Wednesday, Sept 25 2024

Double Cup

By A Mystery Man Writer

Rashad Harden was born in Hammond, Indiana, just outside Chicago in 1977, and raised in south suburban Calumet City. Before he ever made a track, he listened to Cajmere, Lil Louis, Fast Eddie and the rest of the locally grown house music that made up the vernacular sound of Chicago in the 1980s and 1990s. And he danced. In some ways, Double Cup is Rashad’s debut album, but in more significant ways, it represents a lifetime of incubating a remarkable branch of Chicago house music. In a cruel twist of fate, Double Cup is also a testament to how much creative juice was lost when Rashad died tragically on April 26, 2014. Released originally in 2013, it ended up on year-end lists from Pitchfork, The Guardian, Dazed, Resident Advisor, Crack Magazine, The Wire and Complex, as well as decade lists from Pitchfork, Noisey and SPIN. Rolling Stone described it as somehow both weightless and brutally powerful while Pitchfork said it as unquestionably the strongest footwork-related LP and NME said it was unprecedented. The 'Double Cup' 10 Year Anniversary is celebrated with a deluxe reissue of the album that features new artwork, a limited edition gold vinyl pressing, and a digital exclusive release for Last Winter: a luscious, wistful synth-studded outing that samples Stevie Wonder.