So, some Philly talent linked up to create The ReBel Yell. Their album, Love and War, is produced by James Poyser. And the lead singer, Domini Supastar asked me to do some artwork for the album….
I went out and bought it yesterday.

Here is the “Love and War” art I did.
We came up with the idea of splitting his face – one side representing “love” and, the other side, “war”.
My favorite part is the vine.

Here it is as part of the package.
I wish I would have known that it was going to be on the cd which is circular, as opposed to the back cover which is square.
I would have made the vines follow the edge of the circle – that would have been dope.
But, it still looks nice, I think.

My camera sucks but, that’s my name in the credits:

A cantora, compositora e pianista Norah Jones deixará o jazz mais de lado em seu quarto álbum. O novo trabalho sai em novembro e vai ter mais guitarras. Prova disso é a escolha do produtor, Jacquire King, conhecido por trabalhos com Kings of Leon e Modest House.

Entre as composições do novo álbum, a vesga mais sexy da música escreveu com Ryan Adams e Jesse Harris, já antigo parceiro. Norah Jones também fez algumas mudanças em sua banda no novo álbum. Participam do CD – ainda sem nome – o baterista Joeu Waronker (Beck e R.E.M), o tecladista James Poyser (Erykah Badu e Al Green) e os guitarristas Marc Ribot (de Tom Waits e Elvis Costello) e Smokey Hormel (de Johnny Cash e Joe Strummer). Parece que vai ficar bom isso!

I have been watching this man since 1992-93 maybe and I have watched him evolve into something totally different. While, I really LOVED Common Sense growing up, I still love Common just as much. Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. aka Common Sense released his debut album Can I Borrow a Dollar? in 1992. However, it wasn’t until his work with the Soulquarians that really help him to get notoriety, especially with the major label album Like Water for Chocolate. Like Water For Chocolate consisted of a lot of good music featuring Erykah Badu, MC Lyte, Bilal, and even Miss Tone Deaf herself, Macy Gray. It was also known for the production by Jay Dee aka Dilla and Soulquarians. Just to school those who DON’T know, Common has more than 3 albums. Common’s albums are Can I Borrow a Dollar, Resurrection, One Day it’ll All Make Since, Like Water For Chocolate, Electric Circus,etc. All before the Kanye days LOL Personally, Can I Borrow a Dollar? Like Water for Chocolate and Resurrection are my fave. So if you haven’t heard either one…SHAME ON YOU!!!!! Go cop it and soak up some sun this weekend and enjoy your holiday HAPPY 4 of JULY ( I suppose)

with Love (and honor),

FLASHBACKhoney

COMMON SENSE- BREAKER 1/9

COMMON SENSE- SOUL by the POUND

COMMON- I USED to LOVE H.E.R.

COMMON feat. LAURYN HILL

1.

