Album Review: Rich the Factor- 1,000 (Keep It Ten Hunnid)

As millions of Jay-Z fans parsed 4:44 over the weekend, heedful Kansas Citians studied Rich the Factor’s latest missive.  1,000 (Keep It Ten Hunnid) is another essential document of Kansas City’s criminal underworld.  The album validates the assertions I made in an extensive examination of Rich published by KCUR last year.  The title track includes a statement of purpose: “Rich, why you rap about the drug life? I’m like Pac when he rapped about thug life.”  He notes that “I handle business on the late night and keep my grass cut low for the snake bites” on “Late Night.”  The production continues to reference ‘80s and ‘90s R&B.  “On the Grit” samples the 1990 hit After 7 “Ready or Not,” a sentiment that reflects Rich’s unrepentant grind.


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I reviewed Bruce Hornsby’s appearance at Knuckleheads last Thursday.

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I accorded the Philistines my KCUR Band of the Week designation.

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I write weekly concert previews for The Kansas City Star.

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I consider reactions to the American Jazz Museum’s negative publicity at Plastic Sax.

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Pianist Geri Allen has died.  Perfection, her collaboration with David Murray and Terri Lyne Carrington, was my #9 album of 2016.

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A perplexing eight-minute documentary on the creation of Bargou ‘08’s wonderful Targ in Algeria raises more questions than it answers.

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I embrace the glorious pop of Calvin Harris’s Funk Wav Bounces without reservation or irony.  RIYL: Pharrell Williams, 2017, Future.

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Aruan Ortiz’s solo piano album Cub(an)ism is astounding.  RIYL: Cecil Taylor, truly new sounds, Gonzalo Rubalcaba.

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May the Purple Rain never stop falling.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Quarterly Report

I’m embarking on a brief blogging break.  Before I get out of Dodge, I’ll leave you with three arbitrary lists.

My Ten Favorite Concerts of 2017 (so far)
1. Charlie Wilson, Fantasia and Johnny Gill- Sprint Center
2. Jazz 100 featuring Danilo Pérez, Lizz Wright and Avishai Cohen- Yardley Hall
3. Joseph- Madrid Theatre
4. Patti LaBelle- Muriel Kauffman Theatre
5. Ramsey Lewis- Gem Theater
6. Ben Folds with the Kansas City Symphony- Helzberg Hall
7. Gaelynn Lea- Folk Alliance International Conference at Crown Center
8. Jessica Care Moore- Black Archives of Mid-America
9. Pure Disgust- Encore Room
10. Simone Porter- Folly Theater

My Ten Favorite Songs of 2017 (so far)
1. Calvin Harris featuring Frank Ocean and Migos- “Slide”
2. Valerie June- “Astral Plane”
3. Sunny Sweeney- “Bottle by My Bed”
4. Craig Finn- “God in Chicago”
5. Lorde- “Liability”
6. Young Fathers- “Only God Knows”
7. Alejandro Fernandez- “Agridulce”
8. José James- “To Be With You”
9. Brother Ali- “Own Light (What Hearts Are For)”
10. Chronixx- “Majesty”

My Ten Favorite Albums of 2017 (so far)
1. Miguel Zenón- Tipico
2. Tinariwen- Elwan
3. Yelena Eckemoff- Blooming Tall Phlox
4. Future- Hndrxx
5. Uniform- Wake in Fright
6. Mark Eitzel- Hey Mr. Ferryman
7. Víkingur Ólafsson- Philip Glass: Piano Works
8. Code Orange- Forever
9. Ibibio Sound Machine- Uyai
10. Noah Preminger- Meditations on Freedom



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I reviewed Rodney Crowell’s appearance at Knuckleheads.

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I reviewed Patti LaBelle’s concert at Muriel Kauffman Theatre.

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I reviewed the Jazz 100 concert at Yardley Hall at Plastic Sax.

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I discussed Victor & Penny on my weekly segment for KCUR.

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I wrote an extended preview of Xenia Rubinos’ concert for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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Craig Finn’s We All Want the Same Things is a mixed bag.  The standout tracks are “God in Chicago” and “Jester & June.”

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Tedeschi Trucks is my all-time favorite jam band.  Here’s a ten-minute interpretation of ”Keep On Growing" from Live From the Fox Oakland.

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Havok’s Conformicide is RIYL Megadeth, political metal, Revocation.  Here’s ”Intention to Deceive”.

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Spoon’s Hot Thoughts and Sinkane’s Life & Livin’ It could be the first and second discs of the same sprawling modern pop album.  RIYL: dancing, the Isley Brothers, fun.

(Original image of Charlie Wilson, Johnny Gill and band by There Stands the Glass.)

I Might

I have no patience for the several important new albums that were released on Friday.  My obsession with “Slide” is in the way.  The collaboration between Calvin Harris, Migos and Frank Ocean is pure pop bliss.  “Slide” may be the best step dance song since R. Kelly’s joyous 2003 jam “Step in the Name of Love”. 


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I discussed Momma’s Boy on KCUR.

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I write weekly concert previews for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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I address the Janelle Monáe-related snafu that’s distressed much of Kansas City’s music and political communities at Plastic Sax.  I desperately hope that the following artists are the primary targets of the people in charge of the booking the American Jazz Museum’s new $50-per-day festival: A Tribe Called Quest, Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, Childish Gambino, Al Green, Lauryn Hill, Norah Jones, Kendrick Lamar, Diana Ross, Solange and Stevie Wonder.

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I wrote an extended concert preview about Valerie June for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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Larry Coryell has died.

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Leon Ware has died.

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Barbara Carroll has died.

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Blacswet, a self-titled EP featuring Spoek Mathambo, sounds like the soundtrack to George Clinton’s most lucid dream.  RIYL: “Atomic Dog,” European discotheques, Clipping.  (Tip via Big Steve.)

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Charlie Wilson has supplied an inordinately large portion of the soundtrack of my life.  Alas, In It To Win It is disappointing.  Only two or three songs are exceptional.  Here’s ”I’m Blessed”.

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The sparseness of La Diversité fooled me at first.  The open spaces cleverly obscure the depth of the latest effort by the Belgian saxophonist Nicolas Kummert and Lionel Loueke.  RIYL: Chris Potter, eurojazz, Pat Metheny.

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It’s not them; it’s me.  Windy City and Highway Queen, the new albums by Alison Krauss and Nikki Lane, don’t move me.

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Adam Schneit reached out to me about securing coverage of his 2016 album Light Shines In.  I’m pleased to report that it’s superlative progressive jazz in the vein of Bill Frisell and Steve Lacy.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)