PRESS RELEASE: The Revival gives a candid glimpse into the first meeting of legendary Hip-Hop pioneer Roxanne Shante and veteran Philly emcee Bahamadia, as they trade stories of their struggles and triumphs in the industry over their long careers. It also shows the exchange of lessons between them and up and coming artists DJ Shortee, Eternia, Stacy Epps, and Invincible. This short documentary, a collage of performances and behind the scenes footage, was filmed and directed by Invincible while on the road in Europe as part of We-B Girlz all women in independent Hip-Hop tour. The largest all female Hip-Hop tour of its kind, it spanned over three weeks, six countries, and featured dozens of female artists who performed for tens of thousands of supporters.
DJ MONTY THE DOPE SOUND IN THE STUDIO WITH PRINCESS OF CONTROVERSY RECORDING" WHY NOT TODAY".
"WHEN I THOUGHT ABOUT DOING THIS SONG I KNEW I WANTED TO RELEASE SOMETHING BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR TO SHOW PEOPLE THAT I HAVE NOT LOST MY CREATIVE TOUCH.
WHY NOT TODAY IS SUCH A FUN SONG WITH A LAID BACK FEEL TO IT WITH SUCH A DEEP MEANING BEHIND IT AND I KNOW THAT ALL OF MY FANS AND FRIENDS WILL ENJOY IT.
DJ MONTY AND I REALLY PUT OUR SOULS INTO THIS ONE"
PRINCESS OF CONTROVERSY
I HAD THE PLEASURE OF BEING IN THE STUDIO LAST NIGHT WITH "EVOLUTION SOUL MUSIC'S OWN PRINCESS OF CONTROVERSY AS SHE PUT DOWN THE FINISHING TOUCHES ON HER NEW SONG "WHY NOT TODAY" PRODUCED BY YOURS TRULY DJ MONTY WITH THE DOPE SOUND.
THIS IS ONE OF MANY GOODIES PRINCESS OF CONTROVERSY WILL BE RELEASING IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS LEADING UP TO THE MAJOR RELEASE OF HER SOPHOMORE ALBUM "SOUL HOP" WHICH WILL DROP THE FIRST OR SECOND QUARTER OF 2010.
ALSO LOOK OUT FOR "BREAKTHROUGH" WHICH IS AN ORIGINAL THEATRICAL PLAY WRITTEN BY PRINCESS OF CONTROVERSY AND WILL BE OPENING IN MARCH 2010.
"WHY NOT TODAY" IS A LOVE STORY ON WAX AND WE WANTED TO CONVEY HOW RELATIONSHIPS HAVE A BEGINNING,A MIDDLE,AND SOMETIMES AN END BUT THEY ARE STORIES THAT SHOULD BE TOLD NONETHELESS.
LOOK FOR "WHY NOT TODAY" TO PREMIERE THURSDAY JAN 31ST ON THE LINKS I HAVE LISTED BELOW.
ERIC ROBERSON FEATURING LALAH HATHAWAY:DEALING(VIDEO)
THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT ERIC ROBERSON IS THE MOST UNDERRATED SINGER/SONGWRITER IN THE R&B GAME AND COMBINED WITH THE BEAUTIFUL LALAH HATHAWAY THEY COMBINE THEIR TALENTS TO CREATE A GREAT SONG WITH A INTRICATE VISUAL INTERPRETATION.
BIG UPS TO ERRO AND LALAH FOR GRAMMY NOMINATIONS TOO...IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING BIG BROTHER AND SISTER BUT HARD WORK PAYS OFF.
PICK UP ERIC ROBERSON'S ALBUM "MUSIC FAN FIRST" IN STORES AND ONLINE NOW
THURSDAY'S SOUL MUSIC SHINE(EXHIBIT 7):HERB ALPERT
BEFORE THERE WAS COOL THERE WAS HERB ALPERT.....ALONG WITH HIS GROUP KNOWN AS "TJB"(TIJUANA BRASS) ALPERT MADE PLAYING THE TRUMPET COME OFF AS COOL AND SLICK PLAYING THE SAXOPHONE.
Alpert began trumpet lessons at about the age of eight and played at dances as a teenager. Acquiring an early wire recorder in high school, he experimented with recording on this crude equipment. After graduating from Fairfax High School in 1952, he joined the U.S. Army and frequently performed at military ceremonies. After his service in the Army, Alpert tried his hand at acting, but eventually settled on pursuing a career in music. While attending the University of Southern California in the 1950s, he was a member of the USC Trojan Marching Band for two years. He graduated with a BM in 1954.
