Even with J. Cole’s disclaimer at the beginning about this song not making the album, leaks are a good indicator of where his head has been during the creative process for Born Sinner. Thoughts of sophomore jinx, aspiring to the fiscal level of Drake, and keeping his mother from going back to the 9-5 grind are some of those personal thoughts shared here. The subject matter is delivered in a conversational, laid-back, Sunday afternoon vibe that’s heightened by the soothing sample loop of Lauryn Hill and D’Angelo’s “Nothing Even Matters.”
Lauryn Hill celebrated Bob Marley week last night (May 12) by performing two classics from the music icon’s catalogue, “Could You Be Loved” and “Chances Are.” It’s not the best outfit, but Lauryn looks a lot more normal than she has in recent years, which is a good sign. More importantly, she sounds better. I’m not getting my hopes up about a new album, but now is a good a time as any for L-Boogie to get a project out there.
The joyous atmosphere of the 2010 holiday season was shattered amongst music aficionados yesterday (December 26), when news broke on the death of Teena Marie. Today, I take a look back on Teena’s legendary career, and her enduring influence in the world of Hip-Hop.
Born Mary Christine Brockert on March 5, 1956, Marie’s vocal stylings, even as a child, reflected a significant influence from her predominantly black neighborhood of Oakwood, located in westside Los Angeles, California. By her early 20s, she drew the attention of Berry Gordy, who signed her to Motown in 1976.
After floating around with several producers, she linked up with Rick James and guitarist Paul C. Saenz. James would become a lasting musical influence and mentor, and the popular funk singer picked young Teena over working with label superstar Diana Ross. Their early collaborations resulted in her debut Wild and Peaceful, which reached the Top 20 of Billboard’s then Black Albums Chart. The cover is notable for not including any pictures of Marie, for fears that black audiences would not be receptive of her music if it was discovered she was white.
Those fears proved unfounded on her 1980 follow-up Lady T. With her face displayed prominently on the cover, the LP was still a hit due to burning dance floor numbers like “Behind The Groove,” and other production contributions from Richard Rudolph, husband of the late Minnie Riperton. She dropped another well-received album in Irons in the Fire that same year, and struck on her own for the first time as lead producer. This album would also be the earliest LP to catch a Hip-Hop producer’s ears with the disco number “I Need Your Lovin’”. In 1981, early Hip-Hoppers Lovebug Starski and the Harlem World crew used the song for the jam session joint “Positive Life.” In 2008, Jadakiss and Ne-Yo used its template for “By My Side.”
TEENA MARIE “I NEED YOUR LOVIN’”
JADAKISS FEAT. NE-YO “BY MY SIDE”
LOVEBUG STARSKI & THE HARLEM WORLD CREW “POSITIVE LIFE”
In 1981, Marie would record her last album for Motown, It Must Be Magic. It turned out to be her highest-selling Motown offering, and a project that yielded her most enduring sample for Hip-Hop fans. “Square Biz” would become one of her signature hits, and receive mileage well into the 90′s courtesy of high-profile artists like The Firm and Mase. The song featured Marie rapping, something that showed foresight and a willingness to embrace the fledgling culture of Hip-Hop. That cannot be said of many early 80s R&B stars, who held the music in contempt.
Ludacris, a new millennium Hip-Hop star, found inspiration from another single on the album entitled “Portuguese Love.”
TEENA MARIE “SQUARE BIZ”
MASE FEAT. BILLY LAWRENCE “LOVE U SO”
THE FIRM “FIRM BIZ”
TEENA MARIE “PORTUGUESE LOVE” (VOCAL SAMPLE 5:55-6:00 MARK)
LUDACRIS FEAT. NATE DOGG “CHILD OF THE NIGHT”
In the mid-80′s, Marie delivered her most commercially successful album in Starchild. The project was fueled by the smash hit “Lovergirl.” But it wasn’t that chart-topper that caught the attention of Hip-Hop producers. It was the beginning melody on ”Out On a Limb.”
