the very first time. A-side 'Sport' is a Blaxploitation style delight - all ear-catching horn motifs, shuffling funk breaks, weighty bass, wah-wah guitar and languid spoken word vocals - while 'Four Bitches Is What I Got' sees our hero make merry over a more stripped-back take on the same backing track.
Review: The red hot Dynamite Cuts label happily serves up this slice of rare groove magic from Little Beaver. The unique artists write both of the tunes included on this 7" for his "When Was The Last Time" album and neither has appeared in this format before now. It comes with a cover as iconic as the tunes, which are both soul-stirring and heart-wrenching slower dancers. 'Concrete Jungle' has an eye-watering falsetto over deep bass and swooning strings with plenty of funky chords, then 'I Just Love The Way You Do Your Thing' is another aching beauty with elegant grooves.
Review: On limited reissued 7" comes the title track from The Lost Generation's 1973 debut album. The Chicago soul/r&b group formed in the early 1970s amid irruptive uncertainties and changes in the USA. Their name reflected this anxious mood, and their music drew on many similar emancipatory subjects and projects, bottling the tense, civil fronts formed between American communities in the 1960s. "Fighting, crying, bleeding, dying" resound in call-responsive bel canto on this lead album cut, which grieves the losses and disenfranchisements suffered during the Civil Rights era. With a horizon-gazing front cover and burgeoning sound, this irrefutably hopeful soul anthem suggests all is not lost.
Review: Dynamite Cuts has done it again here. Celebrated American bassist Curtis Lundy called upon his sister Carmen for her vocal talents for this wondrous vocal jazz cut. 'Never Gonna Let You Go' is powered by a superb double bass groove, with lush xylophones and plenty of lively drums al backing the acrobatic vocal performance. It has never before been pressed up to 7" is a serious must have for collectors, especially as it is backed with the wonderful walking basslines and feathery light snares, meandering keys and seductive jazz melodies of 'Jabbos Revenage'.
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