Johnny P. - Connect The Dots album review
Connect The Dots is the wholesome debut album from Chicago singer Johnny P. This album gave him his wholesome image in the world of R&B. The album is a blend of funk and contemporary R&B/soul uptempo dance tunes. Of course this album is going to filled with a reasonable amount of love songs. If you enjoy New Edition, Tevin Campbell, Whitney Houston, Sam Cooke, Patsy Cline, Jackie Wilson, Patti LaBelle, Marvin Gaye, or Bobby Brown, you will definitely this album!
You may remember Johnny P as the man who sung the hooks for Do Or Die’s songs or Scarface's Smile. This man has got one of the best voices to come out of Chicago next to R. Kelly, Chaka Khan, and Miki Howard. Johnny P (John Pigram) was one of Chicago’s most underrated singers who did not get the recognition or shine truly deserved. Sadly he never received any mainstream recognition. This R&B album suffered from a lack of promotion.
Love Is Just Around The Corner is surprising upbeat instead of mid tempo or downtempo as one would think otherwise. Love is in the places you would least expect or expected to find. Nevertheless Love Is Just Around The Corner is a great song.
Traffic Jam blends funk into New Jack Swing giving it a funky sound. The beats are funky as well. The funky beats follow the uptempo pace.
Unsurprisingly True Love is a slow jam. He sounds similar to Michael Jackson on True Love. True Love is a song you would expect to hear from Michael Jackson.
Johnny P covered Johnny Rivers - Poor Side Of Town on the song Poor Side Of Town. On this cover version of Poor Side Of Town is a funk soul version of that song with a mixture of funk. This version is much different from the original pop-soul version from 1966. Uncannily his voice sounds similar to an early 80s Michael Jackson. Honestly if Michael Jackson sang this song, it would have been bigger thus becoming a #1 pop hit on the BillBoard.
How can the woman Johnny is dating tell him how much she misses him? The last time Johnny saw her, she wouldn’t even kiss him. That rich guy she has been seeing must have bought her love with money. To him she was nothing more than a little plaything. It was not much more than an overnight thing. To Johnny she was the greatest thing he had ever found. It's hard to find nice things on the poor side of town.
Johnny welcomes the girl who was dating the rich guy to the poor side of town at the end of Verse 1. “So welcome back baby/To the poor side of town”
Johnny can't blame her for trying as he is trying to make a living on the poor side of town. However there is just one problem as he has got one little hang up. Johnny can’t make it without the girl he once dated.
He asks her, “Are you gonna stay now? Will you stay now? Will you stand by me, girl?” He proceeds to tell her, “They can't keep us down with you by my side. Together we can make it from the poor side of town, baby. Baby, baby.”
(So tell me how much you love me)
(Come be near to me and say you need me now)
Oh, with you by my side
This world can't keep us down
Together we can make it baby
From the poor side of town
Please Say You Want Me is a cover of The Schoolboys - Please Say You Want Me. However this version is more slow tempo than the original doo-wop version. On Please Say You Want Me, Johnny P sounds very similar to an early 80s Michael Jackson.
Johnny tells a girl to please say, “You want me to be your guy.” He has always wanted her to be his love. When there's stars up in the sky, then she will realize that she should belong to Johnny.
He has cried so much for her. Johnny hopes she does decide to be his love and to realize that her and him belong together. He tells her “Please say you want me. Please say you want me to be your love.” “Please say that you love me. Please be mine. Please say that you care for me. Then I'll stop this crying over you.”
5/5*****!!
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Descendant - Degeneration album review
Descendant - Degeneration is an overlooked death metal album from Toledo rock. It’s a shame not too many people know about this album. However this album is short as only 7 songs are included. But honestly this album kicks ass. Heavy metal meets death metal on Degeneration.
You ever notice the feeling when you discover yourself as your own enemy? Or the the feeling when you are your own enemy? Well that is what the song My Own, My Enemy is about.
Imagine yourself all torn and lost in lechery. Imagine yourself lost into oblivion. You're reaping what you've sown. There's nothing to redeem. Known what you did to probably deserve it. All love has been lost. Guilty as one could never be. Desensitized. It’s your fault.
