Reflecting on Zhané's Musical Legacy

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

*DISCLAIMER: Transcripts are created using AI, and may not accurately represent the content exactly as presented. Transcripts are provided as a courtesy to our listeners who require them.

[00:00:00] How to Support Queue Points
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Jay Ray: Hey, what's up good people. It's Jay Ray, the co host of Queue Points. And I wanted to come to you because there are two really important ways that you can support our show. One is by subscribing to it, wherever you listen to, or watch your podcast. Queue Points is pretty much everywhere. The other thing that you can do is you can visit us on Apple podcasts.

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We're always appreciative of you supporting Queue Points. We thank you so much for all that you've done for us so far and enjoy the show.

[00:00:50] Opening Theme (Music by Danya Vodovoz)
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[00:01:21] Introducing the Hosts and Checking In
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DJ Sir Daniel: Greetings and welcome back to another episode of Queue Points podcast. I am DJ Sir Daniel. 

Jay Ray: And my name is J. Ray, sometimes known by my government as Johnny Ray Cornegay the third. What's happening people in the sunshine. Hi. 

DJ Sir Daniel: In the sunshine, you know, Queue Points is the podcast that drops the needle on black music history, and this episode is going to be like no other, um, but first I want to check in with you, J.

Rae, make sure that everything is good on your end. How are ya? 

Jay Ray: I am awesome, man. I, uh, And feeling really good. It's been a busy week. Um, I had my final for, uh, the, um, air amplify, um, fellowship that I've been in on behalf of Queue Points and thank you, Sir Daniel for coming and being in the room with me. On Tuesday when I presented about the future of Queue Points.

So if you are a member of Queue Points and Sir Daniel, you don't know this yet. If you're a member of Queue Points, I got the video yesterday, so I've already chopped it so our members and our day ones can see what the future of Queue Points is because I have the video and the presentation, but thank you for coming and supporting and being in the room.

DJ Sir Daniel: It was absolutely my pleasure. Um, I felt like a proud parent. Um, you know, no, but seriously, I was really proud and I was really impressed by the, your, your cohorts in the, in the program. And a lot of great things are out there and I can't wait for people to start recognizing not just us, but all the people who are putting in a lot of hard work and quality into their podcasts.

And that's something that we strive to. accomplish each and every episode. And I think you will agree. Um, I think we need to just go ahead and get into this, um, at the time, the time of this recording. 

[00:03:18] Remembering Hip Hop Legends: DJ Paul Nice and Mister Cee
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DJ Sir Daniel: Um, this has been a very difficult week for the state of hip hop. We've lost yet again, we've lost, um, a couple luminaries in the DJ world, specifically, um, earlier this week.

I saw the notification from my good friend, DJ oxygen, um, that his very good friend and producer, one of his EPs, DJ Paul, nice passed away. Um, Jerry Paul Nice produced one of my absolute favorite flip, um, EPs, flip mixtapes. Um, it was a full, it was a flip, a mix CD of nothing but Sade flips. And when I tell you specifically there's a, a flip of, um, Oh, it's it's a flip of, uh, the of Snoop Dogg's drop it like it's hot and shy days.

I won't pretend that I'm forgiving. What song is that? Oh, 

Jay Ray: um, that is, uh, um, uh, I can't hate you though. I have tried that is stronger than pride. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Stronger than pride. That's it. I look, I was going to get to it. Y'all right. Give us, give us, we have the old heads in the room. We had to sing it. We had to sing it right.

That's how we, that's how we get to all memories these days. It's like, you have to either sing it or rap it and be like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That, that, yes. So that was, that's one of my all time favorite flips. And if you hear me in a set, sometimes I still throw that in there. Um, Paul. Nice was Like his name, he was nice with it.

He, um, his contributions to the culture are going to be deeply missed and celebrated. So we, while we were getting over that, then we heard the news then that DJ Mister Cee, at the age of 57, passed away as well. Um, DJ Mister Cee, J Re and listeners is a figure in hip hop that you hear about, but I don't think you all understand the gravity of the role he played in hip hop.

