Moodymann
Kenny Dixon Jr., a Detroit house producer and DJ who runs KDJ Records and the Mahogani Music label, and whose "Shades of Jae" blends a 1977 Marvin Gaye live recording with Bob James's "Spunky".
Detroit
Kenny Dixon Jr. was born in Los Angeles and, by Wikipedia's account, brought back to Detroit by his mother when he was three weeks old. In the 1980s he sold hip-hop beats to Detroit acts, among them A.W.O.L., Detroit's Most Wanted and The Riddler, sometimes for around $100 a beat, under the name Mr. House, with the rapper Kevin Bailey (K-Stone). In the early 1990s he signed to Atlanta's Ichiban Records and toured for several years, and made his first record under his current name in 1992. In the mid-1990s he was resident DJ at the Outcast Motorcycle Club and worked in record stores, and co-workers suggested the name Moodymann.
He launched KDJ Records in 1994 with the Moody Trax EP. Early releases include "The Day We Lost the Soul" (1995), a Marvin Gaye tribute, "Don't Be Misled" (1996) and "I Can't Kick This Feelin When It Hits" (1997), and Theo Parrish's "Lake Shore Drive" was among the label's first records. He said in 2024: at first, I could only afford to press up 150 records. He refuses to work with major labels and wants to support his neighborhood through his own label. He is a member, with Theo Parrish, Rick Wilhite and Marcellus Pittman, of the house group Three Chairs.
Albums and Mahogani
Silentintroduction (Planet E, 1997), compiling early KDJ singles, was followed by Mahogany Brown (1998), Forevernevermore (2000), Silence in the Secret Garden (2003) and Black Mahogani (2004), all on Peacefrog, then Det.riot '67 (2008), Anotha Black Sunday (2009), Picture This (2012, a free download), ABCD (2013), Moodymann (2014), DJ-Kicks (2016, !K7), Sinner (2019, though Roland says 2018) and Taken Away (2020). A 2003 white label, "Freeki Mutha F*cker", was officially released in 2011. The Mahogani Music label, started in 2002, has released Amp Fiddler and archival J Dilla material. He still uses an SP-1200 and an R-8 drum machine, and in his 2010 Red Bull Music Academy lecture he described an analog setup with an MPC.
Soul Skate, a Memorial Day roller party in Detroit, began in 2007. He appeared as himself, resident DJ at The Music Locker, in Grand Theft Auto Online in December 2020, and remixed Dua Lipa's "Break My Heart" (2020), Junior Boys (2013) and Jose James (2008). Bandcamp Daily's Andy Beta describes his music as drawing on Motown soul, disco, jazz, electro, Prince, acid, techno, gospel and folk, and Ben Cardew argues that he influenced lo-fi house and chillwave. He cites the Detroit DJ Mojo's radio show, Marvin Gaye, George Clinton and Kraftwerk.
Albums
- Black Mahogani 2004 · Peacefrog
The 2004 album that carries "Shades of Jae", first issued as a single in 1999.
Songs
- Shades of Jae Black Mahogani · 2004
A 1999 single and 2004 album track built on Marvin Gaye's "Come Get to This" in a 1977 London recording and a Bob James keyboard line.
Sources
- Moodymann, Wikipedia
- Moodymann: Henny and Kenny, Red Bull Music Academy (2010)
- Moodymann's Detroit hip-hop origins, Mixmag (2023-02)
- Can't Kick This Feeling, Roland (2024-10)