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Monthly Archives: April 2005

OSW: The Xquizzyt1 Mix, Volume 4 – 70′s Slow Jams

Wednesday April 27, 2005   EJ

Bow down to Xquizzyt1
as she throws it down again. The title tells it all:

Old
School Wednesday: The Xquizzyt1 Mix, Volume 4 – Slow Jams from the 70s

01 – Billy Paul – Me And Mrs. Jones
02 – Commodores – Zoom
03 – Confunkshun – Straight From The Heart
04 – Earth Wind and Fire – Reasons
05 – Enchantment – Gloria
06 – Friends Of Distinction – Going In Circles
07 – Gap Band – Yearning For Your Love
08 – Hall & Oates – Sarah Smile
09 – Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes – Hope That We Can Get Together Soon
10 – Angela Bofill – I Try
11 – Isley Brothers – Don’t Say Goodnight
12 – Main Ingredient – I’m So Proud
13 – Manhattans – There’s No Me Without You
14 – Marvin Gaye – Come Live With Me Angel
15 – Norman Connors – You Are My Starship
16 – O’Jays – You Got Your Hooks in Me
17 – Rose Royce – I Wanna Get Next To You
18 – Keni Burke – Risin’ To The Top
19 – Teddy Pendergrass – My Latest Greatest Inspiration

When I was growing up,
- Billy Paul was played constantly by my mother;
- Yearning For Your Love came out when I was going through "changes"
(I’m sure the peanut gallery will get a kick outta that);
- Norman Connors was played constantly;
- Rose Royce’s cut was always played at the drive-thru car wash;

I don’t know about you, but I am diggin’ this. Dim the lights, light a candle, sway back and forth. However, we are not responsible
if you do this at work.

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B12: ATL Brown Bloggers: the impromptu meetups

Monday April 25, 2005   EJ

From KB’s
Bakers
Dozen.


This weekend ended up being so good, and so impromptu, I decided to name it
the ATL Brown Bloggers meetup. Considering the last two attempts at a meetup
here were pretty whack, one ending up so strong was very cool, especially it
being so impromptu. How so? This is how it went down:

1. The first thing I did on Friday was go straight home, because you know I
was exhausted after a long week, I got an IM. "Yo, EJ, come on down to
Barley’s. Bruthacode
is on his way back from the mall! I’m thinking, "who’s Bruthacode?
Let me read now…..
2. After that it was all over ’cause he had me laughing at his posts. By the
time I got there, he was there with FlyGirlATL,
the invisible blogger (when you gonna come out with a blog,
Futura?!), Yolie (hilarious, vicacious, and definitely not rated PG!),
and wonderful Swayzee.
3. Kelvin was nowhere
to be found, though, and I kept getting dizzy as I watched Bruthacode’s
glass go up, and down, and up, and down, and then another drink appear, and
then him swaying back and forth, and then….
4. Brown
Sugar showed up. Soon afterwards, my homie Saga
and Hammy dropped by. It all capped off with DJ XStacy AKA Xquizzyt1
and Gorgeous Grayse,
who lit up the joint.
5. After 1 bad meal, 2 hilarious hours, 3 bad sweet teas, 4 (or was it 5, or
6…hell, I can’t count!) drinks had by Bruthacode, I took
off with a promise to make an Apollonia Six CD for Brown
Sugar, and take my the Davina CD I made for Caramel
back home…..
6. …only to find out that Fave
came by, took pictures and left…dag. That’s alright, I’ll just go back home
and watch Enterprise and trip on the parallel universe. Hmm, I wonder what Bruthacode
would be like in a parallel universe….. and for that matter, how does Kae
really look? Yet another person I didn’t get to see.
7. So then Saturday rolls around I go to hang
out at the park with Karsh
(mental note – next time whatever’s going on, I gotta call him, cause I’ve seriously
been slacking). After a pretty nice time and a bad meal, I head home. Then I
get another call from Yolie. "Meet us up in Marietta….cause
Kelvin’s gonna be there. You have 30 minutes!" Sure enough,
they come rolling through….
8. ….and as I’m hanging out and talking about Soul II Soul, Thelonious Monk,
and a camera with a floppy disk (you know I had to mention that, right Brown
Sugar?), some lady comes up and says "gimme my CD!"
That’s no one other than Caramel, who was pretty cool. She
even let me take a picture.
9. After that, I duck out and run back home to get close and personal with my
bed, but on Sunday, as I go online, the first person who IM’s me is Brown
Sugar. Considering that Prime
and I are starving, we jump in the car and run up to Checquers.
10. As I’m pulling in, Grayse calls my cell phone and says,
"I’m comin’ even though you didn’t invite me! Where y’all at?" Yeah,
I’ve done it again. First Karsh, now Grayse.
Dag.
11. We came, ate, drank, ate, took pictures, ate, talked some more, ate, took
more pictures, hung out in the not-so-warm spring air, talked some more.
12. The outcome of the weekend?
– Preliminary plans for a Chicago meetup to coincide with The Taste
of Chicago;
– Another blog meetup here in the ATL, centering around the possible appearance
of In My Write
Mind;
– Making sure I call everyone, because I’m sure that the people who are reading
this and are from the ATL area and didn’t get to hang out will probably kick
me when they see me, right? Right.

