Com-un

Common Sense from the city of wind is a Chicago-born rapper who focuses on messages of social injustice and love rather than pickin up hoes and droppin dimes. A vegan, Com’s liberal senses shine through in his music. He refuses to conform to the stale mold of mainstream hip-hop and does his own thing. Around since the mid 90’s, Common has worked with many great producers: J Dilla, ?uestlove, and more recently, Kanye West. Although his latest album, Finding Forever is stellar, Common’s masterpiece is 2005’s Be.

 Be begins with an upright bass line and ends with poetry. See that very often in the rap game? Throughout the CD, Common manages to flow about everything from fatherhood and drug dealing to God and Love. The X factor on this album has got to be producer Kanye West who throws in tons of great soul samples(Gaye’s “God Is Love”, Ahmad Jamal’s “Ghetto Child”) along with hot beats that make each track very unique. One of the biggest problems I have with the rap of today is the lost concept of an “album.” Rappers seem to work with every producer in the world and throw together a sprawling, disjunct collection of tracks with one standout track and 17 others that are pretty whack. This is not the case with Be. There isn’t a weak track to be found, and at 42 minutes and 11 tracks, it is very immediate and commanding.

Be also features a very interesting collection of collaborations. John Mayer sings the hook on “Go”, John Legend plays piano and sings on “Faithful” and “They Say”, The Last Poets do their thing on “The Corner”, and Kanye West contributes his flow on many tracks. The album also ends, like every Common album, with Com’s father Lonnie Lynn(former ABA basketball player) reciting a poem.

I have had the very fortunate opportunity to check out Common twice since the release of Be. Let me tell you, the dude can put on a show. From bustin out his b-boy moves to freestyling for a good 10 minutes, Common and his amazing 3 piece band(drums, DJ, keys) blaze through hits without lettin' up. If you ever get a chance, check this guy out, you won’t be sorry.

You also may know Common from his recent endeavor in the acting world. Appearing in Smoking Aces and American Gangster, Com is a fairly decent actor that has a few cool films on track for the new year. Dude also used to date Erykah Badu and is currently with She-Beast Serena Williams.

My favorite track on the album has got to be the title track, “Be.” It is so refreshing to hear a modern day poet at the mic. The way rap is supposed to be:

 

                                I want to be as free as the spirits of those who left

I'm talking Malcom, Coltrane, my man Yusef

Through death grew conception

New breath grew resurrection

For moms, new steps in her direction

In the right way

Told inside is where the fight lay

And everything a nigga do may not be what he might say

Chicago nights stay, stay on the mind

But I write many lives and lay on these lines

Wave the signs of the times

Many say the grind's on the mind

Shorties blunted-eyed and everyone wanta rhyme

Bush pushing lies, killers immortalized

We got arms but won't reach for the skies

Waiting for the Lord to rise

I look into my daughter's eyes

And realize that I'ma learn through her

The Messiah, might even return through her

If I'ma do it, I gotta change the world through her

Furs and a Benz, gramps wantin 'em

Demons and old friends, pops they hauntin' him

The chosen one from the land of the frozen sun

When drunk nights get remembered more than sober ones

Walk like warriors, we were never told to run

Explored the world to return to where my soul begun

Never looking back or too far in front of me

The present is a gift

                                                  and I just wanna BE, BE, BE

If somebody ever asks you, “Yo man, why you listen to that rap crap? It's ust demeaning to women and ain’t original. That stuff ain’t music.” You let them listen to this track, it can speak for you.

We need more cats like Common in the rap game.

Until whenever,

BD

Rawb-en Th-ik

Robin Thicke, son of famous Growing Pains actor Alan Thicke, is a popular white R&B artist(oxymoron) who perfectly mixes falsetto-filled blue-eyed soul with contemporary hip-hop beats. His latest album, The Evolution of Robin Thicke, is jam packed with head-bobbing joints packed full of melody. Primarily piano-driven, Thicke loves to switch into “Earth, Wind and Fire” mode, causing girls everywhere to take off all of their clothes. Thicke is also heavily influence by Prince, exemplified by the track names, where he switches words like Two to 2 and You to U, which was fairly commonly seen on old records made by the little one(Prince is like 5 feet tall).

