Marvin Sparks

So, don't remember how I came across this. I think I possibly regret spending that time of my life to be fair. Watch it first, then I'll comment after. Now, I know I said "regret spending that time of my life" now I'm spending more but this has to stop. Whilst I haven't made any good songs in my life (haven't made any songs) that isn't my job. I spot them. Great track record too. If you wanna call me a hater, fair dos, I'll still sleep. But guess what? They'll still have a sh*t song, so hear me out. So, let's set the scene: someone heard that beat and thought "That's wicked, let's do this". I can understand. First off, welcome to 2006. I heard "Whut? Yeaahh" all over that dated Lil' Jon-esq beat mixed with "Hey, how you doing lil' mama let me whisper in ya ear" by Lil' Jon's cronies/lookalikes. Can't remember their name right now. Then on top of that, autotuned to death? But why? The...

As we should all know by now, Glastonbury took place last weekend. Yeah, Beyoncé etc. But I came across Aloe Blacc performing one of my favourite songs of the moment (still) "I Need A Dollar" on BBC2. Admittedly, I didn't know it from last year when it first hit the streets. I stumbled across his actual performance on stage when during a search for it on YouTube. Much to my surprise he did a reggae rendition and said the quote of the weekend: "Soul music comes in a lot of different forms and to me reggae is one of the best forms of soul music" - I've been trying to tell people this. Shame they're brainwashed into thinking if it doesn't sell it isn't cool enough to like. Watch and enjoy this performance Here is the acoustic version. Bee-yew-ti-full! With all the rubbish music about, we sometimes get caught up in criticising music in general. "Music is rubbish nowadays" is something we all say, but Adele, Bruno Mars, Aloe Blacc, Cee-Lo, E...

If you like samples, you'll like this post. If you'd like to see previous posts covering this subject click here (Disclaimer: Luther Vandross special but I have most probably missed a few. I renamed the title once I realised both are Luther songs. When you read the post you'll get how this happened.) I think it has come to a point in my life where I've conceded "If a hip hop beat sounds too good to be true, it's probably a sample." Well, that's how I came to find today's one. I'm having an r&b day today. Hold tight 1Xtra playing "Walked Outta Heaven" by Jagged Edge. I've gone on to listen to Donell Jones, Musiq Soulchild (or is that musiqsoulchild?). Don't quite recall how this next beat happened, but Roc-a-fella hook man Rell crosses my mind, I remember he did his version of "No Better Love", Spotify only has the original, listen to that: Young Gunz - No Better Love Poor Young Chris who had his flow stolen by Ja...

Ed Sheeran - Small Bump Anyone that has been following the blog for a while now will know I began gassing about Ed last year March on a next level (if you're interested click this , this or this ). He's one of the only artists I'm most excited about. Genuinely excites me. Me and that girl Leatz were on his talent from mad early, alie Leatz? Watched his performance at Glastonbury where he headlined the BBC Introducing Stage, literally brought a smile to my face to see every one going mad for him. He doesn't have a plastic image, girls don't think he's drop dead gorgeous, but it's just top quality music in it's purest form as it should be. I like this quote: "The above track, 'The A Team', is my favourite track on the CD. First track on the EP, instant repeat material, so standard was set quite high but I really enjoyed every track on there. Good lyrical content, singing, beats etc. Where the labels at? Sign this guy up!" from this post...

I'll start this post with the best of the rubbish songs. I'm not even sure if this is rubbish. Mainly because I can't listen to it without feeling offended. Mann ft. Iyaz & Snoop Dogg - The Mack 349 likes, 21 dislikes Sorry, but he took a classic. I guess this is a sign of old age. I may have felt like this about rap sampling soul and disco songs if I was born in the '60s. But http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifI'm convinced this song actually doesn't justify sample. Which in itself was based on a sample. Just listened to the Mann song again. I can confirm it is rubbish. Buzzin' is a good song. Granted, I'm not old enough to have been around when the original came out , but Buzzin' is actually good. I do like how Snoop sits on the riddim though. That goes to show it isn't the sample, it is in fact him. Jason Desrouleaux - careless what the title is, the song is an absolute embarrassment Now we all know this guy's existence in the music g...

"That's all them **** screamin' that Reebok back" Nah fam, that's all Swizz Beats is screamin'. Reebok's are DEAD. Saying that, I guess this promotion does help in a way because I forgot Reebok actually exist. With that said, maybe they are back into my memory then. Back in my sneaker/trainer collection though? Probably not. Workouts were the greatest school trainers for rebels against shoes. Convenient for lunchtime when dudes went to play football. Didn't have to waste time putting trainers on (or borrowing the left-footed players right shoe if you forgot your own. Could never get the right foot if you're borrowing). The white ones looked retarded. In a bad way. Ugly. Then you had the Classics. They were the thing for a hot minute around late 90s-2001. Times when we rated Sisqo and played Snakes on Nokia 5110 with the flashing ariel. Can't forget the Reebok Pumps from early '90s. Woosah! They were undeniable. Luminous colours complete wit...

I've known Dionne for a while still. Doesn't add anything to the post I guess. I coulda sworn I've blogged her but I dunno where it is. Maybe I posted them on Facebook *shrugs* Strangely enough one of the two vids I thought I'd posted were Delete My Account (a song about Facebook) with the other being a cover of Lauryn Hill in an English accent. She's proper bubbly and stuff innit. She's actually jokes. Anyway, I heard her perform new single "Daddy Dear" last year at some Africa vs Caribbean show (yeah, they still do that backwards nonsense). First thing that surprised me is that it's a reggae riddim track, but it isn't a popular one. Anyway (again), she performed at Glastonbury this past weekend (see below) and the song has been added to Radio 1's playlist as BBC Introducing. Big well done to her. And putting reggae on BBC Radio 1 is never a bad thing. The riddim is called "Tears" from 2007. First time I heard Jamaica's hott...