Of all things, it took a Family Guy episode to remind me of how dope Terence Trent D’Arby was. Hearing the familiar instrumental sing-songy refrain of Wishing Well, I was immediately possessed by the urge to pop in Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D’Arby and groove to some of the Eighties’ best pop/soul.
For a second, it seemed like D’Arby was destined for world domination. His raspy voice drew comparisons to the soul greats of old, he had killer dance moves to rival Prince and Michael Jackson, and he had this cool British air about him-never mind the fact that he was American. Introducing the Hardline went Platinum, Wishing Well hit #1, D’Arby delivered a knockout performance on the 1988 Grammys, and then won one for himself a year later.
You know how Kanye West’s mouth is big? Well, TTD was the Kanye West of his day, making outlandish pronouncements and dripping in pretension. That pretension turned out to be his downfall, as his second album, Neither Nor Flesh, was a resounding flop despite tons of promotion-most of which came from D’Arby himself. Stretching himself topically and artistically (the album’s actually quite good), Flesh went way over the heads of the teenage girls who bought the Wishing Well single, and suddenly D’Arby was a nobody again.
Those of you who thought D’Arby’s story ended there, though, would be wrong. He made two albums in the Nineties (Symphony or Damn, which is decent, and Vibrator, which is excellent) although neither made much noise. After severing ties with his label in the late Nineties, he moved to Europe, settling in Germany and then Italy. His last commercially released album was 2003’s TTD’s Wildcard, but he continues to make music and releases it now through his website. Oh yeah, and Terence Trent D’Arby is no longer Terence Trent D’Arby. In 2001, he legally changed his name to Sananda Maitreya.
While he might be seen as a one-album wonder to most casual music fans, TTD’s music is some of the most challenging and eclectic pop/soul/rock of its’ time. From 1989’s Billy Don’t Fall (a song on which TTD supported a gay friend) to 1995’s Undeniably (which contains one of Branford Marsalis’s most batshit-crazy solos), he’s continually pushed the artistic envelope. Too bad most music fans didn’t hang around to see that Terence Trent D’Arby is almost as good as he thinks he is.
Grammy has had an interesting relationship with hip-hop over the years. They didn’t institute a rap category until 1988, and for those first few years, it seemed like the rap categories were some kind of joke. They went to safe-rap artists like Young MC and DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, while unquestionably more talented artists like Public Enemy went winless. Hell, I’m not sure if Ice Cube, an undisputed hip-hop legend, has ever even been NOMINATED for one of those statues.
Over the past years, Grammy’s reputation has gotten better, although it could be argued that they still play it safe to an extent. Eminem, Kanye West and OutKast have almost completely ruled the rap category this decade, with Jay-Z swooping in for a few trophies along the way. This year’s nominees don’t offer anything embarrassing, but I wonder if seeing the same names over and over is an indication of Grammy’s unwillingness to look beyond the status quo or an indication of how much hip-hop fuckin’ sucks these days.
Anyway, here are the nominees in the rap categories
Best Rap Solo Performance
Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)…(Jay-Z)/ A Milli (Lil Wayne)/Paris, Tokyo
(Lupe Fiasco) / N.i.*.*.e.r. (The Slave And The Master)(Nas)/Sexual Eruption
(Snoop Dogg)
Will Win: Jay-Z
Should Win: Jay-Z
WTF?: After the kind of year T.I. had, where the hell is he?
All five nominees in this category are pretty solid. However, Nas’s track is a political hot potato, which should be enough for it to not win. Snoop’s song is more singing than rapping (as good as it is), and Lupe Fiasco, despite a Grammy win already, isn’t well known enough to take this one home. There’s the possibility that Wayne could walk away with this in light of having the biggest selling album of the year, but I go with Jay-Z, due to his previous Grammy success (one of his five trophies is in this category for “99 Problemsâ€) and because his song’s the best of the five nominees.
Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group
Royal Flush (Big Boi Featuring Raekwon And Andre 3000)/ Swagga Like Us (Jay-Z & T.I. Featuring Kanye West & Lil Wayne)/ Mr. Carter (Lil Wayne Featuring Jay-Z)/ Wish You Would (Ludacris Featuring T.I.)/ Put On (Young Jeezy Featuring Kanye West)
Will Win: “Swagga Like Usâ€
Should Win: This category sucks
WTF: The Roots (previous Grammy winners) made a great record, and they’re actually a rap GROUP as opposed to a superstar collaboration. Where are they?
Despite the fact that all four artists on the song are nominated elsewhere in the SAME category, or maybe because of it, this one’s a no-brainer for the “Swagga†camp. The fact that they’re performing on the show seals the deal. The only other song that has a snowflake’s chance in hell is “Mr. Carterâ€. The Big Boi and Ludacris songs aren’t especially well-known, and while “Put On†was the biggest hit, I just can’t see Young Jeezy winning a Grammy.
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
American Boy (Estelle Featuring Kanye West)/ Low (Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain)/ Green Light (John Legend & Andre 3000)/ Got Money
(Lil Wayne Featuring T-Pain)/ Superstar (Lupe Fiasco Featuring Matthew Santos)
Will Win: “American Boyâ€
Should Win: “Green Lightâ€
WTF?: T-Pain gets nominated twice. Sigh.