El hip-hop tiene un largo historial de mitologías póstumas. Desde las exhumaciones mercenarias de la industria de las figuras de Tupac Shakur y Biggie, hasta la adoración popular de héroes locales como DJ Screw en Texas y Mac Dre en la zona de la bahía de San Francisco, su relación con la mortalidad va de lo complejo a lo conflictivo, de lo sincero a lo ridículamente oportunista. El 10 de febrero de 2006, sin embargo, es seguro decir que la cultura perdió a uno de sus más formidables talentos. Después de una larga batalla contra una enfermedad autoinmune crónica, el lupus, James Dewitt Yancey, tambien conocido como Jay Dee o J Dilla, falleció en su casa de Los Ángeles a la edad de 32 años. Tres años después, es más claro que nunca que este joven productor concretó algo que muy pocos músicos consiguen, dejando no solo un catalogo innovador y atemporal, sino toda una generación inspirada por su intrincado e idiosincrásico trabajo. Mientras artistas como Sa-Ra Creative Partners y Flying Lotus llevan adelante la antorcha de Dilla, el fue igualmente reverenciado en vida por incontables figuras como Pharrell Williams del dúo de productores The Neptunes, y contó también con Kanye West y Just Blaze entre sus mayores seguidores. A pesar de esto, cultivaba un perfil bajo dentro del frecuentemente agresivo y excesivo mundo de la música urbana contemporánea. En lugar de relajarse debajo del reflector, Dilla era siempre más feliz dejando que sus beats hablaran por el. Y como hablaban. Fue un niño tímido creciendo en una casa llena de música en Detroit. Su tardía relación con la escena hip-hop independiente de la ciudad daría forma a su vida. Después de rapear y hacer música en un rudimentario estudio, fue gracias al apadrinamiento del productor local Amp Fiddler que Dilla llegaría a entender todo su potencial. Para 1993, Dilla y su amigo MC Phat Kat editaron su primer vinilo con el nombre de 1st Down. En adición a esto, tambien produjo un LP llamado The Album That Time Forgot para 5 Elementz, un grupo que incluía al fallecido MC Proof, una figuro fundamental para el hip-hop de Detroit. Durante la segunda mitad de los 90, produciendo baja el pseudónimo de Jay Dee, continuó concentrándose en el trabajo de estudio, gradualmente alzándose entre los rangos y creando música para nombres reconocibles al instante como Busta Rhymes, A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, D’Angelo y Erykah Badu. Combinando una técnica adelantada con un gran conocimiento de la historia del hip-hop, su estética calzaba a la perfección con los fraseos distintivos de esos MCs y las aterciopeladas voces del neo-soul. La presencia de Dilla era tal que inclusive los que no estaban familiarizados con su nombre o el alcance de su obra conoceran aunque sea alguno de los trabajos de este período, a la cabeza un remix estelar para el tema de Janet Jackson “Got Till It’s Gone”, “Stakes Is High” el tercer LP de De La Soul y una gran parte de Labcabincalifornia, el disco de 1995 de The Pharcyde, que incluía el clásico “Runnin.” Fue, sin embargo, como Slum Village, el grupo que formó con sus amigos de infancia Baatin y T3 en la Persing High School, que el don de Dilla comenzó a brillar. Mientras que la membresía le permitía salir de detrás de las bandejas y tomar comando del micrófono – una faceta de su carrera que continuaría explorando en el cd de 2001 Welcome 2 Detroit y en la colaboración junto a Madlib de 2003 Champion Sound – también le daba el control creativo y la libertad necesaria para convertirse en el tipo de artista instrumental por lo cual lo conocemos hoy en día.

2.

Los álbumes de Slum Village, The Underground Fantastic Vol.1 (1997) y el atrasado pero eventualmente editado vol.2 (2000), proveyeron espacios ideales para que el sonido típico de Dilla se luciera. En una época donde la música urbana sufría una reinvención futurista constante, gracias a los lejanos beats y sintetizadores metálicos empleados por gente como Timbaland y The Neptunes, el trabajo de Dilla era la mismo tiempo atemporal y contradictorio. Muy influenciado por el estilo de pioneros como DJ Premier y Pete Rock, la materia prima era granosa y con abundancia de bajo, como su hubiese sido descubierta al fondo de un oscuro y polvoriento sótano. La forma en que estos sampleos eran ensamblados, cortados y unidos, a pesar del origen, le daban un brillo decididamente contemporáneo. Dilla fusionaba la moderno y lo inventivo con una accesibilidad orgánica única. Este carácter accesible se extendía a su vida personal y su relación con otros artistas también. Inclusive después de que Dilla se mudara a Los Ángeles, mantuvo una relación cercana con Detroit y tomaba cualquier oportunidad accesible para representar a su ciudad. Trabajando con Frank N Dank, Platinum Pied Pipers y Common (una relación que alcanzaría su pico con el álbum de 2000 Like Water For Chocolate) esta vibración familiar y de amistad eran fundamentales para su visión. Un deseo de rodearse con mentes afines era tambien evidente por su afiliación al Soulquarians Collective – junto a Talib Kweli, Common, Mos Def, James Poyser, Erykah Badu, ?uestlove, D’Angelo, Q-Tip, Raphael Saadiq y Bilal – y el grupo de productores The Ummah, junto a Q-Tip y Ali Shaheed Muhammad de A Tribe Called Quest. Como si tuviera que probar las credenciales de su ciudad de origen, en 2001 Dilla editó en dos versiones, instrumental y cantada, su debut solista Welcome 2 Detroit en el sello ingles BBE. Como uno podría esperar, este fue un asunto completamente relacionado con la ciudad motor, presentando contribuciones vocales de Phat Kat, Beej, Frank N Dank, Elzhi y el mismo Dilla. Desafortunadamente pocas partes vocales estaban a la altura de la producción. Sin embargo, los interludios musicales “Think Twice” y “BBE (Big Boota Express)” son para señalar; el primero una reelaboración de un track de Donald Byrd con el mismo nombre, acentuando un aspecto de la producción sónica de Dilla, y el segundo una, versión del clásico de Kraftwerk “Trans Europe Express” que, en retrospectiva, actúa como un significativo adelanto de sus ultimas producciones. Alrededor de este período, sello un acuerdo con MCA Records para grabar como solista, llevándolo a separase de Slum Village. Fue en este punto que cambió su seudónimo Jay Dee para evitar confusiones con otro de los pruductores del sello, Jermaine Dupri. Haciendo un quiebre con lo oido en Welcome 2 Detroit, el plan de Dilla era rimar sobre instrumentales producidos por otros, entre ellos Madlib, Pete Rock y Kanye West. Desafortunadamente, todo el proyecto se descarto cuando MCA sufrió cambios de personal.

