Cut Chemist, well known for his work with Jurassic 5, Ozomantli, and DJ Shadow, played a live DJ set at Denver Colorado’s legendary Club Vinyl on Wednesday night. Being 1 of the 4 cities of the Cut Chemist Live! tour, Denver was the 1st leg of the tour and Sub.mssion & TheHundred Presents teamed up to present us with this legendary DJ. I’ve seen Cut Chemist several times with Jurassic 5 but I have never seen him do a full solo set.
If you have seen Cut Chemist perform in the past, it was probably backing up a hip hop group, a live band, or teaming up with another DJ. If you have seen Cut Chemist do a solo live set before, you are part of a very rare breed and should feel honored! The rest of us have never seen Cut Chemist in his solo form and this past Wednesday night was a very special treat!
Before we get into the performance, let’s think about the word ‘chemist.’ When you think of a chemist, you are probably envisioning a mad scientist with wild hair and a time machine on standby. Maybe you think of Doc from “Back to the Future?” This Chemist is not much different. His scientific approach to beats, sounds, and scratching is what makes his live performance so compelling and unique. His vast knowledge of music, timing, and his creative planning truly makes him a chemist on the turntables and unlike any other DJ. This past Wednesday night was no exception.
The Chemist began his set with a Biz Markie dubplate to get the night started and Biz Markie giving shouts to the Cut Chemist was a brilliant way to kick things off. Next he mixed into something so funky, it was puzzling. Before anyone could comprehend what was going on, Ohio Players, “Funky Worm” completely took over the room and after a few rounds of dancing we heard a sample from NWA’s Eazy E. Cut got on the mic and proclaimed “Straight Outta Compton,” the movie of the year. You could hear the excitement from the crowd as the sound of Eazy’s voice lit up the Funktion 1 sound system. Chemist dropped Gang Starr’s hip hop classic, “Full Clip.” You might recognize the sample “Big L, rest in peace.” We rocked out to the beat until he stopped the record. “This was a crazy year,” Chemist announced, “We lost David Bowie,” He scratched in the sample “rest in peace.” He continued to name several well-known artists who passed away in 2015 by naming the artist then cutting in the sample, “rest in peace.” The tribute was amazing and it really solidified an intimate connection between the DJ and the crowd. Cut Chemist continued to rock a mini hip hop mix which included Madvillain’s “Americas Most Blunted” featuring Lord Quasimoto, KRS-One, Dilla, Eric B. and Rakim and of course his own group, Jurassic 5. Cut Chemist really brought out the energy from the hip hop heads.
One of the most memorable moments of the night was when Cut Chemist got on mic and declared Denver a “home away from home” and proceeded to grace us with a special scratch session on the turntables. One moment that really stood out was when he started finger drumming on the CDJ. As the party goers got excited, he picked up the CDJ with one hand and obliterated the beat pads with the other hand. His 2 hour set was a journey packed with funky, futuristic and experimental sounds. He covered many different varieties of music ranging from Reggaeton, to African beats.
Cut Chemist turned Club Vinyl into an education station as he broke down the science of African beats. He encouraged the crowd to follow along. The beat he started out with sounded very tribal until he slowly manipulated the rhythm into a familiar hip hop beat. It was a perfect demonstration of how original African beats have influenced hip hop music. All the music sounded great on the huge sound system. As I looked into the crowd, I observed a wide variety of fans ranging from original hip hop heads, all the way to modern day ravers and there was just enough bodies to fill the space and have plenty of room to dance at the same time.
Cut Chemist left the stage after his set to greet a few lucky fans. After his exit, the fans were left with a memory of a special night as they made their way out onto the streets of Denver. On the way out of the club you could see smiles from ear to ear. Only a few lucky fans were able to purchase the limited edition version of “Cut Chemist: FUNK OFF MEGAMIX” on Vinyl. The rest of the people that passed it up for $20 cash can pick it up online for $30 on his Bandcamp website. Special shout out to DJ Awhat for a spectacular opening set.
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