It's on NOW!

From what I heard it's a very good song. Thing that touched me the most it didn't have that Prince sound that gets paper-clipped to him at times. Great Job!!!!

The "North Carolina" song on first listen sounds very close to the music Anthony Hamilton would sing: soulful, earthy and topical of country life. The music is southern and Shelby J's lyrics are very personal and identifiable.

There were several things that moved me. (1) Shelby singing how she hated the Ku Klux Klan when she was growing up and (2) Prince having Elisa's daughter sing at the end of the song. Very endearing and made the tune a family affair in a way. Prince is on a roll with the songs he has produced for other people-Larry, Andy and now Shelby. I'm hoping eventually he'll do something with D'Angelo. Even if it's just Prince playing guitar or keys.

bashraka said:

The "North Carolina" song on first listen sounds very close to the music Anthony Hamilton would sing: soulful, earthy and topical of country life. The music is southern and Shelby J's lyrics are very personal and identifiable.

There were several things that moved me. (1) Shelby singing how she hated the Ku Klux Klan when she was growing up and (2) Prince having Elisa's daughter sing at the end of the song. Very endearing and made the tune a family affair in a way. Prince is on a roll with the songs he has produced for other people-Larry, Andy and now Shelby. I'm hoping eventually he'll do something with D'Angelo. Even if it's just Prince playing guitar or keys.

Wow, I missed it. I had to step out for lunch and I couldn't get the radio station to connect to my cell phone. From what you're saying about the song, sounds very interesting and personal, and I bet a 'lot' can relate to the experience she's singing about. I'll have to catch the archive show, and hope I get to hear the song. Thanks for that info.

daPrettyman said:

2elijah said:

Was that the track she played after 'When Stars Collide' from Andy's album?

You know the one with Maceo on it, and I believe that may have been Shelby singing? If that's it let me know I liked the New Orleans sound of it.

I missed the first 20 or so minuts of the show. I forgot about it until I saw Shelby's post on FB. I don't know.

Nevermind I found it. Shelby posted it on her FB page. It's called 'Got to Get You'(Maceo Parker). Loved hearing the JB funk/New Orleans vibe (horns) in it. Just waiting for her to put the show on souncloud, so I could hear that 'North Carolina' track.

'Spelling edit'

[Edited 12/6/12 18:06pm]

I only managed to catch North Carolina. It's a nice, down home sort of song with a soulful, laid back vibe. Shelby and Anthony Hamilton are a good duo.

peri1025 said:

^ The Charity Event is discussed here:

http://prince.org/msg/7/390619

This is nice!!!!

babynoz said:

I only managed to catch North Carolina. It's a nice, down home sort of song with a soulful, laid back vibe. Shelby and Anthony Hamilton are a good duo.

I agree. Shelby and Anthony Hamilton together are a hit.

loving the song alot Prince did a good job on the producing

langebleu said:

Prince should start producing more. He is a great Producer,Arranger,Composer,Writer also great at vocal layering...He should do all the background vocals.

babynoz said:

2elijah said:

No prob, sis! So far, that's the link I saw that posted on her FB page, and Funkenberry has now posted, that he will supply the link as well for that show. well. So if the link posted here isn't right then check Drfunkenberry's page as well.

[Edited 12/5/12 19:15pm]

Two words gurl...Anthony Hamilton!

Personally, I prefer her with him over Prince any day because to my ears their voices just blend better.

The Black Gypsy cd is still my favorite Shelby project although it always gets overlooked around here,

I totally agree with you. I love the Blackgypsy CD. I listen too it everyday. I love "North Carolina" the harmonies and the music was on point. I enjoyed Shelby's interview with Andy Allo.

SometimesIwonder said:

peri1025 said:

How was the Andy Allo interview?? Did she just say she loves NY?

Andy was saying that she had been in NY with Prince & had attended a charity event with Esperanza Spalding, I think. My Internet connection kept cutting out as I desperately tried to get it working again. Think she mentioned about Prince offering a sock for donation.... Or a bass guitar.... I'm not sure cuz I missed some of it. Did she mention anything about touring in 2013?

