Long time #MusicSermon congregants know we do our own version of #MarchMadness over here – with music brackets, of course!
Since we’re running back content from the last five years of #MusicSermon, we’re revisiting the very first #MusicSermonMadness bracket – the 90s R&B Tourney. In fairness, I messed up the seeding the first time, so this year y’all get to do it (also, I don’t want y’all typing all hard at me in my mentions lol).
In 1990, singer Phyllis Hyman complained to Donnie Simpson during a BET Video Soul interview about record labels shifting their focus from talent to artist “packaging,” using production to supplement raw talent. “They’re picking up kids off the street, pretty much, and producers are producing these albums. These kids have literally no talent. But they look right. I’m telling you, get a girl, get the hair weave on, make her lose 30 pounds, (snaps) you’ve got a hit record. Can’t sing a lick!” In the shift from substance to style, which started gradually happening in music in the mid-’80s, Phyllis and other singers with big voices got shelved, dropped, or simply ignored in favor of younger, more pop-friendly and video-friendly acts – with arguably less ability. “(It) pisses me off. It makes me big time angry because I have spent so many years developing this talent,” Phyllis added. She wasn’t alone.
Missy Elliott tweeted today that “Up Jumps Da Boogie,” from Timbaland and Magoo’s Welcome to Our World, will turn 26 this year. Welcome to Our World was part of the Blackground catalog re-released in 2021 after 20 long years being withheld from streaming and out of physical production. I had the honor of working withContinue reading “26 Years Later, “Up Jumps Da Boogie” is Still a Party”
I put out an emergency call to choose a new feel good, throwback r&b anthem for 2023…and y’all answered! THE MISSION First it was “Candy Rain,” then “Poison,” and “If It Isn’t Love” and “Weak” both narrowly escaped severe injury. Now, “Can We Talk” has been worn out like a cozy but delicate vintage sweaterContinue reading “#SaveCanWeTalk”
The night Andre Harrell died, I DM’d my editor at Billboard and told him that whatever they were going to do for Dre, I was raising my hand. I knew a slew of outlets’ headers would read “… who discovered Sean Combs,” and Dre’s impact was so much bigger than that; larger and farther reachingContinue reading “Ghetto Fabulous: Andre Harrell Created a Culture of Black Excellence”
We need to talk about Uptown Records, because the legacy is worthy, but doesn’t get nearly enough love. Uptown was founded in 1986 by Andre Harrell, formerly of the rap group Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and it took a couple of years to find its groove. The original label kicked off with female rap duoContinue reading “UPTOWN! UPTOWN!”
As an unanticipated result of Aretha Franklin’s passing, Tevin Campbell has become a hot topic. We take a moment to give Tevin him his props. Young Tevin grew up in Texas singing in church (of course). Through a series of auditions and meetings, he met Benny Medina, head of Black Music at Warner. Q then introducedContinue reading “CAN WE TALK…ABOUT TEVIN?”
The original #MusicSermon Thread I fell down a rabbit hole of 90s videos, and it inspired me to present…WE DANCED HARD AS F*CK IN THE 90s: A REVIEW This started with a friend posting a clip of Mary J Blige’s “Real Love” video in honor of What’s the 411’s 25th anniversary. Knee pads, ball capsContinue reading “WE DANCED HARD AF IN THE 90s”
