Without a doubt, Missy Elliott’s music videos are among hip hop’s most creative and innovative regardless of gender.
I believe only Busta Rhymes matches Missy in the music video department even then the edge goes to Elliott.
I was introduced to Timbaland’s production via Missy’s debut album and will never forget how I felt hearing her I Can't Stand the Rain version as well as seeing the video.
My listening of his debut CD painfully proved what I already knew. I learned he had one of the best voices in soul music history.
One
night while “grocery shopping” (browsing record/CD stores with the sole
intent of walking out with music), I noticed one of my favourite stores
had a copy of Everything is Everything at a price I could not resist.
The CD is wonderfully smooth and earned my playing it again after the first listen just to hear I Believe it to My Soul again surrounded by its accompanying tracks.
The liner notes have Joel Dorn claiming Donny’s debut is his best album. I had been leaning more towards Live but I might be inclined to agree with him. I still have his Extensions of a Man to discover, among others, and who knows if those will also shift my opinion.
Regardless of which album Dorn or I feel is his best, what is agreed upon is that Hathaway was a once-in-a-lifetime talent.
A little bird told me that my blog gets a lot of love from the United States.
Americans appear to be most content with the podcasts I’ve been serving.
Pennsylvania has been among one of the strongest supporters of my show for the last few years.
In appreciation for the love, The Suite Delight Old School Hip Hop Radio Show will dedicated an episode playlist to the Philadelphia followers.
If there are people in the United States, listed below or otherwise, that want a monthly DJ set or even one night of DJ Solespin/The Suite Delight musicalgoodness at a happening venue, please don’t hesitate to contact me. The pleasure would be all mine.
The Suite Delight is broadcast live on Montreal’sCKUT 90.3FMevery Tuesday morning from 2am-3am EST.
Following @DJSolespin on Twitter will let you know when the songs are played and the podcasts are online.
1.Cool C - The Glamourous Life 2.DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - A Touch Of Jazz (Extended Re-Touch) 3.Steady B - Serious (Ceereeus BDP Remix) 4.Cash Money & Marvelous - Who's In The Place (Vocal Mix) 5.Jay-Z - Money, Cash, Hoes (Remix) featuring Beanie Siegel, DMX & Memphis Bleek 6.DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - Brand New Funk 7.Steady B - On The Real Tip 8.Cash Money & Marvelous - A Real Mutha For Ya (12" Mix) 9.Schoolly D - Gucci Time 10.Three Times Dope - Funky Dividends 11.Bahamadia – Uknowhowwedu 12.The Roots - Clones
Thanks again to Pennsylvania & the States for their support!
The Delicious Vinyl logo is quite simply the best in all of hip hop. From as early as 1989, the cartoon of a guy biting into a slice of wax is iconic and unforgettable.
Leave it to the West Coast to have a label logo as creative as Delicious Vinyl. It would take Stones Throw, another West Coast record label, to come as close as Delicious Vinyl with their design styles.
Young MC and Tone Loc’s debut albums were commercially successful. I am partial to Def Jef’s debut because I won an audio cassette copy of Just a Poet with Soul from one of the many Rap Masters Magazine contests I entered back in the day.
Masta Ace’s best album, Slaughtahouse, was released on Delicious Vinyl in 1993. The label is resoiblie for many classic hip hip songs and albums including early Jay Dee (J Dilla) production for the Pharcyde 2nd album. I have a theory that The Brand New Heavies’ Heavy Rhyme Experience inspired Guru’s Jazzmatazz.
With the exception of a Def Jam Recordings jacket, a Delicious Vinyl t-shirt is one of my most sought after pieces of hip hop gear.There is something universal about the Delicious Vinyl logo on a t-shirt as well. Regardless of gender, race or age, anyone in a Delicious Vinyl t-shirt is cool. No matter how many times you have seen someone you didn’t expect to see sporting the Delicious Vinyl t-shirt, you respect the person wearing it, their choice to wear it, the label’s artists, the label and ultimately the logo.
For their impact on popular culture and hip hop music, The Suite Delight salutes Delicious Vinyl.
Although I’ve only started paying serious attention to the Montreal Canadiens within the last three years or so, I’ve started to become increasingly interested in hockey and learn how seriously Montreal takes the sport. I was never the biggest hockey fan but I reached the point where I ask for scores to be sent to me by text.
I kept my eyes on theMontreal Canadiens scores and highlights on CTV Sportsnight. Losses upset me. Whenever The Canadiens face elimination in playoffs, I believe in them to win consecutive games.
A co-worker once that told me her hockey season ends at the same time as the Habs. I tried watching a non-Canadiens game after they were eliminated not too long ago and didn`t feel right. I didn't know the teams as well as I do the Canadiens and lost interest.
I saw that city authorities and law enforcement were on high alert whether win or lose. Police are present on the streets on nights of playoffs and I sometimes hear a helicopter flying above. That made me realize that the stakes for Montreal Canadiens hockey are high.
