Whea Yo Ghost At

Just some amazing covers of Roy Ayers Ubiquity’s “Everybody Loves The Sunshine” by D’Angelo & Swarvy for the hell of it. 

D’Angelo “Everybody Loves The Sunshine”

Swarvy “EverybodyLovesTheSunshine [ft. Versis & Melanie Charles]” (buy here).

Is this guy even human? -- I don't think Dil Withers is a human... MY GOD. 

“I CUT MY PLUG OFF SO NOW I’M BRICK SEARCHIN’ / PLUG TOLD ME TO PULL UP IN A WHITE SUBURBAN / HOPPED OUT THAT WHIP NOW IM PLUG SEARCHIN’ / AS I LOOKED TO MY LEFT A TALL WHITE PERSON ...”

This is what modern-day teen angst sounds like.  if you’re hating on this, I don’t think your in your right mind honestly. 

Merry Christmas, here’s the hardest rap song you’ve never heard. I was snooping through J-Zone’s likes on SoundCloud I ran across this gem of a free mix Just Out Of Dallas full of rare Dallas rap. It begins with “Ain’t No More Gangstas”, a rare slappin’ Syl Johnson-sampling song that calls out all of those who constantly front. 

Listen:

From John Coltrane’s Transition (recorded in ‘65, posthumously released in ‘70).

Happy belated, I continue to enjoy learning about your journey of a career. This one hits me in the feels everytime, a tear is at the ready to appear I promise you ... 

(Photo: via)

“I’m not going to produce something for other people. This is who I am. My first EP is called 'Eu Sei Quem Sou’ (I Know Who I Am). It came up when I knew who I was and what I was doing and what my goal was”. - DJ Marfox

Listen below:

The first time I heard this it took my breath away - relentless. untamed & free. I love learning about thriving movements involving young people like myself such as the kuduro movement out of Lisbon, Portugal -- it keeps me going. His assurance of knowing himself musicially makes DJ Marfox definitely someone to admire. From now on, I’m following the movement closely. 

Here’s a great interview he did with RBTV:

... a lot of crazy things (have been) going on -- from Ahmad Jamal’s album Extensions (1965).

Sidenote: Vernell Fournier’s drum solo beginning @ 4:52 is A-1. 

Once again, I’ve been away for a minute. I have a little freetime at the moment so I thought it would be nice to update this space. I decided to start something new, Relevant Song Titles (name subject to change) and will possibly publish later on this week a post with a few songs I’m feeling right now. Major thanks to everyone that has supported this blog -- seasoned & new alike. 

Listen below: 

"If God had a disco, the DJ would be playing California gospel-soul group The Supreme Jubilees." - Light In The Attic Records

I always knew Light In The Attic was special, I was hyped for the their release of their Digable Planets' The Blowout Comb re-issue way back in 2013, and recently they're getting me hyped once again. If you've followed the blog somewhat, you possibly remember me blabbing about my longest reigning favorite song in recent memory "It'll All Be Over" by soul-gospel group The Supreme Jubilees. The quality of the mp3 I shared wasn't that great (YouTube rip), but I sure played that song to death. I still do, as a matter of fact I recommended to some weeks ago.

@HiDanarian one of the best gospel songs ever crafted in my opinion -- soulful 70's slowed down funk https://t.co/eaRNUU9hXZ

— Le'Shawn (@leshawntaylor)

November 29, 2014

Man, that song -- I listen to it before I take exams & zoning out in road trips, I included it in mixes, etc. It alone has made me more cautious of the many 70's gospel albums I encounter on my record-digging ventures. (Here's an example.)

I was only familiar with the title track & a few songs from Supreme Jubilees' only album, but that is soon to change. Light In The Attic announced that they're re-issuing this rare gem & have already provided chances to pre-order along with an interesting story about the making of It'll All Be Over and it's re-discovery. 

Below, you can check out a track from the LP that Light In The Attic shared titled "Do You Believe" -- you'll like it, trust me. 

So, it's late November of this year. I'm at home and I had the sudden urge to scour the Internet for D'Angelo's Voodoo outtakes. At that time, I never knew such things existed on the web so I was literally taking a chance. And what do you know, demos have lived on the Internet for years due to Questlove being generous in '08 (he shared various demos on his now defunct Swift FM page.) Finding these songs led to me post this following tweet due the awesomeness I was missing out on on November 30. 

OH MY ... D'Angelo - Go Back 2 That Thing https://t.co/3v7g5kcyFp

— Le'Shawn (@leshawntaylor)

November 30, 2014

I began to think "Wow, D'Angelo doesn't even need a theme for his next album. He could simply record himself messing around with song ideas in the studio and I'm still buying it. They don't have to be mastered at all ... just keep the raw." Most of the recordings that stood out to me from the bunch were Gang Starr songs that D'Angelo and Co. re-created. 

