Parliament - I'm Gon Make U Sick O'Me

Ohhhh, sookie sookie now! We going ol' school in the Playground today! You smell that? Huh? You smell that stank in the air? That's the smell of some old nasty funk about to be put on ya! Yeah, I'm talking about some founding-fathers type stank that'll make you shake what yo momma gave ya'! That's right, Dr. Funkenstein, Brother George Clinton, is back and he's bringing the P-Funk with Parliament and the Mothership just like back in the day. This funk is so viral it is sho nuff sho to make you sick! So check out Parliament's I'm Gon Make U Sick O'Me!!!!! 

Childish Gambino - This is America

So Childish Gambino, aka Donald Glover, has come out with new music and a new video that is taking the world by storm. I heard someone the other day say that Gambino is this generation's Prince due to his multifaceted talent. Well, first of all, get the hell out of here with that noise! Now, don't get me wrong, I love Gambino and think that the man is an absolute genius. But there was and is only one Prince and that is the Purple Yoda from Minnesota, all others are just wanna-bes, you know? Oh, ummmm.... sorry I sort of went off on a rant there. Anyway, check out Childish Gambino's awesome new joint This is America. The hidden and not so hidden meaning will kill ya!

Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles - Controversy

I saw this and I knew immediately that I had to share it. After all, it is real music by real musicians. Here is Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles jamming at Kaufleuten in Zürich, Switzerland on 4/24/18 with an awesome, energetic cover of Prince’s Controversy. The band seem to be having so much fun with it and even add the “party” chants from 1999 at the end. I believe Prince would’ve approved of this performance. Watch and see what you think then let me know in the comments.

Tasha Cobbs Leonard - You Know My Name

I thought this was too amazing not to share. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Love 4 One Another @ the store

Okay, this actually happened a couple of months ago but I’m just now getting around to writing about it because… well, you know me, life got in the way. So, you see, Ms. Spooky and I were in the grocery store shopping and had just finished and headed to the checkout line.  We got behind this little old lady who only had maybe 20-25 items in her cart and was half way through checking out so we guessed it would be quick.  Well, we were wrong.  The cashier rang up the ladies purchase and told her the total. Now apparently the lady was on a fixed income and was also using some type of government assistance card.  Anyway, the little lady swiped her card and it was denied.  So she fumbled through her pocketbook and came up with some cash.  The cashier helped her count it out and the whole time the lady was apologizing for holding us up and making us wait.  We just told her it was quite okay and to take her time.  In the end, she was around $30 short of being able to pay for everything so she started trying to decide what to put back.  She had tears in her eyes and was really embarrassed.  I told the cashier to not put anything back but to ring it all up on my bill and let the lady take it with her.  But to my amazement, the lady refused.  She said she couldn’t do that and that it wasn’t right and started crying harder.  She paid for what groceries she could and then left the store. 

We talked to the cashier about that whole last part. She said she thought that the lady was really embarrassed that she couldn’t support herself and that it embarrassed her even more that I tried to help her.  Is that where we are today? When we reach out a helping hand to someone who needs it and they are too embarrassed, too proud to take it? This lady was probably in her 70s easily.  I am quite sure in her 70 plus years on this mortal coil, she has reached out and offered a helping hand to someone in need. But now, when she needed it she couldn’t accept it because of her pride? I hope that I get a chance to help her again one day.  That I get a chance to show her what Love 4 One Another is really about and that she will accept it this time.  After all, we only get a few chances to make a difference in this world and we have to take advantage of them when we can.  If you can make a difference in just one person’s life for just one moment, then it is truly a good day!

Until next time, Love 4 One Another, Love 4 Each Other, Love 4 Us All! Peace & B-Wild!!!

