The year was 1996 and what an great time for music and Hip Hop. The Fugees, starring or featuring one of the greatest if not THE greatest female emcees. I’m up late working and up early……working!! My overtime fuel has been The Score album. I’m listening to it and feeling like I’m in a time warp, as if I haven’t aged because I feel the exact same feelings as when I first bought the Cd. The fact that Rah-Digga was just as ill on the mic as Lauryn. The fact that I’m still not quite sure what Praz’s function or contribution was, as he certainly wasn’t the lyrical one. The fact that the skit at the 1:45 mark on “The Beast” with the Chinese Muslim restaurant, is STILL hilarious. “You think I open a restaurant in the middle of the hood and not no what’s up…F*&$% Represent!”
Well, in light of my personal quest of a presenting a classic masterpiece with Good Morning Amy, I find great inspiration in “The Score.” Best Rap Album – The Score. Best R&B Performance by a Duo or a Group – Killing Me Softly With His Song, 1996.
Not my favorite Sting song, but who am I to judge a musical wizard, a mystic? “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You,” is a pretty deep song though, questioning science, politics and religion among other things and how they shape our world, the way we think, our belief system etc. The song won Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male – 1993. The video was well done especially considering the camera effects given the year was 17 years ago.
The song was hot, but the video was suspect in my opinion. These women are vocally talented, gorgeous and should have nothing to prove in order to attract attention. I feel that many of the videos that they make are very fair weather, as they’ve tried to reach the various young and hip audiences way too many times, by attempting to “look,” dress and style like them, instead of just letting their power reside in the songs they make. All that said, it has no bearing on that fact that Mary Mary has won 3 Grammy’s to date. “Thankful,” Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album in 2000 and “Get Up,” Best Gospel Performance, 2008 and “God In Me,” in 2009 for Best Gospel Song. It’s interesting how Gospel music is recognized by the same industry that most gospel circuits consider secular.
This guy I just kind of learned about through hearing his name during a casual conversation while at the studio one day. I think that Tone and I were talking about new artists, sustainability, creativity and things of that nature and we were debating on whether we were pressing a vinyl LP for the Good Morning Amy album. During the discussion, he mentioned that DJ Cutler had put him onto a guy named Mayer Hawthorne who has a very unique, throwback, 50′s, 60′s sound with a Motown aesthetic, as he IS from around Detroit. But from what I understand, this dude has a massive vinyl record collection and just as well, his music that he writes and produces has become a collectible hobby for his fans.
Check out this dudes style and the spinning Red Heart in the video is his actual vinyl pressing for this particular single. Brilliant. Not quite sure if this is what the Recording Academy is calling for, but based off of how I feel, he SHOULD be mentioned in this upcoming ceremony. We’ll see.
This cat kind of turned into a Cheshire Cat and disappeared as I personally haven’t heard much about or from him. Jamiroquai, a musician with a raspy, soulful, yet pop like voice and a unique name which also lent to a great taste of music, was the recipient of a Grammy in 1997, which seems like eons ago. Best Pop Performance by a Group or Duo with Vocal – Virtual Insanity. All of the videos are blocked from embedding, but I did find a Live version, which is unfortunate because the video was simply incredible and nothing short of genius.
…”who issss the maaaan!?”….
One of the most popular songs ever crafted that defined an era and a musical standard for many years to come, Shaft Theme song, by brother Isaac. God Bless him!!
Best Instrumental Arrangement - 1972 – Theme from Shaft Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special – 1972 – Shaft
A voice who’s been slept on by many, but truly appreciated by those of us that really matter, as Amel is no slouch when it comes to songwriting and performing. Her voice is unique with great range of octaves and her music has always been uplifting. This particular video I’m posting is for three reasons, 1) other than mother nature, she is the only figure/subject in the video and the video was incredible to me, given the cutaways, image decays, subject framing etc, 2) the song is a true dedication to all of the people that know what love is and how it can truly make you feel when it’s good. 3) she IS a Grammy nominated artist but not for her own work, it was for a remake of Roberta Flack and Donnie Hathaway song called “Where is the Love,” along with Glenn Lewis and Stanley Clarke, which Nominated for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group 2004.
I think that she has a body of work that stands on its own and is surely worthy of being noted by the Recording Academy, but we don’t live in a perfect world now, do we?
The only reason I’m bothering to post JLo’s video is because from an artistic videography point of view, I LOVE the colors, scenes, though a little “green screen” looking, the textures and shots of the video are very worth sharing and talking about. On a Grammy related note, JLo has only been nominated twice and rightfully so as she is an entertainer more than a music artist and I do believe there is a difference. One of the nominations was this song, “Waiting for Tonight,” but it seems that she’ll be waiting for eternity before being nominated for a Grammy again, as that was 10 years ago. Nevertheless, she CAN stamp her loooong and successful resume with the coveted “Grammy Nominated” tag which always tends to earn a few extra bucks. She is MORE known for the strapless, very revealing dress that she wore to the Grammy’s with Diddy some years ago.
A throwback, not Grammy-related but Grammy worthy. In normal form, the Roots pushed the envelope of creativity with this video. Today is day 161, and as most of the posts are about Grammy winners or nominees, which the Roots can proudly say they are both, I find myself on days like today just searching for inspiration. So I thought to locate this Roots video, which was just insane and out of the box. Dig the movements, hence the song title. So, what’s YOUR next movement.
