Notorious B.I.G – 13 Thoughts, 13 Years On

It’s been 13 years since Christopher Wallace was cut down in his prime. Those who know me know of my bizarre (yet valid) fascination/connection with the number thirteen and know where I’m going. But because I want to get back to my own musical Biggie tribute, I’m letting the readers off the hook from my long-windedness – but not without informing you that this could easily be a multiple page article in mere minutes. There are so many angles I can attack from, where do I begin? The fact that I can’t even express a fraction of what I’m feeling inside right now should give some indication as to how much of an impact the life of the Notorious B.I.G had on mine… Read more

Sade: Reflections On A Class Act

I have been told more than once that I have a freakishly good long term memory.  It is thus a bitter irony that, despite the numerous mental titbits I have retained from infanthood my one brief encounter with Helen Folasade Adu – or Sade as she is better known – has disappeared from the recesses of my brain.

As my mother tells it, we were waiting in Lagos airport for our plane back to the UK and Sade was also returning to Blighty from one of her frequent trips to Nigeria.  It was around 1984/85. I was three years old and Sade and her band had just started taking the world by storm with their unique kind of soulful pop on a smoothed-out jazz vibe.  Diamond Life, their debut, eventually scooped a Best Newcomer Grammy and Sade herself was one of the few recording artists ever to appear on the cover of America’s’ Time magazine. Read more

10 Years of D’Angelo’s Voodoo: He Done Worked A Root

It’s been exactly 10 years since Voodoo, D’Angelo’s sophomore album, hit the top of the US Billboard 200 on the day of its release (25 January 2000). In some ways, Voodoo is the reason Soul Culture exists.

It opened a conversation. Voodoo’s often ambiguous lyrics – when they can be heard at all – and jam session vibes (rather than disciplined melodies) rendered the album less accessible than D’Angelo’s Brown Sugar debut – but for me [and many others] the verbal incoherency is part of the puzzle, the in-the-moment vibes are incentive to work it out.  [For those who like it on a platter, the lyrics are there in the album booklet. Quit moaning already.]

A decade on, the conversation continues – only last week I found myself arguing with a producer over the album’s timeless merits. For me, that’s what it is. Timeless. Far less tied to a particular era than his debut. More adventurous. More meaningful. Read more

Obituary: Goodbye Teddy Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010)

Teddy Pendergrass : March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010

Theodore DeReese “Teddy” Pendergrass, was born in 1950 – and within a couple of decades was Quiet-ly Storm-ing the air waves and record studios with his deep, refined and raw soulful voice.

It was as a drummer that Teddy Pendergrass started his ascent (with The Cadillacs).  When Melvin offered him to join Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, he became lead singer; they were soon signed with Gamble & Huff records (1972).  From then on, the electrifying magnetism of his voice took us over (‘I Miss You’, ‘Bad Luck’, ‘Wake Up Everybody’, ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now’). Read more

The Hip Hop Highlights of The Decade

Ten years into the 21st Century and Hip Hop is now one of the biggest grossing industries in the world today. Forget the music – the clothing, films and TV deals have all played a part in establishing this way of life as one of the biggest phenomenons. To think it all started off with just two turntables and a mic…

As 2010 dawns, its time to take a look at what has had the streets and discussion boards talking; the artists, the controversies and sadly, the losses. The Hip Hop Highlights of the Decade… Read more

The 10 Best Films Of The Decade

I was going to begin the following list quite simply by saying that Cinema is dead. However, the declaration of the death of any art form, and/or its generic constituents, has become such a redundant exercise in the past ten years that the assertion might not be worth the effort.

So given that Cinema might indeed be so long dead that its funeral came and went perhaps even before I was born; I present you with ten exceptionally rare occasions in which, for an average time of about one hundred and twenty minutes per incident, Cinema came thrusting back to life again in all its previous glory. Enjoy. Read more

3 weeks on from World AIDS Day, “A Condom Is [Still] A Girl’s Best Friend”

“A condom is a girl’s best friend”.

And a man’s, agreed? This is the [translated] title of the French ad that has appeared on billboards in Paris since the summer 2009. It is part of the yearly renewed Aids campaign, a continual effort to raise awareness and to promote ’safe sex’. While it seems the need to entertain extends to all matters, so that even awareness about Aids must be inviting and playful, the statistics are a sober reminder that HIV is all but that. Read more

Almost Famous by Preach Jacobs: “Overdraft Fees”

I often find it hilarious when I bump into relatives or old classmates that hear about my musical ventures. The exchange usually ends up with them commenting that I’m rich as hell or that I probably have a condo next door to Russell Simmons sharing vegan recipes.  I usually offer one of those forced uncomfortable smiles and say to myself, “If only you can see my bank account.”

There’s nothing more disheartening than checking your bank account online thinking you have a certain amount of money finding out that you have less. A hell of a lot less.  This is what happened to me as I planned for some promotional shows in support of my new EP Maple St. Sessions, with Denz, recently released on R2 records. Read more

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