Top 5 Artists That Got You Into a New Genre of Music

1. Aqua Velvets, Surf Rock– Never knew how intense a $5 poker game could be while listening to “Mysterious Mambo”.

2. Too $hort, Gangster Rap– Had “Blowjob Betty” memorized by the 7th grade.

3. Chuck Berry, Rock N' Roll – So this is where it all comes from.

4. Merle Haggard, Country – Found out that tough guys could love their Mamma and like to hold hands.

5. Cannonball Adderley, Jazz – Opened my mind as to what genius sounds like.

James Hunter - The Hard Way (2008)

The first time I heard James Hunter's first album, "People Gonna Talk" I lost $20 bucks due to his whiteness, but I wasn't mad at all. He has an old school early 60s/50s sound that definitely delivers on "The Hard Way". Now don't get me wrong, I love today’s new bands, strip clubs, pop music, and gangster rap, but to me, if I was stuck on a island with a couple of records, it would have to be guys like Wilson Pickett, Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Fats Domino. So needless to say this album is right up my alley. Songs like "Corina", "The Hard Way", "She's Got A Way", and "Hand it Over" have been playing non stop at mi casa for the past two weeks. Hunter has a smoky voice that complements the horns of Hand and Badau perfectly, not to mention, Hunter can a play a cord or two as well. Oh yeah, is that an organ piano I hear? You better believe it. Wow, it is almost impossible to overestimate how much this album rips.