P.M. Dawn was an American hip hop and R&B act that formed in 1988 by the brothers Attrell Cordes (known by his stage name Prince Be, sometimes credited as Prince Be the Nocturnal) and Jarrett Cordes (known as DJ Minutemix) in
Attrell Cordes began DJing parties and composing songs in ninth grade. Cordes, known by his stage name Prince Be, and his younger brother, Jarrett Cordes, known as DJ Minutemix, formed P.M. Dawn in 1988. The group's first demo tape was created using $600 that Prince Be had earned through his job as a night
security guard
A security guard (also known as a security inspector, security officer, or protective agent) is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets (property, people, equipment, money, etc.) from a variety ...
at a
homeless shelter
Homeless shelters are a type of homeless service agency which provide temporary residence for homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather while simultaneously r ...
.
They first approached
Tommy Boy Records
Tommy Boy Entertainment is an American independent record label and multimedia brand founded in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is credited with helping and launching the music careers of Queen Latifah, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digital U ...
, the
rap music
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
subsidiary of Warner Brothers, with their demo, but they were told that they were too much like alternative hip-hoppers
De La Soul
De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...
, and not hardcore or ghetto, and were turned away. Eventually, Warlock, an
independent record label
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...
, issued a debut single, "Ode to a Forgetful Mind", in 1989, but it went unnoticed.
The record label that released the single in the United Kingdom, Gee Street Records, found greater success. Gee Street mixed and marketed the song so that it earned considerable attention from music reviewers, and P.M. Dawn found themselves courted not just by Gee Street's head, Jon Baker, but also by most of the major UK record labels. Gee Street brought the brothers to London in 1990 to record tracks for an album; however, the label found itself facing bankruptcy during the recording. The entire Gee Street operation, along with P.M. Dawn's
recording contract
A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...
, was sold to the highest bidder,
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
''Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross'' featured the international hit " Set Adrift on Memory Bliss", which sampled the Spandau Ballet song " True", and featured a cameo by Spandau Ballet singer Tony Hadley in the music video of the song. "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" hit No. 1 the week of November 30, 1991, and is the first No. 1 song on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart following the introduction of
Nielsen SoundScan
Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...
to the chart. The song also reached No. 3 in the United Kingdom. " Paper Doll", which was one of the early singles Island released in the United Kingdom, was released in the US as a follow-up to "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss", and peaked at No. 28 in early 1992.
With the success of their debut album, the band parted company with their manager Nick Hemmings and embarked on a world tour. During this world tour, Prince Be gave an interview to ''Details'' magazine in which he expressed skepticism of rapper
KRS-One
Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...
's activism: "KRS-One wants to be a teacher, but a teacher of what?" KRS-One and his crew, Boogie Down Productions, responded by storming a P.M. Dawn concert, forcing the group off the stage and performing their songs " I'm Still #1" and " The Bridge Is Over". Defending his actions to '' USA Today''s James T. Jones IV, KRS-One remarked, "I answered his question. 'A teacher of what?' I'm a teacher of respect."
In 1992, P.M. Dawn appeared on the
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.
Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...
's compilation CD '' Red Hot + Dance'', contributing the Richie Rich Mix of "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss". The album, featuring
George Michael
George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...
and
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
among others, was meant to raise money and awareness in support of the AIDS epidemic.
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...
comedy '' Boomerang'' and its soundtrack. This #3 pop hit was also included on ''The Bliss Album...?'', as was the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
George Michael
George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
images throughout — most notably, Prince Be wore a T-shirt with "Thank you, Jesus" written across it in black lettering.
''The Bliss Album...?'' featured a duet with Boy George entitled "More Than Likely" and a cover of The Beatles' " Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)".
The album also included "So On and So On," which led to a 1999 sampling lawsuit. In the lawsuit ''Batiste v. Island Records, Inc.'', Paul and Michael Batiste claimed that P.M. Dawn's song "So On and So On" used unauthorized samples from David Batiste & The Gladiators' "Funky Soul". The fifth Circuit Federal Appellate Court found that the Batistes point to no evidence in the record demonstrating that consumers were confused or deceived by either the use of a digital sample of "Funky Soul" in "So On and So On", or the attribution to David Batiste as a co-author of the track. The Batistes' claim that Paul and Michael Batiste were improperly excluded from the liner notes accompanying the album also failed to suggest that consumers were confused, especially because the liner notes do credit the name of the band in which both Paul and Michael Batiste performed. Though Island Records won the lawsuit, the song was removed from subsequent releases of ''The Bliss Album'' and is no longer available for purchase in their publishing catalog.
