Live from Earth Day 2014 at Boundary Bay Brewery in Bellingham, WA.  Frank Vitolo on tenor sax, Matt van den Heuvel Guitar, Nick Taylor 8 string Novax guitar, Justin Smith Drums.

"Pusherman" (Curtis Mayfield) by Hot Cotton @ Boundary Bay 2014

Access a slow-looking exercise of this work.

Transcript
Narrator: Rashid Johnson’s "Cosmic Slop “Bitter,”" from 2015, features a solid black surface just over 6 feet high by 8 feet wide, marked by deep cuts and grooves. If we were to touch this surface, our fingers would dance and skip over cracks and crevices, like peaks and valleys in a barren post-volcanic landscape, newly created after a lava flow.

We might also be surprised at its waxy feeling in contrast to the rough appearance of the surface. Johnson uses black soap and wax, which he melts and then manipulates through cutting and digging, etching deep slashes and scratches before it fully hardens. More than simply mark-making, Johnson relates his process to a performance, transforming and layering meaning to this everyday household material.

Black soap itself is said to have transformative and healing properties, particularly in West Africa. It cleanses us on the surface but tastes bitter, a contradiction noted in the artwork’s title, "Cosmic Slop “Bitter.”" The color and title also reference a 1973 song by Parliament Funkadelic and allude to the pain Black bodies have endured, scars both visible and beneath the surface.

What contradictory emotions might we encounter with this work?

By Way Of

Exhibition Website

Description of Cosmic Slop "Bitter", 2021

Originally released 27 January 2010

Late 2009: I stripped the vocals from 20+ of my own songs (some released, most still in the vault), cut them into tight 1:30–2:00 instrumentals, pressed a few hundred CDs, and mailed packets to radio and TV stations in NY and LA as ready-made bumper beds for coming in/out of breaks.

Zero replies.

15 years later, the same tracks have quietly hit 369,763 streams—found and used by producers, podcasters, YouTubers, creators, and people who just love the vibe.

Raw soul chops, dusty drums, early-2010s digital grit. No vocals, no filler, all built for quick segues and instant mood.

This is the promo that never got picked up by the stations…but the internet heard it anyway.

Re-upped in 2025 for everyone who’s been running these under videos and streams ever since.

All tracks written, produced & arranged by UH (2008–2009)

Mastered for CD in 2010 by Stefan Noltemeyer (Berlin) — untouched since.

369k+ plays and counting. Thank you. Keep using them.

Funkadelic - Good Old Music

drumbreaklibrary

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