Photo by Zack Smith

 

Tigerweekly recently had the privilege to chop it up with DJ Soul Sister, the queen of the New Orleans underground DJ scene. A well-respected DJ artist specializing in “positive soulful vibrations,” she is a veteran radio programmer. Well known as a compulsive vinyl collector, habitual crate digger,  top party promoter and all around tastemaker not only in her native New Orleans, but worldwide.

 

TW: Describe yourself in three words or less.

 SS: Positive creative nuisance.

TW: How did you get started with DJ-ing?

 SS: I have no idea.  Seriously, I am a crate digger first, so I’ve been digging for crazy records since I was, like, 6, when my dad took me to the bargain bin at the old Sound Warehouse record chain back in the day.  Then there was that time when I was 5.  The legend has it that I asked my dad and his friends to buy me “Oops Upside Your Head” (a popular Gap Band song in 1979.)  During high school, I kept buying records - I’d hit up garage sales on the weekends and I’d dig wherever I could.  I started volunteering at WWOZ and doing my radio show straight into college, at around 18 or 19.  By the time I got to WWOZ, I already had about 1,000 records.  Around that time, a great friend of mine named Sarah Fritz really pushed me to try what I did live, in the club, so she promoted my first parties back in ‘97.  I’m a fan of the disco mix, so it was always important for me to blend and match beats back then, because I wanted to rock it as true as the disco pioneers did it.  It’s been on ever since, and I am still true to the music I love and to the mix.  And to throwing right on, free-spirited parties, the way Sarah inspired me to.    

TW: I understand you have a lot of influences. What or who are you really grooving to at the moment?

SS: I just bought a compilation of 1970s German funk & disco called G-Funk.  I’m forever listening to James Brown, my favorite artist of all times, so I’ve been wearing out his version of “When the Saints Go Marching In,” and you know why.  And, as far as new music, nothing is better than West Coast funker Dam-Funk, who just dropped his first release on Stones Throw Records called Toeachizown.  It’s all about the funk. 

TW: You have quite a following both in New Orleans and around the country. What do you attribute to your success?

SS: Well, I’m thrilled and blessed to know that people dig the original musicians and underground music I feature, what I’m about and what soulful funky music is about.  I’m just having fun and I think people vibe off of positive, fun energy.  I’m not for everyone - I’m not a request DJ or anything like that.  I call myself a “dj artist,” because I’m doing my thing and if you come to enjoy “DJ Soul Sister” or one of my right on party situations, then what you see is what you get.  So maybe folks vibe off the individuality part of my parties.  Or they just like to see someone gettin’ on down and not caring what anyone else thinks.  As long as they join in too, I love it.   

TW: So what’s playing on your ipod or MP3 player right now?

SS: Don’t laugh, but I don’t have an Ipod or MP3.  I’m so analog it’s disgusting.  I have 3 turntables set up in my house, plus one CD player that’s on the fritz.  So right now I’ve been listening to tons of my P-Funk records, cause those are my roots too - Parliament-Funkadelic, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell, Parlet, The Brides of Funkenstein.  Speaking of the Brides, I just found out that I was blood related to one of the original Brides of Funkenstein, Dawn Silva.  How wild is that? Funkin’s in the blood for real.  I’m listening to so much P-Funk right now because I’m gearing up for a P-Funk Marathon that I will be hosting live on WWOZ this Friday night/Saturday morning (Oct. 31) from 12-5am.  As soon as I leave Voodoo on Friday night, I’m headed to WWOZ where I will throw down 5 hours of P-Funk power all night long.   Everyone can listen in at wwoz.org.   

TW: Okay. Well, as a New Orleans native, how does it feel to be spinning at Voodoo?

SS: I’m happy to bring my energy anywhere that is about having big fun, bringing people together and, especially in the case of Voodoo, getting into the nonconfirmist & underground side of things.  So, many of the New Orleans artists you’ll see at Voodoo are not necessarily the big name jazz & blues acts, but they are the creative artists that are really making stuff happen under the radar - people like Ratty Scurvics, the TBC Brass Band or Katey Red, Big Freedia & Sissy Nobby. I love that Voodoo is a showcase for the real underground of New Orleans.

TW: What is a typical DJ Soul Sister Show like? Anything special planned for Voodoo?

