News & Updates — rap/hiphop

A huge talent lost much too early, Angá was an ace Cuban percussionist who employed an army of congas, as well as timbales and other percussion instruments. A lifelong follower of Santería, he was born in Pinar del Rió, Cuba, to a musical family. He played professionally with jazz group Opus 13 while studying college before joining the greatest Cuban group of all time, Irakere, in 1987. He's worked with Buena Vista Social Club (and member projects), hiphop group Orishas, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, Afro-Cuban legend Tata Güines, progressive jazz pianist Omar Sosa, Malian jeli musician Baba Sissoko, avant-jazz/M-Base saxophonist Steve...

One of my very favorite bands, Dyke & the Blazers, were founded by Buffalo native Arlester "Dyke" Christian in 1965. One of the only bands that James Brown was worried about as competitors, these guys had a raw, hard, street funk sound. Dyke played bass in Carl LaRue & His Crew, gigging around the rust belt and releasing a couple of 45s on the Buffalo-based KKC label in the early '60s. The Crew went to Phoenix to back the O'Jays but found the gig to be a dud and three members of the band (Dyke included) were stranded in the...

Big time funky birthday shout-out to the Female Preacher, goddess of funk, Lyn Collins. One of the James Brown divas and the voice responsible for "Think (About It)", one of the greatest tunes in the JB canon and a HEAVILY sampled tune, most famously in "It Takes Two" by Rob Base. Texas-born, she made her local recording debut at 14 and came into Brown's gang in the early '70s, replacing Marva Whitney. She recorded several great singles and a couple of albums with Brown as producer before working as a session vocalist (including for the TV show Fame). She cut...

Happy birthday to one of the greats, Curtis Mayfield! Singer, composer, guitarist, record label owner, businessman, civil rights hero, movie musician, talent scout, psych-soul songwriter, Black Power icon, Chicago legend and so much more.

The great Shawnee rocker Link Wray invented the power chord and helped set off the hard rock revolution, influencing punk, thrash & heavy metal with his 1958 hit "Rumble" spawning the future headbanger generation. He made his first record in '55, before heading to Korea with the Army. He got tuberculosis and spent a year in the hospital. A lung was removed and he was told he'd never sing again (they were wrong). So he started working out instrumentals and made several records, some of which were recorded in a makeshift studio in a chicken shack (often in partnership with...