Mighty serious posting. Thanks. Crazy thing...I was in iTunes making some smart 'clique' playlists. After doing one (The Jets) with Curren$y, Fiend, Smoke DZA, etc and having that lead to hours of jamming, I was creating smart playlists for Dungeon Family (!), Death Row (!), MMG (hush), and I was trying to figure out the best way to do a Rocafella one too (gotta cut off at a certain year, but my years have soooo many blanks..I'm working on it!). Then, I was trying to update my Timbaland/Bassment crew one too. Ohhh the jamming...now this!? Hell yeah. Thanks 20 times. That crew has given us some topshelf jams, and Jodeci's situation was and still is somewhat a tragedy to me (this is a good enough time as any to write a 'fuck Suge Knight'..dude fucked up Death Row, Pac, AND Jodeci..shit..). The Dream drops stuff that sounds like the fumes of Jodeci and I love THAT, so you can imagine what I think when I hear Freakin You remix (weekly), or any of the mid to late 90s post-Bassment Timbaland stuff.

Jimaveli

>so i mentioned in some other posts that ive been in the
>middle of writing up a massive blog post that covers
>everything that can possibly be known about Da Bassment crew
>(and if ur unaware of them to begin with, this'll be a good
>starter package). i think i'm finally done. original link is
>below (i'll post some of the content here, but links to the
>music and the interviews and my ramblings at the end will have
>to be viewed on the page):
>
>http://confessionsofacurlymind.wordpress.com/2011/12/29/da-bassment-crew-aka-swing-mob-the-rise-fall-rise-of-one-of-the-baddest-motherfucking-crews-in-modern-music-history-the-recently-unearthed-77min-cassette-demo-tape-you-must-hear/
>
>DA BASSMENT Crew (aka Swing Mob): The Rise, Fall & Rise Of One
>Of The Baddest Motherfucking Crews In Modern Music History +
>the recently unearthed 77min cassette demo tape YOU.MUST.HEAR
>--
>let’s take it back to the early/mid-90s for a second and lemme
>sum up what i’m about to offer up to you, anonymous
>tastemakers and music-lovers of the Internet:
>
>Jodeci were blowing the fuck up off the strength of their
>now-classic debut album Forever My Lady in the early 90s (of
>which all the slow songs were written by mastermind DeVante
>Swing about a girl he was dating at the time who left & joined
>the army. random, right?). and amidst all the adulation came
>some form of power for Mr. Donald “DeVante” DeGrate, who then
>embarked on an ambitious project that was reminiscent of a
>bygone era in music. while on tour with Jodeci, he would
>routinely hear auditions from local groups. after carefully
>selecting which ones he thought showed real promise and real
>talent, he amassed them into a collective known as Da Bassment
>crew (aka Swing Mob) sometime around 1992, tho some people say
>the ball could’ve got started rolling even before that. this
>is a large pool of talent that included future legends like
>Timbaland, Missy Elliott, Tweet, Magoo, Ginuwine, Playa,
>Static/Major and quite a bit of input from DeVante and Dalvin
>as well. originally known as the 45.4 Q Clique, and then Swing
>Mob, the name Da Bassment eventually stuck due to the
>recording complex that all the artists either lived in or next
>to (this would be Dajhelon Studios in which the group
>primarily used the basement studios for their work).
>
>however, the clique imploded sometime after The Show, The
>Afterparty, The Hotel (an album which had credited and
>uncredited contributions from various Bassment members, as did
>Diary Of A Mad Band, this group-mentality of creation being
>the status quo). while the majority of the goings on and the
>real reasons for the epic split of this epic crew remained a
>source of constant wonder and curiosity for nearly two decades
>(and a certain amount of sadness that it wasn’t fully
>realised), in the last few years we’ve seen ex-members like
>Susan Weems (of the group Sugah, of which Tweet and Rolita
>White were also a part) and emcee, Accion, give lengthy
>interviews about their experiences in Da Bassment. the former
>VP of the label, Shannon “Big Shann” Miller also recently
>recounted the experience with an interview via Skype that’s up
>on YouTube.