SS: The DJ Soul Sister Show or, as I like to call it, “right on party situation,” guarantees big fun with your behind in mind.  The stars of the show are the audience members who do their own thing while I do mine.  I’ll have my Booty Patrol Dancers with me to help inspired the party, plus I invite all the girls who are down with the Booty Patrol to join us.  My sets typically feature anything from rare groove & deep funk to underground disco to Afro Beat, classic old school, true school hip hop, punk rock, electro, boogie, loud sounds to wake up the neighbors and make them dance, and anything else I feel like at that time.  Saturday night I’m going to do a special feature, thanks to the help of choreographers Trixie Minx & Cynthia Garza and legions of Camel Toe Lady Steppers, members of Fleur de Tease & other dancing zombie friends.  We’re going to stage a live “Thriller” Dance-Along.  And on Sunday - well, anyone who remembers last year on Sunday night knows what surprises to expect.  Let’s just say that last year, I decided to break out my estranged alter-ego, DJ 17th Ward Hot Girl, and take it back to my early 90s high school time with that classic New Orleans bounce.  These days, I only do that set at Voodoo, so get ready.

TW:  How does it feel to be one of the few true female DJ’s holding it down in the 504 and beyond?

SS: The number one rule for me is if there’s no one else around to do what you want, then do it yourself.  I keep throwing the parties I do and spinning the sets that I do because, when I started, I didn’t see anyone doing it.  I hope I inspire others to only do what they love, but I really want to inspire other women because the DJ community, especially in NOLA, is a man’s world.  How does it feel?  1% exhausting, 1% frustrating and, the rest of the time, completely rewarding because I’m sworn to fun and loyal to The One, that being the funk.  It can also feel kind of hilarious.  Most of the time, on these big shows, like the one I’m doing this Thursday (October 29) at Howlin’ Wolf in New Orleans with The Knux, Biz Markie & Jay Electronica, I will be the only woman at sound check, trying to set up & take care of biz.  I love the confused looks from the fellas, checking me out setting up turntables & vinyl records!  Lots of cats don’t know what to think of me.  It’s very entertaining.      

TW: Do you feel that the DJ scene is easier to get into as a female now than it has been before?

SS: Well, it’s probably easier because lots of folks that call themselves DJs are just pushing a button on an Ipod player.  That’s human jukeboxing, that’s not DJing.  On the other hand, women who love the culture of DJing and have a real knowledge and love of music will have a very easy time to get in because people want quality and something different. 

TW: Any Advice to people out there new to the craft? Male, female, or both.

SS: Love music and know it inside out.  Learn DJ culture and history, not just of hip hop, but the origins of selectors in Jamaica, the disco and dance music DJs in the 1970s who pioneered most of the DJ technology we still use today.  Learn the history of the turntablists, but know where your strength is and what you want to contribute to the culture.  And do not settle to do anything you don’t want to do.  We need to return to a culture of dj artists who used music to uplift, motivate, inspire & energize.  The original underground hip hop & disco parties were built on that aesthetic.  There’s a crew of risky folks all around the world who are still doing it, but we need more in New Orleans and Louisiana.  There’s millions of DJs out here.  Be different from that and memorable and be a DJ artist, and let your individuality come through in your sets.     

TW: If people like what they hear at Voodoo, how can they get more? What’s next for DJ Soul Sister?

SS: I’m celebrating my 15th year of being at WWOZ 90.7 FM and wwoz.org in New Orleans.  I host the “Soul Power” show every Saturday from 8-10pm.  Also, every Saturday from 11pm-4am, I throw the “HUSTLE!” party, upstairs at Mimi’s in the Marigny (2601 Royal St.) in New Orleans, and that’s been going real strong for 5 years.  I’m throwing tons of additional, specially themed “right on party situations” at other locations, and folks can keep track of the jams at www.myspace.com/djsoulsis.  Other than that, I plan to keep having big fun on the one, hopefully for as long as the people dig the sounds and keep on getting down.

T-Shirt Design by New Orleans Company, Dirty Coast Press

 

As a member of a historically black Greek letter organization, I must say that “Stomp the Yard” did about as much for Black Greekdom and stepping as Spider Man 3 did for comic books movies. Yeah, I went there. Think I’m being too harsh? I don’t.

On one hand, “Stomp the Yard”, which is basically a dance flick with a black fraternity twist, exposed many people to the aspect of Greek Stepping, without any Greek stepping. I wouldn’t be so annoyed with this except for the fact that now the entire world thinks that what was done in the movie IS Greek stepping. Not at all. However, the movie was able to ride and exploit this to a cool 74 million at the box office… None of which I understand was credited to any of the organizations or their charities. That’s right, we actually do more than slide dramatically across stages on our elbows… We help the community.

Despite my ranting, according to THR.com, “Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming” has found a director and will go into production soon. Will Packer, from “Obsessed” fame, (if you want to call that fame) will produce through his Rainforest banner. Hardy was an executive producer on the original “Stomp the Yard”.

As far as credentials, he has a lot of producing credits, wrote and directed the features “The Gospel” and “Trois”, and has directed episodes of “Criminal Minds” and “ER.”