On bangin tracks like “All Night Long”(featuring New Orleans born Lil’Wayne on a few verses, where he manages to send a shout out to “all the girls who ain’t got no panties on”) and “Shooter”(also featuring Weezy), Thicke features heavy hand claps with tons of ethnic percussion and dramatic synths to create the effect of a huge party that yo ass ain’t be at. Thicke also manages to throw in some salsa on one track, entitled “Everything I Can’t Have”

 

You probably are most familiar with the track “Lost Without You”, written for his wife, actress Paula Patton (super-fine). It oozes sexy. Anybody that can use a tabla and triangle in the beat and make the song funky-sexy gets tons of respect in my book. On another note, Oprah heavily featured Thicke on one of her “Favorite Things” show, having him perform the song live on air. Anybody who can make Oprah get all googly-eyed is doing something right. Of course, as with anything featured on Oprah’s show (Dr. Phil, throw-up), The Evolution Of Robin Thicke blew up and went on to sell a gazillion records. But this is all beside the point, as this album is the real deal.

Thicke is fairly confident in creating fairly suggestive lyrics. Take the song “Teach U A Lesson” for example:

“You feel so good / You smell so good / You feel so warm / Just like I knew you would / I can’t let you go / You were late to school / I’m gunna have to see you after class / You been a bad girl / Someone’s gunna have to teach you a lesson”

Two words. Damn boo.

I had the opportunity to check out Robin Thicke live this summer when he opened for Beyonce (don’t hate, girl got moves), and ya boy can put on one hell of a show. He’s got some pretty smooth moves full of crotch grabbing and finger-pointing that drive the ladies crazy. He also isn’t afraid to let his ultra-talented band turn it loose and rock the house, which is a refreshing deviation from the sick R&B drummers stuck playing to a plethora of loops. He also was perfectly in pitch all night long.

My favorite track on the record is the 6-minute “2 The Sky” that goes from slow and simple to almost out of control back to an outro full of smooth harmonies. You can really tell that there are no loops or drum machine on this track and that a live drummer is actually playing the whole song. Gasp!

Also, if you like this record, check out his first record, entitled Beautiful World, that is almost equally funky. You won’t regret it.

Keep doin yo thang, Robin.

Until Whenever,

BD

Jaw-shhhh Rouws-uh

Josh Rouse’s Nashville, released in 2005, is the perfect album to listen to while driving home to a beautiful setting sun after a long day’s work. The album has such a perfect relaxing feel that always seems to make me feel perfectly content.

Rouse is a very prolific American songwriter that seems to never run out of great material. Josh seems to drop either an album or an EP every year, none of them lacking in substance. His first “mainstream” album, 1972, featured songs inspired by the year of his birth, and is also worth checking out. After releasing a live CD, Josh and his wife began having marital problems and ended up divorcing. As a result of his divorce, Josh decided to begin a new life in Puerto de Santa Maria in Spain. Yet, before he left, he decided to make a goodbye CD to his beloved city of Nashville, where he had spent the last decade.

Full of slide guitar and great lyrics, Nashville has just enough catchiness to get stuck in your head for the week. Many of the songs, such as “My Love Has Gone” and “Sad Eyes” come from a very low place in Josh’s life; yet, there is a distinct beauty to being so bare and honest in his lyrics. Case in point:

“Love ain’t on my side / Love ain’t special / Love ain’t great / Lost in a fog / But I’m inspired to find my way / Where did you go? / I still curse you to this day / I miss her smile / I miss her laughing in my face / Why don’t you come round? / Baby I’ve been so blue / And I sleep with the TV on / It’s the only sound now love’s gone”

Rouse mixes the great lyrics of Dylan with the musicality of Neil Young, with a bit of Southern charm mixed in.

My favorite track on the record is “Sad Eyes.” It begins very introspectively with only piano, yet morphs into a McCartney-esque orchestral jam session. If you recognize it, it may be because it was featured in a Thanksgiving Grey’s Anatomy episode.