>
>but above all else is this following important information: in
>2010 the owner of the Static Major Is Music Blog anonymously
>recieved a package in the mail after posting a few
>Bassment-related things. turns out the tape, unmarked and
>unlabeled, is a full tape of snippets of songs produced and
>made in Da Bassment, by Da Bassment. since it’s in snippet
>form, i can only assume it was originally designed to be a
>mixtape or promo tape of sorts. only a few full-length songs
>are featured. oh yeah, let me say it again just in case i
>understated it: UNRELEASED, UNEARTHED TUNES BY YOUR FAVOURITE
>BASSMENT ARTISTS. this is stuff i, or the collective “we”,
>thought we’d NEVER EVER end up hearing. when i randomly
>discovered it in a lazy Google search over 2 months ago, i
>almost freaked out. it had become such an unreachable treasure
>that i didn’t bother to think about it anymore, but here it is
>y’all: 77MINS OF IT. lol. a sneak peek into the collective
>creative braintrust known as Da Bassment. and what i hear only
>confirms my long-held position that, were the ‘experiment’ to
>work out and the group not disbanded, they would be household
>names and changed the entire face of modern r&b and hip hop
>music (as a COLLECTIVE and on their own terms, which is what
>DeVante was ultimately working towards).
>
>INSANELY, this gem has somehow managed to remain SO under the
>radar (even Internet’s radar) that i, a confirmed Bassment
>zealot, didn’t know of its existence til a YEAR after it hit
>the net. which is some shameful shit (to me). so i have taken
>it upon myself to help spread the good vibes. i want this blog
>post to become the vocal focal point for some Bassment love.
>come share your adulation for this still-unheralded clique,
>read up on the day-to-day happenings of the group via
>eye-witness accounts of ex-members, and how it ultimately all
>went sour. but like i said, most importantly: DOWNLOAD THE
>MIXTAPE. listen to all the early weed-soaked creative nuggets
>that led to mega-stardom and music icons.
>
>FYI: these are tunes that have been directly ripped from a
>rough cassette tape copy as just “Side 1″ and “Side
>2″ (respectively by Static Major Is Music), i’ve spent a
>good month chopping em up and figuring out track names, and
>especially the artists involved in each tack. since some of
>the members were completely new to me, it took a while to get
>acclimated to their voice in order to suss out who is who. but
>i think you’ll find this to be the most complete (and probaly
>ONLY) functioning tracklist.
>
>FYI (II): i’m designing this post to be sort of a central hub
>for any and all information regarding the history of Da
>Bassment throughout its entire run. that includes interviews
>with former members, rare pics and video glimpses into their
>world, an attempt at a complete list of Bassment members,
>unconfirmed rumours (some so crazy they might be true), and of
>course the songs themselves (incuding all the released
>material the group were involved with).
>
>—
>
>we begin the audio assault with THE demo tape that no one
>seems to know ANYthing about lol. typical Bassment style, even
>when we get to hear the MUSIC, we’re still left in the dark
>about the finer details. nevertheless, it’s die-hard
>fans/music nerds like me that desire to put the pieces
>together. here we go, courtesy of the afore-mentioned Static
>Major Is Music blog (wanna make sure they/Buddha get the
>much-deserved shout-outs on this page cos they broke the
>news/provided links in the first place).
>
>DA BASSMENT DEMO TAPE
>
>tracklist:
>
>01. Timbaland – Da Funk (1:32)
>02. Sista – Sweat You Down (Alternate Version) (feat. Crack
>Mack) (1:19)
>03. Virginia – Slow Drag (3:41)
>04. Sista – U Better Be Ready (2:02)
>05. Ginuwine – Come Inside (2:03)
>06. Ginuwine – I’m Going To Fall In Love (2:23)
>07. Sugah – Fly Guy (1:18)
>08. Timbaland & Magoo – Plenty Of Styles (feat. Missy Elliott)
>(3:34)
>09. Dante Hawkins – My Parents Are Gone (prod. DeVanté Swing &
>E-Bass) (3:50)
>10. Da Boogie Man – Interlude (1:00)
>11. Sugah – Sugah Thang (feat. Playa, Accion, Mr. Brendal,
>Timbaland & Reboc) (1:42)
>12. Da Bassment – Ain’t Nuthin’ But A B-Party (4:07)
>13. Jodeci – Get Back (6:03)
>14. Ginuwine – Let’s Stop Effin’ Around (1:48)
>15. Sugah – Expired (2:41)
>16. Sista – Find My Love (Alternate Version) (0:58)
>17. Playa – Come On, Girl (2:15)
>18. Sista – Brand New (Mr. Dalvin’s Ferrari Mix) (Extra Raps)
>(feat. Mr. Dalvin & Static) (1:11)
>19. Timbaland – Makes You Say (1:26)
>20. Timbaland – We Can Do This (1:08)
>21. Da Bassment – Ain’t Nuthin’ But A B-Party (Alternate Mix)
>(1:02)
>22. Timbaland – Get Down (feat. Playa) (1:07)
>23. Static – S-T-A-T-I-C (1:34)
>24. Reboc – Untitled (feat. Timbaland) (0:56)
>25. Timbaland – Peepin’ My Style (feat. Static & Missy
>Elliott) (2:37)
>26. Timbaland – Do You Wanna (feat. Accion) (3:09)
>27. Sugah – Sugah Sensation (feat. Timbaland) (1:44)
>28. Sugah – Goin’ Down (feat. Timbaland) (2:11)
>29. Virginia – Get Down (feat. Timbaland & Missy Elliott)
>(3:23)
>30. Virginia – Let Me In Your Life (feat. Missy Elliott)
>(3:28)
>31. Unknown – Baby I Know (0:54)
>32. Missy Elliott – Red Lights (feat. Timbaland) (1:12)
>33. Sugah – Smokin’ In The Dark (1:23)
>34. Sugah – Smokin’ In The Dark (Alternate Mix) (0:34)
>35. Mr. Dalvin (?) – Set It Off (4:12)
>36. Sugah – Sugar & Spice (1:51)
>
>runtime = 77:18.