So, clear your calendars, ATLiens. I’m targeting for the weekend of May
6th. Drop me a line if you wanna be down, and I’ll give you all my
vital info….let’s work it out. I had a blast this weekend, as you can tell,
and I know this can be done again.

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In Rotation: 04/22/05 – Nickles and Dimes

Thursday April 21, 2005   EJ

As usual, I’m a sucker for a music meme. When Todd’s not bein’ the
ultimate freak, he’s dropping a meme that I can’t ignore. The task:

A) Post your Top 5 CD’s of 2005 up to this point
B) Then, create a radio.blog (or just list) your Top 10 Songs of 2005

The Rules:
For The Top 5 CD List:
1. All material must have been released in 2005 (compilations do count as CD’s)
2. Advance copies count, as long as the official release is scheduled for 2005
3. Small summary on why the CDs are on your list, with a list of the standout
songs.
4. They don’t have to be in any particular order

For The Top 10 Song Radio.Blog/List:
1. All songs must have been officially released in 2005
2. No more than 2 songs from one artist allowed in top 10 singles. [arby's and
list]
3. They don’t have to be in any particular order

Each album is represented below and are
In Rotation: Nickles and Dimes.

The five albums that are in my stash right now that stand out are:
Mariah Carey – The Emancipation of Mimi.
Faith Evans – The First Lady. A solid,
solid CD.
Deep Thinkers – Necks Move.
Common – Be.
Big Pooh – Sleepers.

Each album has one track below. The 10 that win are:
01 – Faith Evans - I Don’t Need It.
As many old-school radio blogs that I’ve done, samples of great songs done excellently
are always, always, on rotation. Nikki told me "EJ, just get the damn album."
And I’m glad I did. With Nights Over Egypt being the backdrop, it works out well.
Catching Feelings and Lucky Day stand
out also. Pound pound, Nikki,
pound pound.
02 – Mariah Carey - Stay The Night.
Just throw, just throw, just throw your hands in the air…. Im with
Mr. JT that this
is my favorite cut off her album because 1) she hits all the notes in this
song, 2) it’s a head-nodder, not a dance tune, and 3) it’s a perfect mix of
soul, pop, and a hip-hop influence. Fly Like A Bird and I
Wish I Knew stand out also.
03 – Shapeshifters - Lola’s Theme (Lola’s Lounging
Mix). I got sucked into Virgin Megastore in NYC, and. the first
song I heard was this song. Ultra
Chilled 05 was the first to go into my stash. I’m not too enamored about
the album, but I love this song. Even though it’s a dance tune, this mix is
my thing. I keep expecting Electronic
to come through the door and invite Cookie to sing Getting
Away With It. I’m jus’ sayin’.
04 – Beady Belle – Closer. This is an extremely mellow
cut from their album of the same name. It’s simplicity at it’s finest. The sampling
just slides in and glides through the song. Perfect mix of electronic and acoustic.
Irony stands out also, as dropped before.

The hip hop vibe:
05 – Common – Real People. Great, great album. I could
have chosen Love Is, but this is just as good. Kanye rocks
this cut of course. This may be the best hip-hop release this year.
06 – Big Pooh featuring Phonte - Every Block.
You all know what time it is. Big
Pooh? Phonte? 9th Wonder? C’mon. You know I loved Foreign Exchange last
year. My Mind stands out also.
07 – Deep Thinkers - Here One Minute.
Trader
Mike, Todd and I believe Necks Move is a hot CD. Please don’t sleep. This
and Movin On are still in rotation.