Now, Jerry, he and. He was introduced to you and I as the DJ for Big Daddy Kane. Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, Mister Cee stepped to him. Yes. Get on down. You know that that's how we got to know Mister Cee, a Brooklyn legend. Um, just coming up with. With Kane and the rest of the Juice crew, you know, I'm DJing for Kane, DJing for Shantae at times and also Producing mixtapes.

I got, we got to know him even further through the mixtape culture and How his mixtapes, I'll never forget. He used to have this drop that would go DJ Mister Cee, DJ Mister Cee Don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, if that's a reggae break, but you have to, you have to be there. You literally had to be there and have those cassettes and, and he really had an impact on us.

But I think what we need to realize more, what he's recognized mostly for is literally being the A& R or playing the role of A& R and getting his hands on the cassette of a unknown Brooklyn rapper who was like, you know, killing the battles in the streets and whatnot, and just killing the freestyle cyphers and just making a name for himself and bubbling to the point where Mr.

C got ahold of this cassette and the cassette got in the hands of the right people, including The Source Magazine, who put. Unknown rapper by the name of Biggie Smalls at the time and put them in their unsigned hype, uh, article, which is a coveted, was a coveted spot in the source magazine. And from then on, we all grew to knew this person as the Notorious B.

I. G. and literally the rest is history. But I said all of that to say, Jay Ray, that Mister Cee, even after that, He was also a radio personality at Hot 97. So we're talking about this man was literally carrying the culture on his back in several different, um, aspects. 

Jay Ray: Yeah. Mister Cee, um, was, A hip hop tastemaker in so many ways, right?

He became an individual that you looked to in order to know what was coming up, kind of where hip hop was headed. He played a role in that. Like if you were able to get your joint, if Mister Cee was able to play your joint. That was really important. And so, um, me even not living in New York, it was interesting hearing stories about when, you know, the radio station started to put more controls around the things that Mr.

C could play and dah, dah, dah, dah, dah. You started to realize like, Oh, this person has a lot of what this person says has a lot of power and this big entity doesn't necessarily want all of these things hitting the airwaves because it could potentially change the trajectory of hip hop and the powers that be want to be able to control it.

Right. So Mister Cee as a figure in hip hop was just incredibly important. I am glad that Um, in this moment of reflection that, um, we do get to kind of reflect on his legacy in that role. There was a lot of other stuff that, of course, we began hearing about from Mister Cee in the last, uh, two weeks. 10, 15 years. Um, but I think it's important to understand, um, his impact and, um, this is a huge loss, um, for, uh, for hip hop.

I did not know about, uh, Paul Nice until getting ready to record this show with Sir Daniel. Like it literally got by me. And so, um, I think it is important. that, um, one, these folks get remembered for their contributions, but also that we are here and shows like Queue Points are here to remember the folks, uh, and their contributions just kind of period.

Um, because yeah, the stuff can get lost. There's so much history that can get lost and we're proud to do the work that we do to carry the mantle and also want to say, um, send our condolences to the families of both Paul Nice and Mister Cee. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Absolutely. And it's, it's so. It's like the universe really, the universe got us, Jerry.

The universe has Queue Points because the topic of this particular episode, um, literally is fueled by the work of a DJ. 

Yeah. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Yes, it absolutely is. So. Like Mister Cee, in having an ear for talent and having the juice, as it were, to bring somebody to the table and say, this is dope, we need to put energy and people need to hear this, a young man by the name of DJ KG, who we were introduced to, to, through Naughty by Nature, also took the step from behind the turntables and got into the production of, uh, And, well, he was always, always producing for Naughty by 

Jay Ray: Nature.

Mm hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: But when Queen Latifah and Shakim decided to take things to another level and create the flavor unit. Um, label and brand, they created a compilation album that we discussed right here on Queue Points. You need to go back and listen to that show, Roll with the Flavor, the Flavor Unit album that came out back in 1993.

93. Yep. Turned 30 last year. Turn 30, uh, as I said in that episode, that was an album that came out when I graduated from high school. So it was literally the soundtrack to my summer, my summer of freedom, as it were. And What a standout joint that's we've got an album full of upcoming hip hop. Yep. Um, up, up and coming and hip hop icons already on this compilation full of hip hop, full of swagger.

