Twenty plus years later, the legends rocked the mic at the Interscope Records post Grammy’s party. Gotta love it!
“Even if you ain’t got no rhythm, find you some &#^&!!” – Snoop
When this episode first aired I didn’t realize what a musical gem and part of history it would be. (more…)
Even if you are a little familiar with West Coast artists in the late 80’s/early 90’s, whether it be rap or r&b, this young lady definitely stands out as one of [the] most conspicuous voices, literally; both speaking and singing, of all time. Although her girly voice was that of a falsetto tone and a distinctive contrast to her singing voice, her womanly vocals proved her to be well ahead of her time.
I can remember listening to “Turn off the Lights” by the World Class Wreckin’ Crew (you know w/Dr. Dre, before N.W.A and the gangsta ways and the Chronic) and trying my best to get up all the air in my lungs and sound just like her singing that hook. “before you turn off the lights, let’s get one thing understoooood…” (what the hell-o did I know about turning off somebody lights?*side-eye*)
Her voice was strong, it bodacious, it was what a singer should sound like; it was everything that hook needed to be to make the song as infamous as it was.
It was none other than 18 year old Michel’le Toussaint aka Meesh-a-lay.
In 1989 Michel’le hit the scene with a well known singing reputation from her early days with the World Class Wreckin’ Crew and signed to the late Eazy E’s record label Ruthless Records. She released her self-entitled debut album and dropped popular dance/up-tempo songs like ‘No More Lies”, ‘Nicety” and “Keep Watching”. Her fourth single “Something in My Heart” was a very soulful and sultry ballad that had great success and became one of Michel’le’s most popular songs to date.
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There’s been a lot of talk these days about Auto-Tune vs. Vocoder vs. Talkbox, and it’s role in music today. For producers, engineers and vocalists, there’s been alot to love about the industry’s best kept secret, but with all technology, there’s always room for abuse.
Well, you know where we come down, but thought we’d spend some time enjoying the music of the most well known (greatly missed, and under appreciated) innovators of the sound, Roger Troutman and Zapp.
