Even after years of paralysis and a long bout with colon cancer, it was still a tragic news to hear of Teddy Pendergrass’s death last night. And we know we’re not the only ones mourning right now. The man put in serious work throughout the ’70s, becoming one of the decade’s preeminent voices of soul music, even in the face of the disco invasion (not that there’s anything wrong with that, BARRY WHITE)—and in the process became a favorite target of sample-happy producers. And it was no wonder; TP gravitated toward tracks that kept the bass funky and were layered without being overly orchestrated (not that there’s anything wrong with that, BARRY WHITE).
So in deference to the late big homie with the golden voice, we got our Wax Poetics on and went diggin’ in the greats (ayo!) for some of his most lasting audio treats. Read on for a breakdown of some of Teddy’s most popular tracks, and the hip-hop classics they spawned…
Check out Japanese photographer Yasumasa Yonehara’s (he’s the one that Dov Charney supposedly bit for American Apparel ads) Tokyo home/studio and see what inspires his work [Freshness Mag]
Spring/Summer 2010 collection from Burkman Bros. marries lightweight fabrics from Southeast Asia with classic American designs. [Selectism]
mPower Emergency Illuminator from Porsche Design Studio costs $250, but you won’t have to replace the batteries for the next 20 years. [Gizmodo]
Classy crocodile skin wallets from Comme des Garcons… [Slamxhype]
Atmos x Clarks Wallabees comes in two different colorways and plaid detailing. Wonder if Ghostdini (The Wizard of Poetry) will be rocking these for the holidays. [High Snobiety]
You know Brett Ratner: the big-budget guy who directed Rush Hour and X-Men 3 (next up: Beverly Hills Cop 4!). But before he broke into Hollywood in the late ’90s, this kid from Miami was one of the most sought-after music video directors in the biz. A new DVD that dropped yesterday called The Shooter Series Vol. 1: Brett Ratner collects most of the director’s videos for the first time, along with some of his commercial work, NYU student films, home movies, a behind the scenes documentary and more.
To give you a taste of his resume, we selected six of our favorite Ratner-directed videos—including bangers from Wu-Tang, D’Angelo, and Public Enemy—and asked the man himself to give a little commentary about how each classic came together. Believe us, the man’s got stories for days…
Left To Right: Gucci Mane, Rich Hil, Ghostface, Kurt Vile, Camp Lo
Each day Complex scours the music blogs for 5 fresh songs that you should listen to in our 5 O’Clock Shuffle post. Instead of going crazy trying to keep up with your RSS feeds everyday, just head over to Complex.com to stay up-to-date on important leaks and releases.
It’s been a slow day on the music blogs, but that didn’t stop us from rounding up five must-download songs that you should hear. We mixed a couple weekend favorites in with some joints that just surfaced today. Wanna hear the remix to the party anthem of the moment? We got you. Wanna see if the son of a preppy fashion pioneer can rap? All those questions answered and more after the jump…
FUN FACT: Busta Rhymes was originally tapped as an executive producer.
WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING IT: Because we promised y’all that whichever album got more votes in our Battle of the Rap Sequels post would become our Album of the Week. And the ‘Net has spoken: The Chef’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt II is better than Jigga’s Blueprint 3.. At least according to you, our readers. And we’re gonna have to agree. While we think Blueprint 3 is a great piece of work, and like the fact that Jay made an album that can bump in BK barbershops as well as find rotation in Mayor Bloomberg’s “Music Black People Like” playlist, it would have been better off being called Kingdom Come 2, as it doesn’t really feel to have any connection to the 2001 opus. On the other hand, Raekwon’s OB4CL2 completely takes us back to the Wu’s grimey, dusty, gloriously grimy, shank to your neck, kilo in the duffle, glory days. And that’s just the kind of rap album we needed to close out the first decade of the 2000’s…
When we first heard that Ghostface was doing an “R&B” album, we’ll admit we were skeptical…is Ghost Deini going 808s & Heartbreak on us? But the first single, “Baby,” a duet with DC-bred singer Raheem DeVaughn, fits in nicely with Ghost’s catalogue of heartfelt R&B duets like “All That I Got Is You,” “Back Like That,” and “Never Be The Same Again.”
If The Wizard Of Poetry: In Emerald City, which is slated for release on September 29, has more records like this then we aren’t that worried about the switch to R&B after all. Sensitive thugs might really need hugs. It’s good to see Tony Starks being honest about it.
Tune in to Complex.com every morning at 8 AM for your daily “Wake N’ Watch” video.
After endless delays, it looks like Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II is really happening. There’s a single with a music video and everything! Jokes aside, we couldn’t be happier about Raekwon’s follow-up to his 1995 classic finally seeing the light of day. In typical Wu fashion, Rae called upon a few members of the Clan for assistance on this “House Of Flying Daggers” joint. The animated video just hit the Internet and rest assured that there’s enough blood, guts, and violence to keep it off television networks and us entertained. We smell what The Chef is cooking and we like it.
Tune in to Complex.com every morning at 8 AM for your daily “Wake N’ Watch” video.
collects most of the director’s videos for the first time, along with some of his commercial work, NYU student films, home movies, a behind the scenes documentary and more. 
