Whitney Houston

73rd and San Pedro
Uncle Sunny and Odell
Take your pick on what killed ya
Bullets, Cancer, or Jail
Huh, what a life
Listen

Propaganda
I came out a town in gangs
And a gang of grace
Cuz fo' sho' sin abounds and round these parts
Crowns is made of tin foil
And them boys play Halo with real guns
Lay low
Right there I blang slang
That twice born rhetoric
Our Papi pound the ground
And out came all humanity
Write heavy handed
Sharpie ink laced with mercury
Magnetic raps to draw out all impurities
Round the time the good Lord took mama winnin
The light bulb turned on
This world ain't my home
I huddled up to Triage
With curb servers and griots
That's such an L.A. reference
All good if you don't get it
But for those who would listen
I break you out your radio prison
Redefine manhood, blackness, and time
Shape and define culture
Let me fashion you some shades
Introduce you to a trend that transcends the will of men
Lord

Lee Green
I ain't a product
I ain't apologizing
You ain't a number
Pay them no minding
Ring the alarm
We came to redefine cutter
Carve truth in his heart
And love on her arms

Propoganda
Hey, I'm literate in graffiti
I am not at all kidding
From the heart of the city
That Stevie lived just enough for
Jackson, Mississippi: My people toiled the soil
And share croppers' pop coppers got they kin lynched in
That was the lynch pin of the mass migration into Texas
Rest of us would push west still
Manifest destiny
A black American family
Wanted better for they kids
And landed in Southern Cali
Who knew it was a war zone, my uncles got recruited in
Shawn and Kiona seen death out in Compton
But they ain't fall victim
Cousin Brandon either
We should have framed the tax return and moved us to Covina
There I met the mic and spray can instead of blue rags
And fell in love with flairs and entiendo Spanglish
Stand on my own and rep the Son of Man
And brand my own chest so I would never blend in
Lord

Known across the pop culture spectrum as the “Queen of Pop” and “The Voice” for her mezzo-soprano octave, Whitney Elizabeth Houston left an indelible impression upon pop culture. She is one of the most successful artists of all time, with more than 200 million albums sold worldwide.

Born August 9, 1963, Houston grew up singing as part of the gospel choir at her local church. She was surrounded by powerful voices in her own family (mother Cissy Houston, cousin Dionne Warwick, godmother Darlene Love, honorary aunt Aretha Franklin). After working as a model and commercial actress in the early 1980s, Whitney was discovered during a New York City nightclub performance, which led to her signing a contract with Clive Davis at Arista Records. Whitney’s first song was a duet in 1984 with Teddy Pendergrass on “Hold Me.”

She released her self-titled début album the following year, which catapulted her into superstardom as the album topped the Billboard 200 for 14 non-consecutive weeks before becoming the top-selling album of 1986, eventually achieving diamond status in the US and selling over 22 million copies worldwide. The singles “Saving All My Love For You,” “How Will I Know,” and “Greatest Love of All” topped the Billboard Hot 100 and achieved platinum status. The music video for “How Will I Know” received heavy rotation on MTV, which was uncommon for Black women at the time. She took home the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy Award for “Saving” in 1986; her performance at the Grammys of “Saving” later won her an Emmy award. She also won seven American Music Awards between 1986 and 1987.

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Daddy’s Little Girls (Music Inspired By the Film)

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Daddy’s Little Girls (Music Inspired By the Film) (2007)

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Whitney Houston

Daddy’s Little Girls (Music Inspired By the Film)