CD Review

If you are one of the lucky few to be in possession of Greyboy’s extremely limited mix that he created a little while back exclusively for DC Shoes, you’ll have an idea what to expect with Greyboy’s latest album entitled Shades of Grey. For those that weren’t fortunate enough to have scored a copy of the DC mix- don’t fret; Shades of Grey delivers the goods.

This is Greyboy’s debut mixtape effort that’s available to the masses. A funky fresh blend of new and old, Shades of Grey features a non-stop party rocking mix of jams. We’re not talking your standard played out hip hop radio mix of commercial wish wash- Greyboy blends funk rarities with banging Greyboy remixes in his mixtape masterpiece. Greyboy digs so deep to deliver the finest dusty funk from his no-doubt vast library that he actually includes a disclaimer noting that the recording is “a live, raw, unfiltered DJ session.” He goes on to explain that some tracks may have a bit of distortion or crackle from the rare dub plates and vintage vinyl used in the mix.

Greyboy applies his turntablist wizardry to the mix, which gives the vintage tracks a whole new life. Greyboy shines by scratching and beat juggling classic funk in this format. It’s a treat to experience Greyboy, one of the finest DJ’s in the world, apply his unparalleled battle DJ skills to these classic funk tracks. It’s equally pleasing to hear Greyboy blend his original tracks into the mix of dusty rarities.

Shades of Grey transcends all stereotypes of mix tapes by being the ultimate album to kick back and groove to. It’s not a cut and paste job of off tune tracks or mismatched beats. Greyboys’ mix is a smoothed out funky masterpiece of lost-classics, original remixes, and obscure and out of sight jazz tracks.