Vincent The Soul Chef
This year had me feeling a certain way for several reasons, most of which I refuse to divulge on a public platform such as this... BUT, in the interest of fairness, watch as I continue to chuck a middle finger in the face of the adversity that will befall this bitter earth in a matter of a few short weeks, because the only way to go is forward... still, one second at a time, starting with the latest "mock manifesto"...
Let me begin by recalling that magical time in October, just one short week before everything was thrust into freefall:
Being a part of the Keystone family for the last five years is something that I will treasure for the remainder of my days, second only to the day that I met Leslie way back in 2001. Each and every person that was there that weekend continue to give me hope, and another reason.....
Several minutes just passed between then and now... and somewhere in that time, I thought about one person in specific, who is as much an integral part of the never ending saga that is Fufu Radio, as Larry is for allowing me the opportunity to express myself through the records I've been playing for the last seven years on his platform, as well as my dearly departed best friend Mike is for inspiring me to start on this journey way back in 1999. Being able to continue on this journey for those twenty five years has been a true life saver in many ways, trust and believe... and it's not because I am seeking to be the next big thing. That is not my aim, never has been, never will be. What it continues to do is serve as a permanent document, a sort of personal statement if you will... you see, I learned that it's a much better ride if you stick to your own lane, with no one in front to slow you down when you want to go fast, or no one behind getting annoyed when you feel like you have to slow down to a crawl. Lots of people taught me that lesson when it comes to real life over the years, but it's that one person who taught me how to apply that lesson when it comes to producing the somewhat weekly exercise, more commonly known as Fufu Radio. It was that person who first inspired me to transform it from a meticulously crafted recording to the live and off the cuff session that it has now become, flying by the seat of my pants, throwing caution to the wind, and every other phrase you could imagine. From there, and even more so in the last month and a half with the introduction of the "sanity check", it blossomed... or should I say, "mushroomed" into a challenge. I wish I could remember the quote that Skeme Richards posted on the socials a few years back, but it went something to the effect of, if you're gonna play the same guaranteed records over and over, you might as well launch a streaming app or some such from a cell phone. The point is, and I've said this time and again, there really is more to life than funk, soul, jazz and rare groove on original vinyl. Sure, I love that, and dog knows I have plenty of that, but there's still something missing, something that I simply can't forget... and as each week progresses, I intend to fill in that missing something with something else. I'm always on the hunt for new and not-so obvious links between the funk, soul, etc., and everything else that I've collected over the last fifty years. There is a definite connection, and more times than not, it still has a definite flow, and can even tell a story sometimes. I've been flirting with that concept for a long time, but now I intend to dive headlong into a rekindled relationship with my records by playing things that I haven't heard in decades, as well as things that I've had in my possession for decades, but never ever played... the challenge is to make every one of those elements work. Sometimes it does, other times, not so much, but the fun is in trying. With an endless amount of combinations, building these sessions with nothing in mind and practically everything at my disposal... yeah.
That one person that I speak of... she is definitely one of my heroes, because of her efforts in getting the public at large to recognise the contributions that women have been bringing to DJ culture, ever since Joanie Labine broke through the proverbial "glass ceiling" back in 1964. She has become my mentor in a manner of speaking, thanks to her appearances with fellow DJ Kitty The Disc Jockey, and their "Get Ready" programme on Maker Park Radio, not to mention her long standing tenure as a charter member of the Empire State Soul Club. And now, after close to twenty years, I am beyond privileged to call her a very trusted friend. Yeah, I dedicate this post to none other than the mighty Empress of Soul, Connie T. Empress... she's to blame for the direction that I am now headed in, and I can't thank her enough for making me see that for myself. Maybe one day soon, you'll take the opportunity to see where I am headed by clicking on one of the many links that permanently reside on mixlr or even Mixcloud (yeah, that page still exists until it doesn't). I really hate to quote Bill Cosby anywhere, but what he used to say in the opening sequence of the Fat Albert Show back in the 70s rings so true here: I fully intend to bring music and fun to the world at large for the foreseeable future and then some, and if you're not careful, you may even learn something before it's done... I will always call it opening up a window into my soul, ever so slightly, for a reason. Again, I am not here to be the next big thing, for that is not my aim. I just want to share what I've learned over the last fifty years, and what I will continue to learn as time marches on.
With all of that said, it's time to challenge myself even further. No one knows how 2025 will play out, and I absolutely refuse to speculate on that here, but one thing will remain constant... as long as there's breath, strength and will in my body and mind, and some sort of financial resource to continue buying records, I will stay on this path until I can no longer. You, dear reader, will always be welcome to come along for the ride at any time, and if I am able to bring some joy to your life, or teach you about something that you may have never known, then I've done my job. When I resume producing shows in the next week or two, I solemnly vow to never follow a set of rules... ever again. Thank you for reading, for putting up with me, and of course, for doing whatever you can whenever you can. Time to build another playlist now, so before I go, let me wish all of you peace and love in the coming year that's guaranteed to challenge us all. A little hope for our survival wouldn't hurt either. Have fun(k), and please be safe because as you already know, it ain't safe no more. I hope to see you somewhere on the socials or even better, in real life real soon. Dog help us all.
