Wax Poetics Presents A Tribe Called Quest’s People’s Instinctive Travels 25th Anniversary Mixtape

Wax Poetics has Chris Read doing another Tribe Called Quest Mixtape and this one is a tribute to the 25th anniversary of their genre-expanding debut People’s Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm.




Wax Poetics’ Michael Gonzales Remembers Aaliyah’s Musical Legacy and Examines Her “Eternal Soul”

WaxPoeticsAaliyahMichaelGonzales

New York, NY – July 14, 2014 – As Hollywood reshuffles the casting deck for a posthumous bio-pic on R&B star Aaliyah, the summer issue of Wax Poeticsdelves into the singer’s background and career as it celebrates the 20th anniversary of her debut album Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number (Jive Records,1994). In his cover story “Eternal Soul,” veteran journalist Michael A. Gonzales fuses exclusive content from interviews with the late singer with recent recollections of those who guided her career, to reveal fresh insights into her short life.

Gonzales lays claim to being the first print journalist to interview the vocalist, just as her professional career was taking off. Having first met the singer at a Motor City Sheraton back in 1994, Gonzales says, “Aaliyah was a sweet, shy young lady. But I could tell immediately that she was serious about her art.” After going on to achieve fame as a singer and actress, Aaliyah died on August 25, 2001 at the age of 22 in a plane crash that also killed the pilot and eight other passengers.

Gonzales has a storied career as a journalist, having covered popular culture for more than 20 years and interviewing countless R&B legends, including Barry White, Curtis Mayfield and Sade. “When I first heard the R. Kelly-produced Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number, I was already comparing Aaliyah to pop legends Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Marilyn McCoo and Janet Jackson. She had a soothing and slightly-reserved soprano that was pop while still being soulful.”

Featuring stunning images shot by celebrity photographer Jonathan Mannion (Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z), “Eternal Soul” largely focuses on the singer’s musical legacy while briefly touching upon the sex scandal surrounding Aaliyah and her musical mentor R. Kelly. Covering the time-period between her first two albums Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number and the groundbreaking One in a Million, the article was culled from interviews Gonzales conducted from 1995 to 2005 with the late singer as well as R. Kelly, Wayne Williams, Timbaland, Missy Elliott, and Kelly’s former music teacher Lena McLin.

The chorus of voices Gonzales interviewed to compose “Eternal Soul” also includes Michael J. Powell, who produced Aaliyah’s earliest demos and is also best known for Anita Baker’s Rapture album; Jeff Sledge, former Jive Records A&R man, photographer Terrence A. Reese, who shot the Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number album cover; engineer Jimmy Douglass who has worked with producer Timbaland since the beginning of his career; Jason King, inaugural and founding faculty member of The Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music; fledgling artist/singer Courtney Noelle, the first lady of Wiz Khalifa’s Taylor Gang; Bill Banfield, composer and professor at the Berklee College of Music and pop journalist Elon Johnson.

Wax Poetics is a quarterly American music magazine dedicated to vintage and contemporary jazz, funk, soul, Latin, hip-hop, reggae, blues, and R&B in the crate-digger tradition. Wax Poetics #59 can purchased through their online store beginning August 5th.

“Eternal Soul” by Michael A. Gonzales http://www.waxpoetics.com/magazine
http://blackadelicpop.blogspot.com




Fat Beats & Wax Poetics Announce Record Store Day Pop-Up Shop & Party

(April 07, 2011 – Brooklyn, NY) Fresh off the success of their premiere pop-up shop in March, Fat Beats Brooklyn is pulling out all the stops for an all-day, all-out celebration of vinyl culture and live music. From noon to 11pm on Record Store Day (Saturday, April 16), the hip-hop juggernaut will transform their DUMBO warehouse into a hip-hop Woodstock complete with performances by The Stepkids, Chico Mann, Phenomenal Handclap Band, Neek the Exotic & Large Professor, DJ Center, Mista Sinista, !llmind, Amir, Eternia, Danny Dann the Beat Mann, Masta Ace, Maticulous, Kev Brown & Kaimbr, Ray West, and many surprise guests. The event commemorates the one-year anniversary of Guru’s passing with a funk interpretation of Gang Starr classics from Fat Beats’ newest label addition, CSC Funk Band.

Not only will Fat Beats’ massive vinyl library be available for purchase at the event, but also everyone in attendance will receive a 10% off coupon for the newly re-launched fatbeats.com, a chance to win free printing of 500 record jackets sponsored by Dorado Printing, and Wax Poetics will be raffling off a free one-year subscription. So come early, leave late, and make sure to bring all your friends – this is going to be a party for the ages.

The Details:

What: Fat Beats & waxpoetics Record Store Day Pop-Up Shop & Party
Who: Neek The Exotic & Large Professor, The Stepkids, Chico Mann, DJ Center, Phenomenal Handclap Band, Amir, DJ Jab, !llmind, Eternia, maticulous, Double U Tomek, Danny Dann the Beat Mann, Kev Brown & Kaimbr, Ray West + a special Gang Starr tribute by CSC Funk Band, Mista Sinista, Masta Ace & surprise guests
When: Saturday, April 16th, noon – 11pm
Where: 110 Bridge St. 3rd Floor | Brooklyn, NY




Cover Story Volume Two By The Staff At Wax Poetics

COVER STORY VOLUME TWO: Odd, Obscure, And Outrageous Album Art, the second installment in the COVER STORY series from Wax Poetics Books, continues a graphic narration of the vibrant subculture of record collecting through the art of the album cover. This volume focuses specifically on strange and bizarre record covers, selected by the staff of Wax Poetics and major collectors of music’s avant-garde.

The COVER STORY series vividly explores an element of music culture that has withered with the advent of MP3s and digital downloading. Vinyl records tell their stories visually as much as they do aurally, and the record cover—eye candy for the music lover—speaks a language rooted in the environment and era of the music itself. COVER STORY VOLUME TWO celebrates the products of music’s most eclectic and eccentric figures—those whose artistic visions were so absurd and grandiose, they often extended beyond the boundaries of the recording and onto the album covers themselves.

First published in December 2001, Brooklyn-born Wax Poetics hit newsstands with a new vision for music journalism, creating a bridge between the past and present of hip-hop, jazz, funk, soul, reggae, disco, and Latin music. Although originally created for a concentrated market of music aficionados, the magazine’s audience has grown exponentially, making musical anthropologists out of average music listeners and spawning a soul renaissance, complete with comeback tours and sophomore efforts. Wax Poetics illuminates the dark corners of our sonic past, while also striving to give new and innovative artists the credit they truly deserve.

MUSIC / ART / DESIGN
Paperback, 7.6875 x 7.6875 inches, 268 pages, 263 four-color images ISBN: 978-0-9798110-3-6 $24.95