DJ Aktive was one of the many DJs who kept people entertained and sane when the global pandemic had the world inside for most of 2020 and 2021. He'd regularly hop on his Instagram Live to spin records during his "Chill Vibes" sets, and artists would join him in conversation as he played their music. Now that outside is sorta kinda back open and he's not on Live as often, Aktive plans to keep that energy going with the announcement of his next musical project, Chill Vibes EP Vol. 1. He's giving fans a sneak peek at it with the lead single "Kool" featuring Marsha Ambrosius and Kenyon Dixon.
"Kool" samples Digable Planets' GRAMMY Award-winning 1992 classic "Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" (which itself sampled Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers' "Stretching"). Aktive reminds us that he's as dope a producer as he is a DJ with his flip of the source material alongside co-producer Ivan Barias.
The song begins with the distinctive upright bassline dropping in right before Marsha speaks the lyric, "I'm cool like that." As she repeats the line and sings some ad-libs, Aktive starts cutting and scratching. Kenyon joins in, also repeating the "I'm cool like that" line to the beat before he starts singing the verse and talking his ish. R&B Kenny does most of the heavy lifting for the remainder of the song, with Marsha chiming in on backgrounds and additional ad-libs over DJ Aktive's funky foundation.
"Kool" is a fine introduction to DJ Aktive's Chill Vibes EP Vol. 1, which is due some time this year. If it's anything like his 2019 debut album The Tour, then we expect another star-studded collection of music from the man who's recently been seen on our TV screens on NBC's musical variety show That's My Jam. He's the resident DJ in the all-star house band assembled by Adam Blackstone.
Aktive's “Kool” collaborators are also making music moves. Marsha Ambrosius, who previously worked with Aktive on the single "90's Love" from The Tour, has her next release locked and loaded. She recorded the album Casablanco with Dr. Dre during the last few months of 2021, and she calls it, "some of my best work." Current GRAMMY Award-nominee Kenyon Dixon, meanwhile, is enjoying the sweet success of his new duet "Love On Replay" with Tiffany Gouché and riding for R&B til the wheels fall off.
Get into these Chill Vibes when you press play on DJ Aktive's "Kool" featuring Marsha Ambrosius and Kenyon Dixon right here.
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