New U-Hype episode?  Yea... a new U-Hype episode!

We head off the show tonight with my boy Omega droppin' yet another bomb on us Chicago.  He's kickin' it  with his boy Cuban Link and they got the brand new heat.  Don't sleep on "This Is How We Roll" as it attacks the underground.

The artist formerly known as MC Channel Zero blesses the show with his new joint "You Fly (Don't You Look Good),"  but don't call 'em Channel Zero!  Refer to the artist of this jam as Ready 45 and Robin Steel.  You'd better ask somebody.

We got first-time spins from KB featuring Cincere, D the Rebel, and Ms. Kidd.  The music makes this show.  Don't sleep!

I got to holla at Chicago's own Mecca right after she came off stage from performing at her latest release jam on the South Side of Chicago, and we check out part of our conversation and shit.

My girl Tee-Tee plays the "Questions" game and tries to win a brand new mp3 player.  Shoot me a msg if you wanna wanna be down and win one yourself.

Oh yea, we played the 911 call from Joe and the deer.  Shits funny as hell to me.

Last but certainly not least.. "The Lieutenant," "The Go-To-Man" Mattie T brings up to date in sports.  You ain't heard it from me, but Mattie T is getting his own show.  SSHH!!!  Keep that on the low.  We also got some more peeps that are joining the BMSRadio.com family... 

Give Chicago's longest running Hip-Hop podcast a listen...

Caught another Best of Soul Train episode which featured Grammy Award winning Peabo Bryson headlining along with Stargard.

Pop-music and children are very familiar with Mr. Bryson through him hooking up with Disney in 1992 and 1993 and dropping two pop-culture hits.  "Beauty and the Beast" was a duet with Céline Dion that won the first Grammy, then he did it again with Regina Bell on "A Whole New World," which was the love theme from Aladdin.

Stargard of course is best known for performing the classic R&B hit "Which Way Is Up."  Yes, that is indeed the theme song from the Richard Pryor movie.  You'd better ask somebody.

I straight-up missed the names of the Soul Train Scrabble Board contestants this time around, as I was putting a couple of loads in th dryer at the same time.  I did get to see the answer this week was Vernon Jordan.  Among a  lifetime of huge accomplishments, Mr. Jordan has been the executive director of the United Negro College Fund as well as president of the National Urban League.  He was also a close adviser to president Bill Clinton.

Boys and girls coming down the Soul Train Linee together is always a good thing to see.  I wasn't particularly blown away with the line on this trip, after being mad excited about it last week.

Stargard threw-down... and these three women were fine-as-hell.  Rochelle, Debra and Janice were looking real good on that stage singing  "What You Waitin' For?"  All three of these ladies where off-the-chain!

Mr. Bryson was looking younger than Webster.  He was like a baby up their in his rounded-off fro and fly-away colar.  I guess he's always done "pretty" music if you will as he lit-it-up with "Reaching for the Sky," "Feel the Fire" and "Smile."

The Train y'all! 

I admit that I have seen pictures of this lady my entire life... particularly during the month of February.  I also admit that I thought this was Mahalia Jackson when I was a little kid.  However, as I got older and learned who this very important person in American history is, I developed mad respect.

Her name is Mary McLeod Bethune.

Mrs. Bethune was born to former slaves, and during a time where Blacks were second class citizens.  She was an educator that started the Literary and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls in Daytona in 1904 with six students.

This developed into what is know known as the HBCU (Historically Black College or University) Bethune-Cookman University.  Mrs. Bethune was president of the college from 1923 to 1942 and 1946 to 1947.  There were only a handful female college presidents in the world at that time, and she was one of them.

Mrs. Bethune founded the National Council of Negro Women in New York City in 1935, and was she was also really down with Eleanor Roosevelt.  Among many other things, she formed the Black Cabinet, which was an informal group of African American public policy advisors to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The more I learn about this lady every February, the more that I respect her.  It wasn't easy to do the things that she did during the time that she did it.

