Born & bred in NYC, DJ Neil Armstrong turned his love of music and hip
hop culture into a career that has allowed him to play music for the masses all over the world – from small 100 person venues to large scale music festivals with thousands in attendance.

Former Tour DJ for Jay-z, adidas Global Ambassador.

First coming into international attention in 2003 as co-founder of HOLLERTRONIX with partner Diplo, Philadelphia DJ, Michael "Lowbudget" McGuire (aka Lowbeezy,) has been rocking dancefloors worldwide since the late nineties. The pair's seminal mixtape "HOLLERTRONIX: Never Scared" is widely regarded as one of the most influential mixes of all time, and was ranked in the New York Times Top 10 albums of 2003. The HOLLERTRONIX sound and ethos was defined (or rather NOT defined) by creating a multi genre, freeform sound clash of seemingly disparate and unrelated musical styles. While the aesthetic is common practice today, it was practically unheard of at the time, and the pair set the gold standard with their parties, mixtapes and mashups.
As a product of hip hop's golden age, Lowbeezy approaches DJing with the "true school" sensibilities of scratching, blending and quick mixing, and applies them to all forms of music - from Hip Hop, Rock, Classics, Club, Indie, Trap, Bounce and whatever future emerging styles appear on the radar. He approaches new music trends with a finely tuned ear and extracts only the best examples before including them in his seamless mixes; both on the dancefloor and in mixtape form.
Lowbeezy's knack for creating exciting and captivating mixes and mixtapes is his forte. Whether it be underground Southern rap compilations with Dirty South Joe under their Trilladelphia moniker, more traditional underground hip hop mixes for Decades Hat Company, or uptempo party mixes for various others, his expert touch sets him far apart from the competition. He's done mixes for Obey, 555 Soul, Diesel, FADER, Turntable Lab, and the aforementioned Decades Hat Co., and in 2012 he was commissioned by Okay Player to do the official mixtape for the Roots Picnic.
In 2006 he released the "Bmore Gutter Music" album on Milkcrate Records. The compilation featured vocal contributions from emerging superstar Spankrock, and introduced Philly rapper Amanda Blank to the music world. The album was followed by a split EP of original Baltimore Club style productions on the premier Club music label Unruly Records, shared with label boss Scottie B, and King Tutt.
Lowbeezy is one of Philly's finest musical exports and experts. In 2007 he set off on a world tour with M.I.A. as her DJ and musical director, and he hasn't looked back since, with recent tours in Asia and Australia under his belt. He is a leader and inspiration to his peers, and an international ambassador to his city's incomparable DJ history.

Founding Father Of Freebeat Mixing 
Hailing From All Points South 
Of The North Pole

https://linktr.ee/wearedelasoul

De La Soul is back—but did they ever really leave? After delivering their seminal debut 3 Feet High and Rising in 1989 with the production genius of Prince Paul, the New York City-bred trio of Posdnuos (Pos), Dave and Maseo went on to further impact Hip Hop culture with five more groundbreaking albums: De La Soul Is Dead (1991), Buhloone Mindstate (1993), Stakes Is High (1996), Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump (2000) and AOI: Bionix (2001). But once the digital age exploded in the late ‘90s, De La Soul’s celebrated catalog was unavailable to stream. As the decades passed, the tight-knit group forged ahead anyway—touring the world, connecting with their adoring fanbase and making music on their own terms. Following 2004’s The Grind Date, De La Soul took a hiatus from making albums, but joined The Gorillaz on the track “Feel Good Inc” which won them a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Collaboration.  In 2015, the group raised over $600,000 on Kickstarter from fans to independently release their album and the Anonymous Nobody, which was their first #1 on the Rap Albums chart, and was also nominated for a Best Rap Album Grammy.   

However, the demand for unreleased De La Soul music was palpable and the cry for access to the first six albums grew louder. Unfortunately, De La Soul was stuck riding a roller coaster of stalled negotiations, dashed hopes and dead-end conversations with their old label, and the group nearly gave up. 

"We have lived without the music up for long, these six albums haven’t been up—ever,” Pos says. “We got used to knowing they weren’t up.” In June of 2021, Tommy Boy Music was acquired by Reservoir, giving De La Soul’s catalog a new home.  In March of 2023, the six missing albums were finally available to stream.  But sadly, right before the catalog release, Dave, the beloved member of De La Soul, passed away. Though bittersweet, De La Soul preserves his legacy and the ongoing impact of their music. 

As iconic songs such as “The Magic Number”, found new life in the film Spiderman: No Way Home in 2021, De La Soul continues to resonate with a diverse population of people. 

As Pos notes, “We’ve noticed over the past several years of tour like, ‘Wow, there’s a father here with his child who also is here with their child. ‘We’re generational. To me, there’s nothing more gratifying than that. That means something. That’s telling about a group. What we were doing wasn’t just stuck to that time.”

“We really naturally been that group for everyone,” Pos says. “It was never about we’re just here for this community, that community, this set of people or these certain fans of Hip Hop culture. We see music as music. We’ve been very resilient, even being a group that didn’t have our music up [on streaming platforms]. We still had these beautiful opportunities through young people finding out about us through a commercial or Spider-Man. Now that it can all be there for people to gravitate to, I’m really happy about that.” 

De La Soul's impact on the musical landscape is immeasurable, with 3 Feet High and Rising widely regarded as one of the most influential albums of its era. Pioneering inventive sampling, playful lyrics, and eclectic beats, the album broke new ground and set a standard for creativity in the genre. Recognizing its cultural significance, the album was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.

explicitmemory is following