Farewell 2008...

"Get ready, tonight.  Gonna make this a night to remember..." A Night To Remember - Shalamar

I am actually looking forward to tomorrow night.  Another year has passed and I have no idea where it went to.  This year brought about phenomenal new friendships, amazing personal revelations and a blueprint for what I have yet to achieve come 2009.  I have so many dreams on the horizon and my list grows every time I cross out a completed goal.  I allow no one or anything to stand in my way, I am too ambitious for that.  I have also decided to do some end of year cleansing and cut off or let go some of the vampires that I have in my life.  It's all for the better, new beginnings and such for 2009.  Just living my life.

So with that cleanse in mind, I was going through some of my concert clips on Ivory and realized there are quite a few that I have not shared with you.  Instead of bringing you my top tens of 2008, I have decided to give you a taste of a few artists that you will be sure to read more about here in 2009 and a few snippets from concerts I thoroughly enjoyed this year.

1) Eric Benet at B.B. Kings killing his next single, "Chocolate Legs."

2) Lorenda Robinson from Brown Baby Girl broke down "What You Won't Do For Love" @ Billie's Black: 

3) At the Brown Baby Girl show, Kimberly Nichole made "Love Without A Limit" her own.

4) The beautiful Mika sang one of her new songs from her forthcoming album to be released next summer, entitled "Summer Love" @ Billie's Black:

5) Here is Grammy Nominated Wayna singing her nominated track "Loving You (Music) @ Billie's Black (sorry it's a bit dark):

6) And lastly, I saw the marvelous diva herself Chaka Khan.  I was grinning from ear to ear.  This was the ONLY snippet I was able to get because of her stage po-po at the front.

These are a handful of snippets from the slew of shows I was lucky enough to see this year. Earth, Wind & Fire, MAXWELL, GEORGE MICHAEL, Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Billy Joel, The Police, PJ Morton, Big Daddy Kane, Wayna, Mika, Eric Benet, Monica, Dru Hill (yes, them), Mint Condition and the list goes on - it has been a very musical year.  Next year is only a day away.

On that note, I would like to wish everyone a safe and prosperous New Year.  May the New Year bring to you, everything positive that you put out in the universe to receive.  

See y'all soon...

Tha Connoisseur 

Monday Madness A Bit Late...

"You can have this or that, this or that..." The Choice is Yours - Black Sheep

Ladies and gentlemen, Toronto has been really and I mean REALLY busy.  I have no idea where the time is going to, but I came to the harsh realization the other day that time is flying by and I have not even seen HALF of my peoples as yet.  My dad used to always say "Time waits for no man - or woman for that matter."  And he is so right and of course being the stubborn woman that I am, I am well aware of that - but still do not take heed to the saying.  When will I learn.

Anyhow, I know that Monday Madness is late and I do apologize for that.  Being that the work schedule is a bit hectic, it is hard to get in front of lovely Ivory (my Mac) and beat out an entry.  However, better late than never.  Sorry if some of the items are a bit old, but you know me - I have to put in my two cents.

So without further adieu, here is Monday Madness - last weeks news (and perhaps way before that) that made me cringe, cuss or shake my head.

1) Chaka oh Chaka...: I LOVE me some Chaka Khan, really I do.  If you do not have her recent album Funk This, you need it in your soul collection.  It has been on heavy rotation lately on my iPod.  So really, I do have love for her.  But WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?  I nearly passed out when I saw this.  All that ran through my head was - I'm late, I'm late, I'm late for a very important date!  I am sorry, but I live by the popular saying, "just because they make it in your size, does not mean that you should wear it." 

2) Please say it isn't so:  Did you know that Lil Wayne and T-Pain are coming together to form a supergroup?  Now I have no idea who came up with that idea (oh wait, I think I just threw up in my mouth), but they need to be taken out back and be dealt with.  To those of you who are T-Pain fans, I am sure that is music to your ears.  However, I can sure tell you that it is not to mine.  For the whole story check it out here with Necole Bitchie's take on it.

3) When will it end?: Enough with the racism, seriously now.  Two of my bookmarked reading sites - SOHH and AllHipHop.com were hit with slander and racial slurs on their sites and were forced to shut everything down.  There are no words that can explain how disgusted I was and still am.  The thing is, I am so tired of being disgusted.  From slander about Obama, beatings and shootings from cops and slurs on websites, when will it stop?  I just can't wrap my mind around it.  For more info about the websites, check it out here with MTV's take on it.  Update: SOHH has a temporary site up at the moment and AllHipHop is up and running again.

