Ghetto Brothers
"Got This Happy Feeling" b/w "Girl From the Mountain"
Truth & Soul
Back in '06 I was in San Francisco for a week rehearsing for a Kelley Stoltz tour of Europe. I found a copy of Jeff Mao's "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" for bargain basement pricing and brought the tome chronicling the rise of hip-hop overseas with me, it's physical weight as hefty as it was metaphorical.
My main takeaway from Mao's exhaustingly informative account was his citing of the Ghetto Brothers as one of the precursors of hip hop. I don't recall if he went as far to actually claim the Ghetto Brothers WERE hip hop, but the fact that the band sprung from a Bronx gang of the same name wearing rockers and sporting colors and is a good start. With band leader Benjy Melendez serving as an architect of the 1971 Bronx-wide gang peace treaty...well, that helps propel the story.
It would take me a minute to actually HEAR the Ghetto Brothers lone album "Power/Fuerza". Wasn't even "officially" reissued at that point and the bootleg was in no stores on my paper route. I think I actually tracked it down on Music Stack or possibly even Gemm, two fairly dead pre-Discogs marketplaces that I'd bet most of you whippersnappers never spent a dime on. Remember when it took EFFORT to hear something? That you had to put some movement and money to make music meet your ears? I don't think I'm bemoaning the advent of streaming/instant everything and readily admit that I had it relatively easy being able to find stuff online for purchase. But damn...
Anyway, the album is great, feels like it exists in a vacuum. In truth though, I was never able to listen much beyond the opening song on the LP. "Girl From the Mountain" gives off NO hip hop vibes to me. It is all wholesome sincerity, incredible hand percussion accompaniment, unexpected thin fuzz guitar solo and "la la la" backing vocals of supreme superiority. It feels like fresh air, cold water, warm coffee, bright sun and cool night all wrapped into one.
I have clear memories of listening to this song on the White Stripes tour bus in summer 2007, coming out of my lap top in the front lounge while everyone else was sleeping in their bunks. Time stopped. Life worked. Everything felt right in the world.
And doing quick research I only find out today that "Girl From the Mountain" is a cover. The original version, written by Felix Tollinchi, was featured on the self-titled album by the Harvey Averne Barrio Band from 1971. And it pales in comparison. Feels more traditional, less vulnerable and ultimately uninformed of the quasi-transitional crossover from Nuyorican island vibes to Bronx hip hop birth.
The fact that neither of these songs were originally released on a 45 doesn't bother me. It is ALWAYS worth it to have a song of this quality available on a single. Jump into it.
