Happy Birthday: Michael Jackson

Here we are celebrating the life and legacy of "The King of Pop", Michael Jackson, once again. As usual, you know I had to do a tribute mix in his honor. This one is filled will all remixes of your favorites by DJ's and producers from around the world. Enjoy!

Rock My World 2014 by Djkoolemdee on Mixcloud

HAYWYRE: Smooth Criminal

About a week ago, Minneapolis born producer Haywyre, born Martin Voigt, posted this smashing video of his re-interpretation of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal". His start to learn piano came at the age of six, then honed his skills as a pianist after spending time in the capitol of classical music, Austria.

The following comment is Haywyre's expression of his view of the track. He doesn't consider it to be a remix:

This video marks one of many more performance videos that I will be uploading in the future. The performance aspect to my tracks has always been absolutely huge; this video explores this concept to its fullest.

Also, re-interpreting a great musicians track can be controversial. Most of the time a balance between material from the original track and new material is expected. My remixes have always contained way more new material than content from the original track; hence I felt it wasn't appropriate to call this work a remix.

Additionally, I will not be posting this track to my Soundcloud because I think its meant to be an audio-visual experience. Hope you all dig it, more coming soon!

-M

J-Dilla: Sum Spooky Sh*t

For those that caught my Dilla Jackson mixtape, I used this beat from J-Dilla's Beat Tape '05 to remix the end dialog by Vincent Price from Michael Jackson's "Thriller". This beat was also used for Q-Tip's "Fever" song.

Micahel Jackson: Thriller

The day wouldn't be complete without the official full length "Thriller" video from Michael Jackson and cast. Happy Halloween! [insert Vincent Price maniacal laugh]

Forever Michael 2013: Tribute Mix

It's been two years since i've done my last Michael Jackson tribute mix. So, in honor of his birthday I mixed up another batch of his tunes. Don't forget about the previous tribute mix I did in 2011 that's still available on the same page as this mix. Hope you enjoy!

Anu~Sun ft. Augi & Robert Glasper - Off The Wall

For those about to take your lunch break, central time of course, here's a mid-day melody for you from New York City based songwriter and drummer Anu~Sun, who is the godson of Jazz legend Lionel Hampton. Anu recreates Michael Jackson's classic "Off The Wall" by altering the timing and the adding of Rhodes type chords to give it more of an abstract jazzy feel. Accentuating the track are the vocals of Augi and Robert Glasper tapping the black and whites.

For fans of Robert Glasper, Grammy Award winning collective The Robert Glasper Experiment will be doing a free show at Houston's Miller Outdoor Theatre on August 16th.

RE:MIX LIVE: Motown Edition

On March 21, 2013, Re:Mix Live kicked off their premiere showcase of some of the hottest producers and DJs from the DMV area who paid homage to the artists from the Motown catalog, as well as the Michael Jackson/Jackson 5 Edition follow-up on July 14th. For those that couldn't be there, Re:Mix Live uploaded a promo CD as a gift that features the sounds of Maverick, Nick tha 1da, Grussle and Praise. Judging from the recap video, looks to have been a great show. For more information and for future dates of this recurring show, give them a "LIKE" on Facebook.

RE:MIX LIVE: Motown Edition Download

Michael Jackson: Remember The Time (Louis La Roche Remix)

Today is the day we pay our respects in remembering Michael Jackson, who passed away on this day four years ago. With this fantastic remix of "Remember The Time" by Louis La Roche, this is an excellent way to celebrate the life and legacy of the King of Pop. Oh yeah. It's a free download folks!

Happy Birthday: J-Dilla

Another cycle has come for the date of birth of one of the greatest Hip-Hop and Soul producers of all time, the legendary James Dewitt Yancey a.k.a. "J-Dilla/Jay Dee" of Detroit. In case you hadn't grabbed it before, here's the Dilla Jackson Mixtape I co-produced in 2009 in tribute. Listen and download below.

Happy Halloween!

Just want you all to be safe this evening as you take the kiddies out on the hunt for candy and goodies, as well as all the fun you plan to have at the parties on this occasion. Here are a couple of tunes to help set the tone.

