Ain’t No Fun (If the Homies Can’t Have None)
Snoop Doggy Dogg w/Nate Dogg, Kurupt, Warren G
Released in 1993
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Oh No
Pharoahe Monch w/Nate Dogg, Mos Def
Released in 2000
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The Set Up (Remix)
Obie Trice w/Nate Dogg, Redman, Lloyd Banks, Jadakiss
Released in 2004
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Sad to hear of Nate Dogg’s recent passing. Nate wasn’t the first singer to provide R&B-style hooks on rap records (TJ Swan, perhaps?), but I can’t remember any R&B/hip hop hybrid prior to Nate’s 1992 appearances on Dr. Dre’s The Chronic that didn’t inflict collateral damage to anyone’s street cred.

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Let No Man Put Asunder
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Love Having You Around
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Dr. Love (Tom Moulton 12″ Mix)
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Album: Delusions (1977)

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The onset of spring makes disco bloom on my hi-fi. And though it has its place, I’m not talking about the commercial disco I wish I heard at Studio 54; I’m talking about the soulful proto-house disco I wish I heard at the Paradise Garage. One of the best examples of the latter is First Choice’s Delusions LP.

Annette Guest and Rochelle Fleming founded First Choice when they were still Philadelphia high school students. Rochelle reminisces:

Our success didn’t hit us until graduation night. We were marching down the aisle and the principal of the school said he wanted to congratulate First Choice… then the whole graduation class just stood up and hollered and screamed.

Five years later, as disco was starting to dominate the pop landscape, First Choice (Rochelle, Annette, and new member Ursula Herring) released Delusions. In hindsight, First Choice is perceived as more of a singles act rather than album artists. Delusions, however, is a fairly consistent collection of songs, thanks in part to the lush production from MFSB’s rhythm section: Ron Baker, Norman Harris, and Earl Young.

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Cypress Hill, "The Phunky Feel One"/"How I Could Just Kill A Man"  

The Phunky Feel One (Extended Version)
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How I Could Just Kill A Man (The Killer Mix)
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Released in 1991

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Sometimes, I get mad. These tracks help get the aggression out.

There is no B-side on this 12″; both of these tracks are 5-star classics, and murder on the dancefloor.

‘Nuff said.

 

 
Evelyn "Champagne" King  

Shame (12" Mix)
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Smooth Talk
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I Don’t Know If It’s Right
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The Show Is Over
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Album: Smooth Talk (1977)

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Evelyn “Champagne” King was all of 17 years old when her debut record Smooth Talk was released. Discovered while accompanying her mother as she worked as a janitor at Philadelphia International Records (home to The O’Jays, Lou Rawls, and Teddy Pendergrass, among many others), Evelyn was successful from the get-go with her 5-star classic first single, “Shame,” presented here in its extended 12″ mix. In addition to lengthening some passages within the song, the producer trebelled out the mix a bit. Or maybe my 12″ of “Shame” is in better shape than my Smooth Talk LP.

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Trouble Man  

“T” Plays It Cool
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Cleo’s Apartment
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Trouble Man
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“T” Stands for Trouble
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Album: Trouble Man (1972)

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In ranking the best Blaxploitation soundtracks, the cognoscenti usually select Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly or Isaac Hayes’s Shaft as the best from that era. Maybe James Brown’s Black Caesar. But rarely do I see Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man soundtrack at the top of the list. SImilarly, I rarely see Trouble Man listed among Marvin’s best LPs.

Both are errors in judgment. Trouble Man was Marvin’s follow-up to the seminal What’s Going On, and is a key milestone in Marvin’s evolution from Motown pop star to bold singer-songwriter. Trouble Man isn’t just a key achievement among Blaxploitation soundtracks, it’s one of Marvin’s most musically-adventurous albums.

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