Danté LaSalle and Deckmaster D

21Apr07

This is an old article I wrote for Musiquitous (musiquitous.org). Hopefully that site will eventually get off the ground, but until it does, here’s the article.

I went to a show at a local venue in support of my favorite local nerdcore artists, expecting to spend some quality time singing along to classic tunes such as “Blunt Code” and “MySpace Pimpin’”. After two local acts of dubious quality performed, the third artist was an unexpected treat. The DJ walked in with a full backpack, two hard metal record cases, and a pair of shooting range ear muffs on. When he started to set up, it looked like he had to use Lord Illingworth’s (Plus+’s DJ) turntables. I could see the obvious apprehension on Ill’s face as they were setting up. He stepped away and we all watched curiously as this table-less DJ started working test scratches with the mixer and vinyl.

This duo hailing from Detroit introduced themselves as Danté LaSalle and DJ Deckmaster D. I didn’t get the name the first time, but after they started it was impossible to forget it. Deck began with some test scratches, showing that he was more than proficient at the art. Danté similarly started off with some energetic test rhymes, spitting off a few high power lyrics and flow, then cutting off the beats early so that the audience could awe at his rhythmic mastery. After flashing us hints of their musical prowess, the two began with some tracks that got the crowd into it. Starting off with the first track off his LP, “Tucker Stomp”, Danté let the lyrics move with the soul of a Negro slave song and the flow of the early Eminem. The track itself juxtaposes a sonorous drum combo that has an almost tribal feel in the verse against a 20’s Southern brass band that instructs listeners to “Stomp”, “Clap” in a similar manner to Lupe Fiasco’s “Kick, Push”. This mix of heavy beats and unconventional samples was a great way to kick off the show, and it didn’t stop there. Danté continued the musical dialogue with a harmonica solo set against a funky blues beat. The rest of the set was in the same style of the first track, using fresh samples mixed with heavy Southern drum beats, each song encouraging those in the audience to sing along with high energy hooks. Deck’s turntablism did not cease to impress as he scratched at the same pace as a Van Halen guitar solo (why he does not have a set of tables is some kind of weird mystery, like how a Buddhist monk does not travel with food or money, but rather trades instruction in the ways of the Dharma for alms).

Danté LaSalle and DJ Deckmaster D are most definitely a welcome sound to hip-hop. Danté brings a moving, skillful kind of lyricism that hasn’t been around since the heyday of Wu-Tang, while Deck revives and charges the tables in the same vein as the late J Dilla and those that are influenced by his legacy. Check out tracks from the LP, Roaming Empire, at http://switchhiphop.com.

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