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What Is GEECHEE LION Music?
Geechee Lion Music is the formal name of the Organization of Musical Activities of Anwar Bilal Kinté. Anyone shall be able to connect with us via several Music Platforms, such as Google Play/YouTube, Apple, Tidal, Spotify, Napster, Amazon, and Others. Yes, GEECHEE LION MUSIC itself is a Platform and a Record Label. This Organization has been many years in the making. From the Childhood exposure to and appreciation of
recorded music of several genres…From the Teenage development of my own Creativity which manifested in Poetry, which became Lyrics, and in Musical Composition, Performance and Recording(old company description of Services)…From the 20s Years developing and improving those skills from the Teenage years…To the present…As Geechee Lion reaches that third year as a named Organization, 2020 was a year of Rebirth and Rededication to the Music and Creative Power which was dormant for decades. In 2020, I wrote and/or recorded 20 songs, laying the basis for 4 musical collections (Albums) to be released in 2021. There were totally new songs, such as “Don’t Call Jody” and “Don’t Call The Law”. And there were songs conceived in the last Century that were finished in 2020, such as Intimate Distance, Pushing On and the one with the widest Age Gap of all, Hung Up On My Baby which is literally a holdover/carryover from my Childhood. The Music for this was written by the Man I consider as my mentor, Black Moses, Mr. ISAAC HAYES. I will expound on that once the song is released. The first album was Imperial Soul, released in February, under the Artist Name Imperial Brown and The Million Seller. I was blessed to meet and work with some dynamic, creative people who helped me manifest on paper (Lyrics, Music, Songs),
and Sound Recordings. I would like to thank those people here. The Official Motto of this Organization is
The Right Person Will Like My Stuff.
GEECHEE LION MUSIC –HONORING
MARVIN GAYE
Today, December 16, 2022. I’m visiting my Sister’s house and I was sitting on the couch browsing Social Media and YouTube when I came across a rarely-seen interview of MARVIN GAYE, which was conducted in 1983, shortly before his death. In fact, I was not aware of this interview until today. Because I consider MARVIN GAYE as one of my Top 5 Musical Influences, I was compelled to watch the interview at once. I was struck be Marvin’s demeanor and the spirit and personality that came through. When I think of MARVIN GAYE, images come to mind of a tortured Soul who was greatly talented but had to deal with personal demons. Marvin reminds me very much of myself. I listened to Marvin speak about his thoughts of Suicide, and I said, “Yes, that was me”, as recently as 2022. He mentioned his heartbreaks resulting from his failed relationships (my terminology), alluding to unrequited love, and having to guard his heart against being killed by making too much or the wrong type of emotional investment in the wrong woman (Again, describing me to a T). My followers have seen this train of thought, this theme, this subject matter, covered in my recent releases Giving Up On Love, I Can’t Go Back, I’m Not A Gambler, and of course, HUNG UP ON MY BABY, which is the Title Tune from the New IMPERIAL BROWN AND THE MILLION SELLER CD/Album. Since this is being written during the time called Christmas, I must note that I did a Facebook post a couple years ago where I listed the songs that prompted the urge to cry (physically) when I heard them. Marvin Gaye’s song I Want To Come Home For Christmas is among the few on that list, which I will repost when I can retrieve it. On a personal note, regarding Marvin’s death, I would tell that the very minute when I heard the news of his death over the radio (or TV, I do not recall), I was sitting inside the Headquarters of Love Jones Music (the forerunner of Geechee Lion Music) working on one of my best and greatest songs, CANDY LOVE, which was featured on my First Album (on Vinyl) ANWAR – ALONE AT LAST. This song was composed with the Spirit of MARVIN GAYE. Also, I would note that last week, I received from one of the Geechee Lion Music Producers, MEMPHIS PRINCE, the Ready-To-Master tracks for another of my Originals, FORBIDDEN LOVE, which is also a perfect example of my “channeling the Spirit” of MARVIN GAYE. I plan to release that song in 2023. The Music and Lyrics are Perfectly in Tune and in Sync with what Marvin and I have experienced. I am including music samples of both tunes, Candy Love and Forbidden Love in this Eulogy (meaning a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly). On this Front Landing Page of my website, which I consider my Musical Legacy, MARVIN GAYE has earned the Title of the First of my Musical Ancestors to be Honored by GEECHEE LION MUSIC. This company has and pays HIGH RESPECT for those who came before. On this page, Others shall be so Honored.
Honoring Isaac Hayes
I consider ISAAC LEE HAYES, JR. as my Musical Father. I am of the age that I was able to hear Isaac Hayes’ music and talents from the very beginning with his involvement with STAX Records. STAX was the Home of the Memphis Sound, which I identified with and enjoyed very much, as I listened to the 45 RPM Vinyl records that were the most popular means of hearing music in that day. STAX Records, with ISAAC HAYES as a major Contributor, had that “Down Home, Southern style” SOUL. With strong influence of BLUES, GOSPEL and what Black People experienced in their daily routine. I remember playing songs like “I Thank You” by Sam and Dave. I realized later that Isaac Hayes was the Songwriter of many of STAX’s hit records. Of course, the major individual impact came from the Earth-shaking and Game-changing releases of the albums “The Isaac Hayes Movement”, “To Be Continued”, “Hot Buttered Soul”, “Black Moses” and the most groundbreaking of all, the Soundtrack from the Movie SHAFT, for which Isaac Hayes earned an OSCAR (Academy Award). The SHAFT album was one of my early purchases of music. I had to be around 11 years old. I remember proudly taking my album to my elementary school class. I did it mainly to correct the teacher who erroneously attributed the creation of the SHAFT album to Quincy Jones. I was not going to let that go pass without correction.
