Archives for category: Black Music Month

June Sixteenth, Nineteen Seventy-One

June 16, 2009 //
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Tupac Shakur was born 38 years ago today.

“June sixteenth, nineteen seventy-one:
Mama gave birth to a hell-raising heavenly son
See, the doctor tried to smack me, but I smacked him back
My first words was “Thug for life” and “Papa, pass the MAC.”

- 2Pac and Thug Life’s “Cradle to the Grave” from Thug Life Volume 1.

I’m from the Bay and Tupac, as imperfect and complex as he was, will always have a special place in my heart, iPod and DVD player.

Here are my top five Tupac moments from music and film- ranked!

alleyezonme

5. “What’z Ya Phone #” – I’m a sucker for the Minneapolis sound. This raunchy track, which samples The Time’s 1982 single “777-9311,” isn’t a great example of Pac’s lyrical ability but the dance-inducing beat and comical bridge make it a favorite.

4. “Ain’t Hard 2 Find” – Bay representing at it’s best. C-Bo, B-Legit, E-40, and Richie Rich all featured on this song in which Pac taunts his rival.

“I heard a rumor I died, murdered in cold blood dramatized
Pictures of me in my final stage you know Mama cried…..
And if you don’t like this rhyme
then bring your big bad ass to California, cause we ain’t hard to find“

The song also features the classic B-Legit line, “I’m from the V-A-L-L-E-J-O -where sellin narcotics is all I know.”

pac in above the rim

3. Above the Rim – I know I wasn’t the only one who got chills when Tupac, as Birdie, pulled that blade out of his mouth. Gangsta!

2. “Brenda’s Got a Baby” – This song is based on the true story of a 12-year-old Oakland girl who gave birth and tried to leave the baby in a trash can. One of my earliest memories of Tupac is watching this video over and over again on The Box.

1. Juice – More early Tupac. Although he will always be best known for his music, Pac’s emergence on the Hip-Hop and Hollywood scenes was almost simultaneous. Tupac, as the troubled and often frightening teen Bishop, was the highlight of “Juice.”

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Categories Beats & Rhymes, Black Music Month

Black Music Month Minute: Minnie Riperton

June 4, 2009 //
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I’m young willing and able … to make you come apart at the seams
I’m young willing and able … think of me as peaches and cream

Cancer may have taken Minnie Riperton’s life, but 30 years later, no one has taken her place.

Minnie RIPERTON

Throughout the 60s, Riperton worked for Chess Records as a background vocalist, group member, solo artist and at one time, receptionist. While it wasn’t until “Lovin’ You” that she achieved mainstream fame, some very noteworthy work came out of that period, including singing background for Etta James.

One of my personal Riperton favorites is the cover of Otis Redding’s “Respect” (more famously sung by Aretha Frankin) she recorded in 1969 as part of the psychedelic soul band Rotary Connection.

Riperton sang back-up on Stevie Wonder’s 1974 Fulfillingness’ First Finale. Wonder ended up co-producing Riperton’s Perfect Angel album, which dropped the same year. The album was a commercial success due to the popularity of the single “Lovin’ You” and Riperton was finally a star. Riperton can be heard singing her daughter’s name, “Maya, Maya, Maya,” at the end of the song. (I’m sure just about everyone knows this by now, but if you don’t, her daughter with songwriter husband Richard Rudolph is Maya Rudolph of SNL fame. They also had a son, Marc.)

In a 2008 tribute to Mariah Carey in Time mag, Wonder said he’d only met three people with “a truly wonderful voice and spirit to match” – his first wife, Mariah, and Minnie Riperton.

Definitely one of the greatest to ever do it.

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Categories Beats & Rhymes, Black Music Month

Black Music Month Minute: Curtis Mayfield

June 3, 2009 //
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Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Curtis Mayfield was born 67 years ago today.

Curtis_Mayfield

Mayfield released his first solo project, Curtis, in 1970 after splitting with the Impressions.

Two years later, he recorded Superfly, the soundtrack for the motion picture of the same name. The album topped the Billboard album charts for four weeks. The album made him a star and has had a tremendous influence on Black music – particularly hip-hop and reggae.

The topics of Mayfield’s music ranged from love to dancing to life in the hood. His songs have been sampled and remade by many including Ice-T, Sinead O’Connor, Jay-Z and Souls of Mischief.

In 1990, Mayfield was paralyzed in a freak accident while performing on a Brooklyn stage. His health declined and he died in 199.

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Categories Beats & Rhymes, Black Music Month

New Sade Coming! New Sade Coming!

June 2, 2009 //
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A Sony source and Sade bandmate, Cottonbelly, have confirmed the Queen of smooth-jazzy-soul, Sade, is back in the studio!

sade

Billboard also reports labelmate, Maxwell, shared his opinion on Sade’s latest material in a Facebook message to friends. He said, “Trust me, it’s so monolithic it’ll shake you in your shoes!”

Sade’s influence can be heard from Aaliyah to Amel Larrieux, and that’s just the A’s. (Black Music Month shout-out!) It’s been nine years since her last album, the well-received Lovers Rock.

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Categories Beats & Rhymes, Black Music Month
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