But Jerry, the breakout hit was not a hip hop record at all. The breakout hit. It was Hey, Mr. DJ by an unknown duo by the name of Zhané. 

[00:12:45] Celebrating Zhané: The Duo That Defined an Era
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DJ Sir Daniel: And that's the topic of this episode of Queue Points podcast. We're going to talk to you guys about Zhané because Zhané needs some props around here. 

Jay Ray: They do. They do. Um, it is one of the things that Sir Daniel and I, as we were kind of just reminiscing on, um, moments in time, um, cause one, it is the 30th anniversary of Zhané's debut album pronounced Zhané and, um, We were like duos.

They're just, there are duos on the hip hop side, right? Yes. I remember the look, the short hair, all of the things, right. Um, there were plenty of duos. There's duos in hip hop today, but there's not really duos in R& B. You know what I'm saying? But in throughout time, really up until our current moment, there was always hip hop duos.

So like DJ, sir, Daniel said, definitely go back and revisit the role with the flavor show, because we do talk about, um, kind of, Hey, Mr. DJ, and kind of this moment in time that gets encapsulated in this song in 1993. Right. So if you don't mind, sir, Daniel. I do want to, I had my brother, DJ Disco Disciple actually send me the liner notes.

So my brother, y'all should know, he has all of my old CDs. Like if J Ray used to own it, my brother currently owns it and it's at his house because you know I left all my CDs here when I moved away from home years ago. So he sent me all the liner notes for the J'onné albums One of the things I forgot about Sir Daniel is How the J'onné liner notes had the story of how the album came to be and I do want to talk about that Can I talk about 

DJ Sir Daniel: this?

That's what we're here for. 

Jay Ray: That's what we're here for. So listen, so this is why liner notes are important y'all because you know, you could get stories, you get history, you get context. So like Sir Daniel said, Hey, Mr. DJ comes out. Hey, Mr. DJ becomes a breakout hit. This is unexpected y'all. So KG. Is working with this duo.

This song gets tacked on to this compilation album. Their name isn't even the same spelling as it is on their debut, right? So, they have a whole different spelling of their name. It's spelled with a J because their name is Gene and Renee. Zhané, right? And Hey Mr. DJ comes out, becomes a runaway hit. And so they tell the story of, um, in these liner notes, uh, they get signed to this deal.

This is Motown Records. And they talk about most debut artists get to kind of record in relative obscurity, right? You record your album. Um, The album comes out, it might hit, it might not hit, but you are unknown. You're just kind of in the studio recording this thing. Zhané doesn't have this luxury because the album didn't exist before Hey, Mr.

DJ comes out. So Jean and Renee, so much for illuminating this, sir. Daniel, because I didn't. Uh, remember this history or know it in detail. So Jean and Renee met at Temple University. Shout out to Temple. My, I'm an alum of Temple as well. They meet at Temple. They are singing together. Renee is writing these songs.

Jean is singing with her. So Renee got all these songs, right? Cause that's what happens when you are like a musician, you just have a whole book of songs. Cause you've been writing your entire life. They do this Hey Mr. DJ song because that was one of the songs that Rene had it becomes a massive hit now They get signed to a label now.

They have to do an album, but they got to do the album fast Because Hey, Mr. DJ is running up the chart and they are performing now 

DJ Sir Daniel: Everywhere they are everywhere 

Jay Ray: They're everywhere. They have a song. So of course, Groove Thing is like the next thing. So they're like, okay, we got to get a new thing out.

Let's go with Groove Thing. Groove Thing is next, right? These, so they talk about in this, in the liner notes, and we'll make sure that we post them on Queue Points platform. So you can read them. They talk about how this album, while recorded under tremendous pressure, Is also full of love because this is their moment like they recognize that this album is being recorded in their moment, right?

So they have two hits back to back. And, um, one of the hit, one of the notes, the last note that I'm going to make is they set the record up in the, um, in the sequencing. So. Johnny's debut record opens with Hey, Mr. DJ, because that makes sense that that song came out like a, you know, almost not quite a year, but almost a year before their debut.

