FIRST!

First day of the month.
Favorite track 1's.
Four songs.














Binary Star // Masters Of The Universe (2001)


I first heard this song around 2000 (i think). It was at a BBQ up in Rogers Park. There wasn't a set DJ for the party, but people were hijacking the CD player all throughout the day playing random stuff here and there. At one point this girl walked up to me as I was like, "These are my guys from Michigan. You should check them out."

Man, I looked at her like, "Ain't nobody trying to hear your backyard rap." But I put it in anyway cause I figured the BBQ attendees would shoot it down eventually. I put it the disc and this song came on.

Wow. I sat back kinda...

Like I wasn't expecting THAT! Ha ha. Honestly, that first verse by One Be Lo is PERFECT! I'm telling you all right now, that dude is rappin', and it's as close to a perfect verse as you can get. I saw him perform this live a few years later and it was just amazing! This album had a few other choice songs on it ("New Hip Hop" and the wonderful story of "Glen Close"), but nothing tops that first song.

Thanks Hillary.













Amy Winehouse "Stronger Than Me" // Frank (2003)


My guy Mike turned me on to her while I was at his house raiding his iTunes of samples and such. "Wanna hear this girl that ?uest said sounds like Lauryn Hill?" So for a while I had her second album BACK TO BLACK and the popular song "Rehab" on serious rotation. While both albums are solid and showcase her wonderful vocal talents, I prefer FRANK. Why? It's more so by default because the Hip Hop meets Mowtown got tiresome for me on BACK TO BLACK. If you like B2B, check out her debut album FRANK (funny how the American Music Awards gave her the Best New Artist award for her 2nd album).

I'm an Amy Winehouse fan, and I hope she finds the help she needs. She makes good music.














Dorothy Ashby "Tornado" // Dorothy's Harp (1969)


Talk about Hip Harp! How did she make that harp so...Hip Hop! I mean, this was the late sixties early seventies, so maybe I need to take a look at the bebop scene that was so prevalant back then. But wow! And it's not just due to Kanye sampling some of her music, that's too easy. It's something else. She plays her harp like a guitar, and the beats that come from this album (yeah, beats!) are just amazing.

As you can probably tell, I'm just now learning about Ms. Ashby. And what I've been learning and hearing is fantastic. Many are probably familiar with her work via Kanye West on Common's FINDING FOREVER album. She also played on Stevie Wonder's "If It's Magic" from the SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE LP.














Jimi Hendrix "Who Knows?" // Band Of Gypsys (1970)


"Ah, so THAT'S where he got it from!"

I had just bought this CD from the Crow's Nest in the Loop (DePaul, STAND UP!) and was playing it on my Sony discman as I walked down State St when I heard this song. About a year earlier a friend had sent me the full version of D'Angelo's Jazz Cafe concert in London (yeah, the official import release excluded a few tracks), and I recognized a riff that Mike Howard played on "Brown Sugar". That riff came from this album and this song.

This is probably my most favorite Jimi Hendrix song.