5/4/16 O&A NYC DANCE: Storm Troopers Dance On Star Wars Day- May the 4th be with you

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Star Wars has become so popular the public has created a Sci-fi holiday. On May 4, people around the globe celebrate Star Wars Day. Recognizing Star Wars on May 4 reportedly dates back to 1979 when Margaret Thatcher took office as U.K. prime minister and was congratulated with an ad in the London Evening News which read, “May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations.” as a play on “May the force be with you, Luke.” So, now May the 4th is celebrated as Star Wars Day annually. Continue reading

5/3/16 O&A NYC WITH WaleStylez- SONG OF THE DAY: Maxi Priest – Close To You

By Adewale Adekanbi Jr.

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Close to You is a song by British reggae artist, Maxi Priest. It was released in July 1990 as the lead single from the album, Bonafide. It reached number-one on the US Billboard Hot 100 on 6 October 1990.

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4/29/16 O&A NYC SONG OF THE DAY- REMEMBERING PRINCE: Kiss

 

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“Kiss” is a 1986 single by Prince and The Revolution, from the album Parade. The music video is directed by Rebecca Blake. In the plot of the video, Prince appears in a half shirt and leather jacket and then all shirtless and performs dance choreography in a hall. He is accompanied by the veiled dancer Monique Manning wearing black lingerie and aviator sunglasses while Revolution member Wendy Melvoin sits playing guitar. Continue reading

4/26/16 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY- REMEMBERING PRINCE: The Beautiful Ones- Prince and Misty Copeland

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Misty Copeland first came to the general public’s attention in 2009 when she appeared in Prince’s video Crimson and Clover. Then a soloist and nine year member of American Ballet Theatre, Copeland received a phone call one morning “I was asked if Prince could have my cell number…I was literally still waking up. ‘What? Prince who?'” The next day she headed to Los Angeles for the video shoot. Continue reading

4/21/16 (REPOST) O&A NYC THROWBACK THURSDAY: Donna Summer- Love To Love You Baby and MacArthur Park

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Donna Summer, a five-time Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter gained prominence during the disco era of the late 1970s. Summer has reportedly sold over 140 million records, making her one of the world’s best-selling artists of all time. She hols the distinction as the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach No. 1 on the United States Billboard album chart and four number-one singles in the United States within a 12-month period.

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Love to Love You Baby is a song by American singer and songwriter Donna Summer released in 1975. It became one of the first ever disco hits to also be released in an extended form. The final recording lasted over sixteen minutes, and contained the sexiest “simulated” orgasms ever found on vinyl. According to the BBC, the song contained 23 “orgasms”. In an interview in 1976, Summer responded to a number of questions that she claimed she’d been asked about the process of recording the song: “Everyone’s asking, ‘Were you alone in the studio?’ Yes, I was alone in the studio. ‘Did you touch yourself?’ Yes, well, actually I had my hand on my knee. ‘Did you fantasize on anything?’ Yes, on my handsome boyfriend Peter.

Love To Love You Baby-Soul Train (1976)

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MacArthur Park is a song which Jimmy Webb originally wrote and composed as part of an intended cantata. Webb initially brought the entire cantata to The Association, but the group rejected it. Among the best-known covers are Donna Summer’s disco arrangement from 1978. In the autumn of 1978 Donna Summer released a multi-million selling vinyl single disco version of MacArthur Park. This reached number one on the American pop music sales charts for three weeks during 1978, and it was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Summer was also nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Female at the American Music Awards.

MacArthur Park- Live (1978)

4/18/16 O&A SONG OF THE DAY: Blackstreet – No Diggity ft. Dr. Dre, Queen Pen

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No Diggity – Blackstreet Album: Another Level Year: 1996 Teddy Riley produced this Dr. Dre-featured hit that landed the group Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals Grammy in ’96. Continue reading

4/10/16 O&A NYC SUNDAY AFTERNOON JAZZ CONCERT: Miles Davis- So What

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 So What is one of the best known examples of modal jazz, the song is first track on the 1959 Miles Davis album Kind of Blue. The actor Dennis Hopper, in an interview in 2008 with Men’s Journal, claims that Davis named the song after intellectual conversations with Hopper, in which Hopper would reply, “So what?” Continue reading