3.

Como una reacción ante esta desilusión. Dilla tomó un paso típicamente contrario. En 2003, lanzó The Ruff Draft EP en el sello aleman Mummy/Groove Attack. Para alguien designado a establecerse en las ligas mayores del hip-hop estadounidense, esta decisión podría haber sido vista como un suicidio virtual: voluntariamente cortando todas las uniones y editando un mini álbum en un sello europeo y en edición limitada, que pocas personas importantes para la industria notarían. Evidentemente Dilla no pensaba de esta forma, y lo vio como una oportunidad para confundir las expectativas y entregar la clase de trabajo que realmente representaría quien era. Todo grabado en menos de una semana, Ruff Draft hizo exactamente eso. De muchas formas un disco confrontacional, originalmente distribuido solo en vinilo, combinaba una estilo liviano con una actitud ecléctica y experimental, explorando un sonido nuevo y corroído, que debía en iguales proporciones a la música industrial el, el synthpop y la electrónica más elitista. Como lo prometía la introducción que recitaba, “You wanna bounce in your whip with that real live shit Sounds like it’s coming straight from the motherfuckin’ cassette, y’all,” una calidad difusa y lo-fi, intencionalmente enmascara toda la música. Implicita en la proclama  hay una declaración alternativa sobre lo que el hip-hop realmente es. A pesar de que la edición original de seis tracks esta más cerca de la electrónica avant garde que del street rap contemporáneo. Un intento de expandirse y llegar a otras comunidades musicales también puede ser visto en las colaboraciones de Dilla, como los remixes hechos para el Track “As Serious As Your Life” de Four Tet, editados en el mismo año que Ruff Draft, o su contribución vocal al track de Dabrye “Game Over”. Mientras que tracks como “Make’em NV” hacían explicita su desilusión con la maquinaria hip-hop, y la mayoría de las rimas son obscuras, todavía se pueden encontrar momentos realmente lúdicos, específicamente en la sublime “Nothing Like This” y en el gratuitamente lascivo funk de “Crushin’ (Yeeeea!)”. Sin dudas un punto de quiebre estilístico, este EP también acentuó el creciente compromiso de Dilla con los sellos independientes. Esto fue evidente cuando se unió con el sello de Peanutt Butter Wolf, Stones Throw para grabar Champion Sound, editado en 2003. Una colaboración con el productor y MC Madlib (Otis Jackson Jr.) donde cada uno rima sobre los tracks instrumentales producidos por el otro, junto a colaboraciones de Talib Kweli, Guilty Simpson y Percee P, la mayor parte del disco fue grabado con ambos viviendo a miles de kilómetros de distancia, literalmente. Por esa razón, Dilla y Madlib trabajaron separados, enviándose pistas de una ciudad a otra, como lo ilustra la introducción instrumental del disco “LA to Detroit”.

4.

