Music played a huge role in Kevin writing his critically acclaimed book The Education of Kevin Powell: A Boy’s Journey into Manhood. He often wrote while listening to songs or albums that inspired him as a youth, or in these times. Kendrick Lamar, The Beatles, Nina Simone, Laura Nyro, Bob Marley, Carole King, and countless others helped Kevin to pen the pages of this autobiography of his life. And there were times when Kevin simply could not write and music just filled the grooves in his mind, until words came again. Music inspired by The Education of Kevin Powell is a two-volume mix cd created by the innovative production team the Cultural Bastards. They built on a track list given to them by Kevin and added well-known performers, underground voices, and even a few new artists to watch, like the great young vocalist Hendii. Interspersed with audio of Kevin, his mother, and a few surprises, the two-volume journey is a magical musical mystery ride for the ears, for your inner soul.
The Education of Kevin Powell : A Boy's Journey into Manhood - The Mix CD Volume 1 by Cultural Bastards on Mixcloud
VOLUME 1
1 Kevin Powell Intro
2 Amistad Players “Dry Your Tears Afrika” Kevin intro Mix
3 Hendii "The Oracle" produced by Cultural Bastards
4 Macklemore & Ryan Lewis “Same Love” remix produced by Cultural Bastards
5 T.I. w/ Rihanna “Live Your Life”
6 Kendrick Lamar “i”
7 Pete Rodriguez “I Like It Like That”
8 Stevie Wonder “Sir Duke”
9 Bruno Mars “Treasure”
10 Amy Winehouse “Tears Dry On Their Own”
11 Sarah Vaughan “Broken-Hearted Melody”
12 Al Green “Tired of Being Alone”
13 Jackson 5 “I Want You Back” remix produced by Cultural Bastards
14 Tupac Shakur “Dear Mama” remix produced by Cultural Bastards
15 Billie Holiday “God Bless The Child” Kevin & Mom mix
16 John Coltrane “A Love Supreme, Part 1: Acknowledgement Kevin Mix
17 Dave Brubeck “Take Five” Kevin Mix
18 Nirvana “Come As You Are”
19 Jimi Hendrix “Along The Watchtower”
20 Red Hot Chili Peppers “Scar Tissue”
21 R.E.M. “Losing My Religion”
22 J Keys "Salvation part 2" produced by Cultural Bastards
23 Jay-Z and Kanye West “No Church in the Wild”
24 Kendrick Lamar, “Alright”
25 Lauren Hill “Doo Wop" remix produced by Cultural Bastards
26 Ellis "Devil in you" Kevin Mix version produced by Cultural Bastards
27 Kanye West “Jesus Walks”
28 Public Enemy “Fight The Power”
29 Eric B and Rakim “Juice”
30 Chubb Rock “Treat ‘Em Right”
31 Big Daddy Kane “Raw(Remix)”
32 Teena Marie “Square Biz”
33 Michael Jackson “Baby Be Mine”
34 Stevie Wonder “I Wish”
35 The Bee Gees “Stayin Alive" Kev mix
36 Janet Jackson (w/ Joni Mitchell sample) "Got ’Til It’s Gone”
37 Smokey Robinson “Cruisin’” remix produced by Cultural Bastards
38 Justin Timberlake “That Girl”
39 Frank Sinatra w/ Antonio Carlos Jobim “The Girl From Ipanema"
40 Prince “When Doves Cry”
41 Steel Pulse “Prodigal Son”
42 Bob Marley “Redemption Song”
43 The Beatles “All You Need Is Love”
44 Kevin/Aunt Cathy/Carole King “So Far Away"
45 The Temptations “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone”
46 George Benson “The Greatest Love of All”
47 Five Stairsteps “Ooh Child”
48 Janis Joplin “Summertime”
49 Lauren Hill “Ex-Factor”
50 Erykah Badu “Didn’t Cha Know”
51 John Legend, The Roots, Common, Melanie Fiona “Wake Up Everybody
52 Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On”
53 The Chambers Brothers “People Get Ready”
54 The Beatles “Let It Be”
55 Sam Cooke “A Change Is Gonna Come”
56 J Keys "Guilty" produced by Cultural Bastards
57 Tupac Shakur “Keep Ya Head Up”
