Tag: babyface
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Jheri Curl June: The Mac Band’s “Roses Are Red”
Like other LaFace productions of its vintage, “Roses Are Red” captured a transitional moment, with the hard-hitting drums (played by L.A. himself) heralding the coming of New Jack Swing. But just watch the video above, which looks like a group of uncles getting a few wine coolers deep and spontaneously trying to recreate Prince’s video…
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Jheri Curl June: Surface’s “Falling in Love”
For the past nine years, we’ve harped on a lot about the sonic signifiers that make Jheri Curl Music what it is: your clean bass and rhythm guitar, your programmed drums, your layered synths, and so on. But one sound we’ve never had cause to mention is the flute… that is, at least, until now.
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Jheri Curl June: Bobby Brown’s “Don’t Be Cruel”
As we’ve mentioned before, by the late 1980s, the sound of mainstream R&B was developing into what would become known as New Jack Swing. We’ve been writing about this for five years now, so if you don’t get it by now, let me explain it in Pokémon terms: your starter Pokémon is Disco. With love,…
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The Prince Issue Podcast with Guest Erika Peterson
As you may have heard, we recently launched a physical magazine, the first issue of which is dedicated to eclectic art and writing inspired by the music of Prince. So, to celebrate a successful launch–and to get us back in podcasting mode after an unplanned six-month leave of absence–we invited Erika Peterson, a friend and…
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Jheri Curl June: After 7’s “In the Heat of the Moment”
After 7 were formed in 1988, just in time to partake in Jheri Curl Music’s swan song before the genre gave way to the emerging New Jack Swing style. The group consisted of Kevon and Melvin Edmonds–brothers of singer, songwriter, and Jheri Curl June inductee Babyface–as well as Keith Mitchell, who was (incorrectly) rumored to be…
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Jheri Curl June Special: L.A. Reid
If you’re a regular Jheri Curl June reader, then you should already know that the first week of June holds special signifance in jheri curl music history. As we noted back in our very first Jheri Curl June Special of 2014, Prince’s birthday falls at the end of the week, on June 7. Just a…
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Jheri Curl June: Shalamar’s “Imaginary Love”
By 1987, Shalamar’s classic lineup of Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, and Jeffrey Daniel had disbanded. The lineup for Shalamar’s ninth studio album, Circumstantial Evidence, consisted of Sidney Justin, a former backup singer for the group who replaced Hewett when he left in 1985 to pursue his solo career; DeLisa Davis, who auditioned to replace Watley after her…
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Jheri Curl June: The Whispers’ “Rock Steady”
On Tuesday we talked about the Deele, the Ohio-based R&B group that kickstarted the careers of Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds. Today we look at one of the songs the duo produced under their production company, Deelesongz, Inc.: the Whispers’ “Rock Steady.” The Whispers were formed in 1963 by twins and black Mario…
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Jheri Curl June: The Deele’s “Stimulate”
In 1989 Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds founded LaFace records, the record company responsible for Usher, OutKast, TLC, Pink, and Toni Braxton, among others. Back in 1985, though, they were sporting bright pink satin dress shirts and impressive jheri curls with the rest of the boys in the Deele, yet another funk and…