D'Angelo "Soliloquy Of Chaos" (Stream the original by Gang Starr)

D'Angelo "My Ex To The Next" (Stream the original by Gang Starr)

There was also a cover of Ohio Players' "Pride And Vanity" that's unreal. 

D'Angelo "More Pride And Vanity" (Stream the original by the Ohio Players)

More Pride & Vanity by D'Angelo on Grooveshark

What's really tripping me out about all of this is the freakin' timing that I all of this occured. After the couple of days of listening to these songs, this surfaces: 

D'ANGELO AND THE VANGUARD - BLACK MESSIAH 12/16 pic.twitter.com/aijhVuwvUH

— Kanye Weast (@margielask)

December 12, 2014

Reaction: 

man i was listening to d'angelo's 'voodoo' rehearsals & outtakes not too long ago - they had me yearning for some new material. im excited.

— Le'Shawn (@leshawntaylor)

December 12, 2014

Black Messiah is here (support, support, support ...) and I'm digging it, along with the outtakes I found out about. The combo made me appreciate having the RVA hero D'Angelo back in the mix of things. Questlove has mentioned that there's even more to come from D'Angelo in the beginning of 2015 so I'm getting ready for it. You should too. 

FYI: This post was initally written many months ago, pardon my laziness. Thanks for those who have shown appreciation for this blog even when I was procastinating big time. 

It's funny how this post came about, nights ago I was re-watching videos Bling 47's Breaks: Dilla Edition, a series that takes an in-depth approach on  how  many of J Dilla's creations were made. The story behind the making of Black Star's "Little Brother" was what I found to be fascinating how the chops were arranged at that time. I couldn't help but think "those drums, man, those drums". So, I ended up heading to the trusty Discogs to get more info on the personnel behind "Little Brother"'s source, Roy Ayers Ubiquity's "Ain't Got Time", in order know who was responsible for such an amazing groove. Two drummers happened to be credited on the band's debut album He's Coming -- David Lee Jr. & Billy Cobham, so narrowed it down by taking a listen to both of the musicians' catalogs. In conclusion, I decided that Lee was the culprit. The real search had begun ...

Roy Ayers Ubiquity "Ain't Got Time" (1972)

I was searching the web for a while and found a few factoids about David Lee Jr., he was based in New Orleans (which has a history of being the home of very awesome drummers such as Ziggy Modeliste of The Meters) and had only released one album as a leader titled Evolution, the original pressings are insanely rare and on the pricey side -- it's been re-issued recently. There's a playlist of a few tracks from the LP below. 

David Lee Jr. 'Evolution' (1974)

More work of his can be heard on other works featuring him. To me, I think that was where he shined the most. The way he played sounded so smooth and effortless on the few songs that I did listen to give me life. A couple that I enjoyed the most are below.

Sir Edward "Betcha By Golly Wow" (1973)

Nicholas Payton & Butcher Brown "Eight", Outtakes From Numbers

The way how Corey hits those fat snares in the beginning -- oh man ... 

Sorry to those who have been messaging me about the status of the blog. My hiatus game is REALLY strong this year. Here's something that I've been meaning to share for a while -- an outtake of the song "Eight", by Nicholas Payton featuring the great guys out out Richmond, VA Butcher Brown (DJ Harrison - keys/bass, Corey Fonville - drums, Keith Askey - guitar, Andrew Randazzo - bass ). The final version can be found on Payton's latest album Numbers. 

Butcher Brown will be releasing their new album, All Purpose Music, this week on Oct. 21st. You can hear a few songs from that release and pre-order the album here.

Marcellus Pittman "Illa 5 Ella", from Erase The Pain (2010)

It's been a long summer, I did a lot of branching out & I'm soaking in all the things my mind is now allowing me to enjoy. For those who know what's up, I salute you -- please bear with me though. I admit I was a little hesitant to listen to music of a high BPM. (I find that weird, I can sure get down to some footwork.) I'm taking this little by little getting my research up, checking out the essentials, hearing the veterans speak & keeping up the upcoming talent (<-- the hi-hats on this are like heaven, WOW). I'm learning as I go & I'm loving every minute of it. I don't know what it was that was mentally blocking me to give techno a chance for almost 21 years, pretty sure it was the whole "rave" lifestyle that I thought was associated with it. Oh, silly, silly me. But, what has made me want to know more about it are the minds behind the sounds, especially those who've made an impact in the Detroit scene.

 “Jazz spawned house music, jazz spawned hip hop, jazz spawned funk and they all reflect back into that" - Theo Parrish

That little shame/excuse of the paragraph you just read is my way of encouraging some of you all who are currently having trouble adapting to music of a new genre to stick it out. Think of each genre as a person you've just met. What do you do you to get to know more about that person. Ask questions, take a walk in his/her shoes, learn about their origins and why act/walk/talk the way they do. Go out & explore my friends. 

