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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Fight The Power” by Public Enemy

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Fight The Power” by Public Enemy

This track is ground zero in all of hip hop and perhaps the most in your face rap single of all time! While Public Enemy are no doubt the most influential rap group of all time, they were also the most innovative with their sampling and dynamic backing tracks provided by brothers Hank and Keith Shocklee, also known as The Bomb Squad.

The Shocklee brothers had their own mobile DJ business called Spectrum City DJs who also counted Professor Griff amongst its employees. Carlton Ridenhour, also known as Chuck D, was an aspiring graphic designer who offered to design some posters for the Spectrum City crew while he was a radio DJ at WBAU, the Adelphi College radio station. At one point, he also told them he could emcee, and along with another WBAU regular, Flavor Flav (William Drayton Jr.), and local DJ, Terminator X (Norman Rogers), Public Enemy was born.

Right from the start, PE’s sound was a mix of the serious brought out by Chuck D’s politically charged topical messages cooled off by the somewhat slacker presence of D’s amiable sidekick Flavor Flav, all supported by the hyper-charged backing tracks of The Bomb Squad.

It was through WBAU program director Bill Stephney that they came to the attention of producer Rick Rubin who signed them to his Def Jam record label and released their first album Yo! Bum Rush The Show in 1987. The group followed that record with the earth shattering It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, which was the first rap album to top the Village Voice’s Pazz and Jop Poll in 1988.

This song comes from their no less essential third release Fear Of A Black Planet from 1990 and it later turned up as the centerpiece of the “Spike Lee joint” Do The Right Thing. Other singles on this album included “Welcome To The Terrordome” and “911 Is A Joke” in which, Flavor Flav and company take on the response times of 911 in black neighborhoods.

Sequestered Together in 3D Again

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Your Uncle Marty here, as we take a different view of the global pandemic with chapter 535 of The Award Winning 3D RadioActivity.  There are a lot of appropriate tunes to touch, and the times brings out the best in satire, so we present some fun with a bit of both.  Now children, staying at home and so on are things we do to stop the spread of Corona.   Social life must stay online; Keep 2 metres clear of me, turn it up, stay hydrated, and listen to 3D! 😎

Download or click to play here:
https://archive.org/download/The3dRadioactivity/3dradio_20200517-3DQII.mp3

Every time I turn around I see, or hear another infectious tune, so more may be coming our way after our run of them over the past five shows.  A big thanks goes out to Radio Dave, Grant, Candi, Debbie, Sheri, Sundae and Tom for the great suggestions! 

We have lost numerous artists over the past 12 months, nearly one every week since last Memorial Day, so we will be giving them a fond farewell and sendoff next time.  Make sure we play your tribute to them by letting me know.  Send a email, or with a message on  our Facebook  page which has links to the archives of all the earlier episodes and graphics in the photo section.  Look for us on Denver’s MileHiRadio,  Theacidflashback.com,   http://www.villageconnectionmagazine.com/ Long Island, New York,  TuneIn and InternetFM dot com, because the best FM radio is now on the Internet.

Until we meet again, Keep Rockin’ On!

…Uncle Marty

“It’s not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on.”

…Marilyn Monroe

Song Of The Day – “Clique” by GOOD Music featuring Kanye West, Jay-Z and Big Sean

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Kanye West is a mutha-fucken’ “G” – that’s not “G” as in Gangsta, by the way, that’s “G” as in GENIUS. Think what you may about Kanye’s antics, and he’s always full of surprises, but you can’t touch him when it comes to creating some of the greatest Hip Hop records…ever! Truth be told, the point Kanye was making at the Grammy Awards when he interrupted Taylor Swift was a valid one. Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” was the best video of that particular year, certainly better than the ones that were receiving the awards, and with the passage of time the video has become one of the most iconic music videos of all time. It was the bone-headed way he chose to handle himself that night that caused him problems. The “GOOD” of GOOD Music stands for “Getting Out Our Dreams” and it is also Kanye’s record label. The new album called “Cruel Summer” features many of the artists from the label’s roster including John Legend, Kid Cudi, Common, Pusha T, plus some of his other high-profile friends. This track features Kanye, Jay-Z and Big Sean.

Song Of The Day – “Black Skinhead” by Kanye West

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kanyewestyeezusKanye West is a mutha-effen’ “G” – that’s not “G” as in Gangsta, by the way, that’s “G” as in GENIUS.

Think what you may about Kanye’s antics, but he’s always full of surprises, and you can’t touch him when it comes to creating some of the most relevant Hip Hop records…ever!

