realm's word

Friday again and to kick things off, some chilled vibes for all you real Hip Hoppers.

Hope you enjoy... :)

When I was 11 years old, All-4-One covered a song and it was a global hit.
The song... 'I Swear'. I don't know a single person who doesn't either know or love the track. I listened to the LP on rotation for a long time and to this day know every single word to the album. They were in direct competition with Boyz II Men.

All-4-One had more success with 'I Can Love You Like That'.

Both hits were cover songs of country singer John Michael Montgomery. It seems that Rhythm and Blues works well with country music - just ask Whitney Houston who had major success with 'I Will Always Love You'.

All-4-One seemed to do most of their best commercial success whilst covering other writers' songs.

But they're back in a big way now, mature and a polished act.
'No Regrets' sees the group make a very welcome return, albeit they are making typical soulful ballads, but who cares...any group who've given so many people years of musical happiness from such classic previous material, deserve your attention and the new LP delivers.

Support good music, buy the album.

I mentioned a while ago that Toni Braxton is due for a return this year - one of my first ever posts in fact.

Well, seems that true to form, songs are being 'leaked'.

Leaking songs seems to be artists way of providing a viral form of free PR.... let the world have some free music and think it's exclusive. The idea works.

Thanks to our friends at Honey Soul, here are two of the forthcoming songs.

I like them both and they really are vintage Toni.
No doubt she's making this album for the same reasons as the last album - she's broke. As I understand it, Toni makes music for the sole purpose of being able to eat, which is fair enough - although a bit of passion for the art form wouldn't go amiss.

Here you go are the two new tracks and a couple of classic Toni cuts for good measure:

It's about time I had a rant and recent music related news has certainly fuelled the fire.

Kanye West.
Beyonce Knowles.

Two of the biggest artists probably on the planet at the moment. Recent happenings at the Mtv VMA's have propelled both artists to the news headlines. Kanye disgraced himself by barging on to the stage when country newbie Taylor Swift was collecting her award. Kanye swiped the MIC and talked of how wonderful Beyonce's video was, whilst Taylor stood in disbelief as some arrogant rapper ruined what should have been the highlight of her career. The camera's panned to Beyonce who also looked shocked and embarrassed - later Beyonce in fact called Taylor to the stage whilst collecting her own gong so that Taylor could finish her speech.

Next day, Kanye appeared on Jay Leno and instead of performing only (as already planned), he briefly spoke with Leno, who in turn asked all sorts of questions to which Kanye 'appeared' choked, remorseful and upset at his actions the previous night.

I still think that Kanye told Leno what to ask, bringing up 'what would your mother think?' as a question. Now, given Kanye had to stop a recent show in Manchester after becoming tearful about his mother, I find it highly unlikely that Leno would ask such a thing without being told to. Therefore, I think the award ceremony debacle was a PR stunt by and for Kanye where he'd be able to get lots of publicity and then show his 'real' side next day during a public apology, thus maintaining his wild persona as well as his human side.

For what it's worth, Beyone did well to show her disdain for Kanye's actions. To boot, I know how talented she is as a singer. But that's all you'll get from me when it comes to Beyonce positivity and praise. She is to me, the culprit for the demise of the original Destiny's Child - it was Beyonce's ego that lead to the original members leaving the group and again it was the Knowles family intervention that further split the group, leaving us with the trio; Knowles, Rowland and Williams. Their music got progressively worse and more irritating and Beyonce increasingly made herself the lead singer of the group. I understand that her voice is reason for her lead singer status, but the original group managed without her in this position very well indeed.

Kanye's said Beyonce made one of the best video's of all time.
I couldn't care less about meaningless music videos - ever notice how the worst songs have the best videos?

Good videos don't constitute decent music. I'm sick of this 'independent woman' sh#t she constantly spouts.
The lyrics: 'if you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it' totally contradict her message... Beyonce refers to herself as 'it', an object. I'd respect Beyonce's talent if she didn't act like some diva b#tch with a giant chip on her shoulder.

The only one creating gender inequality is Beyonce - making issues out of subjects that were only pertinent 50 years ago. If you think that men always treat you badly, find a different man - you're an attractive and successful person - what are you scared of?