>-
>
>as u might tell, it’s not yet a COMPLETE tracklist. so if
>anyone’s got info on tracks 31 & 35 please let me know.
>
>—
>
>and just to further add to this barrage of Bassment-related
>audio yumminess, i’ve compiled my own personal mix of more
>Bassment materials which includes: unreleased stuff,
>soundtrack cuts & work done for other artists (as you will
>see, many of the members of the crew participated on the
>production and writing tip for other artists). it’s slightly
>riskier for me to post these songs as some of them include
>some big-name artists that might wanna lay the smackdown on me
>and this blog, but it’s all for the love. if anyone DOES
>object to their tunes being present here in this particular
>mix, please give me a yell first. otherwise, please to be
>enjoying even more of my favourite Bassment-related goodies
>:)
>
>(and a further note, i’ve tried to include only tracks that
>feature two or more Bassment members on the track, and also
>the songs which i think best exemplify Da Bassment sound. i’ve
>also tried to track down as many deets/credits regarding who
>did what on each track as possible, but even i can be wrong
>time to time so if y’all have any corrections to make, please
>don’t hesitate to tell me off).
>
>-
>
>Mista Vee Presents…Swing Mobbin’: Sounds From Da Bassment
>
>tracklist:
>
>01. DeVante – P.I.B 4Play
>produced by DeVante Swing.
>
>02. Danny Boy – Slip N’ Slide
>produced by DeVante Swing & Reggie De’vell Moore.
>additional vocals by DeVante Swing & Ginuwine.
>
>03. Aaron Hall – Curiosity (Misdemeanor)
>produced by Mr. Dalvin.
>written by Aaron Hall, Missy Elliott & Mr. Dalvin.
>additional vocals by Missy Elliott.
>
>04. DeVante – Gin & Juice (Remix)
>produced by DeVante Swing & Timbaland.
>additional vocals by Da Boogie Man, Mr. Brendal, Magoo,
>Timbaland, Accion, Static & C-Dub.
>
>05. Al Green – Could This Be The Love
>produced by DeVante Swing.
>additional vocals by DeVante Swing, Playa & Renee Anderson.
>
>06. Mr. Dalvin & Static – True O.G.
>produced by Mr. Dalvin & Timbaland.
>
>07. Jodeci – Can We Flo?
>written, produced and arranged by DeVante Swing.
>background vocals by Playa.
>
>08. Jodeci – Zipper
>produced by DeVante Swing.
>
>09. DeVante – Gin & Juice
>produced, written & arranged by DeVante Swing.
>additional vocals by Static.
>
>10. B Rezell – Blowed Away
>produced by DeVante Swing & Timbaland.
>additional vocals by DeVante Swing.
>
>11. Jodeci – Room 454: DeVante’s “Inhermission”
>produced by DeVante Swing.
>
>12. Da Bassment – Love You Down
>produced by DeVante Swing.
>vocal arrangements by Playa.
>additional vocals by LB, Sugah & DeVante Swing.
>
>13. Jodeci – What About Us (Swing Mob)
>produced by DeVante Swing & Timbaland.
>additional vocals by Magoo.
>
>14. Ginuwine – I Want You
>produced by DeVante Swing.
>
>15. Tony Thompson – Slave
>produced by DeVante Swing & Darryl Pearson.
>music by DeVante Swing, Darryl Pearson & Missy Elliott.
