DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist Present ‘The Renegades Of Rhythm’ Tour

DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist will take you on a journey through Afrika Bambaataa’s 40,000+ record collection on a vinyl-only excursion dubbed the “Renegades Of Rhythm” tour. The DJs have gotten the blessing for the trek from the Godfather himself.

“I call on all who love Hip-Hop to come out, see them, hear them,” says the Godfather. “My story is our history in DJing.” The hip hop pioneer and founder of the Universal Zulu Nation adds, “DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist are going to blow your funky mind.”

The tour will feature six turntables, real-time effects and the actual albums from Afrika Bambaataa’s personal accumulation of tunes, which are permanently archived at Cornell University.

“This has never been done before, definitely not on this scale,” DJ Shadow says. “They’re HIS records, with his blessings. This isn’t just ANY copy of ‘X’ breakbeat, it’s THE copy, THE copy that started everything. Not just any records, the MASTER OF RECORDS’ records.”

When picking the albums for the “Renegades Of Rhythm” DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist kept an eye out for the ones that were most loved by Afrika Bambaataa – the copies that were covered in tape with tattered jackets.

“His collection includes not just Soul and Rap, but also Soca, Calypso, Dub, Salsa…it’s obvious that this music was important to him, and it’s reflected in his own music,” said DJ Shadow, who calls Afrika Bambaataa one of the three biggest musical influences in his life.

“For example, when the Soulsonic Force is singing an African chant, it actually comes from a Manu Dibango record. That’s when being a crate-digger comes in handy – you have to be able to pick up on the references and reiterate them.”

The tour will be enhanced with visuals by acclaimed video director/multimedia producer Ben Stokes. As for the real-time effects, Cut Chemist says, “It adds another performance level, real-time sampling from the record that’s being played.”

Here’s the schedule:

Sept. 1 – Toronto, Ontario, The Guvernment
Sept. 3 – Boston, Mass., House Of Blues Boston     
Sept. 4 – New York, N.Y., Irving Plaza Powered By Klipsch
Sept. 6 – Philadelphia, Pa., Theatre Of The Living Arts
Sept. 8 – Silver Spring, Md., The Fillmore Silver Spring
Sept. 9 – Baltimore, Md., Baltimore Soundstage
Sept. 11 – Charlotte, N.C., Fillmore Charlotte
Sept. 12 – Atlanta, Ga., The Loft At Center Stage
Sept. 14 – Lake Buena Vista, Fla., House Of Blues
Sept. 16 – New Orleans, La., House Of Blues
Sept. 18 – Austin, Texas, Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater   
Sept. 19 – Dallas, Texas, House Of Blues
Sept. 20 – Houston, Texas, House Of Blues
Sept. 22 – Louisville, Ky., Mercury Ballroom          
Sept. 23 – Chicago, Ill., House Of Blues
Sept. 24 – Minneapolis, Minn., Skyway Theatre
Sept. 26 – Denver, Colo., Ogden Theatre
Sept. 27 – Aspen, Colo., Belly Up Aspen    
Sept. 29 – Las Vegas, Nev., Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas
Oct. 1 – San Diego, Calif., House Of Blues
Oct. 2 – Anaheim, Calif., House Of Blues
Oct. 3 – Hollywood, Calif., Hollywood Palladium   
Oct. 7 – Portland, Ore., Roseland Theater    
Oct. 8 – Seattle, Wash., The Neptune
Oct. 9 – Vancouver, British Columbia

Tickets go on sale June 20.

For more information visit djshadow.com and cutchemist.com