Truly tragic news today with word that Soul Train host and creator has died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. And while the world mourns this titan of funk, soul, R&B, disco and hip-hop, we decided the only true way to honor Cornelius is to go back and watch the show he created. Having aired from 1971-2006, with over 1,100 episodes, it’s impossible to find all the incredible gems Soul Train had to offer. But here’s URB’s selection of 15 live performances that are impossible to forget.
Kanye West & Jay-Z
Watch The Throne
These days, expectations for albums such as Watch The Throne are hard to conjure. It is far too easy to know what is wanted...
A celebration dedicated to too many people to mention both living and resting (R.I.P. Guru), DJ Premier and the Beat Junkies (including DJ Rhettmatic and DJ Babu) absolutely obliterated hip-hop at the Echoplex on Saturday only to reconstruct it via expertly crafted golden age-inspired sets. Babu and Rhettmatic made their way through the likes of James Brown, Dead Prez, …
Janelle Monae and her tight band were playing for about 150 lucky people in an intimate setting at legendary producer Bob Clearmountain’s Berkeley Street Studio in Santa Monica. It was a KCRW’s invite-only performance, and a part of Morning Becomes Eclectic.
The mood was already set with free beer and wine when the band entered the stage. Surrounded by Roland keys and Marshall Amps, Janelle and two backup dancers entered stage Illuminati style with hooded cloaks. The beautiful intro of “Suite II Overture” from her major-label debut The ArchAndroid led into the irresistible “Dance Or Die” which is possibly my favorite song of 2010. The energetic “Faster” follows seamlessly and merges with “Locked Inside”. Then they bring it all down, Janelle and guitarist Kellindo Parker share the stage and performs the …
Ok, I realize that pop stars are supposed to follow trends to their obvious conclusion and create blockbuster-sized singles out of whatever the zeitgeist happens to offer up at that particular moment. So why am I so annoyed with Christina Aguilera hunkering down with producer Switch and co-writer M.I.A. on this new track leaked off her Bionic album dropping next week? Maybe it’s because this track is going to burn a hole in my gray matter all summer long, no matter how inferior it is to just about everything else Switch and Maya have done in their collective careers. Or maybe, since seeing Xtina destroy even the nose-bleed seats singing “It’s A Man’s World” in tribute to James Brown at the Grammys a few years ago, I thought she had evolved passed cheap popdom. I mean, even the senior ladies …



























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