Recently, Rouse has released two albums, Subtitulo, inspired by his move to Spain(which features a great Travis cover), and Country Mouse City House, which has a more poppy feel. Personally, I prefered Rouse’s southern stylings, but the new albums are decent nonetheless.

Move back to Cashville Josh, it brought out the best in ya.

Until whenever,

BD

Roo-Fuss Wane-Right

Rufus. That is just plain fun to say. Not to be mistaken with the funk band of the same name, Rufus Wainwright(one of Sir Elton John’s fav’s) is a super talented, super gay singer-songwriter that writes perfect pop music.

 

2003’s Want One is a great all-around record that draws heavily from a classical influence. Rufus is primarily a classically trained piano player and most of his songs spring from that background. Want One is actually part one of a two part album series. However, in my opinion, Want Two never lived up to Want One.

 

The very first track, “Oh, What A World” is so starkly different than anything being released today. Backed entirely by an orchestra, the track draws heavily upon Ravel’s famous “Bolero,” which is too cool. Two of my favorite contemporary songs are comprised of only vocals and orchestra, one being Rufus’ “Oh, What A World” and the other being Fiona Apple’s “Extraordinary Machine.” After listening to this song, you wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Rufus’ favorite place in NYC is the Metropolitan Opera House.

 

The intricate timings and delay-prettiness of “Vicious World” and the intimate and heartfelt lyrics of “My Phone’s On Vibrate for You” show Rufus’ amazing ability to mix frank lyrics and interesting melodies in order to create original tracks. “Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk(Reprise)” is actually a re-release from Rufus’ first album Poses, with a full band backing him, giving the song a little more oomph. The lyrics to “11:11” always crack me up, as I seem to always envision my friend Stu singing them in rehearsals. The best line is, “Woke up this morning at 11:11 / John was half naked / and Louie was crying.” Can’t get more forward than that.

 

Recently, if Rufus could not get more gay, he decided to perform an exact replica performance of a famous Judy Garland concert album recorded in 1961. It’s actually pretty interesting, with his sister Martha Wainwright sitting in on a few tracks. On that note, Rufus comes from a fairly musical family. Along with his sister, Rufus' father is folk artist Loudon Wainwright III, who recently wrote the soundtrack for the movie Knocked Up and also stars in the movie as Katherine Heigl’s OB/GYN. One of his more famous songs is written about Rufus and is entitled “Rufus Is A Tit Man.” There is little love lost between Loudon and Martha, however, as one of her more popular songs is written about her father and is entitled, “Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole.” True story. Needless to say, Rufus comes from a very interesting family.

 

My favorite track on Want One is entitled “ Go or Go Ahead” and could have been one of the best Queen songs not written by Queen. The chorus is just HUGE! Whoever said gay dudes can’t rock out was totally wrong. This song has serious balls. It really surprises you because the first two minutes are very subdued and then, BAM, you get kicked in the face with this awesome wall of sound. The huge wailing guitar and super cool falsetto background vocals are crazy delicious. Give it a listen.

 

Until whenever,

BD

Dee-Ann-Ja-Low

Full of swirling background vocals and dark, brooding funk that goes down smooth and slow, D'Angelo's Voodoo is a masterpiece. I remember receiving this CD from my uncle in junior high, him telling me it would change my life one day. It took me quite awhile to appreciate all that is going on on this record, but once it clicked, man, what brilliance. You are probably most familiar with D'Angelo from his video for"(Untitled) How Does It Feel?" , where D'Angelo is shown naked from the waist up with a simple background for the entire video. 

SO , to the album itself. Voodoo starts with 8 minute swirl of funk and never lets go. Incorporating heavy beats, gospel tinges, and latin fusion, D'Angelo never allows the music to become stale. It sounds as if Prince were just introduced to the drum machine for the first time and told to go crazy. The COOLEST part of it all is that all the drum tracks are created live. Yes, they may sound like machine, but that is just the genius of the drummer on this album, Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, member of the rap supergroup The Roots.