Well, the good thing about seeing T-Pain twice in this category is that he’ll more than likely cancel himself out, leaving three songs with a legitimate chance of winning (despite “Low†being the year’s biggest single, I can’t imagine anyone giving Flo-Rida a Grammy). Lupe’s song feels like it’s been out for 10 years already, so people have already forgotten. The Grammy folks love John Legend AND Andre 3000, so there’s a chance that the deserving “Green Light†could sneak in, but I pick “American Boyâ€, which is the only song in this category nominated in one of the 4 major categories (Song of the Year).
Best Rap Song
Lollipop: D. Carter, S. Garrett, D. Harrison, J. Scheffer & R. Zamor, songwriters (Lil Wayne Featuring Static Major)/ Low: Tramar Dillard, M. Humphrey, Faheem Najm, Korey Roberson & Howard Simmons, songwriters (Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain) Sexual Eruption:Calvin Broadus, S. Lovejoy & D. Stewart, songwriters (Snoop Dogg)/ Superstar:Lupe Fiasco & Soundtrakk, songwriters (Lupe Fiasco Featuring Matthew Santos)/ Swagga Like Us: Jeff Bhaskev, D. Carter, S. Carter, Clifford Harris, Plain Pat & Kanye West, songwriters (M. Arulpragasam, N. Headon, M. Jones, J. Mellor, T. Pentz & P. Simonon, songwriters) (Jay-Z & T.I. Featuring Kanye West & Lil Wayne)
Will Win: “Lollipopâ€
Should Win:â€Superstarâ€
This is a songwriter’s award, so while it would be nice to see M.I.A. and the members of The Clash win a Grammy (“Swagga Like Us†samples a line from M.I.A.’s smash “Paper Planesâ€, which gets its’ musical bed from The Clash’s “Straight to Hellâ€), the fact is that all of the performers except T.I. give subpar lyrical performances. Wait? Since when does that matter at the Grammy Awards? In this case, I pick Lil’ Wayne to win in this category, because the biggest hit usually wins, and “Low†is automatically disqualified because, again, no one’s voting for Flo-Rida. Lupe’s “Superstar†(and T.I.’s verse from “Swaggaâ€) are the only legitimately solid lyrical accomplishments in this category, however. “Swagga†could sneak past and win this. Either way. Lil’ Wayne is going home with something in this category.
Best Rap Album
American Gangster (Jay-Z)/ Tha Carter III (Lil Wayne)/ The Cool (Lupe Fiasco)/ Nas (Nas)/ Paper Trail (T.I.)
Will Win: Lil Wayne
Should Win: Pick’em
WTF: Again, The Roots should have been represented here. They wouldn’t have won, but they should have been in the category.
With five solid entries in this category, it’s difficult to pick a winner. Or is it? Nas’s album, despite the album title controversy, flew under the radar and Fiasco’s relative anonymity will be his downfall. I should (and will) pick Lil Wayne to win because his album was the most popular in the category (and is the only one nominated in one of the Big 4, with his nod for Album of the Year), but T.I. is the it guy right now and the Grammy folks might want to pick the artist that’s freshest in their minds. He could sneak this one out, as could Jay-Z, as the elder statesman and a previous winner in this category (for “Hard Knock Lifeâ€). “American Gangster†got quite solid reviews (reasoning beyond me), so that could push it over the top.
Whoever wins which category, I say Lil Wayne brings home a lot of trophies regardless.
A song called Hands to Heaven by a band called Breathe immediately conjures up thoughts of things airy and light. So no surprise that this song is one of the most beautifully ethereal songs to ever hit the Top Forty. Singer David Glasper whispers the verses before going into full out croon mode in the song’s choruses.The prototypical ’80s sax wails away and what you have is one of the most perfect breakup ballads of them all.
Breathe is one of those bands that should have caught on but never really did. Hands to Heaven peaked at #2 in the summer of ’88, and its’ follow-up, How Can I Fall, landed just a notch behind, however, sales of their album All That Jazz were unimpressive. Album #2, Peace of Mind, brought Glasper to the forefront with a “featuring” credit. That didn’t change the band’s fortunes much. The album bombed, even though two singles landed in the Top Forty. Both albums aren’t bad if you like the whole 80s stately British thing (think Johnny Hates Jazz or Spandau Ballet). I’m sure you can find ’em pretty cheap, so check them out if you desire.
Grammy has had an interesting relationship with hip-hop over the years. They didn’t institute a rap category until 1988, and for those first few years, it seemed like the rap categories were some kind of joke. They went to safe-rap artists like Young MC and DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, while unquestionably more talented artists like Public Enemy went winless. Hell, I’m not sure if Ice Cube, an undisputed hip-hop legend, has ever even been NOMINATED for one of those statues.
A song called Hands to Heaven by a band called Breathe immediately conjures up thoughts of things airy and light. So no surprise that this song is one of the most beautifully ethereal songs to ever hit the Top Forty. Singer David Glasper whispers the verses before going into full out croon mode in the song’s choruses.The prototypical ’80s sax wails away and what you have is one of the most perfect breakup ballads of them all.