True to my word from last week.. as we continue to celebrate Black Music this entire month I want to delve today into another part of the continuum. Yes that’s what I think of when I think of Black Music created in these United States… they all come from the same tree and certainly branch off, but all related.
I wanted to post today what I believe to be a very, very important interview in the documentation of Hip-Hop History. The Combat Jack Show (which for me has become must listen internet goodness) recently interviewed the one and only Marley Marl who in my opinion(and the opinion of many others)was the first Super Producer in Hip-Hop not solely for commercial reasons but also because of the numerous technological advances he brought to the music, not just once, but several times.
There are entirely too many gems in here to list and I wouldn’t want to spoil the listening experience for you in any way. I will say that The Juice Crew, Mr. Magic, the beef with BDP, and Marley’s work with LL are discussed amongst many other topics.
Before I stumbled on this episode I was having a discussion with a younger work colleague of mine and I was telling him how literally I was there when the music changed in Hip-Hop. It was like we left school in the late Spring of ’86 and the music sounded one way and by the time the late Summer rolled around and it was time to go back to school Marley Marl and his work with Eric B. and Rakim on “My Melody” and “Eric B. is President” completely and utterly changed Hip-Hop music forever.
Ivan Orr is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, performer, and writer. A native of Charlottesville, Virginia Ivan was involved with the forming and nascent days of The Music Resource Center as its first Program Director. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Music, Ivan currently resides in Richmond, VA where he maintains an active performance and production schedule while serving as the Music Editor for Grown Folks Music, a position he has held since 2010.
