Happy birthday to Ms. Lauryn Hill. Over the years, I foolishly believed a lot of rumours about her that I heard on the internet and I judged her harshly without ever doing research to see if they were indeed true. Turns out, the infamous “Lauryn Hill is racist” rumour is not true. Is she a creative genius who, like so many creative geniuses is totally misunderstood by the public at large because they don’t even know what it’s like to possess that much creativity? Definitely. Lauryn is not afraid to speak her mind publicly, and sometimes (most times) it doesn’t translate well to the masses. I recently watched her “Unplugged” performance which many have viewed as career suicide. After a commercially successful album that incorporated so many styles of music, she disappeared from the public and resurfaced with a rant filled acoustic album. Looking at it now, you see that Lauryn is an amazing story teller who is not afraid to appear “imperfect” or unpolished, because that is reality. The critics were split down the middle as saying “she’s amazing” or “she recorded a public meltdown.” It’s up to you to decide. After meeting her recently, I saw first hand that her kindness squashed so many rumours I’d heard about her because she was extremely cool to myself and my friends. It has in fact made me protective of her, because so many times, her name is mentioned and folks just have something bad to say (and often, with no back up info on why they feel that way) because the media loves to trash her. My advice is experience something or someone first hand before you rush off to judge. You might be pleasantly surprised. Happy birthday Ms. Hill. Hope you have a great day!
Also born on this day, rock and roll god Paul Weller of The Jam!
Ladies Love Cool James and G Loves LL Cool J and LL Cool J loves Cool G. Whew! Say that 100 times fast! I met LL Cool J the other night and it made me realize that the last time we met face to face was in the 1990s which was depressingly 20 years ago! It was worth the wait as LL is still super cool. He signed my “Mama Said Knock You Out” CD which is a disc that has consistently gotten airplay with me since our last encounter. “Around The Way Girl” the title track and “Cheesy Rat Blues” are soooo good! Later this year, LL is hitting the road for a monsters of rap tour featuring Public Enemy, Ice Cube and De La Soul. That should be awesome. Thanks again LL! Cool G loves you!
Laura Mvula is gonna be huge. Just press play to find out why. This track, “Let Me Fall” does not appear on Laura’s debut album “Sing To The Moon,” but you can hear a great live version of “Let Me Fall,” below. Enjoy!
Remember that time that the legendary Tom Jones performed not in a massive theatre but inside the 500 person maximum venue Bowery Ballroom? I was there to capture all the action including this show highlight, a cover of Elvis Presley’s “One Night With You.” Sir Tom talks a little bit about Elvis before the song starts so hear what he has to say by pressing play!
The hottest rapper/DJ duo (literally and figuratively) on the music scene are Macklemore (real name Ben Haggerty) and Ryan Lewis (real name Ryan Lewis). Their songs “Thrift Shop” and the gay friendly anthem “Same Love” are virtually unbeatable on the charts. It’s nice to know a quick burst of fame has not gone to their heads and I hope it stays that way.
Ryan Lewis and Geoffrey Dicker
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have just set a new record for having their first 2 singles become #1 on the charts. Keep it up dudes and please stay nice!
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