Southern Men?!

Back in 2004-05, I took a meeting with a New York-based label called Rawkus. They were trying to rejuvenate their brand and re-launch the label that brought you Mos Def, Talib, Pharoahe ‘nem… epic fail

The best thing that happened on the trip was my boy Matt, who accompanied me on the trip and to the meeting, connected me with Josh aka DJ Sae-One of Deaf in the Family. Josh let me stay at his house in exchange for writing and recording a song for his compilation, “For Those About To Rock”. This session produced a solid friendship and a classic record called “Southern Man”. We made a new classic out of an old Classic Rock tune, but never got the samples cleared. You can get the whole album free of charge here.

Southern Man featuring Bavu Blakes (by Deaf in the Family) by mophonics

So here I am thinking I made a classic that speaks uniquely to my personal experience, but if you keep reading… you’ll see that no idea is original. Lawdamercy!

This guy, Hue Hef, out of South Carolina had his own spin on it no later than 2007, and made a good song and video.

“But hey,” I thought to myself, “we each made our own version and it’s originally Neil Young’s record anyway. But when I do it with my band, the Extra Plairs, I can’t be touched.”

Hmmm… not so much. Check THIS out. MC Incwell hails from my birthplace, Washington D.C., and has produced a blow to my ego! His 2009 arrangement and presentation is mostly identical. Some would allege that he’s copying me. But who on Earth could ever prove such a thing anyway?

Here I am doing what I thought was one of my signature tunes. What do you call that? Coincidence? Below is Exhibit C the last Southern Man video of the day, I promise!