Najee said:

I don't even know why Luther even had opening acts He always went to war with them,lol.EnVogue and Anita Baker both had alot of drama with him.I also heard that he went off on Boys II Men when they opened for him several years ago...there was friction backstage and he cussed them out.

Najee said:

There was no physical fight. That whole thing has been so overblown.

RipHer2Shreds said:

I hope there wasn't.Anita would have whooped his ass She's petite but vicious! Those are the types that you DON'T wanna mess with,lol.

i would never think that Luther could be cause for THIS much discussion....c'ome on now....

Najee said:

I remember the En Vogue interview. They said that Luther had control over everything, Including which songs they could sing. And that he limited their stage time and only let them perform one of their hit songs.

The BEST ladies' men are GAY....

The Fulani Woodabe of Africa put on makeup, dance, roll their eyes, and "effeminize" themselves....NON-THREATENING....to get women.
They are people of the taboo.

If you can fuck some ass you can definitely fuck some pussy.

Oh hell naw. "She's A Super Lady" by Luther Vandross is very funky. Just check out the funky bass in that song. Luther also had a funky side working with Change and producing Aretha Franklin's "Get It Right". Although he is mainly known as a balladeer, he did have a little funk in his bones and was capable of doing more.

Someone like Shitney Ass Houston has absolutely no funk in their bones and has never released one jam. Someone like her makes entire albums of weak bullshit and, what's worse, was extremely successful at it and others followed her lead. Therefore leading to a whole weak generation that followed that doesn't even have the rhythm that Lawrence Welk had.




I'll admit to that partly. I have absolutely hated for black R&B artists to water their music down to appeal to a white audience. If a black artist is making rock, that's fine. Rock has been loved by mostly white audiences so if a black person loves rock music, hey, go for it. Music has no color. The same thing goes for a white artist like Teena Marie who loves R&B. Make music that you love, regardless of color, and fuck anyone that doesn't like it.

However.....it totally pisses me off for a black artist that makes R&B, or even a white R&B artist for that matter, to water the R&B down and make it weak for the purpose of appealing to both black and white audiences. The finished product is usually something extremely weak. You don't see white rock groups like AC/DC or Ozzy Osbourne watering down their rock so it can appeal to black audiences do you? Hell no. Then why the hell should a black artist, who makes R&B, water their music down to appeal to white audiences. I say, if you like rock, make the strongest rock you can. If you like R&B, make the strongest R&B you can. If other audiences happen to like it, that's fine, but if they don't, fuck 'em.

Shitney Ass Houston is far from Luther Vandross. She went after both audiences from day one making the weakest shit she could possibly make.
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[Edited 7/21/07 8:01am]

SoulAlive said:

Yeah, I would only manhandle a weakling.... wait, what are you SAYING HERE SoulAlive?!

I'm saying that Anita is like a pit bull....small but vicious

vainandy said:

I've heard virtually everything by Luther Vandross and "She's a Super Lady" sounds like a post-disco or disco-influenced song by Chic, or a derivative of his "Glow of Love" with Change. Surely you're not trying to pass that song off as funk, Vain. I have to say you're reaching on that one.

Disco was nothing more than speeded up funk. Disco was very funky. It's because of disco that I got into funk in the first place. When someone says a song sounds very disco, I consider that the highest compliment they can give the song. Disco's influence lived on in funk all through the early 1980s. People just never admitted it because disco was supposedly "dead".

It's when music slowed down and got the furthest away from disco tempo as possible, that's when music turned to absolute boring bullshit.
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[Edited 7/25/07 6:33am]

ThePunisher said:

I'm a huge Luther fan,but he was wrong to treat them like that.

vainandy said:

Vain, part of the problem is that you consistently are comparing 1980s Luther Vandross with Whitney Houston. Of course, virtually any artist compared to 1980s Whitney had a more progressive sound.

The problem is that is a poor comparison with which to make with Vandross. Artists like Melba Moore, Kashif, Stephanie Mills, The Whsipers, Rene & Angela, etc., are much more comparable acts to compare with 1980s Vandross -- and most people I know would call them "soft" or "conservative" R&B, not FUNK.
[Edited 7/27/07 4:37am]

daPrettyman said:

Not that I consider any of these songs funky, but I would add two other songs: "Treat You Right," which was on his 1989 greatest hits package; and "I'll Let You Slide," from the "Busy Body" album.

SOSGemini, part of your evaluation on the snore factor you find in Vandross' music could be in the fact his music had mostly the same locked-in sound for 20 years. If you listen to his recent songs (like his remake of "The Closer I Get to You") they sound nearly like songs he made in the 1980s (like "Wait for Love").
[Edited 7/25/07 20:57pm]

I really don't like Freddie Jackson or Luther Vandross! But I do think Freddie is just as talented as Luther. I never said they didn't have talent, I just said I don't like their music.

