Like a lot of you I’m tired of the media frenzy surrounding Michael Jackson’s death. We know his life was a media circus, must his death be too? Personally speaking, there’s content that I find celebratory and informational (which is what I’ve been posting in my ongoing MJ tribute) and then there’s the gratuitous and self-serving. Because we’ve been deluged with so much lately and I know there are those who’ve grown tired of any coverage I debated whether to post this video clip of Micheal Jackson rehearsing at the Staples Center a few days before his death. Especially after seeing Jermaine’s interview on the Today show I want to make sure I’m respectful of Michael’s memory. So although this video is bittersweet, it shows Michael in a way we all know and love him, singing and dancing. This is the way I choose to remember him so I decided to post the clip. CNN reports that a memorial service for Michael Jackson will take place on Tuesday, July 7th at 10am at the Staples Center. Thanks to anewlis for the video footage.
tracklisting:
Lock You Up N’ Love Fa Days
Everwanting: To Want You To Want
Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder)/(No One’s Gonna Love You, So Don’t Ever Wonder) - The Tribute Cut
Luxury: Cococure
Dancewitme
Fortunate
Changed
…Til The Cops Come Knockin’
Welcome
Gravity: Pushing To Pull
W/As My Girl
Drowndeep: Hula
At the Party
Temporary Nite
The Urban Theme
Matrimony: Maybe You
Sumthin’ Sumthin’
Ascension (Unsung)
On the very short list of “who’s next” Joy Jones would be right at the top. She piqued our interest with her upcoming Godchild album, she captured the strength and vulnerability of Nina Simone with her cover of Be My Husband and now she’s getting funky with her take on James Brown’s Funky Drummer and the spiritual most knew Paul Robeson for Go Down Moses (Let My People Go). Through the beauty of modern music production and the innovation and creativity of Joy Jones soul, we’ve got a free download of Moses Go Down (Funky Drummer). Enjoy the download thanks to Joy. Her new album “Godchild” will be released on July 7th. Check out her myspace page for song previews.
Joy Jones & James Brown - Go Down Moses (Funky Drummer) [download]
What happens when one of the hottest east coast hip hop trios Tanya Morgan meets one of the coolest West Coast duos Keelay and Zaire? You get the So Damn Down Remix. It’s the best of both worlds. Listen and download below.
UPDATE 7/02/09: Eric Roberson’s “The Vault, Vol. 1″ is now available.
Here’s my original post (6/08/09) if you need more info:
Eric Roberson is reissuing his hard to find album The Vault Vol. 1. This is the album before the popular 2004 released The Vault, Vol. 1.5. The Vault 1.0 featuring 11 Erro penned tracks and production from Osunlade and Redhead Kingpin among others quickly became a collector’s item. He discontinued it after selling several songs from the album to other artists including a favorite song of mine, Hold On, which Dwele released on his “Subject” album.
Oh, what the heck. Since I’m having me own little happy re-release moment I’ll go ahead and play both. To the people keeping count, yes this is the 134th time I’ve worked any remote mention of Dwele into a post. Ok, I’ll play another song from The Vault, Vol. 1, One Time ft. Jill Scott. I hope that makes everybody happy. Eric Roberson will be making us happy when he reissues The Vault, Vol. 1 in a few weeks. I’ll keep you posted. Eric Roberson’s new album “Music Fan First” is scheduled to be released on August 25th. We just learned the new album contains 17 songs and features Lalah Hathaway, Sy Smith, Wayna, Brandon Hines and W. Ellington Felton.
Eric Roberson - The Vault, Vol. 1 tracklist
1. She Couldn’t Hear Me
2. Past Paradise
3. Rock With You
4. Please Don’t Leave Me
5. Hold On
6. Rain On My Parade
7. Rebound
8. Should We Try
9. One Time (ft. Jill Scott)
10. When Love Calls
11. Be With You
Let me share the words I just read in an email about Q-Tip aka Kamaal Ibn John Fareed that made me want to jump up and do a sidekick:
New York, NY- In these hard times, we can all stand a ray of hope. Hope in hip-hop now comes from the legendary Q-Tip, he of A Tribe Called Quest fame. His long-delayed album Kamaal the Abstract, slated originally for release in 2001, is finally dropping September 15th on Battery Records. A musical hybrid, Kamaal was commendably avant-garde at the time of its creation. Amazingly, it’s even more apropos in 2009; given the dearth of musical merit and capable MCs in today’s hip-hop, the time is ever-so-right for Tip.
