Go Ask Your Mother host Vanel's Top 10 Black Music Figures
With its ability to soundtrack the most mundane and magnificent life moments, music can be one of the most important elements of a person’s life.
For Vanel Abramsamadu, this is certainly the case. He hosts 成人快手 Sounds podcast Go Ask Your Mother with his partner Sindy, and while the show is about their life as parents to two girls and the various joys and obstacles that pop up in their lives, their love for music comes through in nearly every episode.
Vanel, in particular, grew up with music all around him and has remained core to who he is.
"My background is definitely very musical," he explains. "Dad played the saxophone and bought me a drum kit, my sister learned the sax and guitar, my mum sang. We could have been the Jackson Five!"
His love for music goes so far that the theme tune to the GAYM podcast features vocals from himself and eight-year-old step-daughter Sienna.
With all this music in his life, it’s only fitting that to round out Black History Month, Vanel compiled a list of the 10 music figures that are most important to him, with a list of tunes to form his essential life soundtrack. In no particular order...
Kanye West
Essential track: Through The Wire from The College Dropout, 2004
While recent discussions of Kanye West often revolves around his quest to become the 46th President of the United States, there’s much more of a universal consensus on his skills as a rapper and producer.
"He’s a great producer, fantastic rapper," Vanel says. "I love his storytelling."
Saigon
Essential track: Clap ft. Faith Evans from The Greatest Story Never Told, 2011
"Not a big name artist necessarily, but he’s someone I really enjoy due to his consciousness of rap," says Vanel of the New York-based rapper. ‘How he talks about the realities, and the struggles of life... I love it."
On his choice of song to introduce the uninitiated to Saigon’s discography, Vanel continues: "The instrumentation in Clap is completely beautiful - plus in the lyrics, he’s talking about uplifting Black people. It’s got a churchy vibe to it as well; it’s very inspiring."
Jay-Z
Essential track: PSA from The Black Album, 2003
With decades in the industry and plenty of accolades to show for it, Jay-Z is one of the world’s most popular artists. Vanel’s appreciation for the Brooklyn-hailing rapper runs deep:
"My older brother had all his albums and played him constantly, growing up. Classic Jay really reminds me of those times."
Dr Dre
Essential track: Still D.R.E from 2001, 1999
Continuing his appreciation for production skills, Vanel reserved a spot in his Top 10 for Dr Dre. From being a member of NWA, to success as a solo rapper and establishing a lucrative entertainment empire of his own, Vanel counts him as one of the greats: "Plus, he introduced the world to Eminem and 50 Cent - that’s pretty amazing."
Michael Jackson
Essential track: Smooth Criminal from Bad, 1997
As someone who has proudly watched Michael Jackson’s film Moonwalker "at least 18 times", for Vanel, Michael Jackson’s place on the list was a given.
"He was a legend - and that song is just one of his best, you can’t argue against it."
Timbaland
Essential track: Big Pimpin’ by Jay-Z, from Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter, 2000
With collaborations and projects that span three decades, Timbaland is a hugely successful producer with countless tunes under his belt. A long-time fan, Vanel includes Timbaland in his top 10 for his skills and impressive track record: "The different samples and influences he uses, I really like. The way he implements different sounds into his music - magical."
Just Blaze
Essential track: Live Your Life ft. Rihanna by T.I., from Paper Trail, 2008
There was never anyone who looked like me on mainstream TV, getting praised... seeing them at the Brits, I was like, 鈥淥h my God, I could do the same thing.""
"When it comes to music producers, I have a lot of favourites - but he is number one," Vanel explains. "He’s produced many records, and I’ve actually had the chance to meet him a few times."
"Sampling and chopping different sounds and putting them to a beat is one of the main parts of hip-hop, and Just Blaze does it fantastically, I love the way he puts it all together. Live Your Life was taken from some old Romanian song back in the day, but made into something new. And he does a lot of that - I respect it a lot."
Quincy Jones
Essential track: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme, 1990
"30 years on and it’s still a hit!" explains Vanel simply, when he selected the theme tune to Will Smith’s landmark comedy as his essential Quincy Jones track. Having worked with everyone from the likes of Aretha Franklin to Stevie Wonder, the composer, multi-instrumentalist and production heavyweight really got Vanel’s attention when his impact was covered in 2018 documentary, Quincy.
So Solid Crew
Essential track: 21 Seconds from They Don’t Know, 2001 (Vanel says: "Could there be any other choice?")
While figures from the US make up a large amount of Vanel’s essential list, as a 30-year-old who grew up in South London, a feature from So Solid Crew was something of an inevitability.
For him, the representation they brought on major platforms was significant and unforgettable.
"There was never anyone who looked like me on mainstream TV, getting praised," he explains. "But seeing them at the Brits, I was like, “Oh my God, I could do the same thing.” So Solid Crew had like 25 black men on stage at the Brits, using slang and words that I’d say. Fully themselves. Still haven’t forgotten that moment… it was huge."
Divine Muzic
Essential track: Help Me God by Jahaziel, from Ready To Live, 2007
Last but far from least, Vanel brought it back to the family when it came to the final spot for his list of influential Black music figures: producer Divine Muzic, otherwise known as Vanel’s older brother.
"He’s a Grammy-nominated producer," Vanel says proudly. "We had a UK Gospel scene back in the day, and he was the #1 producer then. My brother has inspired me in so many ways. I was literally that kid in the corner of his room at our mum’s house, watching him make music. He’s the reason I’ve made any music myself."
