If you haven't been aquainted with this album, you NEED to do so. I mean, there is no way one cannot dig this shit. It's like early Massive Attack (when they were Massive): everybody liked them back then, right?
Ok, here goes: In 1973 the folks at Stax were on their way out of business, so this (ehm.. 24 Carat) diamond didn't get the support it should have. It took a while, but in the 90s, Fantasy re-issued it and then, everybody had a listen, if you get my drift.
"Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth" is the the dream of Dale Warren, a classically trained composer who made his name with Motown and mainly Stax, working with Isaac Hayes (I Stand Accused), the Staple Singers, Albert King, etc.
So, in 1973, amidst Vietnam, the oil crisis, Watergate and all that, Warren had the idea to make an album about the inner city of America, with the Ditalians (a soul collective from Ohio). While "Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth" is so good, one cannot avoid that it is a difficult album, in terms of commercial appeal: spoken word, civil rights messages, classical arrangements and basically, a ton of musical ideas in each song.
For example, listen to "Poverty's Paradise": the track is a masterpiece, but how the fuck could it have made it to the charts?
On the other hand, all these elements were much appreciated by the jackals of rap production: Jay-Z, Naughty by Nature, Keith Murray, Eric B and Rakim, Jill Scott, RZA, KRS-One, Dr. Dre, Three 6 Mafia and many more sinked their teeth in the album.
For example, "Poverty's Paradise" has been sampled by: RZA - The Birth, Three Six Mafia - In 2 Deep , Naughty by Nature - Poverty's Paradice, Monica - Ain't Nobody, Skrein - Poverty's Paradise, etc.
There were ideas for a "simpler" follow up to the album, but in 1975 Stax ran out of money, so that story ends. Dale Warren, who had standing issues with alcoholism during his carreer, went on to do more classical stuff. He died in 1994.
Ok, here goes: In 1973 the folks at Stax were on their way out of business, so this (ehm.. 24 Carat) diamond didn't get the support it should have. It took a while, but in the 90s, Fantasy re-issued it and then, everybody had a listen, if you get my drift.
"Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth" is the the dream of Dale Warren, a classically trained composer who made his name with Motown and mainly Stax, working with Isaac Hayes (I Stand Accused), the Staple Singers, Albert King, etc.
So, in 1973, amidst Vietnam, the oil crisis, Watergate and all that, Warren had the idea to make an album about the inner city of America, with the Ditalians (a soul collective from Ohio). While "Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth" is so good, one cannot avoid that it is a difficult album, in terms of commercial appeal: spoken word, civil rights messages, classical arrangements and basically, a ton of musical ideas in each song.
For example, listen to "Poverty's Paradise": the track is a masterpiece, but how the fuck could it have made it to the charts?
On the other hand, all these elements were much appreciated by the jackals of rap production: Jay-Z, Naughty by Nature, Keith Murray, Eric B and Rakim, Jill Scott, RZA, KRS-One, Dr. Dre, Three 6 Mafia and many more sinked their teeth in the album.
For example, "Poverty's Paradise" has been sampled by: RZA - The Birth, Three Six Mafia - In 2 Deep , Naughty by Nature - Poverty's Paradice, Monica - Ain't Nobody, Skrein - Poverty's Paradise, etc.
There were ideas for a "simpler" follow up to the album, but in 1975 Stax ran out of money, so that story ends. Dale Warren, who had standing issues with alcoholism during his carreer, went on to do more classical stuff. He died in 1994.
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