A Lil Sumtn Sumtn

DJ Jimi It's Jimi
(1992, Soulin') cassette rip @ 320

DJ Jimi (the original) Where They At [single]
(1992, Soulin') cassette rip @ 320

PLUS selections from Juvenile's
Playaz of Da Game

DJ Jimi's debut cassette, the accompanying single and all tracks from Juvenile's Playaz of Da Game that feature him. There's overlap between all three releases - for archival purposes I left Where They At? the single in tact but removed duplicates from Juvie's release, which luckily you can purchase for 1 digital cent since the average consumer can't wrap their heads around a Juvenile that is both a) actually a juvenile and b) actually making straight bounce instead of the post-bounce thug pop of Universal era Cash Money. Check this pragmatic fiction from Amazon.com's customer reviews:

I read in a magazine all about this cd and I will explain what all of the other reviewers have gotten wrong. First of all, DJ Jimi is really Manny Fresh. Manny Fresh has changed his name to DJ Jimi because he though that was a lot more creative and it makes him sound more black. Juvenile is all over this record also. He simply changed the way he raps (he sound a little more girlish).

If homes only let on to what gangsta rap tabloid he's reading...Anyways, despite all the ana from disoriented Juvenile die-hards, these tracks are hard and funky as hell and probably the best examples of early Bounce you can cop without labored digging. Good interview with Juvenile here, where he claims ownership of Bounce music, calls everything "Where They At" and offers this explanation of his rapping style: It's considered an off-the-porch flow. It ain't nothing but some shit talkin. It ain't even rap to me. It's like a new line of parts. He also talks about his former life as an oil-rig supervisor.

Whether he owes it all to Juvie or not, Jimi earned his spot in rap history with the "Where They At" single which despite it's claims of being "the original" was more of an upgrade on TT Tucker's earlier model. Still my favorite spontaneous application of John Carpenter's Halloween theme and some of my favorite clean-edit lyric revision too, right up there with Big Boi swapping "bustin nutz in they mouth" with "playin cuts from the south" on Goodie MOb's Dirty South single.

A short Jimi bio here which seems to confirm the rumor that the inspired raw-ass vocals on "Bitch's Reply" are in fact his mother. Holler if you're able to upload or behind an Ebay auction for Jimi's second full-length I'm Back, I'm Back.