We’re back from a brief hiatus prepared to transform Sanguine Sunday into the next era of Sanguine Soul. Thanks to everyone out there who voted on the poll! It was quite a turnout for our small grassroots endeavor here on the internet and pirate radio waves in the Bay. We’re mad excited about bringing sincerity and rawness to an expanded notion of soulness fresh for the 21st century. There’s limitless possibilities when you’re committed to transforming genre, self, music, and most ambitiously the world as a whole. And that brings us to this week’s concept piece, transformations, the morphing of one identity into another. While we typically are passive subjects of proccesses of transformation as the world turns, we are also capable of the freedom to determine transformations of ourselves, our situations, our communities, and the future itself.
In this week’s episode we decide to exhibit a certain aesthetic of transformation while showcasing some of the many talented musicians who work towards transformation. Honey Knucks chops it up with Khingz, a community educator and talented lyricist based out of Seattle. Khingz discusses his upbringing and the experiences that led him to work in social outreach and gives us the low down on his new album From Slaveships to Spaceships (Fresh Chopped Beats / Madk). The finely crafted and extremely versatile sound collage paints a picture of Khingz’ personal struggle for self-determination, rising from the chains of oppression to a hopeful freedom of the mind in the outer cosmos.
I (Z Note) jump Transformations off with a set bookmarked by Divine Styler’s enlightened Sufi reflections, “Am I An Epigram For Life” and James Toney Jr. Project’s politicized Afrobeat anthem “Revolution Poem”. Closing the show, Honey Knucks drops a layered set, integrating boogie sounds from the late Michael Jackson “Baby Be Mine”, world rhythms from Nickodemus “N’Dini” and “Inferfo” courtesy of local beatsmith J-Boogie. Shelmatic per usual engineers the levels, keeps the grooves smooth and the show orchestrated with Flying Lotus’ 1983(Plug Research, 2006) in the background. Much love to MJ for providing his wonderful gift to the world. May he find peace in the final act of transformation.
Another one of my long posts – beware!!!
First, you guys are killing me. Last week the world was so full of constraints that you felt the need to showcase artists who *think* they “have pushed their artistic creations beyond the normal conventions of their times”. This week the “There’s limitless possibilities when you’re committed to transforming genre, self, music, and most ambitiously the world as a whole.”
Talk about a transformation – and in just one week!
All kidding aside, anyway, another good episode letting me hear rhythms that I wouldn’t ordinarily be exposed to.
My two cents on some other transformations:
Of course, Michael Jackson which you touched on briefly. The “advantage” MJ had with older white people was that he was the cute little brother in the J5. Sure he had the big ‘fro just like his brothers, but he wasn’t a “threat” to their teenage daughters like Jermaine would be assumed to be. Michael grew up in front of people, so when he started doing things on his own everyone was used to him. As he got older his music was slick and could be sensual, but it wasn’t overtly sexual (like Marvin Gaye for instance) so again, MJ had more acceptance. On top of that, of course, he had monster talent. (No Thriller pun intended.) All that being said, though, there was a little backlash when he had the “nerve” to show up to an awards ceremony with Brooke Shields and when he started grabbing his crotch while dancing. By then it was too late, though. MJ was on his ascendancy. MTV and MJ, the perfect storm of confluencing trends. MJ truly was the King of Pop.
All other things aside, RIP MJ. May peace be with you.
Elvis Presley. Singing “black songs” got him banned from many southern radio stations, but got the white kids listening to music influenced by late 40s / early 50s black R&B. How many white kids would have ever heard Big Mama Thornton’s “Hound Dog” if Elvis hadn’t covered it?
While Elvis was no MJ when it came to dancing, his “swivel hip” moves caused his performance on the Ed Sullivan show to be shown only from the waist up. But the kids knew what was happening and dancing never looked back. There’s probably an argument that Elvis’ hips were the precursor to MJ’s crotch grab and another argument that Elvis’ hips were a reflection of influences in his life.
Here’s a controversial one. Vanilla Ice. [Forget about the phony bio and forget about the "rip-off" of Queen's "Under Pressure" as a sample in "Ice, Ice Baby" or Wild Cherry's "Play that Funky Music". (Nobody was paying royalties for samples back then. His song just became so popular that there was money to be had. Worse, he lied and tried to claim that the riff was slightly different than Queen's beat] Here was a white kid doing “safe, clean” rap as opposed to, say, The Beastie Boys with their curse-laced raps. Sure, there were a few other white rap groups / artists, but white kids getting into rap really blew up after Vanilla Ice.
