Bill Adler | |
---|---|
Born | Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S. | December 18, 1951
Occupation | Journalist |
Alma mater | University of Michigan |
Genre | Hip-Hop |
Subject | Music |
Spouse | Sara Moulton [1] |
Children | 2 [1] |
Bill Adler (born December 18, 1951) is an American music journalist and critic. Since the late 1960s, he has worked in the music business in a variety of capacities, including as a record store clerk, radio disc jockey, critic, publicist, biographer, record label executive, documentary filmmaker, museum consultant, art gallerist, curator, and archivist. He is known best for his tenure as director of publicity at Def Jam Recordings (1984–1990), the period of his career to which the critic Robert Christgau was referring when he described Adler as a "legendary publicist". [2]
William Adler, known as Bill, was born in Brooklyn, New York, on December 18, 1951. He moved with his family to Detroit before he was five, and he lived in Michigan until 1976. He attended the James Vernor elementary school through the ninth grade, and graduated from Southfield High School. He later matriculated briefly at the University of Michigan.
Adler's first exposure to the music business came in the fall of 1969, when he was hired in the record department of a university bookstore. In 1972, he started to host a weekly freeform radio show on WCBN-FM, the University of Michigan's student station. In the summer of 1973, he began working at radio station WDET-FM, Detroit, as the board operator (and occasional substitute host) for Kenny Cox, a local jazz pianist and bandleader who hosted a weekly show called "Kaleidophone." Later that year, Adler began a three-year stint as contributing music editor for the Ann Arbor Sun , [3] a weekly underground newspaper edited by the poet and activist John Sinclair and published by David Fenton. A year later, Adler began reviewing records for Down Beat magazine. [4] In the spring of 1975, Adler was briefly a deejay at WABX, Detroit, a pioneering free-form radio station.
Adler moved to Boston in February 1976. He deejayed at radio station WBCN-FM throughout the spring of 1977 and freelanced articles about music to the Real Paper [5] and High Times . [6] He was the staff pop music critic of the Boston Herald from April 1978 until April 1980. [7]
Adler moved to New York in July 1980. For the next several years he worked as a freelance writer on musical subjects for publications including the Village Voice , [8] Rolling Stone , People , and the Daily News . In 1984, Russell Simmons hired Adler as director of publicity for Rush Artist Management and Def Jam Recordings. During the next six years Adler worked closely with a variety of artists, including Run-DMC, Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde, the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince and De La Soul.
Adler has written and taught extensively based on his experiences at Def Jam; in 1987, he wrote Tougher Than Leather: The Authorized Biography of Run-DMC (New American Library), described by the critic Harry Allen in the Village Voice as "hip-hop's first authorized biography and a definitive, insightful text." [9] The critic Jon Caramanica, in a review for Rolling Stone of the 2002 reissue of the book, suggested it "might well be the most comprehensive biography ever written about a pop act while it was still in its prime." [10] In the spring of 2006, Adler taught a course about Def Jam at New York University's Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music, [11] and in 2011, Adler and Dan Charnas co-authored Def Jam Recordings: The First 25 Years of the Last Great Record Label, which was published in both English and French. [12] [13] (The French-language version was created by French journalist Olivier Cachin.)
In the fall of 2008, Adler and the artist Cey Adams co-edited DEFinition: the Art and Design of Hip-Hop (Collins Design), a book described by Adler himself as "a catalog for a [museum] exhibition that is waiting to happen." [14] DEFinition was praised by the critic Cinque Hicks in Creative Loafing as "a voracious and wide-ranging visual survey that makes the case that hip-hop's musical heritage is only part of the story." [15] In December 2020, a booklet by Adler entitled entitled "Every Year Just 'Bout This Time, Kurtis Blow Celebrates with a Rhyme," was published by Music Arkives Ltd. [16] This is an expanded version of an article published by the Smithsonian in December 2019 and pegged to the 40th anniversary of the release of Blow's "Christmas Rappin'" single. In the fall of 2023, an autobiographical comic book by Umar Bin Hassan of The Last Poets entitled "Up South in Akron, Summer 1959," was published by Music Arkives Ltd. [17] Adler was its editor.
Adler was an early champion of hip-hop photography; in 1991, he wrote the text for "Rap: Portraits and Lyrics of a Generation of Black Rockers," which showcased the work of Janette Beckman. (The book was published by St. Martin's Press in America and Omnibus Press in England.) In 2003, he founded the Eyejammie Fine Arts Gallery, which was largely devoted to hip-hop photography. [18] During the gallery's five years of existence, Adler curated or co-curated one-man shows showcasing the work of photographers Michael Benabib, Al Pereira, Ricky Powell, Ernie Paniccioli, Harry Allen, and others. Group shows celebrated Run-DMC, [a] [19] women in hiphop, [b] [20] VP Records and dancehall reggae, [c] [21] Southern hip-hop, [d] [22] and ego trip Magazine . [e]
In 2004, Adler formed Eyejammie Press to publish "Frozade Moments", a book of postcards featuring the street photography of Ricky Powell. [23] Gina Wang, writing for Mass Appeal magazine, praised the book as "a visual trip through a mismatched combination of celebs, knuckleheads, animals and NYC's indigenous subjects, all shot from Powell's gritty perspective." [24]
Adler's essay, "Who Shot Ya: A History of Hip-Hop Photography" was commissioned by the journalist Jeff Chang and published in Chang's "Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop" (Basic Civitas 2006). It was later republished in Wax Poetics magazine. [25] Adler wrote the text for Michael Benabib's "In Ya Grill: The Faces of Hip Hop", which was published by Billboard Books in 2007. [26]
Adler's essay, "Contact Sheets: Freedom of Choice," was commissioned by Vikki Tobak and published in Tobak's "Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop" (Clarkson Potter 2018). He also wrote the foreword to Sophie Bramly's "Yo! The Early Days of Hip Hop 1982-84," published by Soul Jazz Books in 2022.