So they have like a full 12 months before their album comes out, right? Opens with Hey, Mr. DJ. Then there's an interlude where KG is like, it don't matter nothing about that. It only matters what they're going to do next, right? And song one set the stage for what we were going to get. And that song was vibe.

And so the kids talk about vibes today, right? Vibes, vibes, vibes. Like that, that first song on the Zhané record while technically, Hey, Mr. DJ is really vibe. And they're talking about, listen to the vibe. It's got you open wide where you had these two women singing these gorgeous melodies over this hip hop track.

And it sets the stage for Johnny's debut album. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Can we talk about really quickly back to KG who this is before he created his own label, a production company, divine mill, but his ear, his ear, like his KG has had this, I guess, has this, um, relationship and love to disco cause Hey, Mr. DJ is. Um, sampled by Michael, sample of Michael Wyckoff's Looking Up To You, which is a nice disco track.

And then of course you've got groove thing. And so he's really tapped into this, this danceable energy that, but with a hip hop sensibility that marries quite nicely. It's like all these, it's just as all these ingredients that just come together. and make a wonderful product. Um, specifically in including Jean and Renee, because their chemistry is unlike any other.

I remember the, the, the performances on like the BET shows, everything from video soul to what was the, the Madeline, um, video LP, video LP. And it would just be the two of them, you know, East coast stomping and rocking out, but they had, they had the cadence and the, the, the, the physicality of early, early run DMC performances, just the, the sync, everything was in sync and we talk about their look.

Yes. Which is, um, very, let's see, which was very rare at the time because it 

Jay Ray: really was, it really was on a pop on a pop thing 

DJ Sir Daniel: because all the R& B girls, you know, everybody was doing the freeze curls, the swoops. You know, the sixties were a heavy influence. So people were doing the, the, the, the, the, the flips and whatnot and big hair.

You know, everything was big in the nineties, but Gina Renee went the opposite way. Yeah. They had low cut Caesars with waves. You know, I, I never seen a do rag line on their foreheads. No bonnets. Renee actually have finger waves. Now that I'm looking at it. She had finger waves and Jean had the low cut. And so that was a different look for them that, you know, one is lighter complected than I say.

Complected has a lighter complexion than the other. That was such a nineties thing to say. I'm com I'm caramel complected, but remember that, remember those kinds of stupid conversations. Okay. So. They already had people's attention just on the way they looked and the fact that they could bring The flavor and actually sing was amazing.

Do you recall that first time? I think it was like on video LP, but they got on the piano. 

Jay Ray: Oh, yeah, Gene on that piano is 

DJ Sir Daniel: Was it for a reason? 

Jay Ray: Everything happens for a reason. Yes. I want to talk about that, actually. Can I, real quick, I want to rewind. Let's, you know what? Let's just talk about for a reason.

Okay. Because I actually think this is really important. So as I, as, as I mentioned earlier, Renee. In a lot of ways, it's kind of like the Gensou Master because she was the person who had written all the stuff. She was the person who actually Gene, here's Gene's thanks, and I think it describes it. Gene says in the thank you, I give thanks to Renee for her, uh, her, for everything.

Her friendship and for believing in me, right? So Jean is on this first album in this first kind of iteration looking at Renee as like, Oh my goodness. Like I get the opportunity to do this with this person. You know what I'm saying? Who does this, who does this kind of writing and it's kind of pulling this together, but here's what's so dope for a reason is my favorite song from Johnny's debut album for a reason is a Jean song.

So all of the debut Johnny record is Renee, Renee, Renee, Renee, Renee, for a reason is Jean where she gets on this piano. She lyrics and music by Jean Norris. She gets the opportunity to be on this piano. Renee is playing strings on the thing, you know, on the keyboards, but it is just this acoustic moment that is very jazz.

That distinguishes what Rene does from what, that distinguishes what Gene does from what Rene does, but it explains Zhané so well, right? Because Rene, when you listen to this record, it is very clear that Rene has, Like that R& B thing. She gets a hook. She knows how to put a hook together. She knows all of those things, right?

