Isaac Hayes (R.I.P.)

I had the opportunity to spend some time with Mr. Hayes last year. Despite a few bouts with being sick, he was still the star I'd always known him to be on all the seventies movies I'd ever seen him in. We sat down for lunch and talked of music and the possibility of him working on some music for my album. Of course I was really nervous. I barely knew what I to say to him. I mean, he was the inventor of the Shaft theme music. My hands layed clasped together under the table and all I could think was, "I hope I pass his test." Something about the sunniness of the day and his calming demeanor helped break the ice. After I endured him listening to my music to hear my "style" ('cos artists try to edit and fix the known imperfections in the art we think we make after we make it). To my surprise, what I was doing was met with his approval and we talked of working together. He was in process of beginning his album and tour Europe so, we figured we find our way in the middle at some point.

Anyway, I asked him some of the questions I'd been dying to ask like why he chose strings in his arrangements and stuff about how it was to write on staff at Stax. He answered the questions willingly and even gave me more information about him musically than I had room to store. I walked away with an indelible mark in my passionate music heart for him. Life is so unpredictable and one never knows just how it's going to turn out. But to my chagrin, finding out he passed away just kinda took me aback. It was so untimely. I didn't know how to take things because I had just talked with my manager about the tribute to Isaac Hayes that I was participating in and where he was to perform in September.

The day I was told of his death, I thought about Mr. Hayes and the wisdom he imparted on me in words and in deed. In retrospect, Mr. Hayes is immortal because he has left a legacy of music that will continue to live for years to come. Not only that, I believe his life was full because he accomplished more than many; being a successful recording artist, scoring the movie Shaft and becoming the first black person to win an oscar for it, acting, buying a fly ass cadillac, enjoying a host of family and friends etc.... So what I learned the most from Mr. Hayes is to live your best life everyday as if it is your last by doing exactly what you love until the end. Who can argue with that?

Rest In Peace
Isaac Hayes

Stax Revue - A Lesson in Becoming a Legend

I must admit, I love my life. I have been fortunate to know what I've wanted to do and be for a long time. Most importantly, I am pursuing my love. Most recently, I had the honor of sharing the stage with the Legendary Stax Records artists William Bell and The Soul Children in Holland and Finland. If I have but one thing to take from the experience, I must say that loving and being passionate about music is a must.

To be a star, one must embody the notion that one is. When you believe it, you live it in every way. That is what I saw in William Bell and J. Blackfoot (probably one of the most underrated soul stars on the legendary Stax roster). I really spent a lot of time around J. Blackfoot and Norman West (the other half of the Soul Children) . Foot (as he is affectionately known) and Norman West, along with two newer members, heated the stage every night. Most memorable was Foot's command of the stage and band. They were filled with antics and anecdotes. They filled my mind with stories of a history past of a young Stax in it's prime with all that good southern talent in Memphis, TN. Foot and Norman had the voices, the clothes, the Cadillacs, women and the confidence to ease their charisma into the music. To this day, it is ever present. There's a gritty sweetness with the most soulful combination of singers singing backgrounds as leads in their music and more importantly, the connection they have to performing their songs night after night is stellar. I don't mean to leave William Bell out, because his suave cool confidence, soulfully beautiful voice, along with his command of a stage is amazing.

I walked away wanting to be better than I am. They all showed me the show starts the moment you wake up until you get off the stage. Each one of them were sticklers for getting the sound right, the band playing the music as it should be played, making sure all eyes were on them at all times when on the stage, and lastly continuing to perservere despite obstacles. We were accompanied by Total Package (William Bell's band) out of Atlanta and they did us well every night. Thanks guys for everything. All I can say is it was wonderful to be able to watch, talk to, laugh with, perform with, and learn from such classy legends as these.


As I grow I want to become a legend like them.