Black Star tune on Red Hot + Indigo

[Leanne]

I heard a song (Money Jungle) on the Red Hot + Indigo Ellington tribute compilation. It is by Black Star, and features Ron Carter and John Patton (plus some other dudes). And I guess Black Star is Mos Def? Has anyone heard this?

It is hip hop over jazz, with a killer groove. The vocals go back and forth between melodic singing and rapping. I really, really like it. It is similar to what The Roots have going on, but jazzier, and with more singing.

I'm not a hip hop fan, but this really appeals to me because of the singing and the organ and the sweeeet groove. I'd really like to hear more stuff like this, but I don't know where to look. Any suggestions?

Thanks

Leanne

[Noj]

Hi Leanne,

Black Star is Mos Def/Talib Kweli/DJ Hi-Tek. I really dig Mos Def, and though I haven't heard the tune you're talking about, he has made quite a few that sound like you describe. He did a collaboration with Ronny Jordan called "Brighter Day" that was cool. His song "Umi Says" is somewhere between rapping and singing and spoken word, and his production is always top notch. Really I would recommend the entire first Black Star album and Mos' solo album Black On Both Sides, they are both as good as hip hop gets. Another track where Mos does his "almost singing" is "Foundation" with DJ Honda.

You may also dig Cee-Lo, check out his album Cee-lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections. Particularly the song "Gettin' Grown" comes to mind. His work with Outkast on the Aquimini album is fantastic, and have a listen to the song "Held Down" with De La Soul where Cee-lo incorporates a gospel sound with hip hop.

Talib Kweli is also worth a listen, the track "Joy" off his latest album is a personal favorite. He did a track with Morcheeba called "Let Me See" that is pretty cool for this rapper with a singer combo.

Common's collaboration with Jill Scott "I Am Music" has a particularly jazzy vibe. Mos Def also has a track with Jill Scott called "Love Rain" that is pretty cool.

Erykah Badu fits right along these lines. Her two studio and one live effort are both outstanding IMO, and she has also worked with Mos Def, Cee-lo, and Outkast.

A whole lot of hip-hop from the early days is jazzy because, well, they sampled jazz. A Tribe Called Quest's The Low End Theory or De La Soul Is Dead are both impossible to go wrong with if you remotely like hip-hop.

The benchmark of all sampling is the Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique.

Sorry to ramble, hope I helped...

[Soul Stream]

I bought this and played it for John Patton while riding around in my car with him around NYC. He was AGHAST, AND HATED IT!!!!!! He had cut the original tracks with just Ron Carter and Nasheet Waits....no singer or rappers in sight, that was all overdubbed later without telling Patton. He was downright pissed off. I would have loved to have heard the original tracks before they ruined it with all the "star time" garbage they overdubbed latter. According to Patton, they cut a total of 3 or 4 songs that day...love to hear it unaltered.

I wish you could have seen the look of disgust on his face when I played him that thing. Screwed over again...you could see it in his eyes.

[Noj]

Ouch, the wrath of Soul Stream.

"Screwed over again." Does this sort of thing happen often with musicians? I find it odd that Mr. Patton would be so uninvolved in the final product that he would feel as though his creative input had been misused.

[Soul Stream]

Ouch, the wrath of Soul Stream.

"Screwed over again." Does this sort of thing happen often with musicians? I find it odd that Mr. Patton would be so uninvolved in the final product that he would feel as though his creative input had been misused.

Sorry, didn't mean to come off as a nut. It just was a situation that is a little sad. Patton, Ron Carter and Waits go in and cut several Ellington numbers. That's all Patton knew. Next thing you know, the producer has overdubbed some (IMHO really, annoying and lame) rap over it. Patton does some interesting solo work here, but it's totally buried under some amateurish babbling.

Well, John was pretty upset. He felt his artistic work had been destroyed. It's especially annoying since most of the other cuts on the CD don't have any vocalizing on them. And yes, the musician being the last consideration is very commonplace when it comes to the selling of the music.

If you think about it, Patton had recorded 3 sessions for Blue Note that ended up as "Boogaloo" "Memphis To NY Spirit" and part of the CD reissue of "Accent on the Blues." All are some of his best work that wasn't released. Then he was signed by Epic records in the 70's, but BN wouldn't release him from his contract although they wouldn't record him...so it didn't go through. So, yes, Patton did have several bad encounters with the music industry. This was just one of them.