Category: Throwback

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: DMX Does “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”/Ahmed Sirour’s “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Up In Here” Remix

I’ve dabbled a bit in the holiday spirit around here as a handful of acts have written and recorded a number of Christmas-themed originals, as well as versions of Christmas standards. And in a semi-continuing tradition here, you may recall that several years ago DMX was being interviewed by someone at Power 105.1 had jokingly asked him if he knew the lyrics for “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” and in the interview Dark Man X quickly responds by reciting the lyrics of the song — from memory. And it’s arguably one of the strangest, most endearing and funniest moments in hip-hop history. ”
I recently stumbled on the Ahmed Sirour Remix of DMX’s rendition of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” which he titled “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Up In Here.” It’s the remix, we always needed.

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate. Also Happy Hanukah! And Happy Holidays everyone!

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Sub Pop Records Re-Releases the Early (and Lost) Catalog of a Grunge Pioneer

Sub Pop Records re-releases the early and lost catalog of a grunge rock pioneer, TAD with the release of the video for mosh pit worthy “Stumblin’ Man.”

Throwback by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme/Some Thoughts on Jazz, John Coltrane, My Father and 9/11

Thoughts on Jazz, John Coltrane, my father and 9/11.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage/Throwback: Saul Williams performing “Telegram” at Afropunk Festival 2013

Over the past twenty plus years, poet, singer/songwriter, emcee and actor Saul Williams has developed a reputation for being one most inventive, challenging and uncompromising artists and poets of his generation; but perhaps just as important, he’s proven to be a thoughtful and incisive social critic, who’s frequently commented on Donald Trump and the 2016 election cycle. In honor of his much-anticipated SummerStage set at Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park, I think it’s fitting to check out some live footage of Williams with Dragons of Zynth performing “Telegram” at 2013’s Afropunk Festival. Also if you pay close attention, I’m pretty certain that you see me in the photo pit snapping as many pictures as humanly possible during an incredible and comprehensive set featuring material from both Williams’ self-titled effort and The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust.

Video by William Ruben Helms

As a black man, the recent deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling by police officers  as well as the countless other deaths of black children, women and men have been on my mind and very little has offered much comfort from the feelings of fury, bitterness, confusion, horror, profound sadness and numbness I’ve been feeling over the past few days. And as a result, I’ve been obsessed with Syl Johnson‘s aching and bitter lament “Is It Because I’m Black” which my homey Abdul recently put me on to and Bob Marley‘s “War.” I think both songs will say just about everything that I feel about now.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback/Live Footage: Mayer Hawthorne Performs “Mr. Blue Sky” on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic

So strangely enough, while checking out the video, which would wind up comprising this site’s previous post, the related video tab on YouTube brought up live footage of Mayer Hawthorne and backing band playing a breezy cover of ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky,” on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic several years ago and coincidentally, the track appears on Impressions. The internet is a wonderful place, is it not?

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: A Tribute to A Tribe Called Quest/RIP Phife Dawg

I’m a nocturnal guy and the other day, I was up and working on a blog post when I a tweet that read “RIP Phife Dawg” came across my Twitter timeline and the first thing […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Ice Cube’s “It Was A Good Day”/Happy It Was A Good Day Day Everyone!

A couple of years ago, Donovan Strain, the blogger behind Murk Avenue conducted some serious research to determine when the events of Ice Cube‘s “It Was A Good Day” happened, and according to his research, […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: David Bowie’s Serious Moonlight/RIP to The Thin White Duke

Some of my earliest, dearest and most profound childhood memories are based around music. As a child, my parents rented David Bowie‘s Serious Moonlight, Talking Heads‘ Stop Making Sense (arguably the best live concert movie ever made) and The […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: RIP Lemmy Kilmister/Motorhead Forever!

A dear friend of mine had posted something about Motorhead‘s Lemmy Kilmister and at the time, it was so funny that I had to tell my mother about it because like me, she’s a big […]

Throwback by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme

Since this site’s inception, it has been an annual tradition that I write something on John Coltrane‘s A Love Supreme, an album that is arguably not only one of the most beautiful albums ever written […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher”

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve seen an increasing number of Facebook friends around the country posting pictures of their children as they’re being sent off to school. Today marks the first day of […]