The Brotherhood Of Ghetto Division

Nestled in the Archer Heights neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago existed a musical mecca where legends gathered and the aspiring came to be enlightened. Hot Jams Records, also known as Pink Machine Studio, was an outpost whose patrons revealed as much about the history of Chicago House as the stacks of records they purchased. From the late '90s through as recently as 2007, Hot Jams filled a role far more significant that sales. For area youth like the Ghetto Division collective, the walls of Hot Jams were a safe haven of late nights, forged friendships and daily inspiration. A few years and countless memories later, Ghetto Division carry the torch of Hot Jams, a group of DJs and producers who challenge the norms of Chicago nightlife and champion the cause of original music making.

"Our philosophy is stick together, work hard together and don't stop making music," summarized Roberto Herrera (Rob Threezy). Jorge Ortega Jr. (MaddJazz) elaborated, "We are part of the same group because we don't just DJ. We all produce and make our own music. That's why we are all connected. We have that in common." "And we are all minorities, so we understand ourselves," chimed in Carlos Rodriguez (Charlie Glitch).

A collective in the truest embodiment of the phrase, Ghetto Division boasts a roster of ten main artists, with many of the artists' own younger relatives forming a supporting tier. The group works together to curate events around the city and maintains that a collaborative atmosphere has obvious benefits for their personal music making. "Sometimes I might do something, and show it to Rampage or somebody and he might give me feedback, or an idea that I wouldn't think of. That's the advantage of working in a group," offered Ortega. "It all comes down to making the tracks sound big room, just big, just CHICAGO," added Herrera.

"This week “SunSpot” and “MixTape Monday” are getting rolled into one nice little bundle. (dont just scroll down to the mix linx—READ ME)

DJ Rampage was rad enough to make us not only one mix but TWO mixes for the price of NONE!!! ZOMG….

not only that kiddies, we got a nice little Q&A with DJ Rampage

here are 10 questions that will help you get to know this chill cat a lil better:

1) What are your vitals:
-Birthday is September 15, 1983
-Born and raised on the southwest side of Chicago. And still live there.
-Been Djing since 95/96 and started producing in 04.
-I use all software. Reason, Recycle, Sound forge and Acid.

2) Where is your favorite place to grab a quick bite to eat? -Giordano’s Pizza or Zaca Tacos in Chicago.

3) What was the last pair of shoes you bought? -Haven’t bought shoes in a while. The last few pairs I got were for free. I think I bought a pair of chucks last.

4) What was your least favorite job growing up? -Working at party city. It was boring! (OMG I worked at a party “shitty” too, it was HELL- t.Bot)

5) If you could go anywhere for vacation where would it be? -Hawaii, Jamaica or Egypt.

6) What genre of music is really making you freak out right now and why? -All the heavy bassline stuff like dubstep, UK garage and 4x4 bassline. It’s very powerful and good to listen to on a very loud sound system with massive subs. I love bass!

7) Tell us more about Ghetto Division…who’s who, and what to expect upcoming?
-Ghetto Division consists of a group of djs and producers from the southside/pilsen area of Chicago. It’s me, Maddjazz, Rob Threezy, Charlie Glitch, Moonman, D-51, Cue-tek, M-dok & Vektor. We have a few vinyl releases coming up, a website and Europe/us tour TBA.

8) Is Twitter the shit? or is it dumb? -Twitter is cool but can get annoying like any other social networking site. It has its pros and cons. I like it because I can see what some of my favorite producers are up to and all the cool shit they do and see. The spammers are a headache though.

9) Can you even begin to envision life in 2020? what does it look like to you?
- I’m not really sure if I can. The way things are looking now. The human race needs a lot of growing up to do. But if we do make it that far I hope things aren’t the way they are now and people can finally learn to live peacefully and enjoy the things we have.

10) Besides music/producing/Djing what does Rampage do on the day 2 day? - I try to devote all my time to music but on my off days I like to watch movies, read and go to some good restaurants because Chicago has some great food ;).

Without any more ramblings from me here is the link to the newest mix by DJ RAMPAGE (crowd goes wild):

and as if one MASSIVE MIX wasn’t good enough here is an exclusive “MiniMix” of his latest E.P. “WAR” from DJ Donna Summers NightShifters label:"

Miles Raymer from the Chicago Reader reviews my "WAR" EP.


1. Who is RAMPAGE?


Rampage is one person, Eddie is my real name. I am a DJ/producer/remixer from the southside of Chicago.

 
2. What are some of your influences? What was your first musical memory?


Some of my influences include lots of old Chicago house, ghetto house, anything with lots of bass, 90s rave techno, video games from Sega and Nintendo and many old horror films.
My first musical memory would be hearing my family listen to lots of different music from disco to R&B to salsa to oldies to freestyle to house and so on. That’s what basically made me love music.


