The Godfather of House, Frankie Knuckles Has Passed-He Will Be Missed

Frankie KnucklesI’m at a loss words as I’m just getting word that House Music pioneer Frankie Knuckles has passed away..Man this hurts my heart. Known as the Godfather of House,  Knuckles who was originally from the Bronx, New York moved to Chicago in the late 70s (1977) and started deejaying at a club called the Warehouse.

It was here that Knuckles introduced a style of deejaying accompanied with emerging uptempo soulful disco. This is not to be confused with the John Travolta/Bee Gees sound popularized in the movie ‘Saturday Night Fever‘ that led to the infamous slogan ‘disco sucks‘ and ironically a disastrous Disco Demolition Night by a notorious rock jock Steve Dahl in Chicago at Comiskey Park. The outcome of that event led to record companies abandoning disco and dance oriented music. The music being pushed by Knuckles survived and prospered.

What Knuckles highlighted was classic Black, urban, Philadelphia (Gamble and Huff) style R&B. It was disco as defined  by artists like First Choice, Loletta Holloway, Barbara Roy and MFSB. In fact many considered the drum patterns used in MFSB’s ‘Love is the Message‘ as a primary building block around House.

Knuckles brought his New York style mixing and sound to a city that was already into cutting edge music. This sound became popular and picked up by other deejays like Kenny ‘Jamming’ Jason, Chip E, the late Ron Hardy and Keith ‘Funkmaster’ Farley to name a few and paved the way for what initially was known as ‘Warehouse music‘ and was later shortened to ‘House’.

Knuckles deejayed at the Warehouse up until the early 1980s and then later his own club called the Power Plant. He also started producing his own records. What really helped put him on the map was the release of an underground classic that was only on tape of one of House music’s early anthems ‘Your Love‘ by Jamie Principal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOLE1YE_oFQ

By the late 80s early 90s House music started to explode worldwide and Knuckles was a key reason as he started to travel and do residencies in cities like London. he also developed his skillz not just a producer but as an incredible remixer. He touched everyone from Michael Jackson to Chaka Khan to Diana Ross to the Pet Shop Boys to Janet Jackson on down. There are simply to many to name.  One thing was certain a Frankie Knuckle’s remix was almost always good to go. His own projects released on Virgin records like the Whistle Song and Rain Falls are classics 20 years after the fact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXatWr1JJ5c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIdimVDuSEU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC0iX_JvYaE

Since its humble beginnings House music has evolved and splintered into numerous sub-genres with its history so distorted in terms of its history that many forget its a Black music genre rooted in deep soul and was the heart of the Windy City Chicago with Frankie Knuckles was the center piece. So admired was Frankie Knuckles is that he has a street named after him in Chicago, Frankie Knuckles Way.

The Godfather of House will be missed.. With his sudden passing I only folks all over the planet are stunned. Today House is a multi-billion dollar a year industry under the umbrella of what people called EDM (Electronic Dance Music). Names like Dave Guetta and  Deadmau5 are the big names that everyone likes to mention, but make no mistake there’s none of this EDM stuff if it wasn’t for the groundbreaking, pioneering efforts of Frankie Knuckles. He transformed music for the better.

RIP Godfather

Below is our HKR Interview and tribute to Frankie Knuckles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1HpY65cXDA

500 Female Emcees: Meet Lah Tere-Chicago Born, Soulful, Mic Wrecker

Lah TereOne of the fiercest to bless a mic is Lah Tere. She’s a humanitarian, organizer, activist, femcee, songstress, proud BBW, and a visionary speaker for the 21st Century. ​​​​​The Afro-Antillian/Puerto Rican/Boricua sister grew up in Chicago’s historic Puerto Rican community of Humboldt Park near the famed Paseo Boricua. She is first generation born on the mainland, and the daughter of ​revolutionary ​​​educators and survivors of Chicago’s notorious ghettos.​​​​

Lah was a member of Rebel Diaz, an internationally known rap group that took a critical and political stance on many social issues from police brutality on the streets of New York to violence against women globally. Her dedication and hard work granted her the opportunity to travel to Spain, Germany, Guatemala, Chile and Venezuela. She is also a founding member of the Rebel Diaz Arts Collective (RDAC), a multimedia arts and music community center in the South Bronx.