Yep, you heard it right. At first, Prince donated a sock and told Esperanza to follow him to get the other donation and he donated a customized bass guitar per Andy Allo.

Jamzone333 said:

SometimesIwonder said:

peri1025 said: Andy was saying that she had been in NY with Prince & had attended a charity event with Esperanza Spalding, I think. My Internet connection kept cutting out as I desperately tried to get it working again. Think she mentioned about Prince offering a sock for donation.... Or a bass guitar.... I'm not sure cuz I missed some of it. Did she mention anything about touring in 2013?

Yep, you heard it right. At first, Prince donated a sock and told Esperanza to follow him to get the other donation and he donated a customized bass guitar per Andy Allo.

Sounds like a funny/good interview and show. Hopefully Shelby uploads the audio soon. I thought AA might be in NY with P but she was being oddly accessible on Monday night answering questions, hinting at being at "Butter restaurant" etc. I'm happy Shelby is finally getting her time to shine and hopefully I get to hear "North Caronlina" soon!

[Edited 12/7/12 14:17pm]

babynoz said:

I only managed to catch North Carolina. It's a nice, down home sort of song with a soulful, laid back vibe. Shelby and Anthony Hamilton are a good duo.

Just listened to it at www.drfunkenberry.com. Love the bluesy-soul vibe of the track.

I like it a lot. It sort of reminds me of P-Funk, that dis-to-the-fans song he put out years back. It's the best hing Prince has done in quite awhile. It sounds like it was assembled with care.

This sounds like the same old-same old from Prince. I think he wrote all the lyrics because they are impossibly childish and offer no analysis of race relations past the point of black and white newsreel re-imaginings from the 1940's. In other words this is Prince's bad form. The "KKK" line was needlessly shocking and reminded me of the Mavis Staples "God is coming like a dog in heat" bullshit that relegated that album directly to the cut-out bins. The lyrics sound like a cross between "Papa" and "We March" with a touch of harmony from "Love Sign" and "The Pope". Musically it does absolutely nothing exciting or interesting. Shelby and Anthony Hamilton are great vocalists with voices so beautiful they almost make the song worth the listen, but they are constrained like Jill Jones and Sheila E. before them to vocal phrases that suit Prince's personal vocal limitations. No...they are more like Morris Day in that they take a part Prince sings and just through the texture of their voices improve it, but they aren't allowed to branch outside of that and give us what they are best at. That's why Prince isn't even in the conversation with Jimmy and Terry as producers. He has no ability to get out the way when he writes for other artists. The bridge on the end is the same bad idea we've heard a thousand times from Prince. I guess the whole thing though is a vast improvement though over "U Make My Sunshine".

Some peeps here need to just close their accounts up & never come back...

SuperSoulFighter said:

^I don't really agree with you. As far as I know, God Is Alive, which features the "dog in heat" part (which I find funny:who else could have come up with a line like that?!) was never on any album. Secondly, I think Prince's work with Mavis shows that he CAN write a song about real people in a real situation. Mavis said she had written letters to Prince (because he didn't talk much) telling him about her life and then Prince came up with Blood Is Thicker Than Time which was tailor made for Mavis, just like he could not have written Nasty Girl if he had never known Vanity.

Yeah he read Chaka Kahn's diaries and wrote songs tailored for her, too. I know, I know. And all Chaka's tracks ended up cornball and heavy handed: Remember this one: "I will never OPPPEN MYYY LEGGSS"??? , lol. It's just too blunt too be enjoyable. Jam and Lewis produced a much better, light and unpretentious record for her. When Prince thinks soul diva he apparentley thinks pity party, because every time he writes for a soul singer that's what he comes up with. He thinks the hook is in the bluntness of the lyrics and doesn't bother much with the rest of the song.

funksterr said:

