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Unsung - General Discussion


Raja
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On 3/21/2019 at 6:42 PM, Enero said:

This. So sad after all these years they ended up on opposite sides and thus estranged over an attempted comeback that led to a disagreement over what they should be today, how they could be relevant, which ultimately led to a lawsuit over who could use the name. SMH. What I don’t think some of them got was that they’d never be as relevant as they were in the 80s during their peak. The most they could hope for is getting gigs (hopefully that paid fairly descent) at C and D venues singing their old hits. This is JMO of course. 

That said, it was once again refreshing to see an artist/group profiled who weren’t destroyed by the vices of fame ala DeBarge. It sounded as if they were pretty clean cut.

Hearing the songs they sang again after this many years (I was a kid when they were in their prime) made me so nostalgic. Sigh.  They really did have some great hits. 

The Jets sort of reminds of of the all for one song writing credits of the Ohio Players but at the end on the county fair circuit there are two groups fighting over the name. Not much different than many an Unsung alumni group. And they don't even have song writing credits to fall back on

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On 3/21/2019 at 9:42 PM, Enero said:

What I don’t think some of them got was that they’d never be as relevant as they were in the 80s during their peak. The most they could hope for is getting gigs (hopefully that paid fairly descent) at C and D venues singing their old hits. This is JMO of course. 

I just watched this episode.  I think your point is spot on.  They will never be what they were in the 80's but there are a lot of people who loved and miss that type of music. 

I was in my early 20's when The Jets were popular.  There are a lot of people alive today who remember them and who have the money to pay to see them.  I recently went to a show at the Beacon Theater in NYC to a Valentine's Day 70's soul group show and that place was packed.  The Beacon isn't Madison Square Garden, but it's nothing to sneeze at either.  

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One thing to consider about The Jets though is that they were a child group. At best audiences had a crush on them without any lust attached to the appeal during their run. Compared to the O'Jays episode when a younger replacement O'Jay on the oldies tour describes audience members still throwing panties on stage

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(edited)

If I am remembering the Frankie Knuckles AND House Music episode correctly they pretty much skipped over Crystal Waters. Where as most of the disco acts featured were also on the Disco episode.

That Omar was a choreographer dancer for her was the biggest surprise 

Edited by Raja
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Tasha Cobb Leonard unsung? Her career is still in the climbing stage where Gospel artist tend to have a longer hit making time frame than the secular artist three hot years and done career path. They have added more Gospel artist in the last couple of years, so I that she was  a willing participant to film in time for the Resurrection Day marathon of the Unsung Gospel artist.

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I just wish they would scrap the Cosby reruns and air more Unsung reruns instead. More specifically, reruns from the early seasons - especially the two hour disco special. I wonder why they don't air nearly as many reruns as they used to - music licensing issues, maybe?

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Different people have been posting full episodes to YouTube for months and nobody seems to be enforcing a copyright. I guess TV One doesn't care but they still pull from their 100 episode library for theme marathons on occasion.

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I recently watched the profile on Dave Hollister. I don’t quite remember him. I remember the song  he did with Blackstreet Before I Let You Go, and vaguely remember My Favorite Girl, but don’t remember him like I do Digital Underground who he was apparently associated with. 

He was/is talented, but man what an ass. Perhaps he has turned his life around (for the sake of his second wife I hope so). He really put his first wife and his kids through the ringer. Though honestly his behavior wasn’t too surprising considering he married his first wife due to an ultimatum she gave him, either he marry her or she’d abort their baby. Did she really think that would result in them being happily married to death did them part? 

Anyway, I’m just glad he didn’t kill anyone when he flipped his car due to driving high as a kite and drunk. 

Again, talented guy, but nothing to write home about. 

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On 6/16/2019 at 10:54 PM, catlover79 said:

I just wish they would scrap the Cosby reruns and air more Unsung reruns instead. More specifically, reruns from the early seasons - especially the two hour disco special. I wonder why they don't air nearly as many reruns as they used to - music licensing issues, maybe?

I've been watching a few reruns from 2017 and 2018. The Shanice and Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam episodes were really good. I can't believe Lisa Lisa went on tour while getting chemotherapy for breast cancer! The woman was dedicated. And I didn't know she was only 16 when the group was formed. 

