Thursday Throwback: Brothas Unda Madness

By most accounts, Brothas Unda Madness' 1995 album Lyfe 'N' Tyme was a slept on Bay Area classic. I sure missed it. Then again, little could distract me from Westside Connection in 4th grade. I recently copped it though after catching their videos for "Elevation (Free My Mind)" and "Take a Look Around." The Oakland duo of Evocalist and D. Wyze mixed g-funk, jazz, street tales and introspective lyrics, to craft a sound that landed somewhere between 3X Krazy and Souls of Mischief. The end result is dope to say the least.

"Elevation (Free My Mind)" has a feel good vibe thanks to the use of the classic Teddy Pendergrass song, "Close The Door". The song celebrates the Bay's indigenous indy hustle, but does so at the expense of major labels and the corporate slavery they associate with signing. What rang true back then, seems even more relevant now in the internet age. 

"Take a Look Around" takes a different view. Documenting the street life that pops off in both the North and East side of Oakland, the B.U.M.S. oscillate between stories of slanging and trying to walk a narrower path. This is the struggle on urban turfs across the country–How do you make an honest way, when there are so many pitfalls? How do you satisfy your thirst for big money without an education? How do you survive when guns have replaced fists? The B.U.M.S. answer was music, but as this video shows, in the Wild Wild West, someone is always losing a draw... and their life. So before you step out into it, be sure you "Take a Look Around."

Thursday Throwback: Edwin Hawkins Singers: "Oh Happy Day"

"Oh Happy Day" almost single-handedly revolutionized gospel music, as it was the first ever gospel song to become a cross over mainstream hit. It reached #4 on the US charts and #2 on the UK charts in 1969. The Edwin Hawkins Singers would also go on to win a Grammy for Best Gospel Performance for "Oh Happy Day" that year as well, their first of three such awards. Church folk are real familiar with this song, but even the secular among us know this song thanks to Sister Act 2.

What many of you may not know is that "Oh Happy Day" was written by Oakland's Edwin Hawkins and recorded at Ephesian Church of God in Christ in Berkeley, CA. It was originally a track on a church album that they hoped would sell 500 copies, but when Bay Area radio started playing it, sales skyrocketed. The rest, as they say, is history.

DL: Edwin Hawkins Singers: "Oh Happy Day"

Thursday Throwback: The Funky & Enigmatic Sly Stone

Sly Stone is an enigmatic cult-hero around the world. For my contemporary-minded Bay-centric folks who need a basis for comparison, imagine Mac Dre and 2Pac were genetically engineered to be  one psychedelic, revolutionary and funky musical super hero. Now place this super-hero in the late 1960s with musical training, a drug habit and a rainbow coalition of hodge podge princesses and paupers in pimp hats. You got the picture now? Good.

A multi-instrumental funk god cum strange recluse, Sly Stone's story is one for the ages. Raised in Vallejo, CA, he started his musical career in a family gospel group before becoming a record producer and on-air radio dj during the height of San Francisco's psychadelic rock era. He formed a couple upstart bands, but none stuck until he assembled the, now infamous, Family Stone. The band's racial and gender diversity was monumental, but the music was even bigger. To prove this, I admit that I actually wrote a 20 page paper on one Family Stone song ("Stand!"). That's right kids, 20 pages about one song!!

From about 1968-1971 Sly and The Family Stone were untouchable, cranking out classics like "Dance to the Music," "Everyday People," "I Want To Take You Higher," "Stand," Hot Fun in The Summertime" and many others. They touched upon a variety of genres from soul to psychedelic rock, but most importantly, they pioneered the funk movement that would become the bread and butter of artists like Parliament and James Brown.

Unfortunately fame brought drugs and internal rifts that soon left the band unraveling. Their demise is well documented, but pales in comparison to their overall impact. They have been sampled and covered many times over and remain atop my list of best Bay Area acts, despite the presence of other musical giants like Santana, Toni! Tony! Tone!, Too $hort, 2pac, Tower of Power, The Grateful Dead, Greenday, En Vogue, E-40, Jefferson Airplane and others. They are the muse of many artists, the obsession of many fans and proof that music can make a social statement while being infectious, funky and celebratory. 

