Review

The Art Of Blending

Hennessy celebrates live mixes with a world premiere of their documentary on Facebook ...It’s a good feeling whenever the spirit hits – the snare drum, social media, the soul and the taste palette.

It was a remarkable 30 minute extravaganza on Facebook (considering this MacBook Air had a mind of its own) on Jun 30, 2011 at 5 p.m. EST; Hennessy presented their incredible documentary to highlight their Hennessy Artistry series, THE ART OF BLENDING. The musical tour-de-force celebrated the art of mixing, the old school and the new school, live music, DJs, emcees, musicianship, turntablism, genre blurring and collaboration from some of the music industry’s most iconic and incredible talents – The Roots, Q-Tip, Erykah Badu, Mary J. Blige, Jay Electronica, Travie McCoy, Eve, Big K.R.I.T., Kat DeLuna, Marsha Ambrosius, Chaka Khan, Ron Isley, Mike Posner, Daniel Merriweather, D-Nice and Bobby Brown. As someone stated on camera, the film is cohesive, tight, tribal and together!

Courtesy of visionary Thibaut De Longeville – an acclaimed hip hop, skateboarding, youth culture and sneaker extraordinaire (and addict) famous for his documentaries Just For Kicks: A Documentary About Sneakers, Hip Hop and the Corporate Game (2005) and Air Force 1: Anatomy of an Urban Legend (2010) – the French/Senegalese filmmaker took viewers on a black and white high definition musical journey (not just in Chicago, Miami, Detroit, Los Angeles and New York City) full of live performances, candid interviews, still classic photography (courtesy of DJ D-Nice) and crisp close-ups. From the sounds of the sousaphone courtesy of Tuba Gooding, Jr. to the lights fading in (and I can’t forget those nasty guitar wails along the way), you can feel the music (not just from the choice shots of the instruments and the set lists). The scenes jump out at you – i.e. Questlove playin’ the rimshots in the street along with Q-Tip freestyling. Where else could music lovers enjoy Erykah Badu flippin’ the beat on a drum machine, hear The Roots break into an impromptu performance of Donna Summer’s 1975 classic 'Love to Love You Baby' or even hear a sample of OutKast’s 'SpottieOttieDopaliscious?' It really is all about creating what Q-Tip says is “a comfortable environment.” I just wish I had a shot of Privilege to wash it down!

What can I say? It was some serious head noddin’ goin’ on with me. The Roots really are everything their musical counterparts say they are: “a constant experiment,” “incredible” and the “backbone of the culture.” Imagine this soundtrack: The Roots 'The Next Movement' (along with “Roots Crew Comin’ Through” and “Birthday Wishes”), The Isley Brothers 'Between the Sheets,' Eve 'Who’s That Girl,' Chaka Khan 'Tell Me Something Good' (along with 'I’m Every Woman' and 'I Feel For You'), Mike Posner 'Cooler Than Me,' A Tribe Called Quest 'Bonita Applebum' and 'Excursions,' Daniel Merriweather 'Change,' Bobby Brown 'Every Little Step,' D-Nice 'My Name is D-Nice' (who admits he was just on site to photograph the series but pulled out the audience to perform alongside Questlove and Black Thought) and The Roots and Erykah Badu 'You Got Me.' The Roots are sharp: totally recreating the records to sound like the original master recordings.

They couldn’t have chosen a better encore to close out the film: Erykah Badu’s 'Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip Hop).' For a minute, De Longeville’s film closely resembled Phil Joanou’s style in U2: Rattle and Hum (1988); the rock doc could easily be his muse. Not only was THE ART OF BLENDING entertaining, it was informative with all of the performers explicating and defining “artistry.” The artists all interrogate hip hop and soul music to its core. It actually took me back to my experiences at the Hennessy Artistry series at Atlanta’s The Velvet Room featuring curators The Roots and Common…well, minus all of the cocktails and shots of the signature drinks of course.

THE ART OF BLENDING is a grand indicator of why Hennessy reigns supreme as a premier beverage and global brand. It’s an appreciation for the finer things in life and speaking a language we can all understand – music – or as Chaka Khan puts it, “the language of the angels.”
Words Christopher Daniel