Kenny Dope, one half of New York City’s legendary Masters At Work team, released this mix back in 2004 as part of a series of fantastic disco and 80’s mixes. This mix is required listening for fans of the old-school! Here’s a few excerpts from an excellent review I found by Michael Gill at Stylus Magazine:
As disco went back underground at the beginning of the ‘80s, it went through a bit of a stylistic makeover. Boogie, a slower take on disco with a thicker back beat, became popular in clubs, and disco labels like Salsoul, West End, and Prelude continued to flourish with a mass of underground hits. These labels reduced the diva and the orchestral quotient of disco, and added in an array of synthesizers as well as a stronger soul/R&B vibe to their tracks. The effect was that a lot of post-disco dance music had a breezy, gliding quality to it instead of feeling bombastic and excessive. A gliding quality that is similar to, you guessed it, roller skating.
All of this leads to Roller Boogie ‘80s, the first in a series of limited edition mixes by Kenny Dope, who is one-half of the production team Masters At Work. If you are a fan of underground disco, you’ll probably recognize a lot of the tracks here, as many are still staples for DJs today. Kenny is not digging too deep into his crates here, and the result is almost akin to a greatest hits selection of laid-back disco in the early ‘80s.
The big hits include Taana Gardner’s million-selling single “Heartbeat,” Junior’s throaty R&B smash “Mama Used To Say,” and Slave’s smooth funk jam “Watching You” (which later was appropriated by Snoop Dogg for “Gin & Juice.”) Just about every other track is a perennial underground classic that has been included on numerous disco compilations throughout the years, like the irresistible “I Like What You Are Doing To Me” by Young & Co., the jubilant “Walking Into Sunshine” by Central Line, and the still devastating soul-funk of “Just A Touch of Love” by Slave.
Download here (right click and “save as”)
time: 73:59 /// 102mb /// 192kbps .mp3
Tracklist after the jump…
1 | Mary Jane Girls – | All Night Long | 5:12 | |
2 | Dennis Edwards – | Don’t Look Any Further | 2:28 | |
3 | Taana Gardner – | Heartbeat | 3:40 | |
4 | Gwen McRae* – | Funky Sensation | 3:32 | |
5 | Alicia Myers – | I Want To Thank You | 3:36 | |
6 | Slave – | Just A Touch Of Love | 4:41 | |
7 | Slave – | Watching You | 3:28 | |
8 | Odyssey (2) – | Inside Out | 5:18 | |
9 | Central Line – | Walking Into Sunshine | 5:05 | |
10 | Junior (2) – | Mama Used To Say | 6:27 | |
11 | Fonda Rae – | Over Like A Fat Rat | 4:38 | |
12 | Janet Lady Day* – | Come Let Me Love You | 4:48 | |
13 | Young & Co.* – | I Like What You Doin To Me | 7:11 | |
14 | Weeks & Co. – | Rock Your World | 2:41 | |
15 | Unlimited Touch – | Searching To Find The One | 4:37 | |
16 | Denroy Morgan – | I’ll Do Anything | 3:49 | |
17 | Unlimited Touch – | I Hear Music In The Street | 1:39 | |
18 | Nick Straker – | A Little Bit Of Jazz | 0:50 |