In the midst of the last hockey lockout, cars weren't draped in Habs flags. Horns didn't honk and there were no people screaming, dancing or celebrating in the streets. There was no hockey fever. Seeing and hearing those things within the last few years made me realize how much hockey means to this city. In turn, they now mean a lot to me and I look forward to their next game and Stanley Cup victory.
I was grooving to Yo! Bum Rush The Show! when I was in high school. I remember rewinding You're Gonna Get Yours on my walkman on some family trip.
On a historic trip to New York in 1988, I saw a vision that would change my life forever.
As I walked up the stairs to get out of the subway, I saw a huge poster of Chuck D and Flavor Flav behind bars and the title of one of my most important albums of all time.
Public Enemy was the enemy of the public. Their Uzi weighed a ton and they had too much posse. What were they doing behind bars and why was Chuck D still so militant in that photo? I remember standing in a trance looking at that photo every time we would pass through the subway. They would have to call me away from it.
When we got back home, I got a vinyl copy of It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back from Dutchy's Record Cave. One day, I was playing the record on the family stereo and wanted to change sides. Unfortunately, the record slipped from my hands and before hitting the floor, it got scratched by one of the metallic knobs of the receiver. I will leave it up to you to determine which side got scratched. Whichever you choose, you understand the magnitude of what happened. I bought another copy while on a trip to Toronto, but don't remember what happened to it. I bought a CD copy a few years ago.
Never have I had so many opportunities to own a hip hop album. One day, while walking to my place, I noticed a bunch of vinyl and CDs in boxes on the sidewalk. I walked away with a Master Of Reality by Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin's second album, and you can guess which else.
I've got that one in plastic among my other records now.
For those unfamiliar with the classic album, Montreal'sBBAM! Gallery will play Public Enemy'sIt Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back from beginning to end on Friday, October 24 from 7:00pm to 10:00pm. A dissertation and cultural perspective by presented by special guest host Darcy MacDonald. Beverages and snacks included in $15 admission price.
The Suite Delight new time slot isTuesday morning2-3am EST onwww.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.
My most vivid memory of The Gap Band is from 1983.
I'm not sure where that footage is from but believe it was a performance for Dick Clark'sAmerican Bandstand or New Year's Rocking Eve. They were performing on a stage during a sunny day and the monstrous funk of You Dropped a Bomb on Me surely must have added some degrees to the thermometer.
If asked what is the first thing thought of when Charlie Wilson comes to mind, I would say it was the cowboy hat. Long before Sadat X,The Fugees, Kool Moe Dee or Juice Crew Posse played cowboys, The Gap Band'sCharlie Wilson symbolized the black cowboy even more so than Charley Pride.
After many listens of The Best of Gap Band, I would later realize Charlie Wilson is one of funk's best vocalists. The fact would be reinforced while watching Wilson perform on a gospel television program during my CMJ 2011 trip to New York.
Similar to Rick James, the more synthesized funk of The Gap Band suits my needs as I bridge the gap between my soulful roots and present-day dabbling in electro/RPM.
The Gap Band 3 was a vinyl purchase for the beautiful Yearning For Your Love.
I was happy Snoop Dogg & Justin Timberlake teamed with Charlie Wilson for Signs.
I heard one song from the record below and it not only inspired this post but found its way onto my want list.
I saw George Michael achieve his own career milestone with Faith.
Faith is a masterpiece of the decade and stands the test of time.I learned to understand that George Michael is one of the best male vocalists in popular music history. In 1984, the Make It Big album by Wham! had a number of hit singles.If memory serves me correctly, there was a cartoon featuring Wolfman Jack where music videos were screened at the end of the program.I’m sure it was on that cartoon that the video for Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go was shown one Saturday morning.
Years ago a discussion or near debate sprouted up among some mates over which of the album’s ballads was the best. This author roots for Father Figure.If I weren’t so moved by the arrangement of Father Figure, I may have been aware of how One More Try is George Michael’s best vocal performance a lot earlier. I have put my faith and not-so-tiny-anymore hands in Father Figure’s peppy beat and choir-like vocals since I heard it.
As young as I was, I knew the album was dripping with sexuality. Not since Prince’sPurple Rain had an album been so racy for my ears.I Want Your Sex could not have been more blatant.It was surely the first time I saw the word sex written and heard sung in a song.The song scattered into three parts across the album’s two sides was even more reinforcement of the album’s theme.Regardless of that adult content, the hit single was great to dance to.
Monkey is funky.Perhaps not in the same vein as Everything She Wants but it is another great song for a party’s dance floor.
Within the last few weeks of my considering to write about George Michael’sFaith, the CD was purchased twice for the times it has crossed my path.I conclude this post while listening to Hand To Mouth.In this post-911 world, I still have faith that people of this world will not have to live hand to mouth, George Michael might record a modern-day equivalent of Faith in magnitude and that I too prevail in whatever I undertake.
