RIP junclassic

Damn. This one hurts; it always hurts when someone I know passes, especially when the word comes out of nowhere, but damn, I really rocked with junclassic. I don't remember how we first linked up; back when we were really rocking over here, emails would just hit the inbox on the regular. Hell, I was getting mail sent to the crib. Thing is, jun still sent his albums. I have a few CDs sitting around somewhere; he was always working, and was always looking out.

Back in 2009, Kid Hum allowed me to let a bunch of dope emcees rap over beats from his Fossil Fuels instrumental album; when I was reaching out to folks for the tracks that would become Offshore Drilling, I feel like jun was one of the first cats to submit tracks. Hell, he has two solo joints on the project, and he made sure to throw in "you gotta rock the dub, baby." I never asked; that's just how he was. Stand-up individual. Hard worker. Dope as fuck with the pen. Dare I say one of the more prolific artists I've ever come across.

Kid Hum · 06 Junclassic "Angst" (Produced by Kid Hum)

Kid Hum · 14 Junclassic "Passport" (Produced by Kid Hum)

jun is also all over The KhemLab, the spiritual sequel to Offshore Drilling if you will; one of my personal favorites is the J57-produced "Khemistry," which finds junclassic kicking the final verse. I always loved the last line of his verse: "keep ya shit tighter than African hair braiding." jun was always ready with a tight verse, a dope project, and his warm spirit, always down to rep for the culture.

You will be missed, jun, although it looks like you have a project dropping Friday, so you'll definitely still be with us. Rest easy. 

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RIP Jay Kountree

Local legend Jay Kountree passed away early Tuesday morning; he was 38. Reports say he was killed during a situation involving a motor vehicle crash, which is fucking tragic. Not only was dude a phenomenal DJ—I'd seen a few sets in the city of Trenton where he'd be going ham with the '90s house—but he was just a good dude. Seeing him out meant a smiling face and someone around my age who was a father and would geek out on the same culture I'd geek out on.

What sucks is that Kountree, who was already a staple of the club scenes in Jersey and Philly, was making some dope material over the past year, dropping a four-track release WWJKD in January, followed up by a two-track remix EP, DEDICATED<3 in February.

Jay Kountree · WWJKD

Jay Kountree · DEDICATED <3

There have been a number of tributes and thoughts about Kountree, especially throughout the Trenton and Philly scenes on Facebook. I could share a bunch of thoughts, but honestly, Trenton Social's Facebook post may sum things up:

"Kountree wasn’t just behind the decks," they said, "he was the energy, the heartbeat, the soundtrack of so many unforgettable nights here. Thank you for the years of music, laughter, and memories you gave everyone. Your presence filled this place with life, and your legacy will always echo through every beat that plays in this home you helped build. You will forever be missed, forever loved, and your music will forever live on."

Rest in peace, Jay Kountree. And if you want to contribute to the GoFundMe for his funeral, please do.

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RIP Optiv

Sad news coming from the dnb world today; Edward Holmes, known fondly as dnb producer/label head Optiv of the legendary Cause 4 Concern, is said to have passed away.



While not a creator of the neurofunk sound, Optiv—as a part of the then-quartet C4C—played a huge part in helping the sound grow, netting releases on their self-titled imprint in 1999 before spreading their wings to imprints like Virus, Renegade Hardware, Timeless, Metro, True Playaz, and a host of others. While they were on their tear, Optiv set up his own imprint, Red Light Recordings, which not only nurtured the future of the scene, but also helped usher in established talents like Black Sun Empire to the larger dnb realm.

It was via Red Light that Optiv started a long list of collaborations, linking with Bulletproof and Gridlok early. Always one to link with producers to explore the darker side of the dnb sound, Optiv found a kindred spirit in BTK, who he started releasing material with in 2011, resulting in three album-length projects released during their union (2012's Dirty Tricks, 2014's Blackjack, and Authentic Part One, which dropped in 2016).



No cause of death is being shared at this time, but that hasn't stopped drum & bass community from sharing condolences along with their thoughts on his legacy.

RIP Optiv. This man was such an amazing, genuine human. He will be remembered as a huge inspiration + the cleanest of sound designers. So many of my fav D&B tunes were produced by him. It’s an honor to have released music on his label but damn my heart rly breaks for his family.

— мayнəм (@mayhemSLR) January 6, 2020

Oh man.... so so sorry to hear we have lost Ed Optiv. He was a proper cool and genuine guy with so much talent. Gutted to hear this.

