Go-Go Philie Style

Despite DJ Kool’s success in the city of brotherly love - he recorded both versions of Let Me Clear My Throat there - Philadelphia is hardly a Go-Go hotbed.  Sure you can buy 12 inch records at Armand’s in Center City, but the sad truth remains that at Philadelphia’s hottest nightclubs Go-Go music is the fastest way to clear the dance floor and send everyone to the bar.  Much like New York, people prefer the hip hop sounds of the northeast boroughs.   If they crave something different, then a little reggae or house might hit the spot - but never Go-Go.

This fact has not prevented DJ Doc B from incorporating Go-Go into his club mixes.  Not since DJ Cash Money (circa 1980’s) has a Philie DJ shown Go-Go this much love.  When asked why he spins a style of music not commonly accepted by his peers, Doc B simply replies, "I like the party vibe."  Among his favorite cuts is Northeast Groovers’ ‘Booty Call.’  "I think that Go-Go is at its best when it’s recorded live.  The studio recordings just don’t have the same feeling."  True dat - but we’re still going to stay on these bands about sharpening their studio production skills.

Surprisingly, Doc B has neither attended a live Go-Go, nor heard it mixed by a D.C. DJ.  This makes for a refreshingly original style.  Unlike local - Washington area - jocks who tend to copy one another’s style right down to the exact cut, Doc B mixes Go-Go no differently than he would mix house, reggae or hip hop.  "I’m a pure mixer," he declares with no conceit.  "I feel as if I can mix anything."

Where D.C. DJ’s tend to let favorite grooves play to their extended entirety - sometimes as long as eight minutes - Doc B understands that he is introducing a foreign music style to what can, at times, be an unreceptive audience.  As a result, he gives his listeners short ditties of Go-Go’s best grooves.  He also has enough confidence in his abilities to not be intimidated by the fact that in some clubs it does clear the dance floor.  Most DJ’s go into panic mode when this happens.  Instead, the good doctor continues with his Go-Go set.

Well known on the college circuit, Doc B does events at many of the Philadelphia area’s major universities including Penn, Temple, and Cheney, with Delaware and Delaware State being his hottest locations for spinning Go-Go.  Be sure to check out his Go-Go mix tapes.