Part One: Plantation Cultivation and the American Dream Straight out of the 1980s–90s plantation known as Compton, California, and powered in part by President Ronald Reagan’s Narcotics Entrepreneurship and Small Arms Specialist Training Program, better known to the rest you as the Iran-Contra scandal, five young men pushed their way to entertainment stardom and out […]
Read More STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON MOVIE THOUGHTS, PART ONEI’ve heard many of you respond to BB King’s recent earthly departure with “He lived for 89 years. It was time for God to take him.” I know, but I’m still going miss him. Introducing BB King to my life stands among the many perfect decisions the Elders made in my personal development. The King […]
Read More BB KING – AN AMERICAN SUCCESS STORYIt’s sad to hear that Mangiedi Mawangu, the innovative Konono N°1 founder from Congo who demonstrated to the music world the sonic possibilities of a proto-Techno electric likembé plus ensemble, has left this planet. Konono N°1’s four decades of “Congotronic” music undoubtedly fits in my personal Afrofuturism soundtrack, but the style has also grabbed the […]
Read More MANGIEDI MAWANGU, EDM PIONEER, IS GONEI checked out Beyoncé’s Stevie Wonder tribute performance, but did it differently from many of you. I closed my eyes, and then listened. The musical arrangements were tight—I picked that up straightaway. I then—still with closed eyes—focused on Beyoncé’s vocals and asked myself at the end of her performance, “If Beyoncé released the three Stevie […]
Read More BEYONCÉ WAS NOT WONDER-FULFans of late-night Lounge tracks will dig this—Young David’s Fuerte on the Swedsh Brandy label received a proper remix treatment from Further Out‘s Richard E. Awash with grooving, analog-sounding House Disco-isms, and supported by a Velcro bass line—try getting the latter out of your head to see what I mean—Richard E. demonstrates a smooth hand at shaping three-and-a-half […]
Read More AURAL DIVE: YOUNG DAVID – FUERTE (RICHARD E REMIX)ANDY BEY PAGES FROM AN IMAGINARY LIFE HIGH NOTE 2014 Andy Bey has a high position on my shortlist of favorite living Jazz vocalists, even though his discography is disappointingly thin. He also appears to be full of surprises like D’Angelo when his record company released Pages from an Imaginary Life late last year. The […]
Read More AN ALBUM (OR TWO) IN MY HEAD (0060)A new release from Tony Allen, the drummer who arguably put the “Beat” in Afro Beat, and a 2-CD set from the unsung Bessie Jones are in my thoughts at the moment… TONY ALLEN FILM OF LIFE 2014 It’s hard for the general public to keep more than one name in their heads when it […]
Read More AN ALBUM (OR TWO) IN MY HEAD THIS WEEK (0059)Premium remixer and Facebook pal Leighton Hema – also known as Mr. Leigh – pulled together a groove-lover’s remix of Janelle Monáe and Esperanza Spalding’s “Dorothy Dandridge Eyes.” Here’s the Jazzy Soul-spiked original version for the sake of reference, and Mr. Leigh’s take is embedded below…
Read More MR. LEIGH REMIXES JANELLE MONAE & ESPERANZA SPALDING“Forward” by French producer Jaze Baqti. I dig how he freaked that Rotary Connection sample…
Read More JAZE BAQTI – FORWARDHearing about the world losing modern Soul singer Puff Johnson to cercical cancer reminds me of a time during the 90’s where Rap music had no problems breathing if attention was oxygen, and the finishing touches were being placed on taming Alternative Rock for its transition to the mainstream. In contrast the mindshare of Jazz bordered […]
Read More PUFF JOHNSON, 1972-2013
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