Le Site de Boule

Primarily a bassist, multi-instrumentalist and producer Marcus Miller has worked on hundreds of sessions -- crossing jazz, R&B, and rock -- and has released several solo recordings since his late '70s beginnings with Bobbi Humphrey and Lonnie Liston Smith. Despite the many hats he has worn -- improviser, interpreter, arranger, songwriter, film-music composer, bassist, clarinetist, saxophonist -- none of them have been put on for the sake of the whim. Never one to merely get his feet wet, Miller has been a utility player in the most extreme and prolific sense.

Miller was a fixture as a performer in New York's jazz clubs before he was old enough to drive. Born in Brooklyn (b. June 14, 1959) and raised in nearby Jamaica, he knew how to play several instruments with ease by the time he entered his teenage years. His father, who directed a choir and played organ, had a profound impact upon his musical upbringing. Once he broke in with Humphrey and Smith, he gained steady work with the likes of Dave Gruisin, Earl Klugh, Grover Washington, Chaka Khan, and Bob James. During 1981 and 1982, the in-demand musician went on the road with longtime personal hero Miles Davis and would end up working with him on several albums -- including Tutu and Music from Siesta -- after that.

Throughout the '80s, '90s, and 2000s, Miller scattered several of his own albums throughout the constant pull of production and session work. His solo recordings were almost as diverse as his outside work; hybrids of smooth R&B, funk and jazz peppered the majority of the albums, while 1993's The Sun Don't Lie and the following year's Tales (both issued through PRA) also incorporated sampling technology. 2001's M2 won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. 2003's The Ozell Tapes: The Official Bootleg, released on Telarc, displayed his range as well as anything else bearing his handiwork; the live set incorporated originals, improvisation, and covers that ranged from material originally recorded by Talking Heads, the Stylistics, and John Coltrane. Silver Rain followed in 2005.

Power (live), ça s'écoute très bien :

In a violent Hip-Hop world dominated by music full of guns, cussing and drugs - Mos Def is a hugely welcome change. Born Dante Beze on December 11th, 1973, Mos has constantly proved himself to be one of hip-hops new-school visionaries - those who break the stereotype of the 'Gangsta rapper' and take hip-hop and rap to new and exciting levels. Indeed, Mos is a precious MC, devoted to his music, with a passion for social consciousness and a divine ability to entertain which will surely cement his place in musical history.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Mos grew up at the centre of hip-hops golden era of the 1980's. Inspired by the superhero MC's and New School leaders of the time (Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, De La Soul), Mos began rhyming at the tender age of nine. In the 80's most people who were fans of hip-hop were also fans of the culture in some way, but Mos wasn't just inspired by hip hop, he absorbed musical knowledge from across the artistic spectrum, as he himself states; "Im not just inspired by black art, but good art, representations of art that are sincere and genuine"

Encouraged by his younger brother (Medina Greens DCQ), Mos formed his first group with his younger sister - Urban Thermo Dynamics. On their first record - 'My Kung Fu' released in 1994, Mos' talent was clear to see - exhibiting all of his trademark nasal flow and playful scatting. After UTD's brief existence, Mos was invited to join the Native Tounges family, founded by Afrika Bambaataa and including established (and highly rated) artists like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest among its members. This provided the springboard Mos needed to build his reputation on his undeniable talent, he went on to make cameo appearances on De La Soul's 'Big Brother Beat' and Bush Babee's 'Love Song'. Record labels sat up and took notice of Mos' charm and charisma (essential to appeal to a crossover, worldwide audience) and his deft, intelligent rhyme skills coveted by the underground movement.

It was only a matter of time before Mos would find his way to a record label, and he chose Independent newcomers Rawkus to showcase his talents. At Rawkus Mos found a label willing to play by 'his' rules - "I liked being a free agent, I liked neogotiating my own terms, working with my own friends" With Mos' new record deal came the instant underground classic 'Universal Magnetic', combining a jazzy beat with Mos' endless stream of pulsating rhymes, and catapulting Mos to an underground favourite. Also in 1996, Mos teamed up for the first time with his soon to be partner-in-rhyme Talib Kweli, producing the legendary 'Fortified Live' collaboration.

