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acehotel · 5 years

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Just/Talk: Justin Strauss with “Breakbeat Lou” Flores

“BreakBeat Lou” Flores has been a student of sound since he was three years old. The legendary Bronx-born DJ, B-Boy and hip hop pioneer — whose modus operandi could be summed up by the line, “If it’s funky, it’s funky” — cut his sonic teeth in the early 70s in New York City, where he says “there was no better recipe” for hip hop to happen. Here he chats with longtime Ace friend and fellow New York mainstay Justin Strauss for this edition of Just/Talk about the octopoidal nature of being a DJ, soaking records in bathtubs to hide their labels from rival music crews and the first record he ever bought.

Justin Strauss: In my mind, you’re one of the architects of hip hop. You were there at a very important part of New York and music culture. What was your introduction to music? Obviously, it’s been a passion — what triggered that?

Lou Flores: Well, the music started at a very early age. My mother used to have a social club in the Bronx, and at the age of three I got the interest in playing the bongos because I had seen the band members rehearse. When my mother was opening the club up, I gravitated.

JS: How old were you?

LF: I was three. So I learned to play bongos first and then congas at the age of three, and that really catapulted the love for the intricacies of music. In my household, my mother, on the weekends, she was always playing. Wake up in the morning, it was cleaning day, so she was always playing music, everything from The Beatles, Elvis, Frankie Lyman, Marvin Gaye, so it wasn’t just Latin music. It was a little bit of everything, so my palate for music was very cultured from the beginning as far as I can remember.

JS: This is in the 60s?

LF: This is in the 60s, early 60s for sure.

JS: You were working and helping out in the club, hanging out in the club.

LF: Yeah, just hanging out.

JS: And the club was in the Bronx?

LF: Yes the Bronx, 138th and Brook Avenue. My mother and I were extremely, extremely close. My mother was my hero. In most cases, most have the father, but my mother was my hero. The man that I am today across the board, even in music, it comes because of her. She gave me that love and passion, respect and the love for music.

JS: Was that something you knew you were going to pursue at any certain point?

LF: No. I was heavy into sports when I was younger, but I think the first thing that really got me, that touched me, the bug that really touched me, was in New York City, there’s the numbers game that people play. So I was young, I played the number one time. I had a dollar, played the number. Well, this is 1973, and I won the number. One dollar got me seven dollars, so I went to a record store.

JS: And the numbers is street lottery?

LF: Illegal lottery, street gambling. Musically, first thing was a Willie Colon album called El Malo, which featured a record called “Che Che Cole,” which featured, at that time, Héctor Lavoe. I loved the record to death. I used to play with my mother’s albums. She was like, “Stop playing my record. You’re going to wear my record out.” When I played the number that day, I won, and I went to a record store and bought my first record in 1973, a 45 of “Che Che Cole,” which I still own to this day.

LF: It’s 1973, at that same period, this whole culture called hip hop started to bubble up.

JS: It wasn’t known as hip hop.

LF: It wasn’t known as hip hop. You started hearing the jams at block parties. It was going on. You would hear those things, but there wasn’t the continuous aspect as the break beat facet of the culture. At that time, B-Boys weren’t called B-Boys yet, but I was already dancing in 1973.

JS: Where were you going? Just to clubs or parties ?

LF: Not even clubs. This is block parties, or house parties, that’s the way mainly the whole thing of New York, especially in the Bronx was the house parties. We had parties for everything. We had birthday parties, Christmas, Thanksgiving, rent parties.

JS: What DJs were playing — was it Kool Herc?

LF: No, this is before him. Way before that. But, you would hear guys like PBJ Jones doing certain things in the Bronx, you would hear other guys that were not as notable as Kool Herc. But that actually had equipment, because, think about it… in those days, getting two turntables and a mixer was extremely expensive. Then a little while after, you started hearing about this guy that had this vision playing this continuous musical interlude. That’s the best way to describe it, which became what they call, “rocking the breaks.”

He would take the intro of a record that had a featured drum or a breakdown of a record, which usually means the music tends to leave a portion on the record and you would hear mainly just drums, baseline or just a very sparse aspect of music. Just concentrating on a groove more than a melody. So, that he was concentrating on that because he noticed that when that part would come in, the height of the activity of his parties would come when these breakdowns would come into play. He concentrated on that to get the energy of the particular event to have a peak period. So, instead of having it flow 30 or 40 seconds, he extended it for a couple of minutes. But it wasn’t two copies, yet. At the time, he was rocking… he would go from break to break. It was playing, let’s say from "The Mexican” breakdown, to the “Give It Up Turnit a Loose” breakdown, to the “It’s Just Begun” breakdown and vice versa.

JS: These records were all from different genres?

LF: Yeah, “The Mexican” by Babe Ruth was a rock record, “Give It Up or Turnit a Loose” was a James Brown record and Jimmy Castor’s “Just Begun” was a combination… was leaning more into a disco aspect, but not really disco, but had the funk aspect to it. So, it was a multicultural, multi-genre facet of music display. Because at that time in New York, if you know… New York was very multicultural.

JS: Very diverse.

LF: Diverse listening palette for music, I remember at that time, I think it was WABC was the main station that everyone was listening and you heard everything from Marvin Gaye to Aerosmith so, New York was probably more cultural than most places in the country, I would say. So, that started bubbling up.

JS: When did you start digging for records?

LF: I started working 1978. Real quick, in 1974, I started DJing. I joined this crew called, The Paradise Crew. Which is one of the first crews that came out. So, from 1974 to spring of 77, there was few and far between crews that came out that actually had systems. Here comes the 1977 blackout and for whatever reason, the city decided to donate systems to a lot of kids. And, I’m being facetious.… the stores were vandalized and looted … and from you having one DJ crew in a matter of a two mile radius. Now you have a DJ crew every three blocks. So, that was 1977. For sure, from 1974 to 1977, I was really… more or less… a bedroom DJ, I helped carry record crates for DJs and stuff like that, so I wasn’t really hard-bodied into it. Come 1978, I got booked to do my first hookie party in New York.

JS: What’s a hookie party?

LF: Hookie project is when you left school at 12 o'clock and you stood somewhere else 'til three o'clock and made believe you were at school, but you weren’t at school.

JS: You were in your own school.

LF: Exactly. So, I got hired to do that. We went to a friend’s basement where his father was the Super. We set up equipment and we rocked there. So, that particular summer, I got a job at Crazy Eddie’s. Which used to be a electronics and record store chain in the tri-state area. I was hearing this break that Afrika Bambaataa was playing and I didn’t know what the heck it was. One day I was putting records away while working at Crazy Eddie. I saw this 45 promo, which I was already gravitating to promos. I put the record on and it was Manzel’s “Space Funk”.

JS: That was the record?

LF: That was the first digging record that I bought in 1978 and after that I became a hard-core digger… I decided just everywhere I would go, from Brad’s Records to Bleecker Bob’s, to The Music Factory, to Downstairs Records. Just looking for records, looking for breaks. And, I would spend every penny my mom would give me for lunch money went to that. Every little gig that I would get, would go into records so… 1978 was when the bug really bit me and I became hardcore embedded into DJing and hardcore embedded into digging.

JS: And, at the parties where you DJ’d were people rapping and rhyming over records? Is that something that was starting already?

LF: I would say, by 1975 it really caught on real heavy. Because that’s when you have Grandmaster Flash, the Furious Three and then you had the Mighty Fours which in turn became the Cold Crush Brothers. You had Funky Four Plus One More, you had Masterdon Committee, you had Soulsonic Force. You had The Jazzy Five.

JS: What year is that?

LF: This is from 74 all the way to 76.

JS: Okay, that’s pretty early.

LF: Yeah, there were crews already in those days.

JS: This phenomenon hadn’t come downtown yet.

LF: Yeah. It hadn’t come downtown yet. This is before the Negril parties downtown, this is before Michael Holman, this is before all those days —

JS: Okay. I remember when I was DJing at the Ritz in 1980 and they had the Sugarhill night. It was one of the first downtown hip hop events.

LF: Oh, yeah.

JS: And The Funky Four, Grandmaster Flash, Sugarhill Gang all played and everybody was blown away. You’re really not old enough to be in clubs at this point, correct?

LF: No, but those days nobody cared. My sister was the one that enabled me to go because she’s older than me by a few years. She would go so it enabled me to go into these clubs. I was a dancer, at least in 73… so I was already dancing hustle from 74–75, so I would dance with my sister. So, it was an attraction. My sister and I became known as dancers. And, people would look at us and they were like… okay, so that’s why I was let into most of these little jams back in the day. So, I was able to be exposed to that life really early on because I was a dancer.

JS: It was important. So, you DJ’d at these parties and your friends and crews started developing?