In 1994, Adler and the poet Bob Holman co-founded NuYo Records, a record label devoted to the spoken word. Initially distributed by BMG, this venture was revived as Mouth Almighty Records by Danny Goldberg when he became the president of Mercury Records in 1996. Over the course of the next three years the label released 18 titles, including recordings by the Last Poets, [27] Allen Ginsberg, [28] Michele Serros, [29] and Sekou Sundiata, [30] two CDs of short fiction from The New Yorker magazine, [31] a two-CD set of readings of Edgar Allan Poe [32] produced by Hal Willner, and the soundtrack to The United States of Poetry, [33] a five-part PBS television special. In the summer of 1995, Adler and Holman and their associates on New York's spoken word scene were the subject of an article in The New Yorker by Henry Louis Gates Jr. [34] In 1998, Adler founded Mouth Almighty Books to publish Beau Sia's "A Night Without Armor II: The Revenge," a parody of a book of poetry by Jewel entitled "A Night Without Armor." [35]
In 1987, Adler helped Run DMC write and produce its song "Christmas in Hollis." [36] The details of that episode are spelled out by Joseph "Run" Simmons in ’'Jingle Bell Rocks!’', the award-winning 2014 documentary by Canadian filmmaker Mitchell Kezin. [37]
Adler has consulted for several museums on the establishment of their hip-hop collections, including Seattle's Experience Music Project (known today as the Museum of Pop Culture), the Museum of Modern Art, [38] and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. [39]
In collaboration with Hart and Dana Perry of Perry Films, Adler was the producer/writer of "And You Don't Stop: 30 Years of Hip-Hop," a five-part documentary film series that debuted on VH1 during the fall of 2004. Reviewing the series for The New York Times , television critic Virginia Heffernan wrote, "It may be the first monograph on this subject to position hip-hop confidently and specifically in the history of American music without having to make elementary arguments about its value or its significance." [40]
In October 2024, Adler launched a podcast entitled "The Singer & the Song." It was inspired by his belief that "a singer or instrumentalist performing a song is like an actor bringing a script to life or a cook working from a recipe – every interpretation is going to have its own unpredictable flavor." [41]
Adler's work as a hip-hop archivist commenced during his years at Rush/Def Jam. The Adler Hip-Hop Archive—which includes newspaper and magazine articles, publicity materials, press photos, advertisements, and posters—was acquired by Cornell University in 2013. [42]
In September 2015, the Eyejammie Hip-Hop Photo Collection, assembled by Adler, was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African-American History and Culture. [43]
In June 2021, Adler donated his collection of Underground comix to the Rhode Island School of Design. [44]
Adler is featured in Dust & Grooves: Adventures in Record Collecting (2014), a book published by photographer Eilon Paz. [45]
The new school of hip hop was a movement in hip hop music, beginning in 1983–84 with the early records of Run–D.M.C., Whodini, and LL Cool J. Predominantly from Queens and Brooklyn, it was characterized by Drum Machine-led minimalism, often tinged with elements of Rock; rapped taunts, boasts, and socio-political commentary; and aggressive, self-assertive delivery. In song and image, its artists projected a tough, cool, street B-boy attitude. These elements contrasted sharply with Funk and Disco, Novelty hits, live bands, synthesizers, and party rhymes of artists prevalent in the early 1980s. Compared to their older hip hop counterparts, new school artists crafted more cohesive LPs and shorter songs more amenable to airplay. By 1986, their releases began to establish hip hop in the mainstream.
James Todd Smith, known professionally as LL Cool J, is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip hop acts Beastie Boys and Run-DMC.
Radio is the debut studio album by American rapper LL Cool J. It was released on November 18, 1985, by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. It was also Def Jam's first full-length album release.
Russell Wendell Simmons is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. He has promoted veganism and a yoga lifestyle, and published books on lifestyle, health, and entrepreneurship. Simmons' net worth was estimated at $340 million in 2011.
David Anthony Love Jr. is an American DJ and rapper.