This sounds like the same old-same old from Prince. I think he wrote all the lyrics because they are impossibly childish and offer no analysis of race relations past the point of black and white newsreel re-imaginings from the 1940's. In other words this is Prince's bad form. The "KKK" line was needlessly shocking and reminded me of the Mavis Staples "God is coming like a dog in heat" bullshit that relegated that album directly to the cut-out bins. The lyrics sound like a cross between "Papa" and "We March" with a touch of harmony from "Love Sign" and "The Pope". Musically it does absolutely nothing exciting or interesting. Shelby and Anthony Hamilton are great vocalists with voices so beautiful they almost make the song worth the listen, but they are constrained like Jill Jones and Sheila E. before them to vocal phrases that suit Prince's personal vocal limitations. No...they are more like Morris Day in that they take a part Prince sings and just through the texture of their voices improve it, but they aren't allowed to branch outside of that and give us what they are best at. That's why Prince isn't even in the conversation with Jimmy and Terry as producers. He has no ability to get out the way when he writes for other artists. The bridge on the end is the same bad idea we've heard a thousand times from Prince. I guess the whole thing though is a vast improvement though over "U Make My Sunshine".

I disagree with some of what's in your post, but you're entitled to your own opinion of course. In the end, the song seems to be a MLKjr., type of message of hope and change.

My view of the song is that it sounds like she is sharing and expressing her feelings, and part of a life experience, growing up as a child in NC, as well as her love for her hometown, although acknowledging her awareness of a societal ill that still exists, which apparently played a part in a past incident, that still haunts her memory.. As early in the song she speaks of her dislike of the KKK, and her memory of the death of 5 people, where she she basically state the reason behind those deaths, is something she still doesn't understand. She then goes on to state "We're all born free.." and that this country belongs to everyone, just as much as it belongs to her. At that point, her feelings expressed in the song, clearly borders on her concern and awareness of a societal ill that apparently still exists in the hometown that she loves so dearly.

But despite it all, Shelby and Anthony sing that they're not giving up their dream of hope and change, for better race relations in NC (or this country for that matter), and sings the line "NC will all be a garden one day". Then Shelby calls out the different colors of people that she dreams about existing in that garden, ("White, Black, Red, Brown people....") and cleverly connects those variations with the many, different types of "flowers, trees roses, honeybees..", she sings will be planted, and growing together in that garden someday.

Her message of hope and change, in her own way, seems similar to MLKjr.'s dream of the hope and change, that he preached about in his 'I have a Dream' speech. Also reminds me of Prince's message in his song 'Dreamer', where he points out specific, societal ills, but says he's not giving up hope (his dream) that things will change in the future.

Shelby and Anthony are singing about a reality (societal ill) that exists in their hometown, but despite it all, they're not giving up hope that someday things (race relations) will change for the better. I hear nothing childish in those lyrics at all. That's my two cents.

On another note, I noticed the song has a strong, reggae beat, which I like, and has sort of a Bob Marley kind of vibe--probably a song he would have sung if he was still alive. The song is definitely a bluesy-soul track, with a call and response feel (as I found myself doing, while listening to it, like I was in church ). But I've listened to the song quite a few times, and I love it. Love the message of hope and strength it instills, despite the experience of the reality the song expresses. Kind of reminds me of the days of Gil Scott Heron and Curtis Mayfield, Bob Marley, as they sang about societal ills people were afraid to talk about out loud, yet many understood the messages in their songs. I've always respected musicians, artists, etc., who weren't/aren't afraid to 'speak out loud' or 'sing out loud' about societal ills, in order to bring awareness and change to it, regardless of the risks one takes 'telling or exposing it' (as I'm that type of person too ). It's better than not saying or doing anything about it at all. Cheers to Shelby, Anthony and Prince for this song.

I'm definitely buying this song on 12/12/12, when it's released. Love how if flows, and the message of hope and change in it.

(Edited for a few grammar tweaks)

[Edited 12/8/12 21:19pm]

Shelby just uploaded the audio for those who missed the show. It's available on soundcloud

"Shelby J Takeover Part 2". Loved the NC song and the AA interview. Haha I like how salsa dancing took "Yellow Gold" to a whole new level...wonder who her partner was...Love the sock story too

As a black woman I can appreciate the honesty of the NC song and Shelby's willingness to be open and reflective in her music. Too often artists today stick to quick hooks and simple lyrics. More people need to take a page out of Shelby/Prince's handbook.

