11/29/2010
Wild but true: some of Mary J. Blige‘s longtime fans would rather see her sad. Not that they wish for her to go back to her life as a depressed star in an abusive relationship with drug and alcohol problems, but the music that came out of that era is among her most memorable. The happy, dancing MJB of recent years just doesn’t seem to strike that same chord that she did in more troubled times. Much like many artists make their best work when they’re new and hungry, some do their best when real life is kickin’ them in the ass. Such was the case with 1994′s My Life.
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6 Comments | 
Classic Material, DanjLovesTheAlbums, DanjLovesTheR&B, Hip-Hop Soul, Nuff Respect Due | Tagged: 1994, MJB | 
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Posted by Danj!
10/30/2010
…and as I close out HipHopSoulWeek here on DLT90s, I had to finish off in the best way I know how. Bein’ a part of that whole era as a listener and a kid who was keepin’ an ear out for every little song by every artist on every label, I stayed up on all them tracks and remixes that made up the Hip-Hop Soul era. As a result, some 15 years later or so, I’m able to proudly bring y’all this shit right here…
Some of y’all remember “Jackin’ Off” from New Jack Week, right? Well, it’s about that time again. I didn’t even get to drop ALL the ones I wanted to on here, but I def. went in once again- even shouted some of y’all out on the (distorted) mic no less. So with no further to do (Carlito Brigante voice)… 49 joints, 80 minutes… here we GO:
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6 Comments | Classic Material, DanjLovesTheHipHop, DanjLovesTheMixtapes, DanjLovesTheR&B, Hip-Hop Soul | Tagged: DANJLOVESTHE90S, Mixtapes | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
10/27/2010
…Annnd as HipHopSoulWeek continues on DanjLovesThe90s…
They always talk about those definitive R&B albums of the ’90s. You know-12 Play, 411, Motownphilly, Brown Sugar, My Life, CrazySexyCool, etc. And no doubt, they all did a lot to shape the sound as those years went on. But recently, when asked to name some of my favorite ’90s R&B albums, one of the first that popped in my head was one that rarely ever gets mentioned. It’s a personal classic of mine, and definitely one that represents the Hip-Hop Soul era to the fullest- the self-titled debut album by the “bad girls of Bad Boy“, Total.
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14 Comments | Classic Material, DanjLovesTheAlbums, DanjLovesTheR&B, Hip-Hop Soul | Tagged: 1996, BAD BOY, TOTAL | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
10/25/2010
Welllll… it’s Hip-Hop Soul Week on DLT90s, as promised at the top of the month. I’ll be showin’ love to a classic hip-hop soul album from ’96, and makin’ the week complete with the DLT90s HipHopSoulMix, but first things first…
While New Jack Swing was on the way out, it gradually transformed into a new subgenre that relied heavily on remixes. Whereas the New Jack sound fused hip-hop and R&B during the late-’80s, the Hip-Hop Soul sound represented a more aggressive, breakbeat-driven style for the ’90s. Mary J. Blige and Puffy popularized it with What’s The 411? in ’92, which later carried over to become a big part of The Bad Boy Sound. By ’95, it was almost uncommon for there to be a single that didn’t either feature a rapper or have a remix featuring one. Most times, these remixes were also built on samples of past rap hits, which further made them palatable to the hip-hop audience. While some of them blew up and took on lives of their own, there were others that only got minor play or none at all. Either way, even though this trend eventually went on overload and played itself out by the end of the decade, it definitely spawned some memorable tracks. Annnd so, in jumping off Hip-Hop Soul Week, here are eight remixes that didn’t really make it over the hump, but to me were still hittin’:
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14 Comments | AllTime8, DanjLovesTheHipHop, DanjLovesTheR&B, Hip-Hop Soul | Tagged: 112, AARON HALL, ALEXANDER O'NEAL, BLACK ROB, CHUBB ROCK, CL SMOOTH, D'ANGELO, FOXY BROWN, HORACE BROWN, KEITH MURRAY, KOOL G RAP, LOX, MONA LISA, PETE ROCK, REDMAN, TOTAL | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
06/23/2010
Back in my day, there was one female R&B artist I rocked with heavy- that got-damn Mary J. Blige. There were some others who were good, others who were aight, others whose singles and videos I wasn’t mad at… but I wasn’t bumpin’ all their albums or anything. The chances of me walkin’ down the street (or sittin’ in my room for that matter) with Monica‘s Miss Thang in the headphones were unlikely. But MJB was something different. As I said when I covered the 411 joint about a year ago, she was damn near like a rapper in a singer’s body (but still, she SANG). The beats were hard, the singing was unpolished but strong, and her whole style was naturally hip-hop.
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15 Comments | AllTime8, Classic Material, DanjLovesTheR&B, Hip-Hop Soul, Love Movement | Tagged: MJB, UPTOWN | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
06/01/2010
Doooo youuuu knoooow what todaaay is? It’s my anniversary. Yeaaah. Anniversary.
