In Memoriam: Gerald Levert In My Songs [February 13, 2007]

In Memoriam: Gerald Levert Is This The Way To Heaven [February 13, 2007]

In My Songs is the ninth studio album by American singer Gerald Levert. It was released posthumously on February 13, 2007 on Atlantic Records. Levert reteamed with longtime collaborator Edwin "Tony" Nicholas to work on the entire album which was completed shortly before his death from an apparent heart attack in November 2006. In My Songs debuted and peaked at number two on the US Billboard 200, becoming his highest-charting effort, and won Levert his first Grammy Award in the Best Traditional R&B Performance for the title track at the 50th awards ceremony.

Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_My_Songs

In Memoriam: Rick James Hollywood [April 20, 1978]

 

In Memoriam: Pop Smoke What You Know Bout Love [#Explicit #NSFW] [October 9, 2020]

Bashar Barakah Jackson [July 20, 1999 – February 19, 2020] known professionally as Pop Smoke, was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He was considered by many to be the face of Brooklyn drill. Born and raised in Canarsie, Brooklyn, Pop Smoke began his musical career in 2018. He often collaborated with UK drill artists and producers, who employed more minimal and aggressive instrumentation than drill artists from Chicago.\ Pop Smoke rose to fame with the release of his breakout single "Welcome to the Party" in April 2019.

Following his rise to fame, Pop Smoke signed a recording contract with Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records, and released his debut mixtape Meet the Woo [2019]. The mixtape's second single, "Dior", produced by 808Melo, reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. His second mixtape, Meet the Woo 2 [2020], debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200. Two weeks after the release of the project, Pop Smoke was fatally shot in a home invasion in Los Angeles. His debut studio album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, was posthumously released in July 2020 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with all 19 tracks from the album charting on the Billboard Hot 100.

Bashar Barakah Jackson was born on July 20, 1999, in Brooklyn, New York, to a Jamaican mother and Panamanian father. He spent his childhood in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn. Pop Smoke was expelled from eighth grade for bringing a gun to school, and spent two years in house arrest after being charged with weapons possession. When he was 15, he won a basketball scholarship to Rocktop Academy, a Philadelphia prep school, but was forced to leave after being diagnosed with a heart murmur.

Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_Smoke

In Memoriam: The Jimmy Castor Bunch It's Just Begun [1972]

James Walter Castor [January 23, 1940 – January 16, 2012] was an American funk, R&B, and soul musician. A multi-instrumentalist, he is credited with vocals, saxophone and composition. He is best known for songs such as "It's Just Begun", "Bertha Butt Boogie", and the biggest hit single, million-seller "Troglodyte [Cave Man]."

Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Castor

In Memoriam: J Dilla Instrumentals Mix [Pt. 1]

James Dewitt Yancey [February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006] better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer and rapper who emerged in the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michigan, as one third of the acclaimed music group Slum Village. He was also a member of the Soulquarians, an influential musical collective active during the late 1990s and early 2000s. His obituary at NPR stated that he "was one of the music industry's most influential hip-hop artists." He is considered by some as the "godfather of lo-fi hip hop".

Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J_Dilla

In Memoriam: Sean Price Forever [Explicit NSFW] [2020]

Sean Duval Price [March 17, 1972 – August 8, 2015] was an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective Boot Camp Clik. He was half of the duo Heltah Skeltah, performing under the name Ruckus [sometimes abbreviated as Ruck], along with partner Rock.

A member of the underground hip hop collective Boot Camp Clik, Price first appeared on Smif-N-Wessun's 1995 album Dah Shinin'. He would soon resurface in 1996 as one half of the critically acclaimed Brooklyn duo Heltah Skeltah, who released their debut album Nocturnal on Duck Down Records that year. Heltah Skeltah would go on to release two more albums, 1998's Magnum Force and 2008's D.I.R.T..  In the 2000s, Price established himself as a strong force in the underground hip hop community. In 2005, he released his first solo album Monkey Barz, to critical acclaim. He followed this in 2007 with Jesus Price Supastar and Mic Tyson in 2012. Songs in the Key of Price, a mixtape recorded before Price's death, was released posthumously on August 21, 2015.  In 2011, Price was a judge on the Ultimate MC TV show alongside Royce da 5'9", Organik, Planet Asia, and Pharoahe Monch. Price was interviewed on the online series Grand Angel TV in 2008 and 2010, with Paid Dues performance footage alongside Boot Camp Clik and Dru Ha, respectively.  In 2011, he formed the group Random Axe with Guilty Simpson and producer Black Milk.  He had a planned collaborative album with rapper Ill Bill in the works, called The Pill.

On August 8, 2015, Price died at the age of 43. Details were not immediately available, but a statement from his reps confirmed his death, while adding that he died in his sleep. "It is with beyond a heavy heart that Duck Down Music is sadly confirming that Sean Price passed away early this morning in his Brooklyn apartment, Saturday, August 8th, 2015," read the statement. "The cause of death is currently unknown, but it was reported that he died in his sleep. He's survived by his three children."

Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Price

In Memoriam: Luther Vandross Never Too Much [August 12, 1981]

Never Too Much is the debut solo studio album by American singer Luther Vandross. It was released by Epic Records on August 12, 1981. Composed by Vandross himself, the album reached number 19 on the US Billboard 200, also peaking at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America [RIAA]. Never Too Much earned Vandross two Grammy Award nominations in 1982, including Best New Artist and Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male.  The album's title track topped the Black Singles chart for two weeks. Vandross's rendition of Dionne Warwick's 1964 "A House Is Not a Home" became one of his signature songs, and received attention for its transformation into an "epic", since its duration was extended to seven minutes. In 2020, the album was ranked number 362 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_Too_Much_(album)

In Memoriam: Michael Jackson Smooth Criminal [1987]

"Smooth Criminal" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his seventh studio album Bad [1987]. It was written by Jackson, and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was released as the album's seventh single on November 14, 1988. It features a fast beat with lyrics about a woman who has been attacked in her apartment by a "smooth criminal". The refrain "Annie, are you OK?" was inspired by Resusci Anne, a dummy used in CPR training. "Smooth Criminal" peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the sixth top 10 single from Bad. It also peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart. It was certified 2x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America [RIAA]. The song reached number one in Belgium, Iceland, the Netherlands and Spain. Though "Smooth Criminal" was not one of the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, in retrospective reviews it has been regarded as one of the best songs on Bad and one of Jackson's signature songs. It has appeared on numerous greatest hits albums and was performed on all of Jackson's solo tours.  The music video for "Smooth Criminal" premiered on MTV on October 13, 1988. The video is the centerpiece of the 1988 film Moonwalker. The 1930s influenced setting and Jackson's white suit and fedora pays tribute to the Fred Astaire musical comedy film The Band Wagon. In the video, Jackson and the dancers perform an "anti-gravity lean" that appears physically impossible.  "Smooth Criminal" was re-released in 2006 as a single as a part of Jackson's Visionary: The Video Singles boxset. Rolling Stone ranked the song sixth on their list of the 50 Best Michael Jackson Songs, writing that it was "his best blend of R&B groove and rock edginess, and a turning point in his shift toward darker, harder-edged material".

Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smooth_Criminal

In Memoriam: Fred Astaire Smooth Criminal [The Band Wagon] [August 7, 1953]

 

In Memoriam: Michael Jackson Ghosts [December 12, 1996]

In the village of Normal Valley, a small child is scared by the ghost stories and tricks of Maestro [Michael Jackson], a magician who lives on the outskirts of town. The Mayor (also Jackson) leads a group of outraged villagers to Maestro's spooky mansion, where he demands the mysterious outsider leave town. Instead, Maestro challenges the Mayor to a scare-off, delighting the children and parents with a series of tricks and musical numbers, performed with help from some ghosts.

Featured Songs: Is It Scary, 2 Bad, Ghosts

In Memoriam: Courtesy San FrancischooL1989: Tupac Shakur Tribute Mix [#Explicit #NSFW]

 

In Memoriam: Frankie Paul Come & Talk To Me [Jodeci Cover] [1992]

Paul Blake [19 October 1965 – 18 May 2017], better known as Frankie Paul, was a Jamaican dancehall reggae artist. Born blind, he has been dubbed by some 'The Jamaican Stevie Wonder'.

Born in Jamaica in 1965, Blake was born blind but as a child had his sight partially restored by an operation on a hospital ship. He sang for, and impressed Stevie Wonder when Wonder visited the school that Blake attended, prompting him to pursue a singing career. Adopting the stage name Frankie Paul, he first found fame in the early 1980s, and he recorded prolifically throughout the decade. He recorded for virtually every producer/studio in Jamaica at some time, and was known to release several albums a year.  Notable works of Frankie Paul include the popular "Sara" and "Worries in the Dance". Paul resided in The Gambia from 1994. In January 2016 he underwent surgery to amputate a foot and part of his leg. Frankie Paul died on 18 May 2017 at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica.

Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankie_Paul

In Memoriam: Aaliyah One In A Million [August 27, 1996]

 

In Memoriam: Amy Winehouse w/Jools Holland Stronger Than Me [Live]

Amy Jade Winehouse a.k.a. Amy Winehouse [14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011] was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz.

Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Winehouse

In Memoriam: Michael Jackson [Live October 1, 1992 The Dangerous Tour, Bucharest, Romania]

 

In Memoriam: Whitney Houston I Will Always Love You [Live 1994 The Concert For A New South Africa]

 

In Memoriam: Marvin Gaye Tribute

 

In Memoriam: Billy Preston You Are So Beautiful [May 5, 1974]

 

In Memoriam: Nujabes Horizon [Homework Edit]