LF: Yeah, then everybody wanted to be like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Three — everybody wanted to be like The Mighty Four. So, the crews started developing there and I had a crew already. We used to rock every so often. It would be simple, at that time I would consider more like nursery rhymes kind of things. Like rhyming Mikey and Nike. And, stuff like that. But, the thing was everybody wanted to be rapping on a beat. Like these, what I call, Ghetto Superstars, because these guys became iconic to a lot of the young generation that we had. Because, think about it, in the beginning of the 70s we were losing a lot of cultural things in school. We weren’t getting enough art classes, we weren’t getting enough music classes. So, that hunger and thirst that we had, that creative aspect was being fed to us through what became hip hop.

So, the music aspect of being creative and even in just a rapping cadence that wasn’t really singing, but you had this new thing of rocking over just a drum beat mainly. And, being able to create some kind of poetry on rhythm over these particular beats that became a bold thing to do. So, it became a thing that everybody wanted to have… every crew wanted to have some guy that would be able to be on the mic. What we called crowd pleasing in those days, because it was more like, you know, people say, “Ho”... So, it was more of a call and response kind of situation. It became something that was extremely attractive to the youth and especially in the hood. It was something that you didn’t have to get caught up with, not joining any gang, or anything like that. You had the dancing, you had the music and then you had the entertaining person, Master of Ceremony. Which became the MC, which became attractive and a peaceful thing to be around.

JS: And, you guys would go from party to party, setting up your own equipment, bringing all the records —

LF: Yeah. Because it became a competitive thing. My crew is better than yours.

JS: And, did your crew each have certain records that you wouldn’t want anybody else to know about?

LF: That’s how it started. The thing was to discover the break that nobody else had. Something that fit that mold but nobody knew about. Think about it, even at that early time, a lot of records were very unknown to people. So, you will find, in the dollar bins, you would find them, like at Korvettes or Woolworth.

JS: Records that were basically ignored.

LF: Yeah.

JS: The rest of the record might have been terrible but if it had twenty seconds of an amazing break...

LF: It was incredible, I remember the first time we heard, we used to call it “Toys in the Attic,” by Aerosmith, it was “Walk This Way.” Even the Black Sabbath, the first album, that drum break. It was incredible. “When The Levee Breaks” by Led Zeppelin. Even though we weren’t really into a rock kind of situation, but those drum breaks were that phenomenal that we gravitated to that.

The Winstons was a gospel group that had a big record, won a Grammy but the B-side became the biggest record they ever had, which was the “Amen Brother” break. Which you know, by us bringing that out into the world, made it what it became. But, it was just those kind of things, to be unique enough and find records that nobody else had but that fit the mold. And, you know, Bambaataa was the master of that. I can only say this, the culture wouldn’t be what it was, or there wouldn’t be the name breakbeat culture if it wasn’t for Bam because he set the template for the music being so versatile. Because he would say break beats are not genre specific. If it’s funky, it’s funky.

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JS: The Monkees was one of his, I remember him playing “Mary Mary,” like, I heard that and I was like, “Wow!” Remember there was this, obviously the competition between the crews and you guys would scratch off the labels so nobody would know each other’s records.

LF: I will go even further. I would put the record in the bathtub with water so the label completely comes off. So, you wouldn’t know anything.

JS: And, everyone wanted to know what it was —

LF: Exactly, because I know, I remember one of the biggest things for me. I remember I went to a street jam and Charlie Chase was playing. He was playing, “Rocket in the Pocket” by Cerrone. So, I’m looking at his record and it’s Atlantic Records and I’m like, “What the heck is this freaking record?” So, you were very secretive so he told me, I mean, for whatever reason, I asked him and he goes, “Cerrone.” And, I’m like, “Cerrone? Okay, fine.” I go to Crazy Eddie’s and I see Cerrone Four and I see “Rocket in the Pocket,” this is the record. I play the record and I said, “This is not the freaking record, it’s a disco record. What the heck was he playing?” But, then Cerrone was on Cotillion Records, it wasn’t on Atlantic. So, I’m looking, I’m saying, “But this is not the same thing, what the heck!” So, I don’t know if you remember Cerrone had, there was two releases. There was one with a white cover and there was one with a black cover. So, I found the black cover. So, I found the black cover, I said, "This has to be it. It was the same crap record. So, then one day, I was looking in the bin. And, something comes in that’s this live Cerrone album. And, I’m like, “What the heck is this, double album?” So, I look and I see, “Rocket in the Pocket.” I open the back of the thing and it said Atlantic Records and I said "Damn, this has to be it.” So, I put it on and it’s like, real slow. I’m like, “It doesn’t sound like it,” but because, I know what we were doing already, there.

We would take 45s and put them on 33. We would take 33 and put it on 45. I played that on 45 and I was like, at least I know what that was. But, before that, I was thinking the record that he had was so worn out that, that’s what you heard the “Shhhhh” which really wasn’t worn out, it was the applause from the live crowd. And, then you stumble records like that. But, then when I found out, I easily was able to find the record he had, that’s where I decided to take the whole label off. And, I was like, nah, my cannons, secret weapons, you’re not going to find out. No.

JS: But you eventually used a lot of this knowledge. What was the inspiration for the Ultimate Breaks and Beats series of records, which basically laid the foundation for a lot of what came in hip hop and other genres after those records were released?

LF: Well, it’s two-fold. Lenny Roberts is the founder and co-creator and what I would say, the money man behind all the records I was involved in as far as break beats. We started doing bootleg 12 inches because we couldn’t find all the obscure records and people wanted them. Then all of a sudden, Bambaataa said to Lenny, I’ve got two tapes that I want you to put out and make a 12 inch out of.

So, we were like, sure. The one side was a live recording of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five at Bronx River and then the other side was a pause-tape done by Afrika Islam, which became the infamous Bozo Meko 12 inch with “Fusion Beats” on one side and “Flash it to The Beat” on the other side.

When we put out this particular 12 inch, it outsold every other 12 inch that we had. And, the reason why is because that pause-tape that was done by Islam had multiple records. He had “Champ” by the Mohawks. He had the “Get Up, Get Int It, Get Involved” by James Brown and then he had Dyke and the Blazers “Let a Woman Be a Woman.”

So, it had those three records on it, so it became more of a compilation than just a single 12 inch. At the same time Super Disco Brake’s — Paul Winley was putting his records out. The thing that Paul Winley was not conscious of, or he didn’t care two bits about what the culture was. The quality of the records he put out was horrible. He had put, “Take Me to the Mardi Gras” with a skip on it. He wasn’t using virgin vinyl either. So, we saw that. So, we said, let’s create one ourselves that would compliment what we did with the Fusion Beats 12”. We thought, “What can we do to make it attractive for DJs?” We’re not going to call it ‘”Disco Breaks” because we’re trying to get away from disco.

So, we’re going to call it “Break Beats.” If you look back at the late 70s, early 80s time… the DJ did almost everything. The DJ took care of everything. So, that’s why the logo became the octopus. But, if you look at it, it only has six tentacles out of eight. The DJ was the MC when he had to be, the DJ dealt with the strobe light, the DJ was the sound guy and the DJ also DJ’d the two turntables. So, we were trying to show that aspect of a DJ.

JS: This is the era before sampling records had begun.

LF: This is 1980. DJs were either scratching the record or just throwing in record. No one was even thinking about sampling drums or anything.

JS: Right, this is strictly for DJs. Who’s the first one to record, in your mind, the first rap record?

LF: Well, that’s a big argument between the Fatback Band, “King Tim III” and then Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight.” I think those as far as rap records as we know it, from the hip hop standpoint. But, if you want to hear the first record that has a cadence and it sounds like hip hop and everything else, it’s Pigmeat Markham, “Here Comes the Judge” — 1968. It has the same cadence and everything. But, it wasn’t done with that mindset. But as far as rap as we know it, there is a big dispute between Fatback Band and Sugarhill Gang as to which was actually released first. As far as in New York, it was Sugarhill Gang. And, Sugarhill Gang fit more of the mold, because it was recorded like you were rocking over a break beat, which was “Good Times” by Chic even though it was played live.

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JS: I started DJing at the Mudd Club in New York City in 1980 and I was just buying everything. I bought every kind of record, Everything was new. Punk, New Wave, disco, hip hop all at the same time. It was an amazing period.

LF: It’s like I said, New York is the only place that it could have happened as far as hip hop and let’s say punk and all of that stuff is because the melting pot of people in New York in cultures, there’s no other place in the world that was like New York, let’s say from early to mid-70s to early to mid-80s. There was no better recipe for that to happen than New York.

LF: The club scenes and the rebellious aspect to it that we had at that time was just everything, it was like the perfect dish that we needed to cook, it had to be cooked in New York at that particular time.