The Education of Kevin Powell : A Boy's Journey into Manhood - The Mix CD Volume 2 by Cultural Bastards on Mixcloud
VOLUME 2
1 Kevin Powell Intro
2 Kevin Powell/Cultural Bastards "SPK" produced by Cultural Bastards
3 A Tribe Called Quest “Vibes and Stuff”
4 Jay-Z and Lil’ Wayne “Hello Brooklyn”
5 The Notorious B.I.G. “Notorious Thugs”
6 P Diddy and the Family "All about The Benjamin's" Kev Mix
7 Drake “Started From The Bottom”
8 Eminem “Lose Yourself”
9 Lupe Fiasco “The Show Goes On”
10 Kevin Powell/CB's "Tea cup Mantle poets" produced by Cultural Bastards
11 Cultural Bastards/Kevin Powell "Lab Work" produced by Cultural Bastards
12 Dr. Dre/Snoop Dogg “Nuthin But A G Thang”
13 Arrested Development “Everyday People”
14 Run-DMC “Rock Box” Kev Mix
15 Jay-Z “Dirt Off My Shoulders"
16 Cultural Bastards "Club House" produced by Cultural Bastards
17 Madonna “Into The Groove”
18 Rolling Stones “Satisfaction”
19 Bob Dylan “Like A Rolling Stone”
20 The Beach Boys “God Only Knows”
21 John Lennon “Imagine”
22 Ella Fitzgerald “Why Was I Born?”
23 Bob Marley “Time Will Tell”
24 Billie Holiday “Strange Fruit”
25 Alvin Ailey Dance “I Wanna Be Ready”
26 Nina Simone “Feeling Good”
27 Bill Withers “Ain’t No Sunshine”
28 Aretha Franklin “How I Got Over”
29 Donny Hathaway “The Ghetto” Kev Mix
30 Laura Nyro “Stoned Soul Picnic"
31 Aretha Franklin “Respect”
32 Marvin Gaye “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”
33 Amy Winehouse “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”
34 Janet Jackson "Well Travelled"
35 Tupac Shakur “Life Goes On”
36 Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
37 Jay-Z and Kanye West “Made in America”
LISTEN HERE to exclusive excerpt of Tupac Shakur interview conducted by Kevin Powell, via Complex Magazine (plus blog excerpt of Tupac chapter from The Education of Kevin Powell).
THE REV. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING , JR - KEVIN POWELL MIX CD by Cultural Bastards on Mixcloud
1 Intro KP/MLK Makes Me Wanna Holler, Marvin Gaye
2 Brotha Man - J Keys feat MLK Produced by Cultural Bastards
3 Caged Bird, J Cole
4 Woke Up This Morning, Fannie Lou Hamer
5 Mortal Man, Kendrick Lamar
6 The Dream Poem, Tayllor Johnson Scored by Cultural Bastards
7 Four Women, Nina Simone
8 If this world were mine - Hendii & Quadir Lateef
9 What Is It About Men, Amy Winehouse
10 The Lesson - KP & MLK Produced by Cutural Bastards
11 A.D. 2000, Erykah Badu
12 Love Is In Need of Love Today, Stevie Wonder, MLK & KP
13 Eve, Love Is Blind Cultural Bastards Remix
14 White Privilege, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
15 The Message, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five & KP
16 Keep On Pushing, Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions & KP
17 A Day in the Life, The Beatles
18 If I Had A Hammer, Peter, Paul, and Mary
19 The Times They Are A-Changin', Bob Dylan
20 Malaika, Miriam Makeba & MLK
21 Heal The World, Michael Jackson
22 Someday We’ll All Be Free (Live), Teena Marie
23 Amazing Grace, Aretha Franklin
24 This Little Light of Mine, Fannie Lou Hamer
25 Feeling Good, Lauryn Hill
26 One Love, Bob Marley
27 Blowin' In The Wind, Sam Cooke
28 Dream on Dreamer, Brand New Heavies featuring N’Dea Davenport
29 Free Xone, Janet Jackson
30 Power to the People, John Lennon
31 Joni Mitchell, Big Yellow Taxi
32 Waiting On The World To Change, John Mayer & KP
33 American Skin (41 shots), Bruce Springsteen & KP
34 Sign O The Times, Prince
35 We Shall Overcome, Joan Baez & MLK
