from the 12” single, Sound of New York Records, 1982This is the real deal folks, a track whose title summed up an entire generation’s wishes & pursuits in the dance underground, after “disco” became a dirty word, leading legions of fans and musicians alike on a pursuit for the groove (and only the groove, freed at this time from the constraints of mass consumption and, thus, populist demand); that quest, whether sought on the radio or inside a dark club, became an actual way of life for many, people seeking solace from an increasingly shady (and shaky) world, knowing full well the healing power of those magical beats. Indeep’s main writer and composer, a white boy named Michael Cleveland (word!), was already a dedicated fan of NYC’s burgeoning hip-hop scene, and he decided that rather than sampling an old disco track for a hip-hop song he would bring rapping into a disco-funk track, an experiment which proved to be both fruitful and climatic, as none of his other records came close to this level of success. “…and if it wasn’t for the music, I don’t know what I’d do…last night a DJ saved my life, last night a DJ saved my life with a song…” I wouldn’t be spending a grip of time compiling all these blog posts if I didn’t believe the truth within that preceding statement. Music is the answer.
