One of the things I'm doing this year is starting to drop weekly vibes on music that's often in my headphones or playing in the car. This week, I thought it would be good to drop science about the hip-hop- CDs slept on last year, the ones that are presently making people bob their heads, and most important, ones up and coming this year. KB mentions us as SP's, or sound providers. Has a nice ring to it, and I believe we want to keep that vibe. Check it out.

The Weekly Vibe - Hip Hop Collaboration.

01 - Snoop Dogg - Signs (Feat Charlie Wilson And Justin Timberlake). Sorry, but please don't hate me when I say that this song is absolutely stupid and is probably my most played cut this week.

02 - Ludacris - Child Of The Night (Feat. Nate Dogg). Ditto on this track. The hook that makes the track stand out? Portugese Love.

03 - Deep Thinkers - Movin' On. There are some benefits of sharing tunes and being able to listen and appreciate good flows. Deep Thinkers is no exception. The CD, Necks Move is a solid CD which, in my opinion, isn't considered mainstream, which makes it more appealing. Those who can appreciate good turntablism can appreciate Movin' On. Their release is scheduled on 3/8/05. If anyone's interested in more information about this release, let me know.

04 - Bathgate - Everything's A Go (The Flow). Ian, the mastermind of Notes From a Different Kitchen, dropped Bathgate to me last month. The label Supreme Clientele, which is their mission to bring back classic underground hip hop music, is distributing the first release from Bathgate, a Harlem MC with a tight flow. There's a great writeup about him here, so check him out.

05 - Mos Def - Leavin' On A Jet Plane. KB dropped this one on me (and for some reason I thought it was Honey. My bad). Color me dizzy.

06 - Jazze Pha - Can I Walk By. Friends dropped me a CD from Jazze Pha that had not been released, "Do You Know This Playboy." Several good cuts on that CD. This is one of them.

07 - Handsome Boy Modeling School - The World's Gone Mad. Good stuff. I'm not alone. I'm sure Todd and KB say the same thing I do about HBMS.

08 - Murs - The Animal. Was sent to me for the Christmas season, and I have no idea who sent it to me. For the person I got this from, thanks much. Please let me know who you are.

09 - Wordsworth - 12 Months. I believe it will be one of the sleepers this year.

10 - Gift of Gab - Ride of Your Life. Dropped by Todd Kelley (pound pound!)

11 - Ghostface Killah - Holla. Another CD I slept on from last year. (Thank Saga for the goodness).

12 - Edgar Allen Floe - The Righteous Way To Go. Think Foreign Exchange. Todd also dropped this one to me.

13 - Snopp Dogg - Drop It Like Its Hot (Remix). Another track from Honey. Features Jay-Z.

14 - Big Pooh (Little Brother) - Heart Of The City. Another Todd Kelley vibe.

15 - One.Be.Lo - Decepticons (Pete Rock Remix). One more from Honey.

16 - Ali Shaheed Muhammed - Industry/Life. When I talked to Ali, he mentioned that promotion for this CD was a little light, and he's hoping that people start vibing to it this year. I'll be dropping more cuts as well.

Feedback? Things we may have forgotten or need to vibe to? Drop it here.

Some guys have been waiting for me to post the answers to OSWs questions. Well, here ya go.....

1. "Change of Heart" was produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and was produced by Jacques Fred Petrus, the creator and executive producer of Change. The duo flew to Italy to produce the album but they never got paid!
2. Mary Davis, after separating from the SOS Band, generated two albums, Steppin' Out and Separate Ways, which was a LaFace production (LA, Babyface, DeRock, and Kayo). LaFace also produced tracks off of the Mac Band's first album. "Stuck" was the first single. After she released this album, Mary worked at Peppermint Records in Atlanta until August 1995 where she reunited with the band for live shows.
3. We all know about Junior Giscombe because someone peeked. That someone didn't know that James "D-Train" Williams was a football player who decided he wanted to sing instead and hooked up with Hubert Eaves III.
4. For Dynasty's "The Only One", yes, it's true that Leon Sylvers, III produced this album, but the writers were no other than the ones mentioned above, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. These tracks were done before Flytetyme took off in full force.
5. Last but not least, Portrait's neo-soul "On And On" was graced by no other than Grover Washington, Jr. (Dec. 12, 1943 - Dec. 7, 1999).