4) I am still vex, but...: I am still upset with Mr Cool James after the fiasco that went down at the Ice Cream Concert Tour.  However, here is a little something to put a smile on your faces - men and women if you will.  Give thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Todd Smith!  Or is it just really good photoshopping?

5) Oh gosh my people: I really hate to say it, but there are sometimes where I come across something that an ethnic person has done to make me say "I am embarrassed to be a person of color".  Please, let me give you a quick example.  I was reading one of my favorite sites Tha Feedback, only to find out that Christopher "Kid" Reid from Kid N' Play has a soul song out.  Yes, a soul song.  But that is not the problem.  The problem for me is the name of the man's music label.  You ready?  Kid from Kid N' Play named his music label MOOLATTOMAN MUSIC.  Enough said.

Flashback of the day:  Today I was feeling the reggae vibe, more ol' school reggae than anything after I listened to Jazmine Sullivan's "Need U Bad" for the umpteenth time (I LOVE that song).  So here's a little tune for your BBQ mix, some Beres Hammond!

See y'all soon...

Tha Connoisseur 

Mellow And Chill, That's The Key...

"I can let my life pass me by, or I can get down and try.  Work it all out this lifetime - work it all out this time."  Lifetime - Maxwell

As I sit here mellowed out by Miles Davis' "I Fall In Love Too Easily", I reminisce of my early exposure to music and how it changed my life.  Not to be dramatic, but we should realize that music holds the key to a lot of meaning in life.  It was not a joke now and wasn't a joke then when Stevie Wonder named his album just that.  Music is scientifically shown to heal and teach in many ways.  Commercials are sold to you by jingles = music.  Music is also used in different types of therapy = music.  There is an actual American Music Therapy Association, really there is.  It's the feeling that music has on your brain, your body and your soul, it's inexplicable.  You try explaining to someone how you felt when you first heard your favorite song.  Or how your wedding song makes you feel when you hear it in passing.  Uh huh...that's what I thought.

I have digressed a bit from my train of thought!  As I was saying, my early exposure to music was from my Dad (god rest his soul).  I would awake on a Sunday morning by the sounds of Otis Redding, Booker T. and the MG's and of course, his woman Aretha Franklin (I did mention previously I have a sibling named Aretha).  You better believe it was every Sunday like clockwork.  And his favorite line to me would be - "Kid, you don't know good music like this!" That statement alone was a challenge for me (I love a challenge!) to learn about the good music I didn't know.  My Father's collection is full of goodies - every Aretha album under the sun, Carla Thomas, Donnie Hathaway, Roberta Flack, Chaka Khan, Al Green, Marvin Gaye and others that I never even heard of.  And it was not just soul music alone.  There was soul, rock, calypso, soca, reggae.  Name it, it was in the house.  As soon as the music bug hit me, I had my second teacher, my older cousin, teach me about the best in the late 70's into the 80's.  A bit of Debarge, Prince, The Jacksons, Millie Jackson, Luther Vandross, Teddy Pendegrass, SOS Band, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam and then some.  Being inundated with such talents really brought my love of music to new heights.  Like many aficionados out there, I meticulously collected  8-tracks, vinyl, cassettes and CD's.  Making sure to try and not buy anything to tarnish my collection.

I then became a student of piano and later vibraphone.  Of course feeling like I was the only person in the world who played a vibraphone, I was quite content to learn that the great Roy Ayers was a master at his instrument of choice.  So I figured, why not me?  Looking back, music runs right through my family.  I have an aunt who is a Calypsonian, a younger brother who plays a mean alto and tenor sax (and is studying Music at the moment), a cousin who writes, sings and composes music and an older brother who was a DJ.

The whole point of my tirade is that music for some of us out there is life.  We live, breathe, and feel music.  Our love comes in many forms - as a music writer, producer, promoter, publisher, label owner etc and most of all FAN.  Remember in I'm Gonna Git Ya Sucka, Jack Spade was told that every hero's gotta have some theme music?  Well I think that goes for everyone.  Music is the soundtrack to our lives.  And when I reach the end of my journey, I want my soundtrack to be vibrant, expressive and a reflection of the person that I have evolved into because of my Dad's Sunday morning teachings.

Here is the video flashback of the day - this one is for my Dad.  I miss and love you.

That's all for today y'all, see you on the horizon.

Tha Connoisseur