Azuli's "Choice Collection of Classics" has become a benchmark for the consequential EDM DJ. Azuli has handpicked the most influential DJs to showcase that particular DJ's choice of classics. With the eleventh release on the shelf, Kenny Dope joins the likes of Jeff Mills, Frankie Knuckles, and Francois Kervorkian. Azuli gives the artist the ability to communicate their own musical history to the listener. Here is a little back ground information if you don't know the man behind the tables. Kenny grew up in Brooklyn's Sunset Park area and during the early eighties he was listening to and absorbing the sounds that he was hearing on those streets. In the early 90s he was working with good friend Louie Vega under the alias MAW. In 95, Kenny released "The Bomb" (These Sounds Keep Falling into my Mind). After such a successful track, Kenny never looked back. In his production work you can hear his influences of different styles merged into one. It's his mixture of house, jazz, funk and soul that made him an obvious contender for Azuli's prestigious Choice series.
Disc one contains seventeen songs ranging from the Earth, Wind and Fire classic "Evil" to the more synth-driven Serious Intention track "You Don't Know." The tracklisting on the back of the CD is a casting call of artists that were born in a different time. A time when music was about soul, about funk, and not about top 40 or being heard on KTU. You can feel the wide range of Kenny's musical personality during his transition from disc one to disc two. Not sticking to one particular genre for too long he keeps things fresh. House classics like "Twilight Zone" by Manhattan Transfer and the more percussion-based track "Dancing in Outer Space" by Atmosfear leave you wishing you had saved your vinyl collection rather than selling it at your last yard sale. Kenny gets more creative with sampling and looping during the second disc. In total, the mix brings me to a better understanding of who Kenny Dope is. Mr.Dope does an excellent job with the flow of the music while keeping the original tracks integrity whole . The CD also has five remixes made by Kenny Dope himself exclusively for the mix. While you're at it if you can't find these classic on vinyl, you should know you are able to pick up a unmixed double CD set off the Azuli website.