RSD 2018 - Hunting 4 1999

Let’s flashback to Saturday, April 21, 2018.  It’s a beautiful spring day here in the Music City which I was hoping would be a good sign for I was on the hunt.  You see, this day was Record Store Day and I was on the hunt for the Warner Bros. single disc reissue of the 1999 album. Since I am one of those nocturnal creatures of the night, I had just gotten off work, quickly changed clothes and Ms. Spooky and I made our way to nearest Wrecka Stow where a line had already formed. We took our place in line like the good obedient automatons that society has turned us into meanwhile I could not shake the image of the lines of children marching into the meat grinder from Pink Floyd’s The Wall. As we stood with the 200 or so other people in front of us, we idly chit-chatted and listened to the banal ramblings of three soon-to-be lawyers as they discussed how they had the solutions to all of the world’s problems. Even as one of them talked about how he couldn’t manage to even parallel park his car.  Wait… what? You can’t parallel park your car but you can solve the world’s problems? Okay there Skippy McGriffin!!! Sorry, I digress, but I had to listen to Skippy and the Wonder Twins for almost two hours until the store opened.  While waiting in line, I discovered that several people in front of me were also in search of the same record I was. Hmmmm… this did not bode well for me. I needed to come up with a Plan ‘B” but what could that be? Then inspiration struck me. Well, not really. I wouldn't say it struck me or that I was actually inspired at all. You see, what happened was I actually got a message on Twitter from my friend Gina in Ohio.  Seems Gina was in search of 1999 as well and was having much better luck.  Where I was in line with hundreds of others, she was at her local Wrecka Stow with just a couple of people.  So Plan “B” was born.  If she could, she would grab an extra copy of 1999 for me just in case I couldn’t grab one for myself.  So we waited.

As time crawled past with glacier like speed, I followed Gina’s progress on Twitter since she is an hour ahead of me.  She breezed in to her local Wrecka Stow and snatched up her copy of 1999 but alas, a copy for me was not to be found. But not one to give up, the campaign quickly turned to another Wrecka Stow that she knew had a couple of copies of the album.  Meanwhile, the line I was in slowly inched its way inside my Wrecka Stow here in Music City. Another update from Gina to let me know that she had arrived at Checkpoint Bravo and that golden goose had flown the coop, in other words, she was at the new Stow but they were sold out of 1999.  Damn! Plan “B” isn't looking too hot right now! Finally I make my way into my local Stow and what do you know, no 1999. Not a copy to be found anywhere, which is exactly what I feared. Ms. Spooky decided to ask one of the employees, you know just in case we had overlooked it or it was in some special place we hadn’t thought of looking.  So she finds an employee, some 20-something kid with shaggy-mop hair that looks like he’s closer to 12 years old and asks him if they have 1999 by Prince.  He says, “Prince? Hmmm… Prince is probably in the ummmm. Probably in the P’s.  I’d check in that area.” Wow!!! Thank you sooo much. I would never have guessed to look there. Someone call NASA and let them know that I found their missing rocket scientist. On a side note, do you know how hard it is to type while you are rolling your eyes? Pretty damn hard.  Anyway, back to the Mensa-Man of the Year candidate and our search for the ever-elusive 1999.  So after the shocking epiphany of checking in the “P” section, I decided it was time to leave.  As I slowly walked to the car, head hanging in defeat, I sent Gina a message to let her know that we had failed miserably also but thanks for trying.  She replied back, “Good news! I got you one!” Apparently while I was dealing with the rocket surgeon (yeah, rocket surgeon – you know - part rocket scientist, part brain surgeon), she had gone to a third Wrecka Stow and hit the jackpot. Then after a few days wait, I received a package in the mail and I was the proud owner of a Record Store Day 2018 Exclusive single-disc re-issued Prince album 1999.

This is what the Purple Army is all about.  True Funk Soldiers coming together in the spirit of Love 4 One Another and helping each other out. So thank you once again, Gina and of course thank you for each and every day, Ms. Spooky! To the rest of you, remember to Love 4 One Another, Love 4 Each Other, Love 4 Us All! Peace, B-Wild & Stay Funky!!!