The Q-Tip produced, soul/jazz/funk/rock influenced, live-recorded album featuring Mile Davis sidemen Kenny Garrett and Gary Thomas has been re-mixed and re-mastered for sonic impact but retains the original album artwork. Thank the music Gods (or those midnight vault marauders who freed this treasure). If you haven’t heard Q-Tip’s “Kamaal The Abstract” album or heard about it, you are in for a treat. Listen to the audio of Blue Girl and Feelin’ below and make an offering to those music Gods in the form of buying the album on September 15th so we can receive more of these musical blessings.
Spike Lee’s interview with Katie Couric about Michael Jackson made me smile, laugh and nod my head in agreement so I wanted to share this with you. Spike talks about everything from afros, Osmonds, how the Jackson 5’s music played a role in the birth of his son, dancing for three hours at a Q-Tip DJ’ed party, and his special Michael Jackson iPod. The outspoken director of Michael Jackson’s They Don’t Care About Us video also speaks on race, the negative media portrayal of Michael since his death and what Michael represents and means to our community. In Spike’s words “this is a bad time to bad mouth Michael Jackson around some black folks.” Check it out below.
Oh, you lucky New Yorkers. There’s a free Maxwell concert in New York City on Wednesday, July 8th for the CBS Early Show. It takes place at The Early Show Studio Plaza on 5th avenue, at the corner of 59th street. It’s free, so arrive early. Maxwell will start at 12:00pm EST but they ask you to get there around 10:30am. Be there or be square.
The free concert is just a day after the release of Maxwell’s first in the trilogy album BLACKsummers’night. I’m sure die-hard Maxwell fans will have it memorized enough by then to sing along at the concert.
This is off topic but I wanted to mention this in case you haven’t heard by now. Vibe Magazine has shut down effective yesterday (Tues, June 30) but all is not lost because in a “I want my daddy’s records back” move Quincy Jones vows to buy it back and make it an online publication.
I have to admit I like pretty much everything I’ve heard from Marsha Ambrosius and this new track Heartbreaker from her upcoming August 1st “Yours Truly: Revisited” mixtape (another one?) is no exception, but I’m really frustrated with the length of time it’s taking for her to release a full blown album. Damn you Dre. Well I can’t even rant at Aftermath because on their site (where you can download the song for free) it’s tagged under “former artist.” In all fairness she did just re-release her free Yours Truly mixtape. But enough of my babbling. What do you think of the new song?
Cleveland’s own Conya Doss performs What I’d Do last weekend at the Soul Sister Serenade in Virginia. She gave her background singers some shine too. Class act all the way and yet so underrated. What I’d Do is from Conya’s 4th solid album Still. Conya Doss and Sy Smith will be performing at B.B. Kings in NYC on July 18th.
In this episode “Lifestyles of the Up and Coming,” Jesse Boykins III takes us on a tour of his neighborhood and his home where he recorded The Beauty Created album. [via OKP]
By the way, BETJ Soul Session is premiering Jesse’s ” SunStar” video tonight July 1st @ 6pm.
Checking my tweets last night, I saw that Honey politely nudged me to post the other side of the E-Kim mixtape from last weeks Soul Rewind, but I’m not so convinced that folks are really feenin for it like I’d hoped. When I asked for comments I meant in the hundreds, no, thousands mwuah ah ah ah!
Seriously though, all jokes aside, I’ll try and get that up next week on the strength of Reemoh’s comment alone. For now that’ll have to wait because I’m in Montreal, getting amped about the free Stevie show kicking off the Jazz Festival tonight.
