Breakfast Time
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Monday, November 24, 2014
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Saturday, November 15, 2014
TRUE HIP HOP STORIES
Keep It Oldskool Presents
True Hip Hop Stories
Rappers Delight
Grandmaster Caz vs Big Bank Hank
Back story:
It is now common knowledge in Hip Hop that Big Bank Hank's lyrics in Hip Hop's first mega song were not written by him. The lyrics were written by Grandmaster Caz. It is also common knowledge that Big Bank Hank was the manager of Grandmaster Caz's group called "The Mighty Force" As Hank worked at a pizza parlor Sylvia Robinson of Sugar Hill Records was looking for a third person to complete a group she was putting together walked in. She heard Hank "rapping" and asked him to repeat it for her son who was helping her put the group together. He was instantly made a member of the group that included Master Gee and Wonder Mike. The song "Rappers Delight" was recorded in one take and included a 14:35 long version, 6:30 short version, and a 4:55 shortened single version. The Sugar Hill Gang became Hip Hop's first stars.
Controversy:
In numerous interviews Caz has given various different stories on how Hank "got those lyrics" He has stated "Hank said to me they want me to rap and asked if he could use some of my rhymes. I gave him a copy book full of rhymes and said USE WHAT YOU WANT" In other interviews he has stated that Hank "stole the book out of the studio" or "I never told Hank he could use those exact lyrics" To his credit till the day he passed Big Bank Hank never said anything other than "I can understand why he would feel that way as I was not able to bring him in or because he did not get the same amount of success"
Our Opinion:
Grandmaster Caz like many early rappers had no real concept or understanding of copyrighting lyrics or publishing. Despite what he now says he GAVE Hank the lyrics. Hank is not blameless but it is not as if Hank knew about publishing or copyrighting and purposely "jerked" Caz. With Hank's passing this story has come back into the spotlight Caz is now doing a new round of interviews. In our opinion Caz should just let it go!
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Monday, November 10, 2014
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Monday, November 3, 2014
The Elements
Keep It Oldskool Presents
Artist Profile
Earth Wind and Fire
In music there are artists/groups that are above any normal classification. Artists/Groups such as, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Prince, Frankie Beverly & Maze, Teena Marie, RunDMC etc. The aforementioned artists/groups have spanned decades not years and have never seen the support or love waver in any form. Keep It Oldskool wants to highlight the elements of the universe EARTH WIND & FIRE. The band has had upwards of 40 past and current members. In that regard we will mention the original lineup as well the lineup when EWF was at its highest peak. That is not a reflection on the past or current members of the group.
Origins
The origins of the group which would go on to give us monumental music along with a sense of pride with the Afrocentric album covers was started when Maurice White a session drummer got together with two friends (Wade Flemons and Donald Whitehead) and formed a trio called the Salty Peppers in 1971. The trio also composed commercial jingles. Younger brother of Maurice, Verdine White became the bassist as the group left
Chicago and went to California along with Yackov Ben Isreal and Sherry Scott. After auditions the group added Michael Beale,Chester Washington and Leslie Drayton. The original lineup of the newly named EARTH WIND &FIRE was born.
The first self titled album Earth Wind and Fire was released in 1971. The album although was a critics favorite, did not not give them the sales that they would have hoped for. In the same year they released their second album The Need of Love The first and second album did provide future Hip Hop producers with tracks to sample such as "Moment of Truth" which was sampled by both Kid N Play and LL Cool J for "Energy" and "Murdergram" respectively
After a chance meeting with movie director Melvin Van Peebles the group scored the soundtrack to his movie Sweet Sweetback's Badaassss Song. Most of the members of the group all left due to the lack of success. That left only Maurice and Verdine White. The brothers decided to put together a whole new group once that was complete they began what was the most successful period of the the group.
FUNKING IT UP
Adding future fixture of the group Phillip Bailey with Jessica Cleaves,Ronnie Laws,Roland Bautista, Larry Dunn and Ralph Johnston the group newly signed to Columbia/CBS Records set about to put the world on notice. 1973's Head to the Sky album was certified platinum and featured to hits, "Evil" and "Keep Your Head to the Sky" After more defections EWF again added members. Each release after that garnered EWF more acclaim. 1975's That's The Way of the World album was intended to be the soundtrack to a Sig Shore movie of the same name. The album which included #1 R&B and Pop Chart hit "Shinning Star" as well as "That's The Way of The World" was certified triple platinum (3 million records sold).