And can like mold a song. And I think that's really important when you're trying to do like contemporary R& B music. You need to know how to write R& B songs. What For A Reason is, is it's like a jazzy R& B song. And it's a different kind of style. But it explains why these two artists. who look different, who emote differently, um, could stand on stage together at the same time and captivate us because this was like the flatfoot and singing era girls.

You know what I'm saying? These girls knew how to sing. And on top of that, we're tapped into the moment and, uh, real quickly, sir, Daniel, I think this is a thing too. The Jahnne record came out when hip hop was smoothing out. To we were kind of coming out of the boom bap era and and R& B Mary J. Blige had already happened by then so people had figured out.

Oh, I can really blend this R& B a hip hop thing So hip hop starts smoothing out and then R& B starts bringing in In the hip hop elements and you get Zhané's debut album where KG, weirdly, who's producing as Naughty by Nature on this record. He's not producing as KG. He's producing as Naughty by Nature, which is very interesting.

Um, and using Naughty Music as the publishing. Very interesting, right? But, You get this moment in time where KG is like, okay, we need to bring this hip hop and this R& B together and create this moment in time. 

DJ Sir Daniel: You know, while you were While you were, um, talking, I was thinking about them, their marriage as a group and how they were continuing a tradition of duos.

And I couldn't stop. I couldn't help. Automatically, I started thinking about Ashford and Simpson. And how, and at times Roberta Flack and Donnie Hathaway, you know, what kind of universal kismet cosmic comets are flying around at the same time to bring two people together with. With their own amount of talents, but when they get together, it becomes even an even greater thing and how much of a phenomenon that is in music period.

And that's even more reason why they should be celebrated because we don't hear. You don't hear Joné brought up in a lot of conversations, and they should be. I think recently, the reason why we wanted to talk about Joné, is because I've been seeing Rene performing a lot. And I mean, she Mama is not doing any half assed performance.

She's out there, like, with the crowd. She's by herself. But, Because of the, the girth of their, their, their music and their hits, she can get out there and perform and the audience is, is being, is being, um, gene for her and picking up the slack for her. And I love that for her because she is having a moment right now, which I really appreciate for her because with the 50th anniversary of hip hop.

celebrations last year. Um, they got to recognize her. I know she came out with Queen Latifah in quite a few performances and people are like, yeah, that you, that music that you all did, that album, that was my freshman year of college. That was all the things. And you guys really painted and created a soundtrack for a specific time in my life.

And I am so happy that she's experiencing that, but, um, Jean isn't a slouch either. 

[00:29:04] Jean's Jazz Journey and the Power of Songwriting
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DJ Sir Daniel: Musically, Jean and her husband have created a group of their own and she's honing in on her jazz experience. She has created a jazz experience like no other. 

Jay Ray: Yep. So you are, you hit it right on the head. Like, and it's also interesting.

Um, cause I had to really think about this. I don't know if this is true and I'm projecting at the moment, but, um, when I went back and I looked at the liner notes, cause one, I haven't looked at these, like the albums in a long time. You hear the songs, but I never looked at the liner notes in a while. Um, And I forgot 

DJ Sir Daniel: Zhané's the liner notes because there was so I don't know how we were able to read them back then.

God, baby, 

Jay Ray: God bless. Good eyes. I'm glad they on the computer, baby. I zoomed it as had to zoom. So, um, I had forgotten that Jean had written songs and I'm like, Oh, Jean gets to live off these songs. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Yes, 

Jay Ray: baby. The beauty of songwriting, right? Is You get the opportunity to continue. If you don't sign over your publishing and you do everything right.

You get the opportunity songwriters to live off of your songs. Renee wrote Hey, Mr. DJ and groove thing and vibe and all of these songs, right? That 30 years later, we're like, yes, soundtrack to my life. She could still get a check. She can still get a check every time you hear. Hey, Mr. DJ on the phone, her at KG and who else was the sample on this?

I think rod tip. Yep. They all get a check. Amen. And that's what we want. So back to your point though, about Jean and, uh, her starting the Baylor project with her husband and kind of leaning into the jazz thing. I think that also explains. The second Zhané album. 