The good news is I’m staying on that Uptown vibe with a clip from Yo MTV raps w/ Fab 5 Freddy, Kid Capri and Ron G giving Jody Watley a free remix. On a related side note, I fondly remember playing the role of Rakim to this song for a grade 8 drama class project with a cute Italian girl named Lisa.
I must warn you in advance, this one’s going to touch you. Michael Jackson’s long time friend and mentor Stevie Wonder pays tribute to the King of Pop. These videos were filmed a day after Michael’s death at Stevie’s concert in Kansas City, Missouri. Thank you Stevie for putting all our collective emotions and words out into the world.
This just in:CNN reports there well be a public viewing for Michael Jackson on Friday at Neverland Ranch and a private memorial service on Sunday. Update: The family is saying NO public viewing on Friday.
Joe’s back with some smoothed out sexy vocals for the ladies and eye candy for the fellas in his new video Magic. The single is from his forthcoming album Signature scheduled to be released on July 14th.
Here’s a tribute to Michael Jackson from ladies of soul Yahzarah and Sy Smith. Each does her own unique interpretation of a Michael Jackson song. Yahzarah’s sweet, jazzy rendition of Billie Jean has convinced me that there is nothing this woman can sing and not make her own. You all know I think she’s absolutely incredible. Speaking of incredible, Sy Smith displays her sense of humor along with those honeyed vocal chords as she sings Show You The Way To Go while sharing her story of meeting Michael Jackson recently. She’s joined by a special guest at the end.
I was just saying yesterday that I find it interesting that soul artists and underground hip hop DJ’s are doing in the best Michael Jackson tributes. I’m sure that’s no coincidence and as I’ve said before, soul music is the heart of music. Michael’s legacy lives on through these artists.
Yolanda Johnson’s “Violet Flower” EP is a favorite so I was thrilled to learn that she’s releasing a new album “Breathing” on Sept 8th. Since we’ve interviewed her the Brooklyn native, daughter of 70’s soul singer Samuel Jonathan Johnson, and cousin to Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson of the Gap Band, was named BET J’s Soul Sessions “Breakthrough Artist of the Year” and her empowering single Individual was used as the theme song for the video show.
Listen to her new single Strut on her SayNow page. After listening to a sneak peak of the new album I can tell you that her knack for combining socially relevant topics with danceable grooves and her exceptional vocal dexterity with quality production has been expanded to a whole new soulful level. With “Breathing” Yolanda is poised to become one of our brightest, shining soul stars. This one is destined to be a favorite too. Keep your ears open for Yolanda Johnson. I’ll keep you posted.
I know you’re inundated with mixtapes these days but there are some that stand out and are worth adding to your collection. We told you about one of those at the end of last year, Marsha Ambrosius’ “Yours Truly.” She’s making her popular mixtape available again, this time without tags. Hopefully this will hold us until Marsha releases new music, which she says she’s working on now.
01 Sunshine ft. Little Brother
02 Dat Shit ft. Busta Rhymes
03 R.I.P. (It’s Over)
04 Murdah f. The Game
05 Forget About You
06 Get You Right
07 Impossible
08 Cloud 9
09 I Lost You
10 Some Type Of Way (Interlude)
11 Co-Star
12 Start…Finish
13 Take Care
14 Get You Right (rmx) [Bonus]
Out-the-box performer Bilal mesmerized the crowd as usual with his appearance this past weekend at NYC’s Tribeca. Check for yourself as he performs favorites Something To Hold On To and Reminisce. Thanks to Honeysoul favorite and band member Daru for keeping us on beat and in the loop.
I only saw the last hour of the BET Awards but based on what I saw and what my fellow tweeps on twitter had to say about earlier show moments (they made the dismal show infinitely more entertaining), fortunately I saw the best parts. The always suave & dapper Maxwell performed Pretty Wings complete with an angelic setting of smoky clouds, falling feathers and girls suspended from the ceiling. I did think I was in heaven listening to him. Next up, the O’Jays had me doing the two-step and wanting to start a Soul Train line in my living room when they performed their classics Let Me Make Love To You, For The Love of Money, and Used To Be My Girl. This my dears is how it’s done. Finally, in the evening’s most heartwarming moment, a clearly distraught Janet Jackson spoke about her big brother Michael. My heart goes out to the Jackson family. Afterward host Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo performed I’ll Be There. I personally prefer this version by Valencia Robinson and wish the tributes were more creative like this one from Dwele. But back to the BET Awards.
