A rarely seen look at the making of Time Machine’s beloved debut album Slow Your Roll, featuring appearances by Edan (pre Dylan phase), Edo G and Special K.
Forgot how fun this shit was! Assembled by Stoerok.
There does not exist music that means more to me than the music that Gang Starr has created. My “on a deserted island” albums are “Daily Operation” and “Moment of Truth”. Add in “Hey Young World” by Slick Rick and I don’t need a damn thing else. The whole reason I DJ is because of Gang Starr. The reason I love hip-hop to the extent that I do is because of Gang Starr. The reason I make beats is because of Gang Starr. And the reason I have early signs of arthritis is because I wanted to scratch as well as Preem did on the “Take It Personal” hook.
I used to carry around the inside of the “Daily Operation” cassette in my wallet and read the lyrics whenever I could. My boys and I used to bring a boombox to everywhere and anywhere and blast the intro to “Step In The Arena”. We used to do the same and rewind the “‘92 Interlude” 100 f**king times in a row cuz it was too damn short and we just wanted it to go on forever.
If you grew up in Rhode Island you may or may not have seen Guru’s caricature stenciled all around the state. My boy Ant was responsible for the sketch. I have no idea who may have done the rest:
For my summer reading one year I read the Ted Williams autobiography. Below was the project i did in which I have Guru endorsing the book. My teacher asked me who the f**k Guru was and what did he have to do with Ted Williams? I said, well Guru is from Boston and Ted Williams played for the Red Sox! This poster was hanging up in the hallways for at least one year after I graduated.
When Gang Starr received their star on the Walk of Fame at Tower Records in Boston I had to go.
I waited in the freezing cold and rain for almost 3 hours. There was a line down the street and around the block, and I loved it all.
I met Guru and Premier and was shook. I gave Preem one of my mixtapes and shook Guru’s hand. Then they signed my “Daily Operation” album. Guru told me to “stay cool” and I have tried to do just that ever since.
“Moment of Truth” came out around that time, and i was going through some pretty serious issues. The title track spoke to me, and at the risk of getting too emo, that album really helped me pull through.
I grew up listening to WRIU 90.3 FM in Rhode Island. I still remember Stress playing “You Know My Steez” for the first time on his friday mixshow, backspinning the f**k out of it. I had my walkman headphones pressed up against my ears, straining to hear each note of that song. Preem’s new “choppy” style completely blew my mind. So when I finally got a chance to spin on WRIU in 1999, I wanted to share my love for who I thought was the best rap group ever. Scott the Freq gave me the opportunity to spin on his show and i did a Gang Starr set. I was shook and rattled, but i pulled it off:
DJ Mekalek WRIU Gang Starr Mix 7.1.99 by GlowLikeThis
Then I eventually got my own show, and when “The Ownerz” came out, I bought 2 copies of the CD, LP, and LP Instrumentals and did another, more extensive Gang Starr set:
DJ Mekalek WRIU Gang Starr Mix 2003 by GlowLikeThis
We all have music that can take us to a place that was much easier. Whether it’s just selective memory or really just happened to be a simpler time, there is something powerful and uplifting about being able to get transported back to that time and/or place. Gang Starr does that for me, and will always do that for me.
I remember skipping class to go to Skippy White’s the day that “Hard To Earn” dropped so I could cop it. I got back to school riding shotgun in my boy Andy Murphy’s cherry red Jeep Cherokee; the sun was shining, and “Speak Your Clout” was blowing my freaking mind. When “FALA” came on I almost put my face through his window. I just didn’t think music could be that good.
So this is why, when i woke up this morning and heard that Guru had passed away, it hit me so hard. I didn’t know the man, so I can’t say that he changed my life, but he and Premier sure had a hell of an impact on my life for two dudes that just existed on tape, vinyl and CD. I know i’m not the only one that held out hope that Guru would wake up, get better, and get back up with Preem and make one last Gang Starr album. It is the realization that this cannot ever happen that has left me with such an empty feeling. So is life, though: unfair, shockingly sad, stressful, and relentlessly scary. Luckily for me though, I have a sh*t ton of Gang Starr music to take me back to a place that is none of those things; where all I have to worry about is not putting my fist through a wall because Preem’s drums knock so hard or Guru’s voice just sounds, well, perfect.