Is it ok to be black and say I don't like luther. Or is it Taboo?

jaimestarr79 said:

It seems like it is taboo to be black and say you're not a Luther Vandross fan, and has been since the mid-1980s. Just look at how many people took off their shoes, grabbed some Vaseline and wanted to fight just on this thread.
[Edited 7/26/07 21:09pm]

Najee said:

Yeah i think i remember the envogue interview that they did with vibe magazine years ago. They did not have very nice things to say. It is surprising to hear about him and freddie considering freddie paid his respects and luther's funeral. I did hear about him and anita baker but thought is was just rumor.
Man if all this is true, luther must have really been a bit full of himself.

Najee said:

Brothas (and especially the sistas) don't play when another brotha or sista says "Luther suck chunks!" They ready to get in the WWE ring and wrassle you to death over Lutha. But I got no qualms with a brotha who's not a Lutha fan. That's why we have "the freedom of choice". You can choose not to like or to like someone's music or anything like that.

To each his/her own Personally, whenever I listen to "Here and Now", "So Amazing", "This House Is Not A Home", and "Dance With My Father", I cry. The lyrics are beautiful and that voice make those lyrics believable and oh soo real. Sorry, but anyone who writes lyrics like those doesn't have to over-work the funk factor with me. He was one of the few celebrities that I cried for when I heard of his passing and I cried after reading his autobiography, especially for his mother's great loss. He was pure magic and is greatly missed and appreciated by myself. I will forever love Luther. Plus, sorry, put "Never Too Much" was pretty damn funky to me

Timmy84 said:

It's like you can't say anything remotely considered a slight of Luther Vandross' music around some people. I can listen to his music (particularly his 1980s music) without cringing, but it's the type of music I would play at an open house with mixed company or even in an office setting. Depending on the person, I can play his music on a first date in the car.

But when it comes down to anything going down romantically? No way, give me some Barry White, The O'Jays, Marvin Gaye, The Isley Brothers, Teddy Pendergrass and Al Green, someone who is going to sing with some emotion (namely, some spontaneity and passion).

phunkdaddy said:

It was common to hear about other recording stars having problems working with Luther Vandross on tour. Stories about Vandross limiting their time on stage, having the media meet with him while the other acts performed so those acts won't get mentioned in reviews and other (dare I say it) diva-ish behavior are unfortunately par for the course.

Anita Baker now says that the reported backstage fight with Vandross was an urban legend, but I do remember stories reporting their incident and I also recall reading that Vandross did some similar things to Baker he later did to En Vogue. Baker since has acknowledged that she and Vandross had "disagreements" during their tour, but that's it.

I also recall a mid-1980s interview with Jeffrey Osborne saying that being an opening act for Vandross in the mid-1980s was ... interesting. Osborne said something to the effect that "when the opening act is performing as well as the headline act, there is going to be some tension."

As for Freddie Jackson, they reportedly were very unfriendly to each other and their encounters were often heated. However since Vandross' death, Jackson's feelings have turned noticeably softer. He has been quoted as calling Vandross "a very worthy rival," and "one of the best singers in the music industry."
[Edited 7/26/07 21:16pm]

Uh...I never compared Luther to Shitney until sosgemini wondered why I didn't lash out or blame Luther for fucking up music like I blame Shitney. Later on during the thread, you quoted sos and wondered the same thing. I simply explained to you the reason....because Luther at least had a little funky side....Shitney has NO funky side.

Other than that, I would never compare him to a little goodie two shoes, boring, rhythmless, funkless (except for between her legs), spoiled little princess, black Paris Hilton, tired ass like Shitney Houston.

vainandy said:

That's not quite what I meant. You're trying to make Luther Vandross come off as something "funky" (while simultaneously giving him a mulligan from the same vemon you spew at acts similar to Vandross) and to verify how "funky" he is you use Whitney Houston as a barometer.

I'm sorry, but Vandross' music was not "funky," PERIOD. Furthermore, you try to give Vandross a pass while strangely lumping in acts like Freddie Jackson, Anita Baker and Regina Belle -- all who made the same type of conservative R&B Vandross did -- with Houston. If anything, my friend, you're a great example of how certain people (namely, brothers and sisters) look at Vandross as beyond reproach when discussing his music.

Najee said:







I always have been a bit of a rattlesnake.




I never said Luther was no Rick James or anything. I simply said he did have a little funky side with his work with Change, his production of Aretha Franklin, and his own jam "She's A Super Lady". Now, you may want to call that disco, well then fine, so be it. I love disco and have no problem with it. However, I ain't got time for no tired ass that make NO funk or disco whatsoever....except for maybe some of the 1970s acts like The Stylistics or Blue Magic, which I love.



Thank you. I consider that the highest compliment.
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[Edited 7/28/07 16:56pm]

DadeCounty305 said:

Teddy Pendergrass is gay too?

Did you recently add "and Freddie Jackson" to the title of this thread? Now, I agree with you there, I hate ALL songs by Freddie Jackson.

Teddy Pendergrass isn't gay at all. Teddy was caught with dragon queens. That doesn't make him gay at all. That makes him a sick pervert. Don't throw perverts in the same boat as us.

vainandy said:

Thanks for clearing that up! "If you don't know me by now, you'll never, never, never know me, ooohhhhh...."