Lyor Cohen is an American music industry executive and entrepreneur. He has been actively involved in hip hop at various record labels for more than 30 years. He started by managing rappers for Rush Productions, then led Def Jam. After Def Jam, Cohen took on a leadership role at Warner Music Group. In September 2012, Cohen resigned from Warner and started his own independent label, 300 Entertainment. On September 28, 2016, Cohen was named YouTube's Global Head of Music.
Harry Allen is an American hip hop activist and journalist affiliated with the group Public Enemy, and is the director of the Rhythm Cultural Institute. He grew up in Freeport, Long Island.
"Rock Box" is a song by the American hip hop group Run-DMC. The song was produced by Larry Smith and Russell Simmons and released by Profile Records in March 1984. Following the popularity of their previous two singles "Hard Times" (1983) and "It's Like That" (1983), Profile Records head suggested to the producers and group that they should attempt to record an album as they already had four songs ready, and releasing a few more would not hurt them. Despite speculating low sales from the label and the group not feeling that hip hop was a genre appropriate for a full-length album, they were given an advance to start recording. This led to Run-DMC members Joseph "Run" Simmons and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels going through their rhyme book to develop new songs, one of which would become "Rock Box".
Chung King Studios was a recording studio that operated in New York City under that name from 1986 to 2015. It was founded by producer John King and engineer Steve Ett with financial backing from the Etches brothers, occupying three different locations during that era. Countless notable hip hop acts recorded music at Chung King Studios over the years, including Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, Busta Rhymes, Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, Lauryn Hill, Outkast, ODB, Method Man, Nas, Jay-Z, Hell Razah, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West. The studio became one of the most important recording spaces in the history of hip hop, pioneering commercial production of rap music. Beyond hip hop, notable groups like Aerosmith, Amy Winehouse, Beyoncé, Blondie, David Bowie, Depeche Mode, Destiny's Child, Fergie, Lady Gaga, Maxwell, Moby and Phish also recorded there.
Daniel Simmons Jr. is a Neo-African abstract expressionist painter, a published author, poet and philanthropist. He is the older brother of hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons and rapper Joseph Simmons.
Janette Beckman is a British documentary photographer who has worked in London, New York and Los Angeles. Beckman describes herself as a documentary photographer. While she produces a lot of work on location, she is also a studio portrait photographer. Her work has appeared on records for the major labels, and in magazines including Esquire,Rolling Stone,Glamour,Italian Vogue,The Times,Newsweek,Jalouse,Mojo and others.
Original Concept was an American 1980s hip-hop group from Long Island, New York, best known for their single "Can You Feel It". They only made one album and it was notable for the absence of lyrics on many of the tracks. The group are perhaps better known for their production prowess and instrumentals.
Lawrence Smith was a pioneering American musician and hip hop record producer. He is best known for his co-productions of Run-DMC's Run-D.M.C. (1984) and King of Rock (1985) and his solo production of Whodini's Escape (1984) and Back in Black (1986).
"Sucker M.C.'s" is a song by American hip hop group Run-D.M.C. It was first released in 1983 as B-side to "It's Like That". The two-sided release marked the start of Run-D.M.C.'s career as their first single, and it is widely regarded as ushering in a new school of hip hop artists with a street image and an abrasive, minimalist sound that marked them out from their predecessors. Both tracks were collected on the trio's self-titled debut album in 1984. WBAU was the first station to play the two songs.
Bobby Ervin, known professionally as Bobcat or DJ Bobcat, is an American record producer, songwriter, DJ, and music executive. He is perhaps best known for his co-production work on LL Cool J's 1990 single "Mama Said Knock You Out", which won a Grammy Award and remains one of the most popular songs in hip hop.
Cey Adams is an American visual artist, graphic designer and author. He was the founding creative director of Def Jam Recordings and is known for his work with Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Jay-Z, and Mary J. Blige. He has been described as "legendary" for his work in hip-hop graphic design.
Run-DMC was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens New York City, formed in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop culture and especially one of the most famous hip hop acts of the 1980s. Along with Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, and Public Enemy, the group pioneered new-school hip hop music and helped usher in the golden age of hip hop. The group was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship.
The Hip Hop Smithsonian is a compilation of photographs of hip hop artists collected by Bill Adler. These photos represent the diversity of the hip hop culture and depicts the community that it brings forward. It includes artists such as Tupac, Mary J. Blige, Run DMC, and many more. The collection was later moved to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History, which is where the name "Hip Hop Smithsonian" comes from (Nodijimbadem).
Michael Benabib is an American portrait photographer, known for his portraits of David Bowie, Tupac Shakur, Sean Combs, and Keith Richards among others. Notable portrait photography of public figures include Bill Clinton, Alan Dershowitz and Loretta Lynch. His work has appeared in publications including Vanity Fair, Vogue, GQ, Rolling Stone, Vibe, ESPN magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, NPR and Newsweek. His work was included to photography collections on display by The Smithsonian and MoMa.
Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop is a 2018 photography book created and written by Vikki Tobak and ongoing exhibition series. The volume features contact prints from analog photography sessions of hip hop artists during roughly forty-years, from the beginnings of the genre in the late 1970s until the late 2000s.
Notes
Citations
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help)