Tanline Thong, 2010

PSA: Tanline Thongs are born in Winter!

• I do not follow the discourse around ethical vs. unethical non-monogamy, but I hope those defending the practice of monogamy use the totemic anthem Smell Yo Dick by the tragically under-sung Riskay: ”Why you coming home, five in the morn'? somethin's goin' on, can I Smell yo Dick?”

• But it's Trina dropping the truth bomb, “Already got a car, big house / When I'm done I'ma kick his ass out / I just want him for his dang-a-lang.” Preach girl!

• This is a powerful reminder that Summer Bodies and Tanline Thongs are born in Winter!

• I formally dedicate the flanged-out version of Gucci Maine's Pillz to the Street Drugs crew, RESPECT!

• The title is a very subtle reference to a dinner I had in Dallas, TX with the brilliant painter Richard Patterson in the early aughts.

• Upon revisiting, I was curious if the two consecutive Donnis tracks might be too much, but I knew what I was doing. He's a charmer! His name always brings me back to eighth grade; I was “deeply in love” with a girl named Donice Jenny (What a name! Note: we were friends, talked on the phone nightly. She had an older BF.). Hope she had a lovely Valentine's weekend!

• And of course, Donnis, the rapper, is on the stellar Fool's Gold Records, co-owned by the DJ, musician, multi-hyphenate and by all reasonable evidence a great person, A-Trak. I feel confident saying this as I served him food when I worked at Marlow & Sons in Brooklyn, and the true mark of a celebrity is how they treat service staff! This mix is a conscious-if-subtle homage to him, as evidenced by the inclusion of the excellent Dirty South Dance 2 tracks; mash-ups of Southern Rap and Euro-House classics (swoon). But there's more, I've been following him since I was a teenager in the 90s, when he was scratch DJ phenom with the Invisibl Skratch Picklz. I regularly remember the following line on his 1997 tape, Bucktooth Wizards, with the legend Q-Bert: Dis is just anotha one a dem boring praktiss tapes. Just record over it after.

• In that spirit: Dis is just anotha one a dem BANGING praktiss tapes. Just stream over it after.