Thursday, March 19, 2009

THE NEW PROJECT

After conceding on the Fear project, I've decided to shift my focus to one of two different projects. I have lined up material and readied a concept for Black Moon's Enta da Stage which is a bonafied classic as well as the undisputable masterpiece Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest. Both are extremely similiar in their heavy reliance on the elements of jazz and funk. Hell, if you listen to them today, they're more jazz than anything new that's coming out today. In the history of jazz, these two records have to be mentioned. Between the two, they probably singlehandedly (between the two? doublehandedly?) slowed the extinction of those old jazz recordings. Who in the world would know Ronnie Laws' "Tidal Wave" if it weren't for Black Moon? Or "Oblighetto" by Brother Jack McDuff? You play those for any jazz head, they'll fall asleep. You play them in front of a handful of hip hop heads, you're likely to incite a riot. That's because of these two albums. Donald Byrd, Cannonball Adderly, John Klemmer, Grover Washington, Lee Dorsey, Lafayette Afro Rock Band, Ahmad Jamal, Lonnie Smith, Art Blakey, James Brown, Grant Green, New Birth, Weather Report, Freddie Hubbard, Paul Humphrey...they're all in there. In the same way that Del's I Wish My Brother George Was Here was, for all intents and purposes, was a funk record, so these are jazz records. Betta recognize, homie.

Looking to start with Black Moon though. Often overlooked and even more often underappreciated.

The tournament begins today. Today is why March is the greatest month of the year. There's no competing with it. 16 games on the board for today. This would be the perfect day to skip work. In celebration of the start of the tournament, how about a little lesson in dunking. This clip is why I have always advised against the two-handed slam. It's a lesson in momentum (which is the ratio between weight and velocity, I believe--Dale?), inertia and, ultimately, gravity. It's the brutal reality of the two-handed dunk. Also, the brutal reality of why white dudes should just stick to the layup.

4 comments:

A Tribe Called Garvey said...

After checking out your other mixes I eagerly await you Black moon and Low end theory mix. What's up with Stakes is High or Midnight Marauders.

j3 said...

you can't do either without doing the records before them. they just don't make much sense without them. stakes, over time, has grown to be a favorite, but people overlook buhloone mindstate too often. things was dope as hell.

A Tribe Called Garvey said...

I am not disagreeing with you on that brother; I mean picking between De LA soul is an almost fruitless task.

j3 said...

amen...amen.

not sure what SHAWN i'm speaking with.