*artwork by Ashes57
ARTIST: DJ RASHAD
TITLE: TEKLIFE Vol. 1: Welcome to the Chi
LABEL: LIT CITY TRAX
FORMATS: DIGITAL / CD
CAT#: LCTRAX001
RELEASE DATE: June 5th, 2012
PRESS INQUIRIES:
litcitytrax@gmail.com
Tracklisting
1. DJ Rashad - Feelin’
2. DJ Rashad - Don’t Drop It
3. DJ Rashad - iPod
4. DJ Rashad - Bakk Off
5. DJ Rashad & DJ Spinn - We Trippy Mane
6. DJ Rashad & DJ Spinn - Trap Bakk
7. DJ Rashad - She Gonna Go
8. DJ Rashad - Fly Spray
9. DJ Rashad - Twitter
10. DJ Rashad & DJ Spinn - We Leanin’
11. DJ Rashad - Da Life
12. DJ Rashad - Kush Ain’t Loud
13. DJ Rashad - Walk For Me
14. DJ Rashad - CCP
15. DJ Rashad - Chicago
16. DJ Rashad & DJ Manny - Over Ya Head
17. DJ Rashad - Well Well Well
18. DJ Rashad - Welcome to the Chi
19. DJ Rashad - Shoot Me
20. DJ Rashad - My Way Home
All tracks mixed by DJ Rashad
Additional mixing on tracks 5, 6 & 10 by DJ Spinn
Additional mixing on track 16 by DJ Manny
Engineering on track 5 by Rusty Santos
Mastered by Rusty Santos
Biography
Chicago kingpin, DJ Rashad, has been a quintessential figurehead in the evolution from Ghetto House to Footwork and its predecessor Juke. Consistently progressing the style, Rashad has been a bastion of the sound. His contributions have acted as blueprints and remain indispensable. His open production approach has helped him craft a unique brand of Footwork that is deeply rooted in Chicago's history of House as well as Soul, Funk, Jazz and Hip-Hop, simultaneously pushing the boundaries of House music into entirely new regions.
Rashad was born in Chicago, moving to the deep south suburb of Callumet City soon after. By the time he entered high school, he was a veteran dancer on the south side, cutting his teeth with the some of the most respected dance groups including House-O-Matics, The Phyrm, and Wolf Pac. Rashad promptly graduated to DJing and producing, making a plethora of high-octane Ghettohouse mixtapes.
Footworkers hit their moves, or werkz, and partied at Club Cavallini's and local skating rinks such as Markham Rink, the Rink on 87th St & Dolton Expo, where Rashad was a favourite and regular DJ. He could always be seen dancing and balling-up opponents between his blends. Meeting his longtime ally, DJ Spinn, during homeroom class at Thornwood High School in 1996, they quickly began producing tracks at each others' houses using any sampler or drum machine they could obtain . During this era, they DJ’d parties with the likes of RP Boo, DJ Clent, Gant-Man, Poncho and various essential Dance Mania DJs including DJ Deeon, Jammin Gerald, DJ Funk & DJ PJ. Their first release to make it to wax was in 1998 on Dance Mania - "DJ Rashad: Child Abuse/DJ Spinn: Motherfucker" [DM255] (mislabeled as DJ Thadz).
Repping Beatdown House alongside DJ Spinn, a clique founded by DJ Clent, the group dissolved over differences some years later. Rashad and Spinn remained close counterparts, crafting the sound that is heard today along with contemporaries such as RP Boo and Traxman. Soon after leaving Beatdown, Rashad and Spinn founded the Ghettoteknitianz. At present, the clique is the largest in the city, well-over a dozen strong producer wise, allied with dancers all over the cities south and west sides; such as Red Legends, The Foundation, Terra Squad, Wolf Pac, Taliban, Nu Era, Leaders of the New School and many more.
Rashad remains an archetypal figure, pioneering the sound that Footworkers dance to today. While tracks such as "Girl Bust Down", "Blowed Like The Wind" and "4 The Ghetto" established him as a local legend, his influence can be heard the world over from the young track makers of Chicago to internationally acclaimed acts such as Addison Groove, Africa Hitech, Nguzunguzu as well as a magnitude of others.
It has been over a year since the release of his last record and between the six European tours since then, he has been constantly producing, whether at Spinn's Trakk Factory or at his home studio. With the exception of the album’s closing track, the album is a carefully crafted selection from the vast amount of material produced by Rashad in the last year. Always pushing his sound forward into the unknown, "TEKLIFE Vol. 1: Welcome to the Chi" is an invaluable insight into the present sound of DJ Rashad and the future sound of Footwork. It will be released on Lit City Trax, an imprint co-founded by DJ Rashad, DJ Spinn & J-Cush. By the time the world catches up, Rashad will be way ahead once again. Stay tuned for the follow up full-length, "The Manny N Rashad Show", a collaborative effort, coming soon on Lit City Trax.