A pesar de esto, el resultado es más cohesivo de lo que este tipo de colaboraciones generalmente permiten. Mientras que las rimas de Dilla ocasionalmente caen lejos de lo brillante, suenan mucho mejor que en Welcom 2 Detroit, y para este punto su producción estaba en llamas. Con Madlib, un Mc mucho más seguro y versátil, los tracks donde viaja sobre los beats de Dilla son por mucho los más satisfactorios, particularmente “React” y “Strip Club”, ambos a cargo del alter ego de Jackson, Quasimoto. Estridente, extraño y de otro mundo, este disco muestra que a pesar de sus naturalezas esencialmente opuestas, los estilos de ambos productores vienen de un lugar simular y complementario. Es difícil imaginar un mejor par. Alrededor de esta época, los problemas de salud de Dilla’s comenzaron manifestarse, su excesivo ritmo de trabajo solo empeoro las cosas. Inmediatamente después de Champion Sound fue completado decidió mudarse a Los Angeles para bien de su carrera y su salud. Solo los más cercanos a el sabian el verdadero alcance de su enfermedad hasta que, en una entrevista frecuentemente citada del número de marzo de 2004 de Urb Magazine, hizo referencia a un colapso debido a una falla renal. “Nunca estuve tan enfermo en mi vida. Nunca estuve en un hospital. Lo que sucedió fue que le doctro me dijo que había lesionado mi riñon debido al stress y por no comer correctamente. Habia días en los cuales no comía pore star encerrado en el sotano trabajando. Inclusive después de estar en el hospital durante tanto tiempo, tube que pelear con los doctores para ir a casa! Porque estar lejos de la música estaba comenzando a afectarme.”

5.

Tristemente, esta trayectoria hacia abajo continuaría, con Dilla confinado a una silla de ruedas durante la mayor parte de su tour europeo de 2005. De manera similar, su utlimo y mejor álbum, DONUTS, sería construido en su mayoría en una cama de hospital. Su madre, Maureen Yancey, llevando los equipos a la habitación de su hijo para que pudiera seguir haciendo lo que más amaba. Escuchandolo con esto en mente le brinda a contenido de DONUTS una cualidad profundamente visceral y emotiva. De sus 31 tracks, pocos duran más de un minuto indicando la falla en la resistencia del artista, y dando un sentido real de un hombre luchando para llevar a cabo la mayor cantidad de ideas posibles antes de que sea demasiado tarde. Significados ocultos aparte, la atmosfera de la música es deslumbrante, fluctuando entre la dura e intensa “Wokinonit” a los tipicos y abrasivos grooves empapados de soul que fueron marca registrada de los primeros trabajos de Dilla. Hay también momentos de belleza trascendental, incluyendo “Waves,” “Don’t Cry” y “Dilla Says Go” que sugieren el alcance de paz interior, quizás inclusive un optimismo cauteloso. Típicamente, los bloques utilizados para construir DONUTS son omnivoros, mezclando lo desconocido con lo común. Como tal, DONUTS puede parecer esquizofrénico y a medio terminar en una primera escucha, sus samples coratdos de forma precaria, sus melodías y beats interrumpiendo el track anterior. Sin embargo, este no es el caso, el perfeccionismo de Dilla siempre estubo en el centro de su atractivo. Dadas las circunstancias que rodearon su creación, es más razonable asumir que este disco de infinitas pistas es exactamente lo que tenía en la cabeza – un asombroso, atractivo auto-epitafio. Después de todo, como la vida de su compositor, estas canciones pueden ser cortas pero aún hacen cosas extraordinarias.

Here’s a quick roundup of what i’ve found/seen/heard this past week:

• FRESHselects have given us a peek at some material that didn’t make it onto Jazzmine Sullivan’s Fearless. Jumpoff features production from PPP’s Wajeed and backing vocals by the magnificent Coultrain. Head on over and download!
• Lee Fields is a name i didn’t think i was familiar with, however a quick search of my iTunes brings up his fantastic duet with Sharon Jones called ‘Stranded In Your Love’ which i had all but forgotten about. Now news comes via the guys over at MOOVMNT  that he is set to release his next project, My World, this year. They also have a sneak peek at a couple of tracks … all i can say is  WOW!
• There are certain sites than you can always rely on to bring you the newest and best music … one such site is Bama Love Soul! Head on over and read their review of Zap Mama’s Recreation (personally loving it!), and while your there check out news on super-producer/writer James Poyser’s new project called The Rebel Yell. From the tracks up over at myspace this looks set to be a definite highlight of ‘09.
• Last but not least i wanna say a big thank you to the folks over at SoulCulture who have decided to let me (dis)grace the pages of their blog. My first post, a review of V’s The Paradox is available here.

____________________

Artist: Anthony Hamilton
Album: Comin’ from Where I’m From
Year: 2003
Quality: GroupRip

depositfiles.com

Mexican super-producers and Flyte Tyme co-horts Bobby Ross & Izzy Avila aka The Avila Brothers are in the studio working with Anthony Hamilton and Deborah Cox on their respective new albums.

