Snippet One: Play

Young Jeezy, T.I., Bun B, Scareface, Slim Thug – Warriors Rap Figures III
Jay Z Verse (Queens Logic Harry Mix)
Lloyd Banks, Cam’Ron, Game, Fat Joe – Warriors Rap Figures IV
Young Jeezy, T.I., Young Buck, Lil Flip, Lil Wayne – Warriors Rap Figures I
Fat Joe, Big Pun, Freeway – Get Your Grind On
Styles P and Ghostface – Can’t It Be So Simple
Nas w/ Papoose, Blitz – Across The Tracks
Nas – Nasdaq Season Begins `06
Kanye West with Papoose – Hey Mama (Dirty Harry production)
Krucial – Take The Hood Back (Kerry “Krucial” Brothers production)

Snippet Two: Play

Cam’Ron – Oh Yes/ Mr. Postman
50 Cent and Kool G Rap – Hustler’s Theme
T.I. – Ride With Me (Murder Mix)
50 Cent – Simple Ain’t It (Dopeman Mix)
Nas and Killah Priest – The Saints
Cam’Ron – Do Your Thing (BDP Mix)
AZ – On My Home
Juelz Santana – Can You Count Suckers

Between the numerous Tony Starks articles at The Fader are The Warriors, which are not too far behind the several Dipset articles found off second-rate entertainment news wires, and it’s OK. Although hipsters endorse the shit out of this film and anything associated with it, that’s not the reason this 1979 cult classic is internationally approved.

The Warriors pioneered the “lost in the struggle” imagery that generates appeal to people of all demographics. And why wouldn’t people eat up a story with 100 gangs and 10,000 hardcore members that want to Timberland the NYPD?

Dirty Harry embraces The Warriors nostalgia to package a mix CD with 100 per cent mad cow beef that deaf kids would bop to. Serious blends like Cam’Ron’s “Do Your Thing” and BDP’s “The Bridge Is Over” hold enough weight keep a gang of strippers happy. Take two Queens Bridge beats, HOVA’s rhymes on “Go Crazy” then cut that up with Cam’Ron’s “You Got To Love It” and the result is one audio headline for rap’s pet beef that is titled “Jay-Z Verse.”

Rappers de jour are featured on four tracks titled “Warriors Rap Figures” and these tracks are arranged according to The Warriors’ trek back to Coney Island – yes, that is cool. Example, “Go Crazy” production with Lloyd Banks, M.O.P., Beanie Sigel, Sheek and Jadakiss rapping hard like the Gramercy Riffs on The Rogues.

Productions by Dirty Harry for Kanye West and Nas add two exclusives to The Warriors that cannot be found anywhere (yet). Fitting in like an adopted child is West’s “Hey Mama” featuring Papoose (watch Pap and Kay Slay get ignorant) and Tre Williams. But, having this unreleased joint – pulled from College Dropout (sample clearance?) – is definitely worth having for status. Nas and Killah Priest lyrically command “The Saints” over a production that can be called boring, but will be dismissed by fans as classic Illmatic sounds. Although “The Saints” is produced by Dirty Harry and is an exclusive to The Warriors, the track can also be found on 730 Hip-Hop Disciples 15 that is hosted by Killah Priest. Another bonus on The Warriors is Krucial’s “Take The Hood Back” and should be noted for that ultra-hard-gun-clapping arrangement.

It’s been said that Stephon Marbury is the best thing to come out of Coney Island, but with a season average of 16.5 PPG in 2006, the Knicks’ guard is being replaced by The Warriors – yes, yes we can dig it!

Grant Green: Let The Music Take Your Mind and Down Here On The Ground
From: Alive! [Blue Note, 1970]

When it comes to live albums I’m normally a little bit reluctant to play them out, the poor sound quality and scatty nature not appealing to my listening preferences. However, it’s a foolish man indeed who would ignore the live recordings of sixties funk and jazz. The performances often eclipse the studio versions, the improv nature of the gig allowing the artists to elaborate and develop on their themes, wandering off from the originals blueprint into something new and exciting.

A talented jazz guitarist, Green recorded a number of good jazz albums in the fifties and sixties for Blue Note, disappeared from the scene for a couple of years due to heroin addiction, and came back to record albums almost up to his death in 1979. Despite being a prolific performer, Green only ever appeared on two live albums and they’re both killers. The first of the two, Alive!, marks the real moment when his focus turned away from jazz and more towards jazz funk and I personally don’t think he ever came harder or funkier than this.

