Taking a Walk Down Musical Memory Lane
Did you get this newsletter from social media or a friend? If so, consider subscribing. This week, I’m talking about Verzuz, Maxwell’s 25th Anniversary, and a few articles for you to read this week.
This week I’m having a musical moment brought on by nostalgia.
That read like a musical commercial, but I’m a marketing honey, so here we are. Like the billions of people that Steve Harvey mentioned, I tuned into Sunday’s edition of Verzuz featuring the iconic groups The Isley Brothers and Earth, Wind & Fire, and let me say, I got my life.
The Isleys Brothers have always been one of my favorite groups since I can remember. I used to have the 3+3 album framed in my room and have always had a little crush on Ron Isley, which I’m glad people saw why with the grey beard.
Verzuz continues to get better each battle, but I’m not sure they can top this one because it was not only an opportunity to two-step with your family over Easter Dinner, it was also a lesson in musicianship. The music from these two groups is timeless, and the way D-Nice blended the songs showed this.
Keeping the timeless thing in mind while watching made me think about how our music will translate to a younger generation or our (future) kids’ generations. Part of what makes the Isleys and EWF music timeless is the lyrics and the instrumentation. A good chunk of our music today is NOT like this at all. Lyrics are either corny or overly sexual, the vocals are often auto-tuned, or the production is excessively produced. Except for artists like Anderson Paak or PJ Morton, much of the music is currently created on a computer vs. real instruments and sound so specific to this time - imagine explaining the made for Tik Tok tunes to your kids. Additionally, can you imagine introducing your kids to the music of Future in 2032? It’s hard to translate his music in 2021, so I’m sure it would be like, wtf? (Not sure why I always have a diss ready for Nayvadius)
I also spent a lot of time while watching thinking about how much of both EWF and Isley Brothers music were sampled. I told my godsister whenever I hear Isley Brothers' “Footsteps in The Dark,” I want to drive with the windows open and smoke weed (I don’t smoke weed), but it’s because I always also think of Ice Cube’s “Today Was a Good Day.” That being said, here is a list of ten of my favorite sampled songs from the groups with the original song:
Queen Pen - “Party Ain’t a Party.”
Samples Earth, Wind & Fire - “On Your Face.”Jay Z featuring Memphis Bleek, Freeway, Young Gunz, Rell, Peedi Crack - “As One.”
Samples Earth, Wind & Fire - “Fantasy.”Raheem DeVaughn - “Guess Who Loves You More”
Samples Earth, Wind & Fire - “Can’t Hide Love.”Jay Z ft. Amil - “Nigga What, Nigga Who (Originator 99)”
Samples Earth, Wind & Fire - “Sunshine”Notorious B.I.G - “Big Poppa”
Samples Isley Brothers - “Between The Sheets.”J.Dilla “Won’t Do.”
Samples Isley Brothers' - “Footsteps in The Dark.”Mac Miller's “Good Evening”
Samples Isley Brothers' - “Between The Sheets.”Groove Theory - “Hello, It’s Me”
Samples and also a remake of Isley Brothers’ - “Hello, It’s Me.”Erykah Badu ft. Andre 3000 - “Hello”
Sample Isley Brothers’ - “Hello, It’s Me.”J. Dilla ft. Common and D’Angelo “So Far to Go”
Samples Isley Brothers’ - “Don’t Say Goodnight.”
Honestly, we could also do a history lesson on J.Dilla samples, but yes, this was just a rant, but I loved the battle, and the outfits - Steve’s purple suit and white hate was a look.
Watch the Verzuz here.
Listen to a curated playlist on Spotify from the battle.
Here are things I thought were worth sharing this week:
Keeping with the nostalgia theme, I wanted to say prayers up for DMX. A few months ago, I wrote about the docu-series Ruff Ryders, and I learned so much about him there. I am hoping he pulls through.
Maxwell just celebrated the 25th anniversary of his album, Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite. I remember listening to this on cassette tape in my dad’s then brand new Honda Accord, and yet, decades later, this album still stands the test of time. “Whenever Wherever Whatever” is still hands down one of my most favorite songs ever. Maxwell spoke with D-Nice on Instagram Live to celebrate the anniversary, where he also shared music from Maxwell’s discography. Maxwell also spoke with Rolling Stone magazine about the anniversary.
I found this article to be both blasphemous and thought proving. As a response to the pandemic, what if we had to leave brunch behind? Terrible though right?
Interesting read about how celebrities are becoming book influencers. The article mentions how people like Cindy Crawford's twin daughter, Kaia Gerber or Kendall Jenner, are creating a new generation of readers through their book recommendations on social media platforms. Also, the article speaks to how this isn't a new idea as Oprah was the first one to usher in book clubs in this way. A quote in particular that stuck out to me from the article is this quote:
“Books are such a pure form of how we receive ideas. Everyone is paying more attention to the literary world.” - Lisa Lucas, Publisher of Pantheon and Schocken Books.
This article on Black Friendship, in particular, black woman friendship, made me miss all my girlfriends. For the article, NYTimes spoke with hosts of the Netflix podcast, “Ok Now,” Scottie Beam and Sylvia Obell. Jazmyn Lawson of Netflix, who got the pair together for the podcast, was also featured in the article. Here are two quotes that I loved and plan to send to some of my friends:
“My girlfriends are the love of my life.” - Sylvia Obell
“I have a tribe of women that hold me down. My auntie team is impeccable.” - Scottie Beam
That’s all for this week.