Timmy Thomas: Why can't we live together #tbt

This song needs to be re-released.   I don't care if it's from the 70's.  Everyone needs this song to be a house staple!  Don't get me wrong..I rocked hotline bling til nausea like everyone else.  But this song deserves to be given its due.

"No more war, no more war, no more war
Just a little peace
No more war, no more war
All we want is some peace in this world"

I believe in balance.  War, peace, love, hate... I go to this song when I need peace and love.  I think we as a people need a lot more of it.

"No matter, no matter what color
You are still my brother
I said no matter, no matter what color
You are still my brother"

This song is so much more than a sample.  I hope you can agree with me on that.  Play Timmy Thomas once a week and he may change your life.  Stay blessed.

Timmy Thomas - Why can't we live together album: why can't we live together (1972)

Jaguar Wright: Self Love #tbt

This song has never stopped giving me chills.   The visceral response I receive from the lyrics alone demand I try to meet the expectations they suggest.  Does that sound crazy? Maybe....but if you can't talk to your music what do you really expect the songs to say to you?

"Caught up in a web of deception
From this $h!t I done learned new lesson
So what cha do, you keep on playing, you play on, playa..."

I need this song...and I think "need" is more important than "love".   We're all big boys and girls so I think it's alright if we agree to disagree.  But I've needed it back then when it was released and I think I need it now.  Maybe you do.  Maybe you don't.  Share it to the person you love cause they may need it too. 

"You work and work with no pay
You punch a clock but never end your day
You take vacation but your not playing
What we say by this time, here my friends, drink three
You cry, cry, revolution, but what you want is a solution
But you're more content with being a pollution
Jump in the motion, and ask the notion..."

Stay blessed.

From Jaguar Wright's LP Denials Delusions and Decisions

Nas: You know my style #TBT

This double album got so much rotation on my day to day playlist.  Love this album!...okay okay, lemme settle down. Street's Disciple is one of those under rated Nas albums that I argue often was one of his best.  The whole mood on the album gave off a feel of royalty...this track was no different.

"Don't talk, just hold your breath
Been here a while, s'only one nigga left
And all'a y'all know my style
I spend dough but I still let it pile" -Nas

I listen to this song and feel like I can handle whatever comes my way.  I hope that makes you feel that way today...Enjoy Ya'll

Stevie Wonder: Sir Duke

“They can feel it all over
They can feel it all over people”

Thank god for Stevie Wonder and his majestic songs.  Oh, I’m sorry, was that over the top?  Tough…dare I say, poetic?  Well I dare to say that no words can do Stevie Wonder justice.  His greatness spans genres.  N' this song? Well this song is an indication of that.

“But just because a record has a groove
Don't make it in the groove
But you can tell right away at letter A
When the people start to move”

The way he syncopates is unrivaled.  Shout out to Nerissa for sharing her mood.  It’s on point!  If I had my way every song by Stevie could be on "lovemoodmusic" but if that’s the case I should just change the name of the site.  Still, this was the first but far from the last time Mr. Wonder graces this blog.  Why?  Because… besides Stevie being a mood maker, he’s a mood CHANGER in many ways.  I hope he changed some of your moods today.  He sure did mine.  Represent Nerissa and keep on sharing with the world.

“Music knows it is and always will
Be one of the things that life just won't quit”

Track 5 from the album Songs In The Key Of Life

The Roots: The next movement #TBT

17 years ago I picked up an album that changed my life.  The second song almost made me never pick up a microphone.  I'm serious.  I was always interested in rhyming but kept it as just free-styling in the beginning because... with an MC like Black Thought... What more can I say?  I can ramble on about what The Roots Crew means to me.  As for Black Thought or "Mr. Thought" if you recognize the precision of his rhymes, he is in my top five.

"The Dalai Lama of the mic, the prime minister Thought
This directed to whoever in listening range
Yo the whole state of things in the world bout to change
Black rain fallin from the sky look strange
The ghetto is red hot, we steppin on flames"

I know I already had a #TBT for the day but it wouldn't feel right if I didn't play this album all week and post it today.   There's a level of excellence I put into EVERYTHING I do that's inspired by this album and this song specifically. 

"I'm like a faucet, monopoly's the object
There ain't no way to cut this tap, you got ta get wet
Your head is throbbin and I ain't said shit yet"

You know how some people say the often used phrase "Where do I begin"?  For me, when it comes to The Roots, it's "When should I finish"?  But I won't hold you.  I hope you love this song as much as I do.  17 years...The Roots is still head and shoulders above the rest.

"You theatrical as a Broadway play, this ain't Rent
One hundred percent, straight out the Basement"

WHAM!: Everything she wants #TBT

George Michael is that dude and if you don't know...now you know.  Now, I'm not an 80's enthusiast so my apologies to all the fanatics of that decade. But in an era where it's less bass and more treble...writing had to be ON.POINT.  George Michael's pen was and is sniper material.

"And now we're six months older
And everything you want
And everything you see
Is out of reach, not good enough
I don't know what the hell you want from me"

The song has a way of making you just say in the back of mind "Word sun" lol.  Even if it's not where you are right now, the song has a way of sending you on a journey with enough detail that you can still empathize.

"My situation never changes
Walking in and out of that door
Like a stranger for the wages
I give you all
You say you want more"

AND he produced it! Okay, I'm done...I'm just saying *Drops mic

BTW - I do like a lot of 80's music.  Just not all.  My badd.

Fugees: How many mics #TBT

"Me without a mic is like a beat without a snare" -Lauryn Hill

Top ten best albums of all time.  20 years ago and this song...this ALBUM is still a blueprint on approaching Hip Hop or music for that matter.  Passion, creativity, lyricism, group chemistry, content, fire beats and a determination to make each track better than the last while maintaining a linear story.

"I used to be underrated
Now I take iron, makes my s*** constipated
I'm more concentrated." - Wyclef Jean

Some circles look at being a backpacker as a bad thing (I stay away from those)...  This song makes you regret it.  Head nod is automatic.  Screw face necessary.  N' if you do dance...you better be NICE.

"Too many MCs not enough Mics
Exit your show like I exit the turnpike" - Pras

There were TONS of hits on this album but this track was my personal favorite.  So on this Throwback Thursday, happy anniversary to one of the best groups ever.

"You can't get with this
Sweet like licorice,
Dangerous like syphillis, yeah." - Lauryn Hill

Damn that Ms. Hill verse was tough.  LOL.