The Black Artist Appreciation Thread

[allegro]

I also have a lifelong love for Ahmad Jamal:

[theimage13]

Had the extraordinary pleasure of watching Sonny play throughout the summer last year (not with EWF, but a different band). Makes it look so effortless, and you can tell how much he's enjoying it as he plays. Love that style of play, whether it's drummers or anything else.

And then there's one of the people who made me want to take up bass when I was a kid - the incomparable Victor Wooten. First and only time my mom ever pulled me out of school was to go catch him at an in-store appearance when I was in middle school. Actually seeing him play like that instead of just hearing it on CD was an eye-opener, to say the very least.



(edit: no idea why liking these guys is facepalm-worthy, but...okay?)

[zero]

Early jazz / swing / big band style music has always been something I enjoy tremendously. Here is a great song by two legends of the era:

[eversonpoe]

(edit: no idea why liking these guys is facepalm-worthy, but...okay?)

i almost 100% guarantee you that @allegro accidentally hit "facepalm" instead of "like" as she's generally one to have detailed conversations rather than do a passive-aggressive facepalm (and also sonny & victor are both awesome)

[allegro]

Yikes, sorry, I’m a drummer! I thought I clicked LIKE! I had a bad migraine today and my vision is terrible. Absolutely two LIKES!

[theimage13]

Yikes, sorry, I’m a drummer! I thought I clicked LIKE! I had a bad migraine today and my vision is terrible. Absolutely two LIKES!

I figured (and hoped) it was a slip. Hope that migraine is going away!

[fillow]

Are mixed bands fine too?

[elevenism]

Tyler the Creator has really blossomed. I loved a lot of his crazy ass punk-rap stuff from his OF days.
I never expected him to self produce a stunning, mature, concept album like Igor, though.

Here is a highlight

[elevenism]

That was the best cut I've heard off of that. I've been vacillating about checking it out for a long while now; I've always been too musically logjammed to spend time to just check it on a lark. Perhaps I shall give it another go. Gracias.

it's definitely worth listening to, and all in one sitting. It's sort of a concept album about a relationship ending, with a narrative, and repeating lyrical and musical themes.

I REALLY got a kick out of it.

[MrLobster]

[kaydraven]

I have an undying love for Anita Baker, R&B Queen:

Yes! I first got into her music as kid rummaging through my mom's CDs. There's something about her velvety voice that I still love. I also really like Sade, she's another artist with soothing, seductive vocals.

[MrLobster]

[MrLobster]

[ton]

[eversonpoe]

Lee Fields & The Expressions

Charles Bradley

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings

all artists i got into around the same time in the fall of 2018. just some really wonderful soul music. sad that both bradley & jones had died by the time i started listening to their music

[elevenism]

Probably my favorite album of all time.
I made Fugees shirts in high school with iron on printer paper, because I couldn't find them for sale.

I like a lot of Wyclef's solo stuff, too, ESPECIALLY The Carnival 1 and 2.

Yeah, I was obsessed. People started calling ME "Clef.'

Also, I still know every word on the album.

[r_z]

Just recently revisited the album. What did you -as a die hard fan- make of them breaking up/Lauryn going solo etc?

[elevenism]

Just recently revisited the album. What did you -as a die hard fan- make of them breaking up/Lauryn going solo etc?

at first, I didn't realize they were breaking up. Wyclef's The Carnival features Lauryn, Forte, and Praz.

I saw clef and forte on that tour: I think I was 17. Now, Forte wasn't an official member, but he was part of the Refugee Camp collective or whatever. He got arrested a day or two after I met him in dallas, and got like 15 years, mandatory minimum, and was eventually pardoned by W, through the help of Carly Simon, of all people.

I think that was the first blow. Then, Lauryn's album came out, and no one from the collective was on it but her. That's when I KNEW something was wrong.

Years later, I FINALLY figured out what I can't believe I didn't realize before: that Wyclef and Lauryn were in a relationship, that didn't end well.

Lauryn, you know, she just put out that one album, and a pretty much unlistenable, seemingly unrehearsed MTV unplugged tape.