JS: So with the Ultimate Breaks and Beats series, was it an immediate success?

LF: Yeah. And, another point I want to bring across is the reason we also put those records out in the early 80ss. Then what was happening was, some of the second generation of DJs that were making hip hop, instead of the cutting up break beats because they couldn’t find them, they were cutting up rap records. They were cutting up “Love Rap,” they were cutting up “Feel the Heartbeat,” they were cutting up “Catch the Beat.” Good drum breaks, but they weren’t break beats per se. They were rap records that had drum breaks in it. So, that’s another reason that we wanted to keep doing it… to make sure it continues to have a solid legacy, that the foundations are intact. So, for me the foundation for what we know and what we love as hip hop is the break beats.

JS: How many volumes did you end up doing?

LF: We ended up doing 25, a total of 25.

JS: When you were doing them, do you think about, I don’t want to put this… I want to keep this for myself. Or were you happy to share the knowledge?

LF: On volumes one through nine, which we did as bootlegs, were to cover the foundations of break beats. We got a lot of flack from a lot of OGs for sure. But, again, we have to keep the DJ culture alive, and keep the hip hop culture alive. But then by 1986, when we decided to do the Ultimate Breaks and Beats, as legal records. That’s when sampling came into play. So, now you have a different dynamic of what music is being used for.

JS: So, now sampling becomes a thing. Do you remember when you first became aware of sampling and how that changed everything as far as record production and hip hop production in particular? Because now record producers, like myself included, were buying you series and sampling for our productions. So music would sound a lot different now without those records.

LF: 1986. Yeah.This is my motto. I would say that we were instrumental for keeping hip hop, hip hop. In the sense that the aesthetic sonic dynamic that hip hop has would not have been what it is, if we had not put those records out. Starting in 86. Because, when Marly Marl stumbled on sampling the kick and snare, that changed everything. That changed the whole… to me, it brought the rap music back to the park. That’s where I say, because it sounded like the records or the performances that you heard back in the parks in those days, so it took it to a new level of appreciation and creativity because, after a while, there’s only so much you can do with a drum machine … from the DMX or the BX or 808 or the 909, that was around along with the LinnDrum, you know there’s only so many styles you can do. When you were able to take all the kick snare from different drum machines and make it sound the way you want it because, if you look in the first two records that Marly Marl produced with that technique, it was Boogie Down Productions’ “The Bridge Is Over” and “Eric B. Is President,” by Eric B. and Rakim. It just changed the whole dynamic, it was like, how the heck do you do this?

JS: So, that started a whole industry of people clearing samples and making a whole lot of money for people who might have never made money from the original release or hadn’t in years. You helped a lot of people, in a way.

LF: Exactly. Syl Johnson said it best when he said, “As much as people may hate sampling, I love sampling. Because sampling bought me my house, sampling gave me a new life to a new generation and sampling kept my legacy alive.” We exposed a lot of artists that were not really known and kept their legacy alive.

Also if it wasn’t for reggae, there would be no hip hop. In reality. The whole aspect of playing with the systems and talking on the mic while music was going on came from the “toasting” aspect of reggae music. So that played an intricate part in what we were doing. But, in a million years, I didn’t think it was going to be that huge. And, the thing is, I knew exactly when it changed. It changed exactly between 84–86. It was two pivotal points. It was Crazy Legs doing the Flashdance movie which gave a new audience to the culture of hip hop through the B-Boys. Those two things were extremely pivotal. That changed the whole dynamic aspect of how hip hop was being heard and how hip hop was being seen.

JS: One record I want to talk about, because I think it’s so important for many reasons, is “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five featuring Melle Mel. Lyrically it changed everything in hip hop at that point.

LF: Well, let me tell you a story about our record which people don’t understand. That same rhyme was said by Melle Mel a year prior on an Enjoy Records called “Super Rapping.” If you look at “Super Rapping,” go all the way to the end of the record, it’s the same rhyme. But, the energy of that record was totally different, much faster, like a party record. By the record being slowed down a little, the music being slowed down a little, giving it more or less a psychedelic sound and then him delivering that rhyme as it was is what changed the dynamic. So, a lot of it had to do with the way music was being presented as more of a bed for the rhyme. Because you look back earlier, as far as the culture, remember it’s always been a party, dancing crowd. This actually changed it to push the lyrical aspect to the forefront.

JS: And “White Lines,” again by Grandmaster Flash sampled or replayed the bass line from a Downtown New York band, Liquid Liquid, was massive in all the clubs, Uptown and Downtown.

LF: And, I think we played a big part in that because we put Liquid Liquid on Volume 9 of the Ultimate Breaks and Beats. Which was used as a break because Bambaataa was using it in his sets.

JS: So, let’s fast forward a bit. Now, you’re back into music full time?

LF: Yeah. I left, for 12 years, I worked in the banking, the financial area and I was miserable. Great money but I was miserable and I had to come back to my passion so 2009, I came back and this is what I do now. This is how I live, breathe, DJing, producing all over the world. I’ve been blessed too. Starting first on the lecture circuit. Teaching it, breaking down a historical aspect of what this culture is. Then people finding out I DJ also.

JS: How do you feel about hip hop today? LF: Hip hop has always been very different in many different ways. There’s good and bad of course and there’s also an individuality aspect of it. So, I say this, at the end of the day, hip hop has always been the music of the youth and it speaks more as a youth language. So, what I would say is this, the language they’re speaking, it is speaking to the youth, the only problem that I may have with hip hop is that the individuality of hip hop is not being utilized the way that it’s supposed to be. And, I’m saying this to say that in our era, as you know, it took more than just having Apple Garage Band and iTunes to bring a record to the masses. When I go to do lectures, I’ll tell them, before, when we had to do a record back in our day, it literally took blood, sweat and tears.

But, I still respect a lot of it. Because I think there’s creativity and everything else. Anderson Paak – he’s extremely creative, J. Cole is another guy that’s extremely creative that I think deserves the second listen to, third listen to. That’s on that side. There’s a young kid, incredible, by the name of Cavalier. Out of Brooklyn and now lives in Atlanta. Extremely creative, even down to the sounds. You don’t even hear the mundane 808 that everybody is using. Or the mundane keyboard pads that everybody is using. So, people are actually taking it to the next level.

Then you got guys like Adrian Young. I don’t know if you know who Adrian Young is. He’s taken it to a whole different level, he’s probably the most impressive to me because he’s taken the bull by its horn and broken down how it’s done. He has an incredible studio in LA. Down to vintage board, an incredible sound room, everything from the Rhodes and to the grand piano that he uses. He’s captured that side. I think he’s probably the one I’ve been most impressed by in a long time sonically. And, every album that I hear, again, we’ve been students to this sound for a long time and he’s captured that sound extremely well, extremely well.

And, another guy, an old goodie but classic guy that does that on a regular basis, I don’t know if you’ve heard Kenny Dope’s regular R&B or funk stuff. In those projects, he’s captured the essence also. I’ve been privy and honored to have seen and heard some of the projects and if I close my eyes I can honestly think that this is something that was recorded in the 60s. That’s how good it sounds. So, those — as far as music — those things sound incredible to me.

JS: So, you’re still inspired.

LF: Oh, everyday. I have to be, man. I think, this is the way I feel. You have to be a lover and respect the views. You have to be a lover and respect of the craft that you do and you have to be a lover and respecter of the culture of what we do. And, I think again, we haven’t seen each other in a trillion years, but your impact and the way you put music together — even from those days that we were doing this the old fashioned way — was impressive to me. And, even listen to some of that stuff way back, like the other day, I was listening to your Debbie Harry remix and the drums you did, I’m like, “What they heck, this freaking guy just took this record and made a freestyle sound out of it.”

JS: You were an inspiration as well. I always went into the studio armed with a handful of Ultimate Breaks and Beats albums, as well as other stuff that I would find. It’s been an honor to have stayed in touch. And, we were always connected through music and through our mutual friend, the editor supreme Chep Nuñez, who edited a lot of my remixes and who is someone I think about to this day when I make music and I miss him.

LF: If it wasn’t for him we would have never had met, and you helped cultivate my sonic ear.

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soulmusicsongs · 2 years

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20 Christmas Soul Songs You've Never Heard Before

Listen to 20 of the best alternative holiday soul and blues tunes.