[Edited 12/8/12 18:10pm]

I actually like that raggea-ish track a lot. Great voice of them both, good lyric and just contemporary good music. Shelby can actually sing unlike some other somebody evolutionary nonsense...shelby can sing, [This has nothing to do with Andy, don't detrail/troll thread snip - luv4u]

2elijah said:

funksterr said:

This sounds like the same old-same old from Prince. I think he wrote all the lyrics because they are impossibly childish and offer no analysis of race relations past the point of black and white newsreel re-imaginings from the 1940's. In other words this is Prince's bad form. The "KKK" line was needlessly shocking and reminded me of the Mavis Staples "God is coming like a dog in heat" bullshit that relegated that album directly to the cut-out bins. The lyrics sound like a cross between "Papa" and "We March" with a touch of harmony from "Love Sign" and "The Pope". Musically it does absolutely nothing exciting or interesting. Shelby and Anthony Hamilton are great vocalists with voices so beautiful they almost make the song worth the listen, but they are constrained like Jill Jones and Sheila E. before them to vocal phrases that suit Prince's personal vocal limitations. No...they are more like Morris Day in that they take a part Prince sings and just through the texture of their voices improve it, but they aren't allowed to branch outside of that and give us what they are best at. That's why Prince isn't even in the conversation with Jimmy and Terry as producers. He has no ability to get out the way when he writes for other artists. The bridge on the end is the same bad idea we've heard a thousand times from Prince. I guess the whole thing though is a vast improvement though over "U Make My Sunshine".

I disagree with some of what's in your post, but you're entitled to your own opinion of course. In the end, the song seems to be a MLKjr., type of message of hope and change.

My view of the song is that it sounds like she is sharing and expressing her feelings, and part of a life experience, growing up as a child in NC, as well as her love for her hometown, although acknowledging her awareness of a societal ill that still exists, which apparently played a part in a past incident, that still haunts her memory.. As early in the song she speaks of her dislike of the KKK, and her memory of the death of 5 people, where she she basically state the reason behind those deaths, is something she still doesn't understand. She then goes on to state "We're all born free.." and that this country belongs to everyone, just as much as it belongs to her. At that point, her feelings expressed in the song, clearly borders on her concern and awareness of a societal ill that apparently still exists in the hometown that she loves so dearly.

But despite it all, Shelby and Anthony sing that they're not giving up their dream of hope and change, for better race relations in NC (or this country for that matter), and sings the line "NC will all be a garden one day". Then Shelby calls out the different colors of people that she dreams about existing in that garden, ("White, Black, Red, Brown people....") and cleverly connects those variations with the many, different types of "flowers, trees roses, honeybees..", she sings will be planted, and growing together in that garden someday.

Her message of hope and change, in her own way, seems similar to MLKjr.'s dream of the hope and change, that he preached about in his 'I have a Dream' speech. Also reminds me of Prince's message in his song 'Dreamer', where he points out specific, societal ills, but says he's not giving up hope (his dream) that things will change in the future.

Shelby and Anthony are singing about a reality (societal ill) that exists in their hometown, but despite it all, they're not giving up hope that someday things (race relations) will change for the better. I hear nothing childish in those lyrics at all. That's my two cents.

On another note, I noticed the song has a strong, reggae beat, which I like, and has sort of a Bob Marley kind of vibe--probably a song he would have sung if he was still alive. The song is definitely a bluesy-soul track, with a call and response feel (as I found myself doing, while listening to it, like I was in church ). But I've listened to the song quite a few times, and I love it. Love the message of hope and strength it instills, despite the experience of the reality the song expresses. Kind of reminds me of the days of Gil Scott Heron and Curtis Mayfield, Bob Marley, as they sang about societal ills people were afraid to talk about out loud, yet many understood the messages in their songs. I've always respected musicians, artists, etc., who weren't/aren't afraid to 'speak out loud' or 'sing out loud' about societal ills, in order to bring awareness and change to it, regardless of the risks one takes 'telling or exposing it' (as I'm that type of person too ). It's better than not saying or doing anything about it at all. Cheers to Shelby, Anthony and Prince for this song.

I'm definitely buying this song on 12/12/12, when it's released. Love how if flows, and the message of hope and change in it.

