Hello, kiddies.

What you see here before you will be the last post on this blog. Ever.

1 January 2007 is when it all started here, because I saw so many others doing it elsewhere. I wanted to do my part. I wanted to share stories and music. I did that with a fair amount of success. I met a lot of beautiful people along the way, and learned more than I ever dreamed possible. Now begins the unprecedented tenth year of existence for this brand which I thought would never happen in a million years, but here it is.

What’s next you ask…? Well I’ve pondered over the options for the past eighteen months, and here is the solution. Yes, Fufu Radio will soon be a reality ladies and gentlemen. I just need the time and patience to pull it off properly with absolutely no half steppin’. I’ve spent the last five years listening to podcasts of all different formats. Mostly talk, but definitely entertaining and informative stuff nonetheless. My aim going forward is to add my voice to the growing number of people who have something to say about the world we live in and life in general through my music. Not too much different from what it used to be, but definitely something that I have been dreaming of doing since I was a child. The first episode will be the test. Armed with thousands more records than I had just a few months ago, I’m going to attempt to play them all at least once, or at the very least, all the good ones. As always, no genre is safe, and no stone will be left unturned. Would you still be willing to give me a chance after all this time?

In conclusion, let me say that while this is the last post here, it won’t be the last you’ll see of me. My website is still a work in progress, but it will hopefully be finished and fully functional sooner than later. To find out all the details, go here and click the like button. I’ll be doing as much as I can to make sure that the train keeps rolling, real life be damned. Of course you can go back and enjoy my previous exploits on mixcloud too…

Thank you all for your continued patience, patronage and support. I could never have gotten this far without you. As we embark on another year together, I hope that I can continue to bring the very best that I have and make the world a little better place… one record at a time. Have a happy new year everyone. Have fun(k), and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

Where it really all began…

For all the years I have been involved with making mixtapes for global consumption, I never ever forgot the one and only impetus that really got me started. Yeah, I say it was all those 45s I got as a kindergartener. I also say it was the years I spent opening up my best friend’s mind with the fabled Fufu Stew collection. The fact is that even with all that, there is still one thing that really set the wheels in motion. Here goes, as I put my heart on my sleeve yet again. 24 January 1983. I was given a tape from an old friend who I finally reconnected with after over 30 years. More on that later. The tape contained what may be considered to be standard 70s and 80’s pop for the most part, but it was something about the tape. It stuck with me. The songs were especially good, and they fit very well together. I played, and subsequently wore the original tape out, but after reconnecting with my friend a few months ago, I gave it a listen by re-recording the tape from start to finish, and adding a couple of extras to it that were very relevant to the time. Allow me the indulgence to share with you the primary reason this blog exists… whether or not I truly realised it until just now. This is a once in a lifetime glimpse into my teenage years which you can listen at your leisure with the skinny player thingie or here, or listen right now with the regular player thingie, unless you live in the States I guess…The artwork was clearly made on the fly, but this is the original tape order…

Side One:
01 The Seventh Stranger
02 Lonely In Your Nightmare
03 Thru These Walls
04 Don’t Let Him Steal Your Heart Away
05 Wuthering Heights
06 Landslide
Side Two:
07 The Carpet Crawlers
08 Taking It All Too Hard
09 I Hope I Never
10 Betty
11 True To Life
12 Avalon
13 India

Morgan, I want to publicly thank you for giving me that tape all those years ago. You’ll never realise just how much significance it has when it comes to my music choices. One look at my record collection, and you’ll see. Of course it will never mean the same as it did back in 1983, but just the same, it was another life changing moment. I am eternally grateful for that inspiration. I hope you all enjoyed that little trip back in time, but it’s time for the closing commentary… I’ve been wanting to share that snapshot with you for many years… now it’s all the more special that I have my friend back, albeit through the miracle of social media, but just the same, it’s great to see that she is doing well with a lovely family. I couldn’t be happier. Newness is coming down the pipe as I have revisited the Come On In My Kitchen series. I’ve already got two extra special guests lined up and looking to secure more in the coming weeks… some old friends and some real heavy hitters. Keep a good eye on this space. Until the next time, have fun(k) and as always, please be safe. Peace and blessings.