Christmas Soul Songs You've Never Heard Before

Black Christmas - The Harlem Children’s Chorus ‎(Black Christmas / Do You Hear What I Hear, 1970)

Burrito - Don Lucas ‎(Where’s Flo / Burrito, 1962)

Call Me For Christmas - Gary U.S.Bonds (Call Me For Christmas / Mixed Up Faculty, 1967)

Feliz Navidad - Carlos Patato Valdes (Masterpiece, 1993)

Funky Jesus - The Jive Turkeys (Funky Jesus / Get Down Santa, 2010)

Good Morning Blues - Dee Dee Ford (I Just Can’t Believe / Good Morning Blues, 1959)

Happy Birthday Jesus - Sam Sweetsinger Bell (Santa´s Funk & Soul Christmas Party - Vol. 3, 2015)

Happy Hairy Hippy Harry Claus - Rocki Lane And The Gross Group (Happy Hairy Hippy Harry Claus / Santa Soul, 1969)

It’s Christmas Time - Sun Ra and The Qualities (It’s Christmas Time / Happy New Year To You! 1956)

Jingle Bells - Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra (A Very Ping Pong Christmas: Funky Treats, 2007)

Lonely Christmas Tears - Bobby Allen and Exceptions (Lonely Christmas Tears / Please Santa (Bring My Baby Back to Me, 1969)

Merry Christmas Darling - Hop Wilson (Chicken Stuff. Houston Ghetto Blues, 1970)

Plum Puddin’ - The Ramsey Lewis Trio (More Sounds Of Christmas, 1964)

Presents For Christmas - Solomon Burke (Presents For Christmas / A Tear Fell, 1966)

Pueblito De Belem - Juan Torres (Feliz Navidad Con Juan Torres Y Su Organo Melodico, 1972)

Santa Claus, Jr. - Jim Cagle (Christmas Time / Santa Claus, Jr., 1975)

Santa Soul - Rocki Lane And The Gross Group (Happy Hairy Hippy Harry Claus / Santa Soul, 1969)

Soul Christmas - Count Sidney & His Dukes (Soul Christmas Part 1 / Soul Christmas Part 2, 1967)

Soul Santa - Funk Machine (Soul Santa (Part I) / Soul Santa (Part II), 1973)

We Three Kings - George Conedy (Merry Soul Christmas At the Hammond Organ, 1972)

And there’s more Soul Music for Christmas

10 Funky Organ Tracks To Get You In The Christmas Spirit

10 Gospel Songs for Christmas

And More Funky Christmas Soul Music

Black and Blue Christmas Soul Music

Christmas Soul Music

Christmas Soul You’ve Never Heard Before

Disco Christmas

Funky Christmas Songs: A Top 20!

A Funky Xmas to you: 50 great Christmas songs

Instrumental Christmas Soul Music: 20 Awesome Tracks

Lonely Christmas Songs

More Christmas Soul Music

Soul Santa Songs

Stax Christmas Party With 15 Awesome Christmas Tracks

Top 20 James Brown Christmas Funk

#Soul #Soul Music #Soul Music Songs #Music #Music Songs #Christmas #Soul Music List

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mondoradiowmse · 5 years

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01/30/19 Mondo Radio Playlist

Here's the playlist for this week's special edition of Mondo Radio, which you can download or stream here. This episode: "Seems Like Cold Weather", featuring tunes for sub-zero temperatures and more. If you dig it, remember to also follow the show on Facebook and Twitter!

Artist - Song - Album

Tense Experts - Seems Like Cold Weather (Live) - Lest We Forget: Our Night To Remember

Flipper - Ice Cold Beer (Live) - Blow'n Chunks

Hüsker Dü - Ice Cold Ice - Warehouse: Songs And Stories

The Cure - Cold - Pornography

Modest Mouse - The Cold Part - The Moon & Antarctica

Beck - Cold Brains - Mutations

David Lynch - Cold Wind Blowin' - The Big Dream

The White Stripes - In The Cold, Cold, Night - Elephant

Cage The Elephant - Cold Cold Cold (Live) - Unpeeled

Wilco - Cold Slope - Star Wars

Audacity - Cold Rush - Butter Knife

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Cold Wind - Baby 81

Sea Level - Electron Cold - On The Edge

David Bowie - She Shook Me Cold - The Man Who Sold The World

Queen - Stone Cold Crazy - Sheer Heart Attack

John Lennon And The Plastic Ono Band - Cold Turkey - Power To The People: The Hits

Kate Bush - James And The Cold Gun - The Kick Inside

Syd Barrett - She Took A Long Cold Look - The Madcap Laughs

The Who - Early Morning Cold Taxi - The Who Sell Out

Todd Rundgren - Cold Morning Light - Something/Anything?

Violent Femmes - Cold Canyon - The Blind Leading The Naked

Bob Dylan - Cold Irons Bound - Time Out Of Mind

The Pixies Three - Cold, Cold Winter - Growin' Up Too Fast: The Girl Group Anthology

James Brown - Cold Sweat, Pt. 1 - 20 All-Time Greatest Hits!

Lee Hazlewood - Stone Cold Blues - These Boots Are Made For Walkin': The Complete MGM Recordings

Gene Ammons/Sonny Stitt/Jack McDuff - Out In The Cold Again - Soul Summit

Jimmy Smith & Wes Montgomery - Baby It's Cold Outside - Jimmy & Wes: The Dynamic Duo

The Gaturs - Cold Bear - What It Is!: Funky Soul And Rare Grooves 1967-1977

The Sisterhood - Baby, It's A Cold Night In December - The American Song-Poem Christmas: Daddy, Is Santa Really Six Foot Four?

Tone-Lōc - Funky Cold Medina - Lōc-ed After Dark

Public Enemy - Cold Lampin With Flavor - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

#Milwaukee #WMSE #Radio #MKE #Cold #Music #Winter

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retrofonik · 5 years

Link

ROOTS (The History of Hip Hop) - Retrofonik (Includes samples of:)

Monster Jam - Spoonie Gee meets The Sequence Cissy Strut - The Meters Apache - Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band Wheels Of Steel - Grandmaster Flash Love Rap - Spoonie Gee Bra - Cymande Scorpio - Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band Bustin' Loose - Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers The Message - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five Last Night A DJ Saved My Life - Indeep 8th Wonder - Sugarhill Gang You Got The Love - Rufus with Chaka Khan Feel The Heartbeat - Treacherous Three Genius Of Love - Tom Tom Club Pump Me Up - Trouble Funk Here Comes That Sound Again - Love Deluxe That's The Joint - Funky 4+1 Rapper's Delight - Sugarhill Gang Good Times - Chic Apache - The Shadows The Breaks - Kurtis Blow Scorpio - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five Hum Along And Dance - Jackson 5 Get Into Something - Isley Brothers Rapper Dapper Snapper - Edwin Birdsong Apache - Sugarhill Gang Starlife - Kurtis Blow Give It Up And Turnit Loose - James Brown Party Time - Kurtis Blow It's Just Begun - Jimmy Castor Bunch Think - Lyn Collins Dance To The Drummer's Beat - Herman Kelly & Life Cavern - Liquid Liquid Melting Pot - Booker T & The MG's So Fine - Howard Johnson The Mexican - Babe Ruth Funky Drummer - James Brown Ashley's Roachclip - The Soul Searchers Momma Feel Good - Lyn Collins Tonight Is The Night - Betty Wright Listen To Me - Baby Huey Heartbeat - Taana Gardner Get The Funk Out Ma Face - Brothers Johnson Funky President - James Brown Christmas Rappin' - Kurtis Blow Daisy Lady - 7th Wonder Let's Start II Dance Again - Bohannon Pick Up The Pieces - Average White Band Tough - Kurtis Blow Love The Life You Live - Black Heat Rhythm Rap Rock - Count Coolout Glide - Pleasure Holy Ghost - Bar-Kays

#hiphop #oldschool #rap #retrofonik

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blackkudos · 6 years

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Isaac Hayes

Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American soul singer, songwriter, actor, producer, and voice artist. Hayes was one of the creative forces behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a session musician and record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the mid-1960s. Hayes and Porter, along with Bill Withers, the Sherman Brothers, Steve Cropper, and John Fogerty were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005 in recognition of writing scores of notable songs for themselves, the duo Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, and others. Hayes is also a 2002 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The hit song "Soul Man", written by Hayes and Porter and first performed by Sam & Dave, has been recognized as one of the most influential songs of the past 50 years by the Grammy Hall of Fame. It was also honored by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, by Rolling Stone magazine, and by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as one of the Songs of the Century. During the late 1960s, Hayes also began a career as a recording artist. He had several successful soul albums such as Hot Buttered Soul (1969) and Black Moses (1971). In addition to his work in popular music, he worked as a composer of musical scores for motion pictures.

He was well known for his musical score for the film Shaft (1971). For the "Theme fromShaft", he was awarded the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1972. He became the third African-American, after Sidney Poitier and Hattie McDaniel, to win an Academy Award in any competitive field covered by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He also won two Grammy Awards for that same year. Later, he was given his third Grammy for his music album Black Moses.

