A League Of Her Own...

Today's guest writer is Lily Kane, a fellow soul, funk, and hip hop enthusiast who is the one-woman-army behind the almighty soul psychadelicyde. She is an essential member of the Souled On family who I've respectfully supported since she first started blogging several months ago. While there aren't many female writers who cover the same territory that Lils does, don't be so foolish as to allow her gender to be a distraction. My girl's in "a league of her own" for a number of more qualifying reasons, most of which relate to her knowledge and impeccable taste in music. Welcome, soul sista...Scholar


Like all the guest bloggers before me, I’m honored to be part of the Souled On Music family. The idea of writing a guest post here was intimidating because it’s the best blog ever. But I hope you get something new from this… much love from your girl...

In college, I got an internship at a small re-issue label called Tuff City. Tuff City has an incredible catalog of funk, soul, blues, and New Orleans music. It’s divided into sub-labels by genre: Funky Delicacies; Soul-Tay-Shus; Night Train International; they’re all under the Tuff City umbrella. They also have some old hip hop under the label Ol’ Skool Flava, but I’m not crazy about it. (sorry Spoonie G)

I expected to be filing, typing, answering phones, etc. But soon, my assignment was to transfer the owners’ mountain of reel-to-reel tapes to Pro Tools. The owner, of the company and of those tapes, deserves another story which I will post on my blog soon. But despite everything, that was a really fun job, because I was basically swimming in old funk & soul tapes. Plus I was an intern, so I didn’t have any responsibility. So for my guest appearance, I decided to share some of those Tuff City finds:

Betty Davis- It’s Strange The Way Two People Change (zShare)

Betty Davis- It’s Strange The Way Two People Change (savefile)

Tuff City doesn’t have anything to do with Betty Davis, but I acquired this track during my first month on the job, transferring tapes. I don’t think it was ever released, so I don’t know the real name of the track, but it’s beautiful. It’s not her usual funked-up craziness; instead it’s a softer, sadder side of the "anti-diva." And not the weak kind of ballad that was on Crashin From Passion either.


Black Blood and the Chocolate Pickles with Valerian’s Voice – Mississippi Mud (zShare)

Black Blood and the Chocolate Pickles with Valerian’s Voice – Mississippi Mud (savefile)

(from Funky Funky Baton Rouge)

*This one is heavy and spooky, especially post-Katrina.


The Gaturs- Concentrate (zShare)

The Gaturs- Concentrate (savefile)

(from Wasted)

*Sampled on:

Puff Daddy- "Do You Know?" (zShare)

Puff Daddy- "Do You Know?" (savefile)

*Also sampled on Madlib's Mind Fusion Vol.2


The Enticers- Thief (zShare)

The Enticers- Thief (savefile)

(from New Orleans’ Funkiest Delicacies)


*Sampled on:

Mos Def- "Napolean Dynamite" (zShare)

Mos Def- "Napolean Dynamite" (savefile)


Hermon Hitson – A Dream I Had (I Love Her) (zShare)

Hermon Hitson – A Dream I Had (I Love Her) (savefile)

(from You Are Too Much For the Human Heart)

*I was hesitant to include this track because the chorus bothers me. The guitar is awful, and it almost ruins the song. But the verses are so soulful that they overpower the bad guitar riff.Anyway I wanted to include the song because Hermon is awesome; he’s just a great guy and he made my time at Tuff City more fun. I noticed that he played live recently at a Wax Poetics event, so I’m glad he’s getting some props now, so many years later.

Bonus Tracks:
Masters Of Soul - Sad Face (zShare)

Masters Of Soul - Sad Face (savefile)

(from Right On!)


The Unemployed- They Won’t Let Me (zShare)

The Unemployed- They Won’t Let Me (savefile)

(from New Orleans’ Funkiest Delicacies)

Reuben Bell- Superjock (zShare)

Reuben Bell- Superjock (savefile)

(from New Orleans’ Funkiest Delicacies)


Family Portrait- Natural Man (I Need) (zShare)

Family Portrait- Natural Man (I Need) (savefile)

(from Funky Funky New York)

Word from Lily’s Moms:

"Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition" --Timothy Leary