
If you have longish memories you may well remember Destiny Child’s 1997 hit ‘No, No, No’. With input from a Wyclef Jean and using a Barry White sample (‘Strange Games & Things’), it helped launch the group’s career. If you have fond memoires of the song (even if you don’t) you may want to investigate a just-released cover which offers a very different perspective. This new take, retitled ‘No, No, No Pt. 2′, comes courtesy of SLY5THAVE.
Sly5thAve is the alter ego of genre–defying Texan muso Sylvester Onyejiaka whose influences, he says, are West African music, soul and jazz. A graduate of the University of North Texas, he’s worked with people like Philip Lassiter, Prince’s New Power Generation, Stevie Wonder, The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Janelle Monáe and Quantic. And that varied, eclectic list should help you contextualize him.
And “eclectic” is the best adjective to describe his new treatment of ‘No, No, No’. The track begins with a sombre trombone solo before brighter brass kicks in evoking the spirt of the song’s source, White’s ‘Strange Games & Things’. To add spice Jonathan Mones delivers a Maceo-inspired saxophone solo while flautist Domenica Fossati rounds things off with an impromptu rap. The cut is an interesting meld of jazz, disco and hip and certainly different from much of the material that wins release at this time of year. It’s out now!