The Girl Squad: Ultra Nate and Lisa Moody celebrate 12 years of, “Deep Sugar.” (Courtesy Photo)
On May 3rd, the day the curfew was lifted after the uprising ripped through Baltimore following the funeral of Freddie Gray, the House Music dj duo of Ultra Nate and Lisa Moody was whipping the racially diverse crowd at the Red Maple restaurant and nightclub on Charles Street into a frenzy on the dance floor.
After one of the most volatile and daunting weeks in the city’s history the “house headz” assembled on a beautiful Sunday afternoon are ready to blow off some steam. And Nate and Moody — also known as, “The Girl Squad” — were joyfully accommodating their fans and friends, many who have been partying with them since they first started spinning music together more than a decade ago.
As the set evolved from the defiant Baltimore House music anthem, the DJ Spen remix of, “Shotgun Shack,” to the uplifting and optimistic Louie Vega track, “Never Stop,” it felt like the quintessential Girl Squad thematic arc; in your face, raucous, always hopeful. It’s a narrative that has endured and thrived for 12 years as “Deep Sugar.”
This month, Nate and Moody (both Baltimore area natives) are in the midst of celebrating the 12th anniversary (a three-part extravaganza dubbed, “Trifecta”) of Deep Sugar, a House music party currently at home at the venerable South Baltimore Paradox nightclub. This past weekend, the party included a phalanx of top flight House dj’s headlined by superstar House music producer Quentin Harris, legendary Baltimore dance and House music dj (and owner of Paradox) Wayne Davis, and of course The Girl Squad. In September, part one of Trifecta featured another legendary House music colossus, Tony Humphries. Part three of the celebration is Nov. 13.
A House music (or any genre for that matter) party run of three years by most standards is considered successful. The 12 year run of Deep Sugar, spanning three different venues (Sonar for six months, 1722 Charles Street for four and a half years and Paradox for seven years), is almost unheard of.
“From Sonar, to 1722 to the Paradox, great and small whatever your contribution we want you to know you are acknowledged and we appreciate you,” said Nate last Friday during an interview on First Edition’s, “World Famous Happy Hour,” segment.
According to Nate and Moody, the genesis of Deep Sugar literally came out of necessity in 2003. Nate, who was already established as an international dance music star (her professional career began in 1989), and her friend Moody lamented the departure of a popular Baltimore House music DJ, and decided they would literally fill the void themselves.
The duo utilized a mutual friend’s 808 drum machines, consolidated their record collections, got their hands on some turntables and started spinning. They were not an instant sensation.
“When we first started a friend of ours said, `Ya’ll are terrible,’” Moody once told me. Still, they were undeterred. Twelve years later, The Girl Squad have not only garnered an incredibly loyal following, they have played the music they love all over the globe and are highly respected by some of the greatest DJ’s in the world.
David Guetta, perhaps the biggest DJ on earth, shouted out Nate on Twitter a few months back, the legendary Louie Vega daps the duo up regularly and Vega’s “Masters at Work,” partner Kenny “Dope” Gonzales has asked Moody about what she has in her rotation, the ultimate sign of DJ respect.
A virtual who’s who of House music royalty has played Deep Sugar, DJ’s and singers both. In addition, to Vega, Gonzalez, Humphries and Harris, fellow Baltimoreans and international stars, DJ Spen, Teddy Douglas and Thommy Davis, have graced the Sugar booth multiple times, as well as singers Monique Bingham, Maysa Leak, Sheila Ford, and of course Davis. But, the list of House music greats that have been a part of the Deep Sugar experience is literally dozens deep. (So, no disrespect to anyone I didn’t name check here).
“That’s really what it’s all about…that’s really the secret sauce,” Nate said. “When all of those energies of these people who love the music converge, something magical happens every time,” she added.
The, “Godfather of House,” the late, great Frankie Knuckles said during an interview in October 2010, “House Music isn’t Black or White is just is. It feels good and it feels right.”
That has probably been the operating thesis for Deep Sugar. It’s been a spiritual salve for many of the city’s disenfranchised; people of color, the LBGT community and many others for 12 years… and counting.
Sean Yoes is a Senior Contributor for the AFRO and host and executive producer of AFRO First Edition, which airs Monday through Friday, 5-7 p.m. on WEAA, 88.9.