Black Music Month: Soft & Warm...



I don’t care where you are, right about now there’s a “Quiet Storm” mix on your local radio station. I know the DMV is saying, “Yeah, we created the Quiet Storm,” and that is true. However, if you were within earshot of WBLS in New York, you had Vaughn Harper guiding you through the night. His velvety smooth voice, those songs I was too young to be listening to and too wrong to be putting on my GTD mixtapes, were the perfect elixir to lonely nights, long car rides and of course, the get busy hours. I’m pretty sure you think the person holding down “Quiet Storm” segment in your area is doing their thing; that may be, but Vaughn Harper is a legend. I clearly remember the nights of hearing Luther, followed by Marvin, followed by Freddie, followed by Anita, finished up by “Let’s Wait Awhile”…messing up my action.
Don’t they all start with “Smokey Robinson’s song “Quiet Storm”?


See, the “Quiet Storm” is more than radio programming; it’s a staple in Black music, which makes it part of Black culture, so to be at the top of that game creates a special place for you. Vaughn Harper is that type of dude, Google him and check his credentials, YouTube him and feel the magic. I’ve been living on the outside of radio frequencies from New York for over five years now and I don’t get that same feeling listening to the “Quiet Storm” here in Philly, in fact, I’m not even sure if that’s what it’s called.
My point being, it’s just not as attractive as what I grew up listening to. Often on rides back from NYC, I just want to hear of taste of the past, but Vaughn Harper has been replaced with Keith Sweat and I’m not a fan. It was something about tuning my dial to 107.5 and letting the music do the work for me, all the while feeding my appetite for great music. Come on now, don’t act like you can hear “Adore” or “Starship” and not feel some type of way?

Once again, I’m by myself here, yall will catch up sooner or later…

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