P.M. Dawn

Attrell Cordes began DJing parties and composing songs in ninth grade. Cordes, known by his stage name Prince Be, and his younger brother, Jarrett Cordes, known as DJ Minutemix, formed P.M. Dawn in 1988. The group's first demo tape was created using $600 that Prince Be had earned through his job as a night security guard at a homeless shelter. They first approached Tommy Boy Records, the rap music subsidiary of Warner Brothers, with their demo, but they were told that they were too much like alternative hip-hoppers De La Soul, and not hardcore or ghetto, and were turned away. Eventually, Warlock, an independent record label, issued a debut single, "Ode to a Forgetful Mind", in 1989, but it went unnoticed. The record label that released the single in the United Kingdom, Gee Street Records, found greater success. Gee Street mixed and marketed the song so that it earned considerable attention from music reviewers, and P.M. Dawn found themselves courted not just by Gee Street's head, Jon Baker, but also by most of the major UK record labels. Gee Street brought the brothers to London in 1990 to record tracks for an album; however, the label found itself facing bankruptcy during the recording. The entire Gee Street operation, along with P.M. Dawn's recording contract, was sold to the highest bidder, Island Records. Island issued a few more singles in the United Kingdom before releasing their debut album, Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience. == Career ==

"Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross featured the international hit "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss", which sampled the Spandau Ballet song "True", and featured a cameo by Spandau Ballet singer Tony Hadley in the music video. Defending his actions to USA Todays James T. Jones IV, KRS-One said: "I answered his question. 'A teacher of what?' I'm a teacher of respect." In 1992, P.M. Dawn appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD Red Hot + Dance, contributing the Richie Rich Mix of "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss". The album, featuring George Michael and Madonna, among others, was meant to raise money and awareness of the AIDS epidemic. On February 12, 1992, P.M. Dawn was nominated for the BRIT Awards and won Best International Newcomer. The Bliss Album...? Before releasing The Bliss Album...? (Vibrations of Love and Anger and the Ponderance of Life and Existence), P.M. Dawn contributed the single "I'd Die Without You" to the 1992 Eddie Murphy comedy Boomerang and its soundtrack. This No. 3 pop hit was included on The Bliss Album...?, as was the Billboard No. 6 pop hit "Looking Through Patient Eyes". Though Island Records won the lawsuit, the song was removed from subsequent releases of The Bliss Album and is no longer available for purchase in its publishing catalog. Jesus Wept and DJ Minutemix's arrest P.M. Dawn contributed a cover of "You Got Me Floatin'" to the 1993 compilation album Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Artists from Pat Metheny to Eric Clapton to Ice-T's Body Count were included. They also remixed Beautiful People's "If 60's Was 90's". Their 1995 album Jesus Wept was unable to attain the success of their first two albums. The album's highest charting single was "Downtown Venus", which contained a sample of Deep Purple's "Hush", and reached No. 48 on the Billboard chart. The charges were dropped due to lack of evidence. In 1996, P.M. Dawn contributed "Non-Fiction Burning" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Rio produced by the Red Hot Organization. Amid trademark and artistic criticism, Doc. G continues to perform as P.M. Dawn. On June 17, 2016, Prince Be died from kidney disease, caused by complications of diabetes, at the age of 46 at a hospital in Neptune City, New Jersey. On April 6, 2018, Doc. G hired music producer K-R.O.K. as the new member of P.M. Dawn. == Legacy ==

On April 3, 2022, one of the Unsung documentary episodes, highlighting the story of P.M. Dawn, premiered on TV One. == Discography ==

Studio albums Compilation albums • 2000: The Best of P.M. Dawn (V2) • 2000: Unreleased Vol. 1 (Positive Plain Music) • 2008: Most Requested (Sheridan Square Records) • 2010: P.M. Dawn: Greatest Hits Live! (Sbcmg) Singles == References ==