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Good stuff, thanks for sharing it. Having said that, I can't help but get nitpicky about a few things (I hope you take this as constructive criticism). Filling in the blanks: Jackhigh is from the UK, Odd Nosdam is from the midwest but lives in Berkeley, Nocow is Russian (St. Petersburg). Shlohmo is from Los Angeles, not New York. Lunice is from Montreal, not the UK. Dakim is definitely from Detroit, but moved to California a while back. Mike Slott is marked as New York, where he lives now, but he's originally from Glasgow. Ssaliva and Cupp Cave are the same person. His occasional collaborator Dem Hunger (who is an insane genius) seems only to be releasing music under the Wanda Group moniker of late. Jeremiah Jae is included, as is his older group material with Young Black Preachers, but not the newer stuff as Black Jungle Squad. The DJ for that group, Pbdy, signed to Brainfeeder not too long ago, runs a few regular nights in LA as well as his own label (TAR), and should probably be included, as should many others. However, the most egregious omissions from the list are Kutmah and Daddy Kev. Daddy Kev is one of the residents and founders of Low End Theory, and the man behind Alpha Pup Records, a label which has released work by many—perhaps even most—of the artists on that list. Kutmah founded Sketchbook, the art/music night which evolved into Low End Theory. When Ras G releases a song called "One 4 Kutmah"—one of many instances of a producer naming a track "One for/4 x" as a nod to Dilla's "One for Ghost" on Donuts—that pretty well establishes you as a godfather of the scene. Without the contributions of those two guys that huge circle covering Los Angeles on the map gets a lot smaller. And that kind of gets to the heart of what's really missing from this graphic—the personal connections. You're documenting an art movement which is very much alive, not only in the sense that it's constantly evolving, but that it's filled with real people who are friends and coworkers and share ideas (and experiences and meals and even sometimes bathrooms and lease agreements) with each other. The fact that a handful of producers from across the map all dabble in samples that might qualify their work as "world music" is sort of interesting, I guess. What I find a great deal more interesting is that Kutmah used to earn extra cash by picking up shifts at Poo-Bah Records in Pasadena, one of the best independent record stores on the planet, which just so happens to be co-owned and managed by Take (who is going by Sweatson Klank these days). Other employees of that shop have included Ras G, Black Monk, and Detective Tully, who himself has long been the stage manager (and frequent opening act) at Low End Theory, and is a founding member of the My Hollow Drum crew along with Teebs, yuk., Co. Fee, Bahwee, and others. MHD made their name playing a residency at the The Crosby in Santa Ana, which was co-owned by Chris Alfaro a.k.a. Free the Robots, a venue which more recently has played host to frequent performances by members of the Soulection and Team Supreme collectives, who have been making huge moves lately and are completely absent from your list. (Even more recently, The Crosby was forced to shut its doors, though I'm certain something incredible will rise from its ashes.) Similarly, Kutmah was also one of the earliest participants in dublab, one of the first touchstones of the beat scene in Los Angeles. Its founder, frosty, was once a member of Adventure Time alongside Daedelus, and another early and frequent dublab collaborator matthewdavid would go on to release his own work on Brainfeeder, and put out tapes by Ras G, Samiyam, Odd Nosdam, Ahnnu, Dakim, Dem Hunger, yuk. and many others on his Leaving Records imprint, which just last year signed a distribution deal with Stones Throw. And that brings us back to Dilla, as so many things do. His impact is wide and deep, and he inspired a great many people to do a great many things, including inspiring you to create that graphic, which itself just barely scratches the surface. |