Lemme tell y’all a lil’ about me. If there’s one thing I love talkin’ about, it’s old music, movies, and TV. Actually that’s three things, but no need to be technical. I’m an admitted nostalgia addict. It’s almost a prerequisite that any future wife and/or ex-wife of mine will have to have this same quality, or shit prob’ly ain’t gonna work. There’ll be no Waka Flocka played at my our reception. Due to this addiction of sorts, and rediscovering my interest in writing over the last two years, I started DanjLovesThe90s one year ago today.
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37 Comments | Classic Material, DanjLovesTheHipHop, DanjLovesTheR&B, Hip-Hop Soul, My Life, New Jack Swing, Random | Tagged: ABOVE THE LAW, AFTER 7, ALEXANDER O'NEAL, ATCQ, BBD, BLACKSTREET, CL SMOOTH, CLIPSE, CNN, CRU, ED O.G., EN VOGUE, FAITH, GANGSTARR, GINUWINE, HOT BOYS, ILL AL SKRATCH, JAY-Z, K-SOLO, KURUPT, M.O.P., MAIN SOURCE, MASTA ACE, METHOD MAN, MOKENSTEF, MONTELL JORDAN, NICE & SMOOTH, PETE ROCK, R. KELLY, RAMPAGE, REDMAN, SILK, SOUL FOR REAL, SOULS OF MISCHIEF, TEVIN CAMPBELL, THREE 6, TONI BRAXTON, TONY! TONI! TONE!, TOTAL, TROOP, YVETTE MICHELLE | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
03/27/2010
So… today, Mariah Carey hits the big 4-0. Even though she tends to come off like the old broad who thinks she’s still cool, and I’ve always been “blah” about most of her music, MC is aiiight with me. Matter fact, I’d wife her up if I was sure she didn’t have a drinking problem and she wasn’t wild’n out with Nick Cannon. She’s also a big ’80s R&B fan, as can be gathered by how many classic joints she’s revisited over the course of her career. There’s also that awful Glitter movie she made, but that’s neither here nor there. Here’s a few of her remixes from the late-’90s and the tracks they borrowed from.
(Oh, and don’t y’all go judgin’ me about seein’ Glitter- my niece used to fukk with that movie hard.)
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1 Comment | 90s Girls, DanjLovesThe80sToo, DanjLovesTheR&B, Hip-Hop Soul, Original Flavor, The90sLovedThe80s | Tagged: MARIAH CAREY | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
03/15/2010
As evidenced in my previous entries about Dru Hill and SWV, some of the best and most remembered R&B groups of the ’90s are the ones who barely made it past their third album. There weren’t many that had some kinda long-running reign on top. Instead, they came through, made a gang of hits, and wrapped that shit up shortly thereafter. Another of these cases was that of Jodeci, four kids from North Carolina who came to New York on a whim and went home with an Uptown Records contract. K-Ci, JoJo, Dalvin, and Devante Swing were only a unit for about five years, but it was enough time to change the game.
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13 Comments | Best Of..., DanjLovesTheR&B, Hip-Hop Soul, Love Movement, Nuff Respect Due | Tagged: JODECI, K-CI & JOJO, UPTOWN | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
03/03/2010
Since he’s pulling through and is expected to make a full recovery, is it too soon to joke that my GangStarr entry’s comment section flopped harder than a Guru solo album? HA! Wow Lovers, that’s how y’all feel?
Ayyy, it’s OK- everything can’t be a megahit. As a matter of fact, there’s a number of female R&B acts in the ’90s that were aiiight, but weren’t able to score one. They made some decent songs that briefly popped up and made a blip, and maybe even made the Video Soul Top 20 or some shit, but failed to make that career-changing breakthrough that all new artists hope for. I’ve previously spoken on some of the more popular ’90s Girls here and here, but here’s some from the mid-’90s who ended up flying waaay a little further under the radar.
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13 Comments | 90s Girls, Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda, DanjLovesTheR&B, Hip-Hop Soul, Whatever Happened To...? | Tagged: DanjLovesTheR&B, MISS JONES, MONA LISA, NUTTIN NYCE, TARAL HICKS, TRISHA COVINGTON | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
02/17/2010
Dating back as far as “The Message”, there’s a long list of classic hip-hop songs that the artists were initially resistant to doing. In some cases, the most recognizable singles of those artists’ careers were joints they weren’t all that crazy about. The list is impressive: “Walk This Way”, “Juicy”, “Ruff Ryders Anthem”… and the collaboration of Method Man & Mary J. Blige on “You’re All I Need To Get By”.
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15 Comments | Classic Material, DanjLovesTheHipHop, DanjLovesTheR&B, Hip-Hop Soul, Love Movement, One To Grow On | Tagged: METHOD MAN, MJB, WU-TANG | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
