Sheldon Taylor's Souls of Black Notes

                                                                                                                                             Biz Markie's low-profile final year shielded him from prying eyes and public pity. Occasional whispers and premature death announcements be damned--- Biz's eventual passi...

Verzuz' greatest moments occur when the spotlight shines on Black music legends of decades past. The recent Bobby Brown- Keith Sweat battle carries on that tradition. From viewer reaction and even without a major hit in years---the legend of both singers still burns brightly.  Brown enjoys a higher profile---thanks to  much-documented trials, tribulations, and hard-fought triumphs compared to Sweat's  flurry of press coverage (see September '92 Ebony Magazine  piece "Can A Mailroom Clerk from The Projects Find Happiness and Stardom in 2 Atlanta Dream Houses?"). The Harlem crooner's  pedigree lies not in a high-profile persona or across-the-board crossover moments, but in a catalog of durable hits standing the test of time.  Usually linked to fellow New Jack Swing arbiter Teddy Riley, Keith Sweat is more than a seminal architect of R&B's future. He's also a throwback to its past. Born in '61 (or '56 if you do the interview math), Sweat mode...

                                                                                           While the Budweiser Super Fest was cementing itself as a preeminent summer tour package, the music business was rebounding from an industry recession. In December '84 Billboard   ( "The Challenge of Change In The Record Industry" ) tracked its return to solvency, citing the shedding of 70s financial excess, renewed consumer spending and emerging technology as reasons for the fiscal turnaround.  The emerging music video medium was also an industry change agent. While short-sighted label ambition, budgetary con...