Grown Folks Music » Lalah Hathaway

Apple Jac’s Lalah Hathaway – “My Everything” Remix

GFM — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:01:01 +0000

We wanted to post this great remix that has been submitted to the Lalah Hathaway Remix Contest on Indaba Music by GFM fave Apple Jac. Press the play button and then make sure to cast your vote. This is def, how you do a dance remix.

Song of the Day: Lalah Hathaway – “You Were Meant For Me”

Ivan Orr — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:04:53 +0000

Could not think of a better way or a better song to end this celebration of our Artist of the Month – Lalah Hathaway. This gorgeous updating of her father’s classic “You Were Meant For Me” sums it all up in my estimation: You can hear in every line how the baton has been passed and the tradition continues.

Artist of the Month (Song of the Day)- “Small of My Back”

Soul Sister — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:00:57 +0000

I’ll admit it, when I first purchased “Where It All Begins” and saw the name of this track, I was expecting a full blown slow jam for the “Midnight Love” set. The track starts off slower and subdued, and then it picks up to faster tempo jam. Lalah’s voice has a way of making everything sound good, no matter the tempo. Play this one as the ice breaker at your house party to pull everyone to the dance floor.

Artist of the Month (Song of the Day)- “I’m Coming Back (2011)”

Soul Sister — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:00:53 +0000

When Lalah recently performed at Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, she mentioned how she has re-recorded this song a couple of times. This is the type of track that only gets better with time. The lyrics alone are so beautiful: “I’m coming back just to give you my love, There’s a part of me that lives in you. I’m coming back just to give you my love, Loving you is the best thing I can do”. I couldn’t acknowledge this track without acknowledging the original version from Lalah’s 1992 debut album.

In 1992, Lalah was a new, young artist known mainly for being the daughter of the legendary Donny Hathaway. How things have changed. Now Lalah is a bonafide legend in the making of her own right. In comparing the different versions of this song, a couple of things are immediately noticeable: the addition of the amazing Rachelle Ferrell and the additional running time of the 2011 version. The additional run time allows for a change in the intro instrumentation from a saxophone focus (1992) to a percussion focus (2011). Fans are also treated to amazing ad libs at the close of the song. Check out the live version above and the 1992 version below.

Song of the Day: Lalah Hathaway – “Where It All Begins”

Ivan Orr — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 20:38:35 +0000

Well since I’m in a asking questions type of mode… I feel compelled to explore “Where It All Begins” for our Artist of the Month. I would like to do this exercise as if I knew absolutely zero biographical information on Lalah Hathaway in fact, I would like to go so far as to pretend I had never heard any music by Lalah Hathaway.

Maybe I could pretend that I’m a musicologist from the year 2311 and I happened to stumble upon a time capsule that was able to only keep one recording in tact from this era and it just happened to be the single “Where It All Begins” I wonder what that might look like…

@asmbdofresearch
132/132/2311
re: Excavation of Time Capsule w/Musical Findings

I communicate to you all one of the most exciting findings of my fledgling career in musicology. As has been noted to me many times throughout this undertaking, the study of a dying (well almost extinct art form) does not find much favor within the confines of our culture. Many believe that we have moved well beyond the need for such pursuits such as art, and in particular music because that is seen as work best suited for machines, not humans.

Today, I present to you one of the last remaining vestiges of when it was still considered important for humans to be involved in the creation of music. My discovery is an endearing composition entitled “Where It All Begins”, that has an odd rhythm that is quite unlike what our music generators produce. The pulse of the music varies and in a sense almost sways, in a manner that is inline with the tradition of “dancing” which has not been practiced in well over 150 years.

As you may have gathered there were some significant challenges in trying to decipher what was contained on the “disc”. Currently we do not have any machine that can replicate the code for listening, but what I was able to do is to take images of the backside of the disc with my Visionaire and combine the images to replicate the “laser” technology that was a popular medium at the time.

Oddly this “music” was quite warm to the ear… I’ve never experienced quite a sensation like this. I had read about dense harmonic tones that were produced by the human voice in the latter part of the 20th century, into the 21st but even in all my studies I had never come across that sound. It is quite the predicament for the researcher to not have practical examples to take the theory that I have become accustomed to into practice.

This is exciting research though, because if our dating on the material is correct it is contrary to the standard thought that has been advanced that music began to slowly de-volve around the year 2000 so this example thwarts that scholarship directly.

We have been able to audio match the example to our archives which brought back a late 20th century singer by the name of Lalah Hathaway. In doing some further research it seems she was one of the more virtuosic singers of the era, which was often dominated by vocalists with limited vocal range and limited melodic and harmonic imagination. One carry over from this particular era was the popularity of an “audio plugin” initially designed to assist vocalists with intonation issues, but it became popular to allow anyone to use this “plugin” and a whole category of computer generated vocalists were birthed paving the for the solely chip-generated musicians and compositions of our time.

We will continue the search for more “discs” from the era both of Lalah Hathaway and other artists that we have been able to determine recently that are of a similar ilk. Given what has been the norm as far as music is concerned for these last 150 years or more, you must understand our excitement, we will be looking for clues from this music to see if we can decipher exactly how humans were able to make music. We have every confidence that we will be able to rediscover the code, just like we were finally able to rediscover how to construct pyramids.

Artist of the Month (Song of the Day)- “If You Want To”

Soul Sister — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 12:00:10 +0000

Lalah is known for her smooth tunes and spot on remakes, but she takes us to the dance floor on “If You Want To”. This track is so infectious that the opening notes just make you want to get up and dance, no matter where you are. I dare you to make it through this entire track without dancing or without singing along. I see you! :) “If You Want To” is available for purchase as a single on ITunes, but I recommend the entire cd.

Song of the Day: Lalah Hathaway – “What Goes Around”

GFM — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 20:23:09 +0000

Sage advice from our Artist of the Month…

Song of the Day: Lalah Hathaway: Tragic Inevitability

DJKKC — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 14:19:53 +0000

“Tragic Inevitability”, by Lalah Hathaway is moody, jazzy, vibe-y, sultry, sexy and all those other words you would used to describe a song that absolutely sets a tone and creates an atmosphere as soon as you push play. From her 2008 release, Self Portrait. Enjoy.

Song of the Day – Lalah Hathaway’s “Breathe”

WestStyle Chronicles — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:26:09 +0000

Life can sometimes discolor our perspective from the shadows of heaviness or grief. It can take form through a sudden loss, a broken relationship or alterations of our hopes and dreams. When we’ve held our breath in anguish and pain, Lalah’s song reminds us of a simple but powerful process for healing – just “breathe”. It’s only in this practice that you make room for an atmosphere of peace that strengthens your soul. Just as you inhale in life, you must also exhale and “breathe”.

Song of the Day: Lalah Hathaway: “Let Go”

DJKKC — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:53:10 +0000

Check out our Artist of the Month Lalah Hathaway, bringing this bonafide steppin’ and roller skatin’ jam, “Let Go” from her 2008 release “Self Portrait”.