Waiting on the mailman (including Fufu Pop Rox)

Hello, kiddies.

I’ve been gone a while, yes, but I have been busy planning the next move. Real life sucks, sure, but I now make it a point to take some time out for playing records whenever possible. As a result, the “kitchen” is in desperate need of a detail cleaning, but I don’t expect that to happen any time soon. That is what happens when one starts pulling out records that haven’t seen the light of a turntable in years. I blame that on the many and varied record appreciation groups I belong to on the ol’ Facebook machine.

Let’s see if I can’t get back into good graces with all of you as I present this live to drive session that I did on mixlr back in November. As always, you can listen at your leisure with the player thingie below…

Ooh Yeah-Betty Davis (Just Sunshine)
Pulse-Ten Wheel Drive (Polydor)
I’ll Bet You-Jackson Five (Motown)
South California Purples-Chicago Transit Authority (Columbia)
Prehistoric Boogie-Redbone (Epic)
River Boulevard-Pointer Sisters (Blue Thumb)
I Just Want To Make Love To You-Cold Blood (San Francisco)
Soul Soul Soul-Wild Magnolias (Polydor)
Sunrise Dance With The Devil-Hot Tuna (Grunt)
My Women-Pacific Gas & Electric (Columbia)
King Solomon’s Marbles-Grateful Dead (Grateful Dead)
Black Hearted Woman-Allman Brothers Band (Capricorn)
Joe Tex-Buddy Miles (Mercury)
Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On-Funakdelic (Westbound)
Peace Pipe-B.T. Express (Roadshow)
Funky L.A.-Paul Humphrey & His Cool Aid Chemists (Lizard)
Feelin’ Alright-Rare Earth (Rare Earth)
Baby I Love You-Cold Blood (Reprise)
Hey Bulldog-Bill Deal & The Rhondels (Heritage)
Stoned Woman-Ten Years After (Deram)
Treat Her Like A Lady-Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose (bonus 45 track) (United Artists)
Place In The Country-Fanny (Reprise)
Naturally-Sweetwater (Reprise)
Fan The Fire-Earth Wind & Fire (Warner Bros.)

The closing commentary this time around is pretty critical as it explains where I hope to go from here. I have always professed to be an armchair DJ, but with a newly acquired microphone, the possibilities are getting more and more exciting. All I need now is a proper pop filter. Remember, you can now follow me on mixlr by logging on to http://mixlr.com/vincent-soulchef/. I have to settle a few monetary issues there, but I do sporadic live sessions from time to time on random Sundays. If you do the Facebook thing, then please like my page right here for up-to-the-minute details. I hope to see you all sooner than later, but until then have fun(k), and please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

Time to get the ball rolling…

Apparently 1 and 1 got their money, so it’s all good for another year… so with that said, it gives me great pleasure to be able to once again say hello, kiddies.

I want to take this time to announce my intentions for 2015 and beyond, and use this platform in which to spread the word about said intentions. For years now, many have come from far and wide to hear my mixes and read my personal ramblings. I am eternally grateful to each and every one of you for taking a little time out of your busy schedules to allow me the occasional indulgence. To the close to 1000 followers of my Mixcloud page, the thousands who have visited (this) blog, and those who follow me on social media, I want to formally announce the launch of my latest venture which I will simply call Fufu Radio. As always, it will be an ongoing work in progress, but I feel the need to return to some sort of regularity once again. In this way, I hope to not only continue sharing my love of interaction through music, but possibly make some sort of small but meaningful return on the investment at long last. As most of you know, I spent years building this brand brick by brick as a hobby, and I have spent even more time building my arsenal of vinyl and virtual music in an attempt to reach this point, but now it is time to take it to the next level… I’ve always dreamed of the day when I could present a product such as this, and I think that I am finally ready to take on the challenge.

The format will be quite simple, a regular episodic podcast of sorts, featuring songs, stories about the songs, and hopefully I will get the opportunity to interview and have some engaging conversation with like-minded individuals who I admire and respect to flesh it all out. As always, no genre will be safe, and no stone will be left unturned, because that is how I was raised.

