But there was one big problem with “The Live Mix Volume Two” – while an almost flawless album and essential listening for anyone who grew up on hip-hop in the eighties and nineties – Breakestra made very little money from the record. Reason being was that because the record was made up of so many familiar breaks, they had to license each one, leaving very little money left for each of the band’s six (or more) members at the end of the day. So naturally, their next album was less likely to be “The Live Mix Volume Three”, and instead a series of original recordings. 

      And rightly so, while a new “Live Mix” would have been fun (let’s not rule it out entirely fellas), this would have pigeonholed Breakestra into being nothing more than a really good cover band. So enter “Hit The Floor”, Breakestra’s re-entry into the music scene, featuring 14 original tracks for your listening pleasure. Sure, you won’t find yourself identifying sounds or “samples” on this record, but the end result is enjoyable as anything else they’ve released. 

      “Hit The Floor” plays throughout as if it were the Live Mix Volume Three, in the sense that each of the tracks seems to lead into the next one, but with two second gaps in between each one. You can definitely sense the cohesion here that will undoubtedly translate into their live performances. As for this new original material, all of it works. Songs like “Don’t Need To Dance” and “Stand Up” pose Mix Master Wolf as the frontman, as he does his best James Brown (for lack of a better comparison), urging listeners to get on the floor and shake a leg, with his distinctive gruff vocals. However the true meat of the album lies in the middle, when instead Miles himself steps up to the mic. He pours his heart and soul into passionate tracks like “Hiding” and “Recognize”, making some of the album’s most honest and genuine material. 

     Like their last record, “Hit The Floor” offers up a diverse selection of sounds and styles. There’s no denying some of the incredible instrumental selections, such as the ridiculous “Burgandy Blues”, which amazes with a non-stop barrage of funky flutes that begs to be sampled, while “The Gettin In To It” does the same for the sax. The night winds down to a close with mellower instrumental selections such as “See Sawng” and “How Do You Really Feel”. As an added bonus, “Hit The Floor” comes complete with it’s own old-fashioned hip-hop song in “Family Rap”, an incredible salute to the days of old starring members of Jurassic 5 and People Under The Stairs. 

      “Hit The Floor” proves Breakestra to be more than just the cover band you might have thought they were. While it may be unfamiliar, this stuff is undeniably danceable – and who said it had to be familiar to move to it? But after a couple of listens to the album, all need for nostalgic sample identifying will be forgotten. But if you really need that to enjoy a Breakestra album, just buy the album now, put it at the top of your closet, and in thirty years open it and listen to it. Then you can say “Hey, Madlib Junior and Lil’ Kanye sampled that!”

Dr. Tackett is in fact one of these types, as you can tell by listening to his nine-man funk ensemble, The Breakestra. My mind was blown the first time I saw them perform at an Urb Magazine party in 1999. Not being a hardcore follower of breaks, like many of my peers, I was unsure that I would be able to fully appreciate their sound, mainly because I don’t study 45′s quite as hard. But the experience was incredible. The band flawlessly recreated samples from all of my favorite hip-hop songs, and like a great DJ, was in and out of each track in under 60 seconds, never losing momentum, or the crowd’s attention. Left and right familiar sounds from who knows where were hitting my ears, and just as I remember “Oh shit! Redman sampled that!”, the next break comes in, leaving me scrambling to identify it.

This was even better than listening to DJ John Doe spin his collection of impossible-to-find funk 45′s, simply because it was live. The minor popping sound of a dusty 7-inch was gone. The sound had been recreated flawlessly, but in no way disrespected the originals, but instead honored them. It was like being in a different era.

Which is why The Live Mix Volume Two is such a masterpiece. Following the Japanese release of the first volume, (which is equally satisfying) this album is simply The Breakestra’s performance – a “live mix-tape”, if you will. The most beautiful thing about it is that it’s not pretentious, by getting so obscure with its selections that the average head gets bored in the middle of it. It caters directly to the hip-hop listener by structuring the playlist like a DJ would, playing the familiar break, and then moving on to the next one. 45 minutes of non-stop funk, with Mixmaster Wolf as your narrator.

Whether you are the bookworm crate fiend, or just an everyday fan of hip-hop music, the Breakestra’s The Live Mix Volume Two is an essential listen for both parties, as everyone will appreciate this album. It’s an incredible piece of work, that’s only flaw is that it leaves your mouth watering for The Live Mix Vol. 3.