On a absolutely perfect summer’s day in LA, the most recent edition of the Beat Swap Meet was held in Downtown LA’s Chinatown. As we talked about during our interview with DJ 671, one of the organizers of the event, Beat Swap Meet is unlike any other record show I’ve ever been to, it’s more like a community block party. Yes there are tons of dealers with tons of records, but there are also 6 or 7 different spots with DJs and producers sharing music, a space for B-boys and B-girls to get down and many other vendors of every kind of variety all around. 
Virtually every time I’ve been there I’ve run into great records. This time was no different, picking up several records that I used to own and haven’t seen since, including Andrew White’s Fonk Update, Larry Young’s Heaven On Earth and a Keno Duke record on Strata East. This time around I also got a chance to spin some records. With so many DJs on the bill, we all only had 30 minutes to work with, which is a really short amount of time for someone like me who doesn’t really have a lot of skill and enjoys playing long songs. All week long I was debating how I’d make good use of that time, should I have a theme, focus on a particular genre, the possibilities were endless. Ultimately I just decided to focus on some personal favorites, most of which I’ve featured here in one form or another, hope you enjoy it! Beat Swap Meet won’t be back in LA until the Fall, but be sure to check their website for dates in other cities throughout the Summer.
DJ Set at Beat Swap Meet: 06-22-2014
Beat Swap Meet: 06-22-2014
Rotary Connection – Life Could – Aladdin (Cadet Concept)
Leigh Stephens – Another Dose Of Life – Red Weather (Philips)
Toni Tornado – Me Libertei – BR3 (Odeon)
Harlem River Drive – If We Had Peace Today – Harlem River Drive (Roulette)
Lenny White – Sweet Dreamer – Bug City (Nemporer)
Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Ain’t No Sunshine – Blacknuss (Atlantic)
24-Carat Black – I’ll Never Let You Go – Gone: The Promises Of Yesterday (Numero)
The Emotions – Boss Love Maker – Untouched (Volt)
The Ohio Players – Ecstasy (Matthew Africa Edit) – 7″ (Dubplate)
Tim Maia – Hadock Lobo Esquina Com Matoso – Nuvens (Seroma)