I plan to present a “pilot” episode in the next few weeks. It will most likely be pre-recorded at first, so that I can get more comfortable on the microphone. It will be the first time that the masses have heard me speak, apart form the one and only time I spoke briefly on mixlr, or for those who have met me face to face. I will definitely welcome any and all encouragement, suggestions, requests and even constructive criticism, because it is my intention to present a quality product that will keep listeners tuning in regularly, and attract new listeners along the way. I never dreamed in a million years that I would be able to do something like this on any scale, much less, a worldwide one, but judging from where I’ve been over the past eight years, I can say with a fair amount of confidence that this will prove to be something that will last for years to come. If you want to share in my endeavour, please stay tuned…

Thank you for your patience and your continued patronage, and above all, thank you for choosing Fufu Stew! As always, have fun(k), and please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

The Re-Re-Return…

Hello, kiddies.
The chef’s hat is back on my head where it belongs, as are the proverbial whites. It’s been a long time coming, but I am slowly but surely finding my way.
Allow me to explain the current situation: I haven’t gone away necessarily, but as I explained in the last entry, I found a comfort zone on social media, for what it’s worth at any rate. A friendly reminder to all of you who read this, you can certainly follow me on Facebook now. Friend me, and I will most likely friend you back… or you can follow me on my newly launched fan page. It is there that I was fortunate enough to reconnect with most of my old blogging colleagues from back in the day, and I am constantly meeting new like-minded friends on the regular. As a result, I have been rediscovering my precious vinyl collection, and play way more records than I ever thought possible. That in turn prompted me to get back into playing live from deck to deck, thanks to one friend in specific who will get a proper namecheck at the end of this post. My skills are awful rusty, but the experience is so much fun that I can’t resist the urge to do it week after week. That being said, I have finally compiled an extra large batch of 45s for your aural consumption. It was recorded live in one take, with the slight exception of gain issues that were fixed after the fact. Enjoy the session at your leisure or on demand with the player thingie as always.

Changeling-The Doors (Elektra)
You’re The One Pt. 1-Little Sister (Stone Flower)
The Overtime Man-Don Covay (Mercury)
Reach Out Of The Darkness-Friend And Lover (Verve Forecast)
Green Power-The Bagdads (Double Shot)
Dock Of The Bay-The Da Kars (Josie)
Keep On Keepin’ On-The Vibrations (Okeh)
Never had A Love Like Yours-Act 1 (Spring)
Let Me Do My Thing-The People’s Choice (Phil LA Of Soul)
Latin Strut-Joe Bataan (Mericana)
Don’t Lose Your Groove-Lavell Hardy (Rojac)
Night Owl-Howard Tate (Verve)
Sing A Simple Song-Sly & The Family Stone (Epic)
Pass It On Pt. 2-Pieces Of Piece (Twinight/Numero)
Baby Let Me Kiss You-King Floyd (Chimneyville)
Ease Back-The Meters (Josie)
In The Pocket-The Kingpins (Atco)
Hip Hug Her-Booker T & The MGs (Stax)
Right On Right On Right On-Milt Grayson & The Mystery Guests (Peak)
Fair But Uncool-Earth Wind & Fire (Kalimba)
Seeds Of Life-Harlem River Drive (Roulette)
Sneakin’ In The Back-Tom Scott & The LA Express (Ode)
Inner City Blues-Grover Washington Jr. (Kudu)
Cartoon People-Freddie & Henchie (DJM)
Cat’s Got Her Tongue-Joe Tex (Dial)
The Pot’s Hot-Sherlock Holmes Organisation (CRS)
You-Marvin Gaye (Tamla)
Keem O Sabe-The Electric Indian (United Artists)
The Stretch Pt. 1-Detroit Sex Machines (Soul Track)
The Electric Surfboard-Brother Jack McDuff (Blue Note)
Soul Breeze-The Ventures (Liberty)
Give Peace A Chance-Lonnie Liston Smith (Flying Dutchman)
Luv N Haight-Sly & The Family Stone (Epic)
Vacuum Cleaner-Isley Brothers (T Neck)
Get Out Of My Life Woman-Lee Dorsey (Amy)
I Been Watching You-Southside Movement (Wand)
The Burning Spear-Soulful Strings (Cadet)
Respect-Rotary Connection (Cadet Concept)
The Cat Walk-Village Soul Choir (Abbott)
My Love’s A Monster-Clea Bradford (Cadet)
Groove And Move-Jr. Walker & The All Stars (Soul)
Hot Potato Pt. 1-Rinky Dinks (Enjoy)

