"I FEEL ALRIGHT Music"

My blogging has been quite sporadic in the recent. Apologies will be dished out in mailed cards to each and everyone of you the soonest... SCREW IT!!! You're gonna have to deal with a goddamn mass apology *gives mean face* ;-)

Truth is, I had been under pressure to deliver a first cut of a documentary I have been shooting for almost 3/4months in 3days. HOW THE HECK IS THAT HUMANLY POSSIBLE. Only going through the BLEEDING footage would take three days. But as all good 'thrillers' go, theres is ALWAYS an added conflict. Such was my case as... ofcourse. I had to chop up miles of footage in just two days and courier to Nigera with only 3days allowed to be dedicated to transport, when all courier services were giving me an earliest delivery date of 4 days. WHAT THE HECK!!

To make matters worse, when i FINALLY find a loop hole, which I admit was achieved through devious means (hey! You gotta do what you Gotta Do.. DONT JUDGE ME :-(  ) and my package is merrily on its way to Abuja, Nigeria, I decided to track it online only to find out my 'precious' package is on its way to... wait for it. . . 'ABIDJAN', COTE D'IVOIRE!!!!!! Are you kidding me? Are you FREAKING KIDDING ME!! ARE ALL THE F*CKING COURIER gODS OUT TO GET ME? PLUS (okay Ill stop with CAPS now) the Nigeria angle remains BLOWING (sorry) up my phone tryna find out when it gonna get there.. "It MUST get here LATEESSST Friday", said in the thickest Nigerian accent.. phew!! 

Anyway, status Update... Its 10am in NYC and about 4pm in Nigeria (they are 6 hours ahead) DHL tracking site says its now in Abuja, and the contacts in Nigeria have admitted to hearing it has been delivered and is somewhere in the building. SOMEWHERE IN THE BUILDING? Oh well... thats THEIR problem. Im not gonna think about it anymore, MY thriller movie is running end credits.

Anyway through the vicissitudes of my life, there should be no excuse for not fulfilling my obligation to blog and help in updating your iPOD. Even NYC rats have days when the garbage man makes his runs early and on time, leaving them with no trash to seductively roll around in.. Oh well!!

So on to today's music. I stayed up till about 5am the other day searching for downloads of old classic Nigerian music I heard while growing up. You know the ones that take you back to time where things could have not been better. Before the responsibility of bills, children, nagging wife, inattentive husband, car notes, McCain, Sarah Palin, bills (didnt i already say that? Oh well you know what I mean).

Like Ive said a million times, I was pommelled with music growing up from the 'parental units', Back then i thought it was a chore, but now I believe it was a blessing to be put in such an eclectic musical environment. I tell you this, my children WILL run the same course. They'll probably be complaining on the phone, internet (or whatever other contraption is invented by then) to their friends how uncool their parents are for forcing them to listening to Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Tupac, Biggie, Slick Rick, Outkast, Big Daddy kane, while they'd rather listen to some guy that raps/sings/rap-sings :-? about killing his wife and driving state wide with her dead in the trunk (oh wait! Eminem already did that). But I WILL do it! Curse words et al. They need to appreciate HipHop music as much as Soul, R&B, Jazz, Blues, Rock and Country (eerrrr..maybe to much of the last).

Anyway, back on course ( I can TAAAALLLK), Im gonna post some songs that immediately throw me back and open my heart to sunshine and fondness. There are alot of classic cuts I'm still trying to get, so if anyone has any ideas where I can download old Nigerian classics (e.g Tunji Oyelana, Bright Chimezie, Christie Essien, Felix Liberty, Sonny Okosun, Chris Okotie etc PLEASE send a link)

Ill start with one that would have driven me to sell my ass on the street in order to get that sh*t on my iPOD. I have it now.. Dont ask what I did to get *Kemi covers head in shame*

I had to call my dad to ask for the name. Ahhhhhh... Nelly Uchendu!! How could I forget the almost chilling background voices singing, 

            If you want to marry a husband/Never you marry a waka about/

            If you marry a waka about oh/Tomorrow trouble, Trouble... TROOUUBLE"

The cautionary tale speaks of a young woman attracted to 'bling' and the 'highlife' who marries this man who is handsome with "a moto/ a very BIG moto/With aircondition and Fridge oh"

You have to understand, for the time when this song was recorded, having aircondition and fridge in your 'moto' is the equivalent of today's cars being able to gear up and head into space at will.

Nelly's voice should not be confused with the 'chipmunk' sounding background singers. Miss Uchendu is like a nightingale riding the palmwine guitar riffs. I especially love that the download I got still has the scratchy vinyl sound. It just COMPLETES the feeling.

Ofcourse this girl in the song's story ends in tragedy. Nelly tells us that this 'white knight' is actually a 

               "Wayo Number ONE, A drunkard, a Gambler

                 a father of MANY children, a Thief and a Rogue oh

                 Money dubbler, and a Smuggler, maker of Counterfeit oh..."

Hmmmm...Obviously a 'jack-of-all-trades! I dont know what Nelly was bitching about. In todays's economy, is PAYS to be multi-faceted in your ability to bring home the doe. 

However, not only was he an 'economist', but

                    "The man nah boxer before/wey dey practise on him wife oh

                     When him drunk oh... 

                  Ahhhh 'IGGAAAADAM' (sound efx of him beating his wife) on 'im wife oh

                   When he vex oh...

                   Ahhhhhhh.. 'IGBAAADAAMM' on 'im wife oh

                  Even when he tire oh

                   Ahhhhhhannnn, 'IGBAAAADDAAAAMM' on him wife oh

Okay, so i draw the line on wife battery. :-)

Nelly is a expert story-teller on the song. Backed by Sonny Oti and his Group, "Late Night Husband" is a blissful 15:21min journey. Enjoy it.. You wont regret it!!

NELLY UCHEDU (with Sonny Oti and his Group) - "Late Night Husband"                   

	Sonny Oti & his Group w. Nelly Uchendu - Late Nite Husband
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Above is one of my FAVORITE song of  yesteryears. If anyone has a link where I could download this song I'd be ESTATIC!! Another homorous story telling song, tells of Bright's  journey to the 'white man's' land for the first time in 1974.  He doesnt like their food, so he brings along his own and when they (white man) witness him eating his 'African Dishes' (by hand, i might add), specifically the cassava meal called Eba with Ogbono soup, its so strange, they think he's performing 'Magic tricks' HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!

Wait.. it doesnt end there... When he tells them he isn't performing Magic Tricks, they then report him to the police, insisting that "The Black man wey dey here is committing SUICIDE"

I Just LOOOOOOVE this song. The beat, the melody, the lyrics all come together for a perfect 'touch down'. Even if your not Nigerian, or African, you CAN'T help but find the melody contagious. I almost want to get up from my laptop (its playing as i write this) and do the wicked shuffle, like Mr. Chimezie's background dancer to the left (0:32mins- 0:34mins). HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA... PRICELESS!!!   BRIGHT CHIMEZIE - "African STYLE"

OSIBISA - "Woyaya"

"HOW BOUT A LIL' LILY TO BRIGHTEN UP YOUR DAY?"

Its getting cold in NYC. I knew it would happen eventually... I mean, it IS supposed to happen once a year, but I thought in exchange for us unappreciative inhabitants of the earth pointing a bazooka and blowing a gigantic hole through the ozone layer, Mother Nature would be disorientated with her weather schedule and keep the warmth for just a while longer... at least till January :-)

I joke.. I Joke... I kid.. I kid.. and DO understand the importance of the season (huh?)... you just can't force me to like it :-(

Coupled with my disdain for the weather change, I am SWAMPED with work and need some cheer, smiles and sunshine. Since I can't get the last from the universe (this is the last time I b*tch about the weather.. I PROMISE), I decided to turn to music to open up the sunny flood gates.

What to play... What to play... Ahhhhhh... Heeeeerrrrr.... *Kemi clicks play*

I LOVE Lily Allen for three main reasons; She is funny, she is rude (and unapologetically so), and she remains cute doing it.

Through her myriad of troubles, stemming mostly from alcohol abuse, Lily has always told it as it is and never sugar coated her addiction. She's quoted in 'Time Out new York", as saying, “When you walk into your dressing room every night and there are 40 beers, it's difficult not to drink them all, you know?”  

I can TOTALLY relate Lily... Its not as if they're gonna drink themselves?!! Drink the liquid content and help speed up the recycle process... you know... i can dig it (straight face)?!! 

What I also dig about Lily is the fact that her East London accent remains even when she's singing. Most times artistes even with the thickest foreign accents lose them when singing and suddenly just sound AMERICAN...but Lily's 'cockney' remains as potent as ever.

For your merriment today Im gonna put up two of my favorite songs which happen to be her two best breakout singles as well.

The first is my favorite, the calypso influenced 'LDN' which is her second single off her platinum album, "Alright, Still...". Not only do i love the song, I love the concept of the video. Basically we have Ms. Allen dressed in an elaborate ball gown, strangely accessorized with sneakers for footwear and happily skipping through the streets of London (LDN) on her way to meet up with her boyfriend. She's so happy and blinded by love that she sees only good and is totally oblivious to all the bad happening around her.

                      "When you look with your eyes /Everything seems nice 

                        But if you look twice /you can see it's all lies..."

Walking down the street she sees an old woman struggling with shopping bags and a young boy kindly comes over to help her... what's really happening is the boy is mugging the old lady. Along the way, she also spots,

                        "...A fella looking dapper, and he's sittin with a slapper 

                        Then I see it's a pimp and his crack whore..."

I couldnt have written that piece more eloquently myself :-/   Incase I didn't mention, Ms. Allen swears more that a ship full of sailors forced into confessional.... But i LUURRRVVVEEE IT and she's unrepentative as well; "the truth is I don't want to be in their f*cking stupid magazines and daily f*ck rags . Infact I hate it , i dont want to be a celebrity, I am a singer, I write songs, thats it .”

Tell'em gurrrlll... who says because you sell 2million CDs, you automatically become a role model (straight face again). You should be allowed to drink copious amounts of alcohol before a show, show up three hours late, stumble over your dress and forget the lyrics during your performance... Its YOUR RIGHT, DAMMIT!!! 

Anyway, ENJOY the videos to 'LND' and 'SMILE' (another hilarious video where she makes an Ex's (a DJ) life a living hell. He comes to her for comfort while unbeknownst to him, she doses him with laxatives, gets thugs to beat him up, and scratches his entire vinyl collection just before a gig... THIS WOMAN IS MY IDOL!! :-)

Lily Allen - 'LDN'

Lily Allen - "Smile"

"I JUST CANT GET YOU OUTTA MY HEAD"

Ive decided to put myself into song rehab 'cos this is killing. I didnt intend to blog today but sh*t is getting way ridiculous now. I'm sure most of you know what I'm talking about... You hear song once and you just can't get the damn thing outta your head... Or like me, you extend the torture by frantically searching for the song without rest and when you eventually do, you got that damn thing on loop... LITERALLY!!!

Thats the place I'm in with The Dream's "Playing In Her Hair". First of all, I am NOT a DREAM fan. I just thought I'd just put that disclaimer out there before we go further into this f*ckery that is my addiction. I'm averse to his constant need for repetition in his lyrics e.g Umbrella..ella..ella..ella.. or the word 'aye.. aye...aye' (re:'Shorty Is Da Sh*t') I think he does this for the Palin-like brains listening to his music. I personally might not be a fan, but THE DREAM has done very well for himself not only recently as a recording artist, but as a song writer, penning hits like Mariah's  'Touch My Body', Rihanna's 'Umbrella' (ofcourse), J Holiday's 'Bed' to name a few, and of course the subject of todays post, off his personal album LOVE HATE release December 2007.

My brother tells me I have an unwavering nack for making people hate nice songs as I'll play them OVER, and OVER, and OVER, and OVER, and OVER again till everyone's had enough of it.

Right now as I write this I have the bleeding song playing. Ofcourse It's played out at least 5times during the composition of this piece, but what do i do?  ...I just click right back to my iTUNES page and double click that baby once again;

                "Before the Sex pop-off, she rub my back, rub my back, rub my back

                 She never gone for long she be right back/be right back/Shorty be right back

                 And She keeps a bag full of goodies/Her Loves baked up like Pillsbury Cookies

                 It aint about the Benz or the money/She's my bee/I'm her Honey

                DAMN, thats my homie/ And she's got Me Playing In Her Hair... aye..aye"

MAKEEEE ITTTT STOOOOOPPP!!! I'M WILLING TO DO ANYTHING... ANYTHING... ANYTHING... But not till after I hear it for ONE LAST TIME :-? *Kemi's eye-balls roll back as she scratches her arm like a 'feen'*

The Dream - "Playing In Her Hair"

And for (not so random) added amusement...

Kylie Minogue - "Can't Get You Out of My Head"

"THE 'Black Moses' TAKES STAGE FOR THE FINAL TIME"

I'm siting upright in bed, trying to finish a script I'm working on, and intermittently checking on my FaceBook page. I have my iPOD connected to my Laptop playing on 'random'. I love doing this when I'm working cos it surprises me with gems i have but haven't heard in a while. This tends to happen a lot when you have over 8,000 songs on your iPOD.

Today's random 'surprise' gem doesn't disappoint. Its hard to get it wrong on a beautiful Sunday morning... Life is good, its warm in NYC and there's this soft yet massive sunlight beam flooding in on me through my bedroom window. I turn my face to the right to feel the rays evenly on all parts of my face and through the window i notice for the first time that I can see the rooftops of beautiful manhattan buildings for at least 10 blocks down. They look so different with the sun dancing against them. 

Suddenly soft piano chords trickle through my ear phones, and i smile... i know this one... I LOVE this one... It reminds me of my father. I can visualize him in his house coat leaning back in his chair, eyes glistening with a faraway look in his eyes, smile on his face, and right hand slowly folding invisible air over and over, along to the beat.... Thats when he isn't playing his 'air- piano'. He LOVES this song, He especially LOVES this artist... He has made it that if anything was to happen to him (my dad, GOD FORBID), i wouldnt be able to listen to this particular artist. If i dared, I probably break down sobbing, cos it brings the above vision.

I'm singing to it down and making the same body movements my dad does, 

                                       "IIIIIIIIIIIIII stand accuuuuuuuuuuused
                                        Of looooooooovin' you, Too much!

                                        And i hope,
                                        I hope it's not a criiiiiiime, 

                                       'Cause if it is,I'm GUILTY!
                                        Of lovin' you, you, you.

This has to be one of the GREATEST love songs ever written. It encapsulates the feeling of loving someone that belongs to another person. The frustration of toiling to keep your feelings hidden until you reach that point where you don't give a DAMN anymore who knows,

                                       "I know, I know, You belong to another.

                                        I... I may not stand a ghost of a chance.
                                       I'LL STAND ON TOP OF MT. EVEREST,
                                       And PROUDLY tell the world that I LOVE ya.
                                       Oh yes I will...

                                      Because I...  I just can't... I can't help my self
                                      I'm a victim of circumstance..."

Words are just Words, but have them interpreted by one of the GREATEST artists and music arrangers ever born (in my opinion) and ITS A WRAP. If the pain this man is able to translate doesnt break your heart by the end bar of this song ('I Stand Accused'), your simply not human!

I have been an Isaac Hayes fan ever since i was able to say the words, NO! My dad made sure of this. It was played on vinyl when we were at home on the loudest, in the car on our way to Ikoyi Club on Sunday mornings, on the way back, on the journey to school (cos that was the tape the driver found Monday after in the deck), sometimes the journey back home as well.

'THE BLACK MOSES'... my dad would hail, screaming to the speakers as Isaac does one of his solo piano 'wonders' during a break down in the song, 'Something'. 

Isaac had a way of taking a song, not written by him, and turning it inside out, upside down until when he delivered it back for your enjoyment, you wonder if this was the same song (e.g. "The Look of Love") written by the great Burt Bacharach, performed by everyone from the Dusty Springfield to Gladys Knight. 

However, no other version of "The Look of Love" has been able to inspire an entire hiphop generation like Mr. Hayes' did, with its complex vocal and instrumental arrangements. Its almost like it starts off as one song and ends as an entire different one. Sometimes, in the middle of a song, he stops singing only to break into an instrumental with a solid orchestra backing, heavy horns screaming, the organ and deep bass vocals... and then... as if it never happened, he resumes singing... JUST LIKE THAT.

A CLASSIC  'Isaac' signature, making songs at times a long 15mins 'experience'.. for just one cut (FELA style).

HipHop artists like Jay-Z ('Can I Live'), Wu-Tang ('I Can't Go to Sleep), Ashanti ('Rain on Me'), Snoop (G'Zs Up, Hoes Down'), Smiff N' Wessun ('Stand Strong') - (just naming a few) all sampled Isaac's CLASSIC  "The Look of Love" and many other cuts have been sampled as well.

A formidable force in the STAX movement, Isaac helped build STAX records to the soul music 'Power-house' it is remembered as in the history books today. He wrote songs and built the careers of many, but things were never the same for Isaac after parting ways with STAX records over financial disputes. Unfortunately the LEGEND passed away August 10th 2008 after battling bankruptcy, and other legal and health issues. His wife found him unconscious next to a still running tread-mill. Isaac was in the process of making another album.

He might have taken bowed out the stage for the final time in physical form, but the 'Black Moses' lives on in his music and this blog post. 

Please enjoy the cuts "I Stand Accused", "The Look of Love", "One Woman" -   and as you do, remember to make make 'soft air folds' with your right hand, and play the 'air-guitar' when appropriate... Its only right, you do it RIGHT ;-)

(p.s. when listening to 'The Look of Love', look out for my ABSOLUTE favorite part. It comes between 1:29 - 2:00mins. If while listening to it, your heart doesn't absolutely burst with Joy, I don't know what will.)

Isaac Hayes - "I Stand Accused"

Isaac Hayes - "The Look of Love"

Isaac Hayes - "One Woman"

" Out the Neo-Soul Basement of... "

Sorry I haven't been on here for a bit. Been trying to keep them darn balls motion in the air. But life is GREAT and I'm LOVING being in it.

Straight into today's business; as an offering unto the altar of Soul music, we pay a visit to the Neo-Soul basement to see what who's jam session we're able to witness. I'm a BIG soul music fan and all its variations - this happens to include neo-Soul as well. I know alot of people we're reluctant to jump on this new bandwagon driven by proponents like Raphael Saadiq, Angie Stone, Erykah Badu, Maxwell, D'angelo, but it eventually cut on and birthed other artists like Jill Scott, Dwele, Raheem Devaughn, Musiq... just to name a few.  It still has not crossed mainstream, except maybe with Lauryn Hill's breakthorugh MONSTER hit album; The MisEducation of Lauryn Hill. 

In this post, I'm going steer away from the big guns in this genre... except maybe D'angelo. D' deserves honorary mention, just for being the GENIUS that he is. Alternatively, Im highlighting the new boys making waves underground in the independent circuit. You might have come across a couple of names, some might be fresh hits for you, however ALL should make your iPOD. 

I'm going to start of with the gentleman called Raheem Devaughn. This gentleman BLEW my mind the first time I heard his underground hit single, "Guess who loves you more". Raheem had the uncanny ability to convey to ladies in a song EXACTLY what they want to hear from their men... "Lady, Lady Lady, My darling darling baby, I wanna restore your hope, forget about your past, this thing's gonna last.."  On hearing this, as a lady, you might start of 'hard to get'. I mean we ladies have heard this bull a million times before, but Rah goes on, "My love for you can never be measured, Girl I treasure your Love, and each day my love multiplies for you, Girl as long as father time is on my side, I'll always be by your side, Girl you're perfect in  my eyes, Your My joy and pride... " AND ITS A WRAAAAPPP!!! *sigh*

But we're not messing with "Guess Who Loves You More" today. That was freebie for you guys. Make sure it makes the iPod... It'll come in handy when you're girl's mad at you. SERIOUSLY!!

Rah's post for today is the song "BELIEVE"... GEntlemen... Ladies.... This song is FIIIRRREEEEE. I'm going to put my reputation on the line with this one (like its worth anything ;-0 ), and dare any guy to send this to the girl of his dreams. The one he's been trying to get... She is GOT by the final riffs, GURANTEED!!  Raheem once again breaks into the insecurities and fears in every girl's mind and puts it to ease with such prowess...

             "...with patience and understanding 

               like a teacher with a student, vice versa
               promise not to hurt you, not to leave
               not to lie, not to cheat, not to fuss
               not to stress, like the rest in your past

               Believe me I ain't like most men
               I ain't like them others
              you done dealt with in your past
              just have some FAITH
             that is ALL I ask, BELIEVE in me.."

I think what makes his pleading even more compelling is his breathless rasps as he sings over the sensual groove. Not content to just sweep you off your feet, Rah wants to knock you the f*ck out!!

  

                              "Lately I have been thinking 

                               about this crazy world,
                               being one step away from war
                               So tonight baby,
                               I want to make love to you
                               Like this world is coming to an end
                               and if we should die tonight,
                               In the next life
                               I'm gonna love you the same
                               Ain't nothin gonna change

WHERE THE HECK DOES HE GET THAT FROM? I just want MORE and MORE... I BELIEVE!! I BELIEVE!! *Kemi Screams* Anyway, RESPECT the man, listen to the song and download or buy the entire CD. You WONT regret it.. I PROMISE!!

Our second Man to look out for is your boy, Eric Roberson. This New Jersey native is an accomplished song writer who broke out on his own preaching the Neo-Soul gospel ever since 1994 with his first single "Moon". He's got AMAZING collaborations with Jill Scott, Musiq and even with Raheem Devaughn (GET THIS SONG - Love of da GAME), just to name a few. His 'live' game is amazing. I got the opportunity to watch him perform and meet him afterwards sometime last years at the New York 'Mecca' for fabulous indie/alternative music, SOBs on Houston and Varick. He has a charm that exudes even when he is not singing. In the audience to support him was his fiance, his parents, even his pastor, and he trully brought the spirit down into the house. I'm gonna post up his beautiful ballad "Pretty Girl". Its such a touching, mellow, sunshine morning kind of song. It puts you in a mental state you want to be in, with lyrics that actually speak to you. 'Pretty Girl" talks about a girl who has probably been hurt before by Love in the past and puts up walls in relationships, hiding behind her beauty. It's a beautifully executed song... Eric pleads.. "I wanna know who you REALLY are..."

Another Eric Roberson song worth of honorary mention is another gorgeous ballad called, "Too Soon".. " So girl when I say 

                          say girl lets take our time
                         Understand girl that I'm
                         I'm not offering game
                         Hopefully girl in time
                         how u and i deal with change
                         Its Too Soon to say I LOVE YOU

And FINALLY, for me the BABA of the new wave Neo-Soul game. Par alone to Raphael Saadiq, its my 'baby-daddy' D'angelo. Its really a shame with all thats gone on with him stretching from legal to health problems. Like all GENIUSes, D'angelo is missing a couple of marbles short of a complete set that should aid him in dealing with real life. I believe all geniuses of any kind have these marbles missing. Thats what makes them eccentric, 'left', it stretches to the unbelievable things they do. From Einstein to Wole Soyinka, to R. Kelly, to Van Gogh, to a friend of mine's father... Its some sort of behavioural license that handed out when they Immaculately created. Sometimes, their gift must feel like a burden to thses special class of people. 

D'angelo after shooting the "Untitled, How Does It Feel" video was hounded by women for his body and sex appeal... WHO COULD BLAME THEM? Apparently at shows, the focus turned from his music to screams for his shirt to be taken off... and what does a purist like D'angelo do when he thinks the attention is taken from his music - his gift to the world? He gains weight.. (check pic above) and goes underground.

He leaked a single sometime last year called "Really Love". Some critics proclaimed this as evidence that D'angelo was DONE as you couldnt really make his slurry words on the track. Others (like me) thought the song was CLASSIC D' and didnt care if you couldnt make out his words. The melody was AMAZING, the vocal arrangement, like 'pure honey on your tongue'. Apparently, he has gotten his act together and a new D'angelo album is 'supposedly' scheduled to be released late this year. CANT WAIT FOR IT.. lets pray for him. 

I'm posting one of my favorite songs off his sophomore album, "Send It On". D'angelo broke the 'Sophomore Curse' (not an easy feat) and delivered ANOTHER classic with the VOODOO album and this is an offering off it.. ENJOY

Raheem Devaughn - BELIEVE

Eric Roberson - PRETTY GIRL

D'Angelo - SEND IT ON