To me, this album should have been a duo album of ?uest and D'Angelo, because ?uest's input on this record is heard all over the place. A little background of ?uest: the man is a huge afro-sporting, beard-wearing bear of a man. You may recognize him from the Chappelle show, in which he jams with John Mayer in a barbershop(More on the Mayer-D'Angelo connection in a bit). ?uest, aside from being an integral part of the Roots, has been musical director for so many artists such as Kanye West and Jay-Z(In Hova's Unplugged on MTV, ?uest is killin it all night long!). Anyway, ?uest has the remarkable ability to play drums like it's a drum machine. If you listen to the record, at parts, you will never believe that there is an actual person playing the beats, because it sounds so programmed. Yet, even though it sounds programmed, the beats have a slight swing to them, giving them an INCREDIBLE funky feel. ?uest was heavily influenced by the beat-master J Dilla(RIP), and to create this album, Dilla would make programmed beats, and then ?uest would create his own interpretations, creating such a unique effect. ?uest also brings his signature loooooooowww toned bass and super tight snare-with rim click effect to most songs. I can listen to a song, and from about 10 sec. in know that ?uest is playing. To me, that is a sign of an incredible musician.

Anyway, this album has influenced many already. Case in point: John Mayer. Mayer became heavily entrapped in the web of funk that is Voodoo and decided to attempt his own brand of funk. On Mayer's second album Heavier Thing's, the first track, "Clarity" features basically the entire band from Voodoo, Pino Palladino on bass, ?uest on drums, and Roy Hargrove on horn. Bet ya didn't know that. Also, if you recognize the name Pino Palladino, it's because Pino is now a member of the John Mayer Trio and played on every song on Mayer's new album. I don't know if we would have the Mayer Trio without D'Angelo. Respek.

D'Angelo himself is quite an enigma. Aside from 95's Brown Sugar, 2000's Voodoo was his last album to date. Rumors of his upcoming album James River have been swirling for almost three years, and aside from a few sneak peeks, no release date or info has been leaked. I have heard that after recording Voodoo, D became heavily obsessed with the music of Jimi Hendrix and was planning on spending the next 5 years mastering the guitar so he could make a Jimi-inspired record. However, the tracks I have heard sound pretty much nothing like Jimi, so who knows if that rumor is true. One thing people may not know is that D'Angelo share a child with soul singer Angie Stone. Watch out in 20 years, that kid will make some funky music. 

Recorded at Electric Ladyland in New York(Jimi Hendrix's studio, ironically), Voodoo has a very unique feel. All the tracks are great in my opinion, but the standout to me is Spanish Joint. It's latin feel, mixed with D'Angelo's signature swirling falsetto create one of the best fusing of styles I have ever heard. Give it a listen, and prepare to be blown away.

D'Angelo, please come back. We need some true funk.

BD

My first blog

So, I have recently been getting more and more interested in the blogosphere and decided to contribute my own blog. When I thought about what I should focus on, the only thing I feel like I could confidently blog extensively on would be music. So, what I plan on doing is posting an artist/song/album that I feel is pretty tiiiiight, and then explain why I enjoy it. The challenge will be updating it everyday because as every one knows, everyone hates a non-updated blog.

So, to the meat of the first blog.

I believe the first artist to be featured has got to be Mr. Stevie Wonder. Stevie, to me is the ultimate musician. Not many people know this, but on many of his records, Stevie played almost every instrument and is a pretty wicked drummer.

Stevie's best album, in my opinion, is Songs in the Key Of Life. My personal favorite off of the album is the title track, Love's In Need of Love Today.  It is 7 minutes of pure bliss. The horn section and pure funkiness of Sir Duke also comes in close second. It has a personal note to me as it is my Dad's favorite song. As a bass player, he used to play that run in the chorus over and over when I was growing up. Also,  Coolio sampled Pastime Paradise for Gangsta's Paradise. Thus Stevie contributed heavily to the most gangsta song in history.

Hopefully, Stevie continues to make great music for a time to come. His last album was pretty stellar. The track featuring Prince on guitar, So What The Fuss? is FUNKY. 

Long Live Stevie.

Until Tomorrow(hopefully), BD