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Documenting the music trailblazers, cultures and stories that shape the sounds of yesterday, today, and beyond.
With his revolutionary variety show Soul!, Ellis Haizlip unapologetically put down a marker that said, “This is the Black Experience.”
Written by John Kruth
As front man of the beloved Delfonics, William Hart brings an unmistakable falsetto and uncanny songwriting about love and heartbreak.
Written by Ronnie Reese
U-Roy was known as the Originator because he transformed the deejay, making incidental figures attached to sound systems into actual stars.
Written by David Katz
Bunny Lee is one of the key figures of Jamaican popular music. An active force in one form or another during the last four and half decades, Lee started out as a record plugger....
Written by David Katz
Brooklyn band B.T. Express bridged the gap between funk and disco, and were the first funk band to play at the White House.
Written by Jay “J-Zone” Mumford
An interview with writer Heather Augustyn.
Written by Seb Carayol
Mikey Dread was one of those unique artists that Jamaica produces every so often—his musical creations and nonconformist personality indicating a man cut from a different cloth.
Written by David Katz
Randy Muller kicked off a trend in disco arrangements that would sweep the globe and help make New York City the epicenter of dance music.
Written by Andrew Mason
“It was clear. It was fresh,” replies GZA, when asked how his head was while making Liquid Swords.
Written by David Ma
Questlove’s journey uniquely qualified him to bring footage from the fabled Harlem Cultural Festival to full fruition in Summer of Soul.
Written by A. D. Amorosi
Sly and the Family Stone cofounding guitarist Freddie Stone talks about the making of one of their biggest albums ever, Stand!
Written by Chris Williams
The story of how two influential musicians joined forces with Coretta Scott King to secure a national holiday to memorialize her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Written by Chris Williams
Beginning 1971, Steve Wonder utilized the synth wizardry of Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff to create three of his most iconic albums.
Written by Chris Williams
“Wake Up Everybody” was the mood on that record. These jokers weren’t playing.
Written by Chris Williams
Guitarist James “Blood” Ulmer immersed himself in New York City’s avant-garde scene and traded musical concepts with Ornette Coleman.
Written by John Kruth
Producer Joseph Patel breaks down the unique challenges he faced giving life to Questlove’s vision of Summer of Soul.
Written by Jessica Lipsky
Some thought Gene McDaniels disappeared for five years. Former fans thought his first album in five years was on some new shit; they didn’t recognize what they heard in Outlaw.
Written by Brian DiGenti
Wax Poetics founder Andre Torres sits down with the singer-songwriter Eugene McDaniels, whose revolutionary melding of jazz and soul got the attention of the FBI.
Written by Andre Torres
Harry Whitaker arranged one of the most infamous albums of 1970.
Written by Andrew Mason
Damon Locks and the Black Monument Ensemble tackle the moment with a musical and artistic approach to activism.
Written by Piotr Orlov
The U.K. jazz-funk movement, often misunderstood and underestimated, was hugely influential and continues to echo in today’s sounds.
Written by Greg Wilson
In 1958, pianist Ahmad Jamal recorded a show tune entitled “Poinciana” at a hip, Black-owned venue called the Pershing Lounge in Chicago’s South Side.
Written by Eugene Holley Jr.
It was 1960’s Giant Steps that thoroughly and inexorably changed the saxophonist’s game going forward.
Written by A. D. Amorosi
The funky ballad of David Bowie’s time in Philly, the making of Young Americans, and his transition into Station to Station.
Written by A. D. Amorosi
Bill Coleman is a long-standing ambassador of NYC club and music culture.
Written by Piotr Orlov
Syd tha Kyd and Matt Martians have emerged from production, engineering, and DJing roles within the Odd Future crew to claim their own stake in the movement of Black musical expression.
Written by Andre Torres
New York’s gay landmark the Continental Baths was a DJ incubator for Larry Levan and Frankie Knuckles.
Written by Dan Gentile
A tale of two pandemics and a therapist whose unique approach to the unwell and to music-making gives us an undiscovered and heartening tale.
Written by Justin Turford
“The greater hip-hop community is starting to realize they can’t do this shit without us—and we as Queer women aren’t going to compromise who we are any longer.”
Written by Tamara P. Carter
THEESatisfaction’s Catherine Harris-White and bandmate and partner Stasia Irons met in 2006 during their time at college and discovered a number of parallels.
Written by Marisa Aveling
The U.K. jazz-funk movement, often misunderstood, was hugely influential and continues to echo in today’s sounds. Part 2 of our story...
