![]() Black radio at the time was a particularly big deciding factor for Black artists. We can't make people love it, but it needed to get in front of them for them to be able to decide. ![]() All of which are among my most recognisable songs.įor us it was a positive reaction, because if we really believed in it, then we would have to show that we were willing to stand by it. Yet that's the album that has ‘Remind Me’, ‘Number One’ and of course ‘Forget Me Nots’. ’Forget Me Nots’ was met with nothing but disdain by the record company. Slightly ahead of the curve in terms of what was on the radio back then. We weren’t going for hits per se or thinking about formulas, we were just doing the music we liked to do. I always had such a great time in the studio with my friends. This year marks the 40th anniversary of your landmark album ‘Straight From The Heart’. In the lead up to her recent UK shows at KOKO and Cross The Tracks, we caught up with Patrice to reflect on her polymathic career. Patrice has since expanded into the world of academia, serving as an ambassador for artistry in education at the Berklee College of Music and teaching at the USC Thornton School of Music, where she is chair of their popular music program. Her esteemed pedigree as an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and arranger meant she stayed a powerful force behind the scenes, including making history as the first woman to work on The GRAMMYs and The Emmys as a musical director. Shifting tastes and creative differences with labels would eventually cause Patrice to step away from life as a front-facing artist. When listening to her back catalogue, it's striking how audible the foundations for the development of neo-soul, smooth jazz, quiet storm, dance-pop and house music are within her music. ![]() Blige, Mobb Deep, Zhane, Shabba Ranks, De La Soul, Musiq Soulchild and Ty Dolla $ign are just few of the artists who’ve turned to Patrice’s work as a North Star. Her material continues to be a never-ending reservoir for those partial to sampling. Patrice Rushen’s under-discussed influence on contemporary pop culture can be traced through the many future classics she influenced. Read this next: Eight emerging artists who are changing the sound of soul ![]() Forward-thinking in its approach, ‘Straight From The Heart’ saw Patrice at the height of her powers as a pop music provocateur. Best known for featuring her signature song ‘Forget Me Nots’, which would be famously sampled on Will Smith’s ‘Men In Black’ and George Michael’s ‘Fastlove’, the seminal body of work was also home to the timeless cult classics ‘Remind Me’, ‘Number One’ and ‘Where There Is Love’. In 1982, Patrice was vaulted into eternal pop music ubiquity with the release of her seventh album ‘Straight From The Heart’. Patrice characterised the sound as “sophisticated dance music”. Floor-fillers like ‘Hang It Up’, ‘Haven’t You Heard’, ‘Never Gonna Give You Up (Won't Let You Be)’, ‘Feels So Real (Won't Let Go)’ and ‘Get Off (You Fascinate Me)’ were demonstrations of a new sound that synthesised all of Black music's past and ultimately prophesied its future. Under Elektra Records, Patrice would release a string of albums that pushed R&B forward without sacrificing its roots. When disco music fell out of favour at the dawn of the 1980s, jazz prodigy Patrice Rushen became pivotal in ushering in a new era of post-disco and boogie - offshoots of the cast out genre that James Mtume, Reggie Lucas and Kashif also had a hand in moulding. ![]()
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