Based on the last one, which as far as I know, leaves a bittersweet taste in many NPHC Greeks mouths, I don’t know what to think. But since it’s already green-lighted and most likely will be made… Hopefully they will do better.

For more accurate depictions of Greek Stepping and Strolling, check out the Sprite Step Off. Click the picture below for more info.

The “WTF” moment of the day goes to hip hop purveyors Run DMC for announcing that they will be producing a broadway musical adaptation of their life and careers. Hip Hop has definitely “arrived” if the once inner city, street centered, artform has become fodder for Broadway. I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing… Not sure at all.

Either way, this week, the group’s surviving members, Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons and Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, met with producer Paula Wagner about bringing their story and music to the stage.

 ”I feel their story lends itself perfectly to the stage,” says Wagner in an interview with Variety. “The project has been a passion of mine for some time and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with them.” Wagner is best known as a film producer who has worked extensively with Tom Cruise on the ‘Mission: Impossible’ series, ‘Valkyrie,’ ‘The Last Samurai’ and ‘Vanilla Sky.’

With credits like that, I guess it’ll be a quality… whatever it turns out to be.

As a Hip Hop afficionado, I must send much love out to Run DMC. And honestly, this “WTF” moment is more like a “HTF” or “How The F%&K” moment. I’m really wondering how they plan to pull this off. I’m wishing it well, hopefully no Jazz or Tap will be involved.

by Rafaella Cuff

The integrity and morality of politicians has been in the news an awful lot lately. What am I saying? It is always in the news. Not long ago, we were discussing the acts of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. His affair sweeped national headlines, and for good reason, why did he leave the state without telling anyone? He is the Governor for crying out loud! If he is having an affair, personally, that is his family’s business. Those of you who claim that a politician’s lifestyle speaks about what type of politician he will be are wrong. There are plenty of perfectly disgusting and horrible people that make damn fine politicians and plenty of lovely, family-adoring individuals who are nothing short of useless while in office.

Take the recent news of the Florida town official who was fired and was believed to be fired due to his wife’s links with the adult video industry. If you fire an official, it should be due to incompetance. If his wife makes a little income on the side, that is their business and their business alone.  If the council members were fine with the job he was doing before knowledge arose of his wife, then on what legality can they fire him? It seems a little pathetic. Now, if he was spending government money to drive his wife to a studio, then, sure, he should get in trouble.

This whole mentality is why this country still has years before it will elect an open atheist as president of the US. To be honest, the impact of religion on a president’s behavior is minimal. He has to act ethical anyway, and just because a person is an atheist, does not mean that person does not behave in a way that abides to a country’s moral structure. Trust me, not a single atheist I know behaves like Berlusconi. Yet, if you look at the polls, this country is far more willing to elect a Muslim or Hindu as president than it is an atheist, overlooking the fact that just because a person is an atheist does not mean he or she has an immoral lifestyle. There are plenty of supposedly Christian, family-loving politicians (most of them Republican) who have been charged or faced allegations of infidelity or paying for prostitutes. Yet, if they apologize and cry about their wrongs, etc., the majority of the country would still elect them over an atheist based solely on morality issues.

I think we should stop looking at a person’s religion and personal life, and look more into their politics and what they can do for this country politically. An atheist president cannot simply legalize gay marriage, but he can help international relations, domestic politics, treaties, and situations of war. He alone does not have the power to change the moral politics of a country, or did you forget this is a country of checks and balances? Personal life, religion, and moral issues should no longer be the highlight of a person’s political career. Focus should be placed on the political reputation, political history, and what that person can offer the country.

by Rafaella Cuff

I have been hearing many stories in the news lately of children raping other children, most of them in groups. It is rather unsettling, and it makes me feel nauseous. It’s bad enough that a child walking by his or her self has to watch out for adults, let alone children, with bad intentions.

Today, four boys in Arizona, aged from 9 to 14, are facing rape charges of an 8-year-old girl who they lured into an empty shed and sexually assaulted. I have no sympathy for underage rapists. If they were to face a merciless trial, I would be all for underage rapists to be charged as adults. It is such a repulsive and inexcusable crime. Of those four boys, only the fourteen-year-old will be charged as an adult. The charges are pretty fair in this case, considering that most underage rapists get off easy, some only suffering a year in JV or community service.

Nonetheless, as a whole, these underage rapists are not being punished enough. Just because they are children, they should not be excused. They know fully well what they are doing, and what are the parents’ roles in their lives? Sure, chilren can watch rape and porn on the internet, but where are the parents telling them what they can or cannot do. What is civilized in society, and what is not? The media can rate a television show as unsuitable for children, but they cannot control who is on the other side of the screen. Again, I am very against parents blaming the media, when it is their job to know what their child is or is not watching.