Anthony’s new album, The Point of it All (Due out December 2nd stateside), also has Soulquarian James Poyser and Plant Life’s Jack Splash working on production. Deborah Cox is tapping into the dream team that made Janet what she is, hiring the legendary Jam & Lewis, Big Jim Wright, and the Avila Brothers her upcoming album, The Promise (due out stateside November 11th). Also working on Deborah’s album are Devo Springsteen (John Legend, Kanye West, Estelle) & Shep Crawford (Tamia, Yolanda Adams, Blu Cantrell).

While the Avila Brothers are best known for their work with R&B superstars Usher, Mary J Blige & Mariah Carey, they have earnt their chops Soul-side with their premo work on their own debut album The Mood: Soundsational and Bobby Ross’ own unreleased solo material (where is that album Bobby?). If you’ve heard either of the aforementioned productions you will understand what there is to get excited about.

For more information about the Avila Brothers you can hit up their Myspace page. Check out the jam “I Want You” to get a taste of what could come out of their collaboration with Anthony Hamilton.

For an interview with Anthony Hamilton on his upcoming album hit up Fusicology’s blog.

Avila Brothers production catalogue coming soon.

Charlotte, NC native, Anthony Hamilton has been wooing the ladies and even catching co-sign from the dudes for a few years now.  2007’s cameo in the smash hit film, “American Gangster,” performing the song he did for the soundtrack certainly solidified his cred in this rough and tough industry.  But Hamilton has been back in the studio again knocking out his 3rd album and doing live shows, like any stand-up, 6-time Grammy Nominee would.  Because inquiring minds want to know (well, at least the ladies), Fusicology sat down to chat with Anthony during CMJ week in NYC to hear more about “The Point of It All”…

Blue Jean Lean

10.21.08

Fusicology: So the 1st single off the new album is “Cool” featuring David Banner.  For those that might not be familiar with Banner, tell us a bit about him and how this collaboration came to be?

Anthony Hamilton: Well, I think most in the Hip Hop world should know who he is, or at least be familiar – he’s a Mississippi rapper that I’ve known for a little while who I connected with during press time at this year’s BET Awards… and it just came together from there.

F: Speaking of collaborations, now we Fusicologists are a breed of liner-note readers, especially since the dawn of the era of The Producer – with the acclaim brought to Pharrell and Dilla and others – where the people “behind” the music are starting to get the same attention as the vocalist.  You have been working with the famous James Poyser (The Roots, Erykah Badu, Common) for some time now – a name not unfamiliar to us – as well as Mark Batson and Kelvin Wooten… but how did the new producers on “The Point of It All” come into play?  Did you seek them out, or did they come to you?

AH: It really wasn’t totally one way or the other.  It’s one of those situations where we had respected each other’s work for some time and this was just a long time coming… finally we got together to make something happen.

F: Now, one pair of these new producers for you is the Avila Brothers, who have produced Usher and Mariah Carey, while another new sound was conjured up by Jack Splash, of Alicia Keys and John Legend fame.  Would you say that enlisting producers with well-gleaned Pop chops was one of the ways in which you say you “want fans to hear [your] growth” and “also want to open up the ears of those who don’t know about Anthony Hamilton” ?   Is that to say that you are purposely inserting a bit more straight Pop appeal with this album?

AH: No, I wouldn’t say that.  I simply want to be able to try different sounds and reach as many people as possible.  But I mean, of course the more familiar sounds you use, the more people you are going to appeal to.   And Pop is always where you’re gonna find the mainstream – that’s where you’ll always catch the youth, that’s where you can grab them.  I just want to give them something they can learn from.  I want to produce a body of work that can travel any street – you can touch more people that way.

F: Recently, you said of your new project, that you “don’t always want to be known as the sad cat.” – that you “like to have a good time, too.” – So, “now we’re going to boogie in the name of the Lord.” What did you mean by that?

AH: {laughs}  Yeah, what I meant was that too often in popular music you are made to feel as if you have to be nasty or negative to have a good time.  I’m here to show you that we can have a good time without being degrading or nasty – women don’t have to feel like hoes and guys don’t have to feel violent or like they gotta have a lot of money to have a good time. You know, like when MC Hammer came out. {laughs}  I mean, we can have a clean good time with this music – it doesn’t always have to be about sex, sex, sex or anything.  You can dance to this, you can dance to Obama, you can dance to Sarah Palin, or whatever floats your boat.

