Soul Fixin'

New Music Drop

Conquer The World The Lost Soul of Philadelphia International Records - Various Artists

Soul Speak - Michael McDonald

Just Up The Road - Melissa Young

Marcus - Marcus Miller

The Sound Of Philadelphia: Gamble & Huff's Greatest Hits - Various Artists

Brilliant Corners - Thelonious Monk
Reflections of Country Greats - Esther Phillips

Luther Ingram - (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Wanna Do Right

Soul Fixin'

VIBE Book List

VIBE magazine compiled a list of the "best" eight music books...READ A BOOK...READ A MUH'F*CKIN BOOK!!

Room Full Of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix by Charles R. Cross...chronicles Hendrix' rise from Seattle ghetto to rock god.

I, Tina by Tina Turner w/ Kurt Loder...Tina reveals the good, bad, and ugly..from growing up in Tennessee to getting her ass beat by Ike to her remarkable 80's resuscitation.

Divided Soul: The Life Of Marvin Gaye by David Ritz...in-depth analysis of Marvin's life...cocaine, underage girls and his untimely death.

ego trips's Book of Rap Lists by Sacha Jenkins, Elliott Wilson, Jeff Mao, Gabriel Alvarez, and Brent Rollins...compilation of lists..."10 Songs Marley Marl Wishes He Had Produced"..."Kool Keith's Favorite Places To Pleasure Himself In Public."

Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation by Jeff Chang...chronicles the events, ideas, music and art that shaped hip hop.

Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom by Peter Guralnick...documents the soul of the 50's, 60's and 70's while telling the story of a nation.

James Brown's Live at the Apollo (33 1/3) by Douglas Wolk...details what some consider to be the greatest live album of all time against the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Flyboy in the Buttermilk: Essays on Contemporary America by Greg Tate...an eye-opening look at race, politics, literature and music.

Soul Fixin'

I Believe to My Soul
Released back in 2005 I Believe To My Soul is a great add to any music collection. Produced by Joe Henry, who worked with Solomon Burke on his 2002 Grammy winning album Don't Give Up On Me, I Believe To My Soul is a mix or soul classic and original songs. You can hear Mavis Staples singing "You Must Have That Old Time Religion" and The Impressions classic "Keep On Pushing." Ann Peebles, known for her classic "I Can't Stand The Rain", lets loose on the tracks "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You" and "When The Candle Burns Low." Billy Preston, Irma Thomas, and Allen Toussaint lend their voices to the project. I believe you should go get it...nuff said.

Soul Fixin'

Still Going Strong
Soul legend Mavis Staples is still doing her thing. She is currently touring overseas..New Zealand, Australia, The Netherlands, England, France..getting PAID. I wish America appreciated older soul singers the way Europeans do. In a recent interview with The Age, a leading Melbourne, Australia newspaper, Mavis said "Dr King brought us a long way...but there is so much more that needs to be done... because every day in the paper I see something that reminds me of the trouble in the '60s. Hurricane Katrina was so horrible, seeing these people floating in the black water, and no one coming to help them... policemen in New York just shot a young black kid...with 50 rounds..." Mavis ain't lying..we still got work to do. She also spoke of the upcoming election "I'm very excited, because I like Hillary too. People seem to admire and love Obama. He seems to be sincere and a purist. But I won't vote for him just because he's a black man. He has to convince me that he's really going to do what he says. But still, I think of how happy Dr King would be." MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD AND VOTE IN NOVEMBER...I know that sounds corny and cheesy but please vote, people DIED for us to vote...I know that sounds so cliche but it's the truth...bottom line..get ya a** up and vote..you ain't got sh*t else to do.

Soul Fixin'

BET HONORS
If you thought you were too cool to watch BET Honors, BET's new award show, you missed out on a good show. BET Honors honored Alicia Keys, Richard Parsons, Dr.Cornel West, Tyra Banks, Maxine Waters and Janice Bryant Howroyd. Raheem DaVaughn, Jill Scott, Stevie Wonder, Ne-Yo, John Legend and Gladys Knight performed. Stevie, John Legend, and Gladys gave an AMAZING performance. I couldn't find future air dates, I'm sure BET will air the show 1,000 times so be on the look out!!! You can also check out The BET Honors website and watch the entire show online.

Soul Fixin'

No Justice No Peace
The trail of the three NYPD officers who gunned down Sean Bell on his wedding day began last week. Let's continue to keep the Bell family in our prayers and hope for justice.

Check this out....defense lawyers said Sean Bell should not have held his bachelor party where patrons "watch women shake their booty and fulfill a sense of twisted sexual prowess."..Is that an excuse for firing 50 bullets at unarmed men?

Classic Album Revisited

Marvin Gaye's landmark concept album What's Going On was released in 1971. Prior to recording What's Going On, Marvin was deeply depressed. In March of 1970 Tammi Terrell died. Three years prior to her death she collapsed on stage while performing with Marvin, she was later diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Marvin took a hiatus from recording and performing and went into self isolation. Believe it or not, Marvin even attempted a career in football, he tried out for the Detroit Lions. Al Cleveland and The Four Tops' Renaldo "Obie" Benson reached out to Marvin to help them complete the writing of a politically conscious song, "What's Going On." Cleveland and Benson persuaded Marvin to record the song, and in June 1970 Marvin recorded "What's Going On" and "God Is Love." Berry Gordy refused to release the songs, he thought they were far too political and would fail at commercial success. Marvin eventually convinced Gordy to release the songs. "What's Going On" reached #1 on the R&B charts and #2 on the Pop listings. After the success of "What's Going On" Berry Gordy requested an entire album.
Over a 10 day period, Marvin began recording and producing the tracks that would comprise What's Going On, an album told through the eyes of a Vietnam veteran returning home to a world of drug abuse, poverty, police brutality and unemployment. Simply put, What's Going On is an album that expressed the cries, pain and agony of a black man in the 1970's. It is as sacred as Aretha's Amazing Grace and the musical equivalent of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. A 9 track unified album, most songs led into the next, What's Going On was named Album Of The Year by Rolling Stone magazine, Billboard gave it the Trendsetter Award of 1971.It was ranked number six on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. A 1999 critics poll conducted by British newspaper Guardian/Observer named it the "Greatest Album Of the 20th Century."

The Staple Singers - "Respect Yourself"

Pops, Mavis, Yvonne and Cleotha, The Staple Singers, singing "Respect Yourself" at Wattstax.