The group also had innovative and inspiring album covers that group bass player Dean White said were conceived by Maurice White (courtesy of www.kentakepage.com)
“Maurice came up with the whole concept for the artwork. I think it really reflected our view of the world. The globalization of the world, the things that are happening today, and what we see all over the world with wars and other things. We have always been conscience of what our world view has been so our album covers have always reflected that. Obviously we tried to communicate that through our music too but the covers always gave us a visual aspect too.”
EWF album covers were an event themselves. Whether it was the Egyptian style motif or the dazzling colors of the cover art EWF made sure that their albums and covers provoked discussion. Here are some of the best of the 20 EWF albums
In addition to the handling the creative aspect of EWF, Maurice White established a production company called Kalimba where he worked with artists such as Denice Williams and the group The Emotions.
The group was world renown for it's horn section. The horn section had a distinctive sound that was easily identifiable. EWF had to many hits and albums to possibly name each one but even today if you hear the beginning of some of their songs you instantly know the words to them.
Artist Profile
Earth Wind and Fire
In music there are artists/groups that are above any normal classification. Artists/Groups such as, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Prince, Frankie Beverly & Maze, Teena Marie, RunDMC etc. The aforementioned artists/groups have spanned decades not years and have never seen the support or love waver in any form. Keep It Oldskool wants to highlight the elements of the universe EARTH WIND & FIRE. The band has had upwards of 40 past and current members. In that regard we will mention the original lineup as well the lineup when EWF was at its highest peak. That is not a reflection on the past or current members of the group.
Origins
The origins of the group which would go on to give us monumental music along with a sense of pride with the Afrocentric album covers was started when Maurice White a session drummer got together with two friends (Wade Flemons and Donald Whitehead) and formed a trio called the Salty Peppers in 1971. The trio also composed commercial jingles. Younger brother of Maurice, Verdine White became the bassist as the group left
Chicago and went to California along with Yackov Ben Isreal and Sherry Scott. After auditions the group added Michael Beale,Chester Washington and Leslie Drayton. The original lineup of the newly named EARTH WIND &FIRE was born.
The first self titled album Earth Wind and Fire was released in 1971. The album although was a critics favorite, did not not give them the sales that they would have hoped for. In the same year they released their second album The Need of Love The first and second album did provide future Hip Hop producers with tracks to sample such as "Moment of Truth" which was sampled by both Kid N Play and LL Cool J for "Energy" and "Murdergram" respectively
FUNKING IT UP
Adding future fixture of the group Phillip Bailey with Jessica Cleaves,Ronnie Laws,Roland Bautista, Larry Dunn and Ralph Johnston the group newly signed to Columbia/CBS Records set about to put the world on notice. 1973's Head to the Sky album was certified platinum and featured to hits, "Evil" and "Keep Your Head to the Sky" After more defections EWF again added members. Each release after that garnered EWF more acclaim. 1975's That's The Way of the World album was intended to be the soundtrack to a Sig Shore movie of the same name. The album which included #1 R&B and Pop Chart hit "Shinning Star" as well as "That's The Way of The World" was certified triple platinum (3 million records sold).
The group also had innovative and inspiring album covers that group bass player Dean White said were conceived by Maurice White (courtesy of www.kentakepage.com)
“Maurice came up with the whole concept for the artwork. I think it really reflected our view of the world. The globalization of the world, the things that are happening today, and what we see all over the world with wars and other things. We have always been conscience of what our world view has been so our album covers have always reflected that. Obviously we tried to communicate that through our music too but the covers always gave us a visual aspect too.”
EWF album covers were an event themselves. Whether it was the Egyptian style motif or the dazzling colors of the cover art EWF made sure that their albums and covers provoked discussion. Here are some of the best of the 20 EWF albums
In addition to the handling the creative aspect of EWF, Maurice White established a production company called Kalimba where he worked with artists such as Denice Williams and the group The Emotions.
The group was world renown for it's horn section. The horn section had a distinctive sound that was easily identifiable. EWF had to many hits and albums to possibly name each one but even today if you hear the beginning of some of their songs you instantly know the words to them.
IN CLOSING
EWF is a group that spans all genres and has contributed to all forms of music from samples being used in Hip Hop, performing a John Lennon/Paul Mccarthy penned song ("Got to Get You Into my Life") to the numerous contributions to Funk Music. Even in 2014 43 years after its foundation a form of the group still performs,travels and records. In 2000 EWF was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The group has won 6 Grammy Awards,4 American Music Awards as well as sold over 90 million albums worldwide.
KEEP IT OLDSKOOL SALUTES THE ELEMENTS OF THE UNIVERSE EARTH. WIND & FIRE
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