JumpinJack AJ

It's kind of frightening that their may not be any classic Hip-Hop songs in is recent arsenal. Classic Hip-Hop isn't marketable at all. These songs make it look like he's trying to stay relevant to a radio crowd. I don't think that's a wise move. Even the non-Hip-Hop fans want to hear him on Hip-Hop tracks. Nobody is saying "Yes, Will Smith finally did an EDM inspired track." I support experimenting, but the though of abandonment scares me.

I'm familiar with the story of how Will took "Men In Black " to them. It was funny that they then had to work with Columbia to put "Men In Black" and "Just Cruisin'" on JJ+FP's "Greatest Hits" album. Those singles helped bring the package together (along with Yo! Home To Bel-Air, Lovely Daze, and the Megamix). It makes you wonder what Big Willie Style would have looked like on Jive. Jive had only started dabbling in pop music, so they were still primarily a Hip-Hop and R&B label. Would we have gotten "Big Willie Style" or would we have gotten a JJ+FP album?

I get the impression that if he released a single, he has an album well into formation. I actually rather have this track just being a bonus track to an all Hip-Hop album.

I love this interview. The cool thing about Jeff's interviews is that there always seems to be at least one thing we've never heard before. "Live At Union Square" has been talked about before, but it was good to hear him talk about it, rather than read about it. Hearing him talk about DJ's parties at Philly was kind of funny. I never thought about how the music impacts the behavior of the party. It's interesting that Jeff is the one who prompted FP to mellow out his delivery on "Summertime," which went on to impact many of his songs since then. Their exit from Jive is really interesting. It's crazy that they treated JJ+FP so poorly in the end, but didn't make it easy for them to leave. It makes me wonder if Will is so loaded these days that he can simply buy back their catalogue. With Jive being long gone, it truly is only business at this point. Lastly, I love that they made it so that you can download the interview.

I tried to post about this yesterday but the board was temporarily down at the time. I was scrolling social media yesterday morning and was surprised to see it released. It wasn't even mentioned in the Amazon music/digital download newsletter I got. I quickly bought it. I do like hearing the studio version because I can hear all of the lyrics clearly. I've only listened to it on my computer though, so I can't wait to pump it on my car stereo. For not having a proper photo shoot for it, the cover is simple, but kinda cool. Like everyone else, I love the lyrics and subject matter, but would love to hear a Hip-Hop version. The EDM sound is okay for what it is, but I always feel that it takes away from the lyrics and meaning of the song. Nobody listens to a dance song and says "that was deep." I'd love to hear a reggae/Hip-Hop version with Jazzy's cuts on it. I saw that the song is under Westbrook, so I'm assuming that's Will's independent label (a play off of Overbrook?) and that he officially cut ties with Interscope. Hopefully the success snowballs, but at the same time, after "Get Lit" and the "Fiesta" remix, I really don't want an all-dance record.

NF - Dreams Perception (2017)

It's not listing me as a supporter, but I signed it a few hours ago. I'm not sure what's going on with it because to the right of my screen it's acknowledging that I did sign it.

DEMI LOVATO - Daddy Issues Tell Me You Love Me (2017) This song kinda cracks me up. lol

I'll go back and listen to it and make a thread about it in the near future. It was basically issued to radio stations; probably not the biggest ones. It basically had Will talking in between songs that were playing. We've heard everything his said in interviews before. I'll look into a way of sharing it, but I don't think my old, slow computer will do well with three 20-ish minute tracks.

Apparently JJ+FP were at Fashion Week In Paris. Jeff posted pictures on Facebook. I tried to add them, but for some reason the forum is giving me an MB limit.

I celebrated his birthday by listening to an hour long radio "show" that he recorded back during Willennium. I just has little blips of him talking in between some of his BWS and Williennium singles and album cuts, along with song by The Fugees and Prince. He was only printed as a whitelable CD for various radio stations to use.

Yes, the remastered sound is worth the purchase!

Man, it's crazy to think this song is nearly 30 years old. This remix is incredible.

Musiq Soulchild just released a new double album! I'm not going to say much, only that it's an excellent album and that I haven't clung to one of his album like this since the first four. The others just didn't keep my attention that well. Great soul music and lots of feel good vibes.