(Edited for a few grammar tweaks)

[Edited 12/8/12 21:19pm]

I don't disagree with you much either. I understood what Prince was trying to do. I just don't think the final product was excellent. You said it was bluesy and soulful, but of course it sounds bluesy and soulful with Anthony Hamilton on backing vocals. That's like describing water as wet. Drop the vocals off the track and just listen to the music and you would not hear blues or soul. You would just hear synth-based, perhaps reggae inspired funk. The entire track is built on a fatal mix of elements.

Prince was clearly a HUGE Staples Singers fan, because he has dropped a number of Mavis Staples inspired tracks and "North Carolina" features Shelby during her best Mavis impersonation. Which is sort of refreshing considering how many songs we already have of Prince doing his best Mavis Staples impersonation.

I hear tired old cliches from the opening line to the last. Lyrical cliches, vocal riff cliches, instrumental cliches. Which would be excusable if Prince added something good to the cliches. But he never even tried. This reminds me of "The Birds II: Land's End", or Miley Cyrus's cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Just because many of the elements are there of the original doesn't mean they EQUALED the original. So just because there is soul or blues or reggae elements present doesn't mean it's genuine soul, blues or reggae. In typical post-SOTT Prince fashion it's an unsatisfying half-assed blend of some of one thing, some of another, that never actually adds up to much of anything. It makes you question, does he understand any of the genres he is supposedly master of blending. I just realized something: When Prince steps outside of his lane (Minneapolis funk) he becomes the back-in-the-day version of Kid Rock!

It's refreshing to hear someone else on leads, but that won't mask the flaws in Prince's song-writing and production process. It's an alright type of track but nothing that would amp me up to buy Sheby's album. Prince failed to bring the various elements of the song together with any momentum, like he did with "I Hate You" or "Adore". "North Carolina" barely has a pulse. Now about that reggae inspired beat and bent triangle percussion:

funksterr said:

2elijah said:

I disagree with some of what's in your post, but you're entitled to your own opinion of course. In the end, the song seems to be a MLKjr., type of message of hope and change.

My view of the song is that it sounds like she is sharing and expressing her feelings, and part of a life experience, growing up as a child in NC, as well as her love for her hometown, although acknowledging her awareness of a societal ill that still exists, which apparently played a part in a past incident, that still haunts her memory.. As early in the song she speaks of her dislike of the KKK, and her memory of the death of 5 people, where she she basically state the reason behind those deaths, is something she still doesn't understand. She then goes on to state "We're all born free.." and that this country belongs to everyone, just as much as it belongs to her. At that point, her feelings expressed in the song, clearly borders on her concern and awareness of a societal ill that apparently still exists in the hometown that she loves so dearly.

But despite it all, Shelby and Anthony sing that they're not giving up their dream of hope and change, for better race relations in NC (or this country for that matter), and sings the line "NC will all be a garden one day". Then Shelby calls out the different colors of people that she dreams about existing in that garden, ("White, Black, Red, Brown people....") and cleverly connects those variations with the many, different types of "flowers, trees roses, honeybees..", she sings will be planted, and growing together in that garden someday.

Her message of hope and change, in her own way, seems similar to MLKjr.'s dream of the hope and change, that he preached about in his 'I have a Dream' speech. Also reminds me of Prince's message in his song 'Dreamer', where he points out specific, societal ills, but says he's not giving up hope (his dream) that things will change in the future.

Shelby and Anthony are singing about a reality (societal ill) that exists in their hometown, but despite it all, they're not giving up hope that someday things (race relations) will change for the better. I hear nothing childish in those lyrics at all. That's my two cents.

On another note, I noticed the song has a strong, reggae beat, which I like, and has sort of a Bob Marley kind of vibe--probably a song he would have sung if he was still alive. The song is definitely a bluesy-soul track, with a call and response feel (as I found myself doing, while listening to it, like I was in church ). But I've listened to the song quite a few times, and I love it. Love the message of hope and strength it instills, despite the experience of the reality the song expresses. Kind of reminds me of the days of Gil Scott Heron and Curtis Mayfield, Bob Marley, as they sang about societal ills people were afraid to talk about out loud, yet many understood the messages in their songs. I've always respected musicians, artists, etc., who weren't/aren't afraid to 'speak out loud' or 'sing out loud' about societal ills, in order to bring awareness and change to it, regardless of the risks one takes 'telling or exposing it' (as I'm that type of person too ). It's better than not saying or doing anything about it at all. Cheers to Shelby, Anthony and Prince for this song.

