Lately my music listening has been totally dominated by Riot Control NYC, a series of online mix-tapes from New Yorkers Burt Fox and Sonny Noir. I would recommend anyone to check these guys out - the range of styles they cover is enlightened, with soul, electro, hip-hop, 80s b-boy, latino, dub… and all the bits in between. There’s an emphasis on black music - and espeically black music from New York City - but that in itself includes a pretty eclectic brew. Burt Fox is one of the last great selectas, pulling out obscure records that even the most erudite listeners won’t be ready for.
You can download any of their mixtapes online, and I love them all - but maybe try 8, 9 or 13 as a starting point. Number 11 is also a big favourite for me - but it’s loaded with pretty heavy dub that will be too much for some.
Anyways, I was listening to a Riot Control mix the other day when I started to get the feeling that the gritty urban soul track I was listening to actually seemed to be about free market economics. Perhaps, more specifically, it is in fact a plea for a monetarist approach.
I checked it out, and yep, he’s singing what I thought he was singing. The track is “Let the Dollar Circulate“, by Billy Paul.
This track came out in 1975, at the depths of a US recession. So maybe it’s just swung round, through the great cycles of history, to fresh relevance. I’m not sure if Burt Fox had all this in mind when he pulled this old record out for Riot Control 13.
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