Curtis Mayfield injected his own cultural commentary into the Super Fly legacy.

director spike lee continues to tell personal stories by any means necessary.

Animation and indie film pioneer Ralph Bakshi drew attention to race and culture. the south Bronx of 1979 documented in 80 Blocks From Tiffany's.

Photographer Michael Abramson captured the magic of 1970s south side Chicago.

DJ/producer David Holmes approaches soundtrack composition with a less-is-more philosophy.

European libraries created soulful instrumentals for ’70s film and television.

Ex-pimp Robert Beck transformed into writer Iceberg Slim, introducing a new genre for literature, film, and music.

Black Dynamite director Scott sanders crafts high-caliber blaxploitation homage.

Plus:

Blaxploitation soundtrack for film that wasn’t Meant to Be, the sinister role of the turntable in Hollywood Classics, the Music and politics of Black action films, Black Dynamite Composer Adrian young refuses to Cut Corners with his authentic old soul.

Wax Poetics is available at Boundless NY.

The sun set on a former steel town as THE FIRST FAMILY OF SOUL rose to fame.

THE JACKSONS churned out hits with Motown’s Corporation.

With the help of hitmaker songwriters and producers, MICHAEL JACKSON charted his own destiny.

Filmmaker John Landis created a monster with MICHAEL JACKSON’S Thriller.

WAH WAH WATSON spoke a new language with the rhythm guitar.

Producer BERTRAM BROWN kept righteous reggae alive in Greenwich Farm.

New York DJ NICKY SIANO made an art of mixing records.

PLUS
DJ FRANES RECORD RUNDOWN
THE MACKROSOFT
THE PHENOMENAL HANDCLAP BAND
MAYER HAWTHORNE
ILLA J
SHAWN LEE
LEE FIELDS & THE EMPEROR MACHINE

Wax Poetics is available at Boundless NY.

ROGER TROUTMAN’S talk box sings the Human Body electric Organist and Memphis native BOOKER T. JONES was the life force of the Stax sound.

THE MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA broke new musical ground despite icy relationships.

Musician BYRON LEE’S renowned studio lit a fire under Jamaica’s music scene.

Dust Brother E.Z. MIKE SIMPSON pulls endless possibilities from the funky past.

Rapper DEF JEF weighed in with a conscious voice.

RALPH MACDONALD put his artistic touch on classic soul and jazz sides.

LORD FINESSE is on a habitual quest for musical knowledge.

EL MICHELS AFFAIR channels the Wu-Tang Clan’s ruckus.

STS9 integrates the power of the computer into its live instrumentation.

U.K.’s BROKEN KEYS forged a funky core of heavy sounds.

GLASS CANDY fights to shatter disco’s stereotypes.

Analog Out: TALK BOX

Wax Poetics is available at Boundless NY.

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS
Producer CREED TAYLOR cast strong jazz talent for his personal masterpieces.
Producer JOEL DORN helmed a funky golden era for Atlantic.
Bassist-turned-arranger RICHARD EVANS put the soul in Cadet Records.
Pianist and composer HORACE TAPSCOTT cultivated the Los Angeles jazz community.
Guitarist MELVIN SPARKS fueled funky sessions for soul-jazz’s master mechanics.
The making of ULULATION was a celebration of life.
STONEPHACE transcends the limitations of a genre.

9DW proves seeds of funky fusion are best sown at home.

RHODES ELECTRIC PIANO
JOE CUBA, HANK CRAWFORD, DAVID “FATHEAD” NEWMAN, and LYMAN WOODARD remembered.

Wax Poetics is always available at Boundless NY.

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS
* An excerpt from I Want to Take You Higher - The Life and Times of Sly & the Family Stone by Jeff Kaliss
*Reggae maverick Jimmy Cliff reached global
audiences without toeing the line *Pianist Ahmad Jamal charted a new popularity for jazz
*Egyptian Lover and Arabian Prince electrified hip-hop in the ’80s
*Large Professor laid the groundwork for a generation of beatmakers
*Cey Adams established the visual constituent of the hip-hop nation
*The South Korean b-boy cipher
*Jean Grae’s daring wordplay propelled her to hip-hop’s forefront
*Egyptian Lover and Arabian Prince electrified hip-hop in the ’80s
*H-Town rappers H.I.S.D. initiate a Lone Star rebirth
*Terry Lynn upends traditional reggae with charged frontline commentary
*Norman Whitfield, Alton Ellis, and Earl Palmer remembered.

Wax Poetics is always available at Boundless NY.

For Issue 31, we talk to some of music's most mysterious figures. Cover artist Shuggie Otis tells the engaging tale of his rise to stardom and descent from the spotlight. We also look behind the mask at rapper-in-disguise MF DOOM, and we catch up with funky-disco icon Patrick Adams, the man behind many underground hits.

Wax Poetics is available at Boundless NY.

After the overwhelming response from our first anthology, Wax Poetics has compiled the greatest hits from issues 6 through 10 in another collectible, hardbound edition. Wax Poetics Anthology 2 includes all your favorite stories from these early issues, and includes additional photos, illustrations, and album cover montages not included in the original editions.

Highlights

• Hip-Hop juggernauts Pete Rock, DJ Premier, and Dante Ross
• Thorough retrospectives of jazz giants Joe Zawinul, Eumir Deodato, and Sun Ra
• Disco architects Randy Muller and Pierre Jaubert
• Blaxploitation pioneer Melvin Van Peebles
• Southern soul heavyweights Eddie Bo and Willie Mitchell
• The premier of Dante Carfagna’s LP oddity column, Left Field Americana

With bright colors for summer heat, Wax Poetics 29 blasts into the funky avant-garde with Herbie Hancock and his Mwandishi band, written by producer Kirk Degiorgio. Mark Skillz returns with another old-school hip-hop cover feature: Spoonie Gee lit up the streets with his tales of gritty realism. Get your Waxpoetics at Boundless NY.

Our first issue of 2008 showcases a strong redesign. Hip-hop legend Grandmaster Flash gets cover honors, but it's the whole Furious Five who get the props inside. The late, great Eddie Harris is on our back cover; writer John Kruth fleshes out his story by speaking to those who worked with the saxman.

Hip Hop Issue: Dec/Jan 2008. 9th Wonder, Ralph McDaniels, Devin the Dude, Evidence, Alchemist, Just Blaze, Barrington Levy... This is a collectors item. Get it here.

Wax Poetics Anthology Volume 1. This anthology book has articles from issue 1 through issue 5, which was published in the summer of 2003. Also with new illustrations and photos, still with the original feel. So grab a copy and enjoy this first volume of an even more concise vision of Wax Poetics.

Issue 11 Winter 2005: Soul Limbo-Featuring interviews features with DJ Numark, John Klemmer, Bill Adler, CIT Records, Afrika Bambaataa, Charles Wright, ...