RnB, Soca, Soul, Rap, Reggae, Rock, Hip Hop, Jazz, Dancehall, Spoken Word, Quotes, Photographs, Each Post On The #SoultrainAfterDARK Blog Is Dedicated To Inspire & Uplift, To Encourage & Motivate
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
The Isley Brothers Voyage To Atlantis [April 16, 1977]
Go For Your Guns is the fifteenth album by The Isley Brothers. Released on April 16, 1977 on their T-Neck label, it was also the band's fifth album to be distributed by their deal with Epic. It is generally regarded by fans, particularly fans of the funk genre, as their best album overall. The album was remastered and expanded for inclusion in the 2015 released CD box set The RCA Victor & T-Neck Album Masters, 1959-1983.
Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_for_Your_Guns
King Yellowman Kiss Me Each Morning [2019]
Winston Foster OD [born 1956], better known by the stage name Yellowman, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay, also known as King Yellowman. He was popular in Jamaica in the 1980s, coming to prominence with a series of singles that established his reputation.
Winston Foster was abandoned by his parents and grew up in the Maxfield Children's Home and the Catholic orphanage Alpha Boys School in Kingston, and was shunned due to having albinism, which was not typically socially accepted in Jamaica. Alpha Boys School was known for its musical alumni. In the late 1970s Yellowman first gained wide attention when he finished second [to Nadine Sutherland] in the 1978 Tastee Talent Contest. Like many Jamaican deejays, he honed his talents by frequently performing at outdoor sound-system dances, prominently with Aces International. He had success as a recording artist, working with producer Henry "Junjo" Lawes. In 1981, after becoming significantly popular throughout Jamaica, Yellowman became the first dancehall artist to be signed to a major American label [Columbia Records]. His first album release was in 1982 entitled Mister Yellowman followed by Zungguzungguguzungguzeng in 1983 earning instant success. Yellowman's sexually explicit lyrics in popular songs such as "Mad Over Me" boasted of his sexual prowess, like those of other reggae singers/deejays, earned Yellowman criticism in the mid-1980s. Yellowman appeared in Jamaican Dancehall Volcano Hi-power 1983 which featured other major dancehall musicians such as Massive Dread, Josey Wales, Burro Banton and Eek-A-Mouse. Yellowman proclaimed, "I never know why they call it slackness. I talk about sex, but it's just what happens behind closed doors. What I talk is reality."
He had success in 1987 with a version of "Blueberry Hill", that topped the charts for several weeks in Jamaica. Yellowman had met Fats Domino where he performed on the island earlier in the decade, and Domino had presented him with a copy of his version. By the mid-1990s, Yellowman released socially conscious material, rising to international fame along with singers such as Buju Banton. Yellowman became the island's most popular deejay. During the early 1980s, Yellowman had over 40 singles and produced up to five albums per year. He re-invented himself with his 1994 album Prayer, which stepped away from the slackness that gave him his initial fame. His latest albums are New York [2003], Round 1 [2005], and No More War [2019]. Yellowman was also a featured guest vocalist on the Run-DMC track "Roots Rap Reggae". Yellowman continues to perform internationally with his Sagittarius Band, and has toured through places such as Nigeria where he retains a following of fans, as well as Spain, Peru, Sweden, Italy, Germany, Britain, France, Kenya, the United States and Canada. He also featured on OPM's 2004 album, Forthemasses. In 2018, it was announced that he would be awarded the Order of Distinction [Officer Class] by the Jamaican government.
Foster's daughter Kareema followed him into a career in music.
In 1982, Yellowman was diagnosed with skin cancer, and was told that he only had three more years to live. However, this prognosis proved to be inaccurate, and after several surgeries Yellowman was able to continue his career. The cancer went into apparent remission during this time. In 1986 it was diagnosed that the cancer had spread to his jaw; Yellowman underwent very invasive jaw surgery to remove a malignant tumor. This surgery permanently disfigured Yellowman's face, as a large portion of the left side of his lower jaw had to be removed to successfully remove the tumor. The instrumental for Yellowman's 1982 "Zungguzungguguzungguzeng", the "Diseases" rhythm by "Junjo" Lawes, has been sampled and imitated repeatedly since its original release. The original version of this rhythm was performed by Alton Ellis for a song called "Mad, Mad, Mad" produced by Coxsone Dodd in 1967. Coxsone Dodd had already released two dub cuts, "Talking Dub" and "Lusaka", plus a 1980 cut by Jennifer Lara, "Hurt So Good." This rhythm came to be known as the 'Diseases' rhythm after Michigan and Smiley recorded their song, Diseases, with Henry Junjo Lawes in 1981. "Zungguzungguguzungguzeng" was remade by Beenie Man and released on July 3, 2020. Yellowman said of the release, "I wish somebody else did do Zungguzungguguzungguzeng, maybe Shaggy or Sean Paul….Me nuh even hear it." The vocal melody of "Zungguzungguguzungguzeng" has also been sampled heavily in various reggae and hip hop songs.
Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowman
Monday, November 23, 2020
Junior Reid ft. Julian Marley Mother Nature [2020]
“Mother Nature” is published right before Julian Marley’s European tour. European tour that will among other festivals in the Europe perform in “Nisville Jazz Festival” in Niš, Serbia. Single “Mother Nature” talks about the ongoing problem in the world and not just about the nature’s desecration and it’s resource exploitation, pollution and what not… but also about economical slavery and debt. --- Jah Tooth
Courtesy: https://www.reggaeneracija.me/2020/06/brand-new-single-julian-marley-junior-reid-mother-nature/
Bear Witness, Take Action [Jun 13, 2020]
Artists and activists assemble to learn, to heal, and to raise awareness for the Equal Justice Initiative.
Bear Witness, Take Action is a 2020 American teleconference that livestreamed on YouTube on June 13, 2020, as part of a YouTube Original programming supporting the Black Lives Matter movement in correspondence with the George Floyd protests. It gathers notable people of color in the United States such as Patrisse Cullors, Rashad Robinson, Alicia Garza, Prince Ea, John Legend, etc., and hosted by Keke Palmer and Common. The one-and-a-half-hour long livestream centers around the history and experiences as people of color in America, as well as exploring ways to raise awareness and end the long inequality. On November 17, 2020, it was announced that a second teleconference titled Bear Witness, Take Action 2: Continuing The Movement will premiere on December 5, 2020.
Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_Witness,_Take_Action
NPR Music KEM: Tiny Desk [Home] Concert [Live November 23, 2020]
Recorded in his hometown of Detroit, KEM's Tiny Desk performance is light, welcoming and beautifully decorated. So is his music. After almost 20 years of recording R&B hits like "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "Love Calls," he still comforts my soul with his sultry voice and simple, yet satisfying melodies. Fans have been waiting since 2014 for a new album and it finally dropped earlier this year. Love Always Wins is filled with his signature romantic style. With accompaniments by veteran musicians, Michael "Nomad" Ripoll on guitar and David McMurray on saxophone, we get to hear three songs from the album in this lovely set. The first, "Friend Today," poignantly articulates a love for our fellow humans: "There's a roll like thunder / They killing our babies, Lord / They headed straight for the border / And we can no longer ignore it." KEM wrote "Not Before You," a classic romantic love song, as a dedication to his wife, Erica. "Lonely" ends the set with an upbeat, hopeful vibe: "There's a life waiting for you / In your brokenness." It's an affirmation that personal struggles can end in true happiness. --- Suraya Mohamed NPR Music
Sunday, November 22, 2020
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