Yusuf Hazziez

When I was a teenager one of the most popular styles in music was Soul. Record labels like Atlantic and Tamla-Motown were leading and many talents scored hits there. Aretha Fanklin, Otis Redding, of course James Brown but also Sam Cooke (although he died even before I was a teenager) and many others we were listening to, every day. There were also the not so famous ones, throughout the world, James Carr, *(see my blog 3 days ago) or the one or two Hit wonders. One of those admired by only a small group of fans was Joe Tex.

A great voice, good moves on the stage but what was intriguing is that he was actually speaking the lyrics of the song very fast. And he himself called it rap! (Actually meaning "to hit", a very old English word) That was in 1966!! More then 40 years ago this men really "invented" that music style (is it the same as Hip-Hop as suggested in Wikipedia??) which was great in the early 22nd Century with people like Eminem and 50Cents.
The title of the blog is Yusuf Hazziez. You think why? That was the name after he converted to Islam and probably enjoyed being at home with his family as Hits were never produced after 1972. But his latest hit, "I gotcha" was a great song. A real rap-song. Look especially at the "great" dancers around him. I am happy that dancing has improved a lot the last 20 years!
My favourite song from Joe Tex however is "Show Me".
He was never seen using drugs or consuming lots of alcohol so it was even more unsuspected that this man would not live to become 50. A few days after he became 49 he died following a heart attack!
Respect!