And now for the closing commentary…

I said I was going to namecheck the one who was responsible for my return, so here goes. She says she likes the education I provide with my records, much like the one I got from the many years of following blogs and such. It is always important to pay it forward as the old saying goes, so it is with that said that I have to say thanks to the one known as Snoopy Mann… yes, she helped me to “find my smile” through playing records, and as such, regain my place on the interwebs. This could be the start of something big, and quite frankly, I hope that will happen sooner than later. You’ll see. The eighth year of Fufu Stew’s existence is now upon us, so watch this space to see what happens. I hope you’ll be glad you did 🙂
Have fun(k), and now more than ever, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

Fufu Facebook and Radio!!!

Hello, kiddies.

Spending the last few weeks rebuilding my name in sticks has been an adventure. If you didn’t know, I am now on Facebook. Friend me and 9 times out of 10 I’ll friend you back…

https://www.facebook.com/vincent.soulchef

I also launched a Mixlr account in the hope that it will solve the cat-and-mouse puzzle…

http://mixlr.com/vincent-soulchef/

I’ll be updating this page and the website real soon, house cleaning if you will… Have fun(k), and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

 

Moving day part deux

Hello, kiddies.

Well here we go. I said I was gonna do it and I finally did. I cut the ribbon on Fufu Stew Dot Com once and for all! Have a look by clicking on the picture below!

It’s still a work in progress but for now it is ready to accept hundreds and thousands of pairs of eyes. Tell your friends… tell their friends, and their friends, and so on and so on and so on…

Also, feel free to check out my celebratory mix, specially made for this occasion right here, or over at Funky 16 Corners dot com

See you there. Have fun(k) and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

Rebirth…

Hello, kiddies.

This is the last stand… a swan song if you will, for I’ve packed my bags once and for all. After careful consideration of all the options, I made the decision to uproot and move to a new patch of cyber real estate. I’ve finally streamlined the process for a more user friendly experience and a much more attractive feel. There’s still lots of unpacking and such to accomplish, but I hope to do the ribbon cutting in a few weeks. Everything must be perfect. I can’t wait til it’s finished.

But for now, the show must go on… and it would still behoove you to keep watching this space.

This past Sunday proved to be the most fruitful surprise I could ever hope for. I was able to connect some very important dots that will possibly result in my one and only dream coming true once and for all.

The first thing to do is once and for all make my “presence” known on social media. That will happen with lots and lots of prerequisites. Then comes the painstaking task of once and for all restructuring my vinyl and virtual crates because the kit has to grow. I discovered that it’s not so necessary to sweat over being a purist at this point because the primary objective is to fill floors and rebuild my name in sticks.

With that said, indulge me in giving some shoutouts: first and foremost to the crew at The Gathering whose venture could prove to have lasting effects on the culture of my fair city. If you are anywhere in the Baltimore area this weekend, please pay a visit to the world famous M&T Bank Stadium and check out the taste of three cities culinary battle, simply put, a battle of the food trucks. 50 participants from Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. vying for the title. Let’s not forget the music lineup, headlined by the Easy Star All Stars! A splendid family friendly time is guaranteed to be had by all. For info, visit thegatheringbaltimore.com Tickets for the affair can be purchased here…

Next, one for my esteemed mixcloud colleague Tarik Thornton, and because he knows Joe Kopasek, HUGE shoutouts to him as well… and a extra loud shoutout to Cornflake Hill for letting me take the stand for an hour to share this mixtape with all of the folks who gathered at my best friend’s crib on that wonderful Sunday night. In my eyes, it was a magical evening.