Music Is the Weapon of the Future...

F: Well, whatever “The Point of It All” brings, one thing your fans can say for sure is that you have that sound – that raw, gritty, old Soul feel – like if we closed our eyes and had never seen what you looked like, we could easily guess you were 60 years old and your tunes were on 45’s.  Where do you think that comes from?

AH: It comes from getting hit in the head with an 8 Track and getting slapped in the behind with a 12”.  {laughs}  No, seriously, I’m not tryin to be anything but me – that’s just who I am, what I feel.  You know, it also has to with what I heard comin up, like when my Mom would put on James Cleveland or Sonny & Cher, you know.

F: They say that some people are just “old souls” – that they’ve been here before, and storytelling just comes easier to them…

AH: That’s it – yeah, that’s it, that’s all it is.  I’m not sure if I’ve been here before, but what I do know is that if I had, I would have cleaned up a lot better. (!)

F: Another thing we can all attest to is that you’ve got the love song down pat.  Hands-down you got that – happy or sad, you got the love song down.  So given that, is there anything new or different we can expect to hear on the new album – any specific topics or issues or stories we can expect to learn about?

AH: Not really, I mean, I just write about whatever’s goin on today.  It’s just me.  What I know.  I ain’t tryin to create no science fiction or anything, that’s for sure.  You won’t hear any futuristic stuff.  Well, there is one song I cut with Jack Splash, called “Fantasy Girl,” that probably won’t make the album, but I’m thinking about putting it out as a bonus track or something somewhere…

F: Word!  You know we love anything bonus or exclusive – bring on the remix contest!

AH: Oh yeah?  Maybe I will.  We’ll see.

F: Well, you know we heard that you did background vocals for D’Angelo on the “Voodoo” tour… and I think everyone wants to know; do YOU know where D’Angelo is?!

AH: Who told you that?!  {laughs}  Naw, I’m just playin.  In the studio.  He’s in the studio right now, man.  Not to worry.

F: We all also loved your cameo in last year’s “American Gangster” film, and we understand that you’ve done the title track for the forthcoming movie, “Soul Men,” with Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes.  Now that both of them are no longer with us, and given the context of the film’s story, what does this movie mean to you?

>>> “Soul Men” debuts in theaters nationwide this Friday, November 7th – starring Samuel L. Jackson, Bernie Mac, and Issac Hayes, with the title track by Anthony Hamilton!

AH: Well, first of all, I haven’t seen the film yet, so I can only speak from my place as a songwriter for the title track and given the basics of the story, I would just say that it’s about what music means to you… you know, here’s two guys that haven’t been together in a while, and wanting to get back together even though they might not be at their best – it’s about what it means to you at the end of the day.

F: So can we expect a tour this Winter in support of the new album?

AH: Ha!  I’m always on tour. I’m doing dates this week and next.  As long as I can walk, eat, sleep, breathe, and travel, I’ll be doing live shows. How else do you get to go to the Waffle House so often?  That’s how you stay out of the Awful House.  {laughs}   No, but starting November 5th I’ll be doing 6 weeks straight, so keep checking www.anthonyhamilton.com for my tour dates, and all the other news.

—Interview by Jocelyne Ninneman for Fusicology

>The album is “The Point of it All” due out on Zomba/So So Def Records this December 2nd, 2008.

>Listen out for “Cool” featuring David Banner, already in rotation, and the video also due out in November.

>As always, check Fusicology.com for Anthony’s tour dates, which begin November 5th.

My first reaction to reading this news is Nooooooooooo!  Don’t try to remake a good thing!  “Fame” was the “High School Musical” of my time.  I quote it in the “About Me” section (well the quote is from the tv series).  I loved the movie AND the spinoff tv series.  I dreamed of going to NY School for the Arts.  Who could forget Leroy?  Coco?  Mrs. Sherwood?

Is Lakeshore Entertainment and MGM greedy for a piece of the current “High School Music” pie?  I totally heart HSM.  I have a HSM lunchbox, notebooks, and all kinds of goodies, but I TREASURE my Fame soundtrack.

Oh well, I guess it’ll give you younger ones a chance to enjoy a pop cult classic with a modern spin.

