r.i.p. lady t

Irons In the Fire

sad to hear that teena marie has passed away.

teena was a singer/songwriter AND producer who may have been known as rick james' protégé but her talent stood on its own. she also is responsible for the law that makes it illegal for a label to keep an artist under contract while refusing to release their work. lady t, indeed.



while people may adore other singers known for their brand of "blue-eyed soul", teena marie was the only white artist black america considered one of their own. especially because her mainstream hits were only a smidgen of her actual career.

in my humble (who am i kidding) opinion, no other white artist has been able to pull of soul music as authentically as teena marie. no one. yes, bobby caldwell's hit "what you won't do for love" may have caused a double take but let's be honest, he's no teena marie.

sure there's michael mcdonald, ambrosia, george michael, hall & oates all of whom are dope but we all know who they were, and so does mainstream america. and yeah, you can throw in justin timberlake and robin thicke as singers with soulful tinges but honestly, they still don't have shit on teena marie. she held her own against some of the biggest names in r&b and had their respect and love as well.

i'm sure it's obvious i am a big fan of hers. i loved so much of her catalogue, respected her work but i have to say one my favorite ballads of hers is portuguese love...classic r&b.



ms. marie reminds me of family get togethers, summer bbq's, crushes and my friend robin. robin loved her music. here's hoping if the afterlife is true, she's singing robin a lullaby.

here's i need your lovin' one of her biggest hits that she wrote and produced, from the album irons in the fire. i think need to go roller skate her honor.

rolling stone write-up > here