In Talib Kweli Mos found a brother with the same beliefs, talent and mindset. Both socially conscious, community activists who saw the larger picture of hip-hop's influence in America and the world. The two then joined to form 'Blackstar', named after the first Negro owned steamship company in Africa, and produced their debut album - 'Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are....Blackstar'. Blackstar was designed to give the two MC's more recognition, the lesser exposed Talib Kweli became an overnight success and Blackstar's first album went on to become one of the most important albums of 1998. Mos tries to explain what Blackstar meant to the duo - "I know this is going to sound corny but - it's about black love and self esteem. These things that me and Kweli say on certain records coming out are our love for our tradition and indigenous people in this country, and about the resilience of the spirit to move forward."

In 1999, three months before the highly publicised end of the millennium, Mos was ready to unveil his first solo album - 'Black On Both Sides'. The RIAA certified Gold album embodies the best of hip-hops past, and peels open the persona of one of its brightest hopes for the future. Bringing to the fore Mos' experiences of life and life as a black person. Mos explains; "So often, artists like myself or Kweli are referred to as alternative or conscious. To me, that's like another code word to diminish your attachments to the community, to black people. You're like this foreign, distant element that people may admire from a distance but they don't have any real closeness to, it's not intimate to them, it's not of them."

Black On Both Sides officially established Mos amongst the elite of the hip-hop circus - at least in the eyes of the critics and those with an appreciation for REAL rap music. Surely with all the talent he posseses it will only be a matter of time before he (and Kweli) become worldwide rap stars. With a new Blackstar album and a new solo album scheduled for release some time this year, 2001 may be the 12 months where the Mighty Mos conquers new shores. But while Mos' music seems to be created to inspire with its vast imagination and ambition, he has a different perspective - "The revolution is personal, I'm not doing this for public acclaim. I'm doing this because it's sincere to me, it's real to me and whoever has feelings about it."

"Respiration" : titre extrait de l'album hip-Hop du siècle dernier "BlackStar" :

Née en Jamaique et imigré en Angleterre, il suit des études de sociologie, publie des poèmes et surtout enregistre de nombreux disques avec le label Love Island : Forces of Victory (1979), Bass Culture (1980), LKJ In dub (1980) et Making History (1984) avant de fonder son propre label, son nombre total de disques vendus s'èleve à plus de 2 millions.

Quand le dub rencontre la poésie, nos oreilles sont ravis. Artiste conscient, LKJ aborde de nombreux thèmes sociètaux. Sa musique est ultra-novatrice, rares sont les artistes qui peuvent après Bob Marley ont révolutionné le reggae. En l'écoutant on ne peut s'empecher de penser qu'on assiste aux balbutiements du raggamuffin et à tous les mouvements qui en découlent. Sauf que sa musique est pure dépourvue de violences, de sexisme et non-mercantiles. A ECOUTER !!!!

MC (maître de cérémonie) Solaar, de son vrai nom, Claude M'Barali, est né de parents tchadiens à Dakar le 5 mars 1969. Sa famille s'installe en banlieue parisienne alors qu'il n'a pas encore un an. Après le bac en 1988, il étudie les lettres et le droit. Parallèlement, il enregistre, dans un studio improvisé, une cassette demo de trois titres qui convainc le label Polydor d'investir sur ce jeune rappeur. En 1990, MC Solaar sort son premier single "Bouge De Là". L'année suivante la sortie de son premier album "Qui Sème le Vent Récolte le Tempo" le propulse au sommet car, contrairement à ses collègues rappeurs plutôt violents, Claude MC propose une écriture élaborée, sur des grooves sensuels, jamais frénétiques. Pour cet album, Solaar reçoit une victoire de la musique. Son deuxième album, "Prose Combat", sort en 1994. Après à mon gout ça se degrade... Meme si certains titres sont encore à la hauteur du talent du maître. De manière génèrale, Mc est un artiste rap qui a très bien su se sortir des standards du genre pour produire très vite une musique universelle. Et puis il faut le rapeler, ce qui étonne le plus chez c'est la richesse des textes.