Shortly after that he assembled the tiajana brass band and use it to assemble his army of music to spread around the world.
He is also founder a&m records which he co-owned with his friend Jerry moss and later sold to polygram records.
His song "Rise" was sampled by "The Notorious Big" in the song "Hypnotize"
So last week I put the soul shine spotlight on the legendary “Heath Brothers” who are one of the first families of jazz so I thought it would be appropriate to stay in the same lane of family and music. James Mtume is one of the best examples of genetics in music,he is the son of jazz saxophonist Jimmy Heath(see “The Heath Brothers” from the previous soul shine)and a musical genius who’s sound has touched just about every genre you could possibly think of. Maybe you might recognize his name or the his group but you have heard his influence before. James Mtume’s group emerged in 1973 on the Third Street record label where they record 3 albums on,It’s group consisted of James Mtume(percussion),Tawatha Agee,Raymond Jackson,Phillip Field,Ed Moore,And Leslie Ming.Over the course of their time together as a group they not only released music of their own but they also released music for Stephanie Mills,Roberta Flack,Lou Rawls,Phylis Hyman, and Donny Hathaway.In 1982 they released their most successful album “Juicy Fruit” which spawned their biggest hit single named after the album.(see The Notorious B.I.G:Juicy and Keyshia Cole’s:Let it go,Ect) After “Juicy Fruit” the group went on to have subpar success and Mtume disbanded while it’s founder James Mtume went on to pursue his own musical endeavors. Not very much is known of the endeavors of the other former members after the group disbanded but James Mtume has had success in producing for other artists as well working on television themes.
Do the knowledge on Mtume….If There was no Mtume there would be no big Biggie.
THURSDAY'S SOUL MUSIC SHINE(EXHIBIT 5):THE HEATH BROTHERS
THE HEATH BROTHERS WERE AMAZING!!!!!! combine Jimmy (tenor saxophone), Percy (bass), and Albert "Tootie" Heath (drums) and pianist Stanley Cowell in Philadelphia and you get jaw dropping classy as well as raw jazz music.What makes the heath brothers so inspiring is that they were also really brothers(see brotherly jazz:the heath brothers dvd(2004)) which is where that spiritual intellect of the sounds is spawned from.They are known for their vast knowledge of improvisational jazz as well as other musical genres that they do not shy away from displaying.
The group was formed in 1975 and currently has two surviving members in the band(jimmy and tootie)but they have had great musicians join their ranks along the way such as James Mtume(Jimmy's heath's son and founder of the r&b group MTUME(see:"juicy Fruit")and Guitarist Tony Purrone.
Also See The Heath Brother's:Smiling Billy Suite which was the sole source of inspiration behind A tribe called quest's Q-tip to Produce "one love" for Nas on his Freshmen lp "Illmatic" which 15 years later is still a classic!!!
One love is an example of what can happen when good music from the past reaches hands with good music from the present to create timeless music for the future.
THURSDAY'S SOUL MUSIC SHINE(EXHIBIT 4):ROTARY CONNECTION
AHHHHHH!(EXHALE)THE 1970'S,WOODSTOCK,POT,NIXON,VIETNAM,MONTGOMERY WARD,AND PSYCHEDELIC SOUL?WHAT?COULD SUCH A THING EXIST?
YES AND ROTARY CONNECTION WAS THE ANSWER.
THE MEMBERS OF ROTARY CONNECTION WERE: Minnie Riperton Phil Upchurch Mitch Aliotta Sidney Barnes Bobby Simms Charles Stepney Kenny Venegas Tom Donlinger Jim Donlinger Jim Nyeholt Judy Hauff Shirley Wahls Jon Stocklin
THE BAND WAS FORMED IN CHICAGO IN 1966 UNDER CHESS RECORDS MUSIC LABEL(SEE:ETTA JAMES,MUDDY WATERS,MOMS MABELY,KOKO TAYLOR,JOHNNY GUITAR WATSON) TO TAP INTO A MORE PROGRESSIVE VEIN OF MUSIC.THE BAND FUSED ROCK,POP,AND SOUL AND ALLOWED PEOPLE TO USE THEIR IMAGINE.
AND ALSO SOMETHING VERY INTERESTING IS THAT MINNIE RIPPERTON WAS THE RECEPTIONIST FOR CHESS RECORDS BEFORE SHE BECAME A SINGER.
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