— Matrix (@MatrixLondon) January 6, 2020

We put together an Apple Music playlist full of our favorite tunes from Optiv's extensive catalog. Tune in and celebrate his legacy. Rest in peace, Optiv.

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Rich Quick - "Raize Of The Sun" (Music Video)

I just got a notification for this "Raize of the Sun" video from Rich Quick, which is taken from The Beginning Is Nigh, which dropped back in April. I still haven't even properly processed his passing. Rich was a genuine dude who was also genuinely talented, and this clip proves it.

I still don't know how to even talk about him passing. Questions unanswered. Glad there's material of his to still dive into, hoping to either find those answers or just feel his spirit while I'm still on Earth to shout his name. We miss you, Quick.

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The Rich Quick Memorial Show (Oct. 12, 2018)

The NJ scene is still reeling from the passing of Rich Quick, but one of the best ways to heal is to link up with your community and celebrate. That will be happening at the Voltage Lounge in Philly on Friday, October 12.

The bill features the likes of Reef the Lost Cauze, the CORFU crew, Skrewtape, and even Rich's student, HeemFuquan. There will also be a cypher with featured MCs like MiilkBone, Ren Thomas, and more. Even the homey Leon Rainbow will be doing some live painting.

Tickets are available now; $10 pre-sale, $15 at the door. There's also an Art History 101 exclusive Rich Quick shirt on sale only at the event, as well as raffles and a silent auction, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Rich Quick Scholarship Fund.

Rest in power, Rich.

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RIP Rich Quick

The rap game just lost a real one. While details are scarce, social media has lit up with word that Rich Quick, one of the nicest and most memorable artists in this area, has died. If you've been rocking with this site, you've definitely come across a post we've done on his music.



I want to say I first got introduced to Quick back in 2011, during one of the many Garden Variety shows in Trenton. I'd continue to run into him in Trenton, and we struck up a rapport. It was his I'm With the DJ tape that really made me appreciate what Quick did as a lyricist for the area, but it went deeper than that project. He just felt like he was always on the pulse. He was one of the first I remember migrating to SoundCloud. One of the few taking the time to craft songs with live instrumentation, even after cats started making beats at home. He just thought different. Might be why, over the last few years, he was doing way more painting and way less writing.

I’ve been laying low4a while, sharpening my sword. But I didn’t 4get about y’all. Thankz4continuing2believe in me+I hope you’re all az ready4my next chapter az I M. Here’z my latest piece! RETWEET, comment+support!! #ArtByRichQuick pic.twitter.com/1k8wrYNVBd

— Rich Quick (@RichMFNQuick) July 2, 2018

I guess we won't be able to hear what Quick's pen would sound like after this hiatus. I'd love to know what his next chapter would've included. All I have are these tracks, all of those daps and laughs, his warm greeting whenever we ran into each other in the Town. I'm genuinely going to miss this dude, just like anyone who entered his cipher during his way too short time on this Earth. So while we all try to pick up the pieces, lets loudly blast the music Quick left us. Rest in power, Rich.

A GoFundMe to help out Rich's family is here; you can also read his obituary. 

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RIP Spirit

The drum & bass community has been rocked by word of the death of Duncan Bisto, better known to fans as Spirit.

For anyone checking out drum & bass from '96 onwards, something Spirit has done has to have rocked you. While a number of his earlier productions were released via imprints like C.I.A. and Timeless, it was his material with Digital that really cemented his legacy early on, with cuts like "Mission Accomplished," "Remote Control," and the absolute anthem "Phantom Force" coming from their collective studios. Over the years, Spirit not only released material through some of the finest imprints in the scene (Metalheadz, Commercial Suicide), but also set up his own imprint, Inneractive Music, which he continued to drop material on.



News of Spirit's health issues hit less than a week ago, with Digital (who had just recently dropped an EP he did with Spirit over on Phantom Audio) recently sharing that Spirit was in the hospital in critical condition since August 13. He shared that Spirit had suffered a cardiac arrest, and that there had been irreparable brain damage. The family was told to prepare for the inevitable. On Sunday, Digital shared the tragic news that Spirit had passed.

It's also sad when the drum & bass community loses one of their own; last fall, Spirit released a single he produced with Marcus Intalex, who himself passed in May of 2017.




For those looking to remember Spirit, there's no doubt going to be a number of tributes on the way. For starters, check out this interview UKF did with Spirit back in 2017, which looks back at the reasons why he's regarded as one of the best and most prolific producers the scene has ever produced. Spirit was also very active in remastering and re-releasing the Inneractive Music back catalog via Bandcamp; take some time reminiscing through those classics, especially his stellar 2005 album Puzzle Box.