Today, the man on the turntables is no other than KB, who's bouncing the tunes with his After Party. Head on over there and bounce to it! With Koffee Brown all the way to Dave Hollister, you have no choice but to bob your head. I know I'm bobbin' mine.

Coming this weekend: another collabo, and stay tuned for the next OSW...it's already in the works....

You know when they say that great minds think alike? Well imagine when there were two minds that helped shape this OSW. It's the meeting of the minds - Fresh! and Phill. But first, let me answer some of these questions posted last week:

Q: Unlimited Touch - I Hear Music In The Streets - Yep, one of Prelude's gems. Nice jam, along with the sleeper Private Party. Trivia - The lead female singer also sang lead on what Jeff Lorber hot dance tune?
A: Audrey Wheeler is one of the lead female singers, but for the life of me I can't remember which Jeff Lorber track she sung on. I do remember her doing background vocals for Luther Vandross. But what I really, really liked her in was another cut from D-Train called Misunderstanding (which I coudn't find in time for this arby).

Q: Steve Arrington - Weak At The Knees - Man, phat nasty and funky. I think one of Steve's nastiest jams. DoubleTrivia - What famous black haircare product commercial did Stevie sing lead on and recorded with Slave for? and what is Stevie doing now?
A: It took me a while but I remember when I was doing some research on Slave's bass player and them talking about one of the radio commercials they did. I want to say it's Soul Glo, but I have a feeling I am so wrong. Of course, I do know what Stevie is doing now and that is ministry for a church, where he also plays drums. Trivia in return: what was the name of the bass player, and what famous song did he arrange and play bass on that was not done with Slave?

Q: The System - You Are In My System - I..love...The System!. This is a cah-lass-ic. I've always been awed by David Franks, intricate but phat drum and synth programming! I have everything they released. DoubleTrivia - Mic Murphy was a roadie for what R&B band before hookin' up with Dave Frank? (Hint: "Keeep Your Body Workin'") and what unknown diva (living in the same building as Mic) did The System record demos for her, while she was yet an unknown singer? (Hint: "Vogue")
A: David Frank lived in the same building as Madonna, of course. I couldn't tell you who we was a roadie for though. Woah!

As you can see, Fresh! up got me thinking about the next OSW, but there was actually someone else behind the scenes as well, and that someone is Phill, the man from Enigmatic Musings of a Cynical Mind. Way back when, there was an arby that KB and I did a collaboration on, and that was Parliament. Some time later, Phill and I, early in the morning, started going back and forth about music, old school, and taking ventures on the wayback machine, and that's where this arby comes from. Presenting:

Old School Wednesday: The Triple Threat - EJ, Phill, and Fresh!

[Edit 01.25.05 - added four more people....scroll to the end]

It's cold outside but it's warm in here. George tagged me on this one. So what? It's Sunday.

Random 10:

1. Loose Ends - Gratitude
2. Blaze - Keep Hope Alive
3. Jazzanova - Sponsored By The Alphabet
4. Gaelle - Rain
5. Jody Watley - Skin Deep
6. Madvillain - Bistro
7. Unlimited Touch - Your Love Is Serious
8. Incognito - Autumn Song
9. Night Of Music - Savannah
10. Sly & The Family Stone - Family Affair

1. What is the total amount of music files on your computer?

Let's see...my iPod has about 1010 songs, (5.04GB). It's new and I try to keep it at a minimum. The laptop, Hermes, has 4,623 songs (23.69GB) because it's with me at all times. Just for kicks, I also dropped the server Apollo in the mix, which as of now has 18,804 songs, (72.7 GB). Like George, they come from everywhere, from everyone...downloads, mixes, you name it.

