Tall Black Guy on D'Angelo's "Voodoo" (2000)

Explicit content warning

02/28/19 • 47 min

The Album: D'Angelo Voodoo (2000)

Tall Black Guy, AKA Terrel Wallace, has been making beats and remixing artists like 79.5, Stro Elliot, and Moonchild, for a long time. Listen to any one of his songs and you'll understand why he's one of the best producers out there and why we were so excited to talk to him. It's no surprise that his personal heat rock (and ours) was "Voodoo" by D'Angelo.

Making the album was no small feat. D'Angelo took a long break between albums to learn more about playing the guitar, and linked up with the Soulquarians to lay down some of the funkiest, most eclectic, and just plain hottest tracks of all-time. It took nearly 5 years to make, but the wait was worth it.

Morgan is flying solo and talked to TBG about the wide range of D'Angelo's influences, the shift from "Brown Sugar" to "Voodoo," and D'Angelo's personal shift from neo soul darling to full-on sex symbol.

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Garth Trinidad on the Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band's "The Serpent's Mouth" (2018)

The Album: The Bacao Rhythm and Steel Band: The Serpent's Mouth (2018)

Steel pan/drum music emerged out of Trinidad and Tobago over the course of the 1950s. Its tinny yet melodious timbre was unique and it soon became a signature style within the diverse soundscape of Afro-Caribbean music. The tourism industry compelled steel drum bands to adapt pop hits into their repertoire and by the late '60s and early '70s, it was common to hear soul and funk tunes being given a steel pan makeover. Even Morgan's stepfather, Bob Sharpe, got in the action as part of the Salt N' Pepper Steel Band, whose lone album includes covers of the Jackson 5 and Johnny Nash (and Oklahoma too!).

The Bacao Rhythm and Steel Band, formed by Germany's Bjorn Wagner after a few years living in Trinidad & Tobago, is directly influenced by that earlier era. Across their two albums, 55 (2016) and last year's The Serpent's Mouth, Bacao tackle any number of surprising hits, many of them drawn from hip-hop as well as soul/funk, plus their own original compositions. If you ever wanted to hear Gang Starr deep cuts get the steel pan makeover, you came to the right place.

The Serpent's Mouth was the album pick of DJ Garth Trinidad, whose been a radio fixture in Los Angeles since the mid-90s, when he first started at KCRW and rose to fame on his weeknight Chocolate City show. He continues to hold down a 8-10pm slot when he's not busy music supervising or hosting concerts at the Hollywood Bowl.

Next Episode

Nick Waterhouse on Jackie Shane's Any Other Way (2017)

Dear Heatrockers, On a recent episode, our deep dive into Jackie Shane's "Any Other Way", we unintentionally misgendered Ms. Shane and the late Wilmer Broadnax. Although some of this was addressed at the start of the episode, we'd like to take the opportunity to apologize to members of the transgender community and anyone who found our choice of words offensive and insensitive. We have re-cut the episode to remove the discussion of Broadnax and we pledge for the future to do a more thoughtful job in choosing our language in a respectful and accurate manner. Thanks to all of you who sent us feedback on this; we appreciate your input and support.

The Album: Jackie Shane Any Other Way (2017)

This week's episode focuses on the life, career and resurgence of soul singing trans pioneer Jackie Shane, who spent much of the 50's and 60's alongside Frank Motley and the Motley Crew band enthralling Toronto audiences with her voice, her presence and her realism.

We were thrilled to be joined by another old soul, singer Nick Waterhouse, a cool kid from the best coast whose sonic leanings hearken back to a time and type of rhythm and blues. He came to share the Jackie Shane's influence on him as a singer, the splendor that was her life and the songs that moved him from her seminal 2017 compilation album, Any Other Way.

This one's too good to miss!

And be sure to check out Nick Waterhouse's new self-titled record releasing 03/08.