“People [in Philly] are sometimes overly critical for no particular reason except just to be harassers,” contends Cosmo Baker, the Philly DJ whose Remedy parties have been spinning hip-hop for five years now. “Too many times I’ve seen rocking shows and DJs get an apathetic response, or even get booed. That’s why a lot of people move away -- because Philly drives them away with the whole crab-in-a-barrel mentality. But I think the whole underdog thing in Philly really helped make this a hip-hop town, because hip-hop is underdog as fuck, or at least it used to be.”

It's been a long ride -- both rugged and exciting -- for the hip-hop connoisseur. He first started making waves at Revival (now Life) in the early '90s -- as one of the first in Philly to mix funk and acid jazz into his hip-hop sets. But when King Britt invited Cosmo to share a residency (along with Dozia) at the now-legendary Back to Basics parties at Silk City in late '93, he realized his calling. "There will never be another vibe like that again," remembers Cosmo. "It was just so ripe, so beautiful. The crazy thing is ... I wasn't even 21 yet."

Cosmo would go on to residencies in Philly, New York and Las Vegas, and open for acts like Macy Gray, De La Soul, DJ Shadow, Moby, Jimmy Cliff and others. His primary goal has not only been to impel people to shake their asses, but also to expose them to whatever new music is exciting and important to him at the time. He still finds it impossible to stay confined to one specific genre. With more than 15,000 records in his collection, it can be essential at times to bust out the "crazy old shit."

"If I'm playing hip-hop, I have to find a way to slip some breaks or originals in there. If I'm playing classics, I have to slip some rock 'n' roll in the mix, and so on. My whole thing is trying to define these parallel lines that link all these types of music. It's not easy because, to a large degree, people shy away from anything that they're not accustomed to hearing -- anything new. But if it's funky, it's funky -- people are going to vibe off of it."

Currently, Cosmo works three DJ residencies in Philly: Sundays at the Five Spot, Fridays at 700 Club and Philly's longest-running hip-hop weekly, The Remedy, Mondays at Fluid. Remedy has been going strong since Fluid opened its doors in '97. Cosmo originally launched the party with Rahnon Motley (a present-day doorman at Fluid) and continued it with Rich Medina in 1998. These days, the packed dancefloor's beat-loving heads bust a move to cuts by Mos Def, The Beatnuts, Dr. John, Bounty Killer, James Brown, Yoko Ono, Chaka Khan, Fela Kuti and everything in between, provided by Cosmo and his random special guests. Over the years, Remedy has hosted a bucket-load of superstar artists like DJ Cash Money, DJ Craze, Kid Koala, Coldcut, Prince Paul, Goldie, Talib Kweli & DJ Hi-Tek, Rasheed & Ill Advised and Slum Village.

"On the first flier that I ever did for The Remedy," Cosmo recalls, "I wrote, ŒWe are dedicated to defying divisions in our musical culture.' That's always been a big thing for me, to try and get people to open up on new sounds and, through that, new ideas and outlooks. I know that people have been able to get that because, if not, well, then I think that I would have been out of business already.

"When it started back in 1997, people were starved for a true hip-hop night. When Tony Schiro (head honcho at Fluid and The Latest Dish) approached me to do the night, initially I was thinking of doing some off-the-wall shit, like mixing drum and bass with dancehall reggae with classical music. But then I realized that there was a serious lack of that Œhot shit' being played in the city. Put all those things together and you have a hit. I think that it was just the right thing at the right place at the right time. Rahnon Motley and I both knew that this was going to be something big, even back then. ... When I'm spinning there, it's like I'm spinning in my living room. It's a great thing to watch people over the years discover it in a new way. Through them it gets rediscovered to me."

But it wasn't all an easy road for Cosmo. In April 1998, he was hit by a drunk driver near Rittenhouse Square and came very close to death. He was out of the game for a good period of time, comatose and then hospitalized for several months, during which he had to learn how to walk all over again. But in the long run, Cosmo has been able to turn this incident into a positive and beneficial experience.

"My legs are still all fucked up now. Like, I have the legs and joints of a 50-year-old," says Cosmo, 27. "But in overcoming this unbelievable hardship, I realized the power that I have for perseverance. Afterward, I really put things in focus and set my eyes on the prize as far as DJing is concerned."

Cosmo continues to produce some "fat-beat business" on an underground level, and it's only a matter of time before your head will be bobbin' to that, too. He is also planning some larger-scale events in Philly, New York and Vegas, putting out a Remedy mix-CD series featuring some of the big-name DJs that blessed the Remedy battlegrounds, and maybe even starting up a clothing line.

"And honestly, none of this would have ever happened if it weren't for the people that continuously show their love. Everything that we do is done for them, it's done for love. I can't ever forget that, because without them, there is none of this."

The Remedy’s five-year anniversary party with Peanut Butter Wolf, Madlib, DJ Jazzy Jeff, ?uestlove, Soulman, Kenny Meez, DJ Eleven and Cosmo Baker, Mon., May 27, 9 p.m.-2 a.m., $10, 21+, Fluid, 613 S. Fourth St., 215-629-0565.

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April 7, 2005
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