Written by Greg Wilson
The U.K. jazz-funk movement, often misunderstood, was hugely influential and continues to echo in today’s sounds. Part 3 of our story...
Written by Greg Wilson
From sneaking listens to off-limits records in his older brother's room to eventually ruling the dance floor himself, a North London dancer looks back at the U.K. jazz-funk scene.
Written by Cav Manning
Motown engineer Bob Olhsson discusses Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On.
Written by Chris Williams
Sergio Mendes enters a new decade, revamps his band as Brasil ’77, and rubs shoulders with Harrison Ford, Stevie Wonder, the Brothers Johnson, and Pelé.
Written by Allen Thayer
Lani Hall soared to great heights as the lead singer for Brasil ’66 and as a musical muse for bandleader Sergio Mendes.
Written by Allen Thayer
Daymé Arocena is a burst of light energy—an interstellar body in the constellation of Afro-Cuban world music.
Written by Tamara P. Carter
In the late 1970s through mid-’80s, a Japanese DIY scene flush with post-punk attitude and electronic ambience offered a darker vision of the country’s boom years.
Written by Anton Spice
DJ Muro’s arrival heralded the coming of another king to claim his crown in the lineage of hip-hop royalty…the King of Diggin’.
Written by James O'Connor
DJ Krush embarked on a journey with Mo’ Wax that found the turntablist/producer using hip-hop’s breakbeat foundation while pioneering a new genre of abstract instrumentals.
Written by Danny Masao Winston
Producer Kip Hanrahan pulls an all-star cast of jazz and blues musicians together to bring novelist/poet Ishmael Reed’s words to life.
Written by John Kruth
Schifrin is a musical chameleon with a sense of drama so heightened, an expertise and scope so wide-angled, that some cinematographers he has worked with had to have been jealous.
Written by Dan Ubick
Through live jam sessions and studio recontextualization, drummer and producer Makaya McCraven cultivates a conduit between the jazz roots of improv and the expansive branches of modern music.
Written by Jeff D. Min
You couldn't ask for a better guide to New York club culture than Danny Krivit. He sits with Wax Poetics to share twelve influential records.
Written by Andrew Mason
Monophonics singer-songwriter Kelly Finnigan got his start spinning hip-hop and making beats, which led to an obsession with studio production and classic analog keyboards.
Written by Eric Luecking
Look Around the Corner, the newest project from Alice Russell and multi-instrumentalist producer Will “Quantic” Holland, is an effort that exudes comfort.
Written by David Ma
Of all the musical acts that have referenced tropicália, the Brazilian art/film/music movement of the late ’60s, Chicano Batman most embody its key concept: cultural cannibalism.
Written by Allen Thayer
It was 1987, and a nervous teenager, palms sweaty, made his way to the grimy old Times Square, hoping to score.
Written by Andrew Mason
Although Odean Pope has performed alongside everyone from Jimmy Smith to James Brown, perhaps the wisest decision of the saxophonist’s career was to stop playing.
Written by Jon Kirby
Visionary organist Doug Carn brought a spiritual lyricism to his soulful jazz offerings on Black Jazz Records.
Written by Robert Offner
The first of a four-part interview that gets to the heart of the talent and charm of the late, lamented Gregory Jacobs, aka Shock G.
Written by Alice Price-Styles
The second of a four-part interview that gets to the heart of the talent and charm of the late, lamented Gregory Jacobs, aka Shock G.
Written by Alice Price-Styles
The third of a four-part interview that gets to the heart of the talent and charm of the late, lamented Gregory Jacobs, aka Shock G.
Written by Alice Price-Styles
The last of a four-part interview that gets to the heart of the talent and charm of the late, lamented Gregory Jacobs, aka Shock G.
Written by Alice Price-Styles
Born in West London in the mid- to late ’90s, broken beat (aka bruk) was created by a community of producers with their roots in a variety of London’s club scenes.
Written by Andy Thomas
Ramsey Lewis always operated in the popular realm, successfully crossing over from jazz to the pop-R&B world but always doing it with soul.
Written by Ronnie Reese
From its psychedelic black and white cover by David Stahlberg to its perfect 1968 production by Gary McFarland, Dreams has remained one of my most treasured LPs.
Written by Dan Ubick
Guitarist Junior Marvin had a choice: join the Wailers or Stevie Wonder...
Written by Chris Williams
New York City’s roller-disco scene in the 1970s rivaled long-established DJ clubs and introduced a new outlet for breaking current music.