[00:31:05] The Evolution of Zhané's Sound and the R&B Landscape
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Jay Ray: So Saturday night is the second album now We have a new we have a new thing that has happened and this is a short This is the way music works, right?

By the time Zhané second album comes out sir, Daniel. You remember this time? This is 1997 still on Motown right but Erykah Badu has already happened Are now hip hop. Now the roots have happened, right? R and B neo soul D'Angelo's debut record has happened. All of these records have happened by the time Zhané's second album comes out.

So the sound of R and B is now. Not only hip hop inflected is jazz, but it's old soul inflected. So you had all of that happening. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Well, we had groove theory too. Don't forget you 

Jay Ray: had groove theory to happen. All of these, this is post Zhané. So 94, you got groove theory. You got the roots, you got. D'Angelo, you got, Joy has happened, who changed the game and the sound, right?

All the stuff that's happening in Atlanta has, has begun to outcast has happened, right? So, and that's post Zhané's debut, so by the time you get to Zhané's second record, Erykah Badu's Baduism has come out like, A couple months before that. So literally everyone's hair is on fire with what's happening.

Now, Johnny shows up request line. It makes perfect sense that that would be their debut. It hearkens back to, Hey, Mr. DJ, um, also produced by KG, uh, written by Renee, same formula. Like the formula has not changed. The time is different though. Right. 

DJ Sir Daniel: A lot of stuff has changed. The landscape is completely different at this point.

Jay Ray: Foxy and Kim are on the scene from a hip hop perspective. The whole black music landscape looks different between 94 and 97. And Andre Harrell is over at Motown now. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Yep, exactly. And don't forget, we've got Changing Faces. 

Jay Ray: Changing Faces, yep. All of these other duos, post Johnny. 

DJ Sir Daniel: And they have a monster singer songwriter behind them who shall remain nameless at this time.

Yep. So a lot of stuff has happened. And so at that point, you can either do one or two things. You can, you can do something drastic and say, Hey, look at us. We're still here. Or you can kind of fade into the background. And what they did was. The affirmation one, they, they changed their look. Yep. And I, and January I remember specifically Mm-Hmm.

hearing people discuss the fact that Zhané and that Zhané has hair now. Yep. That was, it was weird. Like, it was like, oh, they've got hair. Like, they've got, you know, the big bundles of Yep. Of, um, of, um, curls. Yep. The curls and the, the Bantu knots and all of those. Yep. You know, still, still flavorful, still urban, you know, black, but they've changed their look.

And some people, some people even have the nerve to say that because they have hearing now, the sound is different. Like you guys say, you guys said some, a lot of reckless things back in the day. And I hope you remember that we're here to remind you, like Alanis Morissette, you all said some reckless and crazy things about these women back in the day because, because they added on a couple pieces, uh, you know, 20, 27 piece sewing to the look, and then they got glamorized, you know, They were high profile.

They were Budget is higher. Do you remember they were in the um, in Bigg's One More Chance video? Absolutely. That was major. If you get called for cameos and videos like that, you're on the A list. They were in um, the Bratz Give It To You video. So they're high profile now, just like you said. Yeah. So high profile means high budget, so that means stylists.

Yep. And if you got Andre Harrell, who is very style driven Yep. Then of course things are gonna change, um, appearance wise and the way that they're trying to appeal to a whole new, to a demographic that is changing, that is getting older. Um, as we, as we always saying, the hip hop, the, the landscape is being, um, changed by hip hop.

A lot. A lot. Hip hop is the, the leading culture at this point. And so everything has to follow them. And then they, they made quite a few cameos on people's records. Like remember the, it's a party with Busta Rhymes. 

Jay Ray: Yup. 

DJ Sir Daniel: They appeared 

Jay Ray: on De La Soul's it's so easy. I'm not, it's so easy. Um, Oh shoot. It's not coming to me, but it will, but they were on De La Soul stakes as high, which is one of my favorite De La Soul album.

Um, but yes, so they were firmly in demand at the time and 

DJ Sir Daniel: yes. That's the day, the day last song. 

Jay Ray: Yup. And so, and that was a year prior to this record coming out. I will say this. I forgot about this song. Um, interestingly, the locks is on there, um, because the Hitman. So, uh, Pop and Vo from the Hitman. Of course that was Diddy's in house production team.

