TAKE TWO: RUN DMC

Run DMC became the first rap artists to achieve notable fame and commercial success during the 1980's and have remained one of the most influential performers in hip-hop. The New York based trio, made up of Joseph "Run" Simmons, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels and Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell, became a momentous force by combining heavy rock with rap and experimenting with the use of sampling from records by other artists to innovate hip-hop with a bold, progressive sound. They were also responsible for popularizing the characteristic street style of rap that included Kangol hats, thick gold chains, and unlaced Adidas shoes.

Simmons and McDaniels had grown up together in Hollis, Queens since they were children. Simmons' older brother, Russell was the manager of Kurtis Blow who had made a name for himself by becoming one of the first rappers signed by a major label and to have the first commercially successful rap singles, "The Breaks". The younger Simmons, going by "DJ Run", was able to get some stage time with Blow. He would convince his friend to begin rapping and McDaniels took on the name, "Easy D". They met Mizell, then known as "Jazzy Jase", hanging out at Two-Fifths Park in Hollis. After becoming friends, they went on to pursue music together.

The older Simmons was approached to record them. He eventually relented, helping to produce a single, land the trio a record deal and gave them the name, "Run-D.M.C". The single, "It's Like That" was released in 1983 and reached number fifteen on the r&b chart. A self-titled debut album followed the next year which was well was received and included the groundbreaking hit, "Rock Box" which merged rap and hard rock. The music video for the song would become the first ever hip-hop clip to be broadcast on MTV and received heavy rotation.

Achieving enormous success quickly, Run DMC performed at the Live Aid benefit concert and were featured in the 1985 hip-hop movie, "Krush Groove" which told the fictionalized story of Russell Simmons' rise in hip-hop as a music entrepreneur.

For their third album, "Raising Hell", the group approached Rick Rubin to produce who had just worked on LL Cool J's debut album, "Radio". He came up with the idea to record a version of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way". Originally, the thought was for Run DMC to rap over the original 1975 rock record but Rubin wanted to push the idea even further by having Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith perform on the actual cover recording. This single became a global smash in 1986, reaching number four in the US (even charting higher than Aerosmith's original) which helped make Run DMC become internationally known and would revitalize Aerosmith's career.

Run DMC would release "Tougher Than Leather" in 1988 which abandoned rap-rock for more sample-heavy sounds. The album did not sell as well and an ill-advised movie which they starred named after the record and directed by Rubin did not help matters. By 1990, the sounds of hip-hop was evolving once again and their next album, "Back From Hell" felt unfortunately dated, failing to generate much interest. During this time, each of the men had begun to suffer from personal and legal matters. They would all turn to the church for healing and guidance. Three years later, a reinvigorated Run DMC was back with a new album, "Down With the King", a well-received hip-hop collection that offered some subtle religious references.

Over the next years, the members began to have different ideas of how to continue, leading to creative tensions and personal conflicts. One more album was made together, the long delayed, "Crown Royal" in 2001. The following year, Mizell was murdered in his recording studio in Jamaica, Queens. Shortly after this tragic event, Simmons and McDaniels would announce that Run DMC would officially be disbanded and they created a fund to financially assist Mizell's family.

Run DMC helped pave the way for hip-hop to shift from an underground sound to become part of popular culture. Their classic beats still continues to inspire and has been recognized as an important part of music history. Run DMC has gone on to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009; honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 and their album, "Raising Hell" was placed into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2018.

NEW SOUNDS

OLIVIA DEAN

Olivia Dean, the British neo-soul singer, is back with the follow-up to her 2023 acclaimed debut, "Messy". She began to seriously pursue music at sixteen, teaching herself how to play the guitar, piano and writing songs. Dean went on to release two EPs which brought her attention and now her latest album, "The Art of Loving" is now out. This collection of alt-r&b offers her perspective on different forms of love and intimacy, revealing the now twenty-six year old performer's growth as an artist. The guitar-driven first single, "Nice To Each Other", which has recently reached the top-ten on the Billboard Global chart, simply asks the question "What if we were just nice to each other?" in a relationship. Now the latest single, "Man I Need" has become another world-wide hit. Dean will open for Sabrina Carpenter on some dates as well as her own The Art of Loving Live tour which will begin next year.





RAYE

The British singer, Raye has been using her big, soulful voice to reinvigorate pop music. Born Rachel Keen and raised in South London, Raye had been interested in pursing music since she was a child. After briefly attending the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology and dropping out due to feeling creatively stifled, she went off on her own to make it into music. At seventeen, Raye received notice for her self-released EP in 2014 and kept on recording and making connections in the industry. Her big breakthrough came in 2022 with "Escapism", a trip-hop styled pop song that clicked across the globe including the US. Now Raye is preparing to release her second album. The first single, "Where Is My Husband!" captures a retro girl group sound merged with hip-hop beats. Raye had also teamed with producer/musician, Mark Ronson last summer for the original song, "Suzanne" that was part of the APxMusic programme to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Swiss watchmaker, Audemars Piguet.