Hip hop in the early 90s was sheer magic. One of the most important hip hop producers of the 90s was Pete Rock. For proof, check out his remixes and albums with C.L. Smooth.
I bought the All Souled Out EP audio cassette in 1991 without having heard one song. Back then, you could literally afford to take those risks in record buying.
I hadn't heard the EP in its entirety in years until I reached for it sometime ago. I again marvelled at the magnificence of the music as I did when I first bought it.
Below is a playlist of a podcast to bring you up to speed. Click here to download them and more.
The Suite Delight - April 8 2014 Playlist:
1. Big L - Put It On feat. Kid Capri 2. Common - Resurrection 3. O.C. - Time's Up 4. Big Pun - Super Lyrical feat. Black Thought 5. 2Pac - Ambitionz of a Ridah 6. Jay-Z - This Can't Be Life feat. Scarface 7. Gang Starr - Just To Get A Rep 8. Nice & Smooth - Early To Rise 9. The Beatnuts - Off The Books 10. Cypress Hill - Hits From The Bong 11. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Mecca & The Soul Brother 12. Black Moon - I Got Cha Opin 13. Smif-N-Wessun - Bucktown 14. Nas - The World Is Yours (Remix)
Wyclef Jeanwas the first from The Fugees to release a solo project.
I got Wyclef Jean Presents the Carnival Featuring the Refugee Allstars from HMV and it possibly etched its name onto my favorite albums of all time list at Apocalypse, the first track after the hilarious courtroom introduction.
I admire the variety of production. Gone Til November is one of hip hop's most beautiful compositions. Anything Can Happen is fantastic. I don't really care what anyone says about We Trying To Stay Alive, I love it.
What I have in Wyclef Jean'sCarnival is a wide range of sounds and styles. The album is a carnival on record. The eclectic nature of Carnival was closest I heard and experienced since the first De La Soul album.
I can name Wyclef Jean as an inspiration for my Suite Delight radio show. When I write about an album that I could discover new things from, The Carnival was recorded for that purpose.
I hadn’t seen or thought of The Boondocks in years.
That was roughly the time when it was airing on cable television and I made every effort to catch as many episodes as I could.I wasn’t even sure of which season the show was at.All that mattered was watching the episodes and soak up as much of the series as I could before the network airing it decided to stop doing so.
I am an admirer of animation, I loved the art work of The Boondocks but had to somewhat brace myself for the satire that went along with it.
I was able to watch the entire first season of The Boondocks in August and saw a number of episodes I had seen years ago.
As biting and humorous as the R. Kelly trial episode is, the episode where Robert Freeman fights the blind man disturbed me slightly when I first saw it and did so again upon my second viewing. The episode with the convict condemned to death row is well written.
Regina King deserves a lot of credit for the show's success. The choice of Samuel L. Jackson & Charlie Murphy as voices for two particular characters is brilliant.Ed Asner’s voice and likeness are extremely effective in the animated series.
It appears the majority of the episodes I saw on cable television years ago were from the first season.With all going well, I should complete the second season of The Boondocks before the year’s end.
A local crate-digger/radio station peer mentioned The Nazz to me so many times that the group managed to edge themselves onto my records wantlist.
Prior to me now seeking out The Nazz sounds, Todd Rundgren`s name was among the super producers of the 1970s that I'd heard about. I was a little intimidated by Todd Rundgren`s name and his musical associations and didn`t investigate his music.
In retrospect, I should have looked into his music since The Isley Brothers covered his Hello It`s Me, the only song of Rundgren`s I knew.
That local lass kept telling me about the first Nazz album any time we met, especially when we were surrounded by records. She had been looking for a copy of their first album for what I believe was at least a year.
I even called her from a Montreal record convention when I came across a pocket of Nazz albums in the hopes that the one she wanted was among them or could take one of them as a worthy substitute.
What officially sealed my fate for the record was knowing there is Hello It's Me on the album.The version of Hello It's Me by The Nazz is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.
If I had heard Open My Eyes before, it would have been courtesy of Nuggets the iconic compilation. Had I fallen in love with the song earlier, I might have been on a collision course with that local lass in trying to find the record rather than assisting her.
She made it known that the first Nazz album made for a long overdue and fitting birthday gift not too long ago.
The Nazz II was my substitute for the first.
If the rest of The Nazz music is as good or better than Hello It's Me or Open My Eyes than I won't wait to make it a birthday present to myself.
Her journey for the album ended but almost surely my quest has just begun.
Pete Rock is one of the most important hip hop producers.
For proof, check out his 1990s remixes and albums with C.L. Smooth.
I was unable to identify sample sources at that time of my life. Although there were remixes and other productions prior, I believe it was after hearing For Pete's Sake from Mecca & The Soul Brother that I understood just how good a producer Pete Rock is. The Suite Delight new time slot isTuesday morning2-3am EST onwww.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.
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