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First Spin

With Raphael Saadiq & Stevie Wonder On This Track, We 'Like It' Too

ill Mami  |  06/27/2008 at 4:00 PM  |  Comments (10)  |  Permalink

Top 100 Soul/R&B Songs

#37: D'Angelo 'Me And Those Dreamin' Eyes of Mine'

Brown Sugar changed my life. Better yet, it helped to define my life. At the time it was released, I was a twenty-year-old hot thang who had just made the transition from Timberlands and sneakers on my feet to sandals and pumps. Let's just say that Brown Sugar helped me and countless of my friends who were on the cusp between adolescence and adulthood make that transition with ease. It was as if D'Angelo had somehow heard the melodies that we all wished we could hear on the radio, all the Marvin Gaye, Frankie Beverly and Maze, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, and countless others, and, in one fell swoop, created an album that would help to define our generation. Because prior to D'Angelo, uttering "neo-soul" would have amounted to saying the sky is purple, i.e. it did not compute. But after his arrival, especially with the sophistication he displayed in the harmonizing in "Me And Those Dreamin' Eyes Of Mine," D'Angelo was a man whose name we uttered with great reverence. He was able to capture the anticipation, longing, and happiness of having a crush, and he was able to do it in such a way that made this song and the rest of this album an instant modern classic. D'Angelo was able to create a pop tune that was so much more than what was expected at the time. While he may have had dreaming eyes for some brown sugar back then, we will continue to have dreaming eyes that he will return to us real, real soon.

ill Mami  |  06/26/2008 at 6:00 PM  |  Comments (2)  |  Permalink

Video SoulBounce

B-Rock & Hillary Unite To 'Barack Da Vote'

Whoever is up to cranking out the '80s tributes to all the pop culture fun we enjoyed as youths, keep it coming. In a mere week, we were astounded and amazed by the '80s covers from Zo! and Tigallo Love The 80's and now this video. "Barack Da Vote" starts out by paying homage to one of my favorite (corny) breakdancing movies, Breakin', and from there it turns into a hodgepodge of Shelia E., Apollonia, and The Revolution references. Is it hilarious? Yes. Will it make you want to "Barack the vote?" Possibly. Just know that Condoleeza Rice gets raw on the dancefloor, but B-Rock a/k/a Barack Obama kills it at the end. And as for Hillary Clinton, she displays some Democratic Party unity in a way she hasn't really done in reality. Get your cardboard boxes out because it's about to be a breakdance battle of epic proportions set to "Looking For The Perfect Beat" once you press play below. 

ill Mami  |  06/26/2008 at 2:00 PM  |  Comments (3)  |  Permalink

Top 100 Soul/R&B Songs

#38: Erykah Badu 'Next Lifetime'

"Next Lifetime" has always conjured up pleasant memories for me. This is mostly because, maybe I too went through a headwrap phase when she exploded on the scene in 1997. Or maybe it's because I was in a bit of a love triangle of my own when this song was released. And I know I'm not the only one. When Erykah Badu released this song, it was already a favorite of many of her fans. This may have been why she knew she had to come with it when it came to the video representation of this song whereby Erykah apologizes to a potential lover because her heart had already been claimed by someone else. Sure, the ladies were loving that all the slept on cuties were featured in the video, including Method Man, Pete Rock, and her boo at the time, Andre (pre) 3000. But even more beautiful about the video was that Erykah's vision of seeing her rejected lover during her future lifetimes was somehow comforting to anyone who's ever been in that situation. Aside from the video, the song itself was so simple yet so heartbreaking at the same because what is a girl supposed to do when she's somebody else's girl? My guess is that you hold your current boo down, and dream of a future time when you can share your love with another. 

ill Mami  |  06/25/2008 at 6:00 PM  |  Comments (3)  |  Permalink

First Spin

Raphael Saadiq Loves That Girl

ill Mami  |  06/25/2008 at 3:00 PM  |  Comments (8)  |  Permalink

Name That Beat

Name That Beat: Dear Summer

Greetings, all! Welcome back to Name That Beat. Last week's beat is a rediscovered gem that 9th Wonder helped to gain more attention by using it for the beat he created for Erykah Badu's "Honey." The original beat was Nancy Wilson's "In Love With You." Good looks to Tia for answering this correctly. 

