Strictlybutters Electronic & Dance 2 Items

Loud & Clear / N.O.R.E (Buttas Remix) b/w Cherry Blossoms (Love Notes Mix) by Strictlybutters | Galaxy Sound Co. – GSC 45-038 | Summer time vibes are here & @galaxy_sound_company is back at it with another sure-shot #hiphop donut via @strictlybutters. I got my hands on an advance copy of a limited-run test pressing & it is cut loud! Ya know ya will be boomin’ in ya, boomin’ in ya, boomin’ this in ya jeep!

Galaxy Sound Co. started taking these occasional fire #hiphopinstrumental interlude breaks from their 45 edit series to shine light on the Michigan skateboarder, cyclist, sneaker-head & bedroom b-boy beat maker Strictlybutters. With the 38th donut in the GSC 45 series, he is making his 3rd appearance on the label & it is another banger.

Side A1’s “Loud & Clear” is a straight-up, warm-up boom-bap banger. It effortlessly, teases along by MC royalty with a sweet soulful piano riff rolling along MPC delights. A joyful crowd is weaved through a familiar GWJ break calling you do get up & get down. A2’s “N.O.R.E. (Buttas Remix)” teases with a buttery-soul laced rework of with a snippet from Noreaga’s “SuperThug”. The only fault here being SB only gives us a taste at just over a minute long. More please.

Side B’s “Cherry Blossoms (Love Notes Mix)” is a killer joint in the vein of 90s hip-hop love jams, with the core sample being one of my fav sweet soul songs from Detroit, 1969’s “Maybe So Maybe No” by the New Holidays (Soulhawk Records 1008). SB lets this beat breathe to perfection, rolling fa-la-la-la’s that slide into a sexy outro.

Strictlybutters is a music lover, DJ, skateboarder, cyclist, and sneakerhead. He is also a dad with a full-time career, who somehow still manages to go cratedigging on his lunchbreaks. Strictlybutters fully embraces that Danny Tanner "Full House" lifestyle and comes from the same small town that gave us Lyman Woodard. When he is not doing yardwork, making dinner for his daughter, or detailing his Jeep, he is upstairs in his lab making beats, cutting up the 1200's, or listening to music. Strictlybutters is meticulous in everything he does. Although he has been buying records since the early '80s and beat digging since '91, every record that he owns is a gem. His choice of weapon is the Mpc3000, Mpc2000xl, and Sp-303, and he only uses original pressings when making beats. He has also been skating and landing tricks consistently for nearly 30 years, has a half dozen rare '80s BMX cruisers that he rides no matter the weather, as well as a massive collection of kicks. Strictlybutters' love for hip hop began like most people his age who grew up outside of the vicinity of NYC... after seeing "Beat Street" and "Breakin'", he was hooked. He was heavy into breakdancing in '83-'84 and began listening to The Boogie's "Saturday Night Fresh" hip hop/electro show on 107.1FM-Saginaw. In '89, he started listening to the "Cultural Vibe" hip hop show on 88.9FM-Lansing, and it cannot be understated just how important this show was to him throughout the '90s. Also, throughout the '90s and even to this day, Strictlybutters would drive all over Michigan to hit up numerous record spots. If the record excursion took place on a Friday, it was a guarantee that he would end up in Detroit. Every Friday night between '95-'00, you could always find Strictlybutters somewhere in the crowd at St. Andrew's Hall while House Shoes and others would DJ. In the late '90s, Strictlybutters began to hang out with the Starving Artists Crew and would eventually become one of their DJ's. He provided scratches on their first 12" single in ’01 (“Four Square”), and on their "Up Pops The Sac" album in ’03 (“Intro”, “The Kick Clap”, “Up Pops The Sac”, and “96 West Ferry”). It was the time that he spent with the Starving Artists Crew that got him interested in making beats. Ever since '03, Strictlybutters has been making classic '90s hip hop beats for the fun of it, with no intention of ever doing anything with them… until now. In ‘20, he worked with Shepard Fairey (obey) and contributed a couple of Strictlybutters beats that were used in multiple promo spots for the New Deal x Shepard Fairey skateboard collection. And in ’21, Strictlybutters will be releasing his first 7” single on the Galaxy Sound Co. label, with more to come in the future!