We’ll start with another great, great, cover for you. Green’s version of Kool and The Gang’s Let The Music Take Your Mind is a classy piece of jazz funk. Warning, get your headnodding mode in full effect and turn up the bass cos the Idris Muhammad
drumming on this track is absolutely killing it. There’s something about the live nature of this track which adds to the ambiance, the echo of the drums with Grants guitar and horns giving it an energy that I believe would never have been captured in a studio session.

Fans of ATCQ should have no problems recognising the first minute of Down Here On The Ground, those horn stabs and smooth percussion used to such effect in Vibes and Stuff. The track more than stands up on it’s own two feet though, the way the keyboards slide in over the percussion is a masterstroke of composition as the rhythm builds up speed and intensity over the course of the playing.

I’ve never really understood why Grant Green isn’t a lot more celebrated than he is, maybe it’s his crossover from jazz or his heavy use of cover standards but when you hear tracks like these you know it’s about time for a reappraisal.

Dos Noun – Proper English

I’m not exactly up on my mixtape game and I was even less up on it when the original dropped, so I could be wrong in asking the following question: why haven’t more rappers done this?

Thanks to dudes with boomboxes on Dominican Day, I heard a “Spanish slang” version that was pretty tight, but that’s pretty much the end of the list. I guess the idea is beneath E-40, who would be the obvious candidate.

Regardless, Dos is from Philly, and his assertion that he speaks with English slang and will never stop speaking it is a flat out lie. But check out his myspace page anyways.

Wayne Mcghie & The Sounds Of Joy:
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye, Take A Letter Maria
From the album: Wayne Mcghie & The Sounds Of Joy [Birchmount, 1969]

Wayne Mcghie & The Sounds Of Joy, reggae choc’ full of funk and soul straight from the heart of, Toronto? What the.. !! In actual fact the LP may aswell have been recorded in Jamaica, as it turns out over a dozen of Reggae’s finest session musicians were flown over to Cananda along with Wayne to cut it to wax. Being best buddies with Jackie Mittoo (Studio One veteran) must have a been a big help to get the Steller line up of Musicians that play on the LP, some say Mittoo himself plays on there too. The record was made in 1969 Wayne was just 23 at the time, the band toured to promote the album but unfortunetly it did not sell well due to no support from the record label. The final nail in the coffin though (which would also propel the record into Grail-like status) was when the pressing plant where the record was being made caught fire! destroying all remaining copies of the LP, aargh!!

The original vinyl now pass’s hands for $$$$ but thankfully its has been reissued by the lovely people at Light In The Attic Records and can be picked up for just $11, check out their website for much more information on Wayne and his music career.

De Drums – Keith Jarrett
from Fort Yawuh released on Impulse! (1973).

In the past month the only artist I’ve listened to more than Keith Jarrett is Billy Packer, and Keith definitely has occupied the most mileage on my ears in the last year. His recorded catalogue is humongus, and while not universally wonderful, it is varied and ultra deep. Jarrett is undoubtedly one of the most important jazz pianists of all time and a great deal has been written about his life and music including this very nice, though slightly out of date bio.

Briefly, I’ll just say that Jarrett was a genius from the gun, beginning as a child prodigy on piano and gigging professionally as an adolescent before getting a thorough musical education from two of the most stalwart learning establishments of all time: the Berklee School of Music and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messangers. Jarrett is best known for his hour plus fully improvisational solo piano concerts, which are essential to the jazz enthusiast. Since the 70s he’s led various small groups exploring many different facets of the jazz idiom.

Today I took a track from his Quintet’s first album on the Impulse! label, Fort Yawuh (recorded live 24.2.1973). While Jarrett’s work is celebrated as the forefront of the avant-garde, I chose “De Drums” to showcase Jarrett at his grooviest, riding a swinging piano lick and communicating extensively with bassist Charlie Haden (genius tone on this) and drummer Paul Motian. Along with the percussion work of Danny Johnson and sax of Dewey Redman, you can hear Jarrett sing and yelp along with his playing, which many say is annoying but I find endearing and accentuating. Since the track is long (12 minutes plus) and I wanted you to have it in somewhat high fidelity, I’m only posting this one track for now. This is far from a representative track of Jarrett’s work, and I wonder if there is such a thing for him. But in the context of a relatively simple groove you get what I think is one of his absolutely strongest points and that is his ability as a pianist to be both percussionist and melodist at the same time (check the piano-bass breakdown at 9:30 for instance).

It seems Jarrett is recovering well from a sustained bought with chronic fatigue syndrome, and he is a joy to see live. I was deeply saddened to miss his recent performance at the San Francisco Jazz Festival.