They did, um, Saturday night on the Saturday night album. And it was so interesting. 

[00:37:13] The Impact of Saturday Night: A Sophisticated Shift
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Jay Ray: Like, I'm like, they called this record Saturday night, but this is really more of a jazz inflected R& B album. So that's, that title was very interesting to me. Um, but more of what I wanted to highlight really quickly. I think there needs to be justice for Saturday night.

This harkens back to Salt N Pepa's Brand New 2, which came out the same year. Where musically, we were in this very interesting place and they were doing something that was a lot more classic on this record. You're talking strong songwriting, lot more live instruments. So KG, like they got band, like they got a band that they're working with and crafting these songs.

Um, whereas the first album was a lot more sample heavy and beat driven. This is a lot more, these songs are crafted, you know, for this album, you know what I mean? That sort of thing. Whereas album number one, like them songs have been written over years. So. It's a lot more sophisticated of a sound, but at a time when the music was actually doing, let me say that differently, where the, the music that was charting content on the contemporary side, wasn't.

necessarily doing this, right? There was a different sound that was hitting the charts and this record was like, no, we're going to lean in. It was a little more, it was way more sophisticated. So I will say this though, what I absolutely love about this album. Gene is now here. Gene is here on album number two.

So she's arrived and it's a very long record. This record actually does, Sound like to me, and I'm curious to know your thoughts. It does sound like a, we're doing our last album. Cause it's really long. It's like 18 songs. Um, but those last crop of songs are all Jean songs. Oh, some. And, and I realized that I was, I was, I was that one who was into jazzy.

Acoustic R and B, these songs were very beautiful. And so that was, it was a moment for me. And, um, so yes, I wish for justice for Saturday night. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Listen, we have to, we have to cry out. We have to cry out for these gems that don't get the love that they deserve. And Saturday night is just that Johnny as a group definitely is.

That group that we need to cry out for. 

[00:40:07] Queue Points Podcast: Advocating for Underappreciated Gems
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DJ Sir Daniel: And that's what Queue Points is here to do. Queue Points podcast is going to highlight artists that have made an impact on us and gave us a soundtrack. 

Yes. And 

DJ Sir Daniel: Zhané is those girls. And I, like I said, I am so happy to see them out and about getting recognition. Can, 

Jay Ray: can we talk about something you mentioned?

So I mentioned my favorite song from the debut album. What was your favorite song from the debut album? Cause I know you have one. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Oh, um, it's definitely sending my love. Sending my love is, Oh my God. That's just, first of all, you got them singing over EPMDs. You're a customer. 

Mm hmm. Mm hmm. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Da da dum, da dum.

Yeah. Da dum. And then the, the longing behind it. If I could mail my heart right to you, I would. Baby, that is 

Jay Ray: a If I could mail my heart right to you, that 

DJ Sir Daniel: is gorgeous. So gorgeous. But also at that time, you know what was happening? DJs were getting acapellas. Acapellas were a part of these 12 inches. And so when you get, you get a vocal like that to a DJ, Oh my God, the mixtapes were running crazy with sending my love because they were like, Oh, this already, you can, you can tell what it's going to sound like under a hip hop beat.

So everybody was doing their blends and a shout out to all the mixtape DJs, the, the bounce broke. It was the Bounce Brothers, um, Doo Wop and Ron G, DJ Mister Cee, uh, Paul Nice, all of those people that would take these fantastic songs and take them to another level just because, you know, there's an acapella. An acapella is, ooh, it's like crack to a DJ.

If there's an acapella on a, on a 12 inch, oh my God, prepare to be sick of that DJ. And, and labels, please. Give us acapellas and give us clean versions of the acapellas. If you want us to be able to play your music, give us these acapellas and give us clean versions. My God, 

Jay Ray: I absolutely agree. Remixes, acapellas, the whole nine yards, like make sure that DJs have those things, um, to be able to pull this together, um, really quickly.

I wanted to mention. And I've said this. privately a lot and I probably said it on the Um rolling with the flavor show, but i'm going to say it again because it bears repeating Crushed by Zhané is one of the most beautiful songs that has ever been Ever been released, written, shout out to Renee for just writing the hell out of that.