KHALID

The pop-soul vocalist, Khalid has been making music professionally since he was teenager with his single, "Location" becoming a top twenty hit back in 2016. More hits followed for the El Paso, TX native with "Young Dumb & Broke", "Love Lies" (with Normani), "Eastside", "Better" and "Talk". But last year Khalid came out as gay after being outed. This has not changed anything for the singer except that now he no longer feels a need not to be completely honest as an artist. He has just released a new single, "Out of Body" from his upcoming fourth album, "After the Sun Goes Down". For the music video for this dance song, Khalid moves seductively with his male dancers, feeling much freer to generate a smoldering sensuality that he's not been able to reveal before. 

BUCKINGHAM NICKS

When Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks released their musical collaboration, "Buckingham Nicks" back in 1973, their debut album didn't really receive much attention. They had first met while attending high school in Northern California, both aspiring to become musicians. They began working together after school when Buckingham asked Nicks to join his band, Fitz. During this time, Nicks and Buckingham drifted into a romantic relationship. Fitz achieved some moderate success yet soon disbanded.

Buckingham and Nicks continued on as a duo, attracting the attention of producer, Keith Olsen who worked with them to record some demos. This lead to them getting signed with Polydor Records in 1972.

The album, "Buckingham Nicks" showcased the emerging talents of both of these young musicians, giving them their first taste of professional recording sessions and working with some great musicians. The duo hit the road to promote the album, generating some interest from audiences, but their label failed to give their record much of a promotional push. The couple would have to find other means of financial support following the album's lackluster performance and being let go by their management company.

But their fortunes changed after Mick Fleetwood happened to hear some of their songs while visiting Olsen at the recording studio. Bob Welch had just left his band, Fleetwood Mac and he was intrigued by the sounds of Buckingham and Nicks. Fleetwood invited the couple to meet the other members of his band, Christine and John McVie for dinner and they all seemed to click. And a new band was born that evening. With Olsen on board as co-producer, the self-titled album from this newly formed rock group was released in 1975, reaching number one on the US Billboard Album chart the following year thanks to the hit singles, "Over My Head", "Rhiannon", and "Say You Love Me".

Now over fifty years later, after not being available to hear in any format, "Buckingham Nicks" has just been reissued and remastered on CD, vinyl and streaming. This ten song collection will certainly be more appreciated now as the album reveals their burgeoning artistry and clear indications of what they would go on to contribute to Fleetwood Mac.

RANDOM SIGHT + SOUNDS

Tyler, The Creator has brought an eccentric vision and innovative sound to hip-hop since his debut solo album back in 2009. Now with his ninth studio album, "Don't Tap The Glass", The Creator (born Tyler Okonma) has continued to push the sonic boundaries of what is considered hip-hop. Recorded during his Chromakopia: The World Tour that began earlier this year and the shortest album (at twenty-eight minutes) of his career, Tyler has delivered an unpredictable collection that boldly fuses house, techno and funk in exciting and colorful ways. Two singles have been dropped to support the album: "Sugar On My Tongue" is an electro-beat driven tune describing how tasty his lady is to him. While "Ring Ring Ring" is a blast of techno-funk that has him calling his lover who he misses, desperately hoping she'll answer.





Here is a round-up of new songs that is on my playlist: Sabrina Carpenter's follow-up album, "Man's Best Friend" is out now and the latest single, "Tears" is a disco-pop track with the video featuring actor, Colman Domingo in drag; After co-writing several songs for Gracie Abrams, Audrey Hobert has just released her debut single, "Sue Me"; Former American Idol contestant, Johnny Keyser, who now goes by John K, has continued his career in music with his recent third studio album, "Salt + Light" and the single, "Never Been in Love"; singer/actress, Reneé Rapp has delivered a soulful kiss-off with a live version of  "I Think I like You Better When You're Gone" from her second studio album, "Bite Me"; r&b vocalist, Kehlani has a new single, "Folded" which asks a lover to reconsider after they're hasty break-up and Doja Cat has returned with an '80's inspired dance track, "Jealous Type" which is co-written and produced by Y2K and Jack Antonoff.

And a new single from Lady Gaga, "The Dead Dance" has been released. This pulsing synth-pop song is part of the soundtrack for the second season of "Wednesday" with the singer making an appearance on the supernatural comedy show based on the character in "The Addams Family". Tim Burton directs the black & white music video for "The Dead Dance" which features Gaga, in an eerie gothic setting, as a cracked porcelain doll that comes to life.

SUNDAY BEST: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ED SULLIVAN

For twenty-three years, "The Ed Sullivan Show" was the popular destination for millions of Americans every Sunday night to be entertained by some of the greatest musical acts of all time on television. It was this program that brought the seductive swagger of Elvis Presley into people's homes and helped jumpstart the British invasion by being the first to introduce The Beatles and other English acts to these shores, creating a heated frenzy amongst teenage girls and helped inspire some young boys to want to play rock & roll when they grew up.