Lah writes and performs about domestic violence issues and links popular media examples of violence against women to secrets and silences in communities of color around molestation, rape, and other forms of violence against women’s bodies that is too often normalized and naturalized in popular culture. She is a proud BBW ( Big, Beautiful Woman).

Through her political and global activism, Lah Tere has worked to carve her own niche outside of the commercial hip-hop industry, and focused on building communities from within. As an emcee, she uses hip-hop as a didactic tool as well as an emotional release technique for individual and communal healing.

Lah is a co-founder of Momma’s Hip Hop Kitchen: The Soup Kitchen for the Hip Hop Soul (MHHK), a multifaceted hip hop event designed to showcase intergenerational women artists, especially women of color. MHHK serves as a social justice community-organizing platform that educates and empowers women of color on issues that impact their lives, including Health, HIV/AIDS and reproductive justice.

Lah is also the founder of InnerCityQueens, an organization who is set out to provide a mobile safe healing space for children, women and men in war torn/third world countries through events, workshops, and meditation using the arts. In recent years Lah Tere’s vision of teaching women and children about the healing power of Hip Hop truly manifested itself.

She taught and performed in some of the poorest communities in Palestine (West Bank), Guatemala City (Comunidad Incencio),  Ireland’s Ballymun (like the BX) and most recently Azua, Dominican Republic.  These experiences have equipped her with a wealth of knowledge and have expanded her career. She is currently being booked internationally as a motivational speaker and lecturer on women’s rights and Hip Hop Healing.

Lah is globally sharing her message that “Self-Love dissolves Self-Hate” and is conjointly working on her own personal healing. Be on the look out for her debut solo album which is armed with piercing lyrics and a message that could change the world for better. Lah Tere plans on bringing everything to the party, and leaving no life untouched.

source: http://www.lahtere.com

Lah Tere Terra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEzbhG9OF0I

Lah Tere You Are

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnsVgDCRWB0

Lah Tere  Live at 7efa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkCkRpnAA3Y

Lah Tere Crush

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9Cp7yVg9tA

Doe B is Killed.. Young QC Kills His Mother We Must Stop the Culture of Death

Doe BReading about this young brother from TI‘s Hustle Gang crew Doe B who got killed after doing a show in Montgomery, Alabama along with a 21 year old college student named Kim Johnson.. She was an innocent bystander who was killed by way of a stray bullet…Such things happen so much, that these cease to shock or even sadden folks.. People do the obligatory RIP shout outs and remark about how the streets is mean and life ain’t fair and keep it moving as if nothing ever happened….Sooner or later we are gonna have to come to grips that we are collectively engaging a ‘death culture‘.. and just like we say no to rape we are gonna have to say NO to premature death amongst our peoples.. We cant ignore this forever..What makes Doe B’s death even more tragic is that one of the people responsible for killing him, had a long standing beef with him.

The word around down is that he was envious of Doe B’s rising success. Even more troubling is the second person responsible appeared in Doe B’s video ‘Let me Find Out’ holding a gun..You can see him about 11 seconds into the video.. The song itself was one about thugging and killing.. It leaves one asking is this art imitating life or life being reflected in art?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxSSA8tKm8s

Young QC

Young QC

Since we are talking about ‘death culture‘ here’s more for us to ponder.. Consider the story of this rapper named Young QC out of Chicago who was just arrested with 2 friends for the murder of his mom. According to the reports he was out to collect her insurance money. I’ll let folks sit with that for minute u can read about that –>HERE

Below is a video of Young QC making iot rain with his mother’s insurance money

This tragic incident is coming from the same city where a popular artist named Chief Keef who is signed to major record label (Interscope/Universal) to the tune of 6 million has proimised to raise the murder rate with the release of his next album and sadly has two deaths connected to beefs he’s been associated with…U can read about his corporate deal–> HERE