When confronted with anything regarding Kanye, most people like to focus on his arrogance and the Taylor Swift Grammy Awards incident. Truth be told, the point Kanye was making at the Grammy’s when he interrupted Taylor Swift was a valid one. Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” was the best video of that particular year, certainly better than Swift’s video, and with the passage of time the “Single Ladies” video has become one of the most iconic music videos of all time. It was the bone-headed way he chose to handle himself that night that caused him problems.

Big deal, move on! Beside, my hunch is that most of the Kanye haters out there haven’t even heard enough of his music to really have an opinion, and much of their attitude towards West edges on racism.

Yeezy’s new album Yeezus is a full-on assault from beginning to end, and an exhausting spin that is high in noise levels, with equal measures of misogyny and epiphany thrown in. It is, indeed, Kanye West’s industrial album.

In marketing his latest opus, West chose to debut song s from the album by projecting quick-cut video montages on buildings in cities all over the world. It was then followed by an appearance on Saturday Night Live in which West performed the songs “New Slave” and “Black Skinhead” complete with the industrial montages projecting behind him.

Like The Beatles’ White Album and Spinal Tap’s classic album Smell The Glove, Kanye’s latest comes to us issued in a plain cover, a clear plastic jewel case with a sticker on the back sporting sampling credits, as if to (somewhat accurately) say “with music this good, who needs credits and liner notes.”  Kanye recently explained, “With this album, we ain’t drop no single to radio. We ain’t got no NBA campaign, nothing like that. Shit, we ain’t even got no cover. We just made some real music.” Putting it into biblical terms, the rest is all commentary.

And speaking of biblical terms, God permeates this album right down to its nervy title. It makes one wonder, does Yeezy think he’s god? Well, maybe…

At least what we do learn is that he thinks he is a God in “I Am A God,” and not just any God, but a God who drives a Porsche and craves messages and ménage a trois: “I am a god / Hurry up with my damn massage / Hurry up with my damn ménage / Get the Porsche out the damn garage / I am a god / Even though I’m a man of God / My whole life in the hands of God / So y’all better quit playing with God.”

Daft Punk lend a hand on the production and the electronic noise quotient of four of the album’s tracks including today’s Song Of The Day which features a rhythm pattern that is reminiscent of Gary Glitter’s “Rock And Roll.” West elevates the level of paranoia in the song singing “Middle America packed in / Came to see me in my black skin / Number one question they asking / Fuck every question you asking / If I don’t get ran out by Catholics” and when all is said and done, West is heard screaming the word God over and over as the track comes to a close.

West addresses racism on “New Slaves” proclaiming “My momma was raised in the era when / clean water was only served to the fairer skin,” as with many of the tracks on the album, this one abruptly takes a musical left turn into new musical terrain whether its with an old school sample or, in this case with Frank Ocean’s soulful vocal contribution.

The album turns harrowing on “Blood On The Leaves” which samples Nina Simone’s recording of the Billie Holiday classic “Strange Fruit,” and somehow manages to relate the paranoia and hatred of the lynching of blacks before the civil rights movement to a song about divorce: “Then she said she impregnated, that’s the night your heart died / Then you gotta go and tell your girl and report that / Main reason cause your pastor said you can’t abort that / Now your driver say that new Benz you can’t afford that / All that cocaine on the table you can’t snort that / That going to that owing money that the court got / All in on that alimony, uh, yeah-yeah, she got you homie / ’til death but do your part, unholy matrimony.”

The album’s final song, “Bound 2” samples Ponderosa Twins Plus One’s soul classic “Bound” and adds a dash of Brenda Lee’s “Sweet Nothin’s.” Musically, it is the only song on this entire record that could have fit on one of his earlier releases.

During the last few weeks leading up to the release, West brought in producer Rick Rubin to strip these tracks down even more than they already were, resulting in some last minute re-recording of several songs, giving the 40 minute album an unfinished quality about it.

So what do we make of Yeezus. It’s certainly the ballsiest effort from an artist who revels in his restlessness. It’s also his most in-your-face-album, which concedes to no one, not his fans, and certainly not to his detractors.

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Fight The Power” by Public Enemy