ill Mami  |  06/24/2008 at 4:00 PM  |  Leave a Comment  |  Permalink

Bounce-Worthy

Bounce-Worthy: Ra-Re Valverde

It's not often that an emerging artist gets to be described as having a "tone like chocolate silk" by Jill Scott or even have Rahsaan Patterson describe your debut album, A Beautiful Mess, as "pure artistry." For Ra-Re Valverde, however, these and many other accolades must just be an average walk in the park for her. Having provided background vocals for the aforementioned artists as well as Lalah Hathaway and Trina Broussard, Ra-Re has taken the road that many other backup singers have taken and decided to sing in the foreground instead. While her voice is truly heavily laden with soul, her accompanying beats are more so eclectic. For this reason, she may be delegated as being someone whom the myopic recording industry cannot define. Fortunately for the rest of us who know, we can show our support by partaking in her musical offerings.   

ill Mami  |  06/24/2008 at 12:00 PM  |  Comments (5)  |  Permalink

Top 100 Soul/R&B Songs

#40: Xscape 'Who Can I Run To'

Xscape was one of those '90's girl groups that I was somewhat always reluctant to admit to liking. Why? Mainly because what they lacked in sophistication, they more than made up for with their singing ability. Not just one of them, but all of them really could sang. Because despite their tender ages at the time, either you can channel the pain of lost love when you sing or you can't. And these girls did, and succeeded quite well actually. So well that is reached #1 on the R&B chart and a whopping #8 on the Pop Chart. While The Jones Girl original is a classic song of gut-wrenching pain and is damn-near pathetic for asking who indeed they can turn to immediately after their heart's been broken, there is a reason as to why it is not included on this countdown. This is our countdown, this is the song that we still bump, and this song is the version for our generation. 

ill Mami  |  06/23/2008 at 6:00 PM  |  Comments (5)  |  Permalink

First Spin

Who's Going To Be Marsha Ambrosius' 'Co-Star'?

Marsha Ambrosius, the Songstress of Floetry, is back with a lovely song just in time for Summer. I have to admit that I'm rather loving the retro vibe many artists have been incorporating into their latest works with a fresh-sounding result. We're not quite sure if this track is heralding an upcoming solo effort by Marsha, but I would just like to throw that out there in case you're listening, M. While you can currently catch this song on her MySpace page, we have it here for you, of course. Now if I could just forget that "Neosoul Is Dead" mixtape...

ill Mami  |  06/23/2008 at 4:00 PM  |  Comments (3)  |  Permalink

Rap Snacks

Common Pushing Album Date Back To Make Us All Dance

Common has decided to push the album release back for his forthcoming album, Invincible Summer, to September 23rd, which happens to be the first official day of Fall. Granted, this means that bloggers and journalists everywhere can't refer to Common as having an "Invincible Summer" anymore, but peep what Rashid has to say about his new project:

"You can expect some fresh music that you've never heard from Common before...definitely a new sound. The inspiration came from me being out at them clubs. I said I want people to feel my music in that way... Not only do they know Common as this conscious artist who brings thoughtful lyrics, but we can dance to some of his music, too, and just smile and let go of our problems."

Oh boy. This could be a good thing...or a not so good thing. It seems as though John Legend and Musiq may have caught the "let's dance" bug, too. Let's all hope for more of a "Planet Rock" situation, and less of a "Radio" situation. 

ill Mami  |  06/23/2008 at 3:30 PM  |  Comments (3)  |  Permalink

First Spin

You Asked For It: Zo! & Tigallo Are 'Steppin Out'

I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have listened to the latest releases from Zo! and Tigallo Love The 80's. Enough to really begin to crave day-glo colors. And judging from the comments, apparently I'm not the only one. Check what Zo! and Tigallo have in store for the absolutely hilarious and trés authentic cover for their upcoming 80's pop homage album. And because you were feeling this as much as I was, here's another offering from the Jheri-curled duo above: their cover of Joe Jackson's classic, "Steppin' Out."   

ill Mami  |  06/23/2008 at 2:30 PM  |  Comments (11)  |  Permalink