Tall Black Guy ft. Renee Dion - "Thrill Seeker (Thriller)"



Whodini - "The Haunted House of Rock"

Tall Black Guy: Shake It Baby

From time to time I make it a point to give back to the community in various ways, especially through music. This past Friday I took the time for more children and families in a low income neighborhood to provide tunes for a fall festival that a local organization threw for them. Since many communities like this are more into mainstream and "booty music", I set up and show them there are alternatives to what they consider "the norm" by playing music they are more than likely not familiar with, but still showing them that other music outside of what they listen to regularly or exposed to can still sound good. This time around, I played about 10 to 15 Tall Black Guy cuts in a row, and for every song I played, a few people would come up and ask who it was. Seriously, there were even 60 and 70 year old men and women nodding their heads to his music. So today, The Record Realm is proud to feature another smash from the beat surgeon titled "Shake It Baby". ENJOY!

Friday Flashback: Michael Jackson

On August 31, 1987, Michael Jackson released his seventh studio album titled BAD, where eight of the ten song LP were written by Michael. Nine of the songs were issued or played as singles, with history being made as BAD was the first album to have five singles from it to peek at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart consecutively. Today marks the 25th anniversary of its release and a re-release in multiple formats called BAD 25 is scheduled to drop on September 18th. As of this year, it is reported there have been 30 to 45 million units [or more] of the album sold worldwide. Along with the original album, Bad 25 will contain unreleased demo recordings and a live CD and DVD of Jackson's performance at Wembley Stadium during his Bad World Tour. A box set and vinyl pressings of the album will be released. A remix version of BAD was done by Afrojack. Thankfully, most of the integrity of the song was left intact and Afrojack didn't go overboard with it.

Happy Birthday: Michael Jackson

We salute and honor the "King of Pop", Michael Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) on today, his date of birth. Your memory lies deep in us, those who love you and cherished your many works. Plenty of lives are thankful for you and your humanitarian efforts that touched regions around the globe.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the release of BAD, which dropped in 1987 during the month of August. The Michael Jackson tribute mix I did last year is still available for free download via my podcast page here on the blog. Be sure to check out my Dilla Jackson remix project. Here's one of the remixes I did from the mixtape titled "They Don't Care (F--k The Police)". ENJOY!

DJ Kool Emdee: Tech House v.1

Time to put on your dancing shoes, grab your favorite neon object and rock out to this Tech House mix I did a few hours ago.



Tracklisting:

01. Wonji ft. H. Membrano - My World of House
02. Stefano Noferini - Funky Music
03. Tom Nory ft. Michael Marshall - Your Body (Lissat & Voltraxx Remix)
04. Truelove - Rock The Casbah
05. Robert Dietz - Pandemic
06. Joris Voorn - Incident (Miyagi)
07. Do Santos - Noti Verisi
08. Doomwork - Get Down
09. John Dahlback - Work It Out
10. Phil Kieran & Green Velvet - Michael Jackson (Mic Jack In Version)
11. Phunk Investigation - 1980's (Original Mix)

DJ Kool Emdee: Dilla Jackson Mixtape

This is a remix project I put together in 2009 as a tribute to both J-Dilla and Michael Jackson after being inspired by "Time: Donut of the Heart" that contains the sample of "All I Do Is Think of You" by The Jackson 5 from J-Dilla's Donuts beat CD. This mix is FOR PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is in no way intended to infringe on copyrights or any illegal activity. If there is any violation or a request to take this down by either family, please contact me by email and it shall be removed.

Farewell Don Cornelius

Donald Cortez "Don" Cornelius
(September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012)

For the last couple of months I have been catching reruns of old Soul Train episodes on Bounce TV. Just the other night I was watching one from 1993 and laughing like crazy because it seemed like everybody who were guest performers on the show did New Jack Swing and all the dancers were dressed like New Yorkers and Londoners, and did the hottest dances of the time. Then today, I get the sad news that the beloved man, Don Cornelius, the mastermind behind this pioneering show that lasted for more than 4 decades signed off. Today, Soul Train is the longest running television series in the history of television.

