Crosstown Beef by Burnt Bakarak

When I was 5, there was an old lady in the neighborhood that would babysit my little brother and I. She was a mean ass old lady that drove an old Cadillac. The only place I ever remember her taking us was the occasional trip to the city to get her perm fixed. I remember how much I enjoyed riding in her car. I can shut my eyes and smell it to this day. I can also hear the sounds in that car. At the time, the music seemed foreign to me. I had never really been exposed to anything other than the modern sounds of the 80s, but this music sounded like a time gone passed. I would eventually figure out that this was called soul music and that I definitely loved it. In the world of soul music, greatness has shined from places like Detroit, Philly and Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The more of it that I listened to, the greater differences I heard in its sound from place to place. With more research, I started to see that most of my favorite soul songs came from Memphis, Tennessee. All of that other stuff was great, but the sounds coming from Memphis seemed to have a little more soul to my ear. It could be a little more painful or a little more swingin, but had a magic that I felt to my bones. Two of the greatest labels putting out this music throughout the 60's and the 70's were Hi and Stax. I came to find out that both of these labels were located in Memphis and made music in old movie theaters located only a few blocks from each other. I also learned that both labels had house bands that played on most of the recordings and that both bands sometimes shared the same members. At one point in their run, Hi producer, Willie Mitchell, and his house band, The Hi Rhythm Section, went into the studio 27 times in a row and came out with gold records each time. Stax had so many radio hits that they started a second label, named Volt, putting out the exact same artists. They did this so DJs wouldn't be overwhelmed with the Stax logo in the middle of all the records they were playing from their many hits. I imagine that at the time, there was definitely something in the water and things were cooking. With the music's popularity, I am not the only producer to rediscover these gems. A lot of people's parents had these records in their collections. That means lots of sample choppers have reconstructed these two catalogues throughout the years. These tracks have already spawned so many classic hip hop joints and are one of its many staples. I still wanted to put my spin on it though. So, I spent the beginning part of this year exclusively working through the givings of Hi and Stax 45s. I found some new classics that I had never heard, learned all kinds of new stuff and fell in love with the music even more. Today, I pit them against each other in a battle for Soul Supremacy. With Hi Records in one corner (Side A) and Stax Records on the other (Side B), I am pumped to get to observe such a bout. I invite you to tune in with me for another trip to a time gone passed. We are headed back to 1970 in Memphis, Tennessee. Don't forget your boxing gloves.

*Most people have probably heard of the singers names on these records, but the names of the instrumentalists who played the music goes largely unknown. It is in honor of these true heavyweights in which I have named the tracks on this tape.

Pad pushers and beat nerds at your humble service.

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