The idea of men gathering to lift their voices in song sounds interesting enough. Now add to the equation an all male vocal tribute to Mary J. I’m on board! Tell the truth, which Mary do you prefer, the homegirl, tough as nails, drama-laden, drama-free, enlightened, or empowered Mary? Whatever your preference “Men Love Mary” had you covered. The evening was the brainchild of Soulbounce.com founder, Butta, in collaboration with SOL Village, the artist showcase hosted by Eric Roberson (aka Erro). The soundtrack for the affair was Mary J’s 1994 classic “My Life” reworked by six shining stars of the indie music scene: D-Maurice, Darien, Bradd Marquis, Jesse Boykins III, TL Cross, and Mr. Entertainment himself, Eric Roberson. Before the official program began, Mr. Roberson launched the show with a funky, rocked out rendition of the American Idol audition gem “Pants on the Ground”. After capturing the room’s attention, focus shifted to the tragic devastation of Haiti. Sharing the newly penned “A Prayer for Haiti”, Eric pledged to donate 100% of the evenings CD sales to Haitian relief efforts.
“Men Love Mary” was chock-full of artists not merely performing Mary J’s material, but reinterpreting songs in their own flavor. D-Mo delivered “Mary’s Joint”, this man showed his worth not only serving and featured artist, but pulling double duty providing backing vocals for Erro. Here’s the kicker when the backing track for “Love Without a Limit” wouldn’t power up, D-Mo still belted that tune out with the audience providing background vocals. Next up was Darien with “Be Happy” including lacing his offering with a touch-of-rhyme, TL Cross with “You Gotta Believe”, Bradd Marquis “I Never Want to Live Without You” for a minute or two brother man channeled the recently deceased Teddy Pendergrass by dropping a few bars of “Love TKO”, Jesse Boykins III delivered a ragga-tinged version of “No One Else” to Eric Roberson’s rendition of “My Life”. Not to be outdone, the audience was also invited to pay musical tribute to Mary J. Eric asked for any brave audience member to lift their voice up in song for “Not Goin’ Cry” (‘Waiting to Exhale’ soundtrack), “Just Fine” (‘Growing Pains’) and with full crowd participation for “All That I Can Say” (‘Mary’). Though the event was called “Men Love Mary”, the ladies in the house had a whole lotta something to share as well. Over the familiar melody of the Roy Ayer’s classic “Everyone Loves the Sunshine”, we were treated to the velvety voice scatting of Lorenda Robinson(Brown Baby Girl), Kiki Hawkins (The Kiki Experience) doing what she does best wrecking the set with her powerhouse vocals. Most memorable for me was witnessing Kimberly Nichole just rock it out.
The evening’s close featured all “Men Love Mary” artists retaking the stage, then along with the female vocalists in the house (Tess, Kiki Hawkins, Lorenda Robinson, and Kimberly Nichole) for a jam session styled version of “My Life”. One audience member was so positively impacted she took to the stage offering praise and a performance, her name – Kim, her gig –playing drums for Beyonce. Had Mary J. had been in attendance she would’ve been honored, and flattered by the expression. A great effort for all involved, “Men Love Mary” brought me joy!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Live Performance report – Declaime & Georgia Anne Muldrow @ SOB’s, Feb. 23, 2010 by Mama Soul of Musical Pathways
“…these custom built snares are not for entertainment” – Declaime on Ms. One’s production skills
I’ve been an admirer of Georgia Anne’s since my first introduction in 2008 on a DJ Needles compilation. Two years later and six albums added to my collection, my appreciation for Georgia Anne’s talent continues to flourish. So when the New York show date was announced my pulse began to race and my heart was aflutter. Nothing but death could keep me from this show – real talk!
My anticipation was getting the best of me; I imagined one show scenario after another. With such a full catalog between the two I didn’t know what to expect. A moment of truth though, prior to this show I wasn’t very familiar with Declaime the artist except for a few guest collaborations. However I am familiar with Declaime when he takes the form of Dudley Perkins producer extraordinaire for/with Georgia Anne. So tack on curiosity.
Show day arrives and the weather is just gross, spittle rain, windy and cold. Weather conditions which illicit feelings more akin to staying indoors then hanging out. I make the mental adjustment and prepare for the evening ahead-away I go. I reach the venue and much to my dismay, the crowd is woefully thin. This is no way for New York to represent. Did NYC get the memo? The catalog is too rich and full. Unfortunately, this is another classic case of artists being slept on. This may call for extreme measures – form of a crazy, ultra-hype super fan. Alas all are saved from such a spectacle. The crowd started to trickle-in and fill up the space like Pharoahe Monch, Soulafrodisiac’s Anne Marie Collymore and emerging artist Nakia Henry (sidebar, Nakia’s album “Remember Me” is a witty, sexy, well-crafted, and impressive debut). Take that old man winter!
