Melvin Bliss | |
---|---|
Birth name | Melvin McClelland |
Born | June 1, 1945 |
Origin | Chicago, Illinois [1] |
Died | July 7, 2010 65) | (aged
Genres | Soul [2] |
Years active | 1973[2] –2010 [3] |
Labels | Sunburst Records [2] |
Melvin McClelland [4] (June 1, 1945 [2] -July 26, 2010 [3] ) was a rhythm and blues singer known for his 1973 song "Reward/Synthetic Substitution", [5] the B-side of which was heavily sampled [3] in at least 94 hip hop songs such as "Real Niggaz Don't Die" and "Alwayz into Somethin'" by N.W.A, "O.G. Original Gangster" by Ice-T, "O.P.P." by Naughty by Nature and more recently "My Life" by 50 Cent, Eminem and Adam Levine. [6]
Born in 1945 [2] in Chicago [1] as Melvin McClelland, [4] his career didn't begin with music; rather, in the Armed Forces. [7] After spending a few years singing in Naval bands, he departed the Navy in the mid-1950s. From there, he went from stage to stage until the early 1970s, when in an attempt to boost his career prospects he visited a Queensbridge concert hall intending to use it for self-promotion. [7] Whilst awaiting a meeting with the hall's owner, he encountered the mother of Herb Rooney and it emerged that he wanted a singer to record one of his compositions. [7] After an informal discussion with Rooney himself, Bliss hit the studio to record it; [7] the result was Reward. That song's B-side, "Synthetic Substitution", became one of the most sampled songs of all time. [8] Bliss' label, Sunburst Records, was a sister company of Opal Productions, and in 1974 it went bankrupt, taking Sunburst Records with it; [7] in doing so rendering Bliss a one-hit wonder.
In 2011, a documentary about him, Synthetic Substitution: The Life Story of Melvin Bliss, was released by Peripheral Enterprises. It was produced by Earl Holder. [1]
On July 17, 2010, it was announced by Melvin Bliss, Jr. that Bliss had suffered a heart attack and had been rushed to NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital. [9] Just over a week later, on July 26, 2010, it was announced that Bliss had died. [3]
The Ultramagnetic MCs is an American hip hop group based in the Bronx, New York City. Founded by Kool Keith, the group also includes Ced Gee, TR Love, and Moe Love. Tim Dog became an unofficial member in 1989. In 1990, DJ Jaycee was added as a road manager and backup DJ. Big.D was put down with the crew by Kool Keith in 1989. A former member, Rooney Roon, was fired following an assault arrest. Beat-boxer Rahzel was also involved with the group early in its career. The group's work was associated with unorthodox sampling, polysyllabic rhymes, and bizarre lyrical imagery.
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes was an American soul and R&B vocal group. One of the most popular Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s, the group's repertoire included soul, R&B, doo-wop, and disco. Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the middle of the 1950s as The Charlemagnes, the group is most noted for several hits on Gamble and Huff's Philadelphia International label between 1972 and 1976, although they performed and recorded until Melvin's death in 1997. Despite group founder and original lead singer Harold Melvin's top billing, the Blue Notes' most famous member was Teddy Pendergrass, their lead singer during the successful years at Philadelphia International. The remaining members of the Blue Notes have reunited for Soul Train Cruises in 2013, 2015, and 2017.
2Pacalypse Now is the debut studio album by American rapper 2Pac. Released by Interscope Records and TNT Recordings on November 12, 1991, 2Pacalypse Now is Tupac's commentary on contemporary social issues facing American society, such as racism, police brutality, poverty, black on black crime, and teenage pregnancy. It featured three singles: "Brenda's Got a Baby", "Trapped", and "If My Homie Calls".
Gene Chandler is an American singer, songwriter, music producer, and record-label executive. Chandler is nicknamed "the Duke of Earl" or, simply, "the Duke." He is best known for his most successful songs, "Duke of Earl" and "Groovy Situation", and his association with the Dukays, the Impressions, and Curtis Mayfield.
Naughty by Nature is the second album from Naughty by Nature, released on September 3, 1991, through Tommy Boy Records. The album was recorded through November 1990 to August 1991. It was a critical and commercial success, having been certified platinum on February 6, 1992, thanks in large part to the hit single, "O.P.P.," which reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991.
Sylvester Johnson was an American blues and soul singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. His most successful records included "Different Strokes" (1967), "Is It Because I'm Black" (1969) and "Take Me to the River" (1975).
The RZA Hits is a compilation produced by The RZA. It contains songs featured on the first Wu-Tang Clan album and its first round of solo albums. All songs, apart from "Brooklyn Zoo", are produced by RZA.
"Extreme Ways" is a song by American electronica musician Moby. It was released as the second single from his sixth studio album 18 on June 24, 2002.