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On 1/21/2020 at 6:04 PM, KWalkerInc said:

Nice. 
 

KWalkerInc, are you black, or do you just happening to be moderating two “black” shows that I watch? (Unsung and All American) 😂😂😂

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No, I just like both of those shows.  (But I'm not the moderator, I just happened to post first in the All American thread sometimes because I want to post before I forget everything that happened in the show, LOL.)

Edited by KWalkerInc
I left a word out.
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I wonder if the Dru Hill live stinger segment was the cost to get the group on the show. The two original members saying we can work with the new guys reminds me of the same scene  from the 70s groups still on the road.

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I felt the Dru Hill episode was ... incomplete.  There seemed to be a lot of the story was left unsaid.

Roxanne Shante`: Wow, she was so young when she started out.  The worst part is that the manager chosen for her basically ripped her off her entire career!

Next week: Christopher Williams! I was so in love with him back in the day.  Girl, he looks rough now.  I told my son to not do drugs ever. Addiction eats a person up.

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On 3/2/2020 at 10:50 AM, Stardancer Supreme said:

Next week: Christopher Williams! I was so in love with him back in the day.  Girl, he looks rough now.  I told my son to not do drugs ever. Addiction eats a person up.

LMAO, you are too silly!  Girl, I said the same exact thang when I saw him, just without the son....gotdamn, what in the bluedilly hell has he been taking or drinking?!

I liked both the Dru Hill and Roxanne Shante eppies....

Dru Hill - I used to have the biggest crush on Jazz (maybe it was the big man thing).  I could have sworn I read that he was supposed to be getting a gastric surgery, maybe I was wrong.  I do remember him not being able to do the Tell Me bounce last time I saw the original singers together.  In My Bed will always be my favorite DH track, especially now that I know why Sisqo sang it with such feeling, lol!  And Thong Song to me is up there with Sheila E.'s Glamorous Life, Bobby Brown's My Prerogative and BBD's Poison....classic songs that make you wanna shake yo ass.

The R-o-x-a-n-n-e, Roxanne Shante - Dang, who knew she had it so rough.  I always thought she became a psychologist, guess that was part of the rumor she was talking about.  I loved and still play Roxanne's Revenge, but not the one that was on Unsung....the one I listen to had no music to it.

Glad she found love after all she went through.

 

Edited by Yogisbooboo64
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The Christopher Williams eppy was really good.

I only know of 3 songs of his (Talk to Myself, Promises, Promises and of course, I’m Dreaming).  Talk to Myself was my fave track….for years I was like, this sounds just like Bobby Brown’s My Prerogative, good for them to bring this up. 

The first few seconds of I’m Dreaming is all that, song never gets old.

Surprised he was with and had kids with Stacey Dash, given the majority of the men she’s dated/married.

Calvin from 227!  Curtis Baldwin didn’t look bad at all.

Finally, I don’t know if he was/is on ‘that shit’ but dang, now he looks like a formerly pretty dude whose face looks like it did a lot of hard living and drinking.

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(edited)

I didn't know that Christopher Williams was so hood. I really liked this episode.

So CW is biracial? That could be why he's aging like cottage cheese.

Does he have a relationship with his children? His 2 sons were mentioned, but not his daughter.

Al B. Sure is his cousin! Small world.

My fave CW song: Lift You Up (Turn Your Heart Around).  

Next week: Skyy! I'm glad I downloaded the TVOne app since my television died. I still play Skyy songs on my digital devices. 

Edited by Stardancer Supreme
Added more stuff.
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Biracial or not I was surprised to see Stacy Dash had dated him for so long, as I thought she mentioned long ago that she preferred to date only Caucasian men.

I was wondering about his relationship with his kids as well.

Don’t think I’ll watch the Skyy eppy….outside of Call Me, what other hits did they have?

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14 minutes ago, Yogisbooboo64 said:

Biracial or not I was surprised to see Stacy Dash had dated him for so long, as I thought she mentioned long ago that she preferred to date only Caucasian men.

I was wondering about his relationship with his kids as well.

Don’t think I’ll watch the Skyy eppy….outside of Call Me, what other hits did they have?