The pre-show music fills the air and the crowd is either, chatting, dining or sipping. Without fanfare, hype-man or flashing lights Declaime and Georgia Anne take the stage, the crowd is hyped. G&D are a self-contained unit – want beats, want lyrics, want artistry, need vocalists, need musicians – check, check, and triple check. Dudley’s at the controls manning the CD-Js with Georgia Anne by his side. A Flying Lotus beat flows from the speakers, Georgia Anne gets a feel of the stage while vamping on the mic; ladies and gentlemen – soundcheck. I’m so ready!
Out the gate I’m head-nodding the tracks ooze of West Coast sonic stylings, production equal heavy on the “FONK” (this is not a misspelling). Reminiscent of Parliament/Funkadelic, Bootsy Collins and Dr. Dre tracks have supple bass lines and sticky-synth keys. The onstage interplay allows each time to shine on the mic – a rhymesayer cooperative partnership. What’s even more endearing is their shared admiration each is a genuine fan of the other. The set list culled material from various projects. There is a message in their music, it’s not preachy, but thought-provoking addressing issues of self-awareness, social commentary-dare I say conscious lyrics all laced with that “FONK’. You still with me? Some of joints dropped were: “Connect Game”, “Shine On”, “Uhuru Flight”, “Fonk 4 U”, “Fame”, “Run It Down” and switching up the bpms a bit, Georgia Anne offered “Kings Ballad”, her tribute to Michael Jackson (a cut from her latest album of the same name). As the encore and request, Georgia Anne blessed us with the ode to art as therapy, “Roses”. The crowd gets live.
As a newbie, a Declaime and Georgia Anne show is an informal experience, not heavy on structure or particular order, but what is fonky at the moment. Note to self and others – a neck brace and/or Tiger Balm are in order because the FONK will have you head-nodding from start to finish. The next day my trapezius muscles were so sore – seriously.
I’ve been an admirer of Georgia Anne’s since my first introduction in 2008 on a DJ Needles compilation. Two years later and six albums added to my collection, my appreciation for Georgia Anne’s talent continues to flourish. So when the New York show date was announced my pulse began to race and my heart was aflutter. Nothing but death could keep me from this show – real talk!
My anticipation was getting the best of me; I imagined one show scenario after another. With such a full catalog between the two I didn’t know what to expect. A moment of truth though, prior to this show I wasn’t very familiar with Declaime the artist except for a few guest collaborations. However I am familiar with Declaime when he takes the form of Dudley Perkins producer extraordinaire for/with Georgia Anne. So tack on curiosity.
Show day arrives and the weather is just gross, spittle rain, windy and cold. Weather conditions which illicit feelings more akin to staying indoors then hanging out. I make the mental adjustment and prepare for the evening ahead-away I go. I reach the venue and much to my dismay, the crowd is woefully thin. This is no way for New York to represent. Did NYC get the memo? The catalog is too rich and full. Unfortunately, this is another classic case of artists being slept on. This may call for extreme measures – form of a crazy, ultra-hype super fan. Alas all are saved from such a spectacle. The crowd started to trickle-in and fill up the space like Pharoahe Monch, Soulafrodisiac’s Anne Marie Collymore and emerging artist Nakia Henry (sidebar, Nakia’s album “Remember Me” is a witty, sexy, well-crafted, and impressive debut). Take that old man winter!
The pre-show music fills the air and the crowd is either, chatting, dining or sipping. Without fanfare, hype-man or flashing lights Declaime and Georgia Anne take the stage, the crowd is hyped. G&D are a self-contained unit – want beats, want lyrics, want artistry, need vocalists, need musicians – check, check, and triple check. Dudley’s at the controls manning the CD-Js with Georgia Anne by his side. A Flying Lotus beat flows from the speakers, Georgia Anne gets a feel of the stage while vamping on the mic; ladies and gentlemen – soundcheck. I’m so ready!
Out the gate I’m head-nodding the tracks ooze of West Coast sonic stylings, production equal heavy on the “FONK” (this is not a misspelling). Reminiscent of Parliament/Funkadelic, Bootsy Collins and Dr. Dre tracks have supple bass lines and sticky-synth keys. The onstage interplay allows each time to shine on the mic – a rhymesayer cooperative partnership. What’s even more endearing is their shared admiration each is a genuine fan of the other. The set list culled material from various projects. There is a message in their music, it’s not preachy, but thought-provoking addressing issues of self-awareness, social commentary-dare I say conscious lyrics all laced with that “FONK’. You still with me? Some of joints dropped were: “Connect Game”, “Shine On”, “Uhuru Flight”, “Fonk 4 U”, “Fame”, “Run It Down” and switching up the bpms a bit, Georgia Anne offered “Kings Ballad”, her tribute to Michael Jackson (a cut from her latest album of the same name). As the encore and request, Georgia Anne blessed us with the ode to art as therapy, “Roses”. The crowd gets live.
As a newbie, a Declaime and Georgia Anne show is an informal experience, not heavy on structure or particular order, but what is fonky at the moment. Note to self and others – a neck brace and/or Tiger Balm are in order because the FONK will have you head-nodding from start to finish. The next day my trapezius muscles were so sore – seriously.
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