The Baltimore Club we know today doesn’t exist without Rod Lee. Before 2005, Rod’s music was only ever released on hard-to-come-by 12-inch singles, largely only ever distributed around Baltimore. It was only after the release of a 7-volume series of mix CD’s in that year that his music began to leave Baltimore, and provided Rod with the ability to present his music in a long-form format on his terms, interspersed with CD exclusives and the occasional tracks from the community of his club peers at the time. "Vol. 5: The Official," released in 2005, is the installment of this series that put Baltimore Club on the map. It was the first nationally distributed Baltimore Club release, and the mix immortalized the most celebrated club track of all time - "Dance My Pain Away." After this CD was released, the track spread like wildfire and led to its inclusion in the soundtrack of the HBO TV Show "The Wire." This release marks the first time this mix – an artifact of Baltimore music and club music history as a whole – has been released on vinyl.
