On May 21st, 1972, rapper, hip hop icon, pop culture legend, former husband of Faith Evans, founder of Junior Mafia and Bad Boy Records artist-Biggie Smalls (Christopher George Latore Wallace) aka The Notorious B.I.G. was born in New York City, New York. Unfortunately B.I.G. is most remebered for the East Coast-West Coast beef with Tupac Shakur, that caused both musicians to lose their lives to gun violence at early ages. He was so much more however. Biggie was creative and charismatic-and one of the faces of the last Golden Age Of Hip Hop (1993-1997ish). Most people born after 1990 consider Biggie to be the best, or one of the greatest rappers of all-time. He was great, but I wouldn’t categorize him as one of the best-nor Tupac. That may sting some readers’ eyes, but I was blessed to see ALL of hip hop culture as it developed since the mid 1970's (when it was just starting out).
I know the legacy of MCs and rappers that came before, and after, Biggie (if you consider what these cats are doing nowadays to be emceeing). Performers from that era were doper lyrically, like Souls Of Mischief, Public Enemy, Digable Planets, KRS-One, Rakim, Nas, Redman, the whole Native Tongue Family, The Gang Starr Foundation, most of The Wu-Tang Clan, Boot Camp Clik, The Juice Crew, etc. Moreover, many of these artists were what inspired talents like be Biggie to elevate to the levels of greatness he achieved. Truth is truth. With that said, Biggie had a strong rhyme style-targeted towards an urban audience-full of punchlines and his signature "uhn." He got his break via Tupac, who helped him and Puffy get industry exposure. Dee Jays Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito also helped them crack The NYC Market. Biggie went on to release two solo LPs (the second a double album), an album with Junior Mafia, was featured on other artist’s songs, and is one of the most popular artists of all time. B.I.G. was just 24 when he was murdered.
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On May 21st, 1974, rapper, producer, Dee Jay, bassist, keyboardist, and member of the hip hop duo known as Mobb Deep-Havoc (Kejuan Muchita) was born in Queensbridge, Long Island City, Queens, NY. Havoc has a long legacy of production for his own crew, as well as others including Biggie, Nas, Capone-N-Noreaga, The Game, Big Noyd, Method Man, Jadakiss, O.G.C. (Boot Camp Clik), Foxy Brown, La The Darkman, Eminem, Redman, KRS-One, Prodigy, Illa Ghee, Tragedy Khadafi, Xzibit, PMD, and more. He was heavily influenced by DJ Premier, and Large Professor; learning most of his beat making skills by watching them. Some of his early beats were made using Ensoniq keyboard samplers, like the EPS and EPS 16 Plus. He also used the ASR-10 (same sampler The RZA used for Wu-Tang Clan beats).
Havoc (l) is a versatile hip hop artist-who’s able to rhyme, Dee Jay, make beats, play instruments, and run the boards. A lot of musicians in the game are either good at just one, or a couple of these things. Havoc is rare in that he’s good at all of them. His verse on J Dilla’s 24K Rap featuring Chef Raekwon is probably one of his better rhymes post-The Infamous LP. He also is credited for producing two cuts off Kanye West’s 2016 The Life of Pablo album (Famous & Real Friends). Again, these are two of the better tracks off Kanye’s LP. Havoc’s discography is quite varied and lengthy. He started producing on Mobb Deep’s first LP Juvenile Hell in 1993, and continues to produce & perform. Havoc turns 45 today.
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On May 21st, 1971, marks the release of the landmark LP What’s Going On-which stands as the turning point for Motown Records moving from a more pop driven music company, to a more socially conscious record label. Of all the albums released on Motown during the 1970's, this is probably the best one for several reasons. Prior to Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, Motown was a ‘factory’ or assembly line company patterned after the GM and Ford Motor Companies. Berry Gordy had in house producers, session musicians, writers, and a panel of judges that would vote on which songs would be pressed (and which would not). The artists on the label, unless they were employees behind the scenes that also performed (like Smokey Robinson), were given little to no say in the songs they released. This includes lyrical content, arrangement, and production.
