After a decade-plus of working in and around the singular world of contemporary Lisbon DJs, DJ N.K. is about to release his debut full-length on Lit City Trax. DJ Do Ghetto (the title itself calling back to the essential, scene-defining 2006 comp DJ Do Guetto Vol. 1, on which N.K. also appeared) is 45 minutes of relentlessly active, boisterous dance music that manages to summarize both N.K.’s producing career up to now and the version of kuduro he has helped shape.
Famously rooted in the Angolan community living on Lisbon’s outer perimeter, modern kuduro builds on its roots by melting African and Portuguese rhythms together while making it faster, weirder, harder (“kuduro” translates into something like “hard ass”). N.K. has mastered the form and is at the top of his game here: this record is intense, breathless, and never less than fun throughout, demanding both your attention and movement. The album also pays tribute to the family-like producing world N.K. sprang from, featuring guest spots from scene superstars DJ Marfox and DJ Nervoso, which helps to preserve the feeling of family and communal inclusivity at the core of kuduro.
Transcending its bedroom/post-Fruity Loops production style, DJ Do Ghetto pulls off the feat of being both regionally specific and universal. This is music that should be played at every barbecue or, in a just world, be the World Cup anthem.
Tiny Mix Tapes is thrilled to premiere album cut “Zuguza.” Stream it below, and look for DJ Do Ghetto July 15 via Lit City Trax.
More about: DJ Marfox, DJ N.K., DJ Nervoso
