2. Curtis MayfieldCurtis Live!
My godfather in Nigeria introduced me to this. He’s one of my dad’s best friends. My first dream was to become an architect – it was because he was an architect, and he still gives me a lot of advice about life in general. He and my dad were the guys who introduced me to all the jazz stuff: the 60s and 70s Black heroes, whether it’s Monk, Davis, Coltrane, Tatum, Dizzy, all those guys. And then the soul guys: Curtis, Marvin, they were the ones who really pushed that on me.
It took a while; he used to play it a lot, and he was like, ‘When you’re older, you’re going to really love this.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, whatever…’ Lo and behold!
I still think the live version of ‘The Makings Of You’ is the perfect ‘life song’. You have love songs about relationships and romance; these are songs that are also love songs, but they’re about the pleasantries and the glory of being alive. That’s what ‘The Makings Of You’ is to me. It’s very sweet, like a warm hug or a blanket being placed over you.
Can you remember the moment that you began to appreciate the record more?
There wasn’t a moment, it was more gradual. You can smell the sort of atmosphere [when listening to the album], and it made me really thankful for the culture I grew up in. I remember being at my godfather’s house as a kid, with my god-brothers and -sisters, hanging out, playing. My dad has this really distinct laugh, and you can hear it from a mile away. Memories like that really calm the soul. When you go through difficult things in life and you come out the other side and you’re trying to regulate your nervous system, I think you start seeking things that bring more peace, more joy.
