( Part. II )
Reggie Hudlin : Is Ohio the funkiest state in the nation?
Bootsy, Calloway Brothers, Roger Troutman, Faze-O, the Ohio
Players.....
what's the deal?
FOLEY : Aaaaaawwwww, Man !!!!
Don't forget the "ISLEY" Bros. too
( which meant HENDRIX spent a fair amount of time up in Ohio, as
well )
Reggie :
I thought the Isley's were New Jersey boys.
You mean they came from
Ohio too?
FOLEY :
Yeah...dem Cincinnati Boyz !!!
Reggie : Bootsy told me it's because they "P" in the river...that's what makes everyone funky.
FOLEY : Ha ha haha !!!!!!
I don't know what it is ......
Shit , even "JAMES BROWN" set-up shop
in O-H-I-O !!
( with "KING records" being ran outta cincy )
Reggie : Dang, I didn't know that either.
FOLEY :
Yep !
Reggie : That's sensible.
FOLEY : Actually , I think ANY
smalltown USA .....that doesn't have the "Industry" ,
you'll get a certain amount of humility or Hopefulness to strive for
the Truth !
Whereas in a Big City....
just trying to survive ALONE can take the twinkle & wonderment outta MF's
eyes real quick !
About whatever it is.... they do.
That's why most folks in these small towns tend to "Eat,
Sleep & drink" what they are !
Like for instance .....D'Angelo's not from NYC
or LA !!
And he's the last kat to inspire a movement....
Reggie : Or Prince & the whole Minneapolis thang before that...
FOLEY :
EXACTLY !
Prince still jokes about living
there....
He
says it's so cold, it's keeps ALL of the "Bad" people away !
Reggie Hudlin : Are there any other musicians in
your family?
FOLEY : Not on my Mom's side .....
My father plays a little flute & upright bass.
All of my Dad's brothers played..... nothin' but Musicians ( Good & bad )
but , they had em !
I had an uncle "Louis" ( guitarist ) that went
to NYC & was wearnin' Folks out !!
but, he died young & never got his due.
Reggie : So you think the whole musical thing is
genetic, to some degree?
FOLEY :
I don't know ...
I'm sure it would be "hip"
to say : "Yeah, man.... it's in my blood"
But, I think EVERYBODY has the capacity to BE
& THINK & DO whatever
they can FEEL !
As long as a person can recieve the DIVINE gifts of
: Humility !!
And, first realizing that "THERE IS SOMETHING BIGGER
THAN YOU" !!
( and YOUR problems etc. )
And, when my Mom & Dad split *when I
was 4 yrs. old* I was all alone musically.
( I felt like I had to pick it up in the streets, like
a drug habit or somethin' )
Reggie Hudlin : Who filled that space? Where did you
get your musical taste from?
Your training on instruments?
FOLEY :
I have No training .....
I have no particular tastes .....
Time has and will CONTINUE
to fill THAT
space for me !!
I'm such a realist man.....to a fault maybe , depending on ones
perspective
Shit, quite frankly ....with All that YOU know about music ?
They don't want U to start recording !!
Ha ha ...
Reggie
Hudlin : I know enuff to work with a Bad brutha like You !!
FOLEY : Thanks You, Reggie !
Man, U produced so many records just from overseeing your
films, tho !!
( cause , it really equates the same )
A Release....is A Release !!!!
Right ?!?!?
I just turned 42yrs. old...in Nov. and I've been in the Game
*seriously* for 25 yrs.
( more than "half"
of my life , thus far )
A "Working" musician
since I was 15yrs old .....listening to everything from
"OSIBISA"
to "BLACK SABBATH" to "the JACKSON 5"
since I was 8-9 yrs. old....
And , it STILL all sounds the SAME to me !!
It's either GOOD
Music ....or NOT !
Good Thoughts , Bad Thoughts
( Good / Bad ) Art ,
People etc.
There's only "
2 types " of ANYTHING !!
( Most times.... things are VERY Black
& White )
I guess... that's why
"Grey" areas STILL fascinate most people ?
Reggie Hudlin : Is there a style of music you HATE?
FOLEY : Yeah, Hell yeah .....
BAD , "Un-inspired" Music ....of any type.
I hate when People don't MEAN IT !
So when is your country album coming out?
FOLEY : Ha hahahahaha !!!
Like "Aunt Esther" said : "
I'll sit down ...when I get to the Seat !! "
Reggie :
Name the five greatest female R&B singers of all time.
Don't cheat and try and put jazz singers in there.
FOLEY : Ha ha ha , ok !!
this isn't in any particular order now.....