Read more about it here…

NEW TUNES ON TAP FOR “FAME” REMAKE

?uestlove and James Poyser pay tribute to legendary soulman Isaac Hayes with this newly released joint.

download

Lonnie dropped this single back in 1997, and that’s when I became an official fan. To this day One Day It’ll All Make Sense is my favorite album of his.

DOWNLOAD: Stevie Wonder – I Never Dreamed You’d Leave In Summer

DOWNLOAD: Donnie Hathaway – A Song for You

DOWNLOAD: Common – Retrospect For Life f. Lauryn Hill

Ok so this CD is full of new material and not the usual covers that are the theme of this blog. But the CD has been put together with talent and love and the instrumentation of an Al Green LP from the Seventies so it fits right in with my theme of “Everything Old being New Again”. Besides it’s my blog and I can do what I want to (LOL).

This CD is truly awesome and proves the point that new is not always better. There is not too much more that I can say that isn’t explained in “The Making Of” promotional video provided for you below.  All I can add is that this product ranks right up there with Reverend Green’s classic albums of 1972 — “Still In Love With You” and “Let’s Stay Together”.

Everyone involved in the collaborative effort to put this project together should be applauded for bringing the 62 years young Rev. Green a shot of 1972 with a twist of the new millenium and coming up with a “new classic.”

Congratulations to Blue Note Records for giving Rev. Green a venue for his considerable  talents.

And last but not least, much love, admiration and respect to producers Al Green, James Poyser and Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson; co-producers Chalmers “Spanky” Alford and Adam Blackston; Executive Producers Richard Nichols and Eli Wolf ; musical artists Corrine Bailey Rae, Anthony Hamilton and John Legend and the hosts of musicians and songwriters involved in creating these heartwarming sounds. Everyone involved should be very, very proud of their accomplishment.

Here is the track list along with three of my favorites form the CD:

1 Lay It Down featuring Anthony Hamilton
2 Just For Me

This is the promotional video on the “Making of Lay it Down” that I watched on Youtube that made me aware of the CD coming out. It had slipped my mind until I saw the great tribute to Rev. Green on the recent BET awards so I went out and made the purchase and it has been in my CD player ever since.

I have got a four hour road trip coming up and I am gonna give this CD even more of a workout. Now that you have heard a sampling I just know you are gonna purchase this set for your next summer road trip as well. Right?

Thanks for dropping in. Hope to see you again soon.

 by vivrant thang on philadelphia soul singers

Last Friday’s trip down memory lane starring classic Philadelphia soul singers inspired me to think about all the music coming out of the City of Brotherly Love today that folks may not know about. As I said, first we gotta look back to move forward.

When people think about the Philly soul scene, the usual suspects that immediately come to mind are Jill Scott and Musiq Soulchild. Think a little harder and you may come up with Kindred or Vivian Green. Absolutely nothing wrong with that because as you should already know I stan for Jill (preparing to buy tickets to see her for the second time this year and I CANNOT wait) and I’ll always love Musiq. They essentially put the Philly neosoul scene on the map. I just want to shine the spotlight on some other artists that deserve some recognition as well.

As I did in the last post, I have to start this off by talking about the man that has written for, produced, and performed with a lot of these artists I’m spotlighting.

James Poyser

• Grammy Award winning songwriter, record producer, and keyboardist from Philadelphia, known for his R&B, hip-hop, gospel and pop productions.
• Written and produced for Al Green, Jill, Erykah Badu, The Roots, Mariah Carey, and Musiq, and Lauryn Hill
• Scored several films and television shows including “Chappelle Show” and “Brown Sugar”
• Played on albums by artists like Roy Hargrove, Aretha Franklin, Prince, D’Angelo, and Queen Latifah
• Member of the Soulquarians and The Randy Watson Experience

I’ll be attending a jam session in Philly this weekend with The Randy Watson Experience featuring Bilal. Here’s their interpretation of “Can’t Hide Love” and Radiohead’s “Morning Soul.”

Carol Riddick

Hailing from the South Side of Philly, Carol started out backing artists like Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Anthony Hamilton, Jill Scott, and Kindred. Once you listen to her sound, you’ll see why she couldn’t possibly stay in the background. I saw her live at Zanzibar Blue (RIP) a couple of years ago and she blew me away – a young Anita Baker in the making. Her album, Moments Like This, was released in 2006. She worked with James Poyser on some of the tracks.

