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Cosmic Heights
That’s the handsome MC Perry Jones onstage. It’s 1974 at a sold-out Madison Square Garden, and Jones is looking out to a pitch-black arena. The only thing the audience can see is his genie-like,...
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The Kool Keith interview
Keith Thornton’s ability to stand out in a crowd has been his greatest asset, which has allowed him to shift personas through different eras so effectively. He’s been called strange, perverse, and...
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In pursuit of his calling, Tim Maia sparked the ’70s soul movement in Brazil
“I don’t smoke, I don’t snort coke, and I don’t drink, but sometimes I lie a little”1 –Tim Maia Tim Maia was never satisfied. Brazil’s number one soul brother had a voracious appetite for both...
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Almost two decades after Illmatic, Nas remains at the top of the list when...
Nas witnessed the conception of hip-hop. He watched it gestate in park jams near Queensbridge, Queens, where guys would plug up their equipment and DJ, or rap, or break-dance. He saw its birth on...
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Hi Records producer Willie Mitchell set the tone for polished Memphis soul
Willie Mitchell at Hi Records, courtesy of the Mississippi Valley Collection, University of Memphis Libraries. I’ve been fortunate enough to know “Poppa” Willie Mitchell for a handful of years. When...
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I Know a Place: The legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. to the people and city...
Memphians embarked on their struggle for civil rights long before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came to town. In the late 1800s, abolitionist Ida B. Wells, the daughter of slaves, began an anti-lynching...
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Al Green strives for perfection
“Since I can remember, women have wanted to get next to me, and when I sing, it’s like they’ve received a personal invitation. There’s no use denying it. I’ve tried.” –Al Green 1 “All I know is that I...
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Prince tapped “godfather of the music video” Chuck Statler to helm the...
Stills from “The Second Coming.” Courtesy of Chuck Statler. Prince may well be the Orson Welles of funk. Mercurial, obsessive, prolific—legend continues to surround the respective genius of both...
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Engineer Tom Perry on the making of the Jacksons’ 1980 album Triumph
By the end of the 1970s, the Jacksons experienced a lineup substitution, two label moves from Motown Records to CBS Records to Epic Records, and a recognizable name change. After their switch from...
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Immortal Technique: The Zombies’ Undying Odyssey with Chris White
Somewhere along the way, Chris White found out people were listening, that betting on himself months earlier wasn’t an act of ego. The Zombies, celebrated British group with glowing hits from 1965...
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