Got up on another Best of Soul Train episode today that featured The Spinners and Confunkshun.  The Spinners have many R&B hits that date back to 1972, and Confunshun is of course one of the best funk bands in history.

They came with the Soul Train Scrabble Board early in the episode, and Kirk and Grace resolved the puzzle... as expected.  Bessie Smith got the honor of having her name all mixed up on the board, but her original fame of course came from being an off-the-chain blues singer from the 20's and 30's.  Miss Smith made about 160 recordings for Columbia Records.

The Spinners came out getting their choreography on.  They all sported red jackets, white shirts with the big collar that hung open to the shoulder, and bell bottoms.  They were jamin' as they were lip syncing "Working My Way Back To You."

Now...  Confunkshun came out in the multi-colored body suits (one green, one yellow, then two different shades of blue and red), choreographed steps of their own, a brass section, and plenty of funk.  This was cool because this is what some Funk bands did at this time.

The Soul Train Line was hype with "Love Injection" by Trussel, and I always feel the episodes where the men and women come down the line together.  If I have anything to do with it when The Train comes back into production, I would bring that aspect back.  In fact, I would alternate mixin' up and flippin who comes down The Soul Train Line with whom, then hit 'em with the classic way.  Celebrity cameos as part of The Line would be hot as well.

Anyway, I read on the on Soul Train Yahoo Group that they were about to move The Best of Soul Train to late nights. 

Dag.

Bigging up another important Black man in American History in honor of Black History Month.

Today we are gonna holla at Richard Wright, who is the author of the autobiographical "Black Boy," which was the first book that I ever read from cover to cover in my entire life.  I was fourteen years old, and I thought the book was really good.

Mr. Wright was born in the South as the grandson of a slave, but spent a few years as a Chicagoan in the late twenties and early thirties before moving to New York.

Mr. Wright was blacklisted by Hollywood for his involvement with the John Reed Clubs and the Communist Party, per Wikipedia.

When its all said and done, I personally like Richard Wright and a lotta Black author's life stories because it gives a first hand look into one's experiences growing up and dealing with racism.  It's important that we don't forget where this country has come from, so we can continue to move forward.

Besides Black Boy, Mr. Wright wrote many notable short stories, essays, and both fiction and non-fiction works during his lifetime.  Some notable titles are "Native Son," "Uncle Tom's Chicaldren," "The Ethics Of Living Jim Crow: An Autobiographical Sketch,"  and "American Hunger."

"The sack-man's comin' and I'm your man Dent, if the quarterback's slow, he's gonna gent bent!  We stop the run, we stop the pass.  We like to put guys on their ass..."

Who else should get this quick big-up other than Richard Dent.  It's like a Black History Month, slash the Super Bowl is about to start in another hour or so type post.

On the Real, Dent was just named to the NFL Hall of Fame which was well deserved.  We all know this cat as the MVP of Super Bowl XX as a member of one of the greatest football teams in NFL history (1985-86 Chicago Bears).

I'm actually late to leave for the game, and I'm mad hungry at the same time.  I had to give big-ups to my boy Richard Dent right quick, and we are gonna re-cap this year's Super Bowl tomorrow with BMSRadio.com sports writer Mattie T.

I'll Holla Back!

Check out your boy with a Saturday afternoon free for the first time in like six months or somethin' to that effect, and it looks like it will be that way for a minute.  The good thing about that is that I get to catch the Best of Soul Train generally on a regular basis again, and im lovin' it.

Today Don Cornelius, WGN and the Tribune Company came with episode 273 from the 1978-79 season which features Freda Payne and Atlantic Starr.  This was Miss Payne's final appearance on The Train of four, and Atlantic Starr's first appearance of ten.

Mr. Cornelius kicked it off with "One Nation Under A Groove" by Funkadelic, and never looked back... as always.  The music is one of the best things about the throw-back episodes, cause most of it is still bangin'. 

