Showing posts tagged “9th Wonder”
Rick Cornell ·
23 Feb 2010, 12:28 PM ·
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First of all, if there were courses like this when I was in college, I would have been a much better scholar. Duke’s “Sampling Soul,” a spring semester offering co-taught by African and African American Studies professor and author Mark Anthony Neal and producer/ hip-hop artist 9th Wonder, examines soul music’s continued relevance and resonance in popular culture. The closest I came as a student at the State University of New York at Albany in the early ‘80s was a music class where we discussed the pop-jazz significance of “Just the Way You Are.” That’s a couple worlds away from digging into “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”—although it is worth noting that Hugh McCracken, who contributed acoustic guitar to “Just the Way You Are,” played on records by Aretha Franklin and other soul stars. (See? I was paying attention.)
Anyway, this week’s “Sampling Soul” class is subtitled “Sampling Motown,” and it features guest speaker Harry Weinger, vice president of A&R for Universal Music Enterprises. It’s also open to the public. So clear your calendar on tonight and hit the lecture hall at Duke’s Nasher Museum of Art at 6:30 p.m. to get a good seat for Weinger’s 7 p.m. talk.
In his 30 years in the entertainment business, Weinger has tackled a lot, but you could argue that his greatest accomplishment is documenting every single released during Motown’s glory days for the 12-volume Complete Motown Singles series. (Among his other projects: the Star Time James Brown box set—for which Weinger won a Grammy for his liner notes—and the Hitsville USA box, a warm-up of sorts for the Complete Singles effort.) So, yes, this is a gentleman with some insight into the output of Berry Gordy’s hit factory. Want to earn brownie points? Sit in the front and ask why Marvin Gaye’s version of “Grapevine” was released after Gladys Knight’s even though Gaye’s take was recorded first.
News flashes, You Should Do This 9th Wonder, Harry Weinger, Mark Anthony Neal, Nasher Museum
Eric Tullis ·
7 Jan 2010, 12:24 PM ·
5 Comments
Mic man.
The Wonder Years LP? Who cares anymore? While we’ve all been impatiently waiting on 9th Wonder to deliver his long-awaited album, we have a surprising new distraction here—9th Wonder as 9thmatic, the emcee. Yes, Mr. “Make-Me-Hot-P,” Pat Douthit, is rapping now. Oh, hell.
When hip hop producers decide to pick up the microphone and start rapping, they’re suggesting, in essence, that they’re just as verbally endowed as their rap peers, or they’ve come to the conclusion that sitting behind the production boards all day and making beats isn’t as thrilling as it used to be for them. The producer-slash-rapper title has become a venerable résumé builder and clout hoarder taken up by famed producers like Diamond D, Madlib and Pete Rock, just to name a few. They’ve all managed to turn emceeing into a mistress they parade around in hip-hop while also maintaining their production duties.
Oftentimes though, these producers have one of their go-to emcees ghostwrite their rhymes for them, which doesn’t really carry the stigma it would if the producer were a full-time emcee. In 9th’s case, however, it’s doubtful that anyone else had a hand in writing his verses. 9thmatic raps with the same down-to-earth enthusiasm that the producer offers in person and, at a few spots, his Winston-Salem, N.C. -bred Southern accent is highly effective. Skill-wise, he’s obviously not in the same class as many of the artists that he provides beats for, but at least now, we know that he can at least hop on a track with his favorite emcees without us wanting to skip over his verse.
After the break, you’ll find three fairly new tracks with 9thmatic. Also, notice that fellow Justus League producer and one of NC’s premier beatcrafters , Khrysis, picks up the microphone for his own, impressive, “fraggle naggle bullshit”. For now, in 9thmatic’s words, “Me and Khrysis are having LOADS of fun….fun fun fun…LOL …. workin on my ‘flow’ so to speak…..so it’s fun and a new challenge…..” Continue reading »
New Music, News flashes 9th Wonder
Grayson Currin ·
17 Apr 2009, 6:10 PM ·
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New album sounds nicer than this looks...
During his packed Thursday night show at Carrboro’s Cat’s Cradle for the opening night of the 2009 Signal Electronic Music Festival, D.C. rapper Wale welcomed a special guest to the stage: Wearing a leather coat and, as Wale noted, Jordan 3’s, Durham’s Grammy-winning producer 9th Wonder ambled onto the stage, greeting the hometown crowd before mentioning Back to the Feature, his long-awaited mixtape with Wale. Neither Wale nor 9th offered a definitive answer as to when the tape would finally be available, but the pair did reveal more details about 9th’s contribution to Wale’s forthcoming Interscope debut, Attention: Deficit, due later this year. The track includes Def Jam soul singer Chrisette Michele. Excited to hear that.
After Wale launched into a diatribe about saving hip-hop, 9th brought the crowd back around by “introduc[ing] a friend of mine who came out here to work with me for a coupla days.” The guest, Mississippi rapper David Banner, had been lurking in the shadows at the back of the stage in a green Adidas jacket and thick-rimmed black spectacles. Continue reading »
In the Studio, Live Actions: Reviews, News flashes 9th Wonder, Cat's Cradle, David Banner, Signal Festival, Wale
Eric Tullis ·
24 Feb 2009, 8:03 PM ·
3 Comments
On the Triangle’s preeminent hip-hop message board, “The Lawn,” local rapper/producer K-Hill recently voiced his opinion regarding the lack of coverage that I’ve been giving to North Carolina hip-hop in the music pages of the Independent Weekly. The comment stemmed from a thread announcing a show featuring local R&B songstress Keisha Shontelle. “Who the fuck is Keisha Shontelle?” I asked, jokingly. In essence, I was suggesting that, given Shontelle’s relative disappearance from this music scene lately, I wasn’t even sure if I remembered her anymore. But I did.
Hey, it's a tiny violin!
“Ask Grayson,” K-Hill responded. “He actually writes about the other movements that reside in N.C. Take that one however you want to.” Continue reading »
General Notes 9th Wonder, K-Hill, Keisha Shontelle, Kooley High, Little Brother, The Foreign Exchange, The Lawn, WXDU