1.Mavis
2.Aretha
3.Patti
4.Gladys
5.Chaka
Five excellent
choices I must say.
FOLEY :
Aaaaawwww, Reg....pleeeez
Man, I would be in "Violation"
otherwise !!!
Now , I'll give ya "7"
mo' ......
6. Linda Jones
7. Belita Woods
8. Joyce Kennedy
9. Phyllis Hyman
10. Kim Mc Farland
11. Rosie Gaines
12. Adaritha ( Norman Conners )
"Ms. BELITA WOODS"
Reggie : Ok, Joyce Kennedy...educate me!
FOLEY : U
fuckin wit me , right ?
MOTHERS FINEST ?!?!?
"Joyce" ?!?!?
Reggie : Okay, that's
a shame.
I can hear her singing
"I don't wanna come back" in my ears right now...but didn't know her name.
FOLEY : I was bout ta Say ?!?!?
With all of that Mother's
Finest U got in yo crib !!
Reggie : The Funkadelics used to talk about Mother's
Finest as one of the few groups that could rock them onstage.
FOLEY : Aaaaaw, man .....
Ask "VAN
HALEN" about "Mother's Finest" !!!!
They use to open for
THEM ?!?!?
Alex Van Halen even took
one of "BB Queen's" beats from a live MF show .....and, used it
on their 2nd album !!!
So, VAN HALEN GOT ALOT
OF "MOTHER'S FINEST" UP IN THEIR SHIT , AS WELL !!!
And, as far as the Females again ....
an honorable mention to THE GREATEST FEMALE singing group of ALL
TIME :
"The Emotions"
Reggie Hudlin :
Those Ladies are
unbelievable. They sound like "Sunshine" to me.
FOLEY
: That's THE Best description I've heard of those
Ladies !
Well Put , Reg !!
THANK YOU !
FOLEY : S' aiiiiight !!
The
"SMARTALECMUSIC" Burning Question:
" Wynton Marsalis "
"Keeping Jazz alive ? or
presiding over its funeral ?"
FOLEY : HA !!!!
He's one of the reasons for the "Death" of
it !
Well , Ain't
he ? You betta come on in , man !!
He's got his classical chops , but...that's just some ole "sight reading"
?!?
Those aren't HIS Notes ?!?!?
That ain't creating nothin' NEW with it ?!?!
Reggie : But man, here's what's been trippin' me
out. I have a 7 week old daughter (Helena Grace) so of course I'm all over the music in
her room...and life. "Experts" say Mozart is the best music for kids. I"m
like, Mozart is cool...but that sounds like some eurocentric bias to me.
FOLEY : U
know folks gotta keep "Dat Shit" goin'......
* Ain't no telling what's gonna happen with Eminem's legacy*
Reggie : So
what am I playing for her? Start with Miles, of course...All Blues, The Duke, Porgy and
Bess, lotsa ballads.... Debussy, John Barry, Kathleen Battle.... ...but man, THE BEATLES
are SO RIGHT for a kid!!!! They are the flyest nursery rhymes ever! The highest compliment! Newborn loves it, adults singing
along...that's the highest gift man. That music sounds like love itself !!!
FOLEY : Ha ha ha..No Doubt !!
The Real "Pied Piper"
Mr. McCartney !!
But , U know what ?
Now that I think about it ......
Wynton's "Blues" ain't all that convincing to
me , either.
When anyone of those
"Purists" decides to put a back-beat against some of THAT music ?
Then , I ( like alot of other folks ) might
get excited !!
You take a kat like : Herbie
Hancock ....
THAT'S WHAT JAZZ SOUNDS LIKE !!!
Cause, he can play all of that
"Classical" stuff & STILL write : "BUTTERFLY"
The "Hip-Hop" community
has embraced him as a founding father as well ...
Those who can .... WILL !!
and, those who can't ......WON'T !!!!
Fuck an endowment ....Bring Da Heat !!
Reggie
Hudlin : We're
living in days were damn near every month an old master passes away. In five or ten
years I feel like jazz will be a lost art, like how they built the pyramids.
FOLEY : No Shit ....
All of those "Jazz"
festivals have ( year by year ) become "Music" festivals
for this very reason.
Reggie : What does jazz TODAY supposed to
sound like?
FOLEY : If U could find somebody Honest enuff ( with "Concepts" )
to expose the truth ?
I could prolly answer that.....
but , Andre 3000
& D'angelo are
makin an effort .....fa Sho '
Ha hahaha !!!!!!
Actually, when I think about it ?