However, the thing that got me outta my seat this episode was the fact that the Soul Train Line had men on one side, and women on the other.  The floor and the background were a little plain, but the energy was off the chain with Teddy Pedergrass telling the women "You Got What I Need!!!"  ...with authority!  The couples were matching outfits and/or had their steps rehearsed to perfection for the most part, but the Soul Train Line was wwwaaaayyyy too short this time.  I wanted more.

I was slow getting back from the bathroom, so I didn't really catch the names of the Soul Train Scrabble Board contestants.  I think it was Joyce and Dale.   But, I did indeed see the answer through the time-clock that was super imposed across the screen (I love that).  To everyone's surprise :), they were able to resolve the answer to the puzzle: Leslie Uggams.

Miss Uggams was up for the role of Cleopatra along with Dorothy Dandrige back in the day, but they both lost the role to Elizabeth Taylor.  My generation remembers Miss Uggams mostly as Kizzy from the TV Mini-series Roots.

Atlantic Starr threw-down on this ride.  This was the pre-Barbera Weathers era, so Sharon Bryant was the female with the voice.

It would be good to see this episode side by side with their tenth appearance on The Train, just to get a look at how the group evolved over the years.  They would of course one day perform their signature hits "Always" and "Secret Lovers."

Cain't be mad as Freda Payne did her thing, even though this was towards the end of her peak as a recording artist.  She had that Deep-Disco sound going on, which to this day still hypnotizes House Heads coming outta big speakers in front of a strobe light .

Meanwhile, it looks like I'm gonna be able to get back next week with no problem.  Peabo Bryson will sing "Feel The Fire," and Stargard will perform the theme music to "Which Way Is Up?"  Looking forward...

This is DJ Special Blend from Chicago.  What's up America and the world!  I promise that I was just sitting down to make the chart template over, but once I saw it up in lights I had to fill in the blanks.  You never catch me admitting this very often... but its been along time.  Getting ready for Super Bowl XLVII (forgive me if I ain't get the Roman Numeral correct), and we gotta see who's at number one this week between Alicia Keys, Flo Rida or Snoop Dog.  Shit, it maybe somebody else.  Only one way to find out, and that's to start it off a little somethin' like this...

The Top Ten starts off this week with Kanye West's jam "Flashing Lights."  This former number one jam has been in the Top Ten for  longer than any other jam this week, and it gets enough juice to hang around for an additional week from a recent remix with R. Kelly that we all are getting used to hearing.  I ain't feel it the first time I heard it, but I was bobbing my head on the second listen.  I like the track on this one as well.  Eleven weeks in the Top ten this trip for Kanye to the temper tantrum.

Hurricane Chris gets the nod at number nine this week and he brings Boxie along for the ride.  The J Records recording artist is in the top ten for the first week with "Playas Rock." 

Fat Joe leaps four places into the Top Ten this week to land at number eight with "I Won't Tell" featuring J. Holiday.  It's good to hear Fat Joe on a jam after he has been away for a half of second.  Cain't lay back too long in this game or you'll be forgotten.  Really though.

Trey Songs holds steady at number seven this week with "I Can't Help But Wait."  Yea, the song is mad soft, and back in the day we would've called this type of music "punk smooth," but the young fella has been in the top ten for a respectable four weeks. 

Keyshia Cole is up two places to number six this week, and yes, I still wanna hit that.  I appreciate her looks a lot better on her TV show as opposed to her videos when she's all too-much-make-upped-to-death.  Her reality show shows that she's an around-the-way-girl than a muthafuka, and I ain't mad at that at all.  Given the chance, I'd tap that like we was married.  Really though.  This jam is called "I Remember," and yea she's singing to me :). 

Mary is "Just Fine" at number five this week.  Down one spot this trip, she's singing about being happy again.  This one ain't rank among the top Mar J. Blige songs in history in my opinion, but alotta her true female fans bump this like its a female national anthem or sometin'.  My favorite Mary jam of recent has got to be "Be Without You," but that's neither here or there.  Down one spot to number five.

