BLACK NASTY
Talking To The People (Stax)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

---

If you love early-70s inner-city funk music but think you've already heard it all, here's one that'll surprise and delight you. Loaded with bouncy grooves, Talking To The People was a 1973 LP by this family-run band that deserved so much more attention than they got.

Black Nasty was unusual for a few reasons, the most interesting of which was that they were a Detroit group that ended up recording not for Motown but for their Memphis rival, Stax (on their Enterprise imprint). They were under the direction (and some might say thumb) of Johnnie Mae Matthews, a woman who had recorded a few dozen singles and started a few record labels in her time. Her children, Artwell (drums) and Audrey (vocals), and Audrey's future husband, Terrence Ellis (vocals), were all members of the band, and mama's word was THE word. As they never achieved the fame they deserved, it's hard to say if her word was the RIGHT word, but shoulda woulda coulda.

Talking To The People, just reissued by Fantasy (keepers of Stax), is a pretty fine document by a band that could funk with the best of 'em. One listen to "Booger The Hooker" will bear me out. Most of the material was co-produced by Johnnie Mae and Stax singer Sir Mack Rice, which is just one more reason that Talking To The People is worth the effort of seeking out.

(C) 1999 - DJ Johnson