3. How you describe your music/DJ-style? Explain your production process.


My music is basically what I like to listen to and I don’t try to stay in one certain genre. What I mostly play in my DJ sets are tracks that me and my boys from ghetto division produce or remix. I also tend to play around 130 bpm and mix all types of house and underground dance music. I’ll even play sets at slower bpms like disco and reggae and also fast bpms like juke and bassline/dubstep. My production process is basically all software at the moment from a pretty cheap pc haha. I use Reason & Recycle for producing/remixing and Cool Edit Pro/Acid Pro/Sound Forge for my mixtapes.


4. How does it feel to be part of the Chicago dance scene, such a prolific and important city to dance music? Any big Chicago acts that you feel are gonna put Chicago back on the map?


Chicago is a great city and I love it. We have so much culture and great music but I feel we need more unity in having massive events like we did in the 90s. We need more underground dance music to be played on the radio and at mainstream clubs. I’m tired of hearing crappy pop/rap music everywhere. We’re a house music city and we need to keep it like that. There’s a lot of hidden talent in Chicago and I think Ghetto Division is definitely part of that. Maddjazz, Rob Threezy, Charlie Glitch, Moonman & D-51 are not only good friends of mine but have so much talent and the world needs to know it. A few others that are making some noise from Chicago are Flosstradamus, Black Holes, Potty mouth, Movement music, Content, DJ Bam Bam, Willy Joy, Starter Djs, Fat Kids, SixPoint DJs and Gant-man just to name a few.



5. What are you top 5 dance tracks?


1: Kano – I’m Ready
2: Dbx – Phreak
3: High Powered Boys – Hoes Get Down
4: Paul Johnson – Feel my MF Bass
5: Pineapples – Come on Closer



6. Future plans for RAMPAGE? New Tracks? Releases? Tours? Collabs?


I have lots of remixes that are out and also coming out soon.

Plastique De Reve - Resist (Rampage Remix) (Supersoul Recordings) 


GTRONIC - Iron Man (Rampage Remix) (Live-In Music UK) 


Spin Laden - Whip Dat (Rampage Remix) (Content Recordings)


FutureFlashs - Old Skool (Rampage Remix) (Idiot House)


Jose 2 Hype - Soundboi Killa (Rampage Remix) (2 Hype)                              
Mic Terror – Juke Dem Hoes (Rampage Remix) (Hot Dog 002)
The Allstars – I Got Cash (Rampage Remix) (Texture Recordings)
 
A new ep on Nightshifters entitled “WAR” e.p. that’s out end of June.
Also a new Ghetto Division E.p. and gigs coming up in Canada this August & Europe in the fall. And also we plan to do a Ghetto Division USA tour by the end of the year.
 

Tracklist:
000: Intro
001: Ursula 1000 – Zombies (Hijack Remix)
002: Chelly – Took the Night (Detboi Remix)
003: Harvard Bass – 81 (Renaissance Man Remix)
004: Marco Houle - Manager
005: D-51 – Midnight Alcoholics
006: All Leather – I Don’t Hate Fags, God Does (Congorock Remix)
007: Hijack - High Jackin’ (Herve’s Fuck Fuck Remix)
008: John Acquaviva & Lutzenkirchen – Zombie
009: Rob Threezy – You Bad (DJ Sega Remix)
010: DJ Deeon - Telefon Luv
011: Digital Domain – I Need Relief
012: DJ Deeon – Southside
013: Paul Johnson – Feel My MF Bass
014: Ac Slater – Rock It Out
015: High Powered Boys – Hoes Get Down
016: Paul Johnson – Get Get Down
017: Ac Slater – Jack Got Jacked (Jack Beats Remix)
018: Steve Silk Hurley – Jack Your Body
019: JM Silk – Jack Your Body
020: Lady Sovereign – Got U Dancing (Jack Beats Remix)
021: Sugar Hill Gang – Apache (break)
022: Major Lazer ft. Santigold & Mr. Lexxx – Hold the Line
023: Rico Tubbs – Boom Riddim (Sharkslayer Remix)
024: 3rd Face - Canto Della Liberta (Kink Remix)
025: Dance Area – AA/247
026: Jodeci – Freak You
027: Knowlten Walsh – Animal (B.Rich Remix)
028: Steve Angello & Laidback Luke – Show Me Love (Afrojack Remix)
029: M.A.W. ft India – When You Touch Me
030: Rampage – Loving U Is Easy (Heavy Feet Remix)
031: Rekid – Next Stop Chicago (Jesse Rose Remix)
032: ??? - MF House
033: Rodriguez Jr – Pina Colada
034: The Juan Maclean – One Day (Surkin Remix)
035: Lyn Collins – Think (break)
036: Diamond K – Bad Sista (break)
037: M.C. Magic – Everybody
038: 2 Bad Mice – Bombscare ‘94
039: La Roux – In For the Kill (Hostage Remix)

Zshare Link: http://www.zshare.net/audio/614223662bf5bc13/