Sammy Rock (Cyberjamz.com, NYC) - Episode 68

[MUSIC AND WINE Radio]

I can't tell you how excited I am to publish this week's mix. And you wanna know who spins it? Sammy Rock. That's right, as in Cyberjamz.com's own Sammy Rock from the Bronx.

If you only knew how critical Cyberjamz has been to my personal development as a DJ. I happened by Cyberjamz over 10 years, possibly by linking through the online magazine www.undagroundarchives.com about NYC's house scene, run by photographer Donna Ward, who used to organize the annual Choice Awards (the scene's Oscars).

The station was quite impressive. It had a strong line-up of radio programs scheduled at different peak listening hours of the day. 7-9pm Master Kev's Yo Sessions. 10-12pm Sunday School by Keith "Porterhouse" Porter. 9-11pm The NuBang Clan Sessions. We're talking 10 shows a day, seven days a week. These were live shows broadcast weekly, jam packed with good music, rarely ever repeating a track from one week to the next. This is when I discovered DJs like Camacho, Carlos Sanchez, James Vincent, Donna Edwards, and Ruben Toro. This is when I first heard about Robbi The Promoter. This is when I learned about the Jersey DJs. There was even live chatting. You'd read things like "just got home from the Shelter, Timmy killed it tonight" and "I like what he did with Sandcastles on that long transition..."

One show I used to listen to often was called "Soul Expressions" by the station founder and manager DJ Sammy Rock a.k.a Soul Oasis. "Soul Expressions on Cyberjamz dot kEm," Sammy'd say. He'd get on the mic and talk about anything from last week's events, to how his birthday party went on Tuesday night, to what to look forward to that upcoming week. I'm telling ya, it felt like I was right there in the middle of the scene. It felt like I knew about as much as anyone else attending these parties from one week to the next. (P.S. This immersion came in handy when I was invited to present an award at the Choice Awards 4.0 in 2005, when Cyberjamz was voted best online radio station. That night I met in person many of the people I'd heard about through Cyberjamz and similar sites like GrooveParlor.com, DeepHousePage.com, HandzOnRadio.com, etc., like Jovonn, Cordell Johnson, Ed Dunn, Danny Krivit, Quentin Harris, Kevin Hedges, Anane, Stephanie Cooke, Jada, Tommy Bones, Andre Collins, Bruce Tatum, and Josh Milan.)

Back to the radio station. The music was just phenomenal, and consistently that way. I spent countless hours listening and internalizing this music, so much so that it became part of me, part of who I became.

And here we are 10 years later, I am completely filled with pride as we introduce Sammy Rock on the show for the first time. Here's a commercial-free "House of Soul" fresh music mix. Hope you're wearing comfortable shoes!

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