Chief Keef

Chief Keef

You can read about Keef’s assertions about raising the murder rate—>HERE

The point being made here is that Black death is big business, its institutionalized and in many ways its a major form of entertainment ..If you’re an artist getting even a couple of million for a record deal, it’s not because you have ‘Black fans’..Its because your music and art is appealing to everyone else outside the community…

In other words simply ignoring and not listening to the music is not enough. The enabling and rewarding of corrosive behavior is something we need to address.. There will always be fools among us. My question is who is empowering those fools and who is standing in the way of us coming together to chart a new course?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLWDM2uZr60

Lastly we should know this extends beyond ‘rap’ as noted about the close ties of music and drug cartels You can read about that –> HERE

Hip Hop History 101: Jitu of Ten Tray Explains the Origins of Hip Hop in Chicago

chicago_sunsetskylineNowadays it’s hard to turn on the radio and not hear music from one of Chicago’s many music superstars. Kanye WestLupe Fiasco, Common, Rhymefest, Twista, Da Brat, Shawnna, Doe or Die and Crucial Conflict  seem to have firmly positioned themselves over the years as household names within the mainstream..In recent days many have come to know Chicago rappers via the exploits of Chief Keef.

If you dig a little deeper and check out Hip Hop’s underground, you’ll discover that very few people are willing to roll up and do battle with esteemed Chi-town lyricists like M’Rald and of course Juice. On the political front acts like Rebel Diaz and Lah Tere have proven to be no joke..Others like DJ Third Rail, DJ Illanoize, and the late DJ Pinkhouse to name a few have not only made names for themselves as deejays not to be toyed with but also provided important platform for local artists.

Yes, the Chi seems to have established itself in the world of Hip Hop, but it wasn’t always like that. In fact much of the Chi-Town’s success is a direct result of organized effort by it’s pioneering Hip Hop community that grew frustrated from being locked out by the industry that saw Chicago, more as a consumer market as a opposed to a place where stars are born.

Many within the music industry were only willing to embrace the nation’s third largest city as the Mecca for House Music and somehow managed to disconnect that music form from Hip Hop when in many ways the two are intertwined, especially along the lines of deejay culture.

cashusd-225The battle to establish ‘Tha Chi’ within Hip Hop was about as brutal as its political landscape. Unsung heroes like Dr Groove, Lord Cashus D, DA Smart, Black Allies, Sugar Ray Dinky, George Daniels, World wide Posse, God Squad, The Chi Rock Nation, Ill State Assassins, and the late DJ Pink House all played crucial roles in organizing, pushing the envelop and seeing to it that the Windy City get its respect. They used to roll up on nightclubs, radio stations and even label executives demanding to be recognized. Many will forget that back in the late 80s there was a movement called the New World Order which brought many of Chicago’s Hip Hop community together as they fought for change and respect.

Sadly despite those heroic efforts of the past, today, many local artists who are not signed to a major record label or coming out of Kanye or Common’s camp find that many outlets like radio and even nightclubs are closed to them. This is now spurning up a new generation of Chi-Town Hip Hoppers to start organizing to bring about change.

Jitu of Ten Tray 8.40.21 PMDuring the recently held National Hip Hop Political Convention (2006) we sat down with one of Chicago’s premier pioneering emcees, Jitu the Juggernaut of the group Ten Tray. For those who are unfamiliar ten Tray was the first group to be signed to major label. Back in 91, Jitu the lead rapper was and to this day remains an activist who saw the power of Hip Hop and decided to use his talents to spark political thought and hopefully change.

In our interview he gave a serious rundown of the city’s history. He also cleared up a lot of perceptions. For example, he talked about Hip Hop first emerging in the Chi around the late 70s. He talked about how Afrika Bambaataa’s Universal Zulu Nation set up a chapter under pioneer Lord Cashus D in ‘78.

Jitu broke down the important connection between Hip Hop and House. He reminds us that House is a Black music genre that at least in the Chi was enjoyed by cats that lived in the hood. He talked about the Hip House movement that came about in the late 80s with key players like Fast Eddie, Tyree, JMD and the late Kool Rock Steady being not only household names in the Chicago, but in many ways ambassadors for the city around the world. Jitu goes into depth about the important role Kool Rock played.

He also talked about how the House music deejays forced everyone to step up their deejay skillz and that it was not unusual to have b-boys and b-girls at House music parties and events. He also drew parallels to how the lack of public school after school programs and music classes forced many to turn to deejaying as a way to express themselves musically. A good part of House music was born out of that void.

Jitu also talked about The Chi’s early graf scene with pioneers like Warp One.

What really stood out in our conversation was Jitu talking about the early club and open mic scene. He talked about how the now defunct El Rukins street gang (originally the Blackstone Rangers) had a building on the Southside complete with an auditorium where they would hold weekly emcee battles.

Jitu freestyling8.44.02 PMJitu details the influence Chicago’s highly organized, legendary street gangs have had the scene. He also talks about how other groups like the Nation of Islam and the legacy of the Black Panthers which had its largest and most organized chapter in the Chi have also had influence on folks as they were coming up and into Hip Hop.

Lastly Jitu goes into detail about the politics and the layout of the city. He talks about the differing cultures that exist on the historic Southside, the Westside and the Northside of the city. He also runs down a report card of sorts about some of Chicago’s famous people and organizations and the role they played or ‘have not’ played in terms of elevating Hip Hop.

Jitu finds himself back on the scene after coming out of retirement and ready to drop a new album called ‘Necessary Ingredients’ which is being backed by the Universal Zulu Nation.

Here is our 2006 Interview which first aired on Breakdown FM..

We also posted this interview on Youtube..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WnAZFgCBAY

Below is a brief timeline of Jitu and his career courtesy of decentexposure.com http://www.decentx.com/artist.asp?id=472

Jito tha jugganotJitu is an African name, given to him in 1995 meaning “A giant among men.” Jitu is a youth program coordinator and community organizer on the south side of Chicago. He swarmed the game in 2002, entering battles and open mics. Leaving crowds in a state of disbelief, Jitu has humbled emcees all over the country, blending a once in a lifetime voice with an expansive vocabulary and ferocious delivery. On the underground, many call him the best they have ever heard! A short look at his accomplishments: • 1986-Winner of “Battle of Chicago Rappers” at El Rukn Fort

• 1989-2nd Place-“Battle of Chicago Rappers”

• 1989-Formed “New World Order” along with Cashus D of the Universal Zulu Nation, to organize rappers, dancers, singers and dj’s in Chicago. Was the largest such organization in the country with over 200 members.

• 1989-Organized, with Dr. Groove (Source Magazine) and DA Smart, a massive hip-hop community protest of the opening of “Sarafina” at the Regal Theatre for refusing to recognize DA after he won a national talent competition with his rap, “Black People ain’t Prejudiced, They Just Mad.” They recognized DA as the winner of the contest.

• 1991-With group Ten Tray, signed to Smash Polygram records to become the first rap act in Chicago on a major label.

• 1992-Appeared on Rap City, The Box and Yo! MTV Raps.

• 1992-Album, “Realm of Darkness” recognized as album of the month in Rapmasters magazine.

• 1992-Song, “Ain’t Nothin’ Like a Sister” was number one song in Las Vegas region and other west coast markets for 4-9 weeks.

• 2003-Winner-“Battle of the Iron Mic”

• 2003-4 Time Champion-Emcee Battle @ Wild Hare

• 2003-Winner-1st Annual Kool Mix Emcee Battle

• 2003-3 Time Champion-Microphone War @ Subterranean

• 2004-Represented Chicago in national BRAINSTORM rap battle in Seattle (semi-finalist)

• 2004-2nd Place-Rhyme Spitters emcee battle and documentary (see enclosed DVD…we got shafted!)

• Joined and helped develop veteran hip-hop alliance, “FIGHT CLUB”

• 2005-Begin work on album, “NECESSARY INGREDIENTS.”

