DJ RASHAD

Chicago Footwork legend DJ Rashad rounds off an impressive year on Hyperdub with his first album for the label, building on two EPs which have shown the extent to which his and his numerous Teklife collaborators’ sound have evolved in 2013. Named after the recreational cocktail of codeine and sprite, ‘Double Cup’ sees trad 808 footwork workouts thrown into collision with more recent mutations of the sound, presenting Rashad’s most comprehensive showcase of the diversity and strength of the Chicago scene in 2013. The album drags hip hop, R&B, acid, house, techno and jungle into its footwork turbine, spitting them all out in recombinant fragments glued together with purring 808 sub triplets and jerky polyrhythms. The album warms up with a distinctly low slung, g-funk flavour, typical of Rashad & Spinn’s collaborations with San Francisco-based Taso. Hiccuping divas grace the rhythms on ‘Show U How’ and ‘Only One’ and ‘Everyday Of My Life’ (with Phil), with the crew providing their raps on ‘Pass That Shit’, ‘She A Go’ and ‘Kush, Drank, Barz’. The previously released ‘I Don’t Give A Fuck’ marks the dark pivot point of the album, with the pace picking up in the second half with more driving 4/4 flavours such as the title track ‘Double Cup’, the thunderously jacking ’Acid Bit’ with Addison Groove and Chicago house flavours of ’Reggie’ and ‘Leavin’(with Manny). The trip climaxes with the jagged breakbeat science of ‘Let U No’ and ‘I’m Too Hi’ (with Earl). ‘Double Cup’ is another indication that not only is this music still some of the most exciting, forward thinking music for the dancefloor that’s around right now, but that footwork can eat anything.