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"How can I love somebody else/If I can't love myself?" sings Mary J. Blige on "Be Happy," the penultimate track on My Life. The legend is that she recorded this seminal album while struggling with substance abuse and a tumultuous romance with Jodeci's K-Ci Hailey. She sang of pain as well as pleasure, and the incredible six-minute slow jam "I Never Wanna Live Without You" inspired plenty of baby-making. Executive produced by Sean "Puffy" Combs, this is a portrait of a young woman trying to find faith in God and the promise of eternal love, and it is one of the best albums of the '90s. [Mosi Reeves]
Hear It Now! |
Each Christmas brings with it another glut of holiday soul albums. This year's crop includes 
It's a bit late to celebrate Juneteenth. After all, the annual holiday commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States doesn't take place in the middle of September, but at the beginning of summer, on June 19. Perhaps it's the onset of fall, though, that makes our thoughts turn to warmer months and memories of park jams, barbecue and family reunions.
We admit that the title of this Cheat Sheet we've compiled ("we" being Latin editor 
Dance variety shows that targeted younger fans had long been a staple of pop music by the time Chicago DJ and concert promoter Don Cornelius premiered Soul Train in 1970. But with the first howl of "Soooooul Train!" the beloved result irrevocably transformed the heavily whitewashed model of such earlier programs as American Bandstand. The focus on African-American artists and, well, soul music -- Motown, funk, classic R&B, Philly soul, and, later, disco and hip-hop -- made the show a cultural hub for African-American audiences, and brought that culture to the white mainstream, introducing viewers across the United States to new fashions, dances and music. 
When it comes to adventures in music, you can do a lot worse than Coachella - a kaleidoscope of bands and fans spanning all manner of genres and scenes. Rhapsody sent its rock editor, 
Here at Rhapsody, none of us were high school age back in 1965, so we can only imagine what a genuine go-go was like. Our thoughts turn to the scene in Malcolm X when his assassins tour the Audubon Ballroom during a youth dance the night before he was killed, casing the joint while kids shuffle and stomp to 
Talk about "Hands on a Hard Body": for a certain species of auto-shop student, back in 1995, tricked-out rides were raised to the level of an art form. And while all kinds of hip-hop fueled their subwoofers, surely the most potent strain was G-funk, with its slinky leads and suggestive bounce, rolling and purring like an El Dorado.
Much of soul history has been dominated by powerhouse African American singers — rightly so. Soul is often couched in the pain and joy, trials and tribulations of African American experiences. Every so often, however, along comes a white girl who has the blues — or manages to sing like she does, belting her way through one soul style or another with a big voice and bigger heart. 
Before we get started, it bears remembering that the black community is not monolithic. There are various segments within it just like any other. Just as there is a pop mainstream, there is a black equivalent, too. Historically speaking, black radio programmers can be more conservative than their white counterparts. Stars have long complained of being unable to crack black radio playlists, from Bob Marley to 
It's impossible to summarize the contributions of black musicians to our cultural history with a few random albums. Some of the innovators we could not fit into this short list include 
Before your favorite rock, rap, pop and country stars were famous, they were just … people. Which, chances are, also means they were struggling and striving musicians or singers who probably spent time in bands that never hit big, and that you may have never even heard of. Some of those bands recorded actual albums, or at least singles — many of which just happen to be available on Rhapsody. Here's a pile to check out. 
It was as if nobody wanted to admit it was 2010. MGMT released a paean to '60s psyche, Ariel Pink looked back at the '70s and '80s through rose-colored, lo-fi glasses and Broken Bells and Cee-Lo dipped their buckets in the ever-deepening well of '70s soul. LCD Soundsystem plundered '80s avant disco, while Robyn revisited the halcyon days of Swedish pop. On the other end, Janelle Monae peered into the future and saw messianic robots, while Flying Lotus crafted an album that mined the sublime amidst fractured electro future shock. The albums that strained for the zeitgeist -- Kanye West's angry, self-obsessed Fantasy and Arcade Fire's meditation on the mundane crunch of suburban life -- were the most emotionally desperate and revealing. There was more great music, as always, and we've compiled our top 50 albums right here.
Earlier this year, 
There's something in the air these days. Could it be the changing leaves of fall? The excitement of October baseball? No wait, we've got it -- widespread global freakout! With the election around the corner and international markets in the dumps, change is coming whether we're ready or not. Music has always had something to say about times like these, so we figured we'd round up 20 classic political albums in the hopes of stimulating debate. Because it's not like you've got anything else to worry about, right?
If ever there were a rock 'n' roll holiday, it's Halloween. Ghosts, ghouls, goblins, blood sports, sexy costumes and hard candy all take center stage. And while that sounds frightening to some, it's also all the ingredients for a great party. Get your own holiday started with our selection of music's greatest Halloween songs as well as a collection of some of the scariest songs ever made. If you dare, read the tales of debauchery and occultism in our "Rock's Scariest Stories" feature. Dig in, and don't forget to turn off the lights.
Throughout the '70s, while as-yet-unrecorded hip-hop was evolving up in the South Bronx, a comparably funky new dance music was emerging in the black neighborhoods of Washington, D.C (or, as the title of 
The legendary "Muscle Shoals sound" is deceptively difficult to define. Its most definitive recordings — "
Listen to all your favorite soul artists whenever and however you want with your Rhapsody subscription. If you don't have one,