Young people’s distorted ideas about what sexual activity should or should not be are contributed to lack of parenting and what these children are seeing on the internet. Boys should be taught to respect girls, not rape them. These young rapists should be charged heavily, as a punitive measure to teach others that this is NOT acceptable behavior. The whole situation is repulsive. The fact that a group of young boys can get together and decide to rape a young girl is grotesque.

By Clifton Lee

Terrell Owens’ reality show, originally titled The T.O.  Show, aired for the first time on VH1 last night. Although I have become a bit skeptical of some reality shows because they seem staged or faked, I was very pleased with the show’s first episode. The show chronicles T.O.’s temporary stay in L.A. during which his friends try to help him structure his life after football. (It’s kind of hard to believe T.O. wasn’t born and raised in L.A.  with his larger than life wide reciever persona…) While I wasn’t suprised to see him surrounded by throngs of beautiful women, I was shocked to see Owens display his sensitive side when he was suddenly released by the Dallas Cowboys earlier this year. The show’s combination of T.O. over the top personality, the models he is always surrounded by not to mention his two sexy friends/personal assitants and publicists should result in combined success for both T.O. and Vh1. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season will bring!

By Clifton Lee

Within the last two months, Jay-Z’s controversial Death of the Autotune has garnered a lot positive as well as negative attention. Over the last week, detractors of HOV have gained a new angry member in the west coast enthusiast/ambassador  who is known as The Game. The rapper recently began a streak of controversial outbursts aimed against Jay during a recent stint of shows which he performed while touring across Europe. After screaming “F**k Jay-Z” and calling him an “old a** n***” , he even got several of his attending crowds involved in the act by asking them to chant the preceding insults along with him.  Personally, I have very mixed feelings about this situation. On one hand,  I can’t blame him for being offended by the striking new record because Jay does go hard on a lot of people/trends (of which I do think are extremely whack and un-hip hop). But I also feel that The Game should respect his elders and go about responding in a more respectful way. He has done in the past and even stated that he wouldn’t diss Jay because he doesn’t go at legends. His words were also backed up by an act of peace at one of the very first BET Hip Hop awards. These previous actions lead to me to believe that Games recent outbursts may only be rooted in his need to revive his failing rap career and spark up some much needed notoriety.

Besides the fact that Jay-Z has proabably outsold him ten times over, is it clear that Jay  is better artist from a creative and lyrical standpoint. So no matter how much The Game or anybody else hates it, Jay-Z does officially start and end trends in hip hop. He started and then ended the Throwback era by ushering in button up shirts along with neatly worn baseball caps.  One of my favorite lines from his song titled “Jockin’ Jay-Z” simply sums it up:

“Haters…I ain’t mad at you. If I wasn’t I probably jock me too!!!”

I can’t wait for The Blueprint 3 to drop!!

by Rafaella Cuff

As reported by USA Today, Florida Governor Charlie Crist has called for state-wide hunt of rogue pythons a couple of weeks after an 8-foot pet python escaped from its terrarium and strangled a two-year-old girl. It’s sad that it takes this type of tragedy to get the government to do something about these reptilian menaces. Honestly, Stephen Colbert reported months ago on the spread of pythons in Florida.

The only animal not yet found in the stomach of a python in Florida is the Florida panther. That means theyeven eat alligators in the Everglades. Maybe you remember the python they found a few years ago that had eaten an alligator but was ripped apart from the inside by the gator’s death roll.

Obviously Florida needs some sort of St. Patrick-like figure to rid them of this plague. My suggestion - send in Daniel Radcliffe with a sword and phoenix.

by Rafaella Cuff

As much as I love to dine on squid (delicious, by the way, if you have never tried it), they seem to have become quite a pest lately, especially for divers. Not only are flying squid taking over San Diego, California, but they seem to be attacking poor, unsuspecting divers as they do so. For those of you who think they are just a glob of goo floating around the water, you are greatly mistaken (you may refer to the goo as jellyfish). These squid are vicious with a razor-sharp beak and an attitude to match.

Scientists are trying to understand what has caused this mass migration of 1,000’s of giant squid from Mexico to California. Some are blaming it on global warming while others claim it’s due to dying food sources.  I, personally, blame the economy.

Besides the point, they are attacking poor California divers, enveloping their equipment in a fearful mass of raging tentacles. It is quite disturbing. My suggestion to divers in California: arm yourselves with chopsticks.

By Clifton Lee

Hey Tigerweekly fans. For those of you all who love hip hop out there, I had to let you know about the song of the week by The Clipse and Kanye West. The song, which is called “Kind of a Like a Big Deal” is a classic east coast anthem which goes in the exact opposite lane of much of today’s chart-topping “Ringtone Rap” hits. Since I am unable to post the song on this site, I’ve posted the link to the song’s video on youtube. Check it out when you get a chance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSSMkIYfWyA