Members: Double Dee, Steinski
In 1983, Double Dee & Steinski (Douglas DiFranco and Steven Stein) entered a Tommy Boy competition officially titled ‘Hey Mr DJ Play That Beat Down By Law Switch The Licks Mastermix Contest’ to find new remixes of G.L.O.B.E. & Whiz Kid’s classic track, Play That Beat which would hopefully boost sales. The prize was the complete Tommy Boy catalogue of releases to date, a t-shirt, $100 and the possibility of club distribution and entries were judged by Tom Silverman, Afrika Bambaataa, John ‘Jellybean’ Benitez, Arthur Baker, G.L.O.B.E., Shep Pettibone, Brian Chin, Barry Mayo, Raul Rodriquez, Stephanie Shepherd and Mike Wilkinson.
The production duo’s sampled-based Payoff Remix, utilizing elements from a wide variety of sources such as World’s Famous Supreme Team, Funky 4+1, Incredible Bongo Band, Culture Club, The Supremes, Humphrey Bogart, Little Richard, etc was an instant hit and they were awarded first prize. The track was sent out to various radio stations and gained more airplay than the original version. Surprised by the interest in the mix, Tommy Boy suggested a follow-up so the duo went back to work and followed this track with Lesson 2 (The James Brown Mix). Steven Hager then commissioned the duo to create Lesson 3 (The History Of Hip Hop Mix) in order to promote his book entitled ‘An Illustrated History Of Hip Hop, Breakdancing And Graffiti’.
The first appearance on vinyl was on the Disconet Program Service DJ subscription label (Volume 6 Program 7 1984). Lesson 2 also featured on a volume of this DJ subscription service label (Volume 6 Program 11 1984) before the duo released a private press of their own containing their first two mixes. There were 500 copies in total which they sold under the counter and in person. Lesson 3 also appeared on Disconet (Volume 7 Program 9 1985) but this time was closely followed by a Tommy Boy pressing of all three mixes. They intended to officially release Lesson 3 as the A-side and include the previous mixes on the flip but were unable to clear the samples. As the mix was based mainly around Herman Kelly & L.I.F.E.’s Dance To The Drummers Beat, they went to Herman Kelly for sample clearance but he demanded too much money so the pressing remained a promotional-only release. Also worthy of note is that some pressings, as with a lot of other artist releases, appear as colour vinyl when held against the light. This is due to the low carbon content during the manufacturing process and not actually colour vinyl. Cool to have though!
There have been various bootleg copies with the Tommy Boy label released over the years, most of which can be easily identified by the run-out grooves and the labels. With the exception of one (At the time of writing this) they all have the correct tracks printed but they have two A-sides and don’t have a Herbie Jr or Frankford Wayne etching/stamp. There is one copy though which is almost identical to the original pressing. It has Side A and Side B and also includes the Herbie Jr etching but it omits the Frankford Wayne stamp/etching. There is a lot of debate as to whether this is a very good bootleg or an alternative pressing and as far as I know, this is still unresolved. There is also a common unofficial release from around 1985/6 on RPM Records titled, The History Of Hip Hop, which itself has a few variations.
There are various other white labels, etc but the Tommy Boy and RPM releases are the main ones. As far as I know, the only other official release is as a B-side to Afrika Bambaataa & the Jazzy 5. This was a promotional-only release to coincide with Tommy Boy’s Greatest Beats Vols. 1-4 albums and also featured the original and Double Dee & Steinski remix of Jazzy Sensation.
Label: Disconet Program Service
Year: 1984
Format: 2 x 12″
Origin: US
Side A
Side B
Side C
Side D
Label: Disconet Program Service
Year: 1984
Format: 2 x 12″
Origin: US
Side A
Side B
Side C
Side D
Label: Disconet Program Service
Year: 1985
Format: 2 x 12″
Origin: US
Side A
Side B
Side C
Side D
Label: Tommy Boy
Year: 1985
Format: 12″ Promo
Origin: US
Side A
Side B
Notes: Some copies appear translucent when held up to the light.
Label: RPM Records
Year: 1985
Format: 12″
Origin: US / Canada
Side A
Side B
Notes: There are a few variations of this. The font used is slightly different on some and one variation has Made In Canada printed on the bottom.