The song Release asks ignorant people “What’s your standard of mind?” Which is what these following lyrics mean.:
Ignorant fuck
What's your standard of mind?
Your self-righteous likeness
Who of us is so refined?
Descendant tells the ignorant people they have been judged. They have swallowed your hatred. For too long I might say. The will show no weakness in the face of emasculate immaculate. You've not conceived of what you see. Boundless are the times.
Now the ignorant people are reaching out for help from the hand they once despised. That what these following lyrics mean.:
You're mistaken
You're taken
Submerge within yourself
You've missed your calling
You're falling
Reaching for the hand
You once despised
Now look in my eyes
Godseed is a song questioning how Taking of a life are justified. The song also questions how homicide and genocide are justified. It is unChristian to take a life through the means of homicide and genocide. The waves of animation swept away after taking of a life. Returning in a sea of red blood.
4/5****!
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Descendent - Descendent (Origin) single review
The Descendent (Origin) tape was a 2 song demo cassette tape released in 1994 Toledo, Ohio based death metal band Descendent. Origin and Industrialized were the 2 songs included on this demo cassette. Origins was their most well known song amongst fans as it had a noticeable death metal sound. Industrialized had an industrial rock meets death metal type of sound. This demo was professionally produced and recorded at R.T. Audio in Garden City, Michigan in November of 1993. The Descendent (Origin) tape was mixed by Rob Tylak. Cover artwork is a painting called "Hell" by Dieric Bouts.
4/5****
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Tha Brotha Chilly T - Tha Brotha Chilly T (First Press Edition) album review
Tha Brotha Chilly T’s self-titled album was released on cassette only in 1991 on Boom Records from Jersey City, New Jersey. This album is a seriously rare local tape from Saginaw, Michigan that came with no barcode which was tape only. This album was his first debut. This album is filled with raw raps. Who knew that Saginaw could be so Sag-i-raw or Sag-in-raw?
Tha Brotha Chilly T (Todd Jones) went hard from 1990 to 1993. No one could fuck with him on Boom Records (Boom! Records)! The Brotha Chilly T was so underrated in his time! We need more brothers like him in the watered down cookie cutter rap game right now.
The first press of Tha Brotha Chilly T’s self-titled album has 4 tracks that were not released on any of his other releases and only be found on the first press edition. Tha Brotha Chilly T’s self-titled album had 3 pressings and was released 3 times. All 3 pressings were released with homemade covers having no barcodes.
Bending Cornas is about how Tha Brotha Chilly T is Bending Cornas in his jeep. He heads up to the spot. What does he see? Audi’s, Benz, Jeeps, and Cadillacs. The bass is pounding heavily from the sub-woofers. Tha Brotha Chilly T gets out to spit a little game to everyone.
All of a sudden, police show up. It’s time to leave the spot. Tha Brotha Chilly T sends out flyers to promote for his upcoming show. Tha Brotha Chilly T is just “Bendin Cornas” in his jeep. Bending Cornas is funky track with heavy percussion over a hodgepodge of various samples and breakbeats.
The percussion is super tight on Liven Low! So are the vinyl scratches. Liven Low is about Chilly’s time and experience in the drug game.
Back in the days, Tha Brotha Chilly T was a young broke man clocking dope and selling narcotics. Friends, money, and enemies were made in the process of him being a narcotics distributor. There were casualties as things were not always easy.
Tha Brotha Chilly T had his jeep parked around the corner in case the spot got hot with law enforcement. Ain’t no time to catch a case or charges. The 5-0 are on his case but Tha Brotha Chilly T is not having that. Now we are back on the streets. But however Tha Brotha Chilly T is eventually apprehended by police and booked in jail. After a debt to society, Tha Brotha Chilly T is eventually released into society.
Chillies Blunt is a Tha Brotha Chilly T solo track. He does not have The Bomb Squad posse backing him up or performing solo raps.
