SAMPLE SUNDAY------EPISODE 2

FOR TODAY'S INSTALLMENT OF SAMPLE SUNDAY, I AM GOING INTO THE VAULT TO UNEARTH MUSIC FROM A PRODUCER THAT HAS BEEN EXTREMELY INFLUENTIAL FROM A HIP HOP STANDPOINT.  DAVID.  AXELROD.  NAME DOESN'T RING A BELL?  HIS MUSIC MOST LIKELY WILL.  HE'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SONIC BED OF SONGS FROM ARTISTS AS DIVERSE AS BLACK STAR, DR. DRE, MADLIB, L'IL WAYNE, AND DE LA SOUL.  DAVID AXELROD'S DISCOGRAPHY CAN BE TRACED BACK TO THE 1950'S, AND HAS SPANNED THE BETTER PART OF FIVE DECADES.

DAVID AXELROD HAS DEFIED CATEGORY WHEN TRYING TO DETERMINE WHAT TYPE OF MUSIC HE HAS BEEN INVOLVED WITH.  ELEMENTS OF JAZZ, R&B, SOUL, ROCK, CLASSICAL AND EVEN COUNTRY MUSIC CAN BE IDENTIFIED WITHIN THE SONICS.  HE WAS BORN APRIL 17, 1936 IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.  MUSIC PERMEATED HIS LIFE FROM AN EARLY AGE, ESPECIALLY THE R&B AND JAZZ SOUNDS HE HEARD IN SOUTH CENTRAL LOS ANGELES DURING HIS FORMULATIVE YEARS.  AXELROD GAINED NOTORIETY AS A DRUMMER, PRODUCER, AND ARRANGER, PRODUCING HIS FIRST ALBUM IN 1959, HAROLD LAND'S THE FOX.  SOON, CAPITOL RECORDS SOUGHT HIS TALENTS, ENABLING AXELROD TO USE HIS MIDAS TOUCH IN A BROADER SPECTRUM.  LOU RAWLS AND JULIAN "CANNONBALL" ADDERLY WERE JUST A FEW OF THE ARTISTS THAT SHARED THEIR CREATIVE TALENTS WITH DAVID AXELROD.  THE CAPITOL YEARS WERE VERY IMPORTANT TIMES FOR AXELROD, IN MY OPINION, BECAUSE THOSE WERE THE YEARS THAT FORMULATED THAT SIGNATURE "AXELROD SOUND", IF YOU CAN ATTEMPT TO SAY THAT THIS PROLIFIC ARTIST HAD ONE LONE SOUND.  MUSICALLY, AXELROD'S ARRANGEMENTS ALLOWED FOR THE DRUMS TO PLAY WITHOUT ACCOMPANIMENT, TO SPEAK THROUGH THE RECORDS, IN OTHER WORDS.  THE MUSIC HAD THIS SPACIOUSNESS ABOUT IT.  YOU CAN LISTEN TODAY AND LISTEN TO STRINGS, KEYS, AND DRUMS COMPLIMENT ONE ANOTHER, NOT OVERSHADOW EACH OTHER.  I'M VERY PROUD TO HAVE A FEW DAVID AXELROD ALBUMS IN MY POSSESSION:  SONGS OF INNOCENCE (1968), SONGS OF EXPERIENCE (1969), HEAVY AXE (1974).  I ALSO HAVE AN ANTHOLOGY OF SOME OF HIS GREATEST PRODUCTIONS, AS WELL AS AN ALBUM FROM THE ELECTRIC PRUNES (MASS IN F MINOR), AN EXPERIMENTAL, PSYCHEDELIC GROUP THAT AXELROD ARRANGED MUSIC FOR.

FROM THE ALBUM EARTH ROT (1970), THERE IS A VERY DOPE, FUNKY, SLIGHTLY PSYCHEDELIC CUT CALLED "THE WARNING TALK (PART II)".

MOS DEF RELEASED AN APPROPRIATELY TITLED SONG "HIP HOP", FROM HIS 1999 SOLO DEBUT ALBUM BLACK ON BOTH SIDES.  I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE SONG, AND DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THE DIAMOND D PRODUCED SONG OWED ITS MUSICAL CHOPS TO AXELROD.

  HERE IS THE MOS DEF JOINT FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE:

AS DANTE SMITH RHYMES ON THE CUT, "MY RESTLESSNESS IS MY NEMESIS", SO HERE IS THE CUT THAT SERVES AS THE MEAT OF THE SONG:

	David Axelrod - The Warning Talk (Part II) .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

I REALLY DIG HOW DIAMOND D, FROM THE DIGGIN' IN THE CRATES CREW, USED

 A SNIPPET OF THE DRUMS AND KEYS (SEE 1:28 OF THE AXELROD SONG FOR THE SAMPLE).  IT ALSO SOUNDS LIKE HE FILTERED THE BASSLINE TO PROVIDE A DOPE BACKDROP FOR MOS DEF'S LYRICS TO MAKE A PROFOUND POINT FOR HIP HOP (BOTH THE SONG AND CULTURE).  WHAT MORE CAN I SAY (TO QUOTE JAY-Z) ABOUT THE ARRANGEMENTS AXELROD UTILIZED IN AN ERA WHEN MUSICALITY WAS A MUST, NOT AN OPTION? 

I HOPE THAT THIS PIQUES THE INTERESTS OF MUSIC AFICIANADOS TO SEARCH THE DISCOGRAPHY OF MR. AXELROD.  A GOOD PLACE TO LOOK WILL BE A VERY COMPREHENSIVE TWO-PART ARTICLE FROM WAX POETICS MAGAZINE:

http://www.waxpoetics.com/2005/11/david-axelrod-part-1/

I WILL CONCLUDE BY SAYING THAT MY APPRECIATION FOR DAVID AXELROD'S MUSIC HAS GIVEN ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO DIG DEEPER INTO THE CRATES FOR MUSIC THAT MAY NOT GET ITS JUST DUE, BUT IT IS DUE THE RECOGNITION ALL THE SAME.  I'M SURE I'LL BE REVISITING AXELROD MUSIC WITH THIS ONGOING POST IN THE FUTURE. FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN VISITING AXELROD AND MOS DEF MUSIC, I'VE INCLUDED SOME LINKS.

http://www.myspace.com/mosdef

http://www.discogs.com/artist/Mos+Def

http://www.davidaxelrodmusic.com/index.html

http://www.myspace.com/davidaxelrod

THIS CONCLUDES THIS INSTALLMENT OF SAMPLE SUNDAY, BUT IT WON'T END MY QUEST FOR FINDING THOSE DUSTY, OBSCURE, UNKNOWN GEMS THAT SERVE AS THE BACKDROP FOR MANY A HIP HOP CREATION.  UNTIL NEXT WEEK...

KEEP DIGGIN', KEEP SEARCHIN'...

PEACE!!!