About // Contact

• Home
• Interviews
• Music
• Podcast
• Reviews

Hip-Hop, House/Electronic, What Ever Happened To?, What I'm Listening To

What Ever Happened To……Sagat?

Sagat - Why Is It? (Funk Dat)

The year was 1993. I was flipping channels like I always did at 13 and came across an angry dude complaining about the ills of his life over a repetitive house beat on MTV, back when they actually played videos. Even in the early 90’s something like this track was an anomaly on that channel, which was a mix of grunge and gangsta rap at the time. But somethign about this song struck me. Maybe because it was its sheer simplicity, but most likely because unlike most songs, you can easily add your own lyrics to the track and not skip a beat. We made up our own rendition on the playground: Why is it that Ms. Reese wants to give us three homework assignments in one night???? What is this, high school? FUNK DAT!

Although “Funk Dat” wasn’t the craze that swept the nation, per say, the song did get major MTV play and some radio spins. Having that said though, Sagat is the epitome of the one hit wonder. Even when his one and only “hit” dropped, you couldn’t find any information about the dude. I don’t even think the dude ever even put out an album. Even Skee-Lo managed to drop something close to a full LP. Did the dude even have a record label?

The only time I managed to see him on TV was when he judged some thing at an MTV Spring Break contest back in the day. But that’s it. I can’t even find the dude’s video on YouTube. You know its bad when your hit can’t be found on the site that has Phillipino prisoners doing choreographed dances to Thriller.

Like everybody else in the What Ever Happened… segments, if you have any information about where Sagat is now, let me know in the comments. Hopefully he’s a successfully A&R type like Gerardo and not working at the Home Depot.

---

What Ever Happened To?

What Ever Happened To…Cool Breeze?

Cool Breeze feat Outkast and Goodie Mob - Watch for the Hook

With all of the praise and appreciation that’s given to the Dungeon Family, I consider the collective a sad case. Why? Well, for every platinum success (Outkast, Goodie Mob), there were platinum misses (Joi, Sleepy Brown, Killer Mike). And unfortunately, the “second generation” artists of DC, Scar and Janelle Monae, seem to be going down the same path.

Now, I don’t blame DF for this. They are the best ensemble of black musicians since the 70s. But unfortunately, major labels just don’t see this type of artistry in terms they can understand.

Which takes is to Cool Breeze, the man who invented the term “Dirty South”. The First Generation DF member and Atlanta MC came out strong with “Watch for the Hook,” with a video that played off of Reservoir Dogs perfectly, with assistance from Andre 3000 and Big Gipp. The vid made a splash on MTV2 and BET, but “Hook,” never took off on radio, and his first album East Point’s Greatest Hits was a dud commercially.

Its sad. Like most great rap albums, the public never caught on to the brilliance that was East Points Greatest Hits. You would be surprised that Outkast fans didn’t take notice of this album since it essentially packaged Outkast’s eccentricity for a “street audience.” I hate to use the term “clever wordplay” in an album review cause its a cliche, but Cool Breeze used words and rhymes just as efficiently as…lets say Luda. Please take a look at this album before you diss the South again.

As for Breeze, the rapper went silent after EPGH, but he’s making moves to resurrect his career. He provided a verse on the awful Bubba Sparxxx single, “Clairmont Lounge,” as well as some shitty Southern mixtapes. I see Cool Breeze dumbing down his rap career to compete with the Southern rap thats already on the airwaves. And we all know that’s a bad look.

---

Crunk/Hyphy, Hip-Hop, What Ever Happened To?

Whatever Happened To……..Nappy Roots?

Nappy Roots - “Rewind”
from DJ Envy - Purple Codeine 2

Are the Nappy Roots still reppin’ for Kentucky, or just Kentucky Fried Chicken?

I remember when I heard Nappy Root’s, “Awnaw,” on the radio. This was during that whole crunk invasion and at the time it was good to hear something from the South (is Kentucky the South?) that didn’tmake an attempt to blow your speakers.

Unlike the overly snyth hip-hop beats that were coming out of the Dirrrty at the time, Nappy Roots utilized a more bluesy, organic, production setup. Most people describe Nappy Roots as Outkast from Kentucky. Their major label debut was downright revolutionary, and the group was nominated for MTV Music Award, American Music Awards, and a Grammy.