Tha Brotha Chilly T is in the back snappin’ necks and smoking cigars. His brother is in the back. Tha Brotha Chilly T is droppin’ game on wax (or in this case cassette tape). Also Tha Brotha Chilly T is producing. He’s in it to win it. The Brotha Chilly T teaches us there’s need to front or diss. Also, The Brotha Chilly T reveals that his legal name is Todd Jones. He runs his own record label called Boom Records (Boom! Records) which is located in the US state of New Jersey.
On My Game Is Deep, Tha Brotha Chilly T explains how deep his game is. His game runs deep. His game runs deeper and deeper as he goes detail explaining as to how deep his game goes. My Game Is Deep is a grimey gritty East Coast sounding rap track with heavy pultruding basslines. This track is the dopest on the entire album! My Game Is Deep samples the 70s soul track Soul Searchin’. It is more old school influenced in term of sound.
Real Thang is about how real Tha Brotha Chilly T explains. Tha Brotha Chilly T comes hard as a jail cell on this one. Tha Brotha Chilly T explains R.E.A.L. is Real Easy Ass Living as if it were a lifestyle. Chilly T called out weak ass MCs on their bluff. MC’s be clown with nothing real to say about. To make the track even mad doper and harder, Real Thang samples BWP - Wanted. Tha Brotha Chilly T went hard in 1991.
Blunts, Bank, and Bizness is about the world of accounting, business, and cigarette blunts. Bank is all about getting that money. All about making that GTA. In the world of accounting and finances are loan sharks along with shady bad business practices. Of course an accounting job is no easy task.
Break Threw and Real Low were 2 of the 4 tracks that could only be found on the first press edition of this album and nowhere else.
5/5*****!!
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Johnny P - Sing You My Story album review
Johnny P’s Sing You My Story album was released online as a digital album through DatPiff (a mixtape streaming website) on the date of 10/21/2015. Johnny P sings to us the story of his life on this album of his similar to an autobiography of someone. His vocals change with the fresh lyrics. His vocal change when singing the lyrics is remarkable. This is grown folks music.
He is the Sam Cooke of this generation. Johnny P (John Pigram) was one of Chicago’s most underrated singers who did not get the recognition or shine truly deserved. Sadly he never received any mainstream recognition. This R&B album suffered from a lack of promotion. It's sad where good music has gone to.
Johnny P tells us about his struggle on the song Struggle. Be it right or wrong. Everything about this song is so real from start to finish. The song has a New Age type of vibe due to the piano solo playing in the background as Johnny sings. New Age meets soul music on Struggle.
A piano kicks off the song to boot. Here Johnny is looking at a picture of his wife. He is thinking, “How could she ruin our lives?” He never imagined he would be here holding back the tears. They were only married for 3 years. It turns out his wife was cheating on him with another man. Johnny is in disbelief. Somebody should have told Johnny not to love her or trust. Johnny does not know if he’ll ever love again.
Here Johnny is looking at a picture of his kid. Wondering how did things turn out the way they did. He never imagined he would be here holding back the tears. The wife is preventing the child from seeing their father. How could this be?
Damn was the buzz single for this album which was released in 2012. The music video was uploaded onto YouTube the same year. The song has a mellow vibe backed a single acoustic guitar. Sadly the song did not chart on the BillBoards. Johnny has some wonderful runs while singing.
Damn deals a woman who was dating Johnny while all along she was cheating on him with another man. He never imagined things would turn out in a such a manner. Now he doesn’t give a damn what she has to say anymore. He doesn’t want the woman he was dating to come back into his life.
A Womans Gotta Have It is a song for the fellas. He sings in the vocal harmony of Sam Cooke on this song. His runs are the best. Some of the musical notes copy musical notes from Nicole Wray - Dear Father.
Men have a tendency to forget what a woman needs every now and then. Johnny P gives men advice on how to keep a woman. Do the things that keeps a smile on her face. Tell her things that make her feel better on a daily basis. You can easily lose a woman if you don’t follow Johnny’s advice.
Don’t take her smiles for granted. Think it over. You have to make sure her voice is heard. A good love is not something to take for granted.
Winner is an original song composed by Johnny P. Winner is a song where Johnny convinces a woman he was dating to stay in his life.
