Ice Cube

I was never the biggest West Coast hip hop fan. I didn't care for the profanity. They lacked the lyrics I was looking for and got from East Coast hip hop. 

Ice Cube managed to change my mind with his debut. The Bomb Squad were involved with the album, which cushioned the blow so to speak, but I learned to appreciate Ice Cube as an artist. He outdid himself on Death Certificate.



Who would have thought Ice Cube would do the equivalent of Marvin Gaye by recording a concept album? Death Certificate dealt with topics affecting the Black community like gang violence and took time to reveal the truth about his days with NWA. I almost never went a day without hearing that album. This was Ice Cube at his most self-reflective and I was on his side up until Bootlegs & B-Sides.

I was moving away from hip hop by the time Ice Cube`s music was Westside Connection focused.  I would need to sit down with those albums and songs to know how I feel about them. 

The Suite Delight new time slot is Tuesday morning 2-3am EST on www.ckut.ca & 90.3 FM.

If you haven't already, please make yourself familiar with the link below for more of your favorite show and mine.

Below are some playlists of podcasts to bring you up to speed.  Click here to download them and more.

The Suite Delight - 2014-05-13 Playlist:

1. Ice Cube - Check Yo Self (Remix) feat. Das-Efx
2. Kurious - Baby Bust It
3. De La Soul - Breakadawn
4. Gang Starr - Code of the Streets
5. Souls of Mischief - That's When Ya Lost
6. Del - Mistadobalina (Remix)
7. Snoop Dogg - Ain't No Fun (If The Homies Can't Have None)
8. Keith Murray - Incredible feat. LL Cool J
9. Jay-Z - (Always Be My) Sunshine featuring Babyface & Foxy Brown
10. Queen Latifah - Latifah's Had It Up 2 Here
11. The Roots - Adrenaline
12. Poor Righteous Teachers - Rock Dis Funky Joint
13. Digable Planets ‎– 9th Wonder (Blackitolism)
14. Camp Lo - Luchini (This Is It)

Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap

Less than 24 hours later from the time DJ Frank BLVD mentioned it to me, the opportunity to watch Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap was presented on the television set in front of me.

I was not aware of the documentary but quickly learned it was released in the summer 2012.

Ice-T’s documentary presents hip hop legends from both the East and West Coast and their views on the culture that made them famous.

Many of the expected hip hop artists to be found are there along with pleasant surprises like Marley Marl, Brand Nubian’s Lord Jamar, Lord Finesse, Ras Kass and Dana Dane. 



There was something of a backlash from Jay-Z not being among the artists filmed. Ice-T explains why Hova was not in the documentary on YouTube. Jay-Z’s absence is glaring but there are still a number of hip hop legends that were not interviewed or caught on camera. In some cases, names of those not filmed were at least mentioned. I would like to believe Ice-T tried to schedule a great number of artists but time restraints and conflicts negatively intervened.

I was very happy to learn of the documentary and gain further insight into the thoughts, processes and history of some of my favorite and influential hip hop artists.

It would be great for the documentary to extend into a series to include the number of hip hop artists that were omitted for whatever reasons. Any footage of hip hop legends shedding light on their views of the game would not only be entertaining but influential as well.

 
The Suite Delight new time slot is Tuesday morning 2-3am EST on www.ckut.ca & 90.3 FM.

If you haven't already, please make yourself familiar with the link below for more of your favorite show and mine.

http://suitedelight.podomatic.com

Below is a podcast to bring you up to speed.  Click here to download it and more.

The Suite Delight - December 17, 2013 (2):

1. Jemini The Gifted One – Funk Soul Sensation (Godfather Mix) 
2. Large Professor – Ijuswannachill 
3. Lord Finesse – Return of the Funky Man (Remix) 
4. Ice-T – Mind Over Matter (Remix) 
5. DJ Jazzy Jeff – She Was So Flyy feat. Kardinal Offishall 
6. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth – The Creator (Slide To The Side Mix) 
7. The Roots – Here I Come 
8. Gang Starr – Form Of Intellect 
9. Planet Asia – Whirlwind Patterns 
10. Wu-Tang Clan – Method Man 
11. Kool G. Rap & DJ Polo – Money In The Bank 
12. Big Pun – How We Roll ‘98 
13. A Tribe Called Quest – Can I Kick It?

DāM-FunK

I visit the Stones Throw website and partake in a podcast now & then and grab some downloads they offer.

I was listening to the tracks I added to my Sansa portable mp3 player and seemed to have been in a DāM-FunK pocket because one after another of his tracks played. Then, I heard it.

This song sounded nothing like DāM-FunK and I had to make sure it was him right after the chorus. The track is Things That Dreams Are Made Of. It's a cover of a classic tune by The Human League. The song is incredible. I went to Twitter and said it was one of the best songs I heard. The video is nuts too.

DāM-FunK sings with this otherworldly quality that's larger than life. He sounds like he could make dreams come true! If I dreamed of a hot track to make me press repeat numerous times, DāM-FunK delivered it with or without inception.


