Cover Sundays – Joi Gilliam as HotHeavy&Bad – “If And When” – The Three Degrees Cover – Live at Pal’s Lounge (Atlanta)

Tags

2011, Atlanta, Battery Park, Blue Lines, Blue Lines Blog, Camera video, Cover, Cover Songs, Cover Sundays, Covers, Creative Loafing, Devon Lee, Dodge, Hot Heavy & Bad, HotHeavy&Bad, iPhone, Joi, Joi Gilliam, kblackout, live, Live Music, music, New York, Pal's Lounge, Photography, Re-launch, Tennessee, Undercover, walking, World Trade Center

A Cover Sunday post I had wanted to do for some while, as I tried to find a video, I remembered I had footage of her performing “The Three Degree’s “If And When” at Pal’s Lounge in Atlanta from 2011. A song that really struck while walking through the new World Trade Center construction in New York during July 2011.


The manuscript Blue Lines is the fictional coming of age narrative of a young California woman Key Yemaya Walker, and her 2 year growing journey through school, love, and life period piece, written by Kenneth Suffern, Jr., taking place at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill between the years of 1997 – 1998. Loosely based on true events, and experiences during that time, told through the eyes and voice of the main female protagonist, a freshman first attending the school.

Foto Fridays – Joi Performing At Creative Loafing Relaunch Party Circa 2010

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Atlanta, Blue Lines, Blue Lines Blog, Creative Loafing, Foto Fridays, HotHeavy&Bad, Joi, Joi Gilliam, Key Yemaya Walker, music, Photography, photoshop, Sound Table, Star Kitty’s Revenge, Tennessee Slim Is The Bomb, The Amoeba Cleansing Syndrome, The Pendulum Vibe

The manuscript Blue Lines is the fictional coming of age narrative of a young California woman Key Yemaya Walker, and her 2 year growing journey through school, love, and life period piece, written by Kenneth Suffern, Jr., taking place at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill between the years of 1997 – 1998. Loosely based on true events, and experiences during that time, told through the eyes and voice of the main female protagonist, a freshman first attending the school.

This Should Be In Your Playlist:Music I Like – Artist Joi Gilliam & HotHeavy&Bad Download Link

Tags

Aaliyah, Angie Stone, Atlanta, Big Gipp, Blue Hurt, Blue Lines, Blue Lines Blog, Bridgeport, Coko, Connecticut, Da 5 Foota, Dallas Austin, Dawn Robinson, Devon Lee, Dungeon Family, Earwax Records, En Vogue, Erykah Badu, F.Y.E., Freedom, Freedom (Theme From Panther), Freeworld Records, Georgia, Goodie Mob, HotHeavy&Bad, Jefferson Street Joe Gilliam, Jill Scott, Joi, Joi Gilliam, Key Yemaya Walker, Keypsiia, Keypsiia Walker, Kriss Kross, Lisa Lopes, Lucy Pearl, Mario Van Peebles, Mary J. Blige, MC Lyte, Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Monica, Music I Like, OutKast, Pal's Lounge, Panther, Pastor Troy, Patra, Pittsburgh Steelers, Queen Latifah, Raphael Sadiq, Rowdy Records, Salt-N-Pepa, Sam Goody's, Star Kitty’s Revenge, Sunshine & The Rain, SWV, Tennessee, Tennessee Slim Is The Bomb, The Amoeba Cleansing Syndrome, The Pendulum Vibe, This Should Be In Your Playlist, TLC, Trumball, xXx, Yin Yang Cafe, Yo Yo

It took quite some time to gather the right thoughts to make this post. Joi Gilliam, Joi…Joi is virtually the best artist that for some reason the masses has not heard of. Now what do I mean by that? You’ve heard her music often, but you may have not known it. Not to compare her, or to say that she created a music movement, but before you (music listening public) had Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, etc., there was Joi.
In 1994, before I left Atlanta and Georgia I first heard the Tennessee born daughter of Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback “Jefferson Street” Joe Gilliam, Joi’s, classic, “Sunshine& The Rain,” on community radio in Atlanta (“urban” radio stations here would not play Hip-Hop, nor anything thing that was not a national R&B standard, therefore Atlanta natives Outkast, and non-MTV songs by TLC, or Kriss Kross (given for effect) would not make it to local radio). As I often discovered with independent radio, I would find a new song, but it was highly unlikely I would find out who the artists was. Armed with this tape recorded song, I pumped this unknown artist all the way from Atlanta to New York and Connecticut.

Luckily, Joi’s work was released and I remember walking into the Sam Goody’s F.Y.E. concept store in Trumbull mall and seeing the new release wall, and Joi had her entire placement of her debut, The Pendulum Vibe, there. Not knowing that this was the artist I had been bumping, I was always inclined to try out new music, even without having heard it (I returned home after my 2 years in Bridgeport with over 1K CD’s of music, all catalogued in a notebook). Well I picked the CD up, and saw the title “Sunshine & The Rain,” I felt like I had won the lottery, first I had a full length album of an incredible artist that I only had previously had a partial taped song, and a real artist was given the opportunity to put her work out. I walked around that store, until our group left clutching the $18.99 compact disc until it was time to check out. I dropped the disc into my Sony Discman on the way back to campus, and had my first true magical experience with her music. My life was changed. I own, 3 copies of the album, and have purchased copies for friends before it went out of print.