Written by Andy Thomas
San Francisco’s Om Records is primarily known for house and downtempo. But it had a potent, if short-lived, offshoot dedicated to hip-hop...
Written by Dean Van Nguyen
Amongst the hundreds of artists who recorded at Stax Studios in the 1960s, Linda Lyndell was a minor figure. But her song “What a Man” has had a surprising longevity...
Written by Oliver Wang
A chance meeting thousands of miles from home led to a one-off recording session and the creation of Disco Jazz, cult favorite. Singer Rupa Sen tells her story.
Written by David Ma
It took many months and twice as many phone calls to get Quincy Jones on the line. Once he called back, the man was everything you could have hoped for.
Written by John Kruth
Iconic composer Giorgio Moroder got his start writing and producing pop music in Germany. But an encounter with Donna Summer would change his career forever.
Written by A. D. Amorosi
Pete Rock keeps active nowadays by doing what he perfected as a teenager: putting sounds into his sampler and banging out beats.
Written by David Ma
“He is a beautiful cat,” I was told about celebrated Brazilian drummer and percussionist Ivan “Mamão” Conti, and I could hear it in his voice.
Written by Ronnie Reese
Sharon Jones is the real deal. She’s an atomic bomb of funk that may come in a small package, but when it’s unleashed, no one is left standing. They’d rather dance.
Written by Robbie Busch
Producer Jneiro Jarel has followed a path of faith, experimentation, and artistic expression that has helped him create both a cache of original music and peace of mind.
Written by Jeff D. Min
Nina Simone had no filter. She spoke with candor about civil rights when many in her position didn’t dare. She sang about uncomfortable subjects....
Written by Michael A. Gonzales
In 1970s New York, photography student Chris Stein found his muse in singer Deborah Harry. Together they formed Blondie, merging cutting edge downtown visual style with a pop sensibilty.
Written by Andrew Mason
Cynthia Robinson was a single mother when she joined Sly and the Family Stone as a trumpeter and vocalist in 1966. Her story winds from the very start of the band into the next century...
Written by Michael A. Gonzales
Tenor sax player and arranger Gene Barge left his job teaching social studies, music, and English in Virginia, to work at Chicago’s famed Chess Records in 1964.
Written by Andria Lisle
Keyboardist George Duke had his ecclectic beginnings playing with Frank Zappa’s band. Then he conquered the funky jazz scene on Germany’s MPS label.
Written by Jon Kirby
A prolific musician and songwriter, King Curtis was an in-demand session man who played on records with many legends, from John Lennon to Aretha Franklin.
Written by Michael A. Gonzales
Jazz drummer and hip-hop producer Karriem Riggins recently moved from L.A. back to his hometown Detroit, the city where his heart beats.
Written by Marisa Aveling
Amoeba Music opened on November 17, 1990, in Berkeley, California, offering an eclectic palette of music...
Written by John Kruth
What’s the future of dance music? Godfathers of the new EDM movement Daft Punk have proposed an answer in the form of a question.
Written by Andre Torres
Premier is passionate and deadly serious about what he does, and on this evening he was relentless in articulating his philosophy of hip-hop.
Written by Andrew Mason
Living in post-9/11 Manhattan, I’ve had to learn to be more flexible than Gumby. I need more arms than Durga to field all the curve balls life’s throwing at me.
Written by John Kruth
Isaac Hayes, William Bell, Al Bell, Bettye Berger, Deanie Parker and Calvin Newborn share stories of Memphis during Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.
Written by Andria Lisle
First-call funksters, the Meters have provided the backbone to countless classics. But the story of the band remains seldom-told.
Written by Ronnie Reese
Yusef Lateef discusses his colorful musical experiences that influenced his sonic persona and the influential producer Joel Dorn adds his unique perspective.
Written by John Kruth
Jazzy Jay has been digging since day one. Peeking into his basement studio in the heart of Brooklyn conjures up the dusty ghosts of crates past.
Written by Robbie Busch
Remembering the life of J Dilla, featuring conversations with those closest to him, including Q-Tip, Common, Busta Rhymes, Questlove and more.
Written by Ronnie Reese
Back in the good old days of 1977 when gas lines were long and unemployment was high, there were two schools of DJs competing for Black and Latino audiences in New York City....
Written by Mark McCord
Ask music lovers what Detroit means to them, and you’ll probably hear mention of Berry Gordy or Norman Whitfield, perhaps George Clinton. That said, techno's roots can't be ignored.
Written by Dan Bean
Back in the early ’60s, my sister’s hipster boyfriend used to bring his Herbie Mann albums over to our house, along with a couple Modern Jazz Quartet and Mose Allison records....
