T. Lyles

Saskatoon is a rap town. Indie-rappers and producers like Soso and Factor have been coming out of the ‘paris of the prairies’ like indie rockers out of the east coast (read: a lot) for a minute now (read: a long time). But that’s not really what to talk about today. What I want to talk today is kind of related to that. What I want to talk about is Saskatoon New Jack Swing.

Before I get into it (although to be honest, I am not gonna get tooooo into anything), I want to preface to say that this post is being created as a pseudo explanaition for my choice of username (teelyles). I chose the name a few years ago after discovering this CD, and WordPress has not allowed me to change it.

Roughly from 1988 until 1992 New Jack Swing ruled the radio with a fairly simple formula: R&B crooning over hip hop beats. The pop sensation’s wide appeal meant that rap headz and junior high school teachers turned junior high school dance DJs alike could bask in the glory of the New Jack trademark synth-wail. Groups like Guy, Jodeci and Wreckx-N-Effect (literally) defined the genre, but the the term is ocassionally used to refer to later R&B artists, such as Mary J Blige, Mark Morrison, and even *NSync. I don’t know exactly how I feel about lumping some of those names under the NJS banner, but I do know how I feel about including a guy like T Lyles: good.

Although he is originally from (and currently claims) the city of Indianapolis, T Lyles recorded and released his debut album, “…Songs From the Heart” in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on (of course) Toon Town Records. I am not sure of how or why Lyles is connected to Saskatoon, but he gets a full black MAPLE in the CDs liner notes, which is only reserved for the most Canadian of Canadian recording artists. He also makes his Toon-ness known with track 3, “Saskatoon Lover”.

The disc is all over the place: bluesy bar jams, out-of-date-for-1995 new jack tunes and an impossibly short (and only barely sultry) 12 second intro track. With the exception of a few listenable songs, the disc is not all that great. Why write about it, you ask? If you ever wanted to know what someone in the Canadian prairies trying to sound and look like Prince and Babyface actually sounds and looks like, you now know.

Kraazy:

The Pain of Losing U:

 

Download link to the whole record

The CD was once put to good use a few years ago when the those lovable goofs over at 25 to Life and I made a you-send-me-new-jack-swangin mixtape for listeners of their CJSR radio show (which by the way, will be missed). For the mix, we played the 12 second T. Lyles intro track and recorded dummy voice-overs about quiet storms and missiles. The mixtape is basically unlistenable and remains a rare item.

Lyles, on the other hand, seems to be on his grind these days, still making music and playing shows.

I am glad to finally share these pics and a few jams from the legendary (in my small little world) T Lyles CD.

NJoi