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The laughter is deep and genuine in Melissa Etheridge’s voice when the subject of her recent appearance on B-Real’s online “Smokebox” webisode is mentioned.
On the show, musician and marijuana advocate B-Real hosts fellow artists in his vehicle for a 10- to 15-minute chat and smoke where they talk about all manner of topics, including their love of the herb. Guests have included Snoop Dog, Flosstradamus, Paul Wall, Tommy Chong and David Arquette.
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Local connections Two former Chattanooga residents now living and working in Nashville will join forces at 8 tonight on the Chevy Stage when Kelley Loveless performs with the Wade Trammell Band. Trammell graduated from Boyd Buchanan and his first single was “Road to Home.” Loveless has written several No. 1 hits and wrote Brad Paisley’s current single, “Crushin’ It,” and Hunter Hayes’ “21,” which is also on the charts.
Also on the Coke Stage
Doug E. Fresh is known as the Human Beat Box and pioneered making drum and rhythm beats with his mouth and lips. As members of the Get Fresh Crew, he and Slick Rick, then going by the name MC Ricky D, hit the big time when they released “La Di Da Di” in 1985, with Fresh on beatboxing and Rick doing the vocals. It is now considered a hip-hop classic and has been musically sampled or its lyrics referenced by everyone from Snoop Dog, who credits Slick Rick as a main influence for his work, to Ice Cube, Ice T, the Roots, N.W.A., even Miley Cyrus and Iggy Azalea. In 1993, Fresh released “I-ight (Alright),” and its catchphrase – “Heyyyyyy, Yo! I-iiiiight?” – became a famous chant in dance clubs. Slick Rick, meanwhile (real name: Rickey Walters), debuted his new name and solo career in 1988 with “The Great Adventures of Slick Rick,” which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop chart. It featured “Children’s Story,” a Top Five single on Billboard’s Hot R&B and Rap Singles charts. In “Children’s Story” and subsequent releases, he earned a reputation as an excellent storyteller with a narrative style. But things went south in 1990, when he shot his cousin, Mark Plummer, and a bystander. Plummer, who had been Slick Rick’s bodyguard but was fired, admitted to making death threats against the rapper and sending thugs to rob him before the shooting. Slick Rick was indicted on two counts of attempted murder, assault, use of a firearm and criminal possession of a weapon. He pleaded guilty to all charges and spent five years in prison. Even after getting out, the Jamaica-born rapper, who lives in the Bronx, faced legal immigration issues and authorities tried to deport him but, in 2008, New York Gov. David A. Paterson pardoned him.