Good Morning POU!
This is a very interesting story. So many women in the world of hip hop never got their due.
Drew Dixon
On Aug. 13, 1995, The New York Times published an article about Method Man and Mary J. Blige’s iconic hip-hop and R&B duet “All I Need,” stamped the “No. 1 Summer Song of Love” at the time. The publication credited former Def Jam Recordings CEO Lyor Cohen for persuading the Wu-Tang Clan rapper to rerecord his original song (off his 1994 “Tical” album) with the queen of hip-hop soul, with Cohen giving a detailed account of how he allegedly did so.
Nowhere does the article mention former Def Jam A&R executive Drew Dixon, who says she’s the real brains behind “hip-hop’s greatest love song”; she was never officially credited for birthing the idea or for the literal groundwork she did to make it come to fruition.
At the height of Dixon’s burgeoning career in the ’90s, she oversaw the recording of several hit records from Whitney Houston (“My Love Is Your Love”), Aretha Franklin (“A Rose Is Still a Rose”), Brandy and Monica (“The Boy Is Mine”), Deborah Cox (“Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here”), Carlos Santana (“Maria Maria”), and, most of all, Method Man and Blige. Though the writer, producer, and activist briefly talked about her work on the “All I Need” remix in her revealing 2020 HBO Max documentary, “On the Record” — in which she and other sexual assault survivors recall the alleged abuse they faced from high-profile male bosses in the music industry — Dixon has rarely been given the opportunity to tell her full side of that story. Much of that, she says, has to do with her career being upended by the alleged abuse she endured.
In the documentary, Dixon — who was one of the first women of color to publicly accuse hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons of sexual misconduct in December 2017 (via The New York Times) — shares her heartbreaking account of being allegedly raped by Simmons in his downtown Manhattan apartment in late 1995, the same year she juggled the “All I Need” remix. In that same New York Times article, Simmons denied Dixon’s claims, saying in part, “These horrific accusations have shocked me to my core and all of my relations have been consensual.”
“All I Need” was released in April 1995, but Dixon hardly got to relish her accomplishment, she says, nor did she get to celebrate the legendary track’s 1996 Grammy win. To this day, she notes it’s painful to reflect on the details of that time, though she smiles when she speaks about her love for music, hip-hop, and the records she nurtured because of it.
Here, in her own words, Dixon speaks candidly about how she oversaw the making of the “All I Need” remix, how she was nearly erased from its history, and how the song makes her feel all these years later ahead of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary.
(read the rest here)
Beyond grateful that @deardrewdixon allowed me to share her story about the history behind Method Man and Mary J. Blige’s iconic duet “All I Need.” In her own words, she shares how not getting credits on the record almost erased her from its history.https://t.co/EfbiiBtcVb
— IAMNJERA (@IAMNJERA) April 26, 2023