Renaissance Soul was originally a Detroit hip-hop website started in 2001 by your host Kelly “K-Fresh” Frazier that first centered around the discography of legendary producer Jay Dee aka J. Dilla before it branched out to all Detroit hip-hop and music. In many cases, Renaissance Soul was the first place you heard many Detroit music artists that you love today. With it’s revival as a podcast, each episode will focus on specific topics (an album, an era, a legacy, etc) from Detroit music of all genres from the past and present from a historical perspective.
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This episode’s guest is DJ, music historian, and curator, DJ Amir Abdullah. Known for his On Track mixtapes with DJ Kon, Amir currently run his own record label, 180-Proof (founded in 2011), which owns the exclusive rights to release Strata Records’ influential back catalog and unreleased sessions. This is a re-issue of an interview I did with DJ Amir back in December 2018 for the Fresh is the Word Podcast that would fit well as a Renaissance Soul episode.
During our conversation, we talked about Amir’s roots in music, his collaborations with DJ Kon and the On Track mixtapes, becoming a music historian and curator, researching music to reissue/unearth, obtaining the Strata Records catalogue, the history and political activism of Strata in Detroit, and Charles Mingus Jazz in Detroit / Strata Concert Gallery / 46 Selden and the stories behind the recordings.
PURCHASE/STREAM: CHARLES MINGUS – Jazz in Detroit / Strata Concert Gallery / 46 Selden
Follow DJ Amir Abdullah:
Web: 180-proof.com
Twitter: twitter.com/djamir70
Mixcloud: mixcloud.com/djamir
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/djamir70
Instagram: instagram.com/180proofrecords
Instagram: instagram.com/djamir70
Facebook: facebook.com/DJ-Amir-161195730583168
Bandcamp: 180proofrecords.bandcamp.com
Twitch: twitch.tv/djamir70
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List of where Renaissance Soul streams: podlink.to/RenSoulPod or just search “Renaissance Soul”. Also available on IHeartRadio.
THEME MUSIC
Courtesy of STEVE O. Check out more music at eyeamsteveo.bandcamp.com.
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