The Twelve Inch #212 - The B-Side : Beats, Acapella & Dub: How Philadelphia International Records Invented Disco, Inspired Salsoul and Turned the Dancefloor Into a Classroom ✨
The Twelve Inch 212 : Let's Clean Up The Ghetto (Philadelphia International All-Stars)
Welcome to the B-side.
This is where things get a little closer to the source.
The parts of the story that don’t always make it into the main piece. The details behind the sound. The personal notes. And the versions that really tell you how a track worked on the dancefloor.
If you missed the A-Side story, you can read it here. 👇
Every twelve inch had a B-side where the DJs and collectors found the extra tools: beats, dubs and alternate versions.
This is the B-Side of this week’s episode, where we dig deeper into the story behind the record. Read it in one go or enjoy the different sections on different moments. The choice is yours
🥁 Mix 1 — The Beats
🎤 Message Music, Philadelphia International Records and How Disco Tried to Change the World ✨
One of the biggest misconceptions about disco is that it was only about escapism.
That the music was all glitter, mirrorballs, dancing and hedonism.
And yes, disco absolutely offered escape. Sometimes desperately needed escape. But if you dive deep enough into the roots of Black American dance music in the seventies, you quickly discover something else entirely.
A part of the music was trying to say something. Message Music
Trying to uplift communities.
Trying to explain what life felt like in America’s inner cities.
Trying to warn, inspire, educate and mobilise.
And few labels embodied that idea more completely than Philadelphia International Records. Because if Motown often polished Black music so it could comfortably enter white American living rooms, Philadelphia International Records brought politics, pride, spirituality and social consciousness directly onto the dancefloor.
Which makes “Let’s Clean Up The Ghetto” far more than just another disco record with a fantastic bass line. It was the culmination of an entire philosophy.
✊ The roots of Message Music
Long before R&B became openly political, the foundations of “message music” already existed deep inside Black American culture. Church traditions, gospel music and oral storytelling had always used songs to teach lessons, mobilise communities and transmit collective experience. Music was never just entertainment. It functioned as a form of shared speech, especially in (slave)communities where speaking openly was often dangerous or impossible.
But things began shifting dramatically during the Civil Rights era.