In recognition of his humanitarian work there Hayes was crowned honorary king of the Ada, Ghana region in 1992. He acted in motion pictures and television, such as in the movies Truck Turner and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, and as Gandolf "Gandy" Fitch in the TV series The Rockford Files (1974–1980). From 1997 to 2006, he voiced the character Chef on the animated TV series South Park. His influences were Percy Mayfield, Big Joe Turner, James Brown, Jerry Butler, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, and psychedelic soul groups like The Chambers Brothers and Sly and the Family Stone.

On August 5, 2003, Hayes was honored as a BMI Icon at the 2003 BMI Urban Awards for his enduring influence on generations of music makers. Throughout his songwriting career, Hayes received five BMI R&B Awards, two BMI Pop Awards, two BMI Urban Awards and six Million-Air citations. As of 2008, his songs generated more than 12 million performances. He also voiced the character of Chef in South Park for 10 seasons.

Life

Early life

Isaac Hayes, Jr. was born in Covington, Tennessee, in Tipton County. He was the second child of Eula (née Wade) and Isaac Hayes, Sr.

After his mother died young and his father abandoned his family, Isaac, Jr., was raised by his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Willie Wade, Sr. The child of a sharecropper family, he grew up working on farms in Shelby County, Tennessee, and in Tipton County. At age five Hayes began singing at his local church; he taught himself to play the piano, the Hammond organ, the flute, and the saxophone.

Hayes dropped out of high school, but his former teachers at Manassas High School in Memphis encouraged him to complete his diploma, which he did at age 21. After graduating from high school, Hayes was offered several music scholarships from colleges and universities. He turned down all of them to provide for his immediate family, working at a meat-packing plant in Memphis by day and playing nightclubs and juke joints several evenings a week in Memphis and nearby northern Mississippi.

Hayes's first professional gigs, in the late 1950s, were as a singer at Curry's Club in North Memphis, backed by Ben Branch's houseband.

Career

Stax Records and

Shaft

Hayes began his recording career in the early 1960s, as a session player for various acts of the Memphis-based Stax Records. He later wrote a string of hit songs with songwriting partner David Porter, including "You Don't Know Like I Know", "Soul Man", "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby" and "Hold On, I'm Comin'" for Sam & Dave. Hayes, Porter and Stax studio band Booker T. & the M.G.'s were also the producers for Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas and other Stax artists during the mid-1960s. Hayes-Porter contributed to the Stax sound made famous during this period, and Sam & Dave credited Hayes for helping develop both their sound and style. In 1968, Hayes released his debut album, Presenting Isaac Hayes, a jazzy, largely improvised effort that was commercially unsuccessful.

His next album was Hot Buttered Soul, which was released in 1969 after Stax had gone through a major upheaval. The label had lost its largest star, Otis Redding, in a plane crash in December 1967. Stax lost all of its back catalog to Atlantic Records in May 1968. As a result, Stax executive vice president Al Bell called for 27 new albums to be completed in mid-1969; Hot Buttered Soul, was the most successful of these releases. This album is noted for Hayes's image (shaved head, gold jewelry, sunglasses, etc.) and his distinct sound (extended orchestral songs relying heavily on organs, horns and guitars, deep bass vocals, etc.). Also on the album, Hayes reinterpreted "Walk On By" (which had been made famous by Dionne Warwick) into a 12-minute exploration. "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" starts with an eight-minute-long monologue before breaking into song, and the lone original number, the funky "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic" runs nearly ten minutes, a significant break from the standard three-minute soul/pop songs.

"Walk On By" would be the first of many times Hayes would take a Burt Bacharach standard, generally made famous as three-minute pop songs by Dionne Warwick or Dusty Springfield, and transform it into a soulful, lengthy and almost gospel number.

In 1970, Hayes released two albums, The Isaac Hayes Movement and To Be Continued. The former stuck to the four-song template of his previous album. Jerry Butler's "I Stand Accused" begins with a trademark spoken word monologue, and Bacharach's "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" is re-worked. The latter spawned the classic "The Look of Love", another Bacharach song transformed into an 11-minute epic of lush orchestral rhythm (mid-way it breaks into a rhythm guitar jam for a couple of minutes before suddenly resuming the slow love song). An edited three-minute version was issued as a single. The album also featured the instrumental "Ike's Mood," which segued into his own version of "You've Lost That Loving Feeling". Hayes released a Christmas single, "The Mistletoe and Me" (with "Winter Snow" as a B-side).

In early 1971, Hayes composed music for the soundtrack of the blaxploitation film Shaft. (in the movie, he also appeared in a cameo role as the bartender of No Name Bar). The title theme, with its wah-wah guitar and multi-layered symphonic arrangement, would become a worldwide hit single, and spent two weeks at number one in the Billboard Hot 100 in November. The remainder of the album was mostly instrumentals covering big beat jazz, bluesy funk, and hard Stax-styled soul. The other two vocal songs, the social commentary "Soulsville" and the 19-minute jam "Do Your Thing," would be edited down to hit singles. Hayes won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for the "Theme from Shaft", and was nominated for Best Original Dramatic Score for the film's score.

Later in the year, Hayes released a double album, Black Moses, that expanded on his earlier sounds and featured The Jackson 5's song "Never Can Say Goodbye". Another single, "I Can't Help It", was not featured on the album.

In 1972, Hayes would record the theme tune for the television series The Men and enjoy a hit single (with "Type Thang" as a B-side). He released several other non-album singles during the year, such as "Feel Like Making Love", "If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don't Want to Be Right)" and "Rolling Down a Mountainside". Atlantic would re-release Hayes's debut album this year with the new title In The Beginning.

Hayes was back in 1973 with an acclaimed live double album, Live At Sahara Tahoe, and followed it up with the album Joy, with the eerie beat of the 15-minute title track. He moved away from cover songs with this album. An edited "Joy" would be a hit single.

In 1974, Hayes was featured in the blaxploitation films Three Tough Guys and Truck Turner, and he recorded soundtracks for both.Tough Guys was almost devoid of vocals and Truck Turner yielded a single with the title theme. The soundtrack score was eventually used by filmmaker Quentin Tarantino in the Kill Bill film series and has been used for over 30 years as the opening score of Brazilian radio show Jornal de Esportes on the Jovem Pan station.

Unlike most African-American musicians of the period, Hayes did not sport an Afro and instead chose to shave his head bald.

HBS (Hot Buttered Soul Records) and bankruptcy

By 1974, Stax Records was having serious financial problems, stemming from problems with overextension and limited record sales and distribution. Hayes himself was deep in debt to Union Planters Bank, which administered loans for the Stax label and many of its other key employees. In September of that year, Hayes sued Stax for $5.3 million. As Stax was in deep debt and could not pay, the label made an arrangement with Hayes and Union Planters: Stax released Hayes from his recording and production contracts, and Union Planters would collect all of Hayes's income and apply it towards his debts. Hayes formed his own label, Hot Buttered Soul, which released its product through ABC Records.

His new album, 1975's Chocolate Chip saw Hayes embrace the disco sound with the title track and lead single. "I Can't Turn Around" would prove a popular song as time went on. This would be Hayes's last album to chart top 40 for many years. Later in the year, the all instrumental Disco Connection album fully embraced disco.

In 1976, the album cover of Juicy Fruit featured Hayes in a pool with naked women, and spawned the title track single and the classic "Storm Is Over". Later the same year the Groove-A-Thon album featured the singles "Rock Me Easy Baby" and the title track. However, while all these albums were regarded as solid efforts, Hayes was no longer selling large numbers. He and his wife were forced into bankruptcy in 1976, as they owed over $6 million. By the end of the bankruptcy proceedings in 1977, Hayes had lost his home, much of his personal property, and the rights to all future royalties earned from the music he had written, performed, and produced.

Basketball team ownership

On July 17, 1974, Hayes, along with Mike Storen, Avron Fogelman and Kemmons Wilson took over ownership of the American Basketball Association team the Memphis Tams. The prior owner was Charles O. Finley, the owner of the Oakland A's baseball team. Hayes's group renamed the team the Memphis Sounds. Despite a 66% increase in home attendance, hiring well regarded coach Joe Mullaney and, unlike in the prior three seasons, making the 1975 ABA Playoffs (losing to the eventual champion Kentucky Colonels in the Eastern Division semifinals), the team's financial problems continued. The group was given a deadline of June 1, 1975, to sell 4,000 season tickets, obtain new investors and arrange a more favorable lease for the team at the Mid-South Coliseum. The group did not come through and the ABA took over the team, selling it to a group in Maryland that renamed the team the Baltimore Hustlers and then the Baltimore Claws before the club finally folded during preseason play for the 1975-1976 season.

Polydor and hiatus, film work, and the Duke of New York

In 1977, Hayes was back with a new deal with Polydor Records, a live album of duets with Dionne Warwick did moderately well, and his comeback studio album New Horizon sold better and enjoyed a hit single "Out The Ghetto", and also featured the popular "It's Heaven To Me".