Along with all these new changes come greater responsibility. From now on, mixes will be made available exclusively using the Mixcloud platform. This will forever eliminate the need to fear hearing from the health department, and hopefully give a little something back to those who were kind enough to make the music that I have shared over the years…

This is the start of something big. For all intents and purposes, I am a perfectionist. I have to be that way now. This opportunity will not slip through my fingers like sand without a fight. I’ve worked too hard…

And now for the big finish, because the possibilities are endless at this point. I’m also looking to put my toe in the pool of podcasting. potentially taking the fufu stew brand to new heights. I will reach out to all of my old friends in the hope that they may want to participate. I’ll give out more info on that endeavour real soon but for now I must move on to the next phase. With that said, thanks one and all for making the last seven years a real learning experience. I will see you all on the other side of the job but until then as always, have fun(k), and please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

“Like the phoenix coming back from the ashes, I know what’s good and I know what trash is…” -Martin Fry, et al

Twentyodd Fourteen…

Hello, kiddies.

Yes, yes, I know… in the fight between real life and updating this space, real life has taken a commanding lead, so much so that I didn’t even notice it. In response to the comment left by santos curser, let’s begin with the most important piece of news: Another host server has gone the way of the dinosaur, thanks to the health department swooping in and shutting it down without warning. That truly sucks for me because I lost some prime shit that I’ll never recover, namely all the mixes I did dating back back to late 2010! Additionally, if you recall from last year’s opening post where I mentioned the damage I suffered when I lost an entire hard drive full of 45 rips to a bad click of the mouse, then you see the dilemma I face now. I want so bad to start from scratch, so that is the way I will start Twentyodd Fourteen. Happy anniversary to me, I suppose.

I am building a new site slowly but surely, but I haven’t decided how to go about restoring the hours and hours of mixes that made this blog so much fun for all of you to visit. The first order of business is to find a new server. I don’t see too many safe options on the horizon at this point because I refuse to play the cat and mouse game with the health department, but I do want to continue to share the fruits of my passion for mixtape creation with all of you. As it stands now, mixcloud will have to do unless something better comes along, or if I run across a windfall of cash. I will remain true to my word and never ask for or accept monetary donations, so at best, it will take some time.

The second order of business is to go about making new rips of the vinyl that I lost. Thankfully I still have the records, and even more so, I was blessed with two new sound cards that have more or less replaced my old method of ripping to a component CD writer. I was resisting the change because I found sound cards to lack a certain quality that only a component CD writer could obtain, but since both of my 10-year-old-plus writers took the inevitable shit at the same time, I was forced to accept the change after wearing out my legs from kicking and my lungs from screaming. I did some test runs with a few LPs that sound pretty good, especially after I applied higher bit and sample rates to them, so I feel comfortable with doing the same to my precious 45s. Again, it’s gonna take some time which is still at an all time low, but I will remain as vigilant as I can. As far as the old mixes go, some of them still exist on another drive so they may resurface at some point, but for now I have to hit the ground running and start anew.

In closing, I want to thank each and every one of you once again for all of your continued patience and patronage. I do plan to keep the fufu train rolling as long as I possibly can in one form or another so watch this space, or more important, follow me on mixclouduntil I can get my shit together. If you really want a mix re-upped, leave a comment and we’ll sort something out. Best wishes to all of you for 2014, have fun(k), and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

One more go at it (including Records Are Like Chocolate… The REVENGE!)

It’s been a long time coming, but it feels good to finally say…

Hello, kiddies.

The time has come once again to come out of hiding so to speak… now I can’t call it a comeback; to do so would be doing everyone a disservice. Additionally, I can’t say that it is another anniversary celebration, especially since I let that day pass without so mch as a whisper. Just like 2012, way too much has happened. Some good things, but mostly bad. I won’t elaborate though, for one can only beat the proverbial dead horse so much. We have certainly heard that phrase time and time again, I know I’ve said it more than enough times.

Just a bit of brief house cleaning (also referred to as my excuse for the lengthy hiatus): The computer equipment was out of commission for several months due to an unforeseen virus, and since I really do not want to invest in a new computer, I went through more trouble than necessary to get the proper restoration tools in order to get back up to 51 per cent speed. In the process of performing the restoration, I screwed up royally, resulting in the loss of over 200 gigabytes worth of prime 45 rips. That was a very distressing setback to say the least, but it only gives me more incentive to redo them so they sound even better. I started doing that several months back, but more on that in a future post, and yes, there will be a future post. I’m not quite sure when at this point, but it’s gonna happen.