Uncut Featuring Richard “Kush” Griffith: Captain P
From: Blues & Rhythm. [Funk To The Max, 2002]

Richard “Kush” Griffith: Twilight Zone Of Our Love

So, last October I brought you exclusive new music from true funk fellas fONKSQUISh (damn, doesn’t time fly). Today I’m back with some music from their associates in the funk stable Uncut Musical Products (UCMP) led by true legend of Louisville funk Richard “Kush” Griffith. Now that name may not ring any bells straight off but howsabout if i told you that this man played with the JBs, Parliment, Fred Wesley & The Horny Horns and Bootsy’s Rubber Band. See what I mean? Funk Legend. You can read more about him on his official site.

Kush has had a pretty interesting life to say the least, losing his sight in the seventies to diabetes, and the journey comes through in his recordings. The first cut I have for you, Captain Pee, is from Kush’s 2002 album Blues & Rhythm, co-produced by Bootsy Collins. A funky little roller I present you a rawer stripped down version of the track for your enjoyment. Kush is backed on the recording by funkmeister guitarist Neal Landauer who, coincidentally enough, plays with fONKSQUISh as well. That’s the funk existential blanket in full effect children.

The second song I have for you is Twilight Zone of Our Love (man I love P-Funk song titles) from his upcoming album entitled Funk Mediocre to be released by UCMP. While Kush may not have the greatest voice in the world it has that certain something that grabs the listener and won’t let go. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s great to see this music still being made, as Chuck Da Fonk himself says, just “making funk however we can”.

Back with the heavy shit later in the week but for now, enjoy the funk.

Charles Earland: Leaving This Planet and Red Clay
From: Leaving This Planet [Prestige, 1973]

So, you know how I said I was going to drop the deep stuff for a while? Well, it’s still cold and it’s still wet so sod it let’s burrow further.

Charles Earland actually forged an early career as a tenor sax player, touring with the legend Jimmy McGriff in the sixties. However, as the tours went on Earland developed more and more of an interest in McGriff’s Hammond playing and it wasn’t long before he switched full time to the organ of choice.

Earland released a number of extremely funky 45s at the end of the sixties and also produced his classic Hammond funk album Black Talk which is seriously worth checking out if you don’t already own it. However, you can read all about Earland’s early career in an excellently thorough piece over at Funky 16 Corners cos today we’re focusing on Earland’s later, fusion based, period.

Charles Earland’s 1973 album Leaving This Planet is wonderfully, thrilling, complex funk fusion and really deserves much more attention than it receives. The title track is like some strange mix of Stevie Wonder and a whacked out library album as the spacey synth melody reverberates and warps round the soulful vocals. After the truly space heavy first section Earland lets the band’s instruments move into the mix, his organ playing leading the way as Harvey Mason’s percussion keeps the energy of the track high and pushing forward before the vocals resurface in the mix to carry the tune to the finish line. There’s so much going on in this tune that it took me about three listens before I even noticed the wah wah guitar meowing way deep in the mix. Oh yeah, forgot to mention that this is also quite beautiful.

Earland’s version of Red Clay is great as well (are there any bad covers of this song? They’re all so damn funky), Charles using the backbone of the original riff to take the tune into another dimension. A mean and dirty opening sets the scene as the combined talents of Freddy Hubbard and Joe Henderson bring their horn skills to the mix, Mason once again going crazy on the drum kit. Halfway through Earland decided it’s time for him to take centre stage and goes seriously insane, keeping time with the drumming as the track builds up a euphoric mood as hard as any of the straight funk records you’ll ever come across. I love this kind of fusion where all the different elements harmonise together, never losing the rhythm or mood. If only they made more albums like this.

Earland sadly passed away in 1999 but his music lives on. Play these loud and long.

Danger In Your Eyes (Mr. Supreme’s Buttery LP Mix) – Sharpshooters
from the 12inch single on Light In The Attic.

Deep Soul Pt. 1 – Ron Buford
from compilation Wheedle’s Groove on Light In The Attic (originally from 7″ on Camelot).

I’ve been reading this wonderful book recently, which is likely to be of interest to frequent readers of this site. Joseph Schloss’s doctoral thesis was made into a very readable book concerning an “ethnographic” study of sample-based hip hop producers. It is a scholarly work but isn’t too dry and is definitely informative. At its heart, the book is a sociological study of the sub-culture of sample-based hip hop producers which Schloss has studied through extensive oral interviews with members of this community. One voice that stands out to me as informative, entertaining, and interesting is that of Seattle based producer/DJ/record-collector Mr. Supreme (aka Danny Clavesilla).

Mr. Supreme teamed with Sureshot (aka Shane Hunt) to form Sharpshooters who put out a couple of albums in the 90s on Conception (Buck The Saw) and Shadow (Choked Up). Then in 2003, they released Twice As Nice on Light In The Attic, which featured many different styles of music compiled from their vast piles of samples and some live instrumentation. The track I’ve put up is my favorite off the album, namely “Danger In Your Eyes” which is just a lovely soul number that sounds like the best James Bond song that never has been.

As great as Mr. Supreme is as a producer, he speaks heavily in the book about record collecting, for which he is as least as well known. Lucky listeners got to share in some of his knowledge and effort when he put out the Wheedle’s Groove compilation of “Seattle’s Finest in Funk & Soul – 1965-75.” I posted a single by Ron Buford entitled “Deep Soul Pt. 1″ that is a short and fast little burner that knocks me right on my backside every time I hear it and then is over before I can even get up. Frankly, it isn’t even the best track on this compilation which is completely fantastic top to bottom. And now it looks like a movie about this project is being put together.

So there you go, a couple of tracks to pique your interest in a book, two albums, and a forthcoming movie. Have a great weekend.

Mulatu Astatqe: I Faram Gami I Faram (Heavy Latin), Ebo Lala, Mulatu
From the Albums: Afro Latin Soul [Worthy records, 1966] Mulatu Astatke [Soundway, 19??] Mulatu Of Ethiopia [Worthy, 1972]

Everything I here from this man never fails to blow me away, Mulatu’s unique blend of Latin, Ethiopian and American Jazz is just sublime, this is how fusion should be done. Each time I think I’ve got used to Mulatu’s Sound, I hear something new thats been dug up and it takes me off in a completly different direction. I’ve tried to illustrate my point with the three tracks I’ve put up for download, these are all perfect examples of his Ethio Jazz sound but each quite individual.

Astatqe has always described his music as ‘experimental’, experiments that were influenced from his extensive studies of music at University in Ethiopia, the U.K. and America. Mulatu never compromised or tried to conform with his music so that he could sell to the mass’s, he was well aware at the time that his music would only ever be appreciated by a small audience but this didn’t faze him, thank god

Original release’s by Mulatu Astatqe sell for rediculous money but thankfully there are several labels who have reissued his work Soundway Records being one, thier 10″ Mulatu EP is an essential record not only does it feature the absolutly banging Ebo Lala but also contains three other corkers!

Marva Whitney: You Got to Have a Job and I’m Tired I’m Tired I’m Tired
From: It’s My Thing [King, 1969]

It seems the perfect time for some funk sorbet to refresh your listening palette after the heavy duty nature of the last couple of posts. Part of the legendary triplet of James Brown divas with Lyn Collins and Vicki Anderson, Marva is possibly my favourite of the lot and comes across on record like a blast of raw soul.

It’s hard to believe that her 1969 debut longplayer, It’s My Thing, isn’t in fact a best off, the consistent quality of the output astoundingly high. In fact, Marva’s original debut album, a more mellow affair, was shelved after the label decided they wanted to present her in all her houseshaking glory. While I’d still love to hear the other album (rumours are circulating of it being issued) I can’t say that I’m not thankful that this album got made. Full to bursting with classic cuts I’ve decided to avoid posting up her most heavily sampled songs from the album and focus on some of the more lesser known gems on offer.

Confession time, I tend to avoid listening to much of the JBs output these days. James Brown’s greatest hits are always on the radio, adverts etc so I’ve never felt much of a need to revisit most of his 60s catalogue. However, revisiting his duet with Marva on You’ve Got To Have A Job (If You Don’t Work, You Can’t Eat) reminded me just how good this music is. Starting off in the most innocuous fashion the track’s groove slowly works itself under your skin and before you know it you’re entirely caught up in the power of the piece. I love the call and response aspect with Brown instructing Marva to call to Maceo and when she does it’s shivers time as the horns and her voice blend together. You wouldn’t believe it to look at her but this woman’s voice is pure dynamite.

I’m Tired I’m Tired I’m Tired (Things Better Change Before It’s Too Late) displays a more carefully controlled vocal performance by Marva over a downtempo but still resolutely funky backing. However, more controlled isn’t to say Marva doesn’t deliver the works, hitting high notes, low notes and everywhere in between as the band bring the trademark horns and percussion to the mix, JB shouting out in appreciation as Marva straight out kills it.

Listening back to both tracks I’ve just noticed the companion nature of them, the former laying down the facts about working life, the latter not so much looking forward to change as praying that some thing’s going to happen. Guess it’s not so easy to avoid deep as I thought. Anyway, the “Soulsister No. 1″ is still performing today and you can catch up on what she’s doing at her Official Website