TEENA MARIE “OUT ON A LIMB”
PASTOR TROY “LICENSE TO KILL”
MAX B FEAT. FRENCH MONTANA “SEEN IT ALL”
Teena Marie’s last big sample contribution to Hip-Hop came off her 1988 album Naked to the World. The soulful and whimsical “Ooo La La La” was one of her biggest singles, and the only one to hit #1 on the US Black Singles Chart. Those who grew up in the 90s will recall a young Lauryn Hill beautifully interpreting Teena’s chorus work for The Fugees’ own monster single ”Fu-gee-la.” Grand Puba also tried his hand singing the chorus.
TEENA MARIE “OOO LA LA LA”
THE FUGEES “FU-GEE-LA”
GRAND PUBA ”FAT RAT” (SAMPLE AT 1:08 MARK)
Teena never stopped making music. She dropped her last album, Congo Square, in 2009. Back in 2004, she had reintroduced herself to younger fans with the Cash Money album La Dona, which charted #6 on Billboard.
Known affectionately as the Ivory Queen of Soul, Teena Marie leaves behind a musical legacy that spans 30 years, and is a testament that music quality, not skin color, can determine an artist’s success.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem salutes the life and music of Teena Marie. Rest in peace…
Animation videos are making a resurgence of sorts throughout the music industry. Killah Priest is seeking to take it to the next level with “Words From a Viking,” the first of a five-part Theory series prequel to his “Shadows” video. According to a representative for Priest, the concept is to show the rapper’s origins and his ongoing struggle against evil. Very ambitious. Check out the new video and “Shadows” in case you missed that. His new album, The 3 Day Theory, hit stores today.
Killah Priest “Words From a Viking”
Killah Priest “Shadows”
Trek Life’s Second Single
Last week I was able to drop Oddisee’s latest mixtape. This week I’m happy to post Trek Life’s second single “As the World Turns.” This joint is produced by Oddisee and is available on Trek Life’s new album Everything Changed Nothing, which is available today digitally. The physical album drops on August 10.
New Estelle Video
I’ve been a fan of Estelle ever since seeing her live with John Legend in 2008. She has that lovable girl next door charm that can’t be manufactured. I’m haven’t been crazy about the dance pop stylings that have been gaining momentum amongst R&B singers. But Estelle has roots with that sound, as heard on her UK debut The 18th Day. And that’s probably why she sounds more natural over that production style than her U.S. contemporaries. Nas drops a solid verse as well. Funny that Estelle gets a better verse for her track than CNN got from him on War Report 2.
An alternate version of the video features John Legend in Nas’ place.
Royce da 5’9 “Vagina”
I think Bar Exam 3 is the weakest in that mixtape series, partly because Royce went overkill with the comedic aspects. But this one works well. A funny interlude from a normally ferocious emcee.
Kero One and Fashawn “Kinetic World”
This album flew under my radar. Kero One is a West Coast producer who’s been building a name over the last few years. Fashawn is one of the most promising young lyricists in Hip-Hop, and also from the West. I gave him West Coast Artist of the Year in 2009 on Allhiphop.com mostly on the strength of his Boy Meets World album. This year, he dropped Ode to Illmatic, his reworking of Nas’ debut masterpiece. This collaboration is off Kero’s Kinetic World which dropped last month.
New Lauryn…But Relax
A Lauryn Hill track hit the net earlier this week titled “Repercussions.” There is no official confirmation on if its new, but hearing Lauryn singing again in any form is appreciated. After so many false starts regarding new album work, singles etc, I’m not going to get excited yet about a potential Lauryn Hill comeback. But if she does come through, the game is still wide open for her. This won’t blow your mind, but it’s a reminder of why we all fell in love with that voice in the first place.
2010 marks Lauryn Hill’s 35th birthday. Normally this event passes without fanfare in industry circles, except this year fans and media became prematurely excited at reports the sequestered star would be making a return by headlining this year’s Rock the Bells tour and performing all the tracks from her timeless debut, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Unfortunately, the promising news turned out to be false and Hill remains in a self-imposed exile. And over the past few days, the internet has been littered with articles bemoaning her absence, while others bluntly proclaimed the former L Boogie as forever lost. But with the attention given to her absence, the greater question remains as to if Lauryn Hill is needed in today’s Hip-Hop world?