“I Don’t Wanna”

Cover of Anita Baker’s “Angel”

Vikter Duplaix

Vikter is a singer, songwriter, producer, and plays multiple instruments. He’s released several albums and appeared on tracks by artists like Erykah Badu, Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Incognito, Esthero, and Eric Benet.

Make A Baby

Jaguar Wright

I love Jaguar’s style. Straight, no chaser. Highly underrated. I own both of her albums and would love to see her perform live. She has worked with artists like The Roots, Bilal, and Jay-Z.

So High

Cover of Patti’s Love, Need and Want You

Ashley Phillips

Ashley is a Philly-born singer and songwriter. Her band formed in 2003 and they mostly perform locally. l had the pleasure of catching her acoustic set here in DC last year. Her stage presence is soothing, yet captivating. She reminds me of Dionne Ferris or Me’Shell Ndegeocello – especially with the way she handles that guitar. You can tell when she performs that it’s truly for the love of the music. I hope to see an album from her sometime in the near future.

Can’t Stop The Record

 
Kevin Michael

With a fro like that, you know he got soulllll! He calls his music a mixture of soul, pop, R&B, and funk. He’s a self-taught artist who has been singing since childhood. His mother was embarrassed to take him out because he would often randomly break into song. His song of choice? “Me So Horny!” His musical selection has evolved a bit since then. He released his first self-titled album last year and has collaborated with the likes of Wyclef Jean and Lupe Fiasco.

Jazmine Sullivan

I been hearing rumblings about the next coming of Lauryn Hill for a while now but never really investigated further. It wasn’t until I heard “Need You Bad” on Soul Bounce that I sat up and took notice. Evidently, I am late. Ain’t nothing neo about this soul singer. She sang on Showtime at the Apollo at the tender age of 11 and performed with Stevie Wonder at 13. She appeared on a couple of tracks on Fantasia’s album, Free, and wrote a couple of songs on Christina Milian’s album. This 20-year-old singer and songwriter is indeed one to watch. Look out for the album on J records sometime this year.

“I Am” with Kindred

Cover of “What’s Going On”

A true stan would never end this post without mentioning her favorite Philadelphia soul singer. None other than my man Bilal. He should be no stranger to my faithful readers. But for those that happen in here that may have never heard of him, I’ll let the music speak for itself.

Here are a couple of videos from the last show I attended. I’m thrilled to say I’ll be seeing him perform later today in Baltimore and then again on Friday at a jam session with The Randy Watson Experience. With President Obama finally delivering that knockout blow to Billary, can this historic week get any better?

“White Turns To Grey” from the never released “Love for Sale”

A NICE version of “Soul Sista”

Did I miss any underrated Philly soul singers that you think deserve some shine? Shout them out in the comments.

When Pharrell released his first album, ‘In My Mind,’ I though “the fuck is this?!” like most people did after hearing it for the first time. Pharrell, alongside Chad Hugo as the Neptunes, is an amazing producer, is sick with hooks and is multi-talented…ish. As the news of a solo effort from Skateboard P. spread, many music fans were filled with excitement, but later was disappointed with the final product. Personally, the album GREW on me and I started to really dig the album. Pharrell himself was quite dissatisfied with the album, and Questlove, drummer of the Roots, along with James Poyser re-did the album and added much soul to the record. The  redone effort was appropriately titled ‘Out of My Mind‘ by Pharrell & the Yessirs. ‘Best Friends’ was always one of my favorite tracks, simply because I just felt it. True friendship is rare, but real. Also, very few people can tell you something and actually make you listen. Peep the video above to hear the audio of the remixed ‘Best Friend’.

Billboard – At this point, if you’re Al Green, messing around with your formula isn’t so much unlikely as it is pure madness; it’d be like AC/DC deciding to add bassoons. Even the highly touted input of the Roots’ ?uestlove (producing with James Poyser, both in place of Green’s longtime go-to Willie Mitchell) results more in decoration than innovation. It’s not the new-blood-fueled revelation some might have hoped for, but who cares. Green’s voice remains lithe magic, and he’s brought in such contemporary all-stars as Anthony Hamilton (on the album’s two best tracks, “You’ve Got the Love I Need” and the slinky title song), John Legend and Corinne Bailey Rae for help. ?uestlove’s drums get a little boost in the mix, and Poyser’s B3 lightly brushes each song’s cheeks. But when it comes to Green, what more needs to be said? The reverend preaches on.

• Al Green – Take Your Time (with Corinne Bailey Rae)