Marvin demanded freedom from this, and What’s Going On was the first LP of its kind on the label to showcase his composing and songwriting skills in its entirety. Stevie Wonder would not have had the opportunity to win all the Grammy's he did in the 70's, if it weren’t for What’s Going On. Marvin's album, was more cerebral, authentic, and spoke directly to the problems that America and the world was facing at the time (the pitfalls of war, race relations, drug abuse, and poverty). Additionally, the album was recorded in three different studios-between Michigan and California-which was rare for most LPs, as the engineers preferred everything to be uniformly recorded at the same spot. The LP could be considered as the first official ‘mixtape’ on wax, as there are no real pauses or gaps between any of the songs. They all flow together. What's Going On ranks among The Top 100 LPs Of All-Time by several publications, and turns 48 years old today.
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HONORABLE MENTION: On May 21st, 1904, pioneering ‘Harlem Stride’ pianist, jazz innovator, composer, singer, organist, bandleader, recording artist, and frequent collaborator with Andy Razaf-Fats Waller (Thomas Wright Waller) was born in NYC, NY. Waller is one of the forefathers of jazz. His playing style can be categorized as Stride, Dixieland, and Ragtime. One of his most memorable songs would be Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Victor Records, 1929), from the musical Connie’s Hot Chocolates. Waller was posthumously inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame for the in 1984. In 1999, his song called Honeysuckle Rose was also inducted. Fats Waller was 39 when he passed.
On May 21st, 1941, influential rock ‘n’ roll musician, 70's funk innovator, 90's R&B giant, singer, songwriter, producer, record executive, actor, former husband to Angela Winbush, and lead singer of The Isley Brothers-Ronald Isley aka Mr. Biggs was born in Cincinnati, OH. Mr. Isley produced produced countless classics, with his brothers throughout the 1960's and 1970's. He's the voice on hits like Shout, This Old Heart of Mine, It’s Your Thang, The Pride, Fight The Power, Choosey Lover, Voyage To Atlantis, Footsteps In The Dark, Between The Sheets, and so much more. He was co-owner of T-Neck Records, which helped keep Isley earnings in the family. Ronald Isley is 78 today.
On May 21st, 2006, we lost a a highly influential entertainer, dancer, choreographer, social activist, actress, author, educator, anthropologist, and founder of The Katherine Dunham Dance Company-Katherine (Mary) Dunham aka Kaye Dunn. Dunham started off as an anthropologist, at The University Of Chicago, where she befriended her fellow student Zora Neale Hurston. In the late 1920's she studied ballet, and formed her first troupe (Ballet Negres) in 1931. She got a gig with The Chicago Opera, and opened her first dance academy (The Negro Dance Group) in 1933. Katherine revolutionized the way dance was presented, and rose to international fame as a dancer & choreographer. She performed in over 57 countries, wrote several books, appeared in a number of films, and will forever be known as 'The Matriach Of Black Dance.' Katherine Dunham was 96 years old, at the time of her passing.
On May 21st, 2015, we lost the seminal funk musician (ranked #38 on Bass Player Magazine’s list of The 100 Greatest Bass Players Of All Time), soul and fusion jazz innovator, singer, songwriter, double bassist, session musician, Quincy Jones collaborator, and member of The Brothers Johnson-Louis Johnson aka Thunder Thumbs. Johnson is credited as one of the originators of the slap bass style, along with Larry Graham (of Sly & The Family Stone) and Bootsy Collins (of Parliament-Funkadelic). He played on Michael Jackson’s biggest selling albums (Off The Wall, Thriller, & Dangerous). He also played with Jeffrey Osbourne, George Benson, Grover Washington Jr., and Anita Baker. Louis Johnson was 60 when he passed away.
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