1978's For the Sake of Love saw Hayes record a sequel to "Theme from Shaft" ("Shaft II"), but was most famous for the single "Zeke The Freak", a song that would have a shelf life of decades and be a major part of the House movement in the UK. The same year, Fantasy Records, which had bought out Stax Records, released an album of Hayes's non-album singles and archived recordings as a "new" album, Hotbed, in 1978.

In 1979, Hayes returned to the Top 40 with Don't Let Go and its disco-styled title track that became a hit single (U.S. #18), and also featured the classic "A Few More Kisses To Go". Later in the year he added vocals and worked on Millie Jackson's album Royal Rappin's, and a song he co-wrote, "Deja Vu", became a hit for Dionne Warwick and won her a Grammy for best female R&B vocal.

Neither 1980s And Once Again or 1981's Lifetime Thing produced notable songs or big sales, and Hayes chose to take a break from music to pursue acting.

In the 1970s, Hayes was featured in the films Shaft (1971) and Truck Turner (1974); he also had a recurring role in the TV series The Rockford Files as an old cellmate of Rockford's, Gandolph Fitch (who always referred to Rockford as "Rockfish" much to his annoyance), including one episode alongside duet-partner Dionne Warwick. In the 1980s and 1990s, he appeared in numerous films, notably Escape from New York (1981), I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988), Prime Target (1991), and Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), as well as in episodes of The A-Team and Miami Vice. He also attempted a musical comeback, embracing the style of drum machines and synth for 1986s U-Turn and 1988s Love Attack, though neither proved successful. In 1991 he was featured in a duet with fellow soul singer Barry White on White's ballad "Dark and Lovely (You Over There)".

Return to fame and stardom

In 1995, Hayes appeared as a Las Vegas minister impersonating Himself in the comedy series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Hayes launched a comeback on the Virgin label in May 1995 with Branded, an album of new material that earned impressive sales figures as well as positive reviews from critics who proclaimed it a return to form. A companion album released around the same time,Raw and Refined, featured a collection of previously unreleased instrumentals, both old and new.

In a rather unexpected career move shortly thereafter, Hayes charged back into the public consciousness as a founding star of Comedy Central's controversial — and wildly successful — animated TV series, South Park. Hayes provided the voice for the character of "Chef", the amorous elementary-school lunchroom cook, from the show's debut on August 13, 1997 (one week shy of his 55th birthday), through the end of its ninth season in 2006. The role of Chef drew on Hayes's talents both as an actor and as a singer, thanks to the character's penchant for making conversational points in the form of crudely suggestive soul songs. An album of songs from the series appeared in 1998 with the title Chef Aid: The South Park Album reflecting Chef's popularity with the show's fans, and the Chef song "Chocolate Salty Balls" became a number-one U.K. hit. However, when South Park leaped to the big screen the following year with the smash animated musical South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Hayes/Chef was the only major character who did not perform a showcase song in the film; his lone musical contribution was "Good Love," a track on the soundtrack album which originally appeared on Black Moses in 1971 and is not heard in the movie

In 2000, he appeared on the soundtrack of the French movie The Magnet on the song "Is It Really Home" written and composed by rapper Akhenaton (IAM) and composer Bruno Coulais.

In 2002, Hayes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. After he played a set at the Glastonbury Festival, the same year a documentary highlighting Isaac's career and his impact on many of the Memphis artists in the 1960s onwards was produced, "Only The Strong Survive".

In 2004, Hayes appeared in a recurring minor role as the Jaffa Tolok on the television series Stargate SG-1. The following year, he appeared in the critically acclaimed independent film Hustle & Flow. He also had a brief recurring role in UPN's Girlfriends as Eugene Childs (father of Toni).

South Park

During the late 1990s, Hayes gained new popularity as the voice of Chef on the Comedy Central animated television series South Park. Chef was a soul-singing cafeteria worker for South Park Elementary. A song from the series performed by Chef, "Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)", received international radio airplay in 1999. It reached number one on the UK singles chart and also on the Irish singles chart. The track also appeared on the album Chef Aid: The South Park Album in 1998.

Scientology episode

In the South Park episode "Trapped in the Closet", a satire of Scientology which aired on November 16, 2005, Hayes did not appear in his role as Chef. While appearing on the Opie and Anthony radio show about a month after the episode aired, Hayes was asked, "What did you think about when Matt and Trey did that episode on Scientology?", he replied, "One thing about Matt and Trey, they lampoon everybody, and if you take that serious, I'll sell you the Brooklyn Bridge for two dollars. That's what they do."

In an interview for The A.V. Club on January 4, 2006, Hayes was again asked about the episode. He said that he told the creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, "Guys, you have it all wrong. We're not like that. I know that’s your thing, but get your information correct, because somebody might believe that shit, you know?" He then told them to take a couple of Scientology courses to understand what they do. In the interview, Hayes defended South Park's style of controversial humor, noting that he was not pleased with the show's treatment of Scientology, but conceding that he "understands what Matt and Trey are doing."

Departure from

South Park

On March 13, 2006, a statement was issued in Hayes's name, indicating that he was asking to be released from his contract with Comedy Central, citing recent episodes which satirized religious beliefs as being intolerant. "There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins," he was quoted in the press statement. However, the statement did not directly mention Scientology. A response from Matt Stone said that Hayes' complaints stemmed from the show's criticism of Scientology and that he "has no problem – and he's cashed plenty of checks – with our show making fun of Christians, Muslims, Mormons or Jews." Stone adds, "[We] never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin." Stone and Parker agreed to release Hayes from his contract by his request.

On March 20, 2006, Roger Friedman of Fox News reported having been told that the March 13 statement was made in Hayes's name, but not by Hayes himself. He wrote: "Isaac Hayes did not quit South Park. My sources say that someone quit it for him. ... Friends in Memphis tell me that Hayes did not issue any statements on his own about South Park. They are mystified." Hayes then had a stroke.

In a 2007 interview, Hayes said he had quit because "they [Parker and Stone] didn’t pay me enough... They weren’t that nice."

The South Park season 10 premiere (aired March 22, 2006) featured "The Return of Chef", a thinly veiled telling of the affair from Parker and Stone's point of view. Using sound clips from past episodes, it depicts Chef as having been brainwashed and urges viewers (via Kyle talking to the town) to "remember Chef as the jolly old guy who always broke into song" and not to blame Chef for his defection, but rather, as Kyle states, "be mad at that fruity little club for scrambling his brains." In the episode, the cult that brainwashed Chef is named the "Super Adventure Club" and is depicted as a group of child molesters who travel the world to have sex with prepubescent children from exotic places. In the end, Chef is unable to break free from his brainwashing and dies an extremely gruesome death, falling off a cliff, being mutilated by wild animals and shot several times. At the end of the episode he is shown as being resurrected as a cyborg in the style of the resurrection of Darth Vader at the end of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.

After

South Park

Hayes' income was sharply reduced as a result of leaving South Park. There followed announcements that he would be touring and performing. A reporter present at a January 2007 show in New York City, who had known Hayes fairly well, reported that "Isaac was plunked down at a keyboard, where he pretended to front his band. He spoke-sang, and his words were halting. He was not the Isaac Hayes of the past."

In April 2008, while a guest on The Adam Carolla Show, Hayes stumbled in his responses to questions—possibly as a result of health issues. A caller questioned whether Hayes was under the influence of a substance, and Carolla and co-host Teresa Strasser asked Hayes if he had ever used marijuana. After some confusion on what was being asked, Hayes replied that he had only ever tried it once. During the interview the radio hosts made light of Hayes's awkward answers, and replayed Hayes comments as sound drops—often simulating conversation with his co-hosts. Hayes stated during this interview that he was no longer on good terms with Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

During the spring of 2008, Hayes shot scenes for a comedy about soul musicians inspired by the history of Stax Records entitled Soul Men, in which he appears as himself in a supporting role. His voice can be heard in the film in a voice-over role as Samuel L. Jackson, Bernie Mac (who died the day before Hayes), and Sharon Leal's characters are traveling through Memphis, Tennessee. His first actual appearance in the film is when he is shown in the audience clapping his hands as The Real Deal does a rendition of Hayes's 1971 hit song "Do Your Thing." His next appearance consists of him entering The Real Deal's dressing room to wish them luck on their performance and shaking hands with Louis Hinds (played by Jackson) and Floyd Henderson (played by Mac). During this scene, Hayes also helps Hinds reunite with his long-lost daughter Cleo (played by Leal). His final appearance in the film consists of him introducing The Real Deal to the audience. The film was released on November 7, 2008.

Two months after his death, the South Park episode "The China Probrem" was dedicated to him.

