Paying Respects

Isaac Hayes was always just this name to me growing up, thrown out in lists of others spooled by on soul compilations. His biggest hit came when I was 1 year old. When he started doing the voice of Chef on South Park, I started appreciating him for his humor (to me, his bit in "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka" was best as straight man in the scene with Chris Rock) . One of my favorite lines from South Park is still Chef saying "Aw, children, you can't just stick a drunk elephant and a drunk pig together and expect them to do the mattress mambo." That's before Chef unleashes the Hayes voice, getting everyone in the mood.

I didn't really understand what the big deal with Isaac Hayes was until WattStax, which detailed a concert put on by his label in the wake of the Watts riots. The fact is, Isaac Hayes was as big a badass as they come. That voice was a force, and this song, with just a few words, still defines cool.