Some of those who was that person are my favorites as i discover some new name to me. At times I find out oh that's who did that song.  Other times like with Vesta Williams it was yep only knew that song even after the show and her hit seemed to have been scrubbed  from MP3 downloads as well as YouTube back when the episode aired.

 

The march of time with the 90s acts looking like the 70s acts when Unsung first started airing is what I was getting from looking at Christopher Williams Stacy Dash and Halle Berry

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19 hours ago, Stardancer Supreme said:

Skyy songs: Real Love, and my all time fav, Start of a Romance.  That one is guaranteed to get me out of my chair and singing loudly.

Just perused them....Real Love sounds familiar but never heard the other one.

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Skyy turned out to be a fun episode. They out did their mentor Randy Mueller and Brass Construction that died with the horn bands and made it through the post disco funk era with no infra-band dramas.

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1 hour ago, Yogisbooboo64 said:

Didn't watch this eppy, who is on next week?

Shannon. "Let The Music Play" is her song.

I loved the Skyy episode! It was a very pleasant surprise to not have a music group explode or implode due to drama.

The Male musicians didn't have a problem with the ladies being upfront.

The Dunning sisters didn't feel any type of way about Denise being the lead vocalist.

Skyy was able to stay together across 3 decades! The Dunning sisters are still singing now.

That was awesome. 

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I'm glad that when they showed Shannon performing recently (last year based on the copyright date at the end), she had a nice crowd there.  When they showed the ladies of Skyy last week, it had seemed like they were being very careful to just film them onstage and not show the audience.  That might have been my imagination though.

Shannon was a contestant on Beat Shazam a few years ago, maybe season 1.

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I wasn't looking forward to Betty Wright and it turned out to be a very good informative episode. Which means they will drop the ball on Al Jarreau next week since he used to be on my list of those who need an Unsung episode 🤭

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  Yes, that's often the way w/"Unsung"  I looooved Betty Wright's personality and hadn't even planned to watch her episode.  Some others I had really looked forward to turned out to be just...meh.

  Loved Skyy....SO remember and love "Start Of Romance", "Call Me", and "Real Love".

  Best "Unsung" eps EVER (I have like 25 of 'em saved on my DVR!) : The Sylvers, Phyllis Hyman, Melba Moore, Millie Jackson, and of course, DeBarge. Loved the Vesta ep, too.

 

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Of the most recent episodes, the Shannon and Skyy ones are my favorites. Watching the Skyy episode had me like "oh, THAT'S who sang that song!" Loved "Start of Romance" back in the day, and after watching the episode, I found myself listening to some Skyy on Spotify.

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After the past couple of years Unsung now had enough Gospel artist, without secular artist who went back to church after their hit making days ended, for the Easter marathon and with no Stellar Awards due to Coronavirus this year had the field to themselves

Then came Al Jarreau. I have to admit I was part of the Jazz Snob class with him but did buy his 80s pop material also. Like the Gospel snob who welcomed back an artist from the world I remembering welcoming Al back with his life in studio album produced by Marcus Miller. The episode played well even without the drama and backstabbing that many artist had to sell their biography.

Edited by Raja
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Morris Day sounds like another Shiela E. episode. Meaning a back door "Prince is not unsung" episode. Jam and Lewis probably aren't unsung either.

Edited by Raja
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Goodie Mob - These guys were/are so talented. Not only were their beats on point, but their lyrics were intelligent and profound. I saw them in concert once in the late 90s. They put on a great show. Their live version of Black Ice (Sky High) was amazing. 

Morris Day - Its interesting how many of these musicians who become huge artists or producers were running in the same circles before they made it. Almost make me think destiny (or luck) was at play. I enjoyed Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis' contribution here. I watched an interview they did years ago at the Red Bull Music Academy where they talked about how they became mega producers after being freed from Prince. It was an interesting interview. Speaking of Prince, though obviously talented, from many accounts he seemed like an ass. And like Morris who was able to hide his addiction well, he was no doubt able to do the same being that he could spend all night writing lyrics, composing the music and vocal arrangements of various songs without any sleep. Yet when he died many came out to say they never saw him touch a drug (or even drink) during his prime. 