Thank you for everything Guru, and I hope your soul is at peace, wherever you are.
Preem, take care of yourself, we need you here!
-Matt Katz aka DJ Mekalek
Edit:
I just got one more mix sent to me that I did circa 2005. My boy Ned, who’s also a Gang Starr fanatic, was basically handing me records and i was cutting/blending with a quickness. It’s from CD, so everybody who’s afraid of the tape quality of the others can enjoy the lack of grime. Plus, the tracks are separated. Considering the lack of preparation, it’s pretty damn good.
My Gang Starr Quick Mixx:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9K34OVJH
Jahpan’s solo album debut, AN ALBUM CALLED LIFE, produced in entirety by Time Machine’s own Mekalek is on iTunes now. Click the cover or the iTunes button above to link, listen, and buy.
Man, so many memories with this one…I gotta say this is my favorite tape I ever made.
I managed to start developing a small following off of this one, as it was getting passed around Rhode Island like a chicken parm recipe. I was rooming with my boy Dave at the time, who was kind of a maniac, and so this tape ended up having more energy than my previous ones. Special shouts to my dude Manny (Dek-One) and his boy Ariel (A-Train!). Me and Manny DJed a party on a boat (yes, a moving boat), and upon special request from Ariel, I managed to do the Marvin Gaye remix live, while the boat was rocking everydamnwhere, and keep that sh*t on-beat. This was the last tape done on my Gemini Scratchmaster mixer, so I’m still killing the transformer switches, and also the last tape unveiled in my boy Mike’s white Jeep, which was all but ritual up to that point; a “country cruise” as my ex-girl would call it.
I think this tape is such a treat because ‘97-’98 saw so many of the artists i grew up on still going strong (GangStarr, Rakim, Nice & Smooth, EPMD, The Beatnuts, Mobb Deep…) and new favorites were emerging almost out of nowhere (Company Flow, Mos Def, Big Pun…). The best memory from this tape though is when i waited for 3 hours outside Tower Records in Boston to get Guru and Premier’s autograph the day after “Moment of Truth” dropped and i actually gave a copy of this tape to DJ Premier. I was so damn shook, but he was too cool. I always wonder if he listened to it…
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD VOLUME 9 – A THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY
The second and last installment of my monthly WMEK tapes is my favorite of the two. After this tape, I was back on the real radio waves and that was the end of this concept. The whole idea of these tapes was to blend older, slightly slept-on songs with brand new songs. I always thought if there actually was a radio station that did that 24 hours a day, it would be the be-all, end-all of radio. My favorite, and Comel’s favorite track on here is the Del and Mr. Lif remix I did. I always wished that song had a more melodic beat, so i remixed it. My man Beatbox Josh was all about the Roots song on here–white label only–produced by DJ Spinna (!); sh*t is tough! And of course one of my favorites, “Solar Power” by Binary Star. “And Rodney King, ain’t never felt the beat like this”…Yeah, that’s what I’m talkin about.
Here’s the trailer for STREET DREAMS. Thes One of PUTS did the score and DJ Mekalek of Time Machine did all the scratches in the movie!!! Coming soon to a theater near dat ass!
Basically, I wasn’t spinning on the radio during this time, and wanted to be spinning on the radio, so I created my own radio station: WMEK, which not surprisingly had an all-mixshow format. I clearly wanted to make a mixtape badly because I filled up a 120 minute tape. At the time, i was doing tape duplication at Volume Productions, which was/is an electronic music DJ crew out of Providence. My dude Dek One hooked me up with the job, and with the kid John aka Myth who did these covers. The picture of me is from a Halloween party that Jaysonic threw when he was still in D.C., where I let out my inner nerd. Myth had the concept to put me at a different national monument for each tape. Suspenders, orange pants, and oxford shirt all courtesy of my father’s wardrobe.