I'm definitely buying this song on 12/12/12, when it's released. Love how if flows, and the message of hope and change in it.

(Edited for a few grammar tweaks)

[Edited 12/8/12 21:19pm]

I don't disagree with you much either. I understood what Prince was trying to do. I just don't think the final product was excellent. You said it was bluesy and soulful, but of course it sounds bluesy and soulful with Anthony Hamilton on backing vocals. That's like describing water as wet. Drop the vocals off the track and just listen to the music and you would not hear blues or soul. You would just hear synth-based, perhaps reggae inspired funk. The entire track is built on a fatal mix of elements.

Prince was clearly a HUGE Staples Singers fan, because he has dropped a number of Mavis Staples inspired tracks and "North Carolina" features Shelby during her best Mavis impersonation. Which is sort of refreshing considering how many songs we already have of Prince doing his best Mavis Staples impersonation.

I hear tired old cliches from the opening line to the last. Lyrical cliches, vocal riff cliches, instrumental cliches. Which would be excusable if Prince added something good to the cliches. But he never even tried. This reminds me of "The Birds II: Land's End", or Miley Cyrus's cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Just because many of the elements are there of the original doesn't mean they EQUALED the original. So just because there is soul or blues or reggae elements present doesn't mean it's genuine soul, blues or reggae. In typical post-SOTT Prince fashion it's an unsatisfying half-assed blend of some of one thing, some of another, that never actually adds up to much of anything. It makes you question, does he understand any of the genres he is supposedly master of blending. I just realized something: When Prince steps outside of his lane (Minneapolis funk) he becomes the back-in-the-day version of Kid Rock!

It's refreshing to hear someone else on leads, but that won't mask the flaws in Prince's song-writing and production process. It's an alright type of track but nothing that would amp me up to buy Sheby's album. Prince failed to bring the various elements of the song together with any momentum, like he did with "I Hate You" or "Adore". "North Carolina" barely has a pulse. Now about that reggae inspired beat and bent triangle percussion:

I think you missed my point in some parts of my post. Shelby has a very, soulful voice, and even without Anthony, Shelby would still have carried that song well, with that same bluesy-soul vibe, because her voice has that type of natural quality to sing those types of songs. No question about that, and it is genuine soul. Like I said, similar to that 'deep soul' sound, where I can 'feel the soul of the song and its message', that I get from listening to a Bill Withers/Al Green track.

Also, I don't see how you can say the lyrics are childish or cliche. She's singing about a reality she experienced while growing up in NC, and hoping things have or will change for the better in NC someday, and Anthony co-signs her on that in the song. You don't seem to think she wrote the song, but instead you think Prince wrote it, yet Shelby is the one singing about her hometown, her strong roots in NC, and a past experience she reflects on in the song. So you may want to rethink that or just wait to see if he is on part of the writing credits on the song, if that is revealed when the single is released on 12/12/12.

I also think you misunderstood me, when I said I hear a reggae vibe in the song. It's not a 'reggae track'. When I said I hear a reggae vibe, I meant instrumentally, not lyrically. I hear it in the keys throughout parts of the song. I probably picked up on that easily, because of my Caribbean roots, and my familiarity with specific, music sounds of the Caribbean. In the 'North Carolina' song, I'm talking about the reggae type vibe, like in a Bob Marley sort of way, although the message in the song, seems the type of message Bob Marley would have sung about. That video you posted, is nowhere close to the 'reggae' vibe I'm talking about though, but nice try.

***Also just to add, you mentioned you don't think Prince brought out various elements in his track 'Adore'. I disagree, he brought out the romance of that track, similar to the sounds of 70s r&b soul ballads, and that is why 'Adore' is a well-received soul ballad.

Anyway, different strokes for different folks, that's the way I see it. We all have our different tastes in music and what one may not like, others may love. Life goes on and then some.

[Edited 12/10/12 7:23am]