Anyway, I didn't realize until watching this how much Morris' sound and songs embodied Prince. He was a shallow verison of him, at least while working with him. After he broke away he developed his own sound which was good. It's unfortunate that Prince blocked some of his opportunities though. Perhaps he would've been a bigger star had those opportunities been fully explored. 

Edited by Enero
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I guess they produced then sat on the Mystical episode until Louisiana dropped the charges. I always wondered about the Lou Rawls episode it was announced one season then delayed. I am willing to bet that the spousal abuse became known and they had to reshoot and edit

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On 3/16/2020 at 1:44 PM, Stardancer Supreme said:

I loved the Skyy episode! It was a very pleasant surprise to not have a music group explode or implode due to drama.

The Male musicians didn't have a problem with the ladies being upfront.

The Dunning sisters didn't feel any type of way about Denise being the lead vocalist.

Skyy was able to stay together across 3 decades! The Dunning sisters are still singing now.

That was awesome. 

I agree!! Skyy has become one of my favorite episodes. The Jones Girls episode was also very good, but they had the jealousy and addiction issues that weren't there with the sisters in Skyy.

Here's my list of favorite episodes (in no particular order):

Atlantic Starr, Peaches & Herb, KC & The Sunshine Band, The Spinners, The Sylvers, The Chi-Lites, Donny Hathaway, The Emotions, DeBarge, Switch, The Marvelettes, Shalamar, Deniece Williams, Rose Royce, Shanice, Heatwave, The Jets, Billy Paul, 702, Blue Magic, Billy Preston, Me'lisa Morgan and The Whispers. The two-hour disco episode was a real treat. 

Subjects I'd like to see in future episodes? I've wanted them to profile Syreeta Wright for years. I'd also like to see an episode about Peabo Bryson, but would he be considered unsung? Another idea I have is Lalah Hathaway. Her dad was the subject of one of the very first episodes of this show. She's been recording for over three decades, has several Grammys to her name and her albums almost always get critical acclaim, but she's never seemed to break out into mainstream stardom. 

I'm glad that the show is still going and that quality episodes are still being produced. I just wish they'd show more reruns of the earlier seasons.

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(edited)
1 hour ago, catlover79 said:

 

Subjects I'd like to see in future episodes? I've wanted them to profile Syreeta Wright for years. I'd also like to see an episode about Peabo Bryson, but would he be considered unsung? Another idea I have is Lalah Hathaway. Her dad was the subject of one of the very first episodes of this show. She's been recording for over three decades, has several Grammys to her name and her albums almost always get critical acclaim, but she's never seemed to break out into mainstream stardom. 

I'm glad that the show is still going and that quality episodes are still being produced. I just wish they'd show more reruns of the earlier seasons.

I guess if his partner in Disney crossover hits Regine Belle is unsung then so is Peabo Bryson, especially if not seen as equal to Roberta Flack in those duets.

I do get upset at TV One when they do air the older episodes. You can hear the music in the clips go sharp and drop back into tune when the narrator starts speaking as they speed up the feed in order to squeeze more commercials in

Edited by Raja
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I think this show is returning soon, but I'm not entirely sure.  On TV One's page for the show, it had recently said (with no details) that it would air on February 27 at 11 PM Eastern.  Now the cable guide lists new episodes on that date at 6 PM & 7 PM Pacific with the titles "Decade '70s" and "Decade '80s" with a generic description.  But the TV One page now lists the return date as March 6 at 9 PM Eastern (again, with no details).  Why don't they put out a press release or something so that people would have some idea what they are doing?  That wouldn't be too far in advance.

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35 minutes ago, KWalkerInc said:

I think this show is returning soon, but I'm not entirely sure.  On TV One's page for the show, it had recently said (with no details) that it would air on February 27 at 11 PM Eastern.  Now the cable guide lists new episodes on that date at 6 PM & 7 PM Pacific with the titles "Decade '70s" and "Decade '80s" with a generic description.  But the TV One page now lists the return date as March 6 at 9 PM Eastern (again, with no details).  Why don't they put out a press release or something so that people would have some idea what they are doing?  That wouldn't be too far in advance.

They generally do release the entire season's line up.. I do remember in the original season the Lou Rawls episode was to be shown it was pulled. I can only speculate that they found out about the domestic abuse and reshot

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TV One had a message on their Facebook page on February 11 