![]() ![]() At the beginning, the samples and beats he used talked about discovering someone and appreciating them for who they are. One was a love between a man and his music, and more importantly a love between a man and his woman. For those who dug deeper than the surface, some might’ve noticed that ENDTRODUCING told a story, perhaps two stories of love. The album was a personal journey for a nerdy record collector who dedicated his art not only to hip-hop, but the funk, soul, and rock musicians who inspired him to create his own sounds. But when I heard ENDTRODUCING, it hit me much harder. When I did a Wu-Tang Clan e-mail based newsletter, I said on record that everything I ever wanted in hip-hop, I found in the Wu-Tang. I bought it, and listened to it in one sitting. My town didn’t stock ENDTRODUCING until January 1997, a few months after the rest of the world experienced it. It was promoting it as an album that would take sampling to an all new level, and as someone who has always preferred sample-based production styles, I eagerly waited to see if the hype was true. In 1995, I read an article somewhere talking about the coming of DJ Shadow, and the hype machine had already begun. Way back in 1994, it was somewhat difficult for average Americans to find records on Mo’ Wax, the UK label he was signed to, but it didn’t stop diehard music fans from hunting them down anyway. Two years later, I keep on seeing DJ Shadow’s name pop up in various magazines, along with little ads for Solesides Records. Shadow, as I knew it, disappeared for awhile. I liked it because of his use of a sample made famous by the Beastie Boys, Idris Muhammad’s “Loran’s Dance”. I felt he finally had success with “Shadow’s Legitimate Mix”, a remix he did for hire on a Zimbabwe Legit EP. Eleven years later, I’m still waiting to hear the mixes discussed in that Source article. ![]() But here was an artist who chose not to show his face, but rather have someone draw the image of what someone named Shadow might look like. Hip-hop at its best is the art of the boast. First and foremost you said your name in your songs, or the name of your DJ. For years we grew up thinking a hip-hop artist had to be about ego. I knew that this “Shadow” character had to have something. Way back in 1991 when he was Unsigned Hype in “The Source”, I didn’t even have to hear what he was about. To say that DJ Shadow’s forthcoming sophomore release is being highly anticipated is putting it lightly. ![]()
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