But there was something else that this variety show did that was daring and far-reaching. "The Ed Sullivan Show" would feature African-American musicians performing on the show regularly, at a time when this concept was not widely acceptable. The host fearlessly held firm to his belief of having the best talent on his show despite concerns from the show's producers and threats from sponsors. The riveting Netflix documentary, "Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan", directed by the late Sacha Jenkins, reveals how this television pioneer was responsible for helping to shift the culture by showcasing these incredible artists in a way that revealed not only their prestigious abilities but their humanity.

Born in Harlem at the turn of the 20th century, at a time when the neighborhood was largely made up of Irish, Jewish and Italian immigrants, Sullivan came from a family that loved music; performing, singing and listening. He was also a natural athlete in school, excelling at playing football, baseball, basketball and track. It was around this time when Sullivan played these sports with Black athletes in the area, never believing that were inferior players and always treated them with respect.

Beginning his career as a journalist, Sullivan wrote a sports column for several newspapers throughout the city. While working for the New York Daily News, Sullivan was dispatched to writing a column, "Little Old New York", which focused on gossip involving Broadway shows which he knew very little about at the time. But he would thrive, moving to radio and producing vaudeville shows to become a powerful force in entertainment news.

In 1948, Sullivan was hired to host a weekly television variety show on CBS, "Toast of the Town" on Sunday nights. Critics were not kind and Sullivan himself would admit he was a bit stiff and uncomfortable in those early days as the master of ceremonies. Yet audiences were drawn to him, appreciating him for his average guy appeal and discerning eye for selecting top talent to appear on the program. Officially renamed "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1955, Sullivan brought to the show the very best of classical, rock, country, world and Broadway.

But the focus of "Sunday Best" is the impact the show had for the numerous African-American performers that made appearances from the very beginning. Sullivan first had on performers who had appeared on vaudeville (Pigmeat Markham and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson) and popular entertainers of the day (Louis Armstrong, Pearl Bailey, Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr.). He would later have the early appearances of now legendary soul performers (Jackie Wilson, Fats Domino, Ray Charles, James Brown) and virtually every artist who had recorded for Motown, most notably the Supremes who appeared on the show seventeen times. He treated each of these performers like he did with any of his other guests, offering a firm handshake or a kiss on the cheek which was considered highly controversial at the time. Sullivan received plenty of pushback by several Southern CBS affiliates voicing their concerns of having so many Black acts on the show. He always made it very clear that they did not have to air his program if this was a issue for any station. And throughout the entire run of "The Ed Sullivan Show", there were never any cancellations.

Jenkins, who died from complications of multiple system atrophy back in May, has made a brisk and compelling film that highlights the importance of what Sullivan had done by supporting and nurturing these African-American performers. Harry Belafonte, Motown founder, Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson and Dionne Warwick are just a few who share warm remembrances of their time participating on the show. And while Sullivan did have a reputation for being petty and vindictive if he felt that his guests did not follow his guidelines or disrespected him, "Sunday Best" keeps the genial host in a positive light.

Here are the full performances of sixteen of the artists that appear in the documentary from "The Ed Sullivan Show":

EVERYBODY SCREAM

It's been about four years since we last heard from Florence Welch with her album, "Dance Fever" but she has returned with new music. "Everybody Scream" is the title track from Florence + The Machine's sixth studio album which is due out on Halloween. 

The British indie rocker has revealed that the upcoming collection will focus on themes involving mysticism, poetry and witchcraft. What exactly that will entail for the album is unclear but this haunting single (co-written with Mark Bowen of the post-punk band, IDLES and Mitski) expresses Welch's feeling of power when she's on stage, giving her all to inspire her audience to let loose.

SEX HYSTERIA

Jessie Murph, the provocative alt-country artist, has burst into the mainstream with her strip-club anthem, "Blue Strips" which is a reference to the blue security strip on one hundred dollar bills. This hip-hop tinged song with a country twang about a woman seeking payback for her man cheating on her with a stripper by showing up that club to throw money at her reached number fifteen on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. 

Like many music performers today, the Alabama native, Murph began her career posting videos of herself singing covers on TikTok and Instagram as child. By sixteen, she had built enough of a following to lead her getting signed to Columbia Records. A mixtape, "Drowning" soon followed in 2023 that brought Murph even more attention.

Pushing her sound even further than her debut album, "That Ain't No Man That's the Devil" from last year, Murph's recently released second album, "Sex Hysteria" digs deeper into edgy, country-soul confessional songs dealing with childhood trauma, love relationships and blunt sexuality. Sporting a towering beehive of inky black hair, Murph's image is of a classic '60's styled, sexy bad girl in constant search of a good time. She's even managed to attract rappers, Gucci Mane (who is also the name of a track on the album) and Lil Baby to provide vocals on the album.

The now twenty year old performer continues to push boundaries with the single, "1965". She has received some backlash from the song due to it's lyrics involving outdated gender roles while the video features a graphic sex scene that has raised accusations that she's glorifying domestic violence. But Murph has dismissed the controversy by stating it's all simply satire. 

Here is a sampling of the sounds by the daring, Jessie Murph which includes the controversial, "1965" and a remix of "Blue Strips" featuring Sexxy Red.