What are your thoughts on the show? I thought Maxwell and the O’Jays rocked the mic. Speaking of which, you can vote for your favorite performance of the BET Awards by going here (you can vote more than once by refreshing the page). I’m passing along more contests and campaign info below that may interest you in support of Maxwell and the release of his BLACKsummers’night CD on July 7th. Good luck.
Maxwell Contests & Campaigns:
The MAXWELLfanforum is having a contest to give away VIP passes to see Maxwell perform on the CBS Morning Show on Wed. July 8th. Winners will get spots right at the stage to see Maxwell’s rehearsal and performance (to air at a later date). To enter, complete this online survey.
KISS-FM is sponsoring “Up close and personal with Maxwell 7/7/09″
Enter for a chance for you and a friend to join us for our next Up Close and Personal with Maxwell hosted by Shaila celebrating the release of Maxwell’s long awaited album - “BLACK Summers Night”. ( IN NEW YORK). We will have him in the house on the DAY THE ALBUM DROPS - Be the first to hear it for yourself and get a chance to be in the house with the man himself. Go to their website www.987kissfm.com for further information.
MAXWELL: ONE IN A MILLION campaign
If you are a Maxwell fan, please join us in our goal to get Maxwell to (1) million sales in the first week of release. Buy the first CD from his trilogy BLACKsummers’night on Tuesday July 7, 2009. More on youtube.
I must wholeheartedly thank, acknowledge and encourage all the DJ’s, artists, blogs, websites, journalists and music fans who are keeping the focus on Michael Jackson’s music, where it should be in my opinion. The love we’ve seen for Micheal Jackson displayed from the streets to social networking and his skyrocketing record sales reflect that we are the majority regardless of some of mainstream media’s attempt to focus on the controversy in his life instead of his contribution to music history and his charitable works.
A friend sent me links to an interview Michael Jackson did with Jesse Jackson in 2005. This is the most relaxed and forthcoming I’ve heard him in any interview. The topics run the gamut from his musical inspirations (James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Sammy Davis Jr.), giving credit for his dance moves to black kids, his lack of a childhood and his acknowledgment of Africa as the origin of all music. Contrary to popular belief Michael Jackson knew who he was and where he came from. He speaks a lot on Africa and in the last part of the interview he talks about how the beauty of Africa and it’s people are often overlooked and how he planned to live his dreams there.
Of course he discusses his music, telling us how disco inspired his biggest selling album “Thriller,” his affinity for marrying music and visual art through film and his extensive music catalog that includes songs from the Beatles, Elvis, Little Richard, Sly & The Family Stone and more. On a personal note he talks about the pain of accusations against him and proclaims his innocence. There are six parts to this interview but they are well worth the listen. I’ve posted the first three here and links to the other three below.
Michael Jackson Interview with Jesse Jackson Pt 4 | Pt 5 | Pt 6
The Michael Jackson tributes are starting to roll in. Take a look at these from two very soulful artists, Dwele and Raphael Saadiq. In Dwele’s creative homemade video there’s a slow build up but you’ll hear it all start to come together smoothly. I especially like the ending. At his show on Thursday night in Tokyo, Raphael Saadiq takes us back to the J5 days with I Want You Back, footwork included.
If you missed the DJ tributes to Michael Jackson, I’ve posted them below the videos or check my ongoing Michael Jackson post for more goodies.
Michael Jackson - The Soulful Years from DJ Jaycee [download] [tracklist]
Ohsokool presents: Dear Michael Part One [download] [tracklist]
Michael Joseph Jackson - A Tribute from EJ Flavors [download]
J Period’s “Man Or The Music,” A Tribute To Michael Jackson [download]
Michael Jackson: Remixed [download]
DJ Slimm - R.I.P. Mike Jackson [download]
Cookin’ Soul Presents Michael Jackson (Tribute to the King of Pop) [download]
