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Rage Rocks the Bells
Public Enemy, Black Star, The Roots and Wu-Tang fight the Battle of the Bay in San Francisco By Joel Francis The Giants may have been out of town, but that didn’t stop the hits from pouring across...
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PE Still in Full Effect
The squeak on the front door to our office sounds strangely like Terminator X’s scratches on “Rebel Without A Pause.” Every time I’ve opened the door this week my mind has jumped to “the rhythm, the...
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The True Story of Cadillac Records (Part Three): The Final Days and Legacy of...
Above: No, it’s not Beyonce. The wonderful Etta James during her Chess period. By Joel Francis As the 1960s dawned on Chess Records, label founders Leonard and Phil were at the peak of their powers....
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Album review –“Stax: The Soul of Hip-Hop”
By Joel Francis When RZA needed a hook for “C.R.E.A.M.” he turned to the Charmels’ “As Long As I’ve Got You” and joined a large fraternity of rappers and producers who have leaned on the Stax catalog...
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Professor Griff discusses the past – and future – of Public Enemy
(Above: The title says it all: “Professor Griff drops knowledge.”) By Joel Francis The Daily Record Onstage, Professor Griff, minister of information for the veteran rap group Public Enemy, rarely...
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2010 Grammys: A Live Diary
By Joel Francis The Daily Record We at The Daily Record try to play clean in our tiny corner of the interweb. Once a year, on “music’s biggest night” the gloves come off and the snark comes out. This...
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Nas and Damian Marley –“Distant Relatives”
(Above: Damian Marley and Nas perform at the Beaumont Club in Kansas City, Mo. on June 26, 2009.) By Joel Francis The Daily Record When the rapper Nas and reggae artist Damian Marley, youngest son of...
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Review: Gil Scott-Heron
(Above: The video for “Me and the Devil,” a track from his 2010 album “I’m New Here.”) By Joel Francis The Daily Record WASHINGTON, DC – The “more info” tab on the Blues Alley Website informs the...
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Chuck D looks forward in reverse
(Above: Chuck D pays tribute to Muhammad Ali.) By Joel Francis The Daily Record Legendary hip hop ensemble Public Enemy is $20,000 away from fulfilling its efforts to raise enough money for its...
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Review: Prophets of Rage
(Above: Supergroup Prophets of Rage “Shut ’em Down” on Labor Day 2016 in Kansas City, Mo. Guitarist Tom Morello dedicated the song to the late Thomas Young, a Kansas City native and Iraq war veteran...
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Social Distancing Spins, Day 8
By Joel Francis Joe Tex – I Gotcha (1972) Like a lot of people, I was introduced to Joe Tex through the Reservoir Dogs soundtrack. Like most of Quentin Tarantino’s musical moments, “I Gotcha” was...
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Random record reviews: the Psychedelic Furs, Bobbie Gentry, Prophets of Rage,
By Joel Francis Psychedelic Furs – Made of Rain For better or worse, the Psychedelic Furs will always be tied to “Pretty in Pink” and the films of John Hughes. The master of 1980s coming-of-age movies...
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