The Ambassador of Boogie Funk keeps the California funk tradition alive every time he plays out or makes music. Do yourself a favor and listen to Galactic Fun when the chance arrives. If you don't find yourself moving and grooving, you may need a higher dosage or an operation.

There is no coincidence DāM-FunK finds himself at home on Stones Throw. While perusing the Fabric Peanut Butter Wolf podcast, one can hear the sounds of West Coast hip hop pioneer Arabian Prince on the playlist. It is no coincidence that Stones Throw released the Arabian Prince Anthology CD not too long ago. The roots of electro-funk are alive through DāM-FunK.

Anyone interested in the sounds of Chromeo, Crystal Castles and Justice should check out DāM-FunK to get an idea about how truly cyclical music really is. The inspirations of those acts can be heard in a boogie inspiring set from the one and only DāM-FunK.

I’ve had the privilege of catching DāM-FunK live a number of times on Canadian soil.

On the first occasion, he was a guest DJ at The Goods. I had barely known of him at the time because I don’t believe I saw his photograph on the Stones Throw website prior to the Goods performance. At the end of his set, I approached him and asked if he was Gary Pants. He smiled and told me he was not Gary Pants but DāM-FunK. Stones Throw Records fans will understand what I did. From that night, I never mistook DāM-FunK again.




On the second occasion, the DJ and producer made an appearance at the now defunct Saints Showbar.

Unfortunately, I missed one of his earliest performances at Le Belmont because of my pilgrimage to Mecca, CMJ.

When I found out DāM-FunK was going to be performing on the opening night of Pop Montreal, I was prepared to not let anything stop me from attending.

As I approached Rachel Street, I saw a cluster of people on the sidewalk and knew that was where I was to head. Familiar faces greeted me prior to my midnight entry into the venue.

I walked to the stage and saw DāM-FunK apparently talking to a few technicians about the turntables and equipment. Those issues caused a slight delay in the progression of the performance but DāM-FunK more than made up for it.

DāM-FunK had the midnight movers around me dancing for nearly two hours. That Pop Montreal night was the most amount of time I have seen and heard DāM-FunK perform. As he is a master of boogie and funk of the early 1980s, I was expecting to hear slightly more songs I would not recognize than ones I would. Thankfully for me, and all in attendance who had a vested interest in knowing what they were grooving to, he spoke about the songs he played. My want list was introduced to a handful of new entries before his performance ended.

I was exceptionally thrilled to hear One Way’s Give Me One Chance during DāM-FunK’s set. I bought the album with that song on it twice this year with the hopes of getting the choice of playing a cleaner copy on The Suite Delight radio show someday soon.

DāM-FunK later performed what I believe to be one of his newest songs, I Don't Want To Be A Star, live. That Pop Montreal night has come and gone but to check out his latest material, a quick browse to the Stones Throw website will bring you up to speed.

3rd Bass - Derelicts of Dialect

Derelicts of Dialect forces me to wonder which of their full-lengths is better. 

To this day, I haven't decided.

Prime Minister Pete Nice was my man of two. 

His verses on Wordz of Wisdom are my favorite of all songs. No Static At All comes in a not very close second place.

Junior Walker & The Allstars

As a kid, I saw a Junior Walker & The Allstars album but never heard one song from it.  

By the end of 2012, I found two copies of that album while digging in the crates. 

The song by Junior Walker & The Allstars song I knew and heard of is Shotgun.  That song is easily on the shortlist of Motown’s most memorable and definitive singles. 

For a long time, I thought that was the group’s only single of importance.  It would take me about 20 years to be surrounded by Junior Walker & The Allstars’ discography on digging excursions.

I got pretty familiar with The Definitive Collection CD.  

I take 1960s soul and funk whenever I can and I’ve discovered many nuggets on Junior walker & The Allstars albums. 

I discovered Shoot Your Shot, quite possibly my favorite Junior Walker & The Allstars song.

I’ve come into contact with more Junior Walker & The Allstars albums than footage of their performances.  Thanks to YouTube, that issue is resolved. 

Enjoy some sights and sounds of the Motown soul music legends.

Ruby Dee

It was a relief and somewhat bittersweet seeing Ruby Dee nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in American Gangster a few years ago.

For all of the years I've known of her as an actress, I was thankful that the Academy honored her among its nominees for the category.



As I saw her face moments before the award recipient was announced, my mind went immediately to Ossie Davis, her legendary actor husband.  She, like myself and those that are aware of their legacy, must surely have thought about him and how it would have been nice for him to have been there with her at the time.

Spike Lee's 1989 classic film Do The Right Thing features the late husband and wife. Symbolically they were the eldest of the characters in the film and of the cast of actors.
It would take me years later to understand just how much they were veterans of the stage and screen.

I may have taken for granted Davis & Dee in the film because my focus was more on the younger characters and recognizable faces but when I studied acting a bit more seriously I realized Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee's careers were nothing to overlook.




