Ckc4's Blog

Chris Cho… Soul Musician

Well, here it is, my final post. I can’t believe a semester has passed already. Well, many of you probably did not know that I am indeed a soul musician. I have been writing music for a long time now, but only recently have I began actually recording and letting people hear my art. I am in a group called The Pride and I believe we are a very unique group. Every member brings a different influence and a different background to the table. I bring the old school style soul and neo soul into the group. As most of you may have heard on Ceddy’s blog, I have recently released a song entitled “The Perfect Day.” This song is representative of me in my element and I think the rapping that Ceddy did complemented my style very well. As most of you may remember, from my previous posts, I love the sounds of old-school. Therefore, that was what I was really going for in this Perfect Day track. All in all, I’m going to continue to make this good music, and I hope all of you will support me on this journey. PRIDE ALL DAY!!

Philly Soul… Have you heard??

What can get better than strings, horns and a little bit of funk? I don’t think there are many things that can outdo these influences. These influences come together and create a unique style of music known as Philly Soul. Philly Soul is a sound that is classical and has influenced much of the music today. I’m sure almost everybody has heard a Philly Soul song, but has never realized it. Some of the most notable singers in the 50′s and 60′s had a little bit of Philly Soul influence in them. This kind of music is the chill, laid back and is perfect for those intimate bedroom nights, or even just enjoying a drink with your significant other. Sometimes, the music can be very emotional and refer to heartbreak. Take Harold Melvin and the Bluenote’s classic: “If You Don’t Know Me by Know.” The amount of passion and pain that Teddy Pendergrass was singing with is very rare to see in music nowadays. Well, I can talk about this kind of music, but you won’t know until you hear it yourself. Some notable Philly Soul artists include: Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes, The Spinners, The Stylistics, Hall and Oates and Grover Washington.

This song: “I’ll Be Around,” is a personal favorite and really represents Philly Soul. The group that sang this was The Spinners.

Brian Mcknight holds Concert in Korea

The legendary Brian Mcknight held a concert on April 1st. The location? Seoul, Korea. The Venue? Olympic Stadium. This was Mcknight’s first concert in Korea since 2002. Whenever Mcknight is on a stage holding a mic, with a band in the back, some magic is bound to happen. Mcknight is famous for his incredible live performances. He never sings the same way he does on the CD. In the live performance, Mcknight has new arrangements and new interpretations of his songs, as well as songs of other famous artists. I was fortunate enough to attend a Mcknight concert 3 years ago, and all I could say was, “wow…” The stage presence and how effortlessly Mcknight sang tracks was beyond my comprehension. All in all, this concert also signified the movement of the “universal soul” and I hope it continues to move.

Boyz II Men hold concert in Korea

Boyz II men held a concert at Seoul Olympic Stadium on April 17th. This was the group’s first return to Korea since 2006, and boy did the crowd love them. Blogs and websites from all across Korea continued to rant about the incredible vocal abilities of Boyz II Men. 4men, a group I posted about earlier, opened for Boyz II Men and did a wonderful job. At the end of the concert, Brown Eyed Soul, the so-called Boyz II Men of Korea, were able to meet and converse with Boyz II Men. Both groups had incredible amounts of respect for each other. I have seen other videos of Boyz II Men performing live, and they are incredible. They know how to put on a show and give chills to the audience. All in all, the Boyz II Men concert exemplified the movement of “universal soul.” Although Boyz II Men came to Korea this time, hopefully, a Korean soul group, such as 4men or Brown Eyed Soul, can have a show in America.

Brown Eyed Soul members posing with Boyz II Men members.