Music
Tadd Mullinix
· electronic producer
Ann Arbor producer who made Ghostly International's first album and, as Dabrye, fused instrumental hip-hop with electronics, recording with J Dilla and Phat Kat.
- Also known as
- Dabrye · James T. Cotton · SK-1
- Detroit years
- 1990s–2000s
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Tadd Mullinix grew up in Troy, in Oakland County, and made his name in Ann Arbor's electronic scene. His IDM-flavored Winking Makes a Face was the first album released by Ghostly International, the Ann Arbor label founded by Sam Valenti IV. As Dabrye he changed direction with One/Three (2001), a set of instrumental hip-hop whose mix of live-sounding drums and stylized electronic programming paralleled the work of Prefuse 73; its track “Hyped-Up Plus Tax” later became a jingle for Motorola's RAZR phone. The 2004 single “Game Over”, with verses by Detroit's Jay Dee (J Dilla) and Phat Kat, previewed Two/Three (2006), which gathered underground rappers such as MF Doom, Beans and Vast Aire. Mullinix also records Chicago-style acid and jack tracks as James T. Cotton and SK-1, and with then-roommate D'Marc Cantu formed the techno and acid-house group 2 AM/FM, showing how the Ann Arbor–Detroit corridor kept techno and hip-hop in conversation.
Highlights
- Winking Makes a Face was Ghostly International's first album.
- Dabrye's One/Three (2001) became an instrumental hip-hop touchstone.
- “Game Over” (2004) featured J Dilla and Phat Kat.
- Records acid and techno as James T. Cotton and in 2 AM/FM.