My Loleatta  

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"My Loleatta" is the common name for a recording of a live monologue by Loleatta Holloway at Better Days in 1985, later appropriated by Junior Vasquez. It features the oft-sampled phrase "I'm gonna diss you right now", the first time being Armando's "100% Of Disin' You" (1988).

It was featured on one of the Classic Accapellas.

Recording

It was lovingly described by Bruce Forest as featuring lots of trash-talk and cool sexual innuendo:

"I sure do [know the acapella recording by Loleatta Holloway]. I recorded it. And anyone who tells you different is either wrong, or lying. Here's the story: In 1985, Loleatta Holloway did a rare live performance at Better Days. Rare, because she didn't do many, and Better Days did very few livedates as well. The main reason was that BD was a round room, and the feedback problems with 30,000 watts of subwoofer output was serious. But Loleattay was an exception. Along with First Choice, she was the most important artist for the Better Days crowd. I recorded the gig on reel to reel tape. I edited out all the music, and kept just the spoken vocal, consisting of lots of 'trash talk' and cool sexual innuendo.

For a long time, I used to lay the vocal over various instrumentals, ranging from house tracks, to MFSB's Love is the Message. The speaking part was in sections and lasted about forty minutes in total. The crowd went NUTS for it, and it became my trademark. Many people asked for a copy, but I promised Loleatta that I wouldn't ever give it out. However, Shep Pettibone, my friend at the time, did a relief spot for me one night, and helped himself to a copy, against my direct wishes. He gave this copy to Junior Vasquez, who promptly took my idea, laid the vocal over a house track and made a record called 'My Loleatta.'It was a mild success, and he made a few more. He also actually put the acappella on a 12" and sold it. I was furious, and so was Loleatta. Too late though. The spoken vocal, copied off Junior's record has been on dozens of records, and it both makes me feel nostalgic, and pisses me off every time I hear it. Hope this helps. Spread the word if you like."--Bruce Forest about this cut in an email conversation with J. W. Geerinck in 1998

Full text

"I'm gonna diss you right now ... look, I'm gonna to talk to you. can I ask you a question? ... I want everyone to be honest with me, ok? ... I want everyone out here tonight that has ever loved, that lost before, to raise your hand ... let me see, it ain't no big thing! ... all right! all right! ... is there ANYONE out here tonight that has ever been with someone but was wishing you could be with somebody else?? ... see I know that some of y'all out here tonight wanted to raise your hand, but you standing in the situation whereas ... NEED I SAY MORE??? ... you see i asked the question once, really, i asked the question, i said is there anybody out here tonight that has loved and lost a lady looked at me, really, a lady looked at me and she said, "mind yo damn tongue ... i haven't seen a man FINE ENOUGH or GOOD ENOUGH ... that i would WASTE MY TEARS and cry over him" ... but you know what i told her? i said "bitch..." ... Keep on living and and don't you dare die! ... cause you'll see, you'll get up one morning and you'll look into that same mirror you been looking into every morning ... and you'll see the ugliest mug, you ever seen in your life!!!" ... you see, I'm so glad I found out it takes a fool to learn that love don't love nobody! ... see a whole lot of these crazy mo- [crowd yells "fuckers"!] ... they can tell you "well honey, ain't nobody ever broke my heart, ain't nobody ever got my mind" ... THEY HAVE NOT LIVED YET. because if they live, and keep on ... keep on living and don't die ... somebody ... gonna ... TEAR ... THAT ... UP!! ... CAN I GET A WITNESS??? ... let me tell you something, too! some never let someone know that they're gettin you down. you see if you let them know that they're gettin you down honey, they're gonna kick you! ... don't bend over you'll get the shock of your life!!! ... you see that sometimes that's what we do. when we fall in love, when we lose that certain ... that certain girl, that certain girl, that certain him ... we just don't wanna live no more. we just sit at home, we don't take a bath, we don't ... mop. ... honey, don't do that. ... THROW YOUR HAND UP IN THE AIR ... HOLD YOUR WIG SO IT WON'T COME OFF ... AND KEEP ON TRUCKING!! ... you'll find out that don't no one monkey don't stop no show ... you probably was crying cause they was ugly in the first place! ... you see, I cried before, so those of you that know what it is to have cried, if you have found somebody that you care about today this song is for you. ... Is there anybody out here tonight that in love? ... let me see? no-one over here?!? oh, you s'posed to have your hand up, honey!!! ... all you lucky people, you see this song is for y'all, because YOU ARE THE LUCKY ONES."