A few years ago I started listening to the group AUTOmatic. If you love real Hip-Hop music and haven't checked them out, I strongly urge you to. Anyway, the producer of that group just put out an hour long beat tape. I'm not going to try to put it into words. I'm just going to say that it's dope. You can listen to it at the link below. If you like what you hear, I know you will, you actually name the price you pay for it. https://automatic.bandcamp.com/album/trellmatic-fruischine

It's be great if all of the albums got a remastered and expanded treatment. I kind of doubt a lot of people know about this though. We'll need to get it some sales in hopes of that happening.

I recently got it and have been listening to it a lot. The sound is definitely great. Some songs grab my ear more than others, appreciating the remaster. I like that the album was remastered in one of the studios they recorded it in. In terms of the music, I just wish they didn't put the alternate versions of "Girls..." Yeah, it was remixed and re-recorded the same hear, but there is a Danny D remix (and extended and radio version) of "Parents..." that would have been a better fit. It would have also been nice if they released an instrumental version of all of the songs. There is a rare 1988 vinyl release of the instrumentals that I have, but the record is slightly warped, so it would be great to have them on CD and remastered since this release is kind of a dream come true. All of the pictures from the original release are in the insert, plus pictures of the cover of all single covers. Above the "thank you's" they have individual pictures of the trio that I've never seen before. In addition to the original notes on the CD insert, there is a little write up on the album which is a great, but short read. If you're thinking about getting this, stop thinking and GET IT!

NATASHA BEDINGFIELD - I Bruise Easily Unwritten (2005) I love her first album so much. I haven't listned to it in ages.

I previewed it the day it dropped. It's okay. I'll buy it, but I don't expect it to be something that will get constant play. His music just doesn't stick with me like it used to. His talent has never faded, I'm just not feeling his production and songs like I did 10 years ago. He needs to stop using the Carnival title. Sequel albums never live up to their title, especially if they don't capture the essence of the original project.

Another thing he shared about song writing is that he has a term called "generally specific." He advises against writing songs that are so overly specific to yourself that you risk your fan base responding with "who cares?" He suggests that you represent yourself completely in your lyrics, but that you are selective about the details of the song because you want the listener to hear the song and to be able to relate and make it their own.

Another part I think that's worth sharing is sharing how Carvin started as a songwriter. He came to Jeff as a rapper, but other than writing his own rhymes, he had never written an R&B song. He said that what he would do was take multiple hit songs and look at their structure and compare them to each other. He would take what he took away from the comparisons and add his own touch to it to write songs. He said how he's not a singer and can't play instruments, but that he can hear the music and talk to a musician about what he wants to hear and how he communicates that to the musicians to get the sound he wants. I've previously heard him touch on that interviews, but I thought that was pretty incredible. The music he makes isn't like Puffy's where he plays no instruments and just jacked beats.

Toni Braxton has a new album on the way called Sex & Cigarettes. Check out the new single, "Deadwood." I don't know you guys feels, but I LOVE THIS SONG.

I forgot to tell two stories from today. Carvin talked about how he entered the studio life deaf, dumb, and blind, teaching himself everything that Jeff didn't train them for. During the mixing of Musiq's album, he said he just looked over the shoulder of the engineer and that he'd occasionally ask a question. The engineer kept taking cigarette breaks. He would fiddle with the board while the engineer was on his smoke break. By the fifth smoke break, he told the engineer "I got this...you can clean up anything I mess up. One thing that's really interesting about their hit "Love" is that everyone thought it was an undercover gospel song, the song actually is about singing to love as if it were a person. In fact, a gospel group has recorded it, replacing the word "love" with "Lord." At the time they did the song, Carvin was Muslim. He has since become a Christian and credits that unintentional tie in to faith God at work. When talking about Musiq today, he said that after the first album, Musiq saw a vocal coach, who ruined his singing style somewhat. They tried to change how Musiq hits and holds that high not in "Love." The technical correction of the vocal coach created a mental limitation, and Musiq no longer tries to sing that note.

I will place an order for a hoodie tomorrow. Is it okay if I place it late in the day, though? When you say the shirts are fitted, are they actually tight? I'm on the fence about the shirt.

GLENN LEWIS - Don't You Forget It World Outside My Window (2002)