As I try to type this, the words are sort of hard to come by, because I grew up on this show. To eagerly wait Saturday afternoons for the show to air to hear the infamous SOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUL TRAIN as the train came chugging down the tracks and then the fabulous and cool Don C giving his classic intro to let you know that it was time to boogie. The memories of the scramble board, the style, trivia and more importantly, the history of our people and culture that continued to help give us a sense of pride. Let's not forget the long list of our favorite artists that spanned various genres who, in most cases lip synced their own tunes, with the coaching of Mr. Cornelius.

The climax of the show was the even more infamous SOUL TRAIN LINE. A genius idea that swept the country and maybe even the world. It was the chance for dancers on the show to display their best moves. And for those who watched, it could double as a source of comedy and to learn the latest dance crazes. Latter episodes has all the women and men together in their own separate lines. Earlier episodes contained the classic style that's still practiced today where the ladies are on one side of the line, while the men are on the other, and a single man and woman would come down in pairs to do it til they're satisfied.

The video below is one of the episodes with Mr. Cornelius interviewing Mary Wilson of The Supremes. After the interview, they both get together and cut a rug after she mentions that she wanted to get her shot at joining the line on the show. I never knew that Don danced in the line and could actually get down.

As always, the closing of the show was as classic as it gets. The well wishing catchphrase to everyone in ear-shot, that also at this point can be used as his farewell;

"And you can bet your last money, it's all gonna be a stone gas, honey! I'm Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and soul!"

Tall Black Guy vs Michael Jackson: Remix Suite

As said before, I just got familiar with Tall Black Guy and see that he makes some pretty dope tracks. In honor of Michael Jackson's birthday, we're going to continue with more freebies on this day for The King of Pop.

Be sure to check out more releases from TBG on his Bandcamp page. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday: Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson
(August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009)
Birthday wishes are going out to The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, who is recognized by the world as being the most successful entertainer of all time. During the late 70's and 80's, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. By the mid-1980's, he became a permanent fixture in pop music and a staple of MTV (Music Television), having several music videos in heavy rotation. Jackson also is a pioneering figure in making music video more artistic.

Jackson's 1982 album Thriller is the best-selling album of all time. His other records, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and HIStory (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He was also inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the first (and currently only) dancer from the world of pop and rock 'n' roll. Some of his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award); 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century"); 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era); and the estimated sale of over 750 million records worldwide. Jackson won hundreds of awards, which have made him the most-awarded recording artist in the history of popular music.

Below is a tribute mix I did in his honor. The cover art for this mix was done by me as well. To view complete track listing, visit my podcast page here. Enjoy!

AFTA-1 & Cazeaux Oslo: Marvelous Magical Jackobious Son (A Sweaterless Suite)

Los Angeles based producer AFTA-1 teams up with vocalist Cazeaux Oslo for a reinterpretation of two Michael Jackson songs ("Don't Spot Til You Get Enough" & "PYT"), dedicated to his memory. You can purchase the track via their Bandcamp page. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday: Brenda Lee & Jermaine Jackson

Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), better known as Brenda Lee, is a performer who sang rockabilly, pop and country music, and had 37 US chart hits during the 1960s, a number surpassed only by The Beatles, Ray Charles and Connie Francis. She is best known for her 1960 hit "I'm Sorry", and 1958's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", a US holiday standard for more than 50 years.

At 4 ft 9 inches tall, she received the nickname Little Miss Dynamite in 1957 after recording the song "Dynamite"; and was one of the earliest pop stars to have a major contemporary international following.



*************************************************************************************


Jermaine Jackson (born December 11, 1954) is an American singer, bassist, composer, a member of The Jackson 5, older brother of American pop stars Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson and occasional film director. He also produced and recorded duets with American singer Whitney Houston in her early years as a recording artist.

Here's my favorite track by Jermaine written and produced by the legendary Stevie Wonder (he also provided background vocals on this track). Pay close attention and you'll hear Wonder's signature sound.