L Boogie’s 1999 Album of the Year triumph at the 41st Grammy Awards for Miseducation… was the culmination of several previous years that saw female emcees making huge strides in Hip-Hop culture. From 1996-1999 women in Hip-Hop not only held their own in the sales market, but presented diverse depictions of femininity and womanhood that served to deconstruct old stereotypes and hint at unlimited boundaries of expression. See below a short list of the biggest selling female Hip-Hop artists, and also note how different they were in style.
Da Brat- Anuthatantrum (Gold, 1996)
Missy- Supa Dupa Fly (Platinum, 1997)
Salt N Pepa- Brand New (Gold, 1997)
Foxy Brown- Ill Na Na (Platinum, 1996), Chyna Doll (Platinum, 1999)
Lil Kim- Hard Core (2X Platinum, 1996)
Eve- Let There Be Eve… (2X Platinum, 1999)
Others such as Rah Digga and Bahamadia didn’t post huge numbers but were highly respected by their peers and critically praised for their lyrical acumen, which many times surpassed their male counterparts. In addition, other female artists were highly visible with well-received singles like Queen Latifah (“It’s Alright), MC Lyte (“Cold Rock a Party,” “Keep on Keepin’ On”), and Queen Pen (“All My Love,” “Party Ain’t a Party”).
Through this renaissance of sorts for femcees, Lauryn Hill was at the forefront, and not just for women. With the success of Miseducation, Hill was being pushed by the media and fans to be the face of Hip-Hop culture, notably seen in her being chosen by Time Magazine in 1999 as the face of “The Hip-Hop Nation.”
Hip-Hop culture has seen periods where an emcee by sheer force of their phenomenal music becomes an iconic catalyst that advances the art form. In the 80s, artists like KRS-One and Rakim stand out. Throughout the 90s and 00s there were several, including Tupac, B.I.G., Ice Cube, Nas, and Jay-Z. But in Lauryn Hill, Hip-Hop for the first time had a female vision at its helm.
But the hopes many had of Lauryn Hill leading Hip-Hop culture to glorious expansion and change into the 21st century was not to be. Amid personal woes and discontent with her immense celebrity, Hill retreated inward starting in the early 00s, where she remains to this day.
Her departure has unfortunately marked a steep decline in female expression as well. Every year since 2000 the pool of female emcees has steadily shrunk, and the ones that do remain today and get airplay have little diversity in content and presentation amongst each other. In fact it can be argued that female representation in Hip-Hop is at its lowest point, in which media and fans have given more attention to proud harlots like Kat Stacks than underappreciated talents like Jean Grae.
Society by nature always strives for leaders in all forms, whether it is social, political, economical, or religious. Lauryn Hill rejected the messianic calls from fans and press, but in the short time that she was on top the former Fugee created a legacy that still reverberates today. On The Score, she helped redefine the expectations of the female rapper, and broke down any remaining barriers with her tour de force debut. Today, her influence can be heard in numerous artists like Janelle Monae, Jazmine Sullivan, and Algebra Blessett.
Instead of hoping for her to be the Hip-Hop savior she never was or wanted to be, we should all be thankful for her contributions and champion the women today who carry on her artistic traditions. It’s a dual responsibility of media and fans. Hip-Hop media by nature is chock-full of sensationalism, publicity stunts, and needless drama. Publications and writers many times feel forced to cover much of this since it’s always guarantees big hits and readership, but unfortunately those events will not push the culture forward, and should never dominate a writer’s pen over the driving force of Hip-Hop which is creative musical expression. The goal of the Hip-Hop journalist should and always be, to “shine light” on those individuals.
Fans serve as the “constituents” so to speak, who “vote” on artists by purchasing music, attending concerts, and offering feedback to media outlets. If you don’t like what you hear on the radio or see online, you should be doubly insulted because you are being presented with what is believed you want and has been proven to sell. That is why it’s important to support female artists like Janelle Monae and Jean Grae beyond lip service. There is immense power in your hands.
After The Miseduation of Lauryn Hill, we all wanted a female Hip-Hop Messiah, but being L Boogie was good enough. As briefly as she wore the crown, it inspired many and moved us forward artistically. If she ever returns, she will be welcomed just as we do with Sade’s appearances once every decade. But until that day comes, let’s be sure to support and celebrate the aspiring great female emcees and singers today who carry on her legacy.
