February 16, 2015

Da King & I "Tears" (Behind The Scenes Interview)


If you've been following the different blogs I've had over the years, you're familiar with that fact that I post about Da King & I fairly often. Specifically their single "Tears" off "Contemporary Jeep Music" in 1993. I'd purchased the album on cassette, had a couple of the cassingles, but it was the homie Petey Cologne (who later worked at The Halftime Show with DJ Eclipse) who had the 12" and hipped me to the incredibly smooth "Darp Vibe" Remix. I remember vividly popping in the 60 minute TDK cassette, recording a copy and listening back on it for days. Naturally, I eventually purchased a copy, but for a while that dub was all I had. YouTube (in the U.S.) has taken down most copies of Da King & I's videos, you just don't see them - especially not in good quality - but they exist. A few years back, a video clip of Izzy Ice & DJ Majesty was unearthed with behind the scenes footage from the making of the "Tears" video: discussing the record's concept, as well as the meaning of Da King & I, and briefly featuring Jamal of the group Illegal (also on Dallas Austin's Rowdy Records at the time). Lastly, they mention the track "Kingpin" with Pudgee The Phat Bastard, which is snuck on the B-side to "Tears" but is not featured on the "Contemporary Jeep Music" LP. Watch below.