Sheldon Taylor's Souls of Black Notes

Ask Heaven – Heavy D featuring Chico DeBarge ( Heavy, 1999 ) “ Thanksgiving Day will forever be hard/cause that’s the day we gave my brother to God” On October 30th, TV-One’s popular UNSUNG series kicks off a new season with an episode celebrating the life and career of the late great Heavy D. In a rare departure from his signature ladies anthems and party jams, Hev reworks Led Zeppelin’s iconic Stairway to Heaven into a somber reflection of love, life and the tragedy of addiction.

The Jacksons represent a rich tradition of an elusive legacy of communal Black creativity lost to many since Black music became fixated with the solo act. Unfairly dismissed in light of  brother Michael’s massive success---the older siblings endured unfair ridicule for years. A rrivin on the scene in '69 filling the Black teen idol void left vacant since the demise of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers--- the Jackson Five were a youthful version of their heroes James Brown, the Delfonics and Sly and the Family Stone.   Dynamic front man Michael and brother Marlon attracted the adolescent crowd, Budding young musicians were drawn to Tito and Jermaine’s onstage musical sensibilities. Older brother Jackie (and Jermaine) provided a sex appeal balancing out their "bubblegum"image. More than a group, the J-5 were a franchise. Their youthful take on black cultural expression mesmerized mainstream audiences . The  J-5 would help spearhead a new movement where soul music c...

 After Eric B and Rakim dropped their landmark debut Paid In Full in ’87, they signed the first million dollar record rap contract a year later, promptly releasing their second straight classic, Follow The Leader . Rakim would raise the bar for hip hop lyricism boasting "rhyme displays that went on for days and days" with so much substance he proclaimed that they were "deeper than X-rays". The group's momentum was cut short due to a family tragedy that saw Rakim take a brief hiatus from the music business. Re-emerging from his self-imposed exile, Rakim joined forces with legendary Queens producer Paul C, the architect behind a slew of rap underground classics. Paul's stock was rising when he was tragically murdered under mysterious circumstances in July of '89. The fruits of their labor would survive with  In The Ghetto , the second single from Eric B and Rakim's third album, Let The Rhythm Hit'em. Ghetto fused breakbeats from R&B t...

Nas is the Miles Davis of hip hop. Point blank. Emphatic Wyntonisms aside, Nasir Jones and the brooding jazz master's careers unite them as unlikely kindred spirits. It was no coincidence that both recorded for Columbia Records crafting their signature masterpieces Illmatic and Kind of Blue. They were the offspring of influential parental figures who rejected traditional academia in favor of self-study and confident self-expression. They later transferred that independence toward their work fueling the evolution of their musical formulas in the face of criticism from purists.                                                               Davis’ creative inspirations were cultivated through relationships with idols and contemporaries Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonius Monk while Nas basked in distant admiration...

LL Cool J’s Authentic has inspired mixed reviews since its release. Hip hop junkies might question the high profile collaborations and think Snoop Dog, Nelly and Michael Jackson but a closer listen reveals some of the ingredients that made LL the GOAT still remain. Revisiting the conceptual period where singles like Bad and Back Seat coexisted with Go Cut Creator Go and Crossroads , Authentic’s genius is in its creative approach. Bypassing the need to squeeze into skinny jean hip hop swag or trade coke rap lines to beats from rap’s hottest producers, L enlists a group of stars and newcomers for a record that plays like an impromptu jam session. He unearths R&B diva Alicia Myers, pulls in Eddie Van Halen and Earth Wind and Fire and rocks out with Chuc...