As years passed, I continued to develop great appreciation for the Music Isaac Hayes produced. I would make special note here of the two Movie Soundtracks that he produced. One was TRUCK TURNER, which I consider to be an even better product than SHAFT.
The other was THREE TOUGH GUYS, which was a soundtrack to a movie based in Chicago. I described my connection to this soundtrack in more detail elsewhere, but the most critical thing to come out is my writing Original Lyrics to go with the Instrumental HUNG UP ON MY BABY, over 40 Years Later.
ISAAC HAYES’ influence can be heard in several of my compositions. My natural singing voice is most similar and compatible to His. And His Sound is a Major Impact on the Music of Imperial Brown (and the Million Seller).
Honoring Carole King
I lovingly consider CAROLE KING as my Musical Mother.
The year was 1971, with the release of one of the Greatest Albums of All Time in the Realm of Popular Music, TAPESTRY. On this album, Carole included 12 Songs, all written by Carole King with contributions from her husband at the time Gerry Goffin and Lyricist Toni Stern. It was a barrage of Greatest Hits, mostly recorded by other Artists. Included was YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND (popularized by my “Uncle” James Taylor), WHERE YOU LEAD (Barbra Streisand), WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW (Shirelles), and what was Carole’s Greatest Contribution to SOUL, YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE A NATURAL WOMAN, made famous by the Queen of SOUL ARETHA FRANKLIN. Consider that I was an 11-year-old Black Boy who lived in the Ghetto on the West Side of Chicago. On the surface, I had little in common with Carole King. TAPESTRY was one of the first five Vinyl LPs that I purchased myself. I would play it repeatedly on our record player, usually while sitting in the living room of our public housing apartment on the 7th floor. I would watch (perhaps, literally stare) at the record label as the turntable spinned at 33 and 1/3 revolutions per minute.
As the teenage years came, I continued to enjoy the music that CAROLE KING was releasing, such as Jazzman, It’s Gonna Take Some Time This Time (Karen Carpenter did this), and Sweet Seasons. At the age of 16, I started writing songs. It was around this time that I was determined to one day produce an album of my Original Music, which would be patterned after the TAPESTRY album. In 2020, after a 30-year hiatus/break from dealing with my Music, the Perfect Storm was developing. After recovering from the aftermath of a series of unfulfilling, stressful, and toxic, and poorly compensated career situations, an unhappy, stressful, and toxic marital Situation, and overall poor Mental Health, I became acquainted with people who would positively impact my pursuit of happiness and a real life. I met them through my Volunteer work in Mexico and the Yoga Community/Organization I attached myself to on the West Side of Chicago, near to where I resided, grew up and attended school as a Black Boy from the “Projects.” I became inspired to write lyrics to music I had composed decades earlier, and I became increasingly active as a Musician.
Honoring Curtis Mayfield
CURTIS MAYFIELD. The GODFATHER of CHICAGO SOUL. Curtis was a product of some of the same streets I traveled. Heard that my Uncle Melvin Fields used to “doo-wop” with Curtis and the Curtis has a “thing” for Uncle Melvin’s sister. Growing up in Chicago, where my Father, known as The VERSATILE TORCH, was a Local DJ, and where the greatest and most influential Radio stations in Black American Culture. WVON, was heard all over, I was exposed to CURTIS MAYFIELD’s music and talents from the very beginning with his involvement with THE IMPRESSIONS, and the many hits he wrote for Jerry Butler, Gene Chandler, Major Lance, and others. CURTIS MAYFIELD and CHICAGO SOUL are synonymous. As it was with the STAX and the MOTOWN sound, I identified with the CHICAGO SOUL and enjoyed very much, as I listened to the 45 RPM Vinyl records that were the most popular means of hearing music in that day. Recall that my Father was a DJ, and my mother was a Go-Go Dancer who performed on some shows with him.
In the 1970s, after starting a Solo Career, CURTIS came to be known for songs of Protest, Black Empowerment, Black Pride, and the Real Deal on the Ghetto Streets and in lives of Black Americans in the aftermath of the Heyday of the civil rights Movement. The best examples of these songs were “WE’RE A WINNER”, “THIS IS MY COUNTRY”, “KEEP ON PUSHING”, “MISS BLACK AMERICA”, and with several of the BEST Movie Soundtracks ever recorded, SPARKLE, CLAUDINE, and of course the most impactful of all, SUPERFLY. Through the Disco Years and even up to and in the aftermath of his critical accident which left him paralyzed, CURTIS MAYFIELD remained one of American Music’s most Relevant and Respected Artists.
On a personal note, I had the once-in-a lifetime opportunity to shake Curtis Mayfield’s hand after his show at the Park West Theatre on Chicago’s North Side. I referred to him as THE KING, which he WAS and IS. I saw Curtis live in concert one other time when he joined Jerry Butler on stage at the McCormick Place on Chicago’s Lakefront. CURTIS MAYFIELD influence is also present in my musical compositions, most notably “When You’re Lonely” and “Run To Me”. Those are the first two of mine that come to mind. In 2023, be on a lookout for an Instant SOUL CLASSIC featuring that CHICAGO SOUL (WEST SIDE!). CURTIS MAYFIELD would be proud. I LOVE HIM, as a Musician, and as a Person. There are not may Artists I can say that about.