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Today& #39;s LUNCH BREAK HOT-TAKE is going to be about 90& #39;s era Capcom music and how it unironically got me into Anita Baker even more so I guess the title could be, Kokoro No Soul !Anita Baker...The Ori-Com That Dialed To My Heart! #AnitaBaker #Capcom #StreetFighterAlpha2
This one& #39;s a doosey but I& #39;ve been thinking it allllll week so I hope you enjoy the ride XD
So as a kid, Saturdays were the best time of the week because you didn& #39;t have school that day--BUT in most cases if you were a black kid Saturdays...were CLEAN UP DAYS.
So while you got a chance to watch some Saturday morning cartoons, best believe by Noon or 2pm or so you got that LOOK. And you know you& #39;d either already had to have your cleaning the house clothes on and already at least started on your room.
While this was minor inconvenience as a kid--Saturday House Cleaning came with ceremonious "clean-up" music that was essential to keeping everyone motivated to clean the damned house. Probably moreso for my parents but I digress. Saturday was the day you cleaned the damned house.
This may vary since I can only speak for where I grew up but Clean-Up Music was often a culmination of R&B/Soul music, some from the Quiet Storm Era.
When people use the term, "Heartbeat of a Generation", this is what I end up thinking of. It was an integral of discipline but also ushered what would be the foundation for my palette for music.
From Peabo Bryson to Minnie Riperton, Johnny Gill, Gerald Levert--these voices, sound production choices were a constant and definitely shaped a lot of what by design I like about music. Within all of this audible glory-- I was introduced to the Queen, Anita Baker.
Out of the myriad of songs I& #39;d heard--Anita Baker was one that always stood out to me. Not to discredit any of the extremely talented contributors to this era and music beyond it. But there was a specific reason that her music stood out to me.
It was like being introduced to Dark Chocolate after only knowing Milk chocolate for your entire life. My musical soul wasn& #39;t ready but was ready for it. It BECKONED me like an Audio Angel--but I didn& #39;t understand it. Not understanding didn& #39;t stop it from getting my attention.
Within that, my mom low-key either didn& #39;t like her voice or just made a point to troll her but trying to imitate it but it didn& #39;t detract from how awesome it sounded to me. Pops liked her music so that might& #39;ve been part of it. Anyways, I couldn& #39;t articulate the "why"....yet.
Her music followed me throughout my adolescent years to a point I& #39;d hear it in grocery stores, and even when my mom would bring me to work for "Bring Your Kid To Work" Day. Shit was kinda wild. I had a musical ghost that I welcomed into my life.
In my teenage years, I got introduced to fighting games and while I played SFII (mostly non-competitively) the one game that REALLY got me to hit the sticks was...yeah I know, no one& #39;s surprised.
We all know that I fell in love with Guy so I won& #39;t talk too much about that but I loved this game (despite its contradictory game design, I& #39;ll save that for another time). I remembered beating the game so the Staff Roll (ver 2)music played... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjF_yAFk5gA&t=2s">https://www.youtube.com/watch...
And something hit me like a ton of bricks...I tried to deny it at first because it felt like a reach but this version of the Staff Roll theme hit me in the heart souls.
It wasn& #39;t until I got the game on consoles (my first Import Sega Saturn game!) that I had a little time to really sit to myself and not be in a mall hoping I wasn& #39;t taking too long in the arcade...
It reminded me in a subtle way of Anita Baker& #39;s "Been So Long", from the Rapture (1986). It& #39;s not that its 100% similar--but it evoked a similar vibe and with the nostalgia being embedded in me from when I was sweet summer child, it gave me pause in the best way.
Thankfully, Sega Saturn& #39;s version of Street Fighter Zero/Alpha 2 had a Sound Test Menu
Often times when I was done with school and I was drawing there& #39;d be days I& #39;d actually turn on the Saturn and just listen to the Staff Roll theme...it was kinda great.
