Thoughts on contemporary culture
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It saddened me to learn that Ron Banks, leader of seventies soul group the Dramatics, died March 4. His distinctive falsetto made songs like “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get” and “Hey You! Get Off My Mountain” classics in my book.
Per the Electronic Urban Report, his memorial services are scheduled for the following time:
Viewing: [...]
For me, the best release of 2010 has been Two, the sophomore album from Silhouette Brown, the writing/production team of Dego, Kaidi Tatham, and Bembe Segue. All three have substantial credentials in the independent music scene, with Dego being a co-founder of the legendary electronic act 4 Hero.
On their first album, vocals were [...]
Continue reading about Music You Should Know: Silhouette Brown »
As part of the many outreach efforts for the victims of the Haitian earthquake, many of the music industry’s most popular performers recorded a charity single on February 1.
Over 100 artists united across genre lines – country (Keith Urban), rap (Lil Wayne, Kanye West), pop (Celine Dion, Tony Bennett), jazz (Harry Connick, [...]
Continue reading about Doesn’t Haiti Deserve Its Own Song? »
Carl Bean is a treasure and inspiration. As the founder of Unity Fellowship Church, he has created a platform for black LGBTs to fulfill their spiritual needs in an affirming environment. Originally centered in Bean’s home in 1982, Unity Fellowship churches now exist in fifteen cities.
Prior to his ministry, Bean recorded one of [...]
Sly Stone is an artist you should already be familiar with. As the leader of Sly and the Family Stone, he fused rock, soul, and pop to capture the public imagination and was a prime example of black music’s increasing sophistication.
His commercial peak was between 1968 and 1973, when he recorded classics [...]
The Platinum Pied Pipers (or PPP, as they prefer to be called) are a Detroit-based duo consisting of writers/producers/musicians Waajeed and Saadiq. They came to prominence with a collaboration with Dwele called “Ridin’ High” in 2003 before releasing their debut album in 2005. Abundance is their sophomore album and one of the year’s best [...]
Continue reading about Music You Should Know: Platinum Pied Pipers »
The Perfect Circle was a Bay Area funk band that only produced one album, but it is a monster! Produced by underground legend George Semper, songs like “Spread The News,” Jungle Disco,” “For Your Funkification,” and “The Hands Of Time” are the definition of indie funk and have been anthologized on Funky Jams and [...]
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With all of the problems in the world today, this tune from Marvin Gaye is as relevant now as when it was originally recorded. The song was recorded in 1972, when Gaye was working with the Mizell brothers (producers of Donald Byrd, Bobbi Humphrey, and other jazz-funk artists). Sessions for an upcoming album [...]
Continue reading about Song Of The Day: Marvin Gaye - Where Are We Going »
I came across an interesting editorial from Andreas Hale, the former Executive Editor of Music at BET.com.
Hale had established his reputation via HipHopDX, a site that caters to a definition of hip-hop that is more independent and non-commercial than what is generally promoted in the mass media. It was a surprise to many when [...]
Continue reading about The fallacy of “changing the system from the inside” »
Earlier this week, an article in the Wall Street Journal pointed out the rising age of the jazz audience and asked if the genre was dead. I understood what the author was trying to say, but I am always amused when a style or artform is rumored to be on its deathbed.
It seems that for [...]
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