Archive » April 2008

This page contains 180 entries posted in April 2008

Top 100 Soul/R&B Songs

#78: DeBarge 'Love Me In A Special Way'

If there's one thing that is a staple in soul music, it's the singing family act. From the Jacksons to the Sylvers to the Emotions to the Pointer Sisters, the family that sings together can make some beautiful music. One such musical family that churned out classic R&B tunes and ruled the airwaves in the early to mid '80s were the DeBarge clan. Calling Grand Rapids, MI home, this family act consisted of brothers El, James, Mark and Randy and sister Bunny, five of the ten DeBarge siblings. Signed to Motown in 1978, it wasn't until their second album was released in 1982 that they found their musical stride and landed on the charts. By the time their third album, In A Special Way, came out in 1983 they were bonafide staples on Black radio with the second single from that set, the ballad "Love Me In A Special Way." The song opened with a piano riff and featured Stevie Wonder on a harmonica solo. However, it's El's voice that is the centerpiece of this classic. He shifted effortlessly from his normal tenor into a powerful falsetto that combined flawlessly with his siblings harmonizing in the background. The song has been covered in the last decade by teen group IMx and songstress Tamia, but neither remake can touch the beauty of the original.

Unfortunately, this family full of so much talent has had its fair share of personal issues and roadblocks that is well documented in the press, so we won't focus on that here. Instead, let's remember the good times when this family was nearing the peak of their success before they crossed over to pop music and eventually broke up. We still got a special love for you, DeBarge.

DeBarge: "Love Me In A Special Way"

Butta | 04/30/2008 at 6:00 PM | Comments (7) | Permalink

First Spin, House of Soul

Come Into Glenn Lewis' House

Guess who's back, y'all? That silky-voiced Canadian/West Indian chocolate drop Glenn Lewis has returned to the scene with a new soulful house song. YES! Stevie Wonder comparisons aside (and Lewis straight channels him once again), "Stay With Me" showcases Glenn at his best. Dude is sounding pretty damn incredible here.

The track is produced and co-written by the Legendary Terry Hunter and is released on his T's Box label. It also features some work from DJ Jazzy Jeff on the keys, but it's Glenn's vocals that really shine. The original version of the song is good, but the Muzikman Edition Remix is pure dance floor hotness. Now if you'll excuse me, I can't type and soul clap at the same time.

Glenn Lewis: "Stay With Me" Muzikman Edition Remix

Butta | 04/30/2008 at 4:15 PM | Comments (12) | Permalink

Sh*t or Shinola?

John Legend Wants to Go 'Mainstream'. We Can Help.

Apparently, John Legend is more than willing to give away whatever soul he had left. Seriously. According to Billboard.com, the Grammy winner has been meeting with several advertising firms to discuss promotional strategies for his upcoming project, feeling the need to go "mainstream" with his music. "I want to go beyond what the label machine always does and think of some cool ideas," Legend said recently. He feels that working with a label restricts his marketability, saying that he wants an ad firm that "launches other products to use their knowledge to launch my music." Wow. You mean the relationships with Baileys, Verizon, Lexus, Tide, GQ, The Gap, Target and American Express isn't enough?!?!? Nice.

Stating that he thought his 2006 release Once Again was "difficult for people to digest because it wasn't any one radio format", JL has decided to go for a more pop feel, forgoing live instruments this time around in favor of 808 drums and futuristic synthesizers. Well, far be it from us here at SBHQ to hate on a brother for wanting to get more commercial. Quite possibly by doing more commercials. Whatever. We won't hate on John, instead invoking the huge home improvement chain that says, John, "you can do it. We can help." And help we will. Below are five suggestions that JL can use for his mainstream madness:

Before you continue on the new project, strike a deal with Microsoft and their fledgling music product, making a remix called "Save Room (For My Zune)".

SoulTube

Alicia Keys Was Smoking On 'Letterman' Last Night

Alicia Keys has been coming out of her sexy bag in a major way lately. Last night she appeared on Late Night with David Letterman to sing her new single "Teenage Love Affair" and she looked and sounded phenomenal. She had a whole '60s girl group vibe going on with her two female backup singers, which perfectly matches the song. Enjoy the performance below and peep Dave not wanting to let Alicia go when he greeted her after the performance.

For more sweet eye candy from Alicia bounce on over to Concrete Loop for flicks of her wearing the hell out of that gray dress.

Butta | 04/30/2008 at 2:04 PM | Comments (3) | Permalink

Jazzy Ways

Jazz Appreciation Month

April is officially Jazz Appreciation Month. We would be remiss if we did not mention it, even on this last day of April. Given this has been the seventh year of Jazz being officially celebrated, there has been much celebrating, including the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival which actually continues into the first weekend in May. The Smithsonian Museum has also been jumping to all things Jazz this month, including visits by such luminaries as Ramsey Lewis and discussions on the genius of this truly American art form. Also, be sure to check out how you can celebrate Jazz all year long and help to show your love to its oft-forgotten influence on many contemporary genres of music, including hip-hop music.

