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Triple play
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It's back to square one--sort of--for urban supergroup Lucy Pearl
by SCOTT C
In the world of popular music, the concept of the side project is used by artists everywhere as an industry tool. Whether it's to reinvent the sad and tired image of a washed-up has-been, or to provide a creative safety net for those trying to escape commercialized pop-tart hell, the side project allows an artist to jam with his buddies and, if they're lucky, sell some records at the same time.
Lucy Pearl isn't so much a side project as it is a next step for the talented people involved. Formed in the summer of '99, it was pretty much a fluke that all three members had exhausted their contractual obligations and were eagerly looking for something new to do.
Raphael Saadiq, formerly of R&B/new jack swing kings Tony! Toni! Toné!, had originally wanted to start a group with Ali Shaheed Muhammed from A Tribe Called Quest and current heavyweight champion of soul D'Angelo. Ali jumped on board but D couldn't commit, leaving the door open for Dawn Robinson, formerly of R&B diva foursome En Vogue.
The result has allowed Lucy Pearl to emerge as a fresh mix of R&B, soul and hip hop production, backed with real bass, guitar and serious harmonies. A decidedly fly-by-night approach to songwriting and production has reared some great tracks that don't change that much from studio to the live show, which they bring to Montreal on August 26. The Mirror spoke to Ali Shaheed Muhammed on the phone as he was getting ready for a show in Chicago.
Mirror: I saw you guys on some late-night show last week.
Ali Shaheed Muhammed: Yeah, I think it was that Cynthia Garret show.
M: That's why I couldn't remember. You know, she has no business havin' a show. Didn't you do a medley of songs with all of your respective groups' hits worked in?
ASM: That's something we decided to do before we started touring. It's just that we never realized how many people really don't know where we came from (laughs). So it's kind of an introduction of who we are for them, and a chance for those who know to remember for a second. We do that at all of our live performances.
M: What's the ideal-sized audience that you need to give the best show you can give?
ASM: About 2,500 to 3,000 people. I like smaller crowds because, after playing to 18 and 20,000 people with Tribe over the years, I've learned that I get more energy off of a smaller, more immediate crowd. You can't beat that. Also, in a bigger place, the acoustics get worse the bigger you go.
Interpolation nation
M: Having come up with so many great songs for A Tribe Called Quest over the years, what's more fulfilling to you as a producer, the whole process of sampling, sequencing and programming a track, or composing and arranging with live instruments?
ASM: Because I've learned how to merge the two, it's all fulfilling to me. Different days are inspiring, whether it's sitting down diggin' for samples on old vinyl, or working out something with the guitar and bass and piecing it together. The more I learn about the process of arranging music, the more excited I get.
M: Does Ali Shaheed Muhammed still dig for records, 'cause you know cats are paying other people to do it these days.
ASM: Yes, I still dig for records. I probably shop in every second city. I'm buying less, though. Instead of walking into a shop and buying 50 records, I walk in and buy three. I'm doing less sampling these days. This guy who was teaching me guitar told me that with what I know now, I could be recreating half of the licks and lines that I've sampled over the years. Not just copying licks and stuff, but breakin' it down and altering it to fit your composition.
M: I think they call that "interpolation." Or at least that's what Dre calls it when he borrows a melody but plays it himself.
ASM: Nah, I'm not even talking like that....
M: But that's what they call it when it's not sampled, but it's an obvious rip-off of some song.
ASM: Well, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, George Clinton, Parliament Funkadelic, the people who inspired me also ripped each other off all the time. But they would build on whatever they took and make it their own.
Just like old times
M: When did you realize that Lucy Pearl was going to be a little more than the three of you just messin' about in the studio?
ASM: Well, we did a few shows in the States and the U.K. and the reception was pretty good. "Dance Tonight" [the first single] also got things rolling pretty quick.
M: Is it true that the Brits have a better appreciation for real soul music than people in the States? You wouldn't be the first American to tell me so.
ASM: I remember doing shows in England a little while ago where the show was sold out, but people were sitting in their seats and clapping between songs, like it was some kind of Shakespeare play or something. I like when people get up out of their seats and wave their hands in the air and enjoy themselves.
M: Is it weird to you that people are hesitant to file Lucy Pearl under the regular umbrella of R&B?
ASM: Well, people ask us all the time what we think our music is, and it's just a hard question. There's definitely a lot of elements going on, but the soul of the music shines through amidst all of it. The easiest thing to do is file us under R&B.
M: What's it like opening for your boy D'Angelo? I noticed you had a few dates in the States with him and Slum Village.
ASM: Our first show with Slum Village is tonight, they just joined the tour. It's going cool, though. It's been a long time since I've been in an opening-band position, for real. Like, "Yo! You the opening act!" I haven't had that kind of disrespect in about eight or nine years (laughs). It's cool, though. We never wanted anybody to hand us anything on a silver platter, based on our previous musical accomplishments.
M: But c'mon, man, you must get love. It's not like people don't know who you are.
ASM: A lot of people don't know who we are! Some people think we did that single for a soundtrack and don't even know there's a whole [self-titled] record to go with it. It's humbling to know that you have to start almost at the beginning again, but it's inspiring to know that we have good, strong material to stand on.
M: Have you got any plans to get back into hip hop production? Or are you Ali-the-neo-soul-guy now?
ASM: Everybody wants to know if I'm gettin' back into hip hop. Of course. It's just that I've been on this journey for the last few years, learning to play real instruments, and I guess that's kept me in the R&B world. It's not like I set out to make R&B, it's just where I tend to end up musically as of late.
With Carl Henry at the Spectrum on Saturday, Aug. 26, 7:30pm, $24.50
Pearls of wisdom
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A bit of background on the Lucy Pearl triumvirate
by SCOTT C
Ali Shaheed Muhammed was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. After meeting a positive young brother in high school who called himself Q-Tip, the two started the groundbreaking hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest along with Phife Dawg the Five Footer and Jarobi. Mr. Muhammed, as he was called, handled the DJing and shared production tasks for four of the most important hip hop releases ever: People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, The Low End Theory, Midnight Marauders and Beats, Rhymes and Life. Ali Shaheed has also produced songs for D'Angelo, Angie Stone and Mos Def.
Raphael Saadiq was born in the musical melting pot of Oakland, California. Influenced at an early age by artists like Marvin Gaye, Sly Stone and Miles Davis, the bassist/singer/songwriter had goals when he formed the funky new-jack-swing unit Tony! Toni! Toné! with his brother Dwayne Wiggins and cousin Timothy Christian. TTT released their debut album Who? in 1988, followed by The Revival, Sons of Soul and House of Music. After leaving the band in 1998, Saadiq has been busy working with everyone from John Mellencamp to Eric Benet, putting his multi-instrumentalist talents to the test.
Dawn Robinson, although born in Connecticut, was also raised in Oakland, California. Coming from a singing family, she first sang in church choirs, and later in Top 40 club bands when she got older. In 1988 she co-founded the R&B group En Vogue and changed the playing field for girl groups everywhere. En Vogue released the best-selling album Funky Divas, along with hit singles like "Hold On," "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" and "Free Your Mind." Dawn left En Vogue in 1997 in search of something new, and it looks like she found it.
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