For now, here's a three-hour set Spirit did back in 2016. We also put a bunch of his gems into this Apple Music playlist. Or just check out the mixes we've thrown down below. Rest in power, Spirit.

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Combat Jack Passed Away

"Combat Jack has passed away" are words I wasn't prepared to type today...or any day, really. He revealed back in October that he was dealing with colon cancer, and while it was already #FUCKCANCER, this one is hitting me differently.

See, Reggie was just that dude. I only got to meet him once, back during one of the Combat Jack Show BBQs in Brooklyn, and he was just as awesome in person as he was the number of times we spoke on the phone when I'd call into the old Combat Jack Show on PNC. He was a proper Rap Father, a dynamic podcast host, and someone who I considered a friend.

From lawyer to radio host to podcast god...Combat left his mark, and put a lot of people on in the process. I know I'm going to miss his random emails about new music and the like. Damn. The world isn't going to be the same without Reggie Ossé in it. Rest in power, Combat.

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RIP Apex

Earlier today, word swept the drum & bass world regarding the passing of Robert Dickeson, known to many as Apex. The Maidstone, England-born producer started out as 1/2 of Unknown Error, getting some major looks via Renegade Hardware and Moving Shadow, but ended up splitting from the duo in 2007 to much success for Hospital and Lifted Music, among other imprints.



As of late, Apex had been making house and techno, releasing material as Robert Oaks on Mau5trap.

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DJ Concept Pays Tribute to Prodigy In The Mix

Surprisingly, I haven't seen many DJs going in the mix to pay tribute and homage to Prodigy, who recently passed away at the age of 42. The Mobb Deep-repping, Queens-born emcee was one of the coldest to ever put pen to paper, and inspired a generation (or two) of hip-hop lovers.

To pay tribute, DJ Concept dug into his bins and pulled out a grip of original samples from Prodigy's catalog, turning that digging into a 23-minute dusty-fingered mix for P.

“It’s my homage to Prodigy and his soundscape, which was very influential to my sound as a producer,” Concept explains. “Banging joints like ‘The Realest,’ ‘Keep It Thoro,’ ‘HNIC’... I remember thinking, ‘This is the sound I wish I could make.’”

You can stream the full mix below. Hopefully a downloadable version is available at some point, but either way, blast this LOUD and remember one of the best to do it.

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Life After Death: Download These Tributes to The Notorious B.I.G.

While it's customary that we at rockthedub pay tribute to The Notorious B.I.G.'s legacy by sharing this now-nine-year-old mix that we did, today is a bit different; today marks the 20th anniversary of his death. It's a big one, and should be recognized properly.

That said, check out some of these tribute songs, mixtapes, and more to the memory of one of the greatest to ever do it. Rest in peace, Biggie.

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DJ Marky Pays Tribute to the Musical Legends We Lost in 2016

The first time I went to Los Angeles was the weekend Michael Jackson died. I went there to experience an EDC, although I really just stayed in the bass arena because guys like DJ Marky were on the bill. In that sea of massive bass, Marky did something special: he dropped, then rewound, some classic MJ records. It was small, but necessary. And with his deep crates, I'm surprised he isn't asked to do more retrospective mixes like this.

With 2016 taking the likes of David Bowie, Prince, Rod Temperton, George Michael, and others passing away this year, it made sense that someone did a mix like this. Marky says that one of his good friends asked him to do it, so he obliged. Here's his ~70 minute mix, featuring a beautiful mix of material from these classic artists. Perfect for your NYE festivities, if you're more on the "cry into a glass of whisky" sort like myself.

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Watch TV One's 'Unsung' Documentary On Frankie Knuckles and the History of House Music

Image via Dave Hoekstra

Earlier this week, TV One's Unsung series looked at the life and legacy of DJ Frankie Knuckles, who passed away two years ago. He's truly the architect of house music (hell, the name "house music" wouldn't even be a thing if it wasn't for heads in need of a way to describe what Frankie would play at Chicago's Warehouse club), but instead of just looking at his life, Unsung decided to dig a bit deeper, taking a look at the history of house music, growing from the ashes of disco hatred to a worldwide phenomenon.

Fans of electronic music owe a lot to Frankie. Take some time out to reflect on the life of a true pioneer. You can stream the documentary in full down below. If you want more on Frankie, check out the letter Barack Obama wrote after he passed, as well as a collection of Frankie's best tracks. For those who might be new to Frankie's material and house music as a genre, we've added some mixes of his (including his last-ever recorded set) down below.

