Mr Fingers- “Can You Feel It”

I realise that this is far from an unknown record. It’s been an established classic for many years. It is however the track that got me, and a lot of other Hip Hop kids, into House music back in the late ‘80’s. Up until then I associated House music with gay clubs and bridge & tunnel/guido spots that also played Freestyle music. Not my scene. It wasn’t getting played in the Hip Hop and Reggae parties that I was going to. Disco classics and Strafe “Set It Off” was as far as it went.

Starting around ‘87 Hip Hop and straight downtown DJ’s started playing House along with everything else. For the next five years, until around 1992, House, Hip Hop, Reggae and classics were played alongside each other throughout NYC. When Hip Hop started to move away from the uptempo sound that was popular at the time and started to slow down and become more “thuggy”, the two genres became almost completely segregated for a number of years.

My introduction to what was about to become one of my favorite tracks of all time was at the legendary club Nell’s on either a Wednesday or Sunday in 1987. I was a very underage kid going out to clubs constantly. DJ Basil had his weekly in the basement, which had one of the best sound systems in the city, and played Hip Hop, Reggae and classics, which is what I was into, along with early House. When he dropped this song, my view of music was forever expanded. Over the years, many people have told me “Can You Feel It” did the same thing for them too.