Jammin' on the One
There's a lot of interesting things in this video on the hip hop scene in Virginia, featuring Timbaland and Clipse and some other acts, but a standout to me was Chad Hugo from the Neptunes talking about being influenced by seeing Stevie Wonder with a Synclavier sampling synth on the Cosby show in the 80s. That part starts right about 5:00 in:
In the clip, Chad's being interviewed by Kenna, whom you know from Malcolm Gladwell using him as an example of failure in the beginning of Blink. Aw.
Naturally, I had to go to YouTube and find the video of Stevie. YouTube didn't let me down; The clip is amusing, not least because holy shit could you get away with some cheesy stuff on TV 20 years ago.
And then finally, the reason the story resonated with me in the first place -- it's one memory of Sesame Street that stuck with me vividly to this very day. Herbie Hancock pulling virtually the same stunt on Sesame Street, around the same time or maybe a few years earlier. (It also introduced Tatiana Ali, later of The Fresh Prince.)
Naturally, I had to go to YouTube and find the video of Stevie. YouTube didn't let me down; The clip is amusing, not least because holy shit could you get away with some cheesy stuff on TV 20 years ago.