Last week's number one jam has fallen four places to number four this time around after two weeks at the top.  Really though.  Snoop Dog comes with the retro 70's style on "Sensual Seduction" and dude proves he can still cop major radio play and sell records.  I'm proud of the young homie I saw for the first time in the Deep Cover video.  Him and Dre ain't looked back.  The two week reign has come to an end and shit.

Webbie, Lil' Phat and Lil' Boosie are up two spots with "Independant."  This jam has earned the Hot Stamp this week due to the hits BMSRadio.com has been getting from search engines looking for Lil' Boosie.  That was the most searched for celebrity in the month of January on this site.  Oh yea, the song is straight too.  Up two space to number three.

Alicia Keys is up one spot to number two this week with "Like You'll Never See Me Again," and it's a pretty little love song.  Common stars in the video which takes the "backwards" approach to telling a story.  I like it... and we all need to stop and take heed sometimes.  Tomorrow ain't guaranteed for anyone.  Alicia Keys is all the way up to number two.

Songs that bossed outta there this week...

"Suffocate " by J. Holiday fell outta the Top Ten after four weeks."Never" by Jaheim also fell out the Top Ten after a six week run.

.

And now...

How She Move.  I'm the last person who should trip about anyone's grammar and shit, but we gonna let the peep that named this movie slide for leaving out the word "does."  Meanwhile the lead single from the soundtrack is "Low," and it is the number one requested song when I leave the house.  Hence, it has shot up the chart with the quickness, and enjoys it's first week at number one... in spite of T-Pain on the track ;)  Flo Rida has gotta be happy right about now.  How she move?  She move all the way to number one.  All congrads due...

Bookmark and slide through next week!

Another week, another chart.  Still ain't got the indexing that the chart used to have, but it's all good.  I gave up a couple of the smaller gigs that were literally costing me more money to DJ than I was making regularly.  Whatever the case, I got that Saturday afternoon open once again and I'm looking forward to getting up on the Best of Soul Train more regularly.  Meanwhile, we will see how long Flo Rida can hold onto the number one spot while Lupe Fiasco and  Raheem DeVaughn position themselves to try for the Top Ten.  I'm 'bout to bounce, but I'll check you out next week.  Same time, same place.  This is DJ Special Blend from Chicago.  'Til next time, don't bump into the turntables!

5000!

 

What better way to start off Black History Month other than to give big-ups to Langston Hughes, who's birthday just so happens to be February 1st.

In case you didn't know, Mr. Hughes was a famous writer and a major player during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920's and 30's.

He helped nurture Black art and sociology during this time along with the likes of Zora Neale Hurston, Wallace Thurman, Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, Richard Bruce Nugent, and Aaron Douglas.

Their social work also spilled over to help establish Négritude in France during the 1930's.

Mr. Hughes wrote many famous poems and short stories during his life and many look ate this early prose as one of his signature works:       

I've known rivers:       

I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the       
flow of human blood in human veins.       
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.       
I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.       
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.      
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.       
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln      
went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy       
bosom turn all golden in the sunset.       
I've known rivers:       
Ancient, dusky rivers.       
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

To top it off, I went to kindergarten at a school that carries his namesake right off of like 105th and Wentworth.

Now, that's hood.

"I'm a Chicagoian, from Chicago and, 'til we blow like Chicago wind...."

Stop trippin' and acting surprised, cause this snowy shit happens all the freakin' time.  It's like it snows every year in this neck of the woods.  It snows hard, and it gets colder than North Pole.

We just gotta try to be prepared.  Set that alarm 45 minutes earlier, iron the night before if you need to, and make you a good-ass lunch to carry with you.  That's it.

"I'm from the Go, with an IL state of mind."

Bring it on Mother Nature!  I've been expecting you.

Of course this is all coming from someone who didn't have to get out in that mess this morning ;)

Perfect morning to be sittin' in PJ's and sippin' on a hot-tottie!