TallBoy.us The Tall Boy Experience!
Yep, it’s that time of year when the world goes crazy transitioning from NBA All-Star weekend to college March Madness events. However, this time it will have a theme song with world-renowned trumpeter Rahmlee Davis aptly titled “The Baller Song (Pass Me the Rock)” and co-writer/co-producer Wayne K. Garfield.
For those who don’t know, the “Rock” refers to a basketball that was introduced in 1982 as an alternative and quickly gained a cult following. It set itself apart from other indoor balls due to the design, which allowed a decidedly stickier feel than others. It allowed a better grip, ease in palming the ball, and more control. The ball has good bounce comparable to others, and a soft feel as well. In short, it was a true ballers ball.
Which brings up the question of why this song?
Accordingly, The Baller Song is about relating to demographics on a universal field. As Wayne puts it, “I record a lot of songs about love but I decided to experiment in a different direction. Everyone can relate to basketball, from kids to adults.”
He went on to explain, “They see the excellence of basketball players but to be a ‘Baller’ means achieving a level of success, high esteem and status.”
This joint venture comes from such heavyweight talent such as Rahmlee, who you’ve heard on countless studio recordings and performances. For a while he was a crucial part of The Phenix Horns, the horn section for mega-group Earth, Wind and Fire. Hits like “September,” “Boogie Wonderland,” After the Love Has Gone,” and “Let’s Groove” and most notably he was the trumpet solo on “Star.” Rahmlee also performing with Phil Collins on “Sussudio,” “Easy Lover,” “Something Happened on the Way to Paradise,” and other recordings. With an experience going back to the days of Jackie Wilson and Young Holt Unlimited. His affiliations with various artists are too long to go into here.
The Baller Song (Pass Me the Rock) is the creative collaboration with the artist and Wayne K. Garfield, who has been a prolific songwriter/producer for three decades. Well known as a key contributor to the sound of the group Change, which also helped launch the career of Luther Vandross. Wayne is not only best known for the song “The Glow of Love,” he has managed to transcend various genres of music from R&B to jazz and beyond. Besides writing hits for Janet Jackson “All for You,” his catalog also includes Aretha Franklin’s “Here We Go Again,” dance diva Candi Staton’s “When You Wake Up Tomorrow,” and “Chance,” and Roy Ayers’ provocative “2000 Black.” Wayne has songs on 10 Billboard number one albums including the 2018 hit “Intro KOD” by J. Cole.
In 1977, Wayne was consulting on the EWF tour when he met Rahmlee. It wasn’t until recently they hooked up for this present production. It took this long for them to actually get on the same page to produce a good product with this latest project. They had the idea to put some flavor into the sound by involving rapperUptight, best known for his collaborations with Dr.Dre and The D.O.C. Rahmlee met Uptight through Smash Sounds Productions in Minneapolis. Further proof that this is destined to become an anthem is that it’s the same company that affiliates with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and the late, great Prince.
The Baller Song (Pass Me the Rock) is being billed as an album due to marketing, but is really a maxi-single. There are three versions that include vocal, instrumental and arena version. Purchase through the usual outlets Amazon, Spotify, and Pandora. You can also go to the website theballersong.com Click on VIP in the header and type the password baller101
– Joseph Walker, III