11/22/16 O&A NYC REVIEW: Black Violin Breaking Stereotypes In Brooklyn

By Walter Rutledge

Black Violin perform at the Kids Inaugural concert for children and military families, one of the events ahead of the second-term inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington

Black Violin, the classically trained duo violist and violinist duo of Wilner Baptiste (Wil B.) and Kevin Sylvester (Kev Marcus), opened the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College 2016- 2017 season with classic style. Accompanied by DJ SPS on turntables and Nathaniel Strokes on drums Black Violins performed a varied program to a packed diverse audience. Billed as Black Violin: The Unity Tour Wil B. and Kev Marcus have taken their classical background combined with their love of hip-hop and created a truly signature multi genre sound they refer to as “classical boom”. Continue reading

10/26/16 O&A NYC THROWBACK TUESDAY: O’Jays- Backstabbers, I Love Music, and For The Love Of Money

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The O’Jays are a R&B and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. The group is from Canton, Ohio and was formed in 1958. The O’Jays had their first chart appearance in 1963 with Lonely Drifter. Continue reading

9/15/16 O&A NYC THROWBACK THURSDAY: Paula Abdul- Straight Up

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Straight Up, released by dance, choreographer and singer Paula Abdul during the week of December 3, 1988.  The song became so popular it ascended up the charts before a music video had even been shot. Continue reading

8/11/16 O&A NYC WITH WaleStylez FILM: Paradise Garage- New York City’s Legendary Disco Comes To The Big Screen

By Adewale Adekanbi Jr.

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The Paradise Garage, New York’s iconic disco will be getting its own film highlighting its contribution to the city’s dance music culture and nightlife.  Continue reading

8/11/16 O&A NYC WITH WaleStylez FILM PREVIEW: Paradise Garage- New York City’s Legendary Disco Comes The Big Screen

By Adewale Adekanbi Jr.

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The Paradise Garage, New York’s iconic disco will be getting its own film highlighting its contribution to the city’s dance music culture and nightlife.  Continue reading

6/1/16 0&A NYC CELEBRATES LGBT HISTORY MONTH: Sylvester

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Sylvester James, Jr. better known as Sylvester, was a disco and soul singer-songwriter. Known for his flamboyant and androgynous appearance that exemplified the era. Sylvester was often described by the mainstream media as a drag queen, but he repeatedly rejected such a description. Responsible for a string of hit singles in the late 1970s, Sylvester became known in the United States under the moniker of the “Queen of Disco.” Continue reading

5/9/16 O&A NYC WITH WaleStylez- SONG OF THE DAY: THE 80’S: Shalamar – A Night To Remember

By Adewale Adekanbi Jr.

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 A Night to Remember by disco/R&B group Shalamar was released in February 1982 as the second single from their sixth studio album Friends (1982). Continue reading

4/21/16 (REPOST) O&A NYC THROWBACK THURSDAY: Donna Summer- Love To Love You Baby and MacArthur Park

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Donna Summer, a five-time Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter gained prominence during the disco era of the late 1970s. Summer has reportedly sold over 140 million records, making her one of the world’s best-selling artists of all time. She hols the distinction as the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach No. 1 on the United States Billboard album chart and four number-one singles in the United States within a 12-month period.

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Love to Love You Baby is a song by American singer and songwriter Donna Summer released in 1975. It became one of the first ever disco hits to also be released in an extended form. The final recording lasted over sixteen minutes, and contained the sexiest “simulated” orgasms ever found on vinyl. According to the BBC, the song contained 23 “orgasms”. In an interview in 1976, Summer responded to a number of questions that she claimed she’d been asked about the process of recording the song: “Everyone’s asking, ‘Were you alone in the studio?’ Yes, I was alone in the studio. ‘Did you touch yourself?’ Yes, well, actually I had my hand on my knee. ‘Did you fantasize on anything?’ Yes, on my handsome boyfriend Peter.

Love To Love You Baby-Soul Train (1976)

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MacArthur Park is a song which Jimmy Webb originally wrote and composed as part of an intended cantata. Webb initially brought the entire cantata to The Association, but the group rejected it. Among the best-known covers are Donna Summer’s disco arrangement from 1978. In the autumn of 1978 Donna Summer released a multi-million selling vinyl single disco version of MacArthur Park. This reached number one on the American pop music sales charts for three weeks during 1978, and it was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Summer was also nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Female at the American Music Awards.

MacArthur Park- Live (1978)

12/29/15 O&A NYC Song Of The Day: Madonna- Justify My Love

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Justify My Love by Madonna revolutionized the music industry with the first VHS video single.  Due to the highly sexually charged content MTV banned the music video. Madonna capitalized on the scandal becoming the first artist to release a single in this format., Continue reading

11/11/15 O&A NYC Throwback Thursday: Gloria Gaynor- I Will Survive

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I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor’s certified double platinum disco anthem, has remained popular. The song’s lyrics describe the narrator’s discovery of personal strength following an initially devastating breakup. It received heavy airplay in 1979, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and on the UK Singles Chart on consecutive weeks. Continue reading