>all instruments by DeVante Swing & Darryl Pearson.
>background vocals by Static, Smokey, Darryl Pearson, Missy
>Elliott & DeVante Swing.
>mixed by Prince Charles Alexander.
>
>16. Jodeci – Sweaty
>produced by DeVante Swing.
>additional vocals by Missy Elliott.
>scratches by Timbaland.
>
>17. Sista – Find My Love
>produced by DeVante Swing & Timbaland.
>additional keys by DeVante Swing.
>written by Missy Elliott.
>
>18. Renee Anderson – Gonna Be Your Night
>produced by DeVante Swing.
>
>19. Usher – Can U Get Wit It
>produced by DeVante Swing.
>instruments by DeVante Swing & Timbaland.
>guitar by Darryl Pearson.
>mixed by Prince Charles Alexander.
>additional vocals by DeVante Swing.
>
>20. H-Town – Part Time Lover
>produced by DeVante Swing & Darryl Pearson.
>additional vocals by DeVante Swing.
>
>runtime = 78:10.
>
>-
>
>there’s also a funky phat bonus track called “Ride Around”
>(dudes on the net are calling it “RidING Around” but i’ma call
>it “Ride Around”) that was also apparently featured on the
>tape, but for some reason was edited out of the final cassette
>rip by the blogger (i think, but again not sure why). as a
>result i’m not sure where it sits in the tracklist, therefore
>i’m callin it a “bonus track”. but far more than a loose end,
>this is one of THE dopest tracks to surface from the
>collective. it’s labeled as Da Bassment but it sounds mostly
>like a Timbo/Playa production. either way, tis some
>FONKY.SHIT.
>
>http://youtu.be/FyXuoJaTcIE (mp3 link is on the blog).
>
>---
>
>in the midst of all this research (let me remind y’all, i’ve
>been heading toward this large-ass blog post for what seems
>like a lifetime: i GREW UP on Bassment music), i was able to
>piece together a decent list of known Bassment/Swing Mob
>members.
>
>—
>
>Donald DeGrate (aka DeVante Swing/Boss Playa)
>Dalvin DeGrate (aka Mr. Dalvin)
>Timothy Mosley (aka Timbaland)
>Melvin Barcliff (aka Magoo/Maganoo)
>Melissa Elliott (aka Missy/Misdemeanor)
>Elgin Lumpkin (aka Ginuwine)
>Radiah Scott
>Chonita Coleman
>LeShawn Shellman
>Charlene Keys (aka Tweet)
>Susan Weems (aka Susie/Sue)
>Rolita White
>Jawann Peacock (aka Smokey/Smoke E. Digglera)
>Benjamin Bush (aka Black/Digital Black)
>Stephen Garrett (aka Static/Major/Stacks)
>Renee Anderson (aka Renee)
>Bazaar Royale (aka Da Boogie Man/Boogie)
>Virginia Williams (aka Virginia/VA)
>Dante Hawkins
>Charles Wiley (aka C-Dub)
>Mr. Brendal
>Accion
>Reboc
>Darryl Pearson
>Steven Jordan (aka Stevie J)
>Chad Elliott (aka Dr. Seuss)
>Shannon Miller (aka Big Shann) (Vice President)
>Robert Reives (aka Robb/RR)
>D. Brooks (?)
>Da Deuce
>Special “K” Tay
>Big Mel
>Reggie De’vell Moore
>SMK
>
>—
>
>RUMOURS, HALF-TRUTHS, BULLSHIT & INNUENDO
>
>welcome to the now-legendary pantheon of theories and
>assumptions regarding one DeVante Swing and Da Bassment crew.
>i collected these nuggets from various locales on the web,
>didn’t feel like crediting anyone as none of it can really be
>verified. then again, we barely know half the story, and as
>The Dude might say (in the parlance of our times), new shit is
>coming to light all the damn time. and like i said at the top
>of this post: some of this sounds so crazy that it might be
>true. so, brace yourselves :/
>
>—
>
>*the members in Jodeci was also sleeping with some of the
>girls in Da Bassment. K-Ci slept with Missy.
>
>*Mary broke in to some girl’s appartment that K-Ci and DeVante
>was messing with. Mary “DON’T PLAY” when it comes to K-Ci.
>
>*DeVante was raped and beaten with a bat in his home by Suge
>Knight and the homies, because he didn’t want to work with
>Suge anymore. Suge did alot of things to his own artists. Suge
>is ruthless.