The song begins with a drum roll. Electronic synths play appropriately afterwards. Johnny tells us, “You picked a winner.” 4 times.
A woman Johnny was dating is uncertain on whether or not to stay in his life. Johnny convinces this woman he needs her in his life. Johnny knows the woman he was dating could have played it safe and stuck with a sure thing. She could have walked away even though the odds were stacked up against us. She believed in him. All of their dreams are about to come true. Now each of them feel like a winner. He tells the woman, “You picked a winner.”
Some people gamble all their lives and never hit the numbers they play for. His luck turned out a different way because of her. They believe in each other. Now all of their dreams are about to come true. It seems as if all the bad luck missed them. It like the slot machine hit the right numbers.
Yo Body is a futuristic electronic sounding love song which experiments with electric synths. It’s much different from the average Johnny P song. Twista take control for the majority of this song. This song was originally from Twista - Category F5 from July 14, 2009.
Johnny P begs for a woman’s body during the intro and hook as well. Johnny sings, “Gurl I need yo body/I see you wit my body/Every time I see yo body/I say ooh ooh” “Now when I touch on yo body, babe/And when I grab on yo body, babe/When I feel on yo body, babe/I say ooh, oooh, oooh (Hell yeah)”
Twista re-introduces himself for the city of Chicago on Verse 1. Twista and his friend have 6 women with nice large asses. They was thick as hell, you understand me? He’s been drinking the finest most expensive liquor. Twista feels as if he might blackout due to the large volumes of Patron he has been drinking.
After a long night of drinking Patron, Twista wakes up to the morning light with his girl. They have an entire robbery planned out for the day or night. She is down with the same thang. Twista sprayed a lil cologne on the car seats and put the Gucci on the door seat before he left.
Now Twista is participating in a dice game. The dice game had him damn near broke. So he calls on his friends for more money. Suddenly Twista sees this woman he knows. He thinks she could be with police. So he plays himself off smooth and carefully. He told her to meet him in the Range Rover. He then tells her, “We ain't gettin money so I gotta go and change clothes”
Ain't no fucking wit the Twista, J.P, Do or Die! You are now wit the Category F5.
Try It Again has a polished studio sound with heavy hitting beats. Twista raps on this joint as well. Sometime a love looses control. Things spin out of place. As always love will make it somehow work out in the end.
In the song SuperStar, Johnny sings about how he wasted his time trying to be a superstar and singer. All he ever wanted was a woman to be his companion. He was out here in these streets trying to get that cash and trying to make the ends meet. Now he makes it rain. Dry your eyes. You don’t have to cry. Girl, it’s your turn to shine. She stayed by his side while he was on the grind. She deserves the world as she has always been down with him.
Yo Body is a futuristic electronic sounding love song which experiments with electric synths. It’s much different from the average Johnny P song. This song was originally from Twista - Category F5 from July 14, 2009.
Love in the Studio is laced with futuristic electronic synths over soulful singing. It’s much different from the average Johnny P song. It’ another futuristic electronic sounding love song.
4/5****!
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YWF Posse - We Love to Rob Dopemen EP review
YWF Posse released a fresh hip hop EP on cassette in 1990 called We Love to Rob Dopemen. Their whole EP is an anti-drug PSA with songs such as 1990 Take One and Simple which have a good message inside of the music. (2 songs are mostly anti-crack PSA’s to be exact.) Their EP was influenced by the sounds of old school hip hop with some good old school beats. Of course the audio quality of this cassette is very low quality seeing as how YWF produced their debut EP in 1990.
Their EP sounds similar to a novelty comedy rap act due to the front cover depicting YWF Posse jacking a dopeman while he is on the ground. You don’t see that everyday. The cover is real funny due to the dopeman on the ground.
Today the YWF Posse - We Love to Rob Dopemen cassette is considered very rare and collectable among music fans and fans of Cleveland hip hop/rap. That is why you sometimes see this cassette sell for hundreds of dollars when put up for sale, auction, or bid online. This is the recording the group YWF Posse ever made which is also why this cassette is considered to be a very rare EP.
