P.M. Dawn was an American hip hop and R&B act that formed in 1988 by the brothers

Attrell Cordes Attrell Stephen Cordes, Jr. (May 15, 1970 – June 17, 2016), also known by the stage name Prince Be, was an American rapper, musician, singer and record producer. Cordes was the lead vocalist of the hip hop group P.M. Dawn, which he formed in ...

(known by his stage name Prince Be, sometimes credited as Prince Be the Nocturnal) and Jarrett Cordes (known as DJ Minutemix) in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark. They earned significant

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

success in the early 1990s with music that merged hip hop, older

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

, and more pop-oriented urban R&B. After recording their debut single "Ode to a Forgetful Mind" in 1988, P.M. Dawn released their first album '' Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience'' in 1991 to critical acclaim. It achieved immediate commercial success because of its single "

Set Adrift on Memory Bliss "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" is a song by American hip-hop group P.M. Dawn, released in August 1991 as the second single from their debut album, '' Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience'' (1991). It is built around ...

". Their 1993 follow-up '' The Bliss Album...? (Vibrations of Love and Anger and the Ponderance of Life and Existence)'' was also praised by critics and featured the hit singles "

I'd Die Without You "I'd Die Without You" is a song by American R&B duo P.M. Dawn. The song first appeared on the soundtrack of the 1992 film ''Boomerang'' and was one of several songs to chart from the album. The song later appeared on P.M. Dawn's own '' The Bliss ...

" and "

Looking Through Patient Eyes "Looking Through Patient Eyes" is a song by American hip hop and R&B group P.M. Dawn. It was released on March 1, 1993, as the second single from their second studio album, '' The Bliss Album...? (Vibrations of Love and Anger and the Ponderance ...

". P.M. Dawn continued to receive strong reviews with their subsequent albums '' Jesus Wept'' (1995) and ''

Dearest Christian, I'm So Very Sorry for Bringing You Here. Love, Dad ''Dearest Christian, I'm So Very Sorry for Bringing You Here. Love, Dad'' is the fourth studio album by American musical duo P.M. Dawn. It was released on October 6, 1998, by Gee Street and V2 Records. The album's title refers to bandmember At ...

'' (1998), which sold poorly.

Early history

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 ...

, 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 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

, 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 alternati ...

, 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 A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

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, anothe ...

. Island issued a few more singles in the United Kingdom before releasing their debut album, '' Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience''.

Career

"Set Adrift on Memory Bliss"

''Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross'' featured the international hit "

", which sampled the

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European D ...

song "

True True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * ...

", and featured a cameo by Spandau Ballet singer

Tony Hadley Anthony Patrick Hadley (born 2 June 1960) is an English pop singer. He rose to fame in the 1980s as the lead singer of the new wave band Spandau Ballet and launched a solo career following the group's split in 1990. Hadley returned to the ban ...

in the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

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 Paper dolls are figures cut out of paper or thin card, with separate clothes, also made of paper, that are usually held onto the dolls by paper folding tabs. They may be a figure of a person, animal or inanimate object. Paper dolls have been ine ...

", 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 Boogie Down Productions (BDP) was an American hip hop group originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, five months after the release of BDP's debut album, '' Criminal Minde ...

, 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 ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

''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 ''Red Hot + Dance'' is an album produced by the Red Hot Organization, an organization dedicated to raising money and awareness to fight the onslaught of HIV/AIDS. Pop star George Michael was instrumental in bringing the project to fruition and ...

'', 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 music ...

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.

''The Bliss Album...?''

Before releasing their follow-up album, '' The Bliss Album...? (Vibrations of Love and Anger and the Ponderance of Life and Existence)'', P.M. Dawn contributed the single "

" to the 1992

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 A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning ...

'' 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 adverti ...

