This compilation was released in 1981 but I'd only seriously been introduced to it in the late 90's. I remember my sister insisted I meet a friend of hers and on exchanging hip hop with soul and with jazz as a common interest, we in turn became good friends.That friend's little bedroom less than a … Continue reading Way Bill →

More soul than rnb, more vinyl than cd.That's where Michael Archer better known as D'Angelo left his mark on the world sonically all while exhibiting typical hip hop swagger.He started playing piano at the age of 4 and later went on to become a multi-instrumentalist.Upon entering the world of music he'd co-written and produced the … Continue reading Solidified →

In the 1980's the UK's pop scene emerged strong and bold with a definitive fresh outlook partly incorporating influences from further West. George Michael took the lead role alongside Andrew Ridgeley as Wham's songwriter and creative force.Released in 1986 'Wham! The Final' was a compilation of their greatest hits passed down to me by an … Continue reading Sound’s like more →

Both a producer and an emcee Erick Sermon also known as 'the green eyed bandit' tasted viable success having formed and founded Def Squad Records just after parting ways with long time collaborator Parrish Smith as half the rap duo EPMD and as part of the Hit Squad. Keith Murray had a philly blunted coarse … Continue reading What the Funk →

Duran Duran : The Wedding Album It was totally left field and I could already tell I'd come across the same way to some of my closest friends back then .It's only much later I was to find out this was the band's 7th album and that they'd already held some status in 1980's pop.Each … Continue reading Till death do us part →

1995's Mr Smith Predominantly produced by the Trackmasters whom I'd been watching closely , 1995's 'Mr Smith' further solidified Ladies Love Cool James as one of the best if not the best to give both sexes as fans in urban music something to remember.To me ?The perfect balance as an emcee and doing so throughout … Continue reading Steady Rocking →

You'll find many comparisons being made to Naughty by Nature in terms of their style for pushing party anthems but unlike Treach and crew , Pretty Lou and DJ Spigg Nice had Freaky Tah's hype man vocal instrumentation adding something dark yet unique on highlighting varied subject matter their frontman Mr Cheeks would lyrically bring … Continue reading LB Fam →

'My Life' was Mary's second album released in 1994 where just 2 years prior Puffy had introduced her to us via ' What's the 411 ? '.He'd tastefully and quite literally merged two genres of music closing the gap on gender based thoughts of RNB being for the ladies and Hip Hop for men and … Continue reading Royalty →

PM Dawn : The Bliss Album It was 1993 I was only 15 years old and I called it 'alternative rap' on describing PM Dawn's sophomore.Only thing is, it wasn't rap.It wasn't rnb and it wasn't pop.In hindsight it was my alternative to anything else given a title or genre in music or quite plainly … Continue reading Dawn on me →