Cover Sundays – Joi Gilliam / HotHeavy&Bad – “Dust In The Wind” Kansas Cover

Tags

Blue Lines, Cover Sundays, Dust In The Wind, HotHeavy&Bad, Joi Gilliam, Kansas, Key Yemaya Walker

The manuscript Blue Lines is the fictional coming of age narrative of a young California woman Key Yemaya Walker, and her 2 year growing journey through school, love, and life period piece, written by Kenneth Suffern, Jr., taking place at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill between the years of 1997 – 1998. Loosely based on true events, and experiences during that time, told through the eyes and voice of the main female protagonist, a freshman first attending the school.

What I Learned Sundays – Wow…Reenvisioned…Amended

Tags

Apache Cafe, Atlanta Braves, Blackberry, Blue Lines, Boardwalk 11, Citizen Cope, HotHeavy&Bad, iPhone, iPod, Joi Gilliam, Karaoke, Key Yemaya Walker, Keypsiia, Keypsiia Walker, LA Dodgers, music, Pal's Loung, Sideways, Solvang California, Wine Tasting, Work Wife, World Wide Lounge

Damn, let’s restart. This post initially began as “What I Learned Sundays – Yesterdays,” after Work Wifey, and my Cuzzo read it, the decision was made to pull it back. I will make special exceptions for a select few. This version has been amended also. Thus called “Reenvisioned”

What did I learn? Well I had the unique opportunity to reconnect with the subject of my manuscript, Blue Lines. An experience that involved exceptional highs, and some lows, it also brought perspective and allowed her to become a “person,” and not this fictional character that she had been over the last 14 years, dating back to “When We Were Babies.”

Though a learning process, that did not bring “peace,” per se, it allowed me to see the forest for the trees, a strange journey, only because it was not “new” to me, but had never happened previously. Although, I have not yet confirmed, I think WW and I had this familiar conversation regarding a dream I had had in the past few months, and felt like déjà vu, that in the most important respects was eerily familiar.

It encompassed reconnecting with some of my recently transplanted friends, meeting new people both through my previous experience. Other than that, many details are not of import both publically, and because today is a totally different day than any last night and this weekend.

Updated Again 2012: Dynamic Post – Artists Who Need To Put Out New Material

Tags

Alice Smith, Alien Ant Farm, Amel Larriuex, Ayo, Billie-Eve, Black And White America, Blu, Cassandra Wilson, Coachella, Coldplay, Common, CRS, Damien Rice, Esthero, Every Opposite, Everything Is Expensive, Foo Fighters, Gnarls Barkley, HotHeavy&Bad, I'm With You, I'm With You Sessions, Joi Gilliam, Kenneth Suffern, Key Yemaya Walker, Lenny Kravitz, Maxwell, Me'Shell Ndegeocello, Mylo Xyloto, Nine Types Of Light, OutKast, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Santigold Blue Lines, Santogold, Spank Rock, The Believer, The Dreamer, The Dreamer/The Believer, The King Of Limbs, TKOL RMX 1234567, TV On the Radio, Wasting Light, Weather, Zaki Ibrahim

Updated 1/31/12 11 of 23 wish list items from this time in 2011 completed, not bad.
In no specific order:
Kenneth Suffern’s Blue Lines Still waiting.
Ayo – Billie Eve
Zaki Ibrahim (No, “Ansomnia” was it only whet the appetite) Still waiting. Every Opposite

Alice Smith
Amel Larriuex Still waiting. (Ice Cream Every Day rumored)
Blu Give Me My Flowers While I Can Smell Them
Outkast (as a group) still waiting (headlined Coachella 2014) .
Alien Ant Farm still waiting.
Red Hot Chili Peppers I’m With You (still growing n me) and I’m With You Sessions (much better material)
Foo Fighters (yeah, you say you are, prove it) Wasting Light (LOVE)
Common The Dreamer, The Believer
Radiohead The King Of Limbs and remix album TKOL RMX 1234567
Coldplay Mylo Xyloto (ehh)
Cassandra Wilson
CRS (Waiting on the album) gave up.
Maxwell (I thought this was a 3 album series) gave up
Damien Rice.
Gnarls Barkley (Cee-Lo the solo album was cool, but we need more Gnarls) still waiting.
Esthero (ummmm yeah…) still waiting. Everything Is Expensive
Joi Gilliam (HotHeavy&Bad, need it) want Joi only, however HotHeavy&Bad had mix tape that was my NYC soundtrack.
Lenny Kravitz Black And White America
Me’Shell Ndegeocello Weather
TV On The Radio Nine Types Of Light
Santogold/Santigold some appearances, and will be at Coachella, great performance and new album Master of My Make-Believe

The manuscript Blue Lines is the fictional coming of age narrative of a young California woman Key Yemaya Walker, and her 2 year growing journey through school, love, and life period piece, written by Kenneth Suffern, Jr., taking place at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill between the years of 1997 – 1998. Loosely based on true events, and experiences during that time, told through the eyes and voice of the main female protagonist, a freshman first attending the school.