Written by John Kruth
When did you first hear the Skull Snaps? Was it in the summer of 1993 when the Pharcyde’s “Passin’ Me By” rode the pneumatic drums of the...
Written by Andrew Mason
The true story of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
Written by Mark McCord
Welcome to the world of Daniel Dumile, whose youthful nickname of “Doom,” a phonetic abbreviation of his last name, has come to describe one of the most masterful rap artists.
Written by Andrew Mason
I’d finally done it. Somehow I managed to scrape together the loot, eighty-some bucks to buy the Ornette Coleman box set Beauty Is a Rare Thing and was on my way home...
Written by John Kruth
Written by Andria Lisle
An excerpt from People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee “Scratch” Perry
Written by David Katz
It was an overlooked song by one of the more underrated rappers of his generation, and it was a masterpiece.
Written by Mark McCord
Willed into being by one man, Earth, Wind & Fire became one of the biggest acts of the 1970s.
Written by Ericka Blount Danois
Meeting Tom Moulton is a bit like meeting Henry Ford. Whether you know it or not, if you’ve driven a car, you owe something to Ford. And if you’ve danced in a club....
Written by Andrew Mason
Meet Kool DJ Red Alert, part of the trinity of DJs that fostered the Zulu Nation during the early days of hip-hop, along with Afrika Bambaataa and Jazzy Jay.
Written by Robbie Busch
The Fishtail Bar in the Bay Watch Resort in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is right out back overlooking the beach. Dozens of families are crowded in several swimming pools....
Written by Mark McCord
Slick Rick set the standard in rap’s glory years
Written by David Ma
Shuggie Otis sits down for a conversation to discuss his early life, main guitar inspirations, turning down a gig with the Rolling Stones and much more.
Written by Ronnie Reese
DJ Shadow discusses transformations in record-buying culture, how his interest in 45s began, his first digging experience, and pinpoints the record that “changed his life.”
Written by David Ma
Sure, tropicália is more than one band, but Os Mutantes encapsulated the movement’s reckless cultural cannibalism, absurdist humor, and innovative music like no one else.
Written by Allen Thayer
Jimmy Cliff is one of reggae’s true pioneers. Helping to inaugurate the Beverley’s Records label in the early 1960s....
Written by David Katz
David Holmes grew up as the youngest of ten in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With so many older siblings, he was surrounded by music from a very early age.
Written by Robbie Busch
In an arena where MCs seldom have extended careers, Wu-Tang’s Ghostface Killah has increasingly improved through two decades after his 1996 solo debut, Ironman.
Written by David Ma
It starts with a check for $3.19. Without that check, there is no Motown. Without Motown, there is no Smokey Robinson. Without them, say good-bye to Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Marvin....
Written by Travis Atria
The streets of New York City weren’t very pretty in the 1970s. Littered throughout once welcoming communities, an influx of heroin junkies, many broken young brothers home....
Written by Michael A. Gonzales
The progressive singer teams up with producer Madlib for bountiful Seeds, which she calls Black music “in the tradition of anyone who wasn’t scared.”
Written by David Ma
After a rather combative interview with Teddy Pendergrass for Wax Poetics 33, I was often asked, “What was up with Teddy that day?”
Written by Ronnie Reese
“The wildness is exquisitely wholesome. Furious dancing. Gentle laughter. Crepe paper and tinsel. Body energy shakes the room…”
Written by Andy Thomas
Tim Maia was never satisfied. Brazil’s number one soul brother had a voracious appetite for both carnal and philosophical indulgences.
Written by Allen Thayer
Although enlightened music fans the world over were saddened by the passing of organist Lyman Woodard, the relationship that Wax Poetics had formed with the gifted musician and composer....
Written by Jon Kirby
I had no expectations going into this interview with Teddy Pendergrass at the Conrad Chicago hotel.
Written by Ronnie Reese
Gamble and Huff were master chefs in the Philly soul kitchen.
Written by Ronnie Reese
The Hot 8 Brass Band is a juggernaut of sweat, breath, metal, and drums, a powerhouse that lets nothing get in its way.
Written by Andrew Mason
After I interviewed DJ Rhettmatic for the Record Rundown in Wax Poetics Issue 22, he mentioned being clowned by fellow World Famous Beat Junkie J.Rocc for exceeding the normal...
Written by Ronnie Reese
Hiatus Kaiyote is four uniquely talented individuals whose musical alchemy creates a whole that is more magical than its parts.