Personal life

Family

Hayes had 12 children, 14 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Hayes's first marriage was to Dancy Hayes in 1960, ended in divorce.

Hayes's second marriage was to Emily Ruth Watson on November 24, 1965. This marriage ended in divorce in 1972. Children from this marriage included Vincent Eric Hayes, Melanie Mia Hayes, and Nicole A. Hayes (McGee).

He married bank teller Mignon Harley on April 18, 1973, and they divorced in 1986; they had two children. Hayes and his wife were eventually forced into bankruptcy, owing over $6 million. Over the years, Isaac Hayes was able to recover financially.

His fourth wife, Adjowa, gave birth to a son named Nana Kwadjo Hayes on April 10, 2006. He also had one son who is his namesake, Isaac Hayes III, known as rap producer Ike Dirty. Hayes's eldest daughter is named Jackie, also named co-executor of his estate and other children to follow Veronica, Felicia, Melanie, Nikki, Lili, Darius, and Vincent and he also had a daughter named Heather Hayes.

Scientology activism

Hayes took his first Scientology course in 1993, later contributing endorsement blurbs for many Scientology books over the ensuing years. In 1996, Hayes began hosting The Isaac Hayes and Friends Radio Show on WRKS in New York City. While there, Hayes became a client of young vegan raw food chef Elijah Joy and his company Organic Soul, Inc. Hayes also appears in the Scientology film Orientation.

In 1998, Hayes and fellow Scientologist entertainers Anne Archer, Chick Corea and Haywood Nelson attended the 30th anniversary ofFreedom Magazine, the Church of Scientology's investigative news journal, at the National Press Club in Washington DC, to honor eleven activists.

In 2001, Hayes and Doug E. Fresh, another Scientologist musician, recorded a Scientology-inspired album called The Joy Of Creating – The Golden Era Musicians And Friends Play L. Ron Hubbard.

Charitable work

The Isaac Hayes Foundation was founded in 1999 by Hayes.

In February 2006, Hayes appeared in a Youth for Human Rights International music video called "United". YHRI is a human rights group founded by the Church of Scientology.

Hayes was also involved in other human rights related groups such as the One Campaign. Isaac Hayes was crowned a chief in Ghana for his humanitarian work and economic efforts on the country’s behalf.

Stroke and death

On March 20, 2006, Roger Friedman of Fox News reported that Hayes had suffered a minor stroke in January. Hayes's spokeswoman, Amy Harnell, denied this, but on October 26, 2006, Hayes himself confirmed that he had suffered a stroke.

Hayes was found unresponsive in his home located just east of Memphis on August 10, 2008, ten days before his 66th birthday, as reported by the Shelby County, Tennessee Sheriff's Department. A Shelby County Sheriff's deputy and an ambulance from Rural Metro responded to his home after three family members found him unresponsive on the floor next to a still-operating treadmill. Hayes was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, where he was pronounced dead at 2:08 p.m. The cause of death was not immediately clear, though the area medical examiners later listed a recurrence of stroke as the cause of death. He was buried at Memorial Park Cemetery.

Legacy

The Tennessee General Assembly enacted legislation in 2010 to honor Hayes by naming a section of Interstate 40 the "Isaac Hayes Memorial Highway". The name was applied to the stretch of highway in Shelby County from Sam Cooper Boulevard in Memphis east to the Fayette County line. The naming was made official at a ceremony held on Hayes's birth anniversary in August 2010.

Awards and nominations

Discography

Presenting Isaac Hayes (1968)

Hot Buttered Soul (1969)

The Isaac Hayes Movement (1970)

...To Be Continued (1970)

Black Moses (1971)

Joy (1973)

Chocolate Chip (1975)

Disco Connection (1975)

Groove-A-Thon (1976)

Juicy Fruit (Disco Freak) (1976)

New Horizon (1977)

For the Sake of Love (1978)

Don't Let Go (1979)

And Once Again (1980)

Lifetime Thing (1981)

U-Turn (1986)

Love Attack (1988)

Raw & Refined (1995)

Branded (1995)

http://wikipedia.thetimetube.com/?q=Isaac+Hayes&lang=en

#Isaac Hayes

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coolveraverto · 6 years

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Fur, Feathers, and Fins (Chap 1)

Chapter 1: Why would some Quidditch extraordinaire want to work in a pet store? I seriously have no answer. But I’m determined to find out.

HPFT

Everyone else was rubbish. They were either too young and made butt-crack jokes, too old to keep up with the pace - or they simply just didn’t have it. I swear on Dumbledore’s beard - there just wasn’t anyone else qualified for the job. Honest.

When James Potter II walked into my father’s pet shop… well, I was quite surprised.

One: His Uncle owned the famous WWW joke shop in Hogsmeade so why the hell did he come in here looking for a job? Surely he could get a job at the family business. Or anywhere really; He was a Potter (surname props).

Two: I hadn’t seen him since our Hogwarts days. Except for that time over a year ago when I saw him in London shopping with a pretty blonde - not like he saw me. I think.

And Three: I knew him as the snarky and determined Gryffindor Quidditch star. Everyone at school always said he could be tough-as-nails on the Quidditch pitch (he made my best friend play with a broken wrist during the last match against Slytherin), and he was not as smart or walked around with his nose up in the air like his younger brother, but I always thought he sounded too cocky in sixth year Potions. So why would some Quidditch extraordinaire want to work in a pet store?

I seriously have no answer. But I’m determined to find out.

Since I could barely pick myself up without falling straight on my buttocks, we’ve had the shop. Here is a little history about Fur, Feathers, and Fins (AKA FFF):

Mum despised the shop. Dad was in absolute delight about it. FFF caused some major marriage problems between the two.

Backdrop: My parents, Alicia Spinnet and Nolan Mackenzie met at Hogwarts. Though hardly. Mum was two years behind him, a Gryffindor Chaser with a sharp tongue and no tolerance for distracting boys. Dad thought she was cute but he was a shy Hufflepuff that helped Hagrid feed the giant squid on weekends. It wasn’t until a year after she graduated when they ran into each other at a shared friend’s wedding. Long story short: They got married not even six months later. Everything was good - Dad was working at a muggle Bar and Mum was paying the bills because of the Harpies; They laughed and talked and mum prodded at his ribs whenever he sang terribly to her.

And then an abandoned shop went for sale in Diagon Alley. “This was my real chance!” he always says. It had always been his dream to open a pet store filled with all sorts of animals - magical and non magical. Anything with fur, feathers, and fins that wanted a home. And he was going to be the one to help that. Except mum hated it.

She wanted to open a Quidditch supplies shop. Anything that wasn’t even remotely human made her skin itch. And being seven months pregnant with me, she didn’t find it a spectacular idea. Something along the lines of, “You couldn’t even decide on bloody nursery wallpaper but you can decide on this in a split second!”

I spent the first four months of my babyhood yanking on the tails of Kneazles and swatting my chubby palms at flying Golden Snidgets. Mum only came to the shop when she absolutely needed to and Dad sometimes spent nights there alone. Then they got divorced.

I was too young to really understand it so having two parents that live in separate parts of the world and only speak to each other when it directly affects me was a norm growing up. I lived with Mum in Leeds until I went to Hogwarts and saw Dad on certain Holidays. He was so happy when I was sorted into Hufflepuff, and to be honest… I felt closer to him somehow. Mum scrunched up her nose like she always does but she never said anything.

Once I graduated Hogwarts, Dad offered me a job working for FFF. I immediately took it, moving into a flat in London with my best mate, and mum had gotten remarried to some boring bloke that didn’t age well. Dad is still hung up on her though and I only know this because he still has their wedding photos and such sitting around his house. I don’t say anything about them.

Anyway.

So for the last four years I have been working for FFF. Some people think it’s a complete joke - that it is easy. “Oh, you work at a pet store?” Like it’s lame. “All you do is feed them and wait for someone to take them home?” Like that shit is easy.

News Flash: It isn’t easy.

Some days I actually want to bury my head into a blender and make myself into a smoothie. The chirping and meowing and barking and growling and whatever else noises they can make can drive a person up a wall. So bloody loud and consistent. I don’t think I know what it’s like not to have a headache anymore.

And then we have to clean up after them. That’s right. The stuff that comes out of both ends of these magical buggers. And some are SO smart, in fact I think Monty (a kneazle) makes himself vomit on purpose because he knows I have to mop it up. They can be so cruel. And so nasty.

But the hardest part is: when they get adopted. I know, it’s what we’re even open for business for and whatnot. But I grow so fondly for each and every one of them, even the grumpy fur balls. It breaks my heart just a little when they leave the shop, but it’s a bittersweet feeling.