2.The last CD you bought is:

Positive Flow Featuring Donna Garnier - Can You Feel It from the rekkasto, The Game's Untold Story from Amazon.

3.What is the song you last listened to before this message?

Interestingly enough, I was listening to "Walk on By", By D-Train....preparing for OSW, of course.

4. Write down five songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you.

As of today, these mean a lot or stick in my head: Gaelle's "Repetition"; Heatwave's "Star of the Story"; Esthero's "Half A World Away"; Michael Johnson's "Own Way"; Wordsworth's "Shoulder". They just hit me in the right spots right this minute.

Honorable Mentions: Snoop Dogg/Charlie Wilson/Justin Timberlake's "Signs"; Swing Out Sister's "All In Your Mind/O Pesadelo Dos Autores"; Lo-Key/Herb Alpert's unreleased version of "Hey There Pretty Lady"; Isaac Hayes' "Return of the Pimpmobile"; Massive Attack/Tracy Thorn's "Protection" ; Cee-Lo's "Sometimes"; Laurnea's "No Shame"... I could do this all day....

5. Who are you gonna pass this stick to (three persons and why)?

I can't believe I have to limit myself to three people, but:
Trent and JT already did it, and Todd can't do it right now (we're still performing surgery- so I'll just tag him to do it once he's back in the mix).... but for the three right now: KB (cause he loves it, I know he does, and I gotta poke him), Honey (because I'm still wondering what she and Lis were talkin' 'bout last week), and Fresh! ('cause I still have to answer his questions from last week).

[01.25.05 - adding four more: Anitra, cause she needs to provide us with her goodness; James, because he's got all the good jazz stuff and no-one's hit him up yet; Joseph, because I know he's got some good stuff in his head; Timi, 'cause she needed to be tagged the last time.].

There are 15 more people in my head, right now, so if you're reading this, I want to know what's in your head too!

When Fresh! from Vibes n Scribes hits me up, you know I have to answer the call. In case you're unfamiliar with Fresh!, know that he is the man who vibes, who scribes, and is also one of the masterminds behind a production company. He asked, so I had to deliver:

Old School Wednesday: The Fresh! Mix.

These songs range from the disco era (1978) to the nineties (1993). (Pop quiz: which song is the oldest? Which song is the newest?)

01 - Invisible Man's Band - All Night Thing.
02 - Foxy- Get Off.
03 - D-Train - You're The One For Me.
04 - Unlimited Touch - I Hear Music In The Streets.
05 - Steve Arrington - Weak At The Knees.
06 - Howard Johnson - So Fine.
07 - Kashif - Lover Turn Me On.
08 - Chic - Your Love.
09 - The System - You Are In My System.
10 - Aurra - Are You Single.
11 - Mac Band - Roses Are Red.

Tell me....were you when you first heard some of these cuts?
Show your love! Reminisce, and enjoy the vibe.

Baker's Dozen: Come Around! From KB's Bakers Dozen.

Let's start with the highlight of the weekend, first.

1. I got an email from the rekkasto telling me to show up at 3pm to meet no other than.....
2. Darien Brockington. You know about Foreign Exchange, right? We've only been mentioning it as one of the best CDs this year. If so, then you know that a primary vocalist, Darien, on five of the tracks has laced the CD with his presence.
3. Darien was at the rekkasto as a live-in store guest and sung 4 tracks from his upcoming CD.
4. Both of us start grinning from ear to ear when he says, "Nicolay is producing the album," he says, "so you know it's going to be tight, right?"
5. "How'd you guys meet?" I ask. Long story short: Phonte from Little Brother casually mentioned that he had some tracks from Nicolay that needed vocals. Five songs, 12 months, and countless concerts later, Darien has a record label deal, a shrewd manager (pound, pound, Monty), is getting ready to drop a CD. Release date? May.
6. "Can a brotha get some of those tracks, an EP, somethin'?!" I asked. (The jury is still out). Two of the tracks he sung, Call Me and Come Around are on his website, so check them out.

...and as for me, well....