August 8th is celebrated in the music community thanks to the Roland TR-808 drum machine, a programmer that gave Hip-Hop, House, Electro and more a solid base to craft memorable jams on. The TR-808 was introduced by the Roland Corporation of Japan in 1980, on the heels of the CR-78,…
Saturday August 9 marks the birthday of Barbara Mason, an accomplished singer and songwriter out of Philadelphia who can not only claim the first Philly soul hit, but the first true dramas set to music. She was just 17 years old when “Yes I’m Ready” soared to No. 2 on…
There will be no Soul Train Awards or Hip-Hop Awards on BET for the foreseeable future. BET CEO Scott Mills confirmed that the network is suspending both awards shows, citing a need to “reimagine the format.” The suspension of the Soul Train and Hip-Hop Awards come at a fragile time…
Breakwater started life in 1970s Philadelphia as a cover band but quickly turned into a funk-jazz-rock-R&B outfit who held their own with the best bands of the day. Two albums on Arista Records have become Dusty Groove and collectors’ favorites and after the passing of leader Kae Williams Jr., the…
WWE superstar and current Women’s World Champion Naomi (real name Trinity Fatu) had a very special guest for her entrance at Sunday’s SummerSlam premium live event. Naomi’s father, veteran guitarist Shawn McCray of The Derek Mack Band, shredded his strings live in front of over 56,000 people as his daughter…
Alex Isley’s WHEN EP has already earned favorite status with her core fans and newbies discovering her considerable vocal and songwriting talents. “Thank You For A Lovely Time” now gets an extra boost from another musical genius – Raphael Saadiq, who lent his production skills to the EP’s closing song…
Cashmere was an electro-funk group from the city of Brotherly Love who found their way onto the dance charts with a song that shared a title with an earlier Philly classic. People’s Choice, one of the newer acts on Philadelphia International Records’ TSOP sub label, struck it big in early…
Dana Meyers, a key part of SOLAR Records’ songwriting and production team that churned out hits for The Whispers, Lakeside, Shalamar and others, died suddenly earlier this week. He was 73 years old. Mr. Meyers was born in Dayton, Ohio and moved to Los Angeles and quickly became a part…
Tyler The Creator is on an incredible hot streak that continues with his dance-oriented 9th studio album, DON’T TAP THE GLASS. DON’T TAP THE GLASS debuted this week at No. 1 on Billboard’s 200 albums chart, the fourth consecutive project from the California artist to earn that distinction. Tyler posted…
The Blackbyrds, a jazz-funk band formed at Howard University by legendary trumpeter Donald Byrd, are still flying high 50 years after their third album City Life contained the classic hit “Rock Creek Park.” Original member and current leader Keith Killgo was gracious enough to chat with us On The Groove…