The duo of
"Little" Louie Vega and
Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez are the preeminent production/remix team in house music, their nom de plume Masters at Work standing behind dozens of the biggest club hits and remixes of their time. Effectively soundtracking the freewheeling American nightclub scene of the 1990s, Vega and
Gonzalez blended their love of the disparate music coming from New York's underground clubs during the 1980s -- disco, the freewheeling garage scene, emerging house and hip-hop styles, Latin freestyle -- to enormously influence the mainstream dance sound as it coalesced during the following decade. Besides their productions, remixes and appearances as Masters at Work, Vega and/or
Gonzalez are also involved in a good dozen other projects (including
Nuyorican Soul, KenLou,
the Bucketheads, and
the Untouchables), many of which appear on the duo's own
MAW Records label.
Both Vega and
Gonzalez were born to parents living in New York (the Bronx and Brooklyn, respectively), though of Puerto Rican heritage. Consequently, both were early influenced by the Big Apple's fertile salsa scene during the '70s. (Vega's uncle is the renowned salsa vocalist
Hector Lavoe, and his father played saxophone in Latin groups for over 30 years, while
Gonzalez' father Hector Torres is also a salsa expert.) During the early '80s, both were noted DJs around New York, though Vega immersed himself in house and freestyle while
Gonzalez entered the rap scene. (The separate interests came in handy later, as dance fan Vega concentrated on songwriting and groove-making while hip-hop head
Gonzalez programmed beats and samples.) The pair were also working separately as producers, and Vega had already made a name for himself working on dozens of freestyle tracks and remixes by
Nice & Smooth,
Information Society and
India.
Gonzalez, working as a mobile DJ with a team calling themselves the Masters at Work, founded his own Dope Wax Records and worked on production for all of the major New York dance labels:
Strictly Rhythm,
Nervous,
Cutting and
Big Beat. In 1987, he loaned out the name Masters at Work to
Todd Terry for the 1987 single "Alright Alright" (a huge club hit), then Terry returned the favor one year later by introducing him to Vega.
After comparing notes, the pair decided that combining their wide range of influences could be an interesting experiment. They released their first Masters at Work single, the appropriately titled "Blood Vibes," on
Cutting Records. Since Vega still had remixing contracts from his solo days, the pair decided to apply the MAW treatment first to Debbie Gibson's "One Step Ahead." The dance community was reasonably shocked to hear a disposable pop artist given a respectable, even exciting, dance sound.
House production teams rarely released albums of their own productions under their own name, but a Masters at Work LP appeared in 1993, on Cutting Records. The album mixed older singles with newer productions, and featured guest slots for vocalists like
Jocelyn Brown and
India (the latter of whom is also Vega's wife) plus producers like
Todd Terry and
Maurice Joshua. The reputation of Vega and
Gonzalez grew soon and they received pleas from most of the major labels to contribute remixes, adding to their resume Michael Jackson,
Donna Summer,
Madonna, St. Etienne, George Benson, Brand New Heavies,
Lisa Stansfield,
Deee-Lite,
Everything But the Girl,
Chic,
Soul II Soul,
Neneh Cherry,
Ce Ce Peniston and dozens more.
Though Masters at Work were still a relatively underground phenomenon in 1993, but the success of singles like "The Nervous Track" (as the Latin-vibed Nuyorican Soul), "Love and Happiness" (as River Ocean), "I Can't Get No Sleep" and "When You Touch Me" -- each with vocals by Vega's wife,
India -- caused their associated label Strictly Rhythm to give them their own MAW Records subsidiary. The discofied
Gonzalez side-project known as
the Bucketheads reigned the dance charts during 1995-96 with two number one singles, "The Bomb (These Sounds Fall into My Mind)" and "Got Myself Together."
In early 1997, the MAW duo issued the most high-profile release of their career (at least in terms of the music establishment), a self-titled full-length as
Nuyorican Soul. Recorded with input from a host of jazz and Latin past-masters (George Benson,
Roy Ayers,
Tito Puente,
Charlie Sepulveda,
Dave Valentin), the album spawned several club hits, including "Runaway" and "It's Alright, I Feel It." The following year, Masters at Work compiled some of their best productions for
Masterworks: Essential KenLou House Mixes and
MAW Records: The Compilation, Vol. 1. Two years later, BBE trumped both with the release of the four-disc box Tenth Anniversary Collection, Pt. 1 (1990-1995). [See Also:
The Bucketheads,
Nuyorican Soul]
SOURCE:answers.comCD#1
Tracklist:1-01. Luther Vandross - Are You Using Me? (8:23)
Executive Producer - Luther Vandross
Producer - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie Vega1-02. MAW Presents India - To Be In Love (12:49)
Lead Vocals - India
Producer - MAW
Remix [Reconstructed By] - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie Vega1-03. Sunkids Featuring Chance - Rescue Me (7:59)
Producer - Deep Swing
Remix - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie Vega
Vocals - Chance1-04. Kele Le Roc - You Did It Good (8:21)
Producer - D'InfluenceRemix - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie Vega1-05. Incognito - Nights Over Eygpt (7:48)
Producer - Jean Paul "Bluey" Maunick, Simon CotsworthRemix - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie Vega1-06. Tony Touch - I Wonder Why? (He's The Greatest DJ) (MAW Remix) (8:51)
Producer - Tony Touch
Remix - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie Vega1-07. Ultra Nate - Divine Love (9:01)
Producer, Mixed By - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie Vega1-08. Kenny Lattimore - Days Like This (8:02)
Remix - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie VegaCD#1
Password Protected Download..