'' #6 pop hit "

". "Looking Through Patient Eyes" featured backing vocals by

Cathy Dennis Catherine Roseanne Dennis (born 25 March 1969)Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa; , p. 133 is a British singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. She was the vocalist for D Mob, which had the s ...

and sampled

's hit "

Father Figure A father figure is usually an older man, normally one with power, authority, or strength, with whom one can identify on a deeply psychology, psychological level and who generates emotions generally felt towards one's father. Despite the literal te ...

". The

for the song was shot in a church, and featured

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 A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are genera ...

with "Thank you, Jesus" written across it in black lettering. ''The Bliss Album...?'' featured a duet with

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...

entitled "More Than Likely" and a cover of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' "

Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1965 album '' Rubber Soul''. It was written mainly by John Lennon, with lyrical contributions from Paul McCartney, and credited to the Lennon–M ...

". 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 A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

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 Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

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 tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

'' Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix''. Artists ranging from

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progr ...

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 o ...

to Ice-T's

Body Count A body count is the total number of people killed in a particular event. In combat, a body count is often based on the number of confirmed kills, but occasionally only an estimate. Often used in reference to military combat, the term can also r ...

were included. They also remixed Beautiful People's "

If 60's Was 90's "If 60's Was 90's" is a song by Beautiful People. Recorded in 1991, the song was first released on their album ''If 60's Were 90's'' in 1992 but was not released as a single until 1994 after the success of " Rilly Groovy", charting at #74 on the U ...

". 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 and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Originally formed as ...

'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 ''Red Hot + Rio'' is a compilation album produced by Béco Dranoff and Paul Heck as part of the Red Hot AIDS Benefit Series intended to promote AIDS awareness. This installment is a contemporary tribute to the bossa nova sound, especially the mus ...

'' produced by the

. 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 W ...

and

David Spade David Wayne Spade (born July 22, 1964) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, television host, and writer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' in the 1990s, and he later began an acting career in both film and television. He also s ...

comedy ''

Senseless ''Senseless'' is a 1998 American buddy comedy science fiction film directed by Penelope Spheeris and written by Greg Erb and Craig Mazin. The film stars Marlon Wayans, David Spade, and Matthew Lillard as college students. Plot Darryl Wither ...

'', followed later in the year by P.M. Dawn's fourth album, ''

''. 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''. 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 disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

in early 2005 that left him paralyzed on the left side of his body. Undeterred, P.M. Dawn appeared on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's '' Hit Me, Baby, One More Time'', performing "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss", and covered

Puddle of Mudd Puddle of Mudd is an American rock band formed in Kansas City, Missouri in 1992. To date, the band has sold over seven million albums and has had a string of No. 1 mainstream rock singles in the United States. Their major-label debut '' C ...

's "

Blurry "Blurry" is a song by American rock band Puddle of Mudd. It was released on October 16, 2001, as the second single from the band's debut album '' Come Clean'' (2001). It was 2002's most successful rock song in the United States, topping the ''Bi ...

". Despite the fact that Prince Be was still suffering the effects of this stroke, they beat

Animotion Animotion is an American synth-pop band from Los Angeles, California, best known for the songs " Obsession", "Let Him Go", "I Engineer", and " Room to Move". Formed in 1983 from the remnants of a retro science-fiction band called Red Zone, t ...

Missing Persons A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, ...

Juice Newton Judith Kay "Juice" Newton (born February 18, 1952) is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categorieswinning once in 1983as well ...

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, caused by complications of diabetes, at the age of 46 at a hospital in

Neptune City, New Jersey Neptune City is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,869,The Best of P.M. Dawn'' ( V2) *2000: ''Unreleased Vol. 1'' (Positive Plain Music) *2008: ''Most Requested'' (Sheridan Square Records) *2010: ''P.M. Dawn: Greatest Hits Live!'' (Sbcmg)

Singles

References

External links

P.M. Dawn memorial for Prince BUnsung: P.M. Dawn documentary
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:PM Dawn American hip hop groups American contemporary R&B musical groups Brit Award winners East Coast hip hop groups Gee Street Records artists Musical groups established in 1988 Musical groups disestablished in 2016 Musicians from Jersey City, New Jersey Sibling duos