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Jazzie B Soul II Soul head honcho and sound system selecta extraordinaire, has been awarded an OBE.
On 16th May, he was bestowed with the title of Officer of the British Empire from HM Queen Elizabeth, in acknowledgement of his tremendous contributions to black British culture, and his work supporting young people in music and sport.
The central figure of the pioneering Soul II Soul Sound System, which gained massive props and a cult following due their genre-fusing blend of boogie, rare groove and reggae, through the early ’80s, Jazzie B led his collective to huge success when they morphed from party rocking DJ outfit to a mould breaking recording act.
Worldwide hits ‘Keep on Movin” and ‘Back II Life’ are forever ingrained as bonafide classics of pop mythology, and since that time Soul II Soul have tirelessly released hit albums and rocked venues and festivals alike. Garnering Soul Train and Grammy Awards, and regularly hosting the Back II Life festival in Antigua, the funki dred is smashing it it’s about time he got his props!
The mastermind behind disco’s greatest band Chic, and producer of records for everyone from Madonna to Carly Simon, Duran Duran to David Bowie, without Nile Rodgers the dance music world would be a very different one today. Sampled by the Sugarhill Mam Gang, Faith Evans, Moodymann and many more, his fluid, elegant guitar playing is one of the most distinctive features behind hundreds of hit records. With his video game soundtrack label Sumthing Else Music Works a huge success, ongoing production work and plans for a new Chic album, Rodgers is in fine fettle.
A reinvigorated Chic play Creamfields in Daresbury, Halton, in Cheshire on Sunday 24th August. DJmag.com got in touch with Rodgers to find out a little bit more about his world hellip