Run DMC / Aerosmith collaboration on “Walk this Way”. Rap and Rock & Roll – a marriage made in heaven (or hell, if you will). Now that’s transformative. ’nuff said.
Ice T as an entertainer. Can you imagine going from “Cop Killer” to playing cops on TV? Talk about a transformation. Like I said, as an entertainer. Ice strikes me as the kind of man who has stayed true to who he is. Also, the marriage of rock music w/ rap in “Cop Killer” owes props back to Run DMC and Aerosmith.
To all you “kids” out there, if you really want to get a sense of the atmosphere and cultural shift; i.e., transformations that were taking place, you need to talk to someone at least in their early 40s. Someone who was at least a mid-teenager when MJ blew up with “Billie Jean” and the moonwalk on the Motown 25 TV special or when Run DMC and Aerosmith hit MTV with “Walk this Way”.
Virtually everyone could see what was happening and, as MJ once sang, for a whole generation, it began not to “matter if you’re black or white.”
Hey Rockman!
The whole limit thing is strange huh. On the one hand, there’s the idea of pushing limits or breaking limits. On the other hand, there’s the possibility of the limitless, but the possibility of zero constraint is more of an illusion which enables transformation. In fact, I’m most impressed by artists and human beings in general who transform themselves through intense discipline and work (certainly not an idealized case of “transcending” limits).
I’d argue that MJ got his moves more so from James Brown than Elvis. But, then I’m not so sure where Elvis got his hip swaying sexiness?
Also, I definitely showcased younger forms of transformation (primarily young people getting themselves out of bad situations and unhealthy environments through self-knowledge and understanding).
I can’t even imagine what the cultural transformation of that initial MTV stage was like, once they finally started playing black music. I think that the great cultural importance of MJ really is history to me.
Z Note
Z Note:
Talk about losing my mind – how can I forget to mention James Brown:
“Soul Brother #1″ – hit me one time (listen for Maceo’s sax)
“The Godfather of Soul” – hit me two times
“The Sex Machine” – hit me three times
“The Hardest Working Man in Show Business” – hit me four times
No doubt, JB was a major influence on MJ – thanks for bringing that up. My bad for not giving JB props. Especially since I have seen JB in concert.
The Fairmount Hotel in SF had a small venue called “The Venetian Room”. JB was getting a “second wind” to his career because he sang “Living in America” in Rocky IV. So in 1986 JB came to SF to play the Venetian. He was in his early 50s, but put on one of the most dynamic, physically draining shows I have ever seen. About the middle of the show, Maceo Parker came off the stage and went through the crowd. This was to give JB a “rest”, but through the entire 3 or 4 minutes MP’s winding his way around JB would scream out “Maceo!” (sax riff) “Maceo!” (sax riff) “Maceo!” His band was tight. Everything well rehearsed, but down right funky.
One of the best things I ever saw was at that concert. Two women in their mid to late 50s came to see JB; they were seated at the table next to us. (The Venetian Room was like a supper club – believe me, though, hardly anyone stayed in their seat that night.) They were obviously fans and were very excited to see him. However, they brought their mother who must have been in her late 70s or early 80s. She was clearly not so thrilled to be there. Her lips were pursed from the beginning and had her hands over her ears because it was LOUD. However, the funk must have come down from the mountain top because about 2/3s of the way through the show, I looked over and one of her hands was tapping to the beat. No more pursed lips. I looked down and, sure enough, her foot was tapping to the beat as well. One of her daughters turned and saw her mom enjoying the music, started laughing and gave her a big hug and kiss on the cheek. James had turned the tide for that woman. Now that’s soul power!
Now for the serious part of the dialog . . .
As for your comment regarding the cultural importance of MJ being history to you. That’s true, and you may not ever see someone like him again that you’ll get to witness first hand on the ascendancy. But, you never know.
That being said, check out the fact that you did get to witness the election of our first black president. You got to see how the country acted and reacted as he made the run and then got elected. And that he ran against a women in the primary. And that for only the second time a woman was on the ticket as a VP candidate.
You’ll be able to witness, I’m sure, a women finally winning a primary and being the lead on the ticket. And perhaps even being elected president.
These are the times to pay attention (and I’m sure you are), because 20 or 30 years or 40 years from now some youngster is going to take for granted that people of color and women are at the highest levels of society. You’re going to be the person saying, “I remember when . . .”
You’ll be the witness to that history and for that history. You’ll be the story teller. You’ll be the reality check and the continuity for the next generation.
Just remember, though, keep it funky!