My Musical Holy Trinity Pt.1

Whatup fam, i just finished up an interview with Atlanta Music Review and though it wasn't asked this time a typical question i get is the "So who are your musical influences?" question. Anyway I wanna talk about three artists who are for me a musical holy trinity. I'm not going to say anyone of them are any better then the others either. Drumroll please........ Stevie Wonder, Prince, and Michael Jackson. To me the influence of these 3 artists is still being heard in artists to this day and probably always will. For me they're all so important because of their think outside the box, blaze a new trail, raise the bar higher than anyone ever took it approach to making music. Their talents, artistry, and respective bodies of work are in my opinion unparalleled in music. Thats the broadstroke here are the individual finer points.

Stevie Wonder is a genius who I feel has never gotten his just due. In his prime which would be the seventies he wrote, produced, performed, and played instruments on masterpiece after masterpiece including Talking Book, Innervisions, and Songs in the Key of Life just to name a few. Several of these albums won the most important grammy award 'Album of the Year'. Stevie has one of the greatest voices ever recorded we all know that. But he wasn't just a good sounding voice what he actually sung had a consciousness to it that took the listener deep into the emotion of the music which mind you sounded nothing like the typical r&b/soul tune of that day. Stevie's style of singing was also drastically different and it influenced almost the entire next few generations of singers and that influence actually still permeates the r&b landscape today. There aren't a lot of books on him, no movies, no scandal just unfiltered, unmatched greatness. I love Stevie for real. He was probably one of the first truly self contained artists that produced their own music. Discover or revisit his music and be touched and amazed for the first time or all over again. Salute!

to be continued....

im back

Whatup world! A lot has changed since my last post both personally and professionally. Personally I went through a little heartbreak sort of, it happens. Professionally I've made strides in the right direction with this music thing. Launched a new label Crown Life Records and independently released my first single "Ha Ha Hey!" I feel I have a great and motivated staff of people working with the label who really see and believe the vision. I've also been sharing more of my thoughts on twitter so that also explains why I haven't been here as much. However I'm back and I will be blogging and adding content every week so stay tuned its about to get very exciting around here. We have somebig things planned. You can also check me out at www.reverbnation.com/JerrelXL,www.JerrelXL.bandcamp.com, www.facebook.com/JerrelXL, and follow me on twitter @JerrelXL and of course here. Til very very soon Be Blessed.

What the State of the Union Adress Said to Me.

Whatup family? Anybody watch the State of the Union address by President Obama? Anyway i saw a very different Obama than what we've seen for the past year. I saw a much more aggressive tone in his speech last night and I loved it. The President has been way to passive in my opinion and because of his goodie goodie stance he has allowed the republican party to shape the debate on healthcare and everything else. I like that he was in attack mode not just to the jackals on the other side of the aisle but also he challenged his own party on many occasions. He has had a rough year and you can hear and feel the vunerability this year has brought him. i read an article in the New Yorker after the 2008 election that called him the first independent president in our nation's history and after watching his first state of the union address i couldnt agree with this more. He stands and speaks about what he himself believes is the best thing for all americans not just for now but for the future no matter whose toes get stepped on in the process and i love it. News flash young world no party is perfect, ya dig? I feel like his agenda is intelligent and will position america as one of the most efficient countries in the world. He's building a beautiful system that is as plain to see as panty lines if u just look at the big picture of everything he's pushing to do. I think as a people we've been let down so many times by political, religious, and business leaders that when someone comes long that really can and desires to make progressive change we're skeptical because we've been burned so many times before. there is a lot of racism left in this country of ours and a vast majority of one party's agenda is to continue leading a broken system that reinforces these twisted values for generations to come. we were all so united, so spirited, and so valiant on November 4, 2008 so lets continue to stand with the president that we the people put in office. its only been one year and change is a process not an event.