Ike's Mood - DJ Muro's tribute to late, great, singer and producer Isaac Hayes eschews his well played catalogue and delves into the hip-hop and R&B generation's sampling of the Stax soulman's grooves. As well as being a fitting and funky salute - running from firm favourites Mary J Blige, Jay-Z and Biggie to less acknowledged gems from the likes of Smif N' Wessun and JVC Force - Ike's Mood is also simply just an extraordinarily well assembled party mix. 30 tracks total, also featuring Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, Michael Jackson, Group Home, Redman, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, KRS One, Public Enemy, LL Cool J and Ghostface. Long regarded as Japan's number one DJ, the grand imperial DJ Muro is the self proclaimed 'King Of Digging' and boasts a long list of credentials which more than back up the claim. A Tokyo native who burst onto Japan's nascent domestic hip-hop scene in the late 1980s part of the Krush Posse with DJ Krush and Go, Muro's musical story finds him at various points wearing the hats of rapper, DJ, producer and remixer. His group Microphone Pager was the first Japanese rap crew to earn an international release ('Planet Rap', Tommy Boy, 1992), but it wasn't until a visit to New York in 1996 and his guest spots on underground radio mix shows that his worth as a DJ began to win recognition. In 1997 he opened his store 'Savage' in Tokyo, and his record label 'Incredible' followed a year later. 1999 saw the release of his celebrated collaboration with NYC icons Lord Finesse and A.G., 'The Vinyl Athletes.' From the mid 90s onwards, mixtapes such as his King of Diggin', Super Disco Breaks and A Taste of Chocolate series established him as one of the sharpest selectors around. They were the foundation of his reputation as one of the world's most proficient and productive spin doctors: he maintains a relentless release schedule of CDs spanning everything from golden era hip-hop and deep dub to obscure disco 12s, rare soul 45s and Latin and Brazilian flavours. His ever-growing catalogue contains collaborations with the likes of Paul Nice, Dimitri From Paris and Lord Finesse, official label retrospectives on Blue Note, Fania and Stones Throw, a celebrated Trojan compilation, a library music collection with fellow Japanese DJ Mitsu The Beats, and The Kings Of Digging for BBE with fellow diggers Kon & Amir. His recent projects include collaborations with North Face Japan, an album with Lee Quinones of Wildstyle, a book called Cover Museum, the soundtrack of Japanese animation Tokyo Tribe 2 with the likes of Ghostface, Raekwon, De La Soul, Kool G Rap, Just Blaze and the Alchemist, and regular DJ gigs in New York with Q-Tip and Pete Rock.