Review Summary: Ghettotech's runnin' shit
Enter Ghettotech; a genre that has a respectable, yet relatively obscure history that spans back to late-'90s pioneers DJ Assault, DJ Godfather, and Disco D, along with Bitch Ass Darius; who would stamp the genre into the Chicago underground a few years later on his landmark Follow The Sound. The genre itself consists of hyper-induced techno rhythms, ultra-repetitive samples, fat Miami bass, and sexually explicit lyrics (booty and bitches generally being the topical icebreakers). Now well over a decade old, DJ Rashad pumps new life into ghettotech by declaring "I came back to let you know / Ghettotech's runnin' ***" on the fervent sweat of "Ghetto Tekz Runnin It". The former lyric samples Bobby Caldwell's "What You Won't Do For Love", and the latter samples Chicago lyricist Add-2. This merger of soulful ecstasy and gangsta prowess is what DJ Rashad's latest cup o' hypnotic plunderphonics is all about.
Soul samples are everywhere throughout Rashad's Just A Taste Vol. 1, and together with its dominating pulsing house influence, they bring a weighted emotional density to the sped up, drug-induced techno aggression of his arrangements. You can hear Al Green's tender croon repeated under a thick dose of low-end on "IIIIIII HIIIIIIII", as a spew of miscellaneous rhythms form a melodic cohesion. The late Gil Scott-Heron is resurrected on the aptly titled "I'm Gone", as his soulful wail confesses "I left three days ago / But no one seems to know I'm gone", while a throbbing bass line stirs in the background. "Go Crazy" features a sweeping flutter of borderline-industrial tech, as hand claps and a tight g-funk synth swell engorge the mix; before the cork goes bust and out pours a Marvin Gaye sample, accenting the sugary rhythms.
Though the album arguably wouldn't be true ghettotech without at least one profane affair, and "You Azz" delivers; disrespectfully plunging the decency of the mix while soccer moms and moral republicans cover their ears as "You Azz / You Azz Bitch" fills their ears. The album's repetitive sampling technique is likely to sound grating to the ears upon first listen, but rest assured there is a rich complexity to be found within the skewed beats, that settles in once (possible) initial backfire occurs. The album is an accelerated labyrinth of varied rhythms, beats, and patterns. And in that pace, it manages to update the sounds of early '90s techno and house to a steaming virtuosity, mixing '70s soul and rap samples to an entrancing repetitive proficiency, resulting in a future-forward dismemberment of instrumental hip-hop.
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