). And if that weren't enough, they were dripping in resistant black swag (as I was yesterday) in response to the 'not guilty' verdict on the cowards who killed Sean Bell (check out ?uesto's t-shirt). Rest In Peace and much love to the family.
Born and raised in Nigeria, and being exposed to diverse forms of music from folk, 80’s pop, reggae, rock and hip hop music inspired a young Soulbrotha to choose hip hop above all other genres as a means to impact his community and the world at large most importantly. This emcee is always bent on “moving the crowd” and makes no excuses for his faith in Jesus Christ, whilst refusing to be pigeonholed into a particular kind of sound. His music can be best described as spiritual, conscious, emotional, and soulful. His fist interest in hip hop sparked back in 1987, “when I was first taught the lyrics to the song by Eric B & Rakim's "Paid in Full,"” he recounts, as he emphasizes that this was his first true encounter with music of this genre. Fans can thank his cousin for introducing him to hip hop, as SB recalls that his cousin was the one who always rhymed the words to the song “Paid in Full.” At that moment when hip hop graced its presence into his life, he knew that he would never be the same. The rise of Yo! MTV Raps spawned an even greater interest in hip hop for SB, where he then discovered artists such as Slick Rick, Doug E Fresh, LL Cool J, Run DMC, Audio Two, MC Lyte, Salt N' Pepa, Big Daddy Kane, Father MC, Queen Latifah, Lords of the Underground, Naughty By Nature, Snoop, Dr. Dre, and many more that influenced him as an artist.
His style is slick and hard to catch: on some tracks he'll ride the beat slow (Song of Sorrows, Believe It) and on others he'll rapid-fire the joint a la Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (Illuminate). His debut album The Ezekial Hanani LP was released to positive reviews. The record also came out along with a mixtape titled Music for Agony which is still available for a free download here:...[Music for Agony] gave Soulbrotha “the opportunity to do something with a 'darker' tone, if you will, on the album and also the opportunity to put together songs [that] I had done with different producers that may not have made it to actual later albums or projects.” Exodus, yet another project taken on by the multi-talented artist is a continuation of the ongoing mixtape series of which Music for Agony was the first installment. “This series,” he explains, “entitled, The Good News, gives me a unique opportunity to be more flexible with [a] subject/topical matter as well as experiment with rhyme schemes, cadences, and other intricacies that make up songs and also help [to] show [my] growth as an artist.”Exodus, SoulBrotha's upcoming mixtape is being prepped for a surprise release any day now, and you can be sure to find it right here on Hip-Hop Is Read when it hits the web. 'Til then, you can check out some of its preview tracks @ SoulBrotha's Myspace:
RIP
Soulbrotha emailed this track to me yesterday, and it's a touching tribute to Bell. Especially poignant after Friday saw 3 of the detectives responsible acquitted. Soulbrotha explains the track:
As recorded the day I heard and read about the shooting. Some of you may/might have heard this before but I wanted it to be put up in his memory. The song is based on actual events that happened to a friend's brother. Though the event itself may not be 100% similar to Sean's case it still is telling of the nature sometimes of law enforcement. Be as it may, this song was recorded from my perspective and me sympathizing with my people and at the same time understanding that sometimes our reactions in situations sadly lead to certain things happening and in this case a rather unfortunate happening.
Those reactions of course do not just stem from a vacuum but come from a long legacy of distrust and lack of faith in the police caused by past mistreatment, negligence and violence towards people of color that has resulted in this fear and distrust.
Read the New York Times' piece about how black New Yorkers feel about the case. Great article.
The original motion picture score to the original funny double-act's best-loved movie? We like this record. Don't expect a wall-to-wall jazz or groovy score: it's not. It includes some very funny (and very sampler-friendly) dialogue from the movie, along with several reprises of the great loungey, mellow main theme. There's also one outstanding little groovy number, Metropole. As you'd expect from Hefti, the music is very jazzy, and uses a great harpsichord-style riff throughout, augmented by low tenor sax and some good organ in places. Very much a warm, enjoyable album with a sentimental twist. One for listening rather than playing out.
Born and raised in Nigeria, and being exposed to diverse forms of music from folk, 80’s pop, reggae, rock and hip hop music inspired a young Soulbrotha to choose hip hop above all other genres as a means to impact his community and the world at large most importantly. This emcee is always bent on “moving the crowd” and makes no excuses for his faith in Jesus Christ, whilst refusing to be pigeonholed into a particular kind of sound. His music can be best described as spiritual, conscious, emotional, and soulful. His fist interest in hip hop sparked back in 1987, “when I was first taught the lyrics to the song by Eric B & Rakim's "Paid in Full,"” he recounts, as he emphasizes that this was his first true encounter with music of this genre. Fans can thank his cousin for introducing him to hip hop, as SB recalls that his cousin was the one who always rhymed the words to the song “Paid in Full.” At that moment when hip hop graced its presence into his life, he knew that he would never be the same. The rise of Yo! MTV Raps spawned an even greater interest in hip hop for SB, where he then discovered artists such as Slick Rick, Doug E Fresh, LL Cool J, Run DMC, Audio Two, MC Lyte, Salt N' Pepa, Big Daddy Kane, Father MC, Queen Latifah, Lords of the Underground, Naughty By Nature, Snoop, Dr. Dre, and many more that influenced him as an artist.