By this time, I& #39;d just secretly like Anita Baker without really mentioning it to anyone for whatever reason but just know when I was in Safeway, or Giant and that shit came on, my heart was WITH IT.
With this seemingly secret love for Anita Baker being a thing--given I was a teen in the 90& #39;s and thought my friends would think I was weird. So it was a "Secret Love" XD
Within all of my love for the Staff Roll (Ver 2) Theme, and realizing that the Soundtrack for the console version of Alpha 2 was based on the Zero 2 Alpha version (Alpha2 Gold in the States), I listened to other themes realizing I liked some of them for specific reasons...
This lead me to Chun-Li& #39;s Alpha 2 Gold Theme - which is definitely a Chun-Li theme on it& #39;s own but around the 0:30 second mark, it gave me a vibe. similar to Michael Powell& #39;s work on the Rapture album. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCfg4rkD6Vw">https://www.youtube.com/watch...
It& #39;s not to say that Setsuo Yamamoto, Syun Nishigaki, and Tatsuro Suzuki were directly inspired--if anything it was an accidental serendipitous inspiration between the collective. I just knew that I loved it.
In loving all things Alpha 2, including its OST at this point--it was a catalyst for discovering more of Anita Baker so in gesture to my Musical Ghost, bought all of her albums. No regrets!
Clearly, there& #39;s more to Anita Baker than her production house lead by Powell, the heart of Anita Baker within the synergy of her songs is her Contralto Voice. What& #39;s that you say? Let me try to explain with my limited knowledge of song analysis...
Contralto is represented as the lowest female representing voices. Similar to Basses and Countertenors, it& #39;s hella rare. With a tessitura of around an E3-E5 and a good amount of vocal weight, it& #39;s not a range that& #39;s often found with women.
The difference is that her vocal placement is specifically unique and as far as I can tell--it seems almost impossible for someone to replicate. What& #39;s interesting that her Contralto is not just deep or dark--there is an undeniably strength that I hear in how she carries a song.
In her being a Contralto, she& #39;s not a typical one--its a high soprano head voice that extends her register to at least three octaves. It& #39;s as if she& #39;s possibly Mezzo-Soprano. It& #39;s like she& #39;s a Guilty Gear character with her own sub-system for singing.
Interestingly enough, I& #39;d contemplate the parallel between her and Kunihiko Yasui (Iori Yagami Seiyuu in CVS2) when he & #39;s charging his S-Groove Meter and when Anita goes E5, or full belt. It& #39;s a strong energy. They& #39;re not copies of each other but its infectious, IMO.
When you couple this feeling with her lyrics, her music is an experience that for me is something that is a huge part of what makes me tick--when it comes to creativity and when it comes to just enjoying music.
I can& #39;t lie though, I& #39;ve definitely rushed down people in fighting games to her music. Countless times.
Her music makes me // F E E L // and as for as many words I tweet, it& #39;s a challenge to fully describe how it makes me feel. I just know that her music is timeless and while she definitely has a loving fanbase--maybe my random geekdom could get more people to discover her XD
I feel like I& #39;ve gone on enough about lovely this woman& #39;s work is so while all of her albums are amazing, I& #39;ll recommend my personal favorites in no order: Compositions, Giving You The Best That I Got, Rapture, You& #39;re My Everything (Japanese Cover looks better!)
All I ask is that if you do find yourself loving her music, support this musician right--because I will be super tight with any of you ya& #39;ll don& #39;t buy her music. Don& #39;t make go Full Giorno on you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W944vHnaQPw">https://www.youtube.com/watch...
Alright, so this wraps up today& #39;s Lunch Break-Hot Take. I hope you enjoyed another one of my quietly passionate rants on the Twitter. SEE YOU NEXT TIME!
And to make it easy, here is all of her music available on Amazon! Have a good day, ya& #39;ll! https://www.amazon.com/Anita-Baker/e/B000APXL8I">https://www.amazon.com/Anita-Bak...