As for Kanye West - he was treading on very thin ice in my view...way before the VMA stunt after releasing the musical atrocity that is 808's and Heartbreaks.

My money's on Kanye releasing a collaboration track with Taylor Swift in the future. If that happens, my theory that this was a purposeful PR stunt will be proven. I'm done with Kanye for good.

I’m not biased when it comes to the geographical origin of my musicians, nor am I patriotic for my home country, England. That said, let’s take a look into British Soul and why it stays true to Soul roots.

Clearly, soul as a genre does not originate from the UK and is certainly a more niche market for the UK than it is in the States. With smaller audience numbers comes less money, with less money in turn comes less desire for newcomers to make it and so the cycle continues and the filtration system is ongoing. What this has done for the UK soul scene is in fact a blessing, in my opinion. You see, those Brit Soul ‘originators’ from the 90’s era are all still around – not half bad for ‘copycat’ Soul artists. The reality is that yes, influence was taken from USA based music, but where did the USA music take influence from? It certainly didn’t just appear out of nowhere and given the USA’s relatively short history as a country, their music in fact is a blend of various cultures – Europe, Africa and more. So the UK Soul scene is therefore not a copycat and comes with full credibility. Writing this, and thinking about the pre-millennia music, the amount of talent in the UK – a small island – is quite frankly, astounding.

Beverly Knight, who last night launched her latest album, first cut an LP in 1995. Bands such as Soul II Soul and The Brand New Heavies have both recorded some benchmark tracks and solo artists: Seal, Omar, Sade and Mica Paris all continue to make fine music. Other contributors such as the late (GREAT!) Lynden David Hall, Des’Ree, Maxi Priest, Incognito, Tony Momrelle and Young Disciples also get major credit, not to forget Jamiroquai. What makes me most proud is that every artist listed above stuck to their original game plan, making great music and conforming as little as possible to the media hype which so often places strain on musical integrity.

So, what keep the UK’s soul scene pure? Clearly, the 1990’s were dominated by Brit Rock and the emergence of Hip Hop, not forgetting the wave of Boy and Girl Bands. Music was taking a new direction and the Jazz, Funk and Soul derivative genres were given room to breathe, cross pollinate and bloom without ulterior motive. Acid Jazz became prevalent and cool vibes emanated from the quiet corners of the UK’s music scene – those ‘in the know’, knew something. Thankfully, good music always gets its reward and some UK Soul got critical acclaim, filling the pockets of the necessary record companies and subsequently allowing the Brit Soul scene to be credible enough in the music industry for major labels to sign up artists.

Yet today we still see these artists maintain their original essence, for this I personally am thankful and respectful of, not to mention full of admiration for the hard work and perseverance.

Enjoy a selection of UK soul music and other derivatives on my Happy Friday Spotify playlist album... clearly Spotify limits the options, but there are a few gems there... simply open Spotify, and paste this into the search bar: spotify:user:gavvyb:playlist:4zhIG7Z21pZ4j0UzxZ7VXY

When I was five years old, De La Soul started making hits. They’re still touring and still recording. I remember seeing them live and was impressed by their ability to get the crowd going, their understanding of one another and the sheer skill involved when they would rotate the DJ!

As a 20 year anniversary, Mike Boogie & Terry Urban have put together a tribute album.

A more recent track by De La is ‘Baby Phat’ and I’ve always listened, enjoying the beat, the way the rap flows with the stop-start beat and the humorous lyrics. Their music is never too serious, always tuneful and true to their original form. They’ve influenced Hip Hop in a way which few else can claim and it seems they will carry on forever.

Emcee ‘Skillz’ has been enlisted along with one of my ‘ones to watch’ for 2009, ‘Colin Munroe’ to give their own rendition of Baby Phat.

I’m not breaking any news, the good folks at illRoots already leaked this, but I cant get enough of this track. It’s been reworked extremely well and is more cover-version than remix.

Download, listen and enjoy.

Anyone alive and conscious in the 90's will have at minimum heard the music from songstresses 'Brownstone'.
Tracks like 'If you love me' and 'Grapevyne' put them instantly on the map but after some group politics, the trio's shelf life was hit hard, never to fully recover, try as they did.

