Amir Ali Said

The Heshoo Beshoo group was a South African jazz band that formed in 1969.  The group featured Henry Sithole (alto saxophone), his brother Stanley Sithole (tenor saxophone), Cyril Magubane (guitarist), Ernest Mothole (bassist), and Nelson…

Smoothe Da Hustler is a rapper from Brownsville, Brooklyn who had a nice run in the '90s.  He made a name for himself in the streets, both on and off wax, and his mixtapes garnered some early attention.  In 1994, Smoothe Da Hustler opened…

Quiet Elegance was a singing trio formed in Detroit, Michigan that briefly recorded in the '70s.  The trio included Francis Yvonne "Frankie" Gearing, Mildred "Millie" Vaney, and Lois Reeves.  In the late '60s, Gearing and Vaney performed as…

Monie Love is a rapper from Battersea, London, England who made an impact in the late '80s and early '90s.  In 1988, at 18, she moved to New York City.  Two years later, she released her debut album, Down To Earth.  The album featured one…

Silvano D'Auria is an Italian pianist, arranger, and producer from Ascoli Piceno, Italy.  Early in his career, D'Auria was primarily a jazz musician, and he performed in Italy with his quintet Silvano D'Auria Quintent.  In the '70s, he…

Sugar Minott was a Jamaican reggae singer from Kingston, Jamaica.  Minott started out as a selector (DJ) for two local sound systems (a crew of musicians who battled in sound clashes).  First, he was the selector for the Sound of Silence…

Cappadonna is a rapper from the Park Hill section of Staten Island, New York who is a member of Wu-Tang Clan. Cappadonna was well-known in Park Hill and to the members of Wu-Tang for his rhyming, but as Wu-Tang began to form, he went to…

Mariya Takeuchi is a Japanese city pop singer from Taisha, Shimane, Japan.  In 1978, she signed with RCA Records, and she released her debut album, Beginning.  Her debut was decent; it peaked at #17 on the Japanese charts.  She release four…

King Tee is a rapper from Compton, California who started rhyming in the '80s.  He was one of the first MC's from Compton to find success, and he is considered a West Coast legend.  In 1988, he released his debut album, Act A Fool.  The…

Amara Touré was an African musician from Conakry, Guinea who recorded in the '50s, '60s, and '70s.  In 1958, Touré started his career as a member of the Senegalese band Le Star Band de Dakar.  Over the next few years, the band became an…