Saturday November 20th, 2010
Ritmos Sin Fronteras presents
Rich Medina

Jump N Funk | Raw Fusion | Philadelphia

+ RSM Residents
Be Brown (the People)
Hakobo (fresco)

SOM. 2925 16th St | San Francisco

9pm-3am | 21+

ABOUT RITMOS SIN FRONTERAS feat Rich Medina
You could tell from the rising energy of the tracks as the night progressed that the Ritmos residents anticipated a rare intensity from the headliner at our last party.  The dance floor was already hot when the jet lagged Londoner, Benji B, got on the mic and prepared the crowd for a set that he succinctly summed up with two words: "no compromise."  Subsequently, what ensued was a kind of sublime mayhem. Funk melted into thumping house tempos that careened into hyper UK funky slaps subtly overcome by a wave of bass heavy dubstep anthems until it all gave way to a magical hip hop and soul session.  Basically, genre got its  a** kicked.

Well, its that time again. And since Benji's remarks, our mandate has expanded and our goals are even more ambitious.  Its not just genre-fication that must be stamped out but we must present an alternative, a music culture that is powered by creativity, integrity and soulfulness.  We're bringing out the big guns.  That's right, comrades....Rich Medina.

Medina's been a fixture of Philly's  hard-to-impress soul movement for years.  He ruled the New York underground from behind the decks at the fabulous Martinez Gallery parties in Brooklyn.  He established himself among the elite deejayrati with an illustrious Wednesday night residency at APT.   He's rocked classic hip hop sets with Bobbito and Q-tip.   And perhaps most remarkably, he introduced a whole new generation of listeners to the music of Fela Kuti through his world-famous Jump-N-Funk parties.  This diverse resume along with his solo production creds keeps Medina in high demand all over the world.  But its not just the DJ that we mean to present, its also his ethic, his story.

While desperate record companies are abusing the power of rhythm to exploit hungry ears by using the numbing repetition of noise and the distraction of aimless libidinal desire to lubricate a message of mindless consumerism,  a small but feisty movement of artists have held their ground and created a musical oasis where true heads flock to connect to the life-giving energies that the music was intended to convey.  Rich Medina is a devoted leader in this movement whose work demonstrates a respect for music as a medium of change, self-determination, and hope.  "No compromise"? Indeed.

More on Rich
http://www.richmedina.com/

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=167537033276460

More on SOM
http://som-bar.com/