It wasn’t until the seventh employee that my dad hired had quit when he finally ordered me to hire the next. The thought of interviewing randoms made me nauseous - I was not cut out for that type of bizz. But we needed the extra help and so I made a funky flyer - and by “I made” I mean my best mate did - and suddenly I was interviewing at least a dozen people for three days straight.

But like I said prior: they all bloody sucked. The animals would hiss at some, hide from others - or the interviewees would scream at some, hide from others. It was turning out to be a bleeding mess. I was beginning to lose hope and starting to accept the fact that I was gonna have to work ten times harder.

And then James Potter walked through the door.

Cue the ironic sound bell from muggle rom coms.

His brown hair was styled with gel, his yellow tie was almost as bright as his face, which, to say the least, was dazzling. Of course I always admitted to myself that James Potter II was a handsome bloke, back in my Hogwarts days. It wasn’t like I daydreamed about him snogging me in the broom closets, but I did turn pink once when he picked up the quill I had dropped that one time. But seeing him grow from a teenager to a 20-something. . . Okay, he got better-looking.

He smiled awkwardly when he saw me and I looked like a right-damn idiot - my jaw practically sitting on the floor just staring at him like a pea-sized brain fish! But thankfully, I came to my senses, wiping my hands on my red trousers and trying to smile back. Key word: Trying.

“Can I help you with something?” I asked with my employee-polite-voice.

He whisked out parchment from his pants pocket. It was my stupid lime-green flyer. OH my Merlin.

“I’m here for a position?” He asked like it was a question, I almost laughed. “You’re still hiring right?”

“Um, yes, we are -”

Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Purrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Monty, the grumpy fat kneazle that hated everyone including me, was purring and trailing around James’ legs, making bright orange kneazle-fur to stick to his pants. You have got to be kidding me right now.

I snatched Monty away - trying not to get myself scratched in the process as Monty began wailing like something hideous. Which he is. “I am so bloody sorry, James. Truly, I do not know what has gotten into -”

“You remember me?” James asked, looking surprised. How could he even look surprised? Of course I’d remember HIM. But how in the bleeding world could someone like James Potter remember someone like ME? I had one friend in Hogwarts and I was - not going to lie - invisible.

“Well - yeah,” I replied lamely. And then out of bravery I asked, “You know me?”

James laughed. It was beautiful.

“If I can recall, you were always around Montgomery,” he explained and then he shook his head with a small smile playing on his lips. “You were always distracting that Keeper of mine. Could never block a quaffle when you were sitting in the stands. I guess it’s your fault we lost against Hufflepuff in the last match.”

Laughter erupted out of me so much I could barely control it. I never distracted Gavin during games. How could I even distract him? I was always too busy reading books on magical creatures to even know who won the blasted games.

James was looking at me weirdly and so I stopped laughing. Trying to play it cool I said, “I guess I just wanted my own House to win for a change. You Gryffindors were always too boastful.”

“Is that what you truly believe?” He was smiling like a kid on Christmas. “Maybe we were just trying to impress some pretty Hufflepuffs.”

Oh. My. Merlin.

Was he flirting?

He totally was.

Merlin.

I raised an eyebrow and decided to try to act like James Potter flirting with me was like bleeding normal or ordinary. “I’m not sure I can talk for all of my fellow Hufflepuffs, but I was too busy to notice arrogant teenage boys,” I said out loud, but on the inside I was dancing.

“Ah!” He jokingly put a hand over his heart like I had broken it. “My inner seventeen year old boy has a broken heart now. How dare you, Kitty Mackenzie.”

Oh. I hadn’t been called Kitty, other than by my father since I was in Hogwarts, so it was strange and unexpected when James said it. He was still grinning at me and I suddenly had the feeling that James Potter was a smiler and I would be damned if I were to be the one to break that smile.

“So. . .” I said as James picked Monty up off the ground and snuggled him against his chest. This cannot be real. When I finally wake up, I will realize this whole interaction had been a beautiful blissful dream. “When can you start?”

“You hired Harry Potter’s son?!” Dad has been freaking out since I told him the news of our new employee for the past like, ten minutes. His eyes are like saucers. “Harry Potter’s son is working for my pet shop.”

I roll my eyes and take a bite of my bread roll. In between bites I say, “Why do you keep saying his name like that? He’s just a person.”

“He’s not just a person, didn’t you learn anything in school?”

Yes, I know Harry Potter saved the wizarding world. He defeated the most evilest wizard ever. He’s the boy-who-lived. Yadada. Of course I know all about him, it’s basically imprinted in my brain forever. Especially since Dad worships the man. But he’s still just a person. And I could always tell James, and his siblings, didn’t like the special treatment they’d get all the time.

Instead, just to grind his gears a little more, I tell him all seriously, “No, never heard of him. I only learned about Nifflers.”

Dad gives me a look. “Do you realize how great this is for our shop?”

I raise an eyebrow. “How is James Potter great for the shop? He hasn’t even started yet. He might even quit like the last seven hires.”

Despite what I just told him, Dad smiles wide. “Everyone is going to want see Harry Potter’s son at work. Business will be booming!”

“Dad.” I sighed. “Don’t try to use this for publicity. I know you mean it from the heart but seriously, don’t. I think he might have some real potential.”

He studies me for a moment before nodding. “You’re right, I’m sorry Kitty. We shouldn’t even be discussing the shop. Let’s just eat this delicious dinner you cooked for us. This must have taken you ages, sweetie!”

“Oh, yeah,” I said, grinning. “One hundred percent a homemade meal.”

Okay, lie. It was totally take-out.

Later when I get to my flat, I run into a woman in the kitchen and almost scream.

Okay. I actually did scream.

“Merlin,” she gasps and almost drops the towel wrapped around her. Bloody hell, why is there a half-naked woman in my kitchen?!

The answer: Gavin. It’s always because of Gavin.

When I swing open his bedroom door, he curses and quickly tries to cover himself with a blanket. “Kaitlyn! Bloody hell! Can’t you knock?”

I lean against the doorway and give him a sour look. “Oh, I’m sorry. Are we talking about rules right now?”

Gavin sits on the edge of his bed and sighs. “Uh, I know. I know.”

I don’t budge. “‘Cause I thought we had a rule about you bringing women to the flat only on Fridays and Saturdays. NOT on Sundays. I almost just sucker punched that woman in the face, Gavin!”

He suppresses a laugh and I give him a look that could really freaking kill him. He gulps.

“I’m sorry, Kaitlyn but -”

The woman clears her throat behind me and I turn to her. She looks even more pissed than me. “Excuse me,” she says to me, “but did you say women as in plural or singular because I was under the impression that I was the only woman in Gavin’s life.”

“Uhhh,” I say, stumbling for words. Oh, crap. “Well. . . I mean, you’re not the ONLY woman in his life, I am his roommate.”

She raises her auburn eyebrows and her brown eyes dart back and forth between Gavin and I. He looks so nervous. “Really?” She says. “Wow. Huh. Because he said that his roommate was a guy.”

“Okay, I think I’m gonna let you two talk and - “ Gavin sends me pleading eyes as I slip past and run for cover.

I hear him say, “Babe, I know this looks bad but it’s kind of a funny story actually -” before the door shuts.

I would NOT like to be him right now. He’s my best mate since basically forever but the guy is a total womanizer. He had it comin’, as people say.

I’m sitting on the sofa eating popcorn when the redhead marches out, never even glancing my way, and Gavin jumps onto the seat beside me. He grabs a handful of popcorn and eats it like the animals at FFF.

“Whatcha watching?” He asks me brightly.

I raise an eyebrow. “A muggle film. Aren’t you a little upset about whatshername?”

“Why should I be upset? Everything is fine.”

“Oh. So you guys talked?”

“Oh, yeah,” he says. “We “talked” all right.” And then he wiggles his eyebrows.

“You’re a pig!” I tell him and shove him so hard that he nearly topples to the ground. Once he stops laughing I tell him that I actually hired someone.

“Woah! Congrats! Who’s the unlucky person?”

“Okay, so don’t freak out. . .”

“Why would I?” He asks me, his dark brows furrowing.

“I don't know. My dad did. And you know him from Hogwarts.”

Gavin looks surprised by this. “Really? Hmm. All right, tell me.”

“It’s James Potter.”

“Fucking Hell.”

“Gavin!” I exclaim.

He looks stony serious. “Sorry, sorry. It’s just. . . a bit weird that you hired James Potter. And you’re going to be working with him like, everyday now.”

“Why is that so weird?” I ask him.

“Because that girl - bloody hell - that girl is Lily Potter. James’ younger sister.”

Oh. Shit.

Hi! I hope you enjoy the first chapter! I am currently working on chapter 6 :)

#harry potter fanfiction #hpff #harry potter fanfic #hp next generation #harry potter next generation #hp next gen #james sirius potter #james sirius potter x oc #romance #fluff #humor #lots of cuddly animals

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