[Harp-L] Bad News Brown

[Jonathan Ross <jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

This came up on harp-l once before, but basically got ignored (I know  
I did).  When André posted his myspace page, I clicked on some of the  
links, and the one which really got my attention was this one, for  
Bad News Brown:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm? 
fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=69400038

And this is his website:

http://www.badnewsbrown.com


Now this is some interesting stuff.  I haven't really heard anyone  
putting harmonica into a hip-hop context anything like this.  He  
finds ways to integrate his harp playing fully into his songs, not  
just as a sometimes used filler instrument, but often right into the  
beats.  And while his playing is fairly traditional in style, the way  
he integrates it into the music (and integrates blues into hip-hop  
beats in general) is revolutionary.

Check out the "media" section of his website and go to the Hip-Hop  
part, click on "DangerBrown".  Here very simple chord playing becomes  
an ominous pad for a world-beat mix.  He similarly mixes in simple  
playing (but not bad by any means) into the hook for the next song  
"Push It", interestingly using the harp to play a well-known lead (I  
can't remember where it's from right now, which I should as I know  
the original 80's funk song he's taking the riff from).  He then  
mixes in a nice little bit of lead playing with overdubs and some  
slight reverb effects to get the song over.  Very interesting stuff,  
and not something I've heard done before--and something that could  
very easily not work, but BNB really makes it work seamlessly.

Next, go to the part labeled "Blues".  These are blues pieces, with  
some nice but by no means spectacular playing, but it's the execution  
of the whole song and the attitude which makes it work.  This is Hip- 
Hop blues, fully modern and fully realized (not Blues in the sense of  
Little Walter, but more akin to Jazz use of the blues format).  "Bad  
News Boogie" really works as a post-modern blues, with it's simple  
guitar line, and hip-hop meets blues shout out.  The harp is nicely  
amplified, simple but nasty sounding just as it should be, and used  
to augment the vocal without overpowering it.  "Blues 101" is rather  
similar to some of the Fat Possum fusion records stuff or Chris  
Thomas King, though more from the hip-hop side of the equation wheres  
someone like King comes first from the blues side (similar to fusion  
with Herbie Hancock or Miles Davis coming from the jazz side and War  
or Santana from the rock or funk side of Fusion).  The harp is nice  
and country in this one, fitting perfectly with the down-home feeling  
the song creates.

Perhaps even more innovative is the song "Soul Seek" in the "Electro"  
section.  Here the harp is front and center, being cut and overdubbed  
into a House-like context.  This fits in with a lot of world music as  
of late, it's just not many harp players are even trying this stuff,  
moreover doing it quite well.  Listen to "House" where delayed harp  
lines are used as to create the beats and layers of the song--very  
innovative and even more important, it works fully as an interesting  
electronica piece, not just "isn't that neat".  (Though his synth and  
bass usage could be a bit more innovative, but that's true of so much  
electronica, IMO).

The first song from the "Lounge" section is perhaps the one which  
best exemplifies why I find his music so interesting and why it works  
so well.  "World Rhythm"  uses various harmonicas throughout,  
layering them on top of each other and merging them into a new  
whole.  And it sounds very much in the French/lounge tradition,  
though the beat is a lot more active than much lounge (a good thing,  
IMO).  Again, this isn't some unnatural merger, rather he's using the  
harmonica as an equal part of the hip-hop/electro ensemble--merging  
it all together into a seamless whole.

What impresses me so much with Bad News Brown isn't his playing or  
his rapping (he's proficient at both, but won't blow anyone away) but  
rather the whole package.  It's his knowledge (at a very young stage  
in his career) of how to use his harp playing and his rapping (though  
much of this is instrumental, and it still works) together to put  
over a song.  And his willingness to use the harmonica not simply as  
a solo instrument, but rather as part of the beats and pads of modern  
music.  It's not an add-on (as even Roger Troutman's harmonica  
playing in funk often was), but integral to the songs he writes.  I'm  
trying to think of the last person who put harmonica this fully into  
a new format, and I'd have to go fairly far back to find an example.   
Even with Popper the harp was mostly a lead instrument, though  
perhaps that's the best example of the last twenty-odd years.

For all those wondering where the future of the harmonica is, I'd say  
listen closely.  Bad News Brown is just about the only person I know  
of whose integrating the harmonica fully and completely into a hip- 
hop/electronica context.  He is someone worth watching and listening  
to very, very closely.  This is the one person I know of playing the  
harp right now who actually could become a mainstream pop star.  The  
odds are always slim, but the talent is there, particularly in  
knowing how to create a song which is greater than the sum of its  
parts.  And even if it never happens, he's off to a great start at  
creating a very powerful body of work for himself.





 ()()    JR "Bulldogge" Ross
()  ()
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