For the full story, hit up Wikipedia to get a full insight.

Today I've been on a 90's nostalgia frame of mind and with thanks to YouTube who in my opinion doesn't get the thanks that it deserves - lets be honest, how lucky are we to be able to access all this old lost video footage - I've got some nice old-skool (ish) vids for your mind.

Enjoy....

CRAZY vocals from Brownstone..


Ginuwine for your mind


Blaque Ivory - who are apparently recording NOW, ready for a 2009 release!!!!!!


702

I gave up on 'Rap' some years ago for a combination of reasons which all retrospectively seem to point towards my seeming accelerating age.
That said, I still listen to the Rap music from 'my day' and prior whilst attempting to remain open minded to the new stuff, but I cant help but feel like Rap music reached its peak about 5 years ago and the newer stuff is regurgitated carbon copy music. Substance went out of Rap a long time ago and that's fine, most music starts with good intention and develops into something else as demand presents money making opportunity.

Based upon my ears being tuned into alternate stations, it's no surprise that much of the current work bypasses the Dj Realm radar. I stay in touch up to a point.

Today I discovered Slaughterhouse thanks to Talib Kweli's Twitter. I respect Talib and he said Slaughterhouse are dope, so I thought I'll give it a go most especially as he had mentioned other 2009 releases of high quality including Sa-Ra and Maxwell - therefore he and I are on some sort of similar wavelength.
The name Slaughterhouse indicates a not so fluffy musical direction. Fine by me.
Turns out Slaughterhouse is a group formed of Royce Da 5'9'', Joell Ortiz, Joe Budden and Crooked I. All of the above artists have style, experience and undeniable ability in their own rights - whether you like them or not (and I for one never bothered listening to Joe Budden much or Crooked I for that matter. But Joell Ortiz and Royce are both awesome, by anyones standards.

The album hits hard, yes its aggressive but it's full of beats that scream that Slaughterhouse weren't looking for the generic formula and of course the lyrics, whilst 'gansta' are well written and delivered with fury.
Yes, it's full of your 'Ho', 'Bitch', 'N...' and the usual terms associated with Rap music. This isn't Hip Hop, it's Rap and designed to get you hyped...and it works. It's the first Rap album I've enjoyed in a while, for all of the wrong reasons, but it is what it is. I for one was entertained.

Spotify URL (paste this in your Spotify search): spotify:album:3to46oYyRXJq3TPZNr7MVk

Yes, I’ve given Vikter Duplaix enough ‘props’ on this blog.
But given my recent disappointment after a certain new album by another of my most favoured Neo Soul artists, I’ve decided that I wish to keep positive.
After all, I’ve written of my acceptance for artists who are ‘indie soul’ and make the crossover to mainstream – everyone’s got to eat.

More on the above matter to follow, no doubt.

For now, it gives me great pleasure to see that one of my bestest artists has provided a soothing relief to his fans fears by allowing for a FREE download of his newest track which continues to follow his non conformist form of music. Thankfully, Vikter Duplaix couldn’t care less about conforming to mainstream sounds, instead opting to be himself.
I know Vik is recording a new album and the single ‘Electric Love’ makes me think that I won’t be disappointed upon its immanent release. Although, I thought the same thing when I heard a snippet of Eric Roberson’s ‘Borrow You’ a few weeks ago...
‘Yes! A good new album this way comes’ my mind told me.

Alas last week, my ears disagreed, regretting to inform my brain that ‘Music Fan First’ was a massive let down, despite a few decent tracks. I don't blame Eric Roberson, he deserves commercial success. I'm just disappointed as a long term fan.

Eric Roberson review to follow, if I can bring myself to go through the hurt of listening to it once again – having done this a few times over the last week, I’m inclined to give it a miss, along with the October gig of Erro which I had intended on attending.
Sigh... It seems that I've managed to contradict my earlier statement, Eric Roberson clearly upset me enough to discuss him on a post initially intended to inform of another artists newest effort. Apologies. I digress, by nature.

Go to Vikter Duplaix’s website for a free download of his great new single... you won’t be disappointed, this I can assure you.

Click on www.vikterduplaix.com for the free download.... then buy his album when it's out.