Credits:

Tarika Blue

Description:

As much as purists complain about the modern urban music practice of sampling classic tracks, this can also lead to a modern appreciation of great (and sometimes forgotten) music from yesteryear. A short-lived New York-based ensemble led by keyboardist Phil Clendennin, Tarika Blue released two recordings in the late ’70s that blended silky jazz fusion sensibilities and the mellow soul sound of the day that’s now considered old-school. Vocalist Erykah Badu rekindled interest in the group by using, without permission, its laid-back tune “Dreamflower” as the background for her platinum hit, “Didn’t Cha Know,” which went on to be nominated for R&B song of the year in 2001. Universal/Motown and Badu later agreed to pay a settlement fee for the sample, and SOS Productions d.b.a. Chiaroscuro Records has launched the new label Downtown Sound as a platform for this compilation of these two original, very