This Week in Music History

February 1st to 7th: Donuts, drugs, death and defiance.

8 min readFeb 2, 2021

In 2015, I had the absolute honor of seeing SOPHIE open up for Vic Mensa in an NYU auditorium, at a free freshman welcome week concert.

I am ashamed to admit, I hadn’t thought much of this seemingly bot-generated fact until a year or two ago. At the time, SOPHIE had was already pushing the boundaries of electronic music, with playful abominations of deep-fried excess some might call “beats”.

SOPHIE hadn’t done much yet. And, she didn’t do much at NYU. To be fair, she wasn’t set up for success. First, a seated auditorium is perhaps the worst place for any concert. Second, her seizure-esque production didn’t suit our sensitive liberal ears. The set was a glorified intermission before the much more important and relevant Vic Mensa showed up. I’m sure SOPHIE did it for the check — and the school cashed in before the price went up.

Good for them.

Five years is centuries in 2021. SOPHIE showed us all, essentially creating a genre from scratch. Vic Mensa is well….lmao.

Before her death, I considered my experience in that auditorium an ironic premonition of my evolution. A vague memory — so vague that I had to fact check it — turns into a pivotal moment. Yesterday, a new layer was added.

SOPHIE is the first artist I’ve seen live whose died. And, understanding her influence, and understanding how little I appreciated her in the moment, makes me feel like shit.

But, SOPHIE wouldn’t want me to feel like shit. Instead, I’m going to write my newsletter, while listening to her discog, and reminding myself to love as much as possible.

It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to forgive yourself too. And, it’s okay to change.

Change is beautiful, just like you.

February 1st

Rick James is born in Buffalo, New York (1948).

Big Boi of OutKast — and well known Kate Bush superfan — is born in Savannah, Georgia (1975).

Sid Vicious of Sex Pistols dies of a heroin overdose in New York City — he was 21 (1979).

Laura Marling is born in Berkshire, England (1990).

Harry Style of One Direction is born in Redditch, England (1994).

February 2nd

Shakira is born in Barranquilla, Colombia (1977).

Southside is born in Atlanta, Georgia (1989).

Built to Spill releases the album, Keep It Like a Secret (1999).

February 3rd

Daddy Yankee is born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico (1977).

February 4th

Cam’ron is born in East Harlem, New York City (1976).

Fleetwood Mac release the album, Rumours (1977).

Largely recorded in California in 1976, it was produced by the band with Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut. The band wanted to expand on the commercial success of their eponymous 1975 album, but struggled with relationship breakups before recording started. The Rumours studio sessions were marked by hedonism and strife among band members that shaped the album’s lyrics.

Recorded with the intention of making “a pop album”, the album’s music featured a pop rock and soft rock sound characterized by accented rhythms and electric keyboards such as the Fender Rhodes or Hammond B3 organ. The members partied and used cocaine for much of the recording sessions, and its completion was delayed by its mixing process, but was finished by the end of 1976. Following the album’s release, Fleetwood Mac undertook worldwide promotional tours. Rumours became the band’s first number one album on the UK Albums Chart and also topped the US Billboard 200. The songs “Go Your Own Way”, “Dreams”, “Don’t Stop”, and “You Make Loving Fun” were released as singles, all of which reached the US top 10.

Rumours was an instant commercial success, selling over 10 million copies worldwide within just a month of its release. It garnered widespread acclaim from critics, with praise centred on its production quality and harmonies, which frequently relied on the interplay among three vocalists and has inspired the work of musical acts in different genres. It won Album of the Year at the 1978 Grammy Awards. It has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. Domestically, it has received Diamond certifications in several countries, including the UK, Canada, and Australia, and has been certified 20× platinum in the US.

James Blake releases his self-titled debut album (2011).

February 5th

Bad Brains releases their incredibly influential self-titled debut album (1982).

Kevin Gates is born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1986).

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds release the album, Murder Ballads (1996).

As its title suggests, the album consists of new and traditional murder ballads, a genre of songs that relays the details (and often consequences) of crimes of passion. “Where the Wild Roses Grow”, a duet featuring Cave singing with Kylie Minogue, was a hit single and received two ARIA Awards in 1996. Other prominent guest musicians on the album include PJ Harvey and Shane MacGowan.

Waka Flocka Flame releases the mixtape, DuFlocka Rant 2 (2013).

Quarter million dollars cash in my guest room!!!!!
Thumbing through the bands, I be playin’ with the check!!! (flocka!)
Kount a kool two mill’ without breaking sweats
BITCH I’M ALWAYS FUCKING FLEXING RAINBOW ROLEX

Future releases his fourth studio album, EVOL (2016).

February 6th

Bob Marley is born in Nine Mile, Jamaica (1945).

Vince Guaraldi dies of a sudden heart attack — he was only 43 (1976).

50 Cent releases his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2003).

The first rap album my sheltered mind I ever heard…explains a lot.

Max B and French Montana release the classic mixtape, Coke Wave (2009).

New York (Synchroni)City.

February 7th

Iggy & the Stooges release the album, Raw Power (1973).

J Dilla — considered one of the most influential hip-hop producers of all-time — is born in Detroit, Michigan (1974).

Nujabes is born in the Nishi-Azabu neighborhood of Tokyo, Japan (1974).

J Dilla releases the album, Donuts (2006).

Donuts — ironically released on his birthday — is the last album he released before his death three days later. Deteriorating in his hospital room, with the help of his family and friends, J Dilla finished a musical farewell letter to these very people.

Donuts is a paradoxical journey, an inherent contradiction, nearly impossible to describe with words. A detailed narrative, yet it has no lyrics, except for ghostly vocal chops. Thematically, it’s about impeding doom, yet it celebrates life so vividly.

Grief, and to a broader extent death itself, is a paradoxical journey. Absence energizes the present. Life is worth living because it ends. A few philosophers believe death — specifically the unshakable knowledge that it’s approaching at all times — is the reason humans do anything, at all.

Dilla, I think, would disagree. Fear of death is not present on this poltergeist of a beat tape. Love for life is much stronger, more awe-inspiring motivation.

Even in his final moments, Jay Dee celebrated the impact he left on people. Donuts starts where it ends, and ends where it starts, alluding to the cyclical nature of life. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Reincarnation. Day turns to night, night turns to day.

J Dilla spend his final days doing what made his days worth it: making music that brings happiness.

On the surface, the universe appears to simply go to the motions. An unfinished, uneven loop. However, if one looks closely, every day is the start of something new. A new opportunity to leave a meaningful impact, and make others happy.

Even when the days you are blessed with run out, the memories you leave behind in people’s brains survive and motivate.

Eat a donut. Give a donut.