Milwaukee's Dope Folks Records drops first release Saturday at Blackbird

Chris “Christreater” Schulist made his name in Milwaukee music as a member of rabid R&B-laced rock ’n’ roll outfits like The Mistreaters and Skull Time, but he’s also a committed collector of late-’80s and early-’90s hip-hop records. Schulist has now carried over his love of the music of this period by starting up a new label called Dope Folks Records with local MC John Kuester, better known behind the mic as Kid Millions. Dope Folks caters to “a core niche of record dorks,” Schulist says, specializing in rare and out-of-print releases like Mixmasta D’s Turntable Scientist EP, the label’s flagship effort. Dope Folks celebrates the release of Turntable Scientist with a release party record spin Saturday night at Blackbird (3007 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., 414-486-1344).

Dope Folks will release a limited run of 300 copies of Turntable Scientist, complete with unreleased tracks that will likely attract collectors who already own the record. The re-release comes with the full cooperation of Mixmasta D, says Schulist.

“John is really good at finding the actual artists and contacting them, with hopes of them sitting on a bunch of these records,” he said. “Sometimes these guys are so taken aback by the fact that John found them, and that he actually knew about the record, that they are very flattered and are willing to give us any tracks they have. Other times, they don't want it released because that was a time they would rather forget, or they have found God. For real.”

Learn more about Dope Folks here and here. Here’s sample of the Turntable Scientist.