Written by Marisa Aveling
Little Dragon’s brand of electronic future funk and fractured pop-soul was delivered the old-fashioned way, through nonstop touring.
Written by Allen Thayer
When greats like Pete Rock and DJ Premier acknowledge people of influence, they often mention Large Professor.
Written by David Ma
Lamont Dozier was a natural-born hitmaker. His famed songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland gained unparalleled success in the R&B world...
Written by Travis Atria
It’s hard to imagine an era when an industry giant like Capitol Records would have to choose between signing Brief Encounter or Maze.
Written by Jon Kirby
9th Wonder chats with Wax Poetics about the records that influenced him and discusses his mission to teach hip-hop history to the next generation.
Written by David Ma
Written by Travis Atria
It could be argued that the real architect of Chicago house music was in fact a wild and pioneering DJ by the name of Ron Hardy.
Written by Andy Thomas
That Teena Marie has authored several of the most enduring classics of modern funk is undeniable.
Written by Andrew Mason
“As some folks say, I helped create the disco music, the house music, and a lot of other different things,” says Bohannon.
Written by Ronnie Reese
Barrington Levy, the most important and best-admired vocalist to emerge from the early dancehall movement, discusses his past, present and future.
Written by David Katz
There are a few things to know about Erykah Badu. First, she lives on a different plane. One that only true-blue, dyed-in-the-wool artists inhabit.
Written by Travis Atria
Singer, songwriter, and musician Michael Eugene Archer, who later adopted the jiggy stage name D’Angelo, released his groundbreaking album, Brown Sugar, in 1995.
Written by Michael A. Gonzales
It was winter of 1994, and I had just scored a sweet assignment to interview the king of “champagne soul,” Barry White, in Europe.
Written by Michael A. Gonzales
Let it be known: this time around, Bilal is not about love songs.
Written by Marisa Aveling
L.A. bass beast Thundercat mixes jazz intricacies with sweeps of forward thinking electronic inspiration.
Written by Marisa Aveling
Ishmael Butler effortlessly made his mark on hip-hop in 1993 with his unique voice and delivery, and then flipped the script with Shabazz Palaces.
Written by Jon Kirby
Pianist Robert Glasper for years made straightahead jazz records and experimented with fusion on the side. Now he embraces the totality of Black music to bring jazz up to speed.
Written by Marisa Aveling
When Nasir Jones released his 1994 debut Illmatic, his use of several superstar producers on the same album set a hip-hop precendent that forever changed the game.
Written by Travis Atria
It was Aug. 11, 1973, and a teen from the Bronx, NY, named Coke was helping his homeboy Clive “Kool Herc” Campbell set up stereo equipment for a party scheduled for that night.
Written by Michael A. Gonzales
Following in the footsteps of Double Dee & Steinski, Prince Paul, and the Dust Brothers, DJ Shadow would push the boundaries of sampling...
Written by David Ma
On a sunny October morning in 2015, a historic marker was placed in front of Sigma Sound Studios, the Philadelphia landmark recording hot spot.
Written by A. D. Amorosi
Kamasi Washington received worldwide recognition for arranging and playing saxophone on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly.
Written by Allen Thayer
Producer, songwriter, and organist Edwin Birdsong is the anonymous genius behind some of jazz-funk’s most cosmic moments.
Written by Andy Thomas
Composer, arranger, and producer Thom Bell has quietly made his mark on the sound of popular music for the last half century.
Written by A. D. Amorosi
Growing up with a roller-disco mom and drummer dad, Kon has been chasing the perfect beat his entire life.
Written by Allen Thayer
I’ve been fortunate enough to know “Poppa” Willie Mitchell for a handful of years. When we first met, in August 2000, I was working for Ike Turner, who decided to...
Written by Andria Lisle
Brazilian singer Ed Motta channeled his lifelong love for well-produced AOR groups like Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers and delivers a slick and melodic ode to yacht rock.
Written by Allen Thayer
Getting his first shot with Marley Marl’s Juice Crew—and the posse cut “The Symphony”—Kool G Rap was a real hip-hop OG.
Written by David Ma
On the heels of her best-selling debut, Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number, fifteen-year-old Aaliyah was rocked by a sex scandal that would have crushed a lesser talent.
Written by Michael A. Gonzales
The Roots first hit the national spotlight as a live hip-hop act with their 1993 indie debut, Organix...
Written by Ericka Blount Danois
“My style is combined from a lot of different things I got growing up,” veteran producer and DJ Louie Vega states.
Written by Andrew Mason
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