SUPERMAN
Inside the club, a storefront pizzeria with a dance floor and DJ booth in the basement, located along the city’s Old Fourth Ward district, the music stopped. No one moved. No one breathed. No one dared make a sound.
“BOOM,” thundered an explosive sound of deep bass followed by a few electronic “clicks.” Then a second, “BOOM” followed by a third, “BOOM” blasted from the speaker in repeated cessions until a clear audible rhythm was realized.
Suddenly, a sharp voice within the silent thick mass of folks dared to speak, “C’mon I need a beat.”
A tall young lady of caramel complexion mentioned before turning her head ever so slightly with an impatient visage while holding her digital camera before capturing snapshots of the night’s special international guest.
Once more caramel complexion demanded, “I need a beat.”
After a two minute build-up of bass thumps and electronic clicks, an afro-tinged beat fell from the heavens that showered the room with manifestations of joy. Look up at the DJ booth. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s Superman! Everyone present swayed from left to right with smiles aglow. Finally, their Superman had arrived.
Superman, faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound worked the room the only way one with superpowers can. Superman pledged world peace by playing the inspirational, “Someday,” conquering the possessive “JuJu,” defeating heartbreak with the insane “Crazy” and captured the crowd’s praise with the “Home Brewed” breakthrough, “Turn Me On.” In all, there was a little something played for everyone from deep-tech to minimal tribalism. Furthermore, there was no stopping the super hero’s superpower from slaying the room with Rocco’s dark, “Hard Times For Lovers,”featuring C. Robert Walker channeling the late Luther Vandross, a revamped “Hey Hey” by Dennis Ferrer and the surprise, Peven Everett’s, “Put Your Back Into It”(Quentin Harris Remix.)
Black Coffee destroyed the age old adage that ordinary DJs only play ordinary music. Being not content with just mixing songs in standard mix-in and mix-out rotation, new remixes were created on the spot, right in the middle of a mix using a capellas backed by various beats. Black Coffee, a rare exception in today’s world, delivered the mundane with a refreshing twist.
The night’s behemoth arrived courtesy of Black Coffee dropping the anthem“Superman” not once but twice! And it could not have been more appropriate. The first, the original version, cried out, “Can You Be My Superman” a sentiment that ricocheted against every heart present in the room. The second, a smash-up version with dark-synths, over a dirty-tech beat rocked the dance floor. Surprisingly, right in mid-song the music slowly faded to a faint whisper till it was no more. Was that the end?
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Tags: Black Coffee, deep house music, DJ BE, DJ Stanzeff, house music, South Africa, Tambor