Another one of the reasons for my apprehension about a full on return is I am on the hunt for another means to store the old recipes if they are still relevant at this point… I’m sure I have gotten a couple of visits from the health department regarding that matter, which should come as no surprise these days. While I’m thinking about it, I’ve gotta give huge jeers to a particular online payment service site for no longer accepting remittance for said storage means. These things, combined with the knowledge taken away from another break neck term of intense studying, and I have been given a little bit more incentive to finally ponder the future of this little piece of cyber-style real estate… as long as I can afford the luxury that is, and that hurdle seems to rise higher and higher with each passing second just like the national debt numbers. It should also come as no secret that the past year has not treated many folks well. It wouldn’t be sporting to revisit all the mayhem and the damage that it caused for way too many of us, but I want you all to know that you’ve been in my thoughts all along. One day we’ll get through the madness and come out on top. I’m praying the day will come sooner than later… think 2014, kids.

The one saving grace was that I managed to save the last mix I created just before the hiatus began. In it are some newly acquired nuggets from all the usual digging spots. Here’s my opportunity to give a shoutout to Gary and all the other fine vendors who successfully helped lighten my wallet at the fire hall as well. I don’t get to go digging as much as I’d like these days due to a pure lack of time and resources, so every chance that I get to bring new stuff home is definitely regarded as a treat. In addition, having moved to the city has been a blessing and a simultaneous curse. It’s certainly more difficult to get back to the old neighbourhood; what was once a five minute drive is now at best a half an hour! In any event, here’s the lion’s share of the relevant scores, with just the right amount of old friends that I always like to hear once in a while. It was just enough to make me smile each time I play it. I hope you enjoy it…

01 Rock Rock Rock-The Dixiebelles (Sound Stage 7)
02 Little Old Man-Bill Cosby (Warner)
03 Magic Key-Rare Earth (Rare Earth)
04 Desperate young Man-The Originals (Soul)
05 Use Me-Esther Philips (Kudu)
06 Hope We Have-The Artistics (Brunswick)
07 Let Me Help You-Al Green (Bell)
08 Instant Death-Eddie Harris (Atlantic)
09 Running For Jesus-Ernest Franklin (Checker)
10 Cool Broadway-The Fantastic Johnny C (Phil LA Of Soul)
11 Go Home And Do It-Joe Tex (Dial)
12 Love Vibrations-David T Walker (Zea)
13 Satisfy Me Woman-El Chicano (Kapp)
14 Casanova-Ruby Andrews (Zodiac)
15 You Shouldn’t Have Set My Soul On Fire-Inez Foxx (Dynamo)
16 No Sugar Tonight-The Shirells (RCA)
17 Do Right Baby-Mel & Tim (Bamboo)
18 There’ll Be Some Changes-Maskman & The Agents (Dynamo)
19 I Been Hoodoo’d-Dr. John (Atco)
20 I Need Someone-Linda Perry & Soul Express (Mainstream)
21 Do Whatever Sets You Free-Ramsey Lewis (Cadet)
22 If You Can Want-Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (Tamla)
23 Tramp-Otis & Carla (Stax)
24 I Remember You-The Ponderosa Twins + 1 (Astroscope)
25 Yes We Can Can Pt. 1-Lee Dorsey (Polydor)
26 Why Can’t We Live Together-Timmy Thomas (Glades)

Now before I deal with the closing commentary, I do want to acknowledge the fact that there are many among us who were in one way or another affected by the events that took place a few weeks ago; I will not go into details, but you all know how I feel. For the families, I am saying countless prayers and will continue to make my voice heard at the voting booth… each and every chance I get! End quote!

Okay, to bring this little mini-reunion of sorts full circle, I have one last thing to say: fufu stew dot com (or a reasonable substitute at any rate), is closer to reality than ever before. It all depends on how well I progress over the next five weeks. I do know that the old posts have to go! Detail cleaning is going on as I type this. All of the 2007 posts have been set to private, so that I can assess whether they are worthy enough to leave intact and edit them accordingly at some point. I think the hopeful reward will definitely be worth the amount of inevitable risk involved. Please continue to watch this space. I am so thrilled that you all still find it somewhat cool to drop by for a plate after all these years. I hope to be able to continue keeping you well fed for a long time to come. Until the next time, have fun(k), and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.