Underrated By You? Hendrix Anthems For Me!

I’ve been around for a while now and I can’t remember too often anyone making too much noise about the next few songs I’m going to feature here. In keeping with the fact that this blog is basically about championing the underdog and keeping a level head about fame and celebrity… Why is it that for all the Jimi Hendrix lovers out there, they never give mention to his more thought provoking songs? Well, I have always loved those songs. There was a depth to his musicianship and song-writing that often gets overlooked but fans and aficionados alike.

Manic Depression

51st Anniversary

Love or Confusion

I Don’t Live Today

Thank you. As you all know, you just can’t believe everything you see and hear, can you. Now, If you will excuse me, I must be on my way…

Mommy What’s An Afro-Punk?

Chances are that you might have heard a similar phrase to the title of this article attributed to the great Parliament-Funkadelic? Nah? Oh, well… you’d have to have been there I guess? Let’s cut to the chase pretty darn quickly because I’m not in the mood to lecture, preach to the unconverted or otherwise. Simply put Mommy What’s A Funkadelic was a track on the seminal debut album by Funkadelic way back in 1970. The relevance of which is not lost on myself having tread the fine line between funk, rock, soul and a host of genre-bending music as a cool youth – that was a joke… well kind of!

Point being I was not perceived as being part of the in-crowd but more of a weirdo. Hence, for me,  artists such as Parliamnet, Sly Stone, Jimi Hendrix sat perfectly well next to John Coltrane, Miles Davis‘ electric period and later on Public Enemy, Prince, Fela Kuti etc (probably left out someone really influential) right up to Terence Trent Darby, Lenny Kravitz and more recently Radiohead! Yes! The fact is I liked good music and still do.

Now there have been many organizations over the years set up to cater for dis-affected youth and people who just plain like to be different. The black person’s perspective on this have resulted in the Black Rock Coalition which was initially set up in 1985  by Vernon Reid (Living Colour) and Greg Tate (Village Voice). You can now add Afro-Punk to the list. So just what is an afro-punk? Go ask your mum, moma, mater, tu madre… or you can read on.

In their own words they have this to say,” in the past 7 years, Afro-Punk has become a cultural movement celebrating the creativity and freedom of spirit in alternative Black culture. Urban kids who once felt like outsiders are the core of this fast-growing community. D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) is the foundation.It all started with 2003’s Afro-Punk, the seminal cult classic film spotlighting Black Punks in America. Afro-Punk became a touchstone of a cultural movement strongly reminiscent of the early days of Hip-Hop. Alternative urban kids across the nation (and across the globe) who felt like outsiders discovered they were actually the core of a boldly innovative, fast-growing community. The online members have been the driving force behind the exploding Afro-Punk (AP) culture, creating an authentic virtual home in www.afropunk.com.”

Which brings me nicely to a poll recently carried out amongst their online community – The top 50 bands listed by Afro-punk members of all ages, genders, creeds, and nationalities:
1. Bad Brains (141)
2. Jimi Hendrix (118)
3. The Roots (96)
4. Prince (77)
5. Radiohead (70)
6. Bob Marley and
7. the Wailers (67)
8. Nirvana (67)
9. TV on the Radio (65)
10. N.E.R.D. (64)
11. Erykah Badu (58)
12. Led Zeppelin (58)
13. Rage Against the Machine (57)
14. System of a Down (57)
15. Metallica (53)
16. Parliament Funkadelic (53)
17. Bloc Party (52)
18. M.I.A (52)
19. Outkast (52)
20. Fishbone (51)
21. Nine Inch Nails (51)
22. The Clash (50)
23. A Tribe Called Quest (49)
24. Janelle Monae (49)
25. Mos Def (49)
26. Red Hot Chili Peppers (49)
27. Santigold (48)
28. Yeah Yeah Yeahs (48)
29. The Beatles (47)
30. Tool (46)
31. Wu-Tang Clan (46)
32. Linkin Park (42)
33. The Noisettes (41)
34. Coldplay (40)
35. Dead Kennedys (40)
36. Deftones (40)
37. David Bowie (39)
38. The Cure (39)
39. Public Enemy (37)
40. The Mars Volta (37)
41. Michael Jackson (36)
42. Miles Davis (36)
43. The Ramones (36)
44. Bjork (35)
45. Black Flag (35)
46. Common (35)
47. Incubus (35)
48. Saul Williams (35)
49. Lupe Fiasco (34)
50. No Doubt (34)

So now you know. Don’t say I never tell you nuthin’.

Why? Because I said so!