Soul II Soul |
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Wed. January 06.1999 3:01 AM EST |
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Soul II Soul's Jazzie B.by Frank Tortorici |
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"A happy face, a thumpin' and lovin' bass, for a thumpin' and lovin' race" is Jazzie B.'s motto. (Eddie Monsoon) |
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Soul II Soul are no ordinary R&B group. A loose gathering of musicians led by
songwriter/producer/singer DJ Jazzie B., Soul II Soul are more a corporate entity these
days -- they are the center of a record label, a clothing line, a number of
Soul II Soul's most recent LP, 1997's Time for a Change, was released in the U.K. only. It featured vocals by non-regulars of the band, including Paul Johnson and Ray Simpson. Jazzie B. was born Beresford Romeo 36 years ago today in London. His parents, who had emigrated from Antigua, raised him in North London, where he began working in sound studios at age 11. Jazzie and childhood friend Philip "Daddae" Harvey began Soul II Soul as a mobile sound system that played reggae clubs and parties in 1982. In 1985, the pair met Nellee Hooper (Wild Bunch, Massive Attack) at a party and began a musical collaboration. Soul II Soul's sound began as a slow-grooving mix of soul, reggae and rap. The band gained attention when Jazzie B. and his cohorts began spinning music on a pirate radio station in Britain. Soul II Soul's first hit was 1989's "Keep On Movin'." It hit #5 in the U.K. and made #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, where it also topped the R&B chart. The hit album on which the song was featured, Club Classics Vol. One, was released as Keep On Movin' in the U.S., where it won two Grammy Awards and also spawned the top-five hit "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)." Caron Wheeler, the singer on the tracks, soon departed Soul II Soul to go solo. Another single from the LP, "Jazzie's Groove," introduced Jazzie B.'s Afrocentric philosophy: "A happy face, a thumpin' and lovin' bass, for a thumpin' and lovin' race." In 1990, Jazzie and Hooper co-produced Sinead O'Connor's Prince-written smash, "Nothing Compares 2 U." Other artists produced by the pair include Neneh Cherry, Maxi Priest and Fine Young Cannibals. Various singers contributed to Soul II Soul's next album, Vol. II 1990 -- A New Decade. The world tour behind the LP, featuring a fashion show, was canceled when Jazzie was injured in a car crash. By 1991, Soul II Soul expanded as an entity to include boutiques, a fashion line, the record label Funki Dred and a recording studio. Wheeler returned for 1992's Volume III Just Right, which featured singer Richie Stephens on the U.S. top-20 hit "Joy." Hooper left Soul II Soul to work with stars such as Björk, Madonna and U2. In 1995, Jazzie issued Believe, with a new set of collaborators including Wheeler and Daddae, under the Soul II Soul name. Two years later, Time for a Change followed. Jazzie is still DJ-ing in clubs and on the radio and has produced artists from Ziggy Marley to Johnny Gill. He also reportedly is working on a musical, "Black Shoes," and is involved in bringing artists he admires to his record label and recording studios. Other birthdays: Syd Barrett (ex-Pink Floyd), 53; Kim Wilson (Fabulous Thunderbirds), 48; Malcolm Young (AC/DC), 46; Kathie Sledge (Sister Sledge), 40; and Mark O'Toole (Frankie Goes to Hollywood), 35. |
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