#MusicSermon spent the month of April celebrating the people behind the soundboard. The craftsmen of the songs our favorite artists bring to life: the writers and producers. PT I — Two of the urban music wunderkinds of the 90s: Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins & Jermaine Dupri PT II — One of the most underrated writers/producers in soul: Raphael Saadiq PT III — The drivingContinue reading “THE SCRIBES & ARCHITECTS”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
YOU DON’T KNOW NUTHIN’ BOUT THIS HERE: The Slow Jams
A bookend playlist to #MusicSermon’s Cookout Essentials, to pull out strictly once the sun has gone down and the kids are elsewhere. The playlist was exclusive to Patrons, but has been made public. ENJOY!
THE BATTLE OF UPTOWN: MARY J BLIGE vs JODECI
This was originally posted to #MusicSermon’s Patreon during the 90s R&B #MarchMadness, where the two acts that changed the face of R&B and ushered in the Hip Hop Soul music era faced each other for the championship (Spoiler alert: Mary won). Let’s take a look at two of Uptown’s finest pound for pound. THE WARM UP:Continue reading “THE BATTLE OF UPTOWN: MARY J BLIGE vs JODECI”
THE NEW (JACK SWING) TESTAMENT
It recently came to my attention that there had not yet been a sermon specifically on New Jack Swing. Granted, #MusicSermon began with a thread about how we danced hard AF in the 90s. While that much of that was centered around New Jack Swing, it wasn’t all New Jack Swing. Then we went throughContinue reading “THE NEW (JACK SWING) TESTAMENT”
WHEN OLD THINGS BECOME NEW: NEO SOUL
EXPERIENCE THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF THIS SERMON VIA TWITTER We all know by now (I hope) that #MusicSermon is a B2K (before 2000)-centered ministry. However, I promised that at some point I would heavily relax those restrictions for a specific sermon topic, and I believe the time has come. The word says that old things areContinue reading “WHEN OLD THINGS BECOME NEW: NEO SOUL”
BEGGIN’ ASS R&B
Pride is kind of killing modern love, and arguably modern music. No one wants to stick their necks (or hearts) out and clearly, unabashedly decalre undying love. Subtweets and meme posts pass as love letters (but only if you catch that they’re about you). And in music, there are plenty of songs about leaving yourContinue reading “BEGGIN’ ASS R&B”
Bubble Coats, Leathers, Polo Boots & Timbs: NY BOOM BAP
One night, some followers and I had a brief convo about the hip hop sub-genre of Jeep Music. I started pulling up songs and videos, but was led in another direction (although there’s some overlap), to a super specific era & niche of rap music… Let’s call it Bubble Coat, Leathers, Polo Boots & TimbsContinue reading “Bubble Coats, Leathers, Polo Boots & Timbs: NY BOOM BAP”