My Tribute to Jay-Z, The Ohio Players, and The Stylistics
All of you who know me personally, know that Jay-Z is one of my all time favorite artists. As my co-worker once told me in a conversation about today's singers, "we all stand on someone else's shoulders." I believe that whole-heartedly. With that in mind, I want to share and expose you to a couple of old school groups that helped Jay-Z's debut album, Reasonable Doubt become an undisputed classic.--Feel free to argue that:-)
Some of you youngins' out there have never heard of The Ohio Players, nor have you heard of The Stylistics; go do some research! Ok, getting on with it. In my opinion, every song on Reasonable Doubt is a hit, but I've chosen two in particular to talk about, "Politics As Usual" and "Brooklyn's Finest."
Starting with "Politics As Usual," you cannot ignore this smooth, R & B sounding track; the vicious horns and soft drums. It's one of the most suave tracks on the album, no thanks to the sample from The Stylistics', "Hurry Up this Way Again." It is a track found on their album entitled, Hurry Up This Way Again/Closer Than Close/1982.
Some of you youngins' out there have never heard of The Ohio Players, nor have you heard of The Stylistics; go do some research! Ok, getting on with it. In my opinion, every song on Reasonable Doubt is a hit, but I've chosen two in particular to talk about, "Politics As Usual" and "Brooklyn's Finest."
Starting with "Politics As Usual," you cannot ignore this smooth, R & B sounding track; the vicious horns and soft drums. It's one of the most suave tracks on the album, no thanks to the sample from The Stylistics', "Hurry Up this Way Again." It is a track found on their album entitled, Hurry Up This Way Again/Closer Than Close/1982.
Now, a more up tempo song, "Brooklyn's Finest." This song has a crazy piano loop that ensues head-bopping and finger-tapping. After you listen to The Ohio Players' track "Ecstasy," you'll understand why. Ecstasy is the name of the track, as well as the name of the album, which was released in 1973.
Take a moment to listen to the original tracks that Jay and his crew sampled, you may have a better appreciation for the artists aforementioned and their craft. I've put together an imeem playlist for your listening pleasure. Enjoy and don't forget to leave your thoughts and/or comments.
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3 comments:
Sometimes it feels lonely being a Jay-Z fan. I don't argue with others about it because I feel like his skills speak for themselves.
By the way thank you for visiting my blog. K.I.T.
i agree with you, his skills speak for themselves, but i will def debate with people. my co-worker and i got at each other about nas & jay, but it's all love:-)
Not a Jay-z fan. Not my era. Did like the Stylistics along with the Chi Lites(my fav) and Harlold Melvin and the Blue Notes. Late 60's thru the '70's produced some fantastic MoTown sounds.
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