SAMPLE SUNDAY-----EPISODE 3

FOR TODAY'S EPISODE, I'M GOING TO SHED LIGHT ON THE EMCEE WITH THE MOST UNDERGROUND ANTICIPATION AND BUZZ (SORRY DRAKE).  HE HAILS FROM THE N.O., AKA THE CITY KATRINA COULDN'T DESTROY.  JAY ELECTRONICA IS SOMETHING OF AN ENIGMA IN HIP HOP, BECAUSE MUCH LIKE DRAKE, AND EVEN GAME, YOU CAN'T PINPOINT ON FIRST LISTEN  WHAT REGION HE IS FROM.  TO ME, THAT'S A VERY GOOD THING, BECAUSE HE SHOULDN'T BE PIGEON-HOLED.  JAY ELECTRONICA HAS BEEN BUBBLING FOR A GOOD WHILE NOW, BEING COSIGNED BY P DIDDY, ERYKAH BADU (WHO HAPPENS TO BE THE MOTHER OF BABY ELECTRONICA), TALIB KWELI, AND NAS, WHO SOUGHT THE PRODUCTION TALENT OF MR. ELECTRONICA FOR "QUEENS GET THE MONEY", A PIANO-BACKED TRACK PERFECT FOR NAS TO OPEN HIS MOST RECENT ALBUM.

THE SONG OF CHOICE TODAY BY JAY ELECTRONICA IS NONE OTHER THAN "EXHIBIT C", THE UNDERGROUND BURNER THAT HAS BEEN CAUSING INDUSTRY CHATTER FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS.  THIS UNDENIABLE UNDERGROUND CLASSIC WAS PRODUCED BY NONE OTHER THAN JUST BLAZE.  THE FIRST TIME I LISTENED TO THIS SONG I WAS STRUCK BY THE IMAGERY AND SAMPLE BECOMING ONE AND THE SAME, AND WITH GOOD REASON.  HERE IS "EXHIBIT C":



SUCH A POWERFUL, INSIGHTFUL, DOPE SONG!!!!  JUST BLAZE DID AN EXCELLENT JOB OF CAPTURING THE FEELING BEHIND THIS TRACK.  I WASN'T QUITE FAMILIAR WITH THE SAMPLED TRACK, BUT I KNOW IT WAS SOMETHING I'VE HEARD BEFORE.  WITH A LITTLE RESEARCH, I CAME ACROSS "CROSS MY HEART" BY BILLY STEWART, A SOUL ARTIST FROM THE CHESS RECORDS CAMP.  CHESS RECORDS IS THE LABEL HEADED BY LEONARD CHESS, AND MADE VISIBLE IN THE MOVIE CADILLAC RECORDS.  THE SONG WAS RELEASED IN 1968, JUST TWO YEARS BEFORE HIS LIFE WAS CUT TRAGICALLY SHORT AT THE AGE OF 32.  HE DIED IN SMITHFIELD, NORTH CAROLINA WHEN THE CAR HE WAS DRIVING PLUNGED INTO THE NEUSE RIVER.  THIS STORY WAS SOMETHING THAT I HEARD FROM TIME TO TIME, WITH MY UNCLE THAT RAISED ME BEING FROM SMITHFIELD.  DURING HIS SHORTENED CAREER, STEWART RELEASED SOME RECOGNIZABLE JOINTS, INCLUDING "SITTING IN THE PARK" (1965) AND "BY THE TIME I GET TO PHOENIX" (1969).  THE LATTER SONG WAS ORIGINALLY RECORDED IN 1965 BY JOHNNY RIVERS, AND MADE FAMOUS BY GLEN CAMPBELL AND ISAAC HAYES.  PUBLIC ENEMY EVEN HAD THEIR OWN TAKE ON THIS SONG, RECORDING "BY THE TIME I GET TO ARIZONA" IN 1991 AS A PROTEST OF THE MLK DAY CONTROVERSY IN ARIZONA.

BEFORE I GET ANY FURTHER OFF TOPIC, HERE IS THE SONG THAT SERVES AS THE BACKDROP FOR "EXHIBIT C":



THE LYRICS OF JAY ELEC AND AND THE SAMPLED BILLY STEWART JOINT MAKE FOR A MARRIAGE IN HIP HOP HEAVEN!

DO THE KNOWLEDGE AND RESEARCH BOTH ARTISTS.  JAY ELECTRONICA REVELS IN HIS LYRICISM AND UNORTHODOX APPROACH TO MUSIC-MAKING.  YOU CAN SEARCH OUT HIS UNDERGROUND DISCOGRAPHY ON HIS MYSPACE PAGE:

http://www.myspace.com/jayelectronica

ALSO VIEW THE MUSIC FROM THE BRIEF CAREER OF BILLY STEWART:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Stewart

I HOPE THAT BOTH JAY ELECTRONICA AND BILLY STEWART GET THE JUST DUE THEY DESERVE, JAY BY SHOWCASING LYRICISM INFLUENCED BY NAS AND PHAROAHE MONCH, AND BILLY BY CRATEDIGGERS AND LISTENERS THAT NEED TO GET IN TUNE TO HIS MUSICAL STYLINGS.

UNTIL OUR NEXT SESSION...KEEP DIGGIN', KEEP DUSTIN' OFF THE TUNES!!!

                                                               ONE LOVE!!!!----WISDOM