Chart entered : 8 June 1991
Chart peak : 36
Number of hits : 10
More hip hop now, from the softer end of the genre.
P.M. Dawn were two brothers from New Jersey, Attrell and Jarrett Cordes. Their father died when they were young and their mother married George Brown of Kool and the Gang. the two started DJing at parties while at school. In 1988 they named their partnership P.M. Dawn , adopted the aliases Prince Be ( Attrell ) and D J Minutemix ( Jarrett ) and made a demo tape financed by Attrell's job as a bouncer at a homeless shelter. Tommy Boy rejected them for sounding too much like De La Soul so it was an independent label that released their first single in 1989.
"Ode To A Forgetful Mind" sees Attrell gently chiding his rivals for their ignorance in unhurried style over a catchy bass line. It didn't get them much attention in their homeland but it was licensed to a UK label Gee Street who did like the track. They invited PM Dawn to London to record tracks for an album in 1990. Due to financial difficulties which saw the label having to be bailed out by Island, this second single was delayed until the summer of 1991.
"A Watcher's Point of View" outdoes De La Soul in its hazy positivity with few of the lines making much sense though you get the general gist that Prince Be is privy to some great cosmic secret unknown to us lesser mortals. Perhaps he was influenced by David Icke who broke cover around this time. Nevertheless it is quite palatable with a recognisable chorus and a funky vibe helped along by a sample from The Doobie Brothers' Feelin Down Farther. It was their first hit anywhere in the world.
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