Aleem had long been a part of New York’s thriving Black music scene, going back to their association with a wild-child guitarist from Seattle named Jimi Hendrix in the 1960s.
TaharQa Z. and Tunde Ra Aleem, also known as the Fantastic Aleems, started their own NIA Records imprint in 1979 and had a few hits on the label, including the space-age 1983 banger “The Return of Captain Rock” by Captain Rock.
In 1984, the Aleem brothers decided to revive their own singing and songwriting careers with “Release Yourself,” an underground club hit.
The next year, continuing their working relationship another Harlem unsung hero, Leroy Burgess, Aleem dropped “Confusion,” an electrofunk masterpiece about one of the world’s oldest plights; One woman, two men.
The sound was in step with the times thanks to a heavy hitting drum machine, synth bass, an underrated guitar line and twinkling keyboards. The lyrics tell a tale of a man whose mind is blown by the situation he finds himself in with a lady and his best friend.
Jamming to this on the dance floor had to be a confusing, but fun experience.
Check out “Confusion” by Aleem:
