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.

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.

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.

Cuttin heads, original sounds, funk city, Q-tip, Al Green and MUCH MORE! Wax Po is in full effect in 08! 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.

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.