Good Morning POU!
If you’re familiar with the underground raunchy X-rated stand up comedy albums of the 70s, then today’s featured Nasty Woman is no stranger. If not, meet the woman with a mouth more foul than LaWanda Page’s. I listened to 30 seconds, that was it, 30 SECONDS of “The Queen Philosophy” clip before I clutched my invisible pearls and fanned myself!
Nancy Reed aka Lady Reed aka The Queen Bee aka The Madam was a performer discovered by Rudy Ray Moore and recorded alongside Mr. Moore for many releases, including “The Sensuous Black Woman” as “The Madam” and “The Sensuous Black Woman meets The Sensuous Black Man“(also known as “The Zodiac Album”, please google the album cover LOL) credited to “The Madam” and “The Prince”.
These albums were in response to a earlier more “vanilla” sort of “self-help” album aimed at sexually “liberating” middle class suburban white women in the late ’60’s entitled “The Way To Be The Sensuous Woman by “J” by Connie Z . Where the earlier version attempts to sanitize sexuality in order for it to conform to conservative standards, “The Sensuous Black Man/Black Woman” versions take the conversation into “out of bounds” territory by being open and frank about sexuality from a African American perspective.
Rap musicians claim historical precedent in scat, the “dozens,” and even more ancient traditions, such as calypso. But the original “nasty party rap” albums were marketed as adult comedy records and made by the alter-egos of two men. Rudy Ray Moore, a.k.a Dolemite, is the funnier and generally cleverer of the two. Moore’s albums usually feature live comedy skits with a funky band in the background and sometimes guests. Moore also produced records by other comedians and even issued some joke books. As Dolemite, he made several venerated “blaxploitation flicks” (“Dolemite,” “The Human Tornado,” “Petey Wheatstraw,” “The Monkey Hustle,” “The Disco Godfather”), some with released soundtrack LPs (see separate page).
“A master of tomorrow’s comedy today for the Now Generation,” Moore assisted Theodore Toney in scouting and signing other comedy acts for the Kent label. Perhaps their most magnificent stroke of genius was finding Nancy Reed, a.k.a. “”Lady Reed,” “Queen Bee,” “The Madam,” and “The Sensuous Black Woman.” Possessed of a commanding voice, a full vocabulary, and no squeamishness, Reed very charmingly asserted herself as the queen of nasty-party-rap comedy. Even Moore’s best brags and insults (“the dozens”) fall short of Lady Reed.