I was born in '82, so most of these tunes are before I was really old enough to understand them, but I was deep into the New Jack era and early 90's hip hop that followed, which were inspired by songs like these. As I grew up and became a sort of crate digger, I fell in love with older soul music, including these jams from the 80's. Most of these tracks have been sampled by more contemporary artists and you will probably recognize a few, but there have got to be at least 20 different ones. I love the synths and 808s of these tunes, not to mention the song writing is pretty stellar. This was a time way before Auto Tune, when you had to earn your stripes and actually be a seasoned vocalist. Some of these tunes are from vinyl, so the sound quality isn't the greatest, also I mixed full songs just like old school should be mixed. None of that minute and a half shit on this one.
(The Expansion Project is a mix series exploring a different genre of music each month.)
Here is the track list:
1) L.A. Night - Yasuko Agawa [1986]
2) Destination Earth (1999) - Newcleus [1984]
3) (You're Puttin') A Rush On Me - Stephanie Mills [1987]
4) Genie - B.B. & Q. Band [1985]
5) Hangin On A String - Loose Ends [1984]
6) Baby Love - New Edition [1984]
7) Confusion - Aleem Ft Leroy Burgess [1985]
8) Games - Shalamar [1989]
9) On Our Own - Bobby Brown [1989]
10) Ecstacy - Endgames [1983]
11) Intimate Connection - Kleeer [1984]
12) Just The Way You Like It - The S.O.S Band [1984]
13) I'll Be Good - Rene & Angela [1985]
14) Tell Me (How It Feels) - 52nd Street [1985]
15) (Walking In) The Rain - Oran Juice Jones [1986]
16) Twilight - Maze Feat. Frankie Beverly [1984]
17) You Are In My System - System [1983]
18) Love's Gonna Get You - Jocelyn Brown [1985]
19) Roses Are Red - Mac Band Feat. The McCampbell Brothers [1988]
20) Single Life - Cameo [1985]
21) Jealousy - Club Nouveau [1986]
22) I Wouldn't Lie - Yarbrough & Peoples [1986]
23) A Night To Remember - Shalamar [1989]
24) You Put the L in Love - Alfie Silas [1983]
25) You Used To Hold Me So Tight - Thelma Houston [1984]
26) Are You Single - Aurra [1981]
As always, big ups to Static Despair for the artwork!