Over the years, she's played the occasional show, but is notorious for cancelling shows, showing up an hour late, and general strange behavior.

And Clef, I hate to say, has sort of lost it. His last great album was The Carnival 2, in 07, which featured Paul Simon, the singer from System of a Down, and just generally kicked ass.

Nowadays he puts out songs on YouTube and gets hundreds of views, usually. He's lucky to get 1000. It's like, he's just lost the magic.

Forte plays guitar and sings and raps over it, and says that the tough guy image of his youth was just a front.

But, yeah, then breaking up REALLY broke my heart. If you want more of that sound, though, I HIGHLY recommend Wyclef Jean's The Carnival, volumes 1 and 2, and John Forte's wildly underrated Poly-Sci.

Edit: OH, and Bootleg Versions, which has versions of Ready or Not, Vocab, Nappy Heads, and such, with totally different lyrics, and also this here:


This is in my top few favorite songs of all time. I REALLY wish they would get over it and do another album. They were fucking incredible

[r_z]

Yeah, I was a fan myself back in '96/'97/'98 with The Score and The Carnival (and that Rumble in the Jungle song). And I remember The Miseducation being wildly popular among my classmates / peers (that is in Germany in '98). Wyclef made hits by essentially covering popular Pop or Dance hits and adding some raps to the mix. That got old pretty fast to me. I'd say in hindsight that The Miseducation is the best Fugees solo album in terms of artistic achievement. John Forte is an interesting character. He recently gave a very deep interview:



Also, I stumbled upon that RS story about Lauryn that's pretty insightful: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/m...n-hill-249020/

[elevenism]

Yeah, I was a fan myself back in '96/'97/'98 with The Score and The Carnival (and that Rumble in the Jungle song). And I remember The Miseducation being wildly popular among my classmates / peers (that is in Germany in '98). Wyclef made hits by essentially covering popular Pop or Dance hits and adding some raps to the mix. That got old pretty fast to me. I'd say in hindsight that The Miseducation is the best Fugees solo album in terms of artistic achievement. John Forte is an interesting character. He recently gave a very deep interview:



Also, I stumbled upon that RS story about Lauryn that's pretty insightful: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/m...n-hill-249020/

The Stayin Alive song is pretty goofy, but there is some actual greatness on that album

Remember this one?

ALso, thanks for the Forte link.
YEah, that dude was standing at the show where I saw him, trying to sell his own merch and such. Public Enemy was there, and Cypress Hill, among others, and people didn't really know who John was.

So when I came up to him, being this long haired white dude, telling him how his new album was my favorite in a long time, he looked at me, kind of smiling, like he thought I was fucking with him, haha. He signed a couple posters for me, once he figured out I was serious.

[bobbie solo]

Wyclef fully lost the script when that clown ran for prez of Haiti.

Oh, and this shit:



And didn't he get mixed up in some hotel investment scam in Haiti after the big earthquake too?

[elevenism]

Cut Wyclef a break.

yeeeeeeah, he got caught up in a charity scandal.

i just...i can't believe it's true.


Refugees Til Infinity

[allegro]

I can't ever think of Lauryn Hill without remembering Reznor's comment about her (and wondering about it).

[elevenism]

I can't ever think of Lauryn Hill without remembering Reznor's comment about her (and wondering about it).

Ms Lauryn Hill, at that point in time, was just sort of...out there. that's when she was, like, not showing up at her own concerts.

on the other hand, it's a damn cryin shame that we didn't get NINxWyclefxLauryn

[r_z]

(and wondering about it).

See that article I linked above: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/m...n-hill-249020/

[elevenism]

See that article I linked above: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/m...n-hill-249020/

i appreciate your contributions here, @r_z - don't get me wrong.

but, i've read the two articles mentioned in this thread, and i'm not sure what you guys are getting at.

also, how in the FUCK does trent's opinion matter, when we're talking about Ms Hill?

Furthermore, what in the holy hell does a Rolling Stone article really have to do with Ms Hill?

[allegro]

Mmm good points, @elevenism .

[botley]