And it's a, it's a tight three minutes. It is three minutes of heaven. And that is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. 

DJ Sir Daniel: It, listen, it lives in my crates. It lives on iPod. Definitely throw it into sets to this day. So shout out to Johnny for that, for their contributions. And man, maybe we can speak.

a performance into existence, just a, a one night only kind of event where the world just stops. 

Jay Ray: I would absolutely go to the Zhané show. If they were doing a one night, one getting tickets to that would be nightmarish because both of these women, to your point are still top of their game, able to do it, being able to get them on stage, doing these songs.

In 2024, it's a wrap because these songs are timeless songs. So really quickly on Saturday night, I just want to let people know rendezvous, which was written by Jean. Wow. Just wow. Of a song. And, um, that should have been the third single they ended up releasing. For the longest time as like the third single I get why they would have done that But also no they could have just gone like one track later and done rendezvous Uh, which was a beautiful jazz song That yeah, and by the way Shout out to, uh, R& B radio.

If you have a quiet storm set and you're, you don't have rendezvous in it, you should put rendezvous by Zhané in there. It's a great, it's a perfect song for that. 

DJ Sir Daniel: And this is why you need Queue Points to be your A& Rs. 

Jay Ray: Right. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Jay Ray and DJ Sir Daniel are available to be the, to A& R your next project, um, to, to music, to be the music director of your radio station, all of the things we're here to do it.

[00:45:26] Engaging with Queue Points: Support, Merchandise, and Reviews
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DJ Sir Daniel: Jay Ray, let the people know, you know what we didn't do at the top of the, this episode is we forgot to remind folks how they can support us and give us the accolades that we so deserve and how they can buy merchandise like these dope hoodies that we're both rocking right now. 

Jay Ray: Absolutely. So listen, folks, go on over to, um, well, first and foremost, thank you.

If you hear our voice, if you are watching us, that means you are doing the most important thing. We say it all the time because it's true. The most important thing is y'all tuning in and listening, um, hit the subscribe button. If you are not currently subscribed and you've liked the vibes. See what I did there.

You like the vibes that you've gotten, you can subscribe to Queue Points and you could get notified whenever we have a new show, um, definitely go on ahead and, uh, subscribe to our magazine. So Queue Points magazine, we give you a lot of other information, um, over there. We actually are going to do something over on Queue Points magazine about duos.

So you should definitely check that out over there. Um, it's absolutely free to join. As Sir Daniel mentioned, we got merch like this. Slow jams can heal us. Like stop tweeting, start rapping. You should head over to our store at store. cuepoints. com and get into it. One other thing. I know you heard this at the top, but it bears repeating.

Please leave us a review. Please leave us. If you're like, listen, five, 

DJ Sir Daniel: five stars, 

Jay Ray: you could just put the five stars in, but we would love it. If you also left a review to, if you're like into this, drop a review, you could do it on Apple podcasts and you can do it on pod chaser and you can leave us five stars there as well as on Spotify dirt, sir, Daniel, I know, you know, this, but.

I think it's really dope that as of right now, today, when we are recording this show, we are five stars on all the platforms. 

DJ Sir Daniel: Boom. 

Jay Ray: We are five stars on all the platforms. 

DJ Sir Daniel: As a poet laureate by the name of Sexy Red said, Bow, bow, bow, bow, bow, bow, bow, bow, bow. Five stars across all platforms. That's how we do here on Queue Points.

Jay Ray: I love that we got Sexy Red in. to this jade 

DJ Sir Daniel: show, you know, we can't, there's no escaping me. There's no escaping it. But, um, again, dope episode. This is what we do here on Queue Points. We are so thankful for you for tuning in. But Jerry, what do I always say in this life, you have a choice, you can either pick up the needle or you can let the record play.

Once again, I am DJ Sir Daniel. My name is Jay Ray, y'all. And this has been Queue Points podcast, dropping the needle on black music. History. We'll see you all on the next go round. Peace. 

Jay Ray: Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow.

[00:48:24] Closing Theme
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