Sheldon Taylor's Souls of Black Notes

                                                                                                                             "If you can see if you can solve the mystery, the answer revolves around your history."  The opening hook to Rakim's 1997 The Mystery (Who Is God?) easily defines the mystic legacy of the legendary emcee who changed the creative direction of hip hop music back in 1986. Golden era peers like Slick Rick and Big Daddy Kane lamped in the spotlight in all their bejeweled glory. Rakim chose to play the background---oblivious of his popularity but always in tune with his greatness. His line from 1990's Set'Em Straight said it all: " one thing I don't like is the spotlight---cuz I already got light!"  Thirty plus years after his debut, Rakim invites readers to follow the leader into his literary universe Sweat The Technique: Revelations On A Creativity From A Lyrical Genius. Billed as "part memoir-part writing gui

  "I don't waste my talent/my talent is ample / And if you don't believe me/ then here is an example The words that I used by means of the brain/ transformed into words that can never be plain"                       Just Call Us Def---Steady B (1985)             "Fresh is the word/that's how I'm described              and so sweet is the rap/ of what I prescribe"               Fresh Is The Word---Mantronix (1985)                  "Biggest rap/no crap/I do not sing     You wanna show/let me know/just gimme a ring"     Together Forever (Live at Hollis Park '84)-Run-DMC  Today's streaming era reminds me of mid-eighties rap. It was about the single. Back when a 12- inch rap record's durability knew no end. The good old days when a hot song could rock for an entire year, the way records like Rapper's Delight , The Breaks, Feel The Heartbeat, The Message and Planet Rock marked time to hip hop

  They may have been two polar opposites of the musical coin but Michael Joseph Jackson and Prince Rogers Nelson were really kindred spirits whose lives and careers flowed in similar directions. Breaking free from the static industry grip on Black performers, their artistic liberation was fueled by a strong sense of self and fearless creative vision funded by the deep pockets of their record labels. Midwestern-born luminaries, they shared concurrent commercial breakthroughs and endured  industry dust-ups in the fight for artistic control. Belief in the Jehovah's Witness faith insulated Jackson from the vices that destroyed many entertainers. It offered Prince spiritual solace and the inspiration to distance himself from his racy younger years. Their dominance seemed destined to go on forever. In time, the pair went from leaders to followers struggling to keep pace with a youth-driven modern music industry they helped birth. Slight in stature and build, Jackson and

"Part of rap's adhesive is the seamless transition, the sense of continuum, eternity, living with the beat forever"     Barry Michael Cooper: Spin Magazine(1986) "Who da cap fit/let him wear it" Bob Marley (1976) Slang changes like the speed of light---with the swiftness of the latest iPhone rollout. As I watch the peacock vernacular parade go by, words like "drip" and "lit" lead the procession with the stylish strut of a runway model. Fresh faces of yesterday like "fly" "dope" and "swag"   retain a flicker of fame while one rapper remains the face of the entire campaign---Slick Rick the Ruler. One of rap music's greatest artists of all time, Slick Rick's elegant voice is like burnished wood grain. His crystal-clear delivery shines like a winged emblem of a fine motorcar. Premium. Evergreen. Timeless. Rick's   bouncy tracks and nimble storytelling st