Provocative is the fourth album by American R&B recording artist Johnny Gill. It was his second album for Motown Records and fourth album overall.
24 Deep is the debut studio EP by American rapper Brotha Lynch Hung. It was released in 1993 through Black Market Records.
"O.G. Original Gangster" is a song written and performed by American recording artist Ice-T. It was released as a single from the rapper's fourth studio album of the same name. The song was produced by Tracy "Ice-T" Marrow, Shafiq "SLJ" Husayn and Alphonso "DJ Aladdin" Henderson, and released in 1991 via Sire Records. Reaching a peak position of number 7 on the US Billboard Hot Rap Songs, the single remained on the chart for a total of 11 weeks. The track also appears on the retrospective Greatest Hits: The Evidence and in the 2004 Xbox video game Def Jam: Fight for NY with Ice-T featuring in the game as himself as a playable character and in the storyline.
"Why R U" is a song by American R&B singer Amerie. The song was recorded for her fourth studio album, In Love & War, and serves as the lead single from the album. The song contains excerpts of Ultramagnetic MCs' "Ego Trippin'". The song is also Amerie's first single under the Island Def Jam Music Group.
"Heaven 'N Hell" is the fourth and final single released from Salt-n-Pepa's fourth studio album, Very Necessary. In the United States, it was released alongside "None of Your Business" as a double-A sided single. The song samples "Think About It" by Odell Brown & the Organ-izers, "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss and "Heaven and Hell is on Earth" by 20th Century Steel Band. "Heaven 'N Hell" became a top-30 hit in Australia and New Zealand.
"Die in Your Arms" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber from his third studio album, Believe (2012). The track was written and produced by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Dennis "Aganee" Jerkins, and Travis Sayles, while additional lyrics were written by Bieber, Thomas Lumpkins, Kelly Lumpkins, and Herb Rooney. The pop song samples Michael Jackson's "We've Got a Good Thing Going" (1972), and lyrically (staff-written), features Bieber singing about an all-consuming passion and the affection that he feels for his love interest. "Die in Your Arms" received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who compared the song's style to the ones of Jackson 5, Duffy and Bruno Mars, among others. The song has charted in several countries such as Australia, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States.
"New God Flow" is a song by American rappers Kanye West and Pusha T. It was released as the third single from the compilation album Cruel Summer (2012), a collaboration between members of their record label GOOD Music. Produced by West, Anthony Kilhoffer and Boogz & Tapez, "New God Flow", which is a hip hop song, incorporates numerous samples into its arrangement. It features lines by Pusha T directed at American rapper and record producer Birdman. American rapper Ghostface Killah, whose song "Mighty Healthy" is prominently sampled in the song, is featured on an alternate version entitled "New God Flow.1" that appears on Cruel Summer. West and Pusha T performed "New God Flow" on several occasions, including the 2012 BET Awards and Jay-Z's Made in America Festival. The song was awarded Best Beat at the XXL Awards.
"My Life" is a song by American rapper 50 Cent featuring fellow American rapper Eminem and American singer Adam Levine of Maroon 5. It was originally released as the second official single of 50 Cent's scrapped studio album Street King Immortal, but was later removed from the project. The single was produced by American music producer Symbolyc One. The song premiered on American radio station Hot 97, and was made available for digital download on iTunes Store on November 26, 2012.
"Synthetic Substitution" is a 1973 song by Melvin Bliss. Originally starting life as a throwaway B-side, with "Reward" as the A-Side, the song failed to chart anywhere on its initial release because of the collapse of Opal Productions, the parent company of Sunburst Records. However, after the song was sampled by Ultramagnetic MCs, many other artists followed suit, and eventually the song became one of the most sampled songs of all time.
Herbert Louis Rooney was an American record producer who was responsible for writing, producing and singing bass on songs by the Exciters and for writing and producing the sample staple Synthetic Substitution by Melvin Bliss.
"Ego Trippin′" is a 1986 song by Ultramagnetic MCs. The group made a stylistic breakthrough with it; the song boasted dense, minimalist production, featuring erratic lyricism by Ced-Gee and Kool Keith, synthesizer riffs and was the first song to sample Melvin Bliss's "Synthetic Substitution", now one of the most sampled songs of all time.
"Impeach the President" is a song by funk band the Honey Drippers, written and produced by Roy Charles Hammond, known as Roy C. It was first released as a single on Alaga Records in 1973, and was re-released to iTunes by Tuff City Records in 2017, after being sampled hundreds of times since the mid-1980s. It is a protest song advocating the impeachment of then-U.S. President Richard Nixon. In the chorus, the band chants the song's title while Roy persuades them to stop. The B-side is "Roy C's Theme".