12" pop shots

Dixon (aka Moodyman) et al have created a deep niche in house music where name recognition and mystique create a power far beyond the original intentions of the 12-inch format. No longer a way to sell a potential dance hit to millions, these black-on-black, untitled obscurities are, for DJs and collectors, a way of sharing a new (and very old) language in R&B musical expression. The a-side is a sexually charged edit that plays like an instrumental b-side for a goth-inspired Jill Scott. The b-side is a perfect foil, all humor and lightness, a faux-Latin sound track with a phone conversation between a fair-weather friend (“What’s happening, brother?”) and his sleepy, hipster pal (“Nigga, please”) that may or may not speak to Dixon’s own life.