Kankick "Herb Executive"

This has been providing me joy for the past two weeks I must say -- along with the instrumental as well. Everything that I heard that's available for streaming on YouTube from Kankick's Cal I Foreigner EP (recorded in '98, released in '03) has been nothing but heat, and it'll be much sweeter if could get my hands on the real thing and experience it in full.

You can do your homework on Kankick (if needed -- he's important, like appearing on Madlib's first record & being a vital piece of the West Coast scene important) & support his many releases on his Bandcamp. 

Delroy Edwards "Whats Yo Hood Like"

Delroy Edwards is honestly the reason why I decided to post ANYTHING on here recently. -- he made this blogging stuff seem exciting for me again actually. Delroy is basically the spark I sorta needed to find the strength within me to share. It's not that I don't like sharing anymore -- blah, blah, blah. Enough about my problems. My latest internet hiatus is over because I felt it was necessary to put out there that his the most exciting thing I listened to in a long while.  He's simply the truth: from his techno-based stuff to his experimental so techno-based stuff. He has this new screw tape Slowed Down Funk Vol. 1 where "Whats Yo Hood Like" stems from. The song reminds me of that Tommy -- a decent blend of ruggedness with a gentle melody.   

You can check out other favorites of mine, "Untitled 8", from his minimal-sounding Teenage Tape and the loosie "Maxwell" from his SoundCloud:

A somewhat unrelated blurb: When it comes down to getting the word on what's the best music coming out of Atlanta at the moment, my younger brother who's a high-schooler happens to be my most valuable resource keeps my intact with my fascination with the music that comes from such a creative place. With only the use of his cell phone, he remains to stay strapped with the latest & greatest, mostly with songs from the New Atlanta movement currently in effect. My role is usually the annoying old man asking him, "Hey, what's the name of the song where 2 Chainz says he has three cell phones & all of them are jumpin'? I'm digging that one." He then politely leads me to the right direction. 

Makonnen is still the only ATL native I keep up with on a normal basis. Almost everytime I check up on him, there's something positive going for him. A lot has went down ever since I interviewed him in '12. His connections are becoming more elaborate as days pass by and more people are catching on to his works. 

It seems like a more folks are catching on to his music and I wouldn't want it any other way. The fourth installment of his Drink More Water series is out now including revamped versions of some Makonnen classics. As of now, he's the current beholder of the Southside Atlanta's go-to anthem -- which happens to be "I Don't Sell Molly No More" produced by Sonny Digital. Yeah, it's going to be booming in some trucks for a while so get used to it.

#ilovemakonnenworldwide2014

El Topo "Sweet Science"

"Sounds like a cross between Ornette Coleman and Gary Coleman." - via

I'm not an expert at finding interesting contemporary free jazz whatsoever, so when I run into as special as this, the quietly released self-titled album by the El Topo trio (these guys are behind the group, I'm sure of it), I get excited. Unfortunately, the only person that I knew was selling it closed up shop before I could buy the thing to hear it in full so now I'm stuck with only this mp3 & guilt. It's all good though. You can have the mp3 too, which was provided by Sun Ark Records.

Jahari "Walk With Me", Cassette Rip From 'Situation Sessions'

It's been a while, I know. Many things have knocked the blog down a few notches on my priority list -- however my listening habits remained consistent over the weeks I haven't posted a thing. I spent a lot of time riding back & forth in my car equipped with cassette player that has gotten more action than it has ever had recently. The PPU-released Situations Sessions has lived there for some time. 

The Situations Sessions is a tape of basement recordings made in the 80's by Army vet/my favorite funk-man  Dwight Sykes & fellow Detroit musicians known collectively as Jahari. I bought it off of the strength of its preview PPU released two months ago -- and it has become my favorite cassette release of the year so far. There's many highlights: The show-starting, upbeat "Fire & Desire",  the love-yearning "One Night Stand", the trance-like "Mystical Lady" the heart-broken ending "That I Need" -- and of course my still-remaining favorite "Walk With Me" (my feelings about it remain the same just as the first time I heard it). I've never posted a song twice before, so this counts as the first one getting the special treatment. As a mentioned before, the versions of the songs on the cassette are slightly different than previous versions Dwight shared before, more raw -- you can feel it sink in as each song plays. Most of my time  listening to Walk With Me reenacting the drummer's (Hank McCall?) patterns with my imaginary drum set.

What you're hearing right now is a cassette rip of "Walk With Me" provided my me. It's all I'm willing to share, to hear the rest of these lo-fi gems you'll have to get a copy of Situations Sessions here via PPU. You can check out some other goodies such as alternate versions of songs that are featured the cassette below.

(Photo: Dwight Sykes & Jahari, scanned by me)

--

(Photo: Situations Sessions liner notes, scanned by me)

(mp3: Jahari "Mystical Lady", via Dwight Sykes' YouTube page)