''Double Cup'' is the first studio album by

footwork Footwork may refer to: * Footwork (cricket) *Footwork (dance) *Footwork (genre), a genre of electronic music, also known as juke *Footwork (martial arts) Footwork is a martial arts and combat sports term for the general usage of the legs and ...

musician

DJ Rashad Rashad Hanif Harden (October 9, 1979 – April 26, 2014), known as DJ Rashad, was a Chicago-based electronic musician, producer and DJ known as a pioneer in the footwork genre and founder of the Teklife crew. He released his debut studio ...

, and the sole full-length released during his lifetime. It was released on October 22, 2013 via

Hyperdub __NOTOC__ Hyperdub is a British electronic music record label and former webzine based in London, founded by Kode9, Steve Goodman, a.k.a. Kode9. The label was formed in 2004, and grew out of the UK's early dubstep scene. Artists signed to the l ...

. It has received critical acclaim as a pivotal album in the footwork genre.

Background

The cover features a nighttime aerial shot of Rashad's hometown

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, designed by Rashad's friend Ashes57. ''Double Cup'' was named after a way to prepare the drug

lean Lean, leaning or LEAN may refer to: Business practices * Lean thinking, a business methodology adopted in various fields * Lean construction, an adaptation of lean manufacturing principles to the design and construction process * Lean governmen ...

. Several Teklife members contributed to the LP, with Rashad saying collaboration helped. According to collaborator DJ Spinn, many of the album's songs were ones he and Rashad had already created, then reworked over a seven to eight month period. Spinn said ''Double Cup'' was mainly recorded in his studio and their friend Taso's then-girlfriend's apartment in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, much of the time under the influence of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

Reception

''Double Cup'' has received some acclaim from music critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 79 based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Writing for ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'', James Williams said the album contended for the freshest-sounding of the year, carrying the trademarks of footwork while incorporating new ideas. '' Drowned in Sound'''s George Bass commended ''Double Cup'''s accessibility and balance of electronics and drugs. John Calvert of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' said that "it's the sound of ootworkat its most bonkers", praising the album's innovation in a genre that "reinvents itself on an almost weekly basis". Andrew Spragg of ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'' complimented ''Double Cup'' as a "breakthrough" that demonstrates complexity, coherency and appeal, calling Rashad someone who "knows how to signpost a good legacy". Seb Wheeler wrote for ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was printe ...

'' that the album is Rashad's "career-defining" work and contains some of his "most imaginative material" yet. Christian F of ''

Fact A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...

'' criticized the album as being regressive due to what he saw as a less abrasive and more genre-diluted sound than Rashad's previous work, with Mike Powell of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' saying that the music was "thrilling in five-minute bursts" but "a little tiring over a 50-minute LP". DJ Rashad said the album's reception had him "stunned, flattered ndblessed". ''

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'' placed ''Double Cup'' at number 35 on their 2014 list of "100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far" and at number 20 on their 2019 list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s".

Legacy

On December 8, 2023, a tenth anniversary edition was issued with a new album cover by the same designer. It included the previously CD-only bonus track "Last Winter", which received a new music video. On the album's tenth anniversary, many publications credited it with globally popularizing footwork, with ''Mixmag'' calling it "one of the most influential and innovative albums of the last decade". Some publications have retrospectively increased their original ratings for ''Double Cup'', such as

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

changing their 4/5 to a 5/5, and ''Spectrum Culture'' changing their 2.5/5 to a 4/5 for the reissue.

Track listing

References

{{Authority control 2013 albums DJ Rashad albums Hyperdub albums

Background

Reception

Legacy

Track listing

Further reading

References