REWIND: New Birth Inc. - "I Can Understand It"

Love this performance of New Birth, Inc from the TV series, 'Soul!', with Gerry Bledsoe as host. 

New Birth are important because of their ability to recreate the total studio sound on stage, vocally  and instrumentally. Their energetic performance only illustrates how authentic they were as a soul ensemble. Nothing is left to the imagination, it's all there to see... and hear, which is an important aspect of Soul music before and up to that time. Immense talent was a must have.

Their classic records"I Can Understand It", "Dream Merchant", "Wildflower" and "It's Been A Long Time" were popular because of the the excellent musical arrangements laid down by the band. The Wilson Brothers(Leslie and Melvin) and Londee Loren were able to apply variations of intonation, phonation and near perfect pitch. They used vocal inflection to move between major and minor scales, all while dancing their butts off to the groove(watch the above video for example).

This is not a biography, or a review, it's simply a fan, a musician and a lover of classic African-American music explaining what makes New Birth, Inc. so great to watch and listen to.

Enjoy!

View the entire Soul! performance here (the crowd appears angry in the beginning)...

Scissor Sisters - "Inevitable" (Prod by The Neptunes)

Click photo to link to song.

via theneptunesorg

"Inevitable" is a cut off of the New York-based group Scissor Sisters' latest album Magic Hour. 

The downtempo, soulful, four on the floor tune plays with late 70s synths and melodic vocal inflections. Light congas come in midway to create an organic feel, complimenting rhythmically arranged lead and background vocals.

Solid lyric. Nice pop/soul song. If you've ever heard the Bee Gees Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack this will sound really familiar.

REWIND: 'Let's Do It Again' Trailer

The trailer for the 1975 motion picture Let's Do It Again, starring Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, Jimmy Walker, John Amos, Calvin Lockhart, Denise Nichols and Ossie Davis.

'Let's Do It Again' was directed by Poitier and written by Timothy March and Richard Wesley. It was released October 11, 1975.

The film's theme song and soundtrack were written and produced by Curtis Mayfield and performed by The Staples Singers. The song "Let's Do It Again" went #1 on both the R&B and Pop charts.

REWIND: Janet Jackson - "That's The Way Love Goes"

Janet Jackson - "That's The Way Love Goes."

Check it out...

Video: June Summer ft. Nipsey Hussle - "Dream Chaser"

Video: Steven A. Clark - "Chemistry"

Song produced by Mr. Familiar.

Video created and edited by Free Lve.

REWIND: Renee and Angela - "You Don't Have To Cry"

From the 1985 platinum album Street Called Desire, the album produced multiple number records with "You Don't Have To Cry" making it to #2. The album reached #5 on the R&B album charts, #64 Pop.

Although the album was quite successful, it would be the Renee & Angela's last, due to tensions and disagreements.

Video: Baiyu ft. Rotimi - "Invisible"

R&B artist Baiyu teams up with singer Rotimi to create a a melodic groove that showcases both voices well.

Song produced by Kaleb "KQuick" Rollins

Video directed by Eif Rivera.

Expect Baiyu's Hunter project to drop on June 13th.

REWIND: Mary Jane Girls - "In My House"

One of Rick James' successful spinoffs from his Stone City Band, The Mary Jane Girls. 

The group had two gold albums and a number of top 10 singles, "In My House" was produced by James and went to #1 April of 1985.

REWIND: The Intruders - "I'll Always Love My Momma" (Extended Version)

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers. Your sacrifices, big and small are recognized, you influences forever remain.

This is the extended version of The Intruders' "I'll Always Love My Momma". Because it's extended if you want to jump to the vocals, do yourself a solid and jump to the 3:23 mark. 

Little Sonny always has one of the most unique voices and he created many classic records with it. This song will forever be one of them. It's in the books.

Thank you Gamble and Huff, John Whitehead and Victor Carstarphen.

Soulutionn's Cover Art for "Burning Bridges" Album

After releasing Journey: The Beginning in 2011, eclectic soul/rap ensemble Soulutionn looks to release Burning Bridges as its follow-up in the coming months.

One of my favorites from their Journey set is "Southern Soul":

REWIND: Nona Gaye - "The Things That We All Do For Love"

Nona Gaye's "The Things That We All Do For Love" video.

Check it out...

VIDEO: Trey Songz - "Heart Attack"

Trey Songz's new video "Heart Attack" featuring Kelly Rowland.

Check it out...

REWIND: Ohio Players - "Alone" (Live)

The multi-faceted, multi-talented and so soulful Ohio Players performing the classic "Alone" on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert circa 1977.

A combination of jazz, soul, funk and blues made the once Ohio Jazz Players unique and informed their sound across hit albums.

"Alone" is on the Honey album which was released January of 1975. "Love Roller Coaster" and "Sweet Sticky Thing" are also on the same album.

Steven A. Clark x Mr. Familiar - "Chemistry"

Miami artist Steven A. Clark has an album coming in June, Fornication Under Consent Of The King, but in the meantime decided to drop a non-album single

Steven A. Clark x Mr. Familiar - "Chemistry"

Have Brunch with Steven A. Clark in Brooklyn(shot by Oaklyn):