One Track Mind

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It’s Friday, shawty, and we all the way turnt up.

Ever since A-Trak released his Dirty South Dance mixtape in 2007, the album has been one of my go to records in high energy situations: to get primed for a weekend party, say, or when I need a second wind on the treadmill. Although the tracks on the album could technically fall under the rubric of the mash-up, to categorize them as such is to miss the record’s true spirit and intent. Rather than go for the hokey thrill of pairing two comically mismatched tunes (as is the motivation of most mash-up DJs) or homing in on audio minutiae (in the Girl Talk vein), A-Trak has always been more concerned with body-rocking and entertaining the crowd.

That tendency has been there since the nascent days of his career, when at the age of 15 he became the youngest person to ever win DMCs World DJ Championship–seriously, check out that link–with an age-inappropriate set and an age-inappropriate amount of confidence and charisma. He’s been busy ever since, receiving sponsorships from clothing and audio equipment companies, producing artists including Lupe Fiasco and Kid Sister, doing remix work for folks like Boyz Noize and MSTRKRFT, and being the tour DJ for a little known rapper named Kanye West.

On May 17th, Trizzy released the second volume of his mixtape, Dirty South Dance 2, via a free download on his website. As with its predecessor, the follow-up installment is filled with ass-shaking collisions of hip-hop vocals and electronic beats, such as “Trizzy Turnt Up,” which throws burbling synthesizers against vocals lifted from Roscoe Dash and Soulja Boy Tell Em’s “All the Way Turnt Up.” It may be too much for the uptight kids in their hipster jeans, but those who know how to let loose will have a blast listening to Soulja Boy compare the way girls spin on his dick to a CD-ROM.