I get pretty obsessive with music artists, to the point I end up checking the rest of the music that was around at that particular time, if I resonate with them. It’s opened me up to so much music over the years. I’ve compiled a list of my favourite eras of music in history. If I had a time machine and got to go back to 5 eras in music history, these would be my picks:
5: 50’s & 60’s Blues:
A group I am part of, Applied Science, was formed due to mine and Pun Ra’s shared love of not just Hip-Hop, but Blues music. It’s rare for me to find someone around my age, to be into the Blues, so we hit it off right away. Our first ever track we recorded was titled “Malpy’s Lament” and I sampled a Lightnin’ Hopkins track called “Baby Please Don’t Go”. An album review of our second album (We and the Devil) described our sound as “like two smart mouthed kids from a council estate crashing a Muddy Waters gig”. To me, that is the highest possible praise that album could have got haha!.
My love of Blues happened by accident. I heard a track by Elmore James (The Sky Is Crying) playing in a Key West bar, while on holiday in the mid 90s and had full body shivers. It was like being hit by a train. I was in awe of the absolute soul drench coming from the speakers. When I got back home, I searched out his music and ended up buying his whole back catalog. That lead me to discovering the likes of Albert King, Slim Harpo (Baby Scratch My Back is a tuuuuuune!!), Big Mama Thornton, Sonny Boy Williamson, as well as stalwarts like Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf and of course Robert Johnson.
If a couple of pastey white boys would be welcome in the joints across Chicago’s South and West Sides, then me and Pun are jumping in the DeLorean right away.
Check the playlist below for 30 tracks that helped shape the Applied Science sound, featuring some of the above-mentioned tracks:
4: 80’s Synth Music
Yeah, 80s synth music is a pretty broad subtitle, but there was such an abundance of great music from the 80s that it’s all going under that umbrella. How good were movie soundtracks in that era? Escape from New York, Thief, To Live and Die in LA, Sorcerer. I could go on and on. The likes of Vangelis and John Carpenter are the go-to guys for me if I’m looking for that super synthy sound. A lot of music I have coming out with Wasp-18b is hugely influenced by 80s Sci-Fi and B-movie soundtracks.
I spent so much time in front of the VCR after renting movies from my local video store, and a lot of this music is imprinted in my psyche.
3: 60’s and 70’s Prog Rock
The UK helped propel this genre, or sub genre of Rock music. Heavy psychedelic influences that threw away the rule book and made way for some great experimentation in music. I read that “Pet Sounds” by The Beach Boys and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by The Beatles were the early formations of Prog Rock, but for me personally, I prefer the likes of Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Caravan, and Yes.
As a sample digger, Prog Rock is just a gold mine for material. As long as you have the patience, and actually listen to the music first, without skimming through, you’ll find so many breakdowns/bridges with some weird and wonderful sounds.
Digging has opened up a whole new world of music for me, and this era would be a definite pick for me to chuck on a funky shirt, grow a moustache, and time hop back to a recording session in some choice studios in London circa 1970. “I’ll take two tabs of acid please engineer”
2: 60’s and 70’s Soul/Funk
Now we’re really getting into the fiber of my being. I adore Soul and Funk music. It’s in the DNA of Hip-Hop. Not just Motown, but the plethora of iconic artists that graced this time period. The Delfonics, The Stylistics, Ann Peebles, Honey Cone, Sly and the Family Stone…. Yeah, this list would just be insane, you get the picture.
For me, this era shaped my whole life in one way or another. It paved the way for my number 1 pick, and has become a constant point of reference for me when making music on the daily. I’m still discovering hidden gems from this era too, and it’ll never die.
Also, in my dreams, I go back to a Soul Train event of the 70s, turn my charm on and snare my absolute greatest ever crush and obsession in music, Gladys Knight. But, for the time being, I’ll just have to gaze lovingly at the tattoo I have of the Empress of Soul on my arm LOL.
1: 80’s and 90’s Hip-Hop
It was always going to be this right? Every other music era would be a relative placeholder for top spot in favor of Hip-Hop. This era turned my love of music into the full-blown obsession that it is now. It kick-started my love of collecting records. It started my love of DJ’ing. It made me aware that what I was listening to was part of something more than just music, it was a culture, a movement, and a way of life. It was the first genre of music that actually educated me and made me aware of a world far removed from what I knew.
My introduction to Hip-Hop culture was via my cousin Dominic, who was a B-boy in the 80s. When my parents used to go out on the weekend, he used to look after me, and would sometimes invite the rest of his crew around. I remember them all practicing in my kitchen, and hearing the early Electro Street Sounds music playing. From then on, it was a wrap!
Eric B & Rakim, Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, NWA. They were all my earliest memories of Rap music. Then came the start of the 90s “Golden era”: Nas, Wu-Tang, Biggie, Gang Starr. Next up was the G-Funk era. Classic albums by Snoop, Dre, Warren G. Shortly after, the “Indie era”. The rise of indie labels brought us the likes of Cannibal Ox, Company Flow, and the juggernaut that was Rawkus Records. I mean, yeah, they were backed by some serious money, with Rupert Murdoch and his kin having their grubby hands in the mix, but musically, Rawkus brought the heat, consistently, for a few years.
The period from the late 80s to the late 90s was, for me, a high point within the relatively short life of Rap music. There were so many different styles and movements that anyone could find a home within it. I took refuge under the indie umbrella. Dilated Peoples, Pharoahe Monch, Black Star, Souls of Mischief, Blackalicious, Artifacts, J-Live, Lootpack. Granted, some of them were on major labels, but it seemed like artists with more of an underground sound had a space to express themselves without the huge pressure of making “hit” records. I feel that gave us the abundance of classic album from this time period.
I have to give a shout to UK Hip-Hop too. Hijack, Gunshot, Caveman, Blak Twang, Rodney P, Jehst, Roots Manuva, Mark B (RIP) & Blade, Klashnekoff, Skinnyman, Phi-Life Cypher, Lewis Parker, Cappo, Cash Crew, Lost Island, Estelle, Demon Boyz, Parlour Talk, Out Da Ville (bigup to Trevor Rose, who I bought some 12’s from back in the day), The Nextmen, TY (RIP), The Creators, New Flesh 4 Old, The Brotherhood. I was HEAVY into UK Hip-Hop, and it was refreshing to hear music I loved made by people from the same shores as myself.
LAST WORDS:
I’m still, and will always be a devotee of Hip-hop culture, and there’s an absolute abundance of great Hip-Hop being released today, despite what a lot of middle-aged heads will have you believe on social media, but, it would be a hard job to usurp that sweet spot from the late 80’s-late 90s for my choice of my favourite musical era of all time.
Til’ next time, thanks for reading. Peace!