>
>*i live in Rochester & I remember the time period they were
>here. they also made the last Jodeci CD here. if i remember
>correctly DeVante‘s cars started getting reposessed here
>during that period. he also produced a local girl here, had a
>whole album done. she opened for Maze here & the local station
>was playing what was supposed to be her 1st single then she
>vanished. word is that before the album dropped, DeVante
>pressured her to sleep with him. she wouldn’t & overnight the
>master tapes to her album were destroyed.
>
>*1. DeVante discovered Missy and some other folks.
>2. he moved them up to Rochester to make a compilation album.
>3. Missy started to shine and DeVante got salty.
>4. DeVante started doing some devious shit because he was
>angry that Missy was getting her shine on.
>5. after spending two years in Rochester, folks weren’t
>getting paid, there was no album, no food, and no sleep.
>6. Missy, Ginuwine, Timbaland, and Magoo had the balls to
>leave.
>7. Missy and Timbaland are now healthy and rolling in money
>while DeVante looks like the crackhead firefly from the Frog
>Princess.
>
>*here’s DeVante‘s story in the music biz:
>he was doing real good at one point and was making music for
>everyone, Suge reached out to him and asked that he worked on
>certain projects. at first he was alright with it but then
>realized Suge was abusing him and decided to let Suge know he
>was no longer interested in working on those projects.
>eventually, Suge had some dudes run up on him in his crib and
>rape him. after that incident he kept running from house to
>house, wherever he could stay because he was scared of being
>home. he started doing drugs heavy and was suicidal at one
>point… DeVante‘s never been the same since that incident.
>
>*ALL of them were getting raped, Suge helped them get out of
>the situation at Uptown so their ass was on tap.
>Mary was also helped out of that situation.
>one of them, either K-Ci or JoJo got the door locked on them
>in the studio for talking slick.
>The Roots wanted to sign with Suge but they didnt want to give
>up the ass since Questlove has a big juicy one.
>
>*i heard he got blacklisted because Elektra gave him $1
>million for his own label, but he couldn’t recoup it.
>also burned bridges….he had Suge Knight force Andre Harrell to
>restructure their contracts, on some “Big Red” Five Heartbeats
>type ish…lol.
>shortly after “All Eyez On Me” dropped, he caught on that Suge
>was skimming money too, and severed all ties. Suge wasn’t too
>pleased about that…
>also Keyshia Cole….he has a studio out in SF Valley and
>develops artists out there.
>alot of people say, since he’s blacklisted and can’t do
>anything under his own name, he ghosts for other people, i
>wouldn’t doubt that.
>
>*i heard that most of the members started having
>Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after two years of
>minimal food and water.
>
>*Ginuwine is just cool with K-Ci and JoJo and they were always
>cool..they once had a writer from Vibe magazine who knew
>DeVante… she even said DeVante doesn’t talk to hardly any of
>the Da Bassment members besides Static (R.I.P). Timbaland has
>tried to reach out to DeVante but he aint messing with none of
>them.
>
>*”the real GENIUS behind Jodeci was DeVante. that’s a real
>producer for you. those beats, melodies, and vocal
>arrangements truly caused goosebumps. look at “Feenin’”, case
>and point. the concept of being in lust over someone so much
>its painful you need a fix like a dope fiend. the chorus is so
>strong, i haven’t heard anything since. he was the one who
>mentored Timbaland, Missy, and Ginuwine. in 1994 they all came
>here to Rochester NY to record “Show, Afterparty, Hotel” to be
>low key. i knew Ginuwine as Elgin when he worked at the
>downtown Footlocker. they were managed by Suge who ran up 500K
>in recording costs at Dajhelon studios. when the bill came,
>Suge told them to fuck off and bankrupted them. i had a brief
>internship there a few years later, where I got to hear most
>of the amazing unreleased master tapes, particularly from a
>then unknown named Timbaland. lol, and K-Ci got my sloppy
>seconds (sorta). i was seeing this dope Rican mami, he scooped
>her at the mall and it was a done deal. she told me and i said
>peace.. ah the memories”, by Frank Mancuso (@FrankieEmz) via
>Twitter, posted April 2011.
>
>—
>
>as for the rest of it (interviews, links, my thoughts), ur
>gonna have to check the page out cos a)can't post direct links
>to music, and b)dont want to COMPLETELY overload this post
>with info.
>
>anyways, please listen to the music n pass the link around
>like a fat blunt. and i consider OKP to be a pretty good
>source for info, so if anyone's got anything to ADD or
>corrections i should make on the blog, plz don't hesitate.
>
>V.