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RIP Sharon Jones

Sharon Jones, who's powerful voice lead Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, has passed away at 60. Their website reports that she had been battling pancreatic cancer.

I can't front like I was a huge Sharon Jones head. While she'd been making music for the past twenty years, I'd only started hearing about her in the last ten, including featuring her powerful, socially-charged tracks like "What If We All Stopped Paying Taxes?" in some of my own socially-charged mixtapes. With the Dap-Kings behind her, the soul and funk that lived within her was allowed to be cast out. You can see it in the above picture; she just had a huge, booming voice.

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Big Makk's 'The Makk Tape' Has Been Posthumously Released

Image via Chadwickmak

August ended on a sad note with word that Florida's own Big Makk died after being in a horrific car accident. While a number of tribute songs and shows have already went down in his memory, it looks like fans and friends have been gifted with The Makk Tape, an album that Makk had planned on releasing today. His management went ahead and dropped it, with the following note:

"Today was the day Sam (aka BIG MAKK) was going to release this LP titled "THE MAKK TAPE". For those that didn't know Sam, he had 3 loves in his life; His Family/Friends, His Music, & His Shoes (mainly Vans). We also know there is nothing more he would have wanted than for everyone to listen and share this music as was planned. We miss you Sam and we couldn't think of a better way to honor your beautiful soul than to have your music live on forever."

You can stream this moving release via SoundCloud below or Spotify, and cop it on iTunes. All proceeds from the release will be going to his family.

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rockthedub radio 032: Muhammad Ali Special

Over the last few days, I'd been going through a number of the mixes that I was doing for a five-year period from 2006 through 2011. In that time, we had many Dub Sessions and rockthedub radio shows, of varying quality, and I wanted to get back into that. Part of the reason I started really digging into the rockthedub Mixcloud page. There's a true plan for all of this, I swear.

With Muhammad Ali's passing, I got the bug and wanted to combine some of my favorite talking bits from him over the years with some of the hip-hop I've been digging over the last few years. This isn't like a definitive statement on Ali's life, but it does feature some of his humor mixed with some of his deeper insight, along with some Easter eggs hidden throughout. Something fun and honest to help remember The Greatest by. Rest in peace, Muhammad Ali.

And as an FYI, don't expect these radio programs to be on some kind of consistent basis. If they happen monthly right now, we'll be lucky. It's hard to believe I used to do two-hour rockthedub radio shows on a bi-weekly basis. I will have more to come, though, trust that.

DOWNLOAD rockthedub radio 032

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Q-Tip Paid Tribute to Phife Dawg on Abstract Radio

It was only fitting that Q-Tip dedicated this week's Abstract Radio to the memory of Phife Dawg, who passed away earlier this week. The two-hour set features a number of live (and rare) A Tribe Called Quest recordings, as well as tributes from some of hip-hop's finest.

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Rich Quick Honors The Notorious B.I.G. on "Juicy Symphony"

Instead of some of the corny ass tributes that I've heard for Biggie, the homey Rich Quick speaks truth, transforming some of the most memorable lines from one of B.I.G.'s most memorable tracks for a track that pays perfect homage to the Notorious One while still exuding exactly what we love from Quick. Emily Wells on this is icing on the cake.

Rock out to this, then peep the throwback BIG mix that we did years ago. RIP BIG!

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DJ Wonder Pays Tribute to David Bowie

Like all good DJs should, DJ Wonder stepped up to the wheels of steel this morning on Shade45 and threw down this impressive tribute mix to the late, great David Bowie. What he did was throw in a number of Bowie's classics alongside rap bangers that sampled and flipped a number of his tunes. You can stream below, and download today. Pay homage.

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J. Slikk - "Mr. Timbuck's Opus (L'amour L'emporte Sur La Mort)"

Not too long before Christmas, the world lost another hip-hop legend, as DJ Timbuck2 passed away at the age of 34 after a long battle with cancer. A number of hip-hop luminaries in Chitown spread love for such a talented individual, and the homey J. Slikk dropped a somber cut to pay homage.

As Slikk said, "Thank you for believing in me enough at an early age to give my sounds their first major airplay." He went on to mention that this opus "isn't perfect... But it's this is the least I can do. In addition, this is for anyone who has lost. If I can help heal, I'm glad to..."

Rest in power, Timbuck2.

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