CD#2
Tracklist:2-01. George Benson - The Ghetto / El Barrio (8:34)
Producer - Kenny Gonzalez, Louie Vega, Tommy Lipuma2-02. Masters At Work - MAW Expensive (11:55)
Producer, Mixed By - Masters At Work2-03. NuYorican Soul - Mind Fluid (6:37)
Executive Producer - Michael Weiss
Producer - Masters At Work2-04. Roni Size/Reprazent - Watching Windows (Roni Size Meets Nuyorican Soul) (13:56)
Producer, Mixed By - Roni Size
Remix [Produced & Ricanstructed By] - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie Vega2-05. NuYorican Soul - You Can Do It Baby (7:04)
Producer - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie Vega
Guitar, Vocals - George Benson
2-06. Jerald Daemyon - Summer Madness (Moody Mix) (7:45)
Remix - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie Vega2-07. Atmosfear - Dancing In Outer Space (8:04)
Remix - Masters At Work2-08. Karen Ramirez - Troubled Girl (7:31)
Producer - Souled Out
Remix - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie VegaCD#2
Password Protected Download..CD#3
Tracklist:3-01. NuYorican Soul - It's Alright I Feel It! (9:50)
Edited By - Albert Cabrera
Lead Vocals - Jocelyn Brown
Producer - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie Vega3-02. Kenlou 6 - Bangin' (7:44)
Producer - Masters At Work3-03. Masters At Work Feat. Liliana - Brazilian Beat (Dope Mix) (11:14)
Keyboards - Louie Vega
Percussion - Luisito Quintero
Producer - Kenny Dope3-04. Harddrive 2000 - Never Forget (When You Touch Me) (10:07)
Producer, Mixed By - Louie Vega3-05. Monday Michru - Sunshine After The Rain (11:13)
Remix [Remixed & Reconstructed By] - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie Vega3-06. Daft Punk - Around The World (7:44)
Remix - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie Vega3-07. Eternal - What'cha Gonna Do (7:49)
Engineer [Mix] - Ben Garrison
Producer - Charles Farrar, Troy Taylor
Remix - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie Vega3-08. Rain A Lil Louis Painting - Give It Up (MAW Club Mix) (8:13)
Producer - Lil Louis
Remix - Masters At WorkCD#3 Part 1
Password Protected Download..CD#3 Part 2
Password Protected Download..CD#4
Tracklist:4-01. Nu Colours - Desire (Masters At Work Dub 3 Mix) (5:37)
Engineer [Remix] - David Darlington, Steve Barkan
Remix - Masters At Work4-02. Black Magic - Let It Go (9:15)
Producer, Mixed By - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie Vega4-03. Cunnie Williams - Spirit (MAW Club Mix) (9:44)
Remix - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie Vega4-04. Melanie B Feat. Missy Elliot - I Want You Back (MAW Remix) (8:24)
Featuring - Missy Elliot
Remix - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie Vega4-05. Incognito - Always There (Masters At Work Remix 96) (8:04)
Producer - Jean-Paul 'Bluey' Maunick
Remix - Masters At Work4-06. Ruffneck Feat Yavahn - Everybody Be Somebody (9:16)
Executive Producer - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie Vega
Producer - Derek A. Jenkins, Dwayne "Spen" Richardson, Stephen B. Wilson
4-07. Lood Feat. Donell Rush - Shout-N-Out (7:13)
Featuring - Donell Rush
Producer - Jon Ciafone, Lem Springsteen, Louie Vega4-08. NuYorican Soul - Runaway (8:26)
Edited By - Albert Cabrera
Lead Vocals - India
Producer - Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, "Little" Louie VegaCD#4
Password Protected Download..
More from the The Dope Man! Kenny Dope! Nuff Said....---12inchjunkie
What Can be said about this ep that has not said before. imo his most recognized ep. enjoy vv fam.
The duo of "Little" Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez are the preeminent production/remix team in house music, their nom de plume Masters at Work standing behind dozens of the biggest club hits and remixes of their time. Effectively soundtracking the freewheeling American nightclub scene of the 1990s, Vega and Gonzalez blended their love of the disparate music coming from New York's underground clubs during the 1980s -- disco, the freewheeling garage scene, emerging house and hip-hop styles, Latin freestyle -- to enormously influence the mainstream dance sound as it coalesced during the following decade. Besides their productions, remixes and appearances as Masters at Work, Vega and/or Gonzalez are also involved in a good dozen other projects (including Nuyorican Soul, KenLou, the Bucketheads, and the Untouchables), many of which appear on the duo's own MAW Records label.
Another Kenny Dope Classic with Jam the mace! -12inchjunkie