The film version of Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in The Sun contains my favorite Sidney Poitier acting moments on screen beside In The Heat of the Night.  The film also contains Ruby Dee's performance as his wife.

An impromptu visit to a Montreal record store brought me face to face with the soundtrack to the Jules Dassin film Uptight.  To my surprise and delight, the all-black cast featured Ruby Dee.  I have little knowledge of Jules Dassin's films but to learn he directed an all-black cast is a revelation. I also had no idea Time is Tight by Booker T. & The M.G's was from that film.

I was fortunate to have found the book In This Life Together which provides more insight into their legendary lives and careers.

By accident, on purpose or simply fated, I have learned that Ruby Dee has been part of the American film history for decades.

Ruby Dee passed away on June 11, 2014. 

DJ Nu-Mark

News of DJ Nu-Mark from Jurassic 5 fame returning to Montreal's Blue Dog Motel suited me just fine.

I was even happier to learn it would be strictly vinyl for the night. 



With a supporting cast including Mat The Alien, DJ Pump, Vinyl Ritchie & DJ Illo, one who is inclined to check out DJs spinning vinyl was guaranteed to be pleased that night indeed. 

My timing couldn't have been better.  I rarely look at the events section of my Facebook but I'm glad I did a few weeks ago.  It's possibly because it's a new year and I'm trying to do what I had not done before. 

I happened to check out the section just days before DJ Nu-Mark and crew would
arrive at Montreal's Blue Dog Motel for an all-7" records jam.  I knew that I would be there.

  

I was there very early for my own taste but was treated to a DJ set of vintage hip hop videos and music. I had not seen or heard some of those videos and songs in over a decade.  It was the great soundtrack to get me ready for the madness that would later land at the Blue Dog Motel.

Over an hour or so later, young men carrying luggage made their way to the DJ booth section of Blue Dog Motel and I knew that the show was about to begin.

Vinyl Ritchie was the first to touch the turntables with a dub/dancehall reggae/hip hop hybrid of sounds. 

I finally got to catch a DJ set from Mat the Alien.  I heard of his name because of the slipmats baring his name.   

  DJs Pump and Illo briefly brought some beats.

Next was the headliner DJ Nu-Mark to do his thing.  As much as I was among the few bloggers and photographers snapping pics of the DJs, as mentioned earlier this is a new year and I'm doing things differently.  I didn't play videographer like I have done in the past.  I wanted to enjoy the selections and the moments of the night.

As I told a gentleman that was watching me watch DJ Nu-Mark, I was there to learn how I could be the type of DJ he would watch others watch me one day.

The Suite Delight new time slot is Tuesday morning 1-2 am EST on www.ckut.ca & 90.3 FM.

If you haven't already, please make yourself familiar with the link below for more of your favorite show and mine.

The Suite Delight - 2013-05-14 by Dj Solespin on Mixcloud


Above is a podcast to bring you up to speed.  Click here to download more.

The Suite Delight January 21 Playlist:

1. Mike Bloomfield & Al Kooper - Stop

2. Allen Toussaint - Last Train

3. Daedelus - Just Briefly (Umod Remix)

4. DJ Nu-Mark - Don't Play Around feat. Aloe Blacc and Charles Bradley

5. Souleance - La Belle Vie

6. Slakah The Beatchild - Something Forever

7. Bridget Kelly - Special Delivery

8. Jungle Brothers – How Ya Want It We Got It (Native Tongues Mix)

9. DJ K.O. – That Knack feat. Wordsworth, Stricklin & Torae

10. Big K.R.I.T. - Dreamin'

11. Common - Ghetto Dreams feat. Nas

12. Reks - Underdog

13. Jemini The Gifted One - Funk Soul Sensation

14. Rel!g!on - Pyramids feat. Planet Asia and Jasiri X

Post by DJ PUMP.

Howlin' Wolf

Howlin' Wolf is my favorite blues artist.

Years ago, I was presented with the opportunity to listen to classic blues music and took it.

Howlin' Wolf was among my choices and to date the first sentence of this blog post still stands.

 

His vocal quality and delivery amuse me. Indeed sometimes he hits high notes so high that he sounds like his namesake.  I get such a kick out of that. 

Most of his blues peers sound and look similar. There is no mistaking Howlin' Wolf.

I believe a reissue of his Moanin' in the Moonlight album crossed my path earlier this year at a local, Montreal record store.

 

I didn't want to take the chance of buying a vinyl of such delicate music and for it to be compromised in any way.  Instead, I bought a compilation CD of his biggest hits. 

By Spring 2014, a Montreal record convention presented me with the opportunity to buy a double album compilation of his best songs. It is one of the best vinyl purchases I have made for the year. 

A casual browsing of YouTube revealed classic footage of Howlin' Wolf performing live in the 1960s.



Blues music is very entertaining and educational. Maybe a thing or two can be learned from the video above.