Check out some of the videos below to get a taste of what Sly & The Family Stone was bringing to the stage and listen to a rare 2009 interview he did on NPR (Listen Here). It's impossible to introduce you to Sly with just a couple jams or videos, but a great place to start is the two-disc set The Essential Sly & The Family Stone.

This first video shows them at a talent show at Ohio State in 1968. They are pretty unknown at this time and the crowd is pretty wack (I mean it is Ohio), but they went hard and won $10,000 for the effort. Freddie and Larry are cutely choreographed, the band is rockin and Sly starts giggin around the three minute mark. I also guarantee that this was the last time a crowd sat in their seats for a Sly show. Enjoi the funk kids!

 

We always wanted you to stay Sly. Hope you get your funky old ass back asapolis, we've missed you!

Throwback Video: Richie Rich "Let's Ride"

Thank you all for supporting 38thNotes into the new year, we appreciate you all. Though we are still troubleshooting and tweaking the site, the content is gonna keep coming.

So without further ado, the latest Throwback joint we're featuring is the video for Richie Rich's "Let's Ride." If the song title doesn't ring any bells, perhaps the digitized croon of "Something about the west coast," followed by the whisper of "Shhh Don't tell nobody," will jog your memory.

Rich is one of my favorite Oakland emcees of all time, mostly because he had such an amazing voice. He had some real lyrics too, but his gravely, laid back, pimp delivery was second to none. Pair that with a g-funk beat, a few scalawags, some grit and grind, and you got yourself a bonafied East Oakland OG.

Throwback: En Vouge: "Never Gonna Get It"

I keep saying I'm gonna start a weekly Thursday Throwback post on this site to highlight the rich musical history here in the Bay Area. As you may have noticed however, many Thursdays have passed without any such post, and now, here it is a Monday night, and I decide to post something. I do apologize for the lack of discipline, but the home girl Isis G just referenced En Vogue's "Never Gonna Get It" on twitter, and so I had to throw up a lil sumthin sumthin in tribute.

If you don't know, En Vouge is from this little city I happen to love called Oakland, CA. The group was born in The Town in 1989 (That would be the year the A's swept the Giants in the World Series) and went on to be one of the most successful female groups of all time. They have been nominated and received several prestigious awards over their history, but of particular note is that they have won more MTV video music awards than any other female group in history. And yes, their seven VMAs are more than Destiny's Child ever accrued. Here is a performance of one of their many hits at one such awards show. Run the tape.

Pacific Standard: Marlena Shaw: "California Soul"

Consider this the first installment of a reoccurring feature called Pacific Standard that will highlight California classics.

There is an easy gait, a sunny nostalgia and an undeniable beauty indigenous to the California coast. I was born and raised in The Bay and spent a number of years down in LA, and though the two metropolises have their differences, there is a sunny semblance that unites them. What I am describing is clearly a romanticized vision of Cali, but nonetheless, songs like this 1969 record by Marlena Shaw encapsulate that ever elusive Golden State of Mind. Enjoi

DL: "California Soul"- Marlena Shaw


DL: "California Soul (Diplo Remix)"- Marlena Shaw

Thursday Throwback: Martin Luther: "Daily Bread"

This isn't as old as most 38thNotes' throwbacks, but I came across this cut off Martin Luther's 2004 sophomore album Rebel Soul Music and had to throw it up. My girl put me up on Martin Luther a few years back, and it just so happens that ol boy is from The Sco. In addition to his solo work, he is a member of Bay Area super group Town Bizness with Too $hort, Kev Choice and Silk-E, but is perhaps best known for his work in the 2007 Beatles musical, Across The Universe. In the film he plays JoJo, a character based upon Jimi Hendrix, and sings a beautiful rendition of "My Guitar Gently Weeps." His third album, Love Is The Hero, is scheduled to drop this year!

PS: The video features The Roots, which is always a treat.