Video SoulBounce

9th Wonder & Buckshot Have 'The Formula'

9th Wonder and Buckshot have already released two videos from The Formula, which dropped yesterday, so it seems fitting to have their next video be for their single also entitled (what else?) "The Formula." This video features 3D animation of the actual formula itself, which is best described as being a thoughtful and proactive member of one's community. The video also has a nice message for all his "little homies" that need some guidance. Overall, it's a very welcome and positive message in this day and age where many artists overlook the impact they can have upon younger generations.

[H/T: 2DB]

ill Mami | 04/30/2008 at 12:50 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink

The Interwebs

The Sincerest Form of Flattery (That Doesn't Get Us Any Hits)

vet (v): to appraise, verify, or check for accuracy, authenticity, validity, etc.: An expert vetted the manuscript before publication.-- dictionary.com

We got to give it up to our man Vikter Duplaix for unintentionally pointing us in the direction of some foolishness. When we saw that Vik had posted our "25 Things That Killed (and are Still Killing) Urban Music" list in a Myspace bulletin, we were ecstatic! That could only mean he reads SoulBounce. But, strangely, the bulletin ended with this:

Urban Network wants to get your input on this op-ed, send your responses to dmitchell@urbannetwork.com.

Ahh, so he got it from The Urban Network. It's posted here. If you look closely, you'll see no citation, no link, no credit and no mention of SoulBounce, which is basic "internettiquette". Why, it's almost as if the "Anonymous" individual that submitted it to The Urban Network would have you believe they emailed dozens of friends and got the input of co-editors and slaved over that listicle for a week. Oh, and instead of a witty rejoinder like XXL, "Anonymous" posted it verbatim; a straight up copy/paste jack. At SoulBounce, we pride ourselves on providing our audience with original content. We may quote, we may paraphrase, but we always tip the hat. We get that we're dope, but what's dopeness without proper attribution?

Since I'm nothing if not diplomatic, I did email dmitchell to let him/her know "25 Things That Killed (and are Still Killing) Urban Music" originated with my own personal blood, sweat and keyboard. I also informed dmitchell that if no correction was made on The Urban Network I would be airing them out at 12 noon.

Oh look. It's 12:05.

nOvaMatic | 04/30/2008 at 12:05 PM | Comments (10) | Permalink

Video SoulBounce

Double Vision From Busta Rhymes

After lackluster sales of his last CD, which was a damn good album albeit darker than his usual fare, Busta Rhymes looks to be returning to his old tricks if this new video is any indication. "Don't Touch Me (Throw Water On 'Em)" finds Bussa Bus and his sidekick Spliff Star attached to his hip once again and recreating the look of the his old videos. I expected him to shout "WOO HAH!" and any moment while watching this one.

But wait, that's not all from the good Mr. Rhymes today. He's also hit us over the head with another new video fresh on the net for the song "We Made It." This clip is actually for the first single from Blessed and it features Linkin Park. Peep it after the bounce.

Morning Soul

Morning Soul: Your Sexual Chocolate Bar

The funky divas themselves, En Vogue, reunited at the Plymouth Jazz Festival. [BV]
Whitney Houston sucked at the same event. [EJ]
Was Jennifer Hudson going to workout at the airport or something? [AHM]
Better get your ticket for Raheem DeVaughn and Chrisette Michele on tour. [BB]
DJ Enuff hit up the set of Notorious and got some interesting behind-the-scenes flicks. [MI]
Afrika Bambaataa will be honored at the Bronx Museum of Arts. [AHH]

Butta | 04/30/2008 at 10:00 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

Top 100 Soul/R&B Songs

#79: Marvin Gaye 'Sexual Healing'

Marvin Gaye was first known as a sensitive singer, then a political singer, then a sexy singer. The progression from political to sexy was not as abrupt as it may initially seem, since Marvin had racked up many admirers since the day he debuted on Motown's label. And the more Marvin revealed his vulnerability, the more admirers he gained. So after singing about the despair he felt about inner city life ("Inner City Blues") and the dissolution of his marriage (Here My Dear), Marvin must have decided it was time to brazenly sing about sex in a no-holds-barred way, at least for 1982, the year "Sexual Healing" was released. Ask your mother, aunt, sister, or cousin, and they'll all tell you just how much they were fiending for some Marvin when "Sexual Healing" was released. So much so that "Sexual Healing" was the longest running #1 song of the entire decade. Sexuality was something that Marvin had always grappled with, especially being a preacher's son. But not only was Marvin able to instill sexuality into our national anthem, but he did it with just a touch of raunch and sweetness. And just as he reworked Francis Scott Key's tome into a lustful tale of stars burning bright, so was he able to sing of needing sexual healing when he got that inescapable feeling.