Vol. 5, # 23: The Last Session (1 of 2)

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Peace, @Large here. This is a kite. This episode is podcasted in two parts. This is part one. You may have heard the rumours by now or you may just flat out know... that this is the last episode of The Dope Joints! Hip Hop Mixshow. This is something that I both regret and am relieved to have to inform you of. I'll get to why in a minute. In the meantime check out DJ Stress', Kinetik's and my Winnipeg Hip Hop Mixshow history, so far...
- DJ Stress was part of a Hip Hop Mixshow with the Aftermath Sound Crew back in 1995, which cablecasted from the University of Winnipeg.
- DJ Stress, Dialog and Sunil aka Francois scored a mixshow they called The Stress Files which aired Saturday nights from the fall of 1996 to the spring of 1997 on Envol CKXL 91.1 FM from the Franco-Manitobain Cultural Centre.
- DJ Stress, Dialog and Mr. Ness scored a mixshow they called Hip Hop 101 which aired Wednesday nights and later Friday nights starting in September 1998 at UMFM CJUM 101.5 FM Campus & Community Radio at the University of Manitoba. DJ Stress and Mr. Ness eventually went on to other things and myself and later Kinetik joined the show.
- Dialog & I scored a second mixshow dubbed Hip Hop 201 by Jared McKetiak who was our program director at the time (and later/currently our station manager). Hip Hop 201 aired Thursday afternoons starting in September 1999.
- I left Hip Hop 101 due to artistic differences in the spring of 2004 and started The Dope Spot Hip Hop Mixshow which aired Wednesday nights.
- The Dope Spot began syndication on Hip Hop Fundamentalz courtesy of DJ Prizmatik.
- I started podcasting The Dope Spot on www.podomatic.com in the spring of 2005 under the direction of DJ Prizmatik.
- The Dope Spot began syndication on www.mixlawax.com courtesy of Lord Faz.
- Call Signal co-hosted The Dope Spot in the spring of 2005.
- Students of DJ Brace; Mista Banks and DJ Climax joined The Dope Spot in early 2006.
- I ended The Dope Spot in the spring of 2007 to settle into a house with my girlfriend and then get married.
- Kinetik took over and changed the name of Hip Hop 101 to The Joints!
- Kinetik initiated our reunion and in the fall of 2008 we combined The Dope Spot and The Joints! to create The Dope Joints! Hip Hop Mixshow. Kinetik also unearthed DJ Stress around this time.
- The Dope Joints! Hip Hop Mixshow aired it's final episode on July 25th, 2012.
We had to end our run of college radio Hip Hop mixshow after 17 years due to many smaller reasons that all stemmed from one, and it waits for no man... TIME.
We didn't just come down to the show each week and freestyle it. We'd spend each week collecting and reviewing music so that only the dopest joints we came across would not only get played, but get played properly. This was easier at first when...
- we were just in school or only working part time
- getting serviced meant the label or distributor had to have bank enough to not only produce enough vinyl to give some away but that they'd actually mail it to your crib (imagine how many broke willy zero record sale fakers would get weeded out if we had to go back to this system!)
- There was a community of Hip Hop Mixshows that included legends that inspired if not scared you to do your best
The end of the radio show isn't the end of the podcast. We'll post mixes when we can but nowhere near as regularly as we have been. You would've already realized that something was up since we haven't been podcasting weekly since last year.
Ever since this "Hip Hop is dead" bullshit mentality surfaced I've been countering it with "Hip Hop didn't die, you got lazy!" I feel there's never been as much good Hip Hop out there as there is today, tomorrow there'll be even more and the next day even more. In the same way there's also more bad Hip Hop out there than ever before. It takes real effort to not only find the gems in the crates but to even know what crates to look in. Hip Hop needs torch bearers. Please do what you can to promote Hip Hop music that is made in the essence; creative, positive, talented, original and dope sounding.
Kinetik's "Psychedelic Soul Shack" will continue Saturdays 11 PM to midnight central on UMFM CJUM 101.5 FM in Winnipeg, MTS Cable Channel 718 in Manitoba and online at www.umfm.com/listenonline. Stay up on it at http://www.mixcloud.com/psychedelicsoulshack/. Stay up on his grisly discoveries at http://thegrislydiscovery.blogspot.ca/. DJ Stress is talking about starting and Old School Hip Hop show on UMFM next year. Radio is part of Rukus45's genes. Bundown Sound System has taken over our Wednesday 10 PM to Midnight central time slot with their fuelGOOD Radio. Who knows what the future holds?
I'm going to end this blurb with a list of thank you's that I can conveniently add to over time as I realize who I forgot. If you feel yo...