Then, after all that fanfare, they released Wooden Leather. It was good….not as good as Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz, and their leadoff single was lacking. Still, the group kept the same formula as their previous effort (their first two albums weren’t as refined as their Atlantic debut), and Wooden Leather was good enough to go gold.

Still, after that, the group disappeared. Their Atlantic Records site is still up, but makes no mention of a new album, or any new production work. I don’t even know if they are still signed with Atlantic or not. If anyone has updates, let a brotha know.

Update: Okay, so I wrote this post about 3 months ago and it was never published. Little did I know that Nappy Roots appeared on a DJ Envy mixtape (which was sittin’ on my hard drive since this summer), with their track “Rewind”. Hot track. Download it.

---

What Ever Happened To?

What Ever Happend To…Gabrielle?

Back in the early 90's, a song called “Dreams” came out. It was the song that jump started the career of a young singer named Gabrielle. Her first single went on to go into the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest debut for a female singer after it spent three weeks at number one.

You might remember Gabrielle. She was the singer who always wore an eyepatch. Her trademarked sequinned and satin eye patches were a result of a drooped eyelid, on which she refused to have plastic surgery.

Since her debut album Find Your Way in 1993, Gabrielle had five albums, including a greatest hits album in 2001. She’s had a track on the celebrated soundtrack to Bridget Jones' Diary called “Out of Reach.” She’s won numerous awards and honors in the UK.

But sadly, her last album, Play To Win came out in 2004. That’s roughly about the last time her website was updated too. There doesn’tseem to be much info out there past August 2004, so if any of you know what happend to her, leave a comment.

Here’s a link to the video for her song “I Wish”

---

R&B, What Ever Happened To?

Whatever Happend To…..Remy Shand?

Remember Remy Shand?

In 2001, Shand dropped The Way I Feel on Motown, which he recorded in his Winnepeg, Canada bedroom. The first single, “Take A Message,” got a considerable amount of airplay on MTV2 and Much Music (back when I got Much on my cable box).

Most of the songs on “Take A Message” were written when the dude was still in high school, and they draw the new clice comparisons to Stevie Wonder, Al Green, and Marvin Gaye. This album was a rare gem with tracks such as “Take A Message” and and “Rocksteady” embraced the soul masters without trying to copy them.

Shand got some cred from the likes of Ethero, Badu, D’Angelo, and others. Although the album went platinum in his native Canada, lack of radio airplay and label promotion sent Take A Message to the discount bin in the US.

His website lists that his last appearance was in 2003. Let’s pray to God that he’s producing music somewhere and not working at a McDonald’s. Can ya’ll Canadians cue us in on what’s goin’ on with this dude? Someone needs to ressurect this dude’s career like Robin Thicke.

---

Hip-Hop, What Ever Happened To?

Whatever Happened To……Kardinal Offishall?

Kardinal Offishall - “Bang Bang”
from Kill BloodClott Bill Mixtape

Update: Fire and Glory is up on RadioBlog at http://www.mrkamoji.com/

Remember when Kardinal Offishall was supposed to be the illest thing to come out of Canada? The dude was no Ben Johnson either. His mix of Jamacian-influenced cadence, UK grime, and general Canadianness (he's rapped about free health care) got him recognized by Busta Rymes, Green Latern, and underground support from Semtex (BBC).

Ever since he dropped Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1, the dude got and no major radio airplay, but he got heat from message boards and underground radio. There were rumors of a major label deal, and affiliations with either Dipset or G-Unit, depending on which message board you frequented, but that talk ceased a year ago.

Since this dude has been on more mixtapes than your mother, I can certainly see him staying “in the underground” for most of his career. Sad.

Update: While I was doing my internets research, I found out that the dude's career isn't dead yet (at least not in Canada). He's opening for Fiddy on his Canadian tour dates, he's opened for Jay-Z as well. But as far as I can tell the dude is still unsigned. MCA Records distributed some of his mixtapes last year to try and get him some underground recognition, but apparently they stopped updating his website in June 2004.

---

Connect

Podcast

Features

Reviews

Events

Quick Hits

Last.FM

Popular Tags