On this album, entitled NECESSARY INGREDIENTS, Jitu brings pure, unbridled passion and energy with ridiculous beats provided by the likes of Harvy Allbangers, Tony Baines, Joe Blaque, Ty Hill and Issues. Jitu blends real street cuts and bruises, consciousness, passion and skillz to deliver the gz-noods on this project. This album is a holy book for emcees, as Jitu blends subject matter, lyrics, delivery, flow, energy, breath control to give you what we believe, is ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS IN THE HISTORY OF HIP-HOP.

Contact Information: Jitu tha Jugganott 4356 S. Lake Park, Suite 1N (yeah, right!) Chicago, IL 60653 (773) 317-6343 jitubrown@yahoo.com (Respect the Art of Emceeing!)

Lupe Fiasco Steps Up & Does a Song for 6 Month old Jonylah Killed in Chicago

Jonylah Watkins6monthold BabyPowerful song from Lupe Fiasco that pays tribute to Jonylah Watkins the 6 month old killed by bullets the other day in Chicago..This is a heartfelt beautiful song.. Nothing more needs to be said.. Listen to the words and let us all end violence in our community. Shout out to Lupe for doing the song.. Shout out to NBA star Derrick Rose for paying for the funeral..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nsd0PXu3ZQM

43 Dead in Chicago, Will Obama Come to Chicago to Speak on Gun Violence?

15 year old Hadiya was shot and killed in a random act of violence in Chicago

15 year old Hadiya was shot and killed in a random act of violence in Chicago

I wanted to follow-up last week’s article we ran on the shooting death of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton..It was titled ‘How many Black Children Must Die Before We get a Sandy Hook Response‘.. . It was written by community activist La’Keisha Gray-Sewell who heads up the organization Girls Like Me..In the article she spoke about the urgency that displayed in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook tragedy in Newton, Ct..

She stressed that while it would be great to have that type of societal response, the reality is in America where Black folks are scapegoats and their concerns often dismissed , we will have to amount a Sandy Hook response ourselves. We will have to put forth an urgency that leads to us ending violence that plagues our community..

We brought La ‘Keisha on our radio show and here’s what she had to say with respect to her widely read article..

Since that interview there’s been a big push to get president Obama to come back home to Chicago to address the issue of Gun Violence..Over the weekend Cathy Cohen who heads of the Black Youth project appeared on MSNBC’s Melissa Harris Perry Show to explain whats going on and why the push:

Asked what such a speech could accomplish, Cohen said Obama can use his “bully pulpit” to “rally the country to understand this issue,” as well as help to encourage groups to coordinate on fighting gun violence.

 “symbolically,” people have seen Obama in Newtown, Conn., and Aurora, Colo., as they should have — but Chicago needs to feel that “our children are worthy also.”

She said that in addition to the short-term need to reduce violence as quickly as possible, “This is about also young people that don’t have jobs and who don’t see a future. This is about young people who don’t, in fact, have quality education. We have almost 50 percent of young African-American men not graduating from high school, right. There are immediate issues that have to be dealt with and then there are broader, longer structural issues. And we have to hold the mayor accountable, but we also have to hold the president accountable.”

You can peep the video and accompanying article and information on the petition  HERE..

Obama got a game plan about this gun control stuff

Obama got a game plan about this gun control stuff

One thing that comes to mind when seeing folks having to petition President Obama to come to Chicago and address the fact that since the start of the new year 43 people have been shot and killed in the Windy City. The fact that he hasn’t shown up on his own and has to be pushed and agitated speaks volumes. It’s a stark reminder that Black people and Black death are still toxic in political arenas and when they are spoken about its done after being weighed from a political lens..In other words there’s a lot of concern about how a Black president addressing gun violence in the Black community will play out in the mainstream..

While I understand the importance of pushing this President to do what he should do intuitively so that money and resources could be released to address the situation, there is a still a need to be cautious..Will Obama use the backdrop of Black shooting deaths in Chicago to heal those who have been traumatized or will he use this as a way to further criminalize youth as he emphasizes, law and order?

Yes those who have guns and do violence in the hood  need to be stopped and held accountable.. How will that happen? Will it be more militarization of the police? Will it mean entire communities and groups of people being subjected to profiling tactics, increased surveillance and stop and frisk type tactics?

