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Posts tagged as “Gorillaz”

MUSIC MONDAY: “I’ll Take You There” – The Best of Mavis Staples (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “I’ll Take You There” – The Best of Mavis Staples (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on August 14, 2023

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Mavis Staples is eighty-four years old as I peck these words. She has been a gospel and soul singer longer than Elizabeth II wore the crown.

Many R&B vocalists started in gospel music, though she and her family have always kept a foot in both worlds. The Staple Singers have brought their spirituality, and devotion to civil rights to all of their studio and stage offerings.

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From the churches across the South Side of Chicago and the Rock ‘n Stages with artists a third her age, Mavis Staples has brought her unique smokey voice to audiences for decades.

This collection brings together her many works with The Staple Singers from 1948 until 1999, and her own solo offerings from 1969 to the present.

Mavis Staples is still an in-demand guest vocalist to boot. She has dueted or sung background with Mahalia Jackson, The Band, Gorillaz, Jon Batiste, Run the Jewels, Hozier, Benjamin Booker, Sheryl Crow, Abraham Alexander and so many others.

Mavis Staples is the only subject of one of these playlists that I have had the pleasure of spending any meaningful time with. Back in 2012 I was honored to be one of the Alumni Of The Year at Columbia College Chicago. She received an honorary doctorate from the college.

I was delighted to spend hours visiting with her that graduation weekend. She could not have been more warm, insightful, and kind.

Please enjoy this collection featuring decades of Doctor Mavis’ work with The Staple Singers, as a solo artist, and generous collaborator.

As always, stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Me Myself and I: Best of De La Soul” Playlist (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Me Myself and I: Best of De La Soul” Playlist (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on April 10, 2023

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

When De La Soul member David Jude Jolicoeur (aka Trugoy the Dove) unexpectedly passed away in February, anyone seeking to revisit the group’s best-known works would have come away baffled and empty-handed.

The scores of uncleared samples that defined De La Soul’s classic records made for a legal minefield when it came to making them available for streaming, until this March:

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One of the giants of hip-hop’s “golden era” of the late ’80s through mid-’90s, De La’s penchant for playful creativity would fly in the face of the “gangsta rap” that dominated hip-hop at the time.

While most rapped about slinging drugs, they dedicated a track to telling the story of a drug-addicted family member and told the dangers of ignoring sexual abuse victims.

They would influence everyone from OutKast to The Pharcyde, Jungle Brothers to Childish Gambino.

For several years, the band’s catalog rights were tangled up in major label red tape from their time at Warner Bros. Records and Tommy Boy.

“Me Myself and I: The Best of De La Soul” is a collection of some of their classic, their many collaborations (Beastie Boys, Busta Rhymes, MF DOOM and others), and guest appearances (Gorillaz, Ibrahim Maalouf, Potatohead People and others.)

Enjoy this deep dive into the influential work of De La Soul.

And until next month, stay sane, safe, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Across 110th Street” – Celebrating the Sounds of Bobby Womack (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Across 110th Street” – Celebrating the Sounds of Bobby Womack (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on November 30, 2020

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Happy Monday, you all. Hope you had a good and safe Thanksgiving. Time will tell though.

While most of these offerings are genre and theme-based, I do like to feature a favorite, and often underrated, artist from time to time. This week, it’s Bobby Womack.

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While never a household name, Womack had a long and impactful career. He, like so many in his generation, started in a family gospel group with his brothers.

Womack became the protégé of gospel and R&B/pop star Sam Cooke, a session musician, a successful solo artist with decades of hits, a writer of his own and others’ songs, and along with Mos Def, and surviving members of The Clash, was a core member of Gorillaz.

Quincy Jones arguably stands alone in having a longer and more wide-ranging career. 10-year-old Bobby started touring with his brothers on the midwest gospel circuit as The Womack Brothers.