…and three who don’t fall under those two categories above, but still keep
my head nodding:
08 – J*Davey – No More. Well damnit, right now I’ve
been playing this song so much I’m afraid that I’ll wear it out and hate it
by the end of the year. It’s infectious as hell, and right now it’s my favorite
cut. It’s some next ish, and big
ups– Stone, JustWill, y’all ain’t neva lied. Yo Jack
Davey, you workin’ me, forreal. Wondering how I can cop that album….
09 – Earth, Wind, and Fire ft. Raphael Saadiq – Show
Me The Way. It’s still on heavy rotation, with good reason. The
album, Elevated, is scheduled to come out this year, in the
fall, from what I can discern.
10 – Anthony Hamilton - I Don’t
Want Nobody Else But You. It could have been No Time To Waste,
but I did that last week. What can I say, I’m a southern cat. I’ll divulge more
about his activities this year as I get more information.

Have a great weekend.

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OSW: In My Write Mind: The Mix

Wednesday April 20, 2005   EJ

I love the vibes of other people and their musical tastes, believe that. That’s
why when I checked on Will of In
My Write Mind, I saw his post about Melancholy
Monday. I had to find out what he would possibly have on his mind if he were
emcee for the OSW. I asked him to be the emcee, and man, I’m here to tell you,
I was impressed. You will be too. Check it.

Old School Wednesday: In My Write Mind: The Mix.

01 – Al B. Sure – If I’m Not Your Lover
02 – Rolls Royce – Love Dont Live Here Anymore
03 – Atlantic Starr – Circles
04 – New Edition – You’re Not My Kind of Girl
05 – Guy with Heavy D – Do Me Right
06 – Mary J Blige with Heavy D and The Boyz – My Love
07 – Boyz II Men – Please Dont Go
08 – Chantay Savage – I Will Survive
09 – Blackstreet – Before I Let You Go
10 – Today – Him Or Me
11 – CeCe Peniston – Crazy Love
12 – Lisa Fischer – How Can I Ease the Pain
13 – Intro – Let Me Be the One
14 – En Vogue – My Lovin’ (Never Gonna Get It)
15 – Allyson Williams – Just Call My Name
16 – Jodeci – Stay
17 – Slick Rick – Teenage Love

While I was listening to this, I couldn’t stop playing Guy, Slick Rick, and New
Edition. Well, let me not lie about that. I damn near played the mix at least
3 times today. I won’t front.

It’s all about Will, the emcee. Let it flow.

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In Rotation: 04/15/05

Friday April 15, 2005   EJ

What was great about my trip to NYC was meeting, hanging out with, and just vibing some really great, talented people. When
I arrived, Christopher David tells me that I’ve got to meet a
great guy by the name of Gordon Chambers.
He proceeded to tell me about how who he’s written for: Brandy, SWV, Whitney Houston,
and that he’s even won a Grammy by penning one of Anita Baker’s greatest songs, I
Apologize. After hearing about his writing skills, I listened to the
album and was instantly impressed- and I demanded an autographed copy.

Visiting him, and listening to him talk about books, music, and the music industry
was nothing compared to when I heard the man sing live. If I had one word to describe
his voice it would be illuminating.

Today’s In
Rotation: 4/15/05 starts off with three of his songs. If it hits
you like it hit me, go
purchase it now.

In Rotation: 4/15/05

Starting off with of three Gordon Chambers grooves:

01 – Gordon Chambers – Never Fall In Love
02 – Gordon Chambers with Sara Devine – Still In Love
03 – Gordon Chambers – Slippin’ Away

And a track with one of Gordon’s friends, Eric Roberson:
04 – Eric Roberson – Runaway

An unreleased and never played track from two fine singers:
05 – Anthony Hamilton – No Time To Waste
06 – Syleena Johnson – Now That I Got You

Tunes released last year but rarely played:
07 – Julie Dexter – Look Who’s Got Ya Back
08 – Michael Johnson – Be My Woman
09 – Ali Shaheed Muhammed – All Night

A little rhyming:
10 – Gift Of Gab – To Know You
11 – Common – Love Is
12 – Art of Noise – Metaforce (with rap by Rakim)

And a little house:
13 – Presence – Future Love
14 – Blaze featuring Joi Cardwell – Be Yourself

Vibe with me.
*Special thanks to Christopher
David for the vibes and the love, and Todd
Kelley who always knows the tight beats.