"BJORK" is the only
one out there *REALLY* pushin' shit
Photo
: The Observer
Reggie : Aaaaawwwwwww man, that's my GIRL.
I LOVE me some Bjork. One
of the three most interesting artists in the game today.
I saw her live at the
Hollywood Bowl. Her live show is sick too.
FOLEY : *Lucky Muhfucka*
Do drugs significantly impact creativity? If Miles never got high, would he been as
great?
FOLEY : It's what's goin thru a person ULTIMATELY
!!!
That "DIVINE" intervention ?
but, the GREAT Illusion is....
some folks THINK that they NEED drugs to get
themselves "ONLINE"
Cause, when I got with MILES ( in '87 ) he was
Sober.....
AND, STILL PLAYIN' HIS ASS OFF !!!
Photo : Dany Gignoux
I remember once Carlos ( Santana ) told me that he had to learn how to
play all over again !
when he got off that shit ....But, I'm sure he just needed to remind
himself of how to get "online" without it !
Reggie :
Of the new jacks, cats under 30 that never heard P.Funk or EWF at their peak, who
is the best? R. Kelly, Kanye West, Andre
3000, or somebody else I'm forgetting?
FOLEY : Yes, the Baddest kat of them
all.... that's under 30 : D'angelo !!!
Reggie : Thank you, D'Angelo is sick. But
what's up with the work ethic...or lack thereof?
FOLEY : I first met D in London when
he first came out....and, he was MADD Cool !
Plus, he wasn't to be fucked with ....but, He's prolly sick of
the bullshit , I reckon.
I mean this kat couldn't even take
care of his body & get fit .....
without women grabbing
his nutts on that last tour !
Yellin
"take it off" & shit , at times un-necessarily....
While he's really trying to sing ?!?!
When I
saw him in ATL in '95 he did the dopest version of Curtis'
"The Makings of You"
and, folks talked all the way thru
the song... waiting on "Brown Sugar"
He Killed it !!
Just him at the Rhodes &
his voice !
Curtis would have been proud ,
man ....
Reggie : A beautiful choice. He destroys stuff like that.
FOLEY : Aaaaaaaay , Wait .....
No one questions Steely Dan's
time in between albums ?!?!
Reggie Hudlin : Yeah, but didn't the early records come faster
than the later ones?
My man only has two joints
out! Two! That's frustrating as hell...brothers are THIRSTY for good music.
FOLEY : Sometime's it takes a second , Reg !
especially when YOU'RE the
ONLY *Real* source of creativity !!
Back in the day, in a
group setting ....there's alot of people to Borrow / Steal from !!
Plus, SLY's got 3-4 records put away too....
Reggie : Oh man...and what about the left over stuff
from the old days?
I want to hear the
"director's cut" of RIOT and FRESH.
FOLEY :
Ha !!!!
SLY prolly
don't wanna be bothered with this bullshit ( the Industry ) either !!!
I think it
takes alot longer, to recoup from the craziness of folks today , than it did
before ....
Reggie :
Maybe so... but, how about just NOT TOURING ? Which is what
Steely Dan did !
FOLEY : Yeah.... but, you know they workin' the
hell outta these folks today , man !
Not like they Haven't before , tho....
"Clear
Channel" will wake dat ass up in the Middle
of the Night !!!
Reggie Hudlin : Have black people lost
their soul?
FOLEY : Nah.... I'm an Optimist !!
but, we damn sho' "Mis-placed it"
somewhere !!!
It's
Sad....really Sad.
I remember when Ice Cube said :
"Soul Train" done lost dey soul....
should just call it "Train" cos' dem bitches look like
hoes"
Reggie Hudlin : Somebody needs to put together the "Book of
Cube" because he's got so many lines like that. I say "they'll
be a new nigga next year" all the time.
FOLEY : Ha
hahahaha !!
The "BOOK OF
CUBE" !!!!
Uh, let us turn our text to.....
Reggie :
Berry Gordy, George Clinton, Puffy: same guy,
different flavors
or no comparison between them?
FOLEY : All of the above , actually !!
Berry Gordy ~ The Deal-maker......
George Clinton ~ The GREAT Referee
......
Puffy ~ The Crowd Pleaser
P.Diddy & the "Former" 1st Lady
Reggie Hudlin : You call Gordy the deal maker, but he wrote and
produced too, right?
FOLEY :
Yeah, right....?!?!?
"The Corporation"
(TM ) produced all that shit !
Holland , Dozier , Holland
Freddie Perren
Barrett Strong
Willie Hutch
Berry made the deals ....THEY
made that "Music"