Personally I think our communities need to be healed and people need to be made whole, where we embrace life versus dissing it..  We have to get to the root causes of violence and hopefully if Obama does come to Chicago, thats the direction he’s pushed in vs wanting to lock everyone up..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQuxG5FAXEs

How many dead Black children does it take to get a Sandy Hook response?

Black death has become an addiction, a political football when convenient and a marketing tool…it is also something with each passing day can’t be ignored…If we are not bothered by this, then something is seriously wrong….Here’s a video of Hadiya in 6th grade speaking out on gangs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x60rR-CZ-A4

Below is a powerful essay from a Chicagoan who is all too familiar with the daily carnage going on in her city…

How many dead Black children does it take to get a Sandy Hook response?

15 year old Hadiya was shot and killed in a random act of violence in Chicago

15 year old Hadiya was shot and killed in a random act of violence in Chicago

Do you remember? Remember when you were young and carefree? Think back on how excited you would have been with an early dismissal from school into warm weather and a park nearby. Remember wanting to just cool out for a minute, hang on to the laughter and silly antics of  your friends before heading home to chores and studying? Time travel to the time when life was so full and promising, back when you had the zeal and energy to really live it?

How old were you back then? When did that all end for you?

Well for Hadiya Pendleton 15years old was her time. A baby really, just getting her taste of life’s promises. A scholar attending King Preparatory High School on the south side of Chicago. An enthusiastic student, a member of her school’s volley ball team and it’s band that just performed at President Obama’s Inauguration, a trip to Paris on the horizon as a part of an exchange program. Young and carefree, yet it ended much too soon for Hadiya. Her young life snatched just as she was getting to the good part; her life counted in the number of children whose lives have been cut down before they could really fully create a memory.

continue reading this essay HERE

 

How many dead Black children does it take to get a Sandy Hook response?

Black death has become an addiction, a political football when convenient and a marketing tool…it is also something with each passing day can’t be ignored…If we are not bothered by this, then something is seriously wrong….Here’s a video of Hadiya in 6th grade speaking out on gangs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x60rR-CZ-A4

Slain Rapper Left Behind a Song Addressing Killings in Chicago

Slain Rap Artists Johhny BWe are all gonna have to step up and demand a different social and political climate for us all…The recent passing of rap artist Johnny Boy Da Prince aka Johnny B in Chicago is becoming all too common…

On January 10th 2013, rapper Johnny B had just left the studio and decided to do a stop over to see a friend before heading home and was shot 8 times in the back and left for dead after leaving the friends house in the West side of Chicago. Police are still investigating and there are no suspects in custody at this time.

Johnny B wrote and recorded this song to highlight violence in Chicago and unfortunately he became victim to that violence he wrote about. This is the song he recorded. Unfortunately the song was not completed but I think its best to post it as he left..it’s called “Just Like You

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO984JlT0PQ

 

 

Have We Forgotten All the Bank Foreclosures? Cali Rapper Bambu Hasn’t

There’s a lot of talk about Hip Hop being dead or completely compromised with messages and images that fulfill corporate agendas and while that may be true in terms of what is presented on some of the largest stages around us, we should not discount the fact that everyday folks are waking up and fighting the good fight… One cat that puts in work day in and day out is Bambu.. Some may be familiar with him as one half of the group Native Guns.. Others know him as a committed community activist who is always trying to find ways to uplift the youth..

This week many activists and concerned citizens are in Chicago protesting the NATO Summit.. Many are being arrested and tossed in jail with the bogus charge of terrorism for simply live streaming or marching. I hope people are paying attention to what is going on as we are witnessing a complete news blackout.. With that being said NATO is where you will find government forces from all over the world who are beholden to the 1%.  Many of us forget that our real fight is with that small cabal of people who dictate the direction of the economy and now the types of oppressive and restrictive laws we will live under.. Artist like Bambu haven’t forgotten as illustrated in this new video..He goes hard on the issue of foreclosures which in 2012 represent the biggest theft this country has ever seen..   He deserves major props for stepping up and reminding all of us what sort of truth we should be speaking in these turbulent times..

written by Davey D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWXrQ5FBao0