1990 Take One is a classic hip hop song which is a fan favorite. 1990 Take One is a song laced with thin old school beats with hip hop flava.
One of the dopest lines was “I drop bass but I don’t need a base pipe” This line tells us we do not need to use crack pipe or cocaine to live our lives or to drop dope lyrics. You need to stay away from drugs to live a healthy lifestyle.
The fakers have faded and the makers have made it. The rhymes YWF wrote are addictive. Not to mention dope. They’re here to stop the madness doormen created. Rhyming, design, and entertainment is what Yes We’re Fresh Posse is about. So there is no need for drugs nor violence.
JWIB Feelin' has a reggae vibe and feel. Reggae meets hip hop on JWIB Feelin’. Samples used were Eric B. & Rakim - Move the Crowd and Biz Markie - Vapors.
JWIB Feelin' begins with one of the members talking in a Patois accent as if they were from Jamaica, Belize, or Haiti. This lasts for the first 16 seconds. Their accents go back to normal after this.
Hard work pays off but smart work works further. If you are smart about how you work harder, then all of your hard work will pay off if you are smart about it. However smart work pays off in the end more than hard work. That is the message of this song.
Drug dealers are suckers for the prison industrial complex in the United States of America. They are setting themselves up for failure to become prey to the system.
Kick up the bass and turn up the treble as it’s simple on the track Simple. YWF Posse plans to keep things simple here. The shit is funny yet very sexist. One of their most notable lines is "Take your girl because I don't need her/I'll treat her like a pet but I won't feed her" Simple samples Eric B. & Rakim - Move the Crowd.
The very beginning of Simple takes place during a lesson in class. The lesson about plight of the underachieving negro in a socioeconomic structure overwhelmed at an ever present masochistic drug influenced culture. Situation of this is very complicated and diverse.
When a kid looks up to a drug dealer, they wonder what they could do. Selling drugs to your own people isn’t the right way. YWF Posse tells us to say no to marijuana and cocaine. Stay true to yourself and stay away from drugs. Making lots of money is simple. Having crazy talent is simple.
*YWF means Yes We’re Fresh.
*YWF Posse was also known as Yes We’re Fresh Posse.
*It is well known that YWF Posse were a one time hip hop act from Cleveland, Ohio during the early dawn of the 90s.
3/5***
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IZ - Wonderful World album review
IZ - Wonderful World is an orchestral album backed by an actual Hawaiian orchestra.That is why you can hear an orchestral sound. The intimate vocals of his on this album are what touched the whole world. This IZ album was mixed and produced by Hawaiian music genius Jon de Mello. The melodies of Hawaiian music will touch your soul. As usual, IZ’s songs have a calm mellow soothing vibe to them. The melodies are mellow.
Aloha! ’Ulili É is a Hawaiian word which means sandpiper. The song has a calm mellow soothing vibe. What stands out about this IZ is the soothing calmness of the mood. Story for this song is about a little bird that runs along the beach.
The sandpiper returns from the sea. The sandpiper runs along the beach along. The sandpiper is a little bird who lives by the sea. Its voice is considered to be soft and sweet. During the daytime is when the sandpiper graces our land.
At first Wonderful World was a top seller in the US state of Hawaii in 1995. Soon enough the single became a top seller internationally on a worldwide basis. Wonderful World is what made IZ internationally famous. This song became an instant classic among his fans worldwide.
IZ sees greenery such as trees and red roses. He thinks to himself “What a wonderful world.” IZ believes the sight of nature is part of a wonderful world. He enjoys human contact. Also he enjoys watching people progress as they grow in life.
Kaleohano is a song where IZ celebrates his love for Hawaii. He does not his pride for his native land in this song of his nor is he bashful. His hometown is Keaukaha, Hawaii. IZ considers his native land to be dashing and attractive. He celebrates and sings about his love for the mountain named Mauna Kea during a cool evening when the sea is receding to the voice of the wind. Mahalo.
In the song Hawaiian Like ME, IZ lets us know that you won’t ever find another Hawaiian like him. IZ lets us know that wherever you go in the world, you will always be in his heart.
5/5*****!!
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