Sat July 5

Ohm

"If you ain't suckin' this dick, I don't need you, bitch," raps Helluva, on Disco D's remix of "Keys to the Whip." "You want the keys to the whip? Then stop teasin' this dick. These hoes runnin' they mouth, shakin' they ass in the thong, I wanna come in they mouth and then pass it along."

Lola Damone responds in kind. "Even though you ain't shit, I'm still gonna run my game. As a matter of fact, I be pimpin' these cats they be all up on this bitch tryin' to get in this cat. And uh, if you don't know, I go by Lola Damone. I don't need a man for shit, nigga, I hold my own."

Coming equally from the mouths of women and men, it's nasty, freaky, humpy, wet, raw sex that's the theme--the only theme--on Disco D's newest mix album, A Night at the Booty Bar (Tommy Boy). Disco D came up in the Detroit Zoo as something of a prodigy, producing and deejaying the hot electronic funkyshit and sweatiest, sexiest ghetto-booty alongside such electro greats as DJ Assault, DJ Godfather, and Mr. De. Now, he's New York-based, producing records for artists like Da Brat, and spinning a monthly residency at Booty Bar with DJ Profit and DJ Salinger. "New York is the only place I know, aside from Detroit and Miami, where ghettotech and Miami bass can be played for six hours straight, start to finish," he observes.

A direct cousin of Miami booty bass, ghettotech reached a summit of publicity around the turn of this century, when fellows like D, Assault, and Godfather were blowing up with their blend of naaaasty lyrics, bass-thumping Chicago booty house, and the frizzy synth squelches of Detroit electro. (Note: "electro" is not to be confused with "electroclash," which Disco D thinks is supremely wack. "I call it AFE: ass-free electro. It sounds like someone took the 'ass' knob and turned it all the way down," he says.)

Today, naysayers brand ghettotech as a dead genre--though artists like Disco D are taking ghettotech beats to new heights, while others like Gold Chains are biting the style and turning it into something else entirely. The Booty Bar label, for instance, releases humid, futurist singles, such as DJ Nehpets' "Pump Push Pull" and DJ Nasty's "Oral Sex" EP (both of which D mixes on Booty Bar).

For D, ghettotech is constantly evolving. "I'm kinda pushing it more in an urban direction, in terms of working with emcees. I wanna help bridge the gap between urban and electronic music as a whole--that's my overall goal as a producer and artist and businessman. It draws elements from so many different places and has the more electronic feel to it--stuff that producers like Timbaland is doing isn't too far away it's just an extra couple BPMs. "

Beyond tempo, the biggest difference, is of course, the presence of RAW SEX. Says D, "When you think about dance music and dancing, it's simulated sex; when you're getting freaky with someone on the dance floor, you're getting an idea of what they're gonna be like in bed. We're like, 'Might as well be upfront about it.' What's the difference between 'Let's Get it On' by Marvin Gaye and 'Fuck Me on the Dance Floor' [by Disco D and Princess Superstar]? I think it gets pigeonholed a bit, but if people look at its roots, it's all about just having fun."

Ghettotech and underground booty bass is especially appealing to the ladies, because we have a strong vocal presence--probably even more than in mainstream rap. Lady rappers like Lola Damone and Miss T emit as much sexy bravado and pimpin' power as their male counterparts. Plus, it's hard not to love some of the good, raw disses on Booty Bar, as with Ms. Damone's lyric, "You need to get it clear baby, cause I'm not yo trip; you might like eatin' pussy, but I ain't suckin' yo dick." On Technician's "Peace Out," we are advised that if our man got a small dick, what we tell him? "Peace out."

"It's so tongue in cheek, man, anyone who takes it seriously has a problem they need to get laid!" laughs D. "It's the most unserious music you could possibly make. It's not abusive, but I think people are afraid of sex in their music."

But after spinning a night full of banging beats and explicit dancefloor innuendo, doesn't D think his sets incite somebody into actually freaking it?

"It's all about letting down your inhibitions. Me personally, I just go back to my hotel and go to sleep," he responds. "But as long as they're using a condom and being safe, people should just go home and fuck their brains out."