THE DROP: Rich Medina and Stretch Armstrong spun a tale of the history of urban music last night at U Hall, and it was beautiful.

In 1984, the National Basketball Association’s Houston Rockets drafted 6’11” tall Nigerian from the University of Houston Hakeen Olajuwon and paired him alongside 7’4″ University of Virginia graduate Ralph Sampson to form the “Twin Towers” frontline which dominated the NBA, reaching the finals in 1985 only to lose to Larry Brid’s Boston Celtics. By 1986, Sampson, injured fell out of favor with coach Bill Fitch and the initially dreamed “can’t fail” project was deemed a loss by a great preponderance of NBA pundits and historians.

Rich Medina and Stretch Armstrong are both exceedingly tall DJs. You could even say (as they did) at DC’s U Street Music Hall last night that they were “Twin Towers.” Like the more historically renowned pairing of Olajuwon and Sampson, this is a pair whose success as a duo is eminently notable however, unlike them, their success was not tarnished by failure.

U Hall’s had some superstar nights as of late. Richie Hawtin and Tensnake assumed the decks last week. The former is a Detroit techno legend who has just released a CD compilation of his work under his legendary moniker of Plastikman. Tensnake? He’s the nu disco king of the world, an internationally respected German DJ whose ability to blend the classic soulful feel of disco while also blending brighter new school electronic elements is especialy noteworthy. Both played U Hall in the same week, both incredibly well recieved events. But there’s something that we’re discovering about the “Temple of Boom.” The ethereal highs and subsonic depths of the vaunted sound system at the venue truly excel with sounds that are known and accessible, but have never been heard by the denizens of the dance floor with such percussive force and space for melody to expand.

Last night was a night dedicated in many ways to New York City. There were now mainstream but once underground dance elements of the event that owed their grace to men like Larry Levan who likely played those tracks for the first time with such emphatic resonance at the Paradise Garage. For many in the room, this is likely the first time they have ever heard these tracks the way that they were amplified when they first became hits. There were elements in the nature of selection that are owed entirely to Frankie Crocker’s DJing at the legendary WBLS, a progressive urban radio powerhouse in the 1970s and 1980s which in many ways by Crocker including dance elements alongside the typical Top 40 soul expanded what urban radio could mean. And there were elements that were owed to The Tunnel, the legendary hip hop and R & B nightclub where DJs like Funkmaster Flex dropped legendary hip hop classics for the first time, blending elements of the prior two greats alongside those of James Brown and a plethora of other progenitors of the dominance of urban soul.

Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia as Columbia University students carried on the legacy of soul, disco and early hip hop with their legendary radio hour. Rich Medina? Well, he’s a legendary Philadelphia DJ, which is to state that without him, there isn’t a true connection to progressive disco and soul, two of the core elements of hip hop music. Combining their talents was a certified guarantee of a stellar event, and the duo more than succeeded.

It was a marathon of effusive joy. It felt like everything was played. Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band and Ghostface Killah? Absolutely. The Notorious B.I.G.? Well, Stretch and Bobbito were the first DJs responsible for breaking him out of the underground pack, so, absolutely. Heaping helpings of James Brown? But of course. Disco classics and house cuts like Crystal Waters’ “Gypsy Woman?” Certainly. Jazz standards? Yes. Big Daddy Kane? Caused a dance circle of people ready to break into the “Roger Rabbit” or the “MCM” while imagining they were wearing tough silk suits.

Any night that causes DJs to stand in uber appreciative circles and cheer selections? An epic win. Any night that causes hardcore breakers to bring their conga drums to the club and get into deep and involved freestyle routines in appreciate circles? Winning as well. Last night was a celebration of the depth, scope past, present and future of urban culture as led by two of the very small upper echelon of men able to truly tap into, respect and understand that historical nature and preserve that in a three hour tag team set.

Best part of the entire night? Neither of them looked like they were breaking a sweat. When a weight is no longer a burden but an honor, that emotion transfers to a crowd and brightens even the darkest of rooms.

Tremendous.

S*** I’M DIGGING THIS WEEK: The Hell of Trouble and Bass and the Heaven of Rich Medina – Nights at U Street Music Hall

1. U Hall’s Trouble and Bass Takeover only gets better!

As Chase and Status take dubstep into the mainstream, something most curious now is occurring in the musical underground. As if revolting against the more pop leaning sensibilities of those like Rusko, whose OMG may provide the best template upon which mainstream producers can best take the wobbling sounds of the genre onto top 40 radio, something strange and yes, dark, is afoot.

If ever needing a night that feels like a perpetual Hell-o-ween (not like the band of the same name), do yourself a favor and venture into the U Street Music Hall on the second Thursday of every month for the Trouble and Bass takeover. As has been mentioned on this site before, bass freaks are a unique breed. Enjoying deep, dark, harsh and crushing sounds and finding the beauty therein equates you well with the same type of people who don’t get frightened when things go bump in the dark…in fact it probably turns you on. Trouble and Bass is a dance crew that embraces both Bela Lugosi and booty bass. Darth Vader and Luke Skyyywalker. Elements of punk, heavy metal and hardcore era house seep in as well, making their sound not just distinctive, but equal parts crunk, guilty pleasure and the deepest of the deep.

The fact that U Hall is subterranean only adds to the allure. The crew at last Thursday’s most recent event pumped fog into the space, which given the deep freeze of the air conditioning and the already poor ventilation of the space, made the dance floor look like a cold sonic graveyard filled with thrashing souls. Exactly the intended look for a phenomenal evening to say the least. When the blister of hits like AC Slater’s newest “Take You Higher” with Ninjasonik and any great number of B. Rich’s next level hip hop trending bass journeys in his set, including a VERY deep take on Usher and Nicki Minaj’s “Lil Freak” mixed with that atmosphere, it truly was an underground masterpiece and a glimpse into the belief that the next wave in the underground will be cold, foreboding, musically dense and impressive.

2. Rich Medina takes Red Fridays to a whole new level

I am an avowed devotee of the “Red Fridays” party at U Street Music Hall. I am a particularly big fan of vocal classic house jams, and especially the more soulful takes DJs have on the genre. Guys like Kerry Chandler, KW Griff, Quentin Harris and trending back to Larry Levan are heroic figures to me, being able to create and then work a record on a sound system and generate emotions that as Rod Lee would say, makes me want to “Dance My Pain Away” and succeed at it. Few have played the night and deviated from the norm of warm disco and house numbers making the night a definite standout, but also not leaving much to the imagination when it comes to the standard of excellence of the party.

Enter Rich Medina. Rich plays DC a fair amount. Usually at Liv right down U Street, but yeah. He’s here often. The first time I witnessed him live was a set with him and Bobbito Garcia honoring Stevie Wonder during the Obama inauguration. Rich played alongside more than able openers DJ Stylus and the legendary Sam “The Man” Burns, and turned Red Fridays on its ear. In just over two hours, Rich went harder and deeper than anyone has yet gone at the party. The house was jam packed. In fact, U Hall may have never been that packed in its three months of existence. Rich dove headlong into afrobeat, deviated into soulful disco, clipped a few house classics, then dropped the Doobie Brothers’ “Long Train Running.” From there, the elements of hip hop were investigated as the Incredible Bongo Band’s “Apache” made the floors sweat as pop lockers and breakers created circles and got busy. House music is all music in so many ways. It’s a form that refreshes, re-informs and excites anything. From the Jungle Brothers to Nina Simone to Kylie Minogue, Gloria Gaynor and for me starting with First Choice’s “Let No Man Put Asunder,” the sound has powered generations. Rich Medina provided me a reminder of this fact like none other.