New Jack Swing - The Unknown Legacy

Those who fail to learn their history are doomed to repeat it. OK, this topic is not so extreme, but you get the point.

In a recent debate over measuring certain artists against each other, I began to realize that often times these arguments are based on one's generation. Those who feel a sense of nostalgia over a certain genre, artist tend to hold that feeling very close to them. It reminds them of where they were when they heard a certain song on the radio or first watched a music video (e.g. Michael Jackson's Motown 25 performance and/or Janet Jackson's Super Bowl performance).

This brings me to my original intention of this blog: recognition. With all due respect to Dr. Dre and Kanye West, arguably the most influential producers of the past 30 years have been Teddy Riley, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (pictured). The former members of The Time, Jam and Lewis were no doubt greatly influenced by the group's all-seeing maestro, Prince. What Gamble and Huff were to the 70s (the innovators of the "Philly Soul" sound), Jam and Lewis were to the 80s. Some purists looked down on their emphasis on electronics, but nonetheless, their fingerprints were all over some of the best songs of the decade.

Now as for Teddy Riley, there are few producers/songwriters that are as overlooked as the creative genius behind New Jack Swing. An often forgotten genre/time, it can be credited with revolutionizing modern R&B music. If you name a modern R&B star (Beyonce, Usher, etc), their sound is the new generation of New Jack; urban beats with an ode to hip hop. For a quick description of the New Jack era, one would only need to check the discography of groups like Guy and New Edition and artists like R.Kelly and Mary J. Blige, the Queen of Hip Hop Soul (a derivative of New Jack Swing).

Those who think P-Diddy invented the remix should know when he was Sean Combs and under the wing of Andre Harrell at Uptown Records, Puffy took his cues from the New Jack movement that he heard on every urban radio station. When the elements of solid, upbeat rhythms meet easy to remember choruses/bridges then you have the perfect marriage of music. Riley was able to maximize on the trends of the time and put it into musical form.

So spare a thought to Teddy Riley, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis in the musical history of our music.

The Death of Black Radio

Can it be that it was all so simple then? There was a point in time where Black radio stations were the center of the community, dispensing information about political events, providing social commentary as well as playing the latest and greatest in music.

Brash and outspoken, radio personalities kept people dancing and informed in the same hour, and became celebrities in their own right, none more so than Washington, D.C.'s own, Petey Greene. Greene, (pictured) made famous by Don Cheadle in the movie Talk To Me, was just one of those celebrities. Outlandish and at times profane, Greene was also an instrumental voice in the inner city at a time of social unrest and chaos.

He and other DJs now seem like relics of the past, unknown to most modern listeners of radio. Today's radio is homogeneous, with little distinction between various "urban" stations, and totally devoid of political content. A sign of the times or a deliberate dumbing down of society?

Part of the blame can be laid at the feet of massive deregulation of the telecommunications industry. In short, it became more common for a few communications conglomerates to dominate the airwaves like never before. Local radio stations were bought up or bought out and in its place there was a replacement that was deemed 'safe' for the masses. The 80s (the heyday of Ronald Reagan and conservatism), saw conglomerates like Clear Channel wrest control of the radio airwaves, and although they're most popular genre of choice was what they deemed "Urban", it has now become what the Notorious B.I.G. used to call R&B, "rap and bullshit".

Fans of artists like Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Little Brother and the like had to search for alternative routes to find the music of their choice (e.g. Pandora and various downloading sites), while mainstream radio became the home of artists who were champions of capitalism, urban violence and individualism. What the radio decided was "hot" became so and propelled lesser artists to greater heights than their more "underground" contemporaries.

Radio play lists have now become homogeneous with the same 8-10 artists garnering all of the airtime. Political insight? Rarely if ever. Events that are trumpeted on local radio stations cater to entertainment. Morning shows have been overrun by gossip queens and rumor, adding to the negativity of the community.

Thankfully, there's always a solution. New artists not given proper airplay have become the fugitive slaves of modern music using the Underground Railroad of word of mouth to get themselves heard (thank God for Pandora). The younger generation who no nothing but the "what's hot" syndrome might never be saved, but then again, it might just be that I'm an old man.

Artist of the Month - Erykah Badu

Some artists are masters at reinvention. A chosen few are able to constantly challenge the conception of "art" and "music" in ways others are afraid or unable to accomplish. Fortunately for fans of music, Erykah Badu has no fear.

A native of South Dallas, Badu (born Erica Wright) has been at the forefront of the neo-soul movement since her groundbreaking album, Baduizm, debuted in 1997, an album of immense quality and depth. Since then, Badu has been able to distinguish herself from her soul contemporaries in numerous ways; her songs sometimes resemble impromptu jam sessions and her lyrical topics are vast and substantially introspective.

Her newest album, Return of the Ankh was released late last month and her fans rushed to the stores to see what she would do next. Prior to the release, she debuted the music video of 'Window Seat', which displays Badu at her eccentric best, stripping down to the bare essentials while walking through Dealey Plaza (site of the JFK assassination) amongst shocked onlookers.

Typical Badu.

Ever-changing, she personifies the new soul movement in all its glory.

Saturday Night Music Club - a review

It's not often that we go 'off-site' for the Music Club, but sometimes, people insist on hosting and who am I to deny them that right? Last week's event was hosted by Music Club veterans Anthony and Marosi White at their lovely home in the south area. Lots of new faces made their way to the event and we hope to see them again.

Our theme was 'Song from a Soundtrack', which brought up some very good material to work with. Most of our 80's babies provided us with soundtracks from such movies as Soul Food, the Nutty Professor and The Best Man. For others, 80's classics like The Karate Kid and Dirty Dancing provided the music.

In all 34 people made their appearance for the March edition and we hope to keep it moving for next month.

Album of the Month - The Boomerang Soundtrack

The greatest of them all?

Quiet possibly.

True, my personal bias invades this review due to the fact that this is in my personal Top 10 for movies, but one cannot deny the excellence of the soundtrack that accompanied the movie, which starred Eddie Murphy, Halle Berry and Robin Givens.

The year was 1992 and Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds was at the height of his musical prowess. His emerging solo career notwithstanding, his label, LaFace (co-founded with L.A. Reid), was changing the sound of R&B music. The collaborators were given full control of the album and what was created was a soul/new jack masterpiece. The album was successful in the mainstream (four songs charted quite high) and also contained some really solid love ballads ("Tonight Is Right" by Keith Washington and "There U Go" by Johnny Gill, to name a few).

While the 90s were the heyday of movie soundtracks (some which accompanied really bad movies), the beauty of Boomerang is how the soundtrack flows so effortlessly with the movie itself. An album so well conducted that it still stands the test of time despite being released over 15 years ago.

What The Music Club is Listening To

Erykah Badu - New Amerykah
Duffy - Rockferry
John Legend - Evolver
Daddy's Little Girl Soundtrack
Sergio Mendes - Encanto
Saturday Night Music Club - January
Goapele - Change It All
The Black Keys - Attack and Release
Sade - Soldier of Love

Saturday Night Music Club for February

It's hard to get 20 people in my apartment. On Saturday night, we crammed 34 music listeners into apartment 178 in Natomas. The theme was "Groups That Should Have Stayed Together", a tricky category, yet the perfectly capable members of the S.N.M.C. were able to come through with 16 tracks for the mix.

Our travelers came from all areas of Northern California; from Lathrop to Dublin to even San Francisco showing that a good thing is hard to pass up. We also had our friend Tommie Webb bring some products from the Luxury Bathhouse located in Davis for display. All in all, another successful event. Next month? On to Anthony and Marosi's in the south area.