''Jesus Wept'' and DJ Minutemix's arrest to present
P.M. Dawn contributed a cover of "You Got Me Floatin'" to the 1993
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...
Beautiful People
Beautiful People may refer to:
Film, television, and theater
* ''Beautiful People'' (film), a 1999 British comedy
* ''Beautiful People'' (1974 film) or ''Animals Are Beautiful People'', a South African wildlife documentary
* ''Beautiful Peopl ...
's " If 60's Was 90's".
Their 1995 album '' Jesus Wept'' was unable to attain the success of their first two albums. The album's highest charting single was "
Downtown Venus
"Downtown Venus" is the first single released from American hip hop- R&B act P.M. Dawn's third studio album, ''Jesus Wept'' (1995). The second track on the album, the song was written by the duo's lead vocalist, Prince Be (under his real name, ...
", which contained a sample of
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...
's "Hush", and reached #48 on the ''Billboard'' chart. Also, in 1995, P.M. Dawn was credited with the
remix
A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
of White Zombie's "Blood, Milk and Sky" (Miss September Mix) on the ''Supersexy Swingin' Sounds'' compilation album. In 1996, P.M. Dawn contributed "Non-Fiction Burning" to the AIDS benefit album '' Red Hot + Rio'' produced by the
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.
Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...
. In 1998, Prince Be contributed the tracks "Perfect for You" and "Gotta Be...Movin' on Up" to the
Marlon Wayans
Marlon Lamont Wayans (born July 23, 1972) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Wayans began his career portraying a pedestrian in ''I'm Gonna Git You Sucka'' (1988). He went on to regularly collaborate with his brother Shawn Wa ...
and David Spade comedy '' Senseless'', followed later in the year by P.M. Dawn's fourth album, '' Dearest Christian, I'm So Very Sorry for Bringing You Here. Love, Dad''. It was less successful again, with the album's single, "Being So Not for You (I Had No Right)" being a minor chart hit.
In the same year, Jarret Cordes (DJ Minutemix) was accused of sexually abusing a 14-year old relative and was subsequently arrested in Burlington County. The girl is said to have been a first cousin. Prosecuters dropped the case after one year of investigation for lack of evidence.
In 2000, they released the compilation, ''
The Best of P.M. Dawn
''The Best of P.M. Dawn'' is a 2000 compilation album by P.M. Dawn. Along with the group's most successful recordings, it includes remixes of some of their minor hits, and "Gotta Be...Movin' on Up" from the 1998 Marlon Wayans and David Spade come ...
''. Through their website, they also began selling a mail-order-only album called ''Fucked Music'' on December 1, 2000. This was paired with a bonus CD, ''Unreleased Vol. 1'', and a T-shirt.
Prince Be suffered a massive
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
in early 2005 that left him paralyzed on the left side of his body. Undeterred, P.M. Dawn appeared on NBC's '' Hit Me, Baby, One More Time'', performing "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss", and covered Puddle of Mudd's " Blurry". Despite the fact that Prince Be was still suffering the effects of this stroke, they beat Animotion, Missing Persons, Juice Newton and Shannon to claim the $20,000 charitable prize, which they contributed to the
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
JDRF is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that funds type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, provides a broad array of community and activist services to the T1D population and actively advocates for regulation favorable to medical research and approval o ...
, as Prince Be was a diabetic.
Following their appearance on ''Hit Me, Baby, One More Time'', Minutemix left the group due to internal differences. This led to the introduction of the Cordes brothers' paternal first cousin, Gregory Lewis Carr II, known by his stage name Doc. G (also known as 'Dr. Giggles').
On June 17, 2016, Attrell Cordes, known within the group as Prince Be, died of
renal disease
Kidney disease, or renal disease, technically referred to as nephropathy, is damage to or disease of a kidney. Nephritis is an inflammatory kidney disease and has several types according to the location of the inflammation. Inflammation can b ...
, caused by complications of diabetes, at the age of 46 at a hospital in Neptune City, New Jersey.
Discography
Studio albums
Compilation albums
*2000: ''
The Best of P.M. Dawn
''The Best of P.M. Dawn'' is a 2000 compilation album by P.M. Dawn. Along with the group's most successful recordings, it includes remixes of some of their minor hits, and "Gotta Be...Movin' on Up" from the 1998 Marlon Wayans and David Spade come ...