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This track is ground zero in all of hip hop and perhaps the most in your face rap single of all time! While Public Enemy are no doubt the most influential rap group of all time, they were also the most innovative with their sampling and dynamic backing tracks provided by brothers Hank and Keith Shocklee, also known as The Bomb Squad. The Shocklee brothers had their own mobile DJ business called Spectrum City DJs who also counted Professor Griff amongst its employees. Carlton Ridenhour, also known as Chuck D, was an aspiring graphic designer who offered to design some posters for the Spectrum City crew while he was a radio DJ at WBAU, the Adelphi College radio station. At one point, he also told them he could emcee, and along with another WBAU regular, Flavor Flav (William Drayton Jr.), and local DJ, Terminator X (Norman Rogers), Public Enemy was born. Right from the start, PE’s sound was a mix of the serious brought out by Chuck D’s politically charged topical messages cooled off by the somewhat slacker presence of D’s amiable sidekick Flavor Flav, all supported by the hyper-charged backing tracks of The Bomb Squad. It was through WBAU program director Bill Stephney that they came to the attention of producer Rick Rubin who signed them to his Def Jam record label and released their first album “Yo! Bum Rush The Show” in 1987. The group followed that record with the earth shattering “It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back,” which was the first rap album to top the Village Voice’s Pazz and Jop Poll in 1988. This song comes from their no less essential third release “Fear Of A Black Planet” from 1990 and it later turned up as the centerpiece of Spike Lee’s film “Do The Right Thing.” Other singles on this album included “Welcome To The Terrordome” and “911 Is A Joke” in which, Flavor Flav and company take on the response times of 911 in black neighborhoods.

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Block Rockin’ Beats” by The Chemical Brothers

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Along with Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, Groove Armada, The Propellerheads and The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers introduced the world to an influential dance oriented “Big Beat” music driven by heavy breakbeats in the early 1990s. The duo of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons called themselves “The Dust Brothers” after the influential U.S. producers of early Beastie Boy records. Once they began to become famous with their own records, they were forced to change their name to The Chemical Brothers after their early hit “Chemical Beats.” In the mid-1990s they released an album called “Exit Planet Dust” referencing the name change. They were asked by mega-fan Noel Gallagher of Oasis to work on a track together that became the U.K. #1 single “Setting Sun” landing them at the forefront of the British music scene. Which brings us to the 1997 album “Dig Your Own Hole” and its lead single “Block Rockin’ Beats” that broke them in America. It is not only a landmark dance record, but it is also one of the greatest albums for a workout in the gym. By the end of the 1990s, the Brothers were headlining the Glastonbury Festival in England.  They still tour, produce other artists and release records today.

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “She’s Crafty” by Beastie Boys

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “She’s Crafty” by Beastie Boys

From their not-so-humble beginnings as a truly awful Hard Core band who I had the privilege to see as an opening act at Big Audio Dynamite’s first U.S. show at a club called “The World” in New York City in 1984…to the juvenile hardy partyers who opened for Madonna on her “Virgin” tour the following year riding on an inflatable penis…to the Brooklyn Dust masters who came into their own with Paul’s Boutique in 1989 and followed with iconic Spike Jonze-directed videos in in 1994…to the elder statesmen of Hip Hop today…the Beasties managed to invent and reinvent Rap and Hip Hop in their own image many times over.

Today’s Song Of The Day by Eric Berman comes from The Beasties The Beasties (Michael Diamond/”Mike D. ,” Adam Yauch/”MCA” & Adam Horovitz/”King Ad Rock”) debut Def Jam album License To Ill which was produced by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons.

It’s a record that could not exist today because of the prohibitive cost of samples by the likes of Led Zeppelin on this tune and The Beatles’ song “The End” on which they sampled for the song “The Sounds Of Science” from this record’s follow up. Such were the early days of hip-hop.

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Eye Know” by De La Soul

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Eye Know” by De La Soul

With samples from Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” and Steely Dan’s “Peg,” De La Soul unleashed this bouillabaisse of good times onto a hip-hop public in 1989 with today’s Song Of the Day by Eric Berman. The 3 Feet High And Rising album is one of two stone-cold sample-delic masterpieces that came out that year along with The Beastie Boys’ classic Paul’s Boutique, and they both sound as fresh today as they did when they were newly minted.

I was fortunate enough to see them perform shortly after the album’s release during the New Music Seminar in New York City opening for none other than George Clinton and the P-Funk All-stars. Not only was it a very late evening of music with the funksters doing their usual for then four hour set, but it was very memorable even after all these years.

If you’ve never heard the album…it is surely your loss…

 

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Disparate Youth” by Santigold

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American born Santi White got her start as an A&R rep for Epic Records before joining the band Stiffed who released two punk rock records in the early two-thousands. In 2008 she went solo in a new direction as a singer, songwriter and dance music maven and scored with the hit “Creator” from her self-titled debut album. Many months touring supporting acts like Kanye West, Jay-Z, Bjork and M.I.A. led her to an afternoon Lollapalooza slot in 2009 where I caught her act and realized that she was much more than a product of some record company boardroom. Turns out she’s quite the performer who writes most of her material and seldom needs to lean on auto-tune to make her voice sound good. Several weeks ago she released her sophomore album “Master Of My Make Believe” with an assist from Karen O and Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs to much critical acclaim. She will again be featured at this year’s Lollapalooza Festival.