MAGIC NEGRO

Good Times

From Monday Madness::

1. What was your favorite TV show(s) as a child?

When I was a child, I was a major watcher of all of the African-American (black) comedies. What’s Happening! tops my list as my all-time favorite African-American-based comedy. Other shows that I watched faithfully when I was young include Good Times, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son and probably one of the most underrated black comedies of the '70s, That's My Mama.

2. What show(s) did you hate?

The only shows I hated when I was younger were the 6 p.m. local news followed by the 6:30 p.m. national news. My mom forced us to watch these programs because she wanted to balance what my brother and I were watching on television. Every once and a while, my mom would also flip the channel and turn it to an educational program on PBS and force us to watch it.

3. What show(s) did your family gather around the TV to watch?

We would always gather around the TV for Soul Train.

4. What show(s) is currently your favorite?

The Shield, Chappelle's Show, MTV’s The Real World and all of the Law & Order shows.

5. What show(s) do you hate now?

Almost all of the "Reality-TV" shows including American Idol, Average Joe, Survivor, etc.

Holla!

I Am Dust Blown Away

Who is this soulful cat Van Hunt?

Capitol Records gets a big fat "F" on promotions. I'm barely hearing Van Hunt on the radio here on the east coast. Wake up urban radio stations! BET -- where are y'all at?

I didn't know this 26-year-old soul-music phenom was coming out with a CD until I visited the brotherlove's weblog. Based on the brotherlove's effusive praise, I went out and purchased the CD. And after several listens, I have to say that Van Hunt's self-titled debut is a beautiful collection of eclectic soul.

The brotherlove did a phenomenal job reviewing Van's 12-track soulful debut. In a nutshell, the brotherlove describes Van Hunt's impressive collection like this:

The 12 tracks on Van Hunt consist of soul-based yearnings and observations, smoldering with muted falsettos, deep basslines and catchy keyboarding in a gumbo of jazzy R&B and funk, with a dash of psychadelica. It's tempting to compare his release to offerings by Andre 3000 and Raphael Saadiq however, Van Hunt's consistency and musicianship deserves accolades of its own. Evident throughout the songs are traces of his impressive, earlier work with Dionne Farris, Cree Summer, Joi and Rahsaan Patterson.
A must-have for soul-lovers exhausted by radio formulary and definitely one of the best releases of 2004 so far.

-- Word, it gets a thumbs up from me, as well.

My favorite joints:: "Dust"; "What Can I Say"; "Precious"; "Hold My Hand"; "Out of the Sky"

Here's an interesting tidbit: Van Hunt is being managed by Randy Jackson -- the svelte-y cool judge on Fox's American Idol. And R&B piano songbird Alicia Keys sang his praises last year, calling him "an incredible musican."

Now only if urban radio and video outlets starts spinning his songs and new video (for "Dust") -- then everything would be gravy.

In the meantime . . . enjoy the soulful ride!

Van Hunt's CD Track Listing/Music

Holla!