To experience the night with one of few Superstars who have managed to stay leveled at high altitudes was like a refreshing breath of crisp air permeating the Peppermint Club. The intimate ambiance felt like where we’d be if Keyshia Cole invited us into a plush 1960’s living room. Special guests included fellow Oakland comrads like Kamaiyah and several friends of hers who were in attendance for the evening’s listening party.
Properly titled 11:11 Reset, her newest project delves into love, life, loss and rebirth with records like “Best Friend”, “Act Right”, “Ride” (a personal fav), “Vault” (another fav) and “Emotional”. Penned in collaboration with the likes of veteran songwriters like Eric Dawkins and Rock City, a few guests on the project include Kamaiyah (whose feature is fuego!), Yung Thug, Kanye West, Remy Ma, and French Montana.
Keyshia even let us into her personal space for a moment’s time, sharing with us which songs were her favorite, what she hopes her next blessing will be, and just how sexy she’ll get for the object of her affection. From droppin’ it low and taking us high to nailing every note like the pro that she is, her groove was on point and the event might as well have had concert tickets for sale! It felt like a chill, holiday house party where strangers felt like longtime friends and season’s greetings were abundant.
Enter a new age with Keyshia by downloading 11:11 at KeyshiaCole.com
Delicious Vinyl Records hosted one of the most memorable Labor Day block parties this weekend, inviting some of HipHop Royalty’s finest to grace the stage. Historic West Adams was once the setting of a predominantly Black upper class prior to its impoverished state of being. Stories of Ella Fitzgerald and other Greats of her era would pass through West Adams and have even performed in some of those buildings that are now local shops. Leave it to a classic label like Delicious Vinyl to take it back to the roots and you’ve got a historical lineup on a historical boulevard.
We got a taste of Soulection’sbest on the spins, Joe Kay & Andres Uribe. With an eclectic mix of classic HipHop, Afrobeat, NeoSoul, AfroCaribbean, and Chicano reverb, there was a taste of something for everyone and folks were eating it up like candy! Not that this is a surprise, Seeing that Soulection is one of the best sound collectives around right now.
Blessed with his presence and wise words, Talib Kweli took a moment to honor Steely Dan amidst the loss of the late Walter Becker, who was a musical genius in one of the best bands of all time. Kweli went on to mention the loss of so many Greats in most recent times, also touching upon the condition of the human collective and racism in today’s world. One of the most poignant topics he touched upon was how important it is to come together as humans and celebrate the beauty of diversity in a time where Humanity is threatened by ignorance and a lack of understanding. Kweli tied in the message with songs like his remix of The Beatles’ “Lonely People”closing with some of his classics. The show was outstanding and DJ Spintelectwas phenomenal. The crowd simply couldn’t get enough of the Black Star.
Chop Black came full force with the G – Funk era, representing for the city of Oakland as one half of the WhoRidaz in the West Coast classic “Shot Callin’ & Big Ballin’”. Like other flowers grown from concrete, Chop Black embodies the struggle of survival in the mean streets of Cali and has since stood the test of time.
Illa J was also there in collaboration with the spirit of the Godfather of HipHop J Dilla, keeping to the legacy of his brother’s classic sound with a twist of his own. A pseudo- nostalgia brought Illa J forth with an evolved art form on the Dillasound, whose eternal music is the template for nearly every form of new-age music in the human atmosphere. It just feels good to know there is a piece of Dillastill alive in the form of his blood brother, Illa J.
Tiffany Gouche never fails to pass through the spot with the aura of a Queen, as if the royal robe were trailing behind her. She is the people’s choice; humble, as her crown radiates the moment she steps on to the platform. The songstress begun just as the sun set behind her, a perfect backdrop for our sonic journey through a lover’s memoir. Riddled in harmonic highways and underpasses, her “Red Rum Melodies”drift along like a lullaby on a journey of sound waves riding into the dawn, prepping that grown & sexy “Pillow Talk” for the late night lovemakers. I could bet that she’s up there with R. Kelly’sbabymaking music for some of this era’s baby boomers!
It is with great honor to announce CyHi the Prynce’s album release “No Dope On Sundays”, a highly anticipated project amongst his following and a breakout moment for those who are newly introduced.
CyHi guides listeners through the perils of his plight to the end of a tunnel where light glows with a promise of redemption. He takes us back to the Cocaine 80’swhen women were especially vulnerable to the effects poverty, often so consumed by its challenges that there was barely the wherewithal to pay attention to one’s own body. CyHi’smother had no idea she was pregnant with him until she was six months in, consuming drugs and alcohol in her unawareness. At this point, his destiny was a coin toss.
As seen time and time again with black youth abandoned by the public school system, CyHi the Prynce would go on to become a student of life well before his adult years. He was kicked out of school and forced to define a new path for himself. He would utilize his three- dimensional experience of family, faith and street life as a tool to turn his life into a blessing. All sorts of innovative outcomes are produced in Ghettoes that typically operate as a right-brain world with a left-brain mentality. Every move is life or death and requires strategy. As a result of this struggle, a thin line between Underground Hip Hop and Pop Culture is heartfelt, because a paradox exists where Black African Natives are pushed into underserved communities and treated like experiments until their “worth” is proven in Colonial American terms. Then their innovations are taken to a mainstream market and flipped into processed factory food through the chain-of-supply. Although there is nothing wrong with reproducing something that works, CyHi notes the evolution of black culture while exploring Pan-Africanism and holding black cultural values to their own standard in ways that further elevate their communities.
“No Dope On Sundays” is an amazing documentary that moves the spirit and still holds true to the streets. It can be archived with other great Hip Hop projects in its integrity and ability to fuse classic Hip Hop with contemporary styles so seamlessly. For an in-depth conversation of “No Dope On Sundays”with CyHi the Prynce, please visit NPR Radio’s coverage for more!
