Feb
01

Don Cornelius, R.I.P.

All apologies to the Don Mega and Cartagena, but there was only one Don. The late Cornelius, who put himself to sleep at the age of 75. I spoke with him once for the LA Times in late September of 2010, right around the time the Best of Soul Train was being released. The conversation… Continue reading »

Dec
12

R.I.P. Hubert Sumlin (1931-2011)

On a cold winter morning, before you had your first cup of coffee, Hubert Sumlin’s guitar was permanently hushed in a funeral home in an anonymous town in New Jersey. Mick Jagger and Keef footed the bill because that’s what you do when you have a billion bucks built off the clean yet filthy guitar… Continue reading »

Nov
13

DJ Quik – Heavy Mr. Big Stuff

David Blake dropping the most elegiac tribute to Heavy D yet. The fact that Quik cooked this up in a night or two would be mind blowing if it was anyone but Quik. In his 41st year, his chop game stays soulful and vicious. Between Quik and Ish from Shabazz Palaces, he has shredded all… Continue reading »

Nov
10

R.I.P. Heavy D: 1967-2011

Chris Daly co-wrote the “In Living Color” theme song. The Overweight Lover has left the house. The Jamaican born, money earnin’ Mount Vernon-raised, Dwight Arrington Myers, passed away earlier this week on November 8th, 2011, apparently due to “respiratory distress.” While he may not have been  regularly heralded as one of the all-time greats of… Continue reading »

Sep
13

Sach O: RIP DJ Mehdi

Sach O used to bump Princes de La Ville on a near daily basis in high school. Sad news for the world of beatmaking today as Parisian producer DJ Mehdi passes away. While his international audience knew him best as a new school electro producer affiliated with Ed Banger, I’ll always remember him for his… Continue reading »

May
28

Sach O: R.I.P Gil Scott Heron

Sach O shouldn’t be writing before coffee. I suppose if I’m up posting this early on a Saturday, I should say something about the untimely passing of Gil Scott Heron. I’m not a fan of writing obituaries for people I never met so I’ll keep it brief: look past all of the “forefather of Hip-Hop”… Continue reading »

Mar
18

Nate Dogg Tribute: The Next Episode

The news of Nate Dogg’s death hit as I touched down in Austin. I have yet to recover. Expect some legitimate tributes from me next week. In the meantime, I believe my appreciation for the man was best expressed by my 2006 hypothesis that the nation’s woes were attributable to a dearth of Dogg. Starting… Continue reading »

Mar
18

Not A Blogger Redux: Can’t Deny It: Nate Dogg (1969 – 2011)

Doc Zeus and Doc Dre attended the same medical school. Celebrity deaths in the Age Of Twitter can often make placing an artist’s legacy in the proper context difficult. The rush to lionize a public figure in the wake of their passing often leads to otherwise marginal personalities in the annals of pop culture to… Continue reading »

Feb
08

The Dream Shatterer: In Memory of Big Pun

Dead rapper week lingers on with the one and only son of Tony Montana. 11 years ago yesterday, Chris Rio went ham for his last time, proving the deleterious effects of cash, swine, and 700 lbs. worth of cholesterol. By dint of his untimely death, Pun gets the red carpet rolled out each year, despite… Continue reading »

Feb
07

J Dilla – Still Shining

“J.Dilla: Still Shining” from B.Kyle on Vimeo. Every day is Dilla day on the rap Internet, but in the interest of commemorating the born day of one of the G.O.A.T.’s, Brian “B. Kyle” Atkins unleashes this must-see doc on the life of James Yancey– complete with cameos from Pete Rock, Q-Tip, Badu, Common (complete with… Continue reading »

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