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Brown Bloggers/OSW: Xquizzyt1, Volume 3

Wednesday April 13, 2005   EJ

What a weekend, what a weekend, what a weekend!!

I’m tired, behind with my blog readings (Nichelle,
do you know anyone with an IV tube?!) but I’m happy.

I had more fun than I’ve ever had with Chef
Bernie, Jimi Sweet and
my main man Christopher
David, who made my visit spectacular.

I ate and drank myself into a wonderful stupor. George, Chris, Donald, S Dot Porter,
and A. can attest to that).

I got a chance to hang out with Gordon
Chambers and listen to him show me the time of my life. (Friday’s mix is
gonna be a knockout).

I have so much to say from my trip that I can’t even begin to tell you how much
of a wonderful time I had with the Brown
Bloggers, and yes what
a night it was, with getting to hang with Punchin’
Prometheus 6, Radiant Ronn,
Devestating Donald, Photogenic
Phillipe, Luscious
Lynne, Hip
Hop Hashim, the blogfather George
(and blogmother A.) and the hostesses with the mostesses, Luminescent
Liza and Knockout
Nichelle. I’ve got nothin’ but serious love for everyone that was able to
hang with, to talk to, to be with.

I still missed hanging with my homeslices, like eating with Al
Boogie, groovin’ with KB, hanging with GrooveBunny,
chillin’ with Steve, and absorbing all that is Kevin
R. Scott, but you know, that’s what makes me want to get up there even more
and make for missing some of my people. (Yo Berry,
Trent, Metalface,
where you at?)

If Sunday night was any indication, I believe there’s good things in store for
New York’s brown bloggers. To have this many people show up at the first annual
event shows that brown bloggers – and I don’t mean just the ones with brown skin,
but also the ones with a brown identity, can embrace what the idea of
brown blogging is and what it can be across the nation. I’m throwing
the gauntlet down not only for the Atlanta brown bloggers, but
brown bloggers across the nation. If it can be done in NYC, than it can be done
anywhere. Believe that. If you don’t know, now you know.
See
it for yourself from my lens, or you
can check it out from George’s lens, or you can check it out from
Donald’s lens. Check it out from Nichelle’s
view (who’s got even more links of people up in the place)and Liza’s
view too!!

And yes, while I was gone, I was able to have Xquizzyt1
throw it down yet again, with her OSW, and she don’t stop:

Old
School Wednesday: The Xquizzyt1 Mix, Volume 3.

01 Meli’sa Morgan – Fools Paradise
02 Sybil – Falling In Love
03 Today – Girl I Got My Eyes On You
04 Nona Hendryx – Transformation
05 Mantronix Feat Wondress – Got To Have Your Love
06 Sounds of Blackness – Optimistic
07 Family Stand – Ghetto Heaven
08 Inner City – Good Life
09 Portrait – Here We Go Again
10 Lidell Townsell – Nu-Nu
11 Ralph Tresvant – Sensitivity
12 Chuckii Booker – Games
13 52nd Street – Tell Me How It Feels
14 RJ’s Latest Arrival – Heaven In Your Arms
15 Mint Condition – Pretty Brown Eyes
16 Hi-Five – I Like The Way (The Kissing Game)
17 Tony! Toni! Tone! – Whatever You Want
18 Above the Rim Soundtrack – Sweet Sable – Old Time’s Sake

Show your love, here, there, and everywhere.

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givin’, thinkin’, vibin….

Friday April 08, 2005   EJ

Thoughts before I head to Brooknam for some much needed vacation:

Givin’: Yahoo 360? GMail? Need em? Want em? Let me
know.

Thinkin’: Chandrasutra brought up the reality that
bloggers are being misrepresented. She states:

Big Media are doing a fine job of misrepresenting bloggers.

And I’ve had enough of it.
It’s time we spoke for ourselves. It’s time we raised our voices and let them
(and everybody else know) who we actually are, who we link to and why we blog.

She
has a list of seven questions, which I would encourage everyone who is reading
this and believe that blogs need finer representation (as I do), to either answer
them in the comments section of her blog entry, or email them to her at mel
at htmel dot net.

Vibin’: While I’ve been doing Old School Wednesdays
(which are actually easy), I’ve been lax on giving vibes on a regular basis
for new music, new beats, and giving more exposure. Therefore, Friday Melodies
is back this year, this time entitled:

In
Rotation: 4/8/05.

01 – Mariah Carey – Stay The Night. From The Emancipation
of Mimi, Mariah’s debut album on Def Jam. This track was produced by Kanye
West, which in my opinion, is the finest track on the CD. In terms of quality,
this CD is exceedingly better than Charmbracelet.
02 – Mica Paris – I Luv You. First track from her new CD, If
You Could Love Me. On Wounded Bird Records.
03 – The Rurals – Read Me Like A Book. From their just-released
album A
Rural Life. Mellow, deep house.
04 – Beady Belle – Irony. From their new CD Closer.

05 – Pete Belasco – Hurry, Hurry. It would be easy (and incorrect)
to compare him to Marvin Gaye. He knows how to sing, point blank. His CD Deeper is quite mellow
and soulful.
06 – Beanie Sigel – Change. Ian
recommended his CD, and in doing so, was the impetus for me getting it after
being on the fence for a second. This is one of the mellower, introspective tracks
on the album, which fits into this mix nicely. The album, as it stands, is arguably
one of the first standout hip-hop albums this year.
07 – Earth Wind And Fire with Rafael Saadiq – Show Me The Way.
Fantastic single from the upcoming album. Produced and sung with Raphael Saddiq,
this is true EWF, and will stay in my rotation for a good while.
08 – Nicole Willis – (Sunday Night) Don’t Hold Back. Great
horn section accompanies this track. From Be It.
09 – Onda – Deeper Love. From Carte Blanche 3. This
CD has Gaelle’s Falling as well as P’Taah’s Hold You Close,
which are also of merit.
10 – Silhouette Brown – Changes.
11 – Faith Evans – Lucky Day. Nikki
loved this CD, and recommended it to me. I’m glad I listened to her. This
is one of my favorite tracks.
12 – Ivana Santilli – Deserve. Todd
hipped me to Ivana, and I was not dissapointed. This single was penned and backed
by….
13 – Omar – Come On.

Vibe with me.
*Special thanks to Honey
for the vibe!

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OSW: the Xquizzyt1 mix, volume 2

Tuesday April 05, 2005   EJ

It’s Tuesday, but I can’t let something like this pass since I’ve been a little busy this week. It’s a short work week, and I’ve
been hitting long work hours so I can board the plane to NYC this weekend for
my long-awaited mini-vacation. If you didn’t know about what’s goin’ on Sunday,
well here it is:

While Sunday night is indeed somewhere you would need to be, be advised that
the weekend is still wide open! Want to hang this weekend? Let me know….I’m
all down for the cause. It’s all about the bloggers, so let’s get it going this weekend. For those who didn’t know, George will also be there as well, so don’t sleep.

If it wasn’t for Xquizzyt1,
I wouldn’t have been able to take my break. She’s done it again, and she’s even
gone so far to place a song I’ve never heard– Keep In Touch
(Body to Body) and songs that I haven’t heard in at least 10 years…. Release
Yourself and Sexy Girl.

You know it’s right here for you….I thought I told you that she won’t stop….

OSW:
The Xquizzyt1 Mix, Volume 2.

01 Taana Gardner – Heartbeat (Full Larry Levan 12 Inch Version)
02 Skyy – Here’s To You
03 Unlimited Touch – I Hear The Music In The Streets
04 Angela Bofill – Too Tough
05 Tom Browne – Funkin’ For Jamaica
06 Shades of Love featuring Mel’isa Morgan – Keep in Touch Body to Body
07 Thelma Houston – You Used To Hold Me (So Tight)
08 Juicy – Sugar Free
09 Princess – Say I’m Your Number One
10 Lillo Thomas – Sexy Girl
11 Five Star – Let Me Be The One
12 The System – You Are In My System
13 Jean Carne – Don’t Let It Go To Your Head
14 Strafe – Set It Off
15 Aleem – Release Yourself

If you’re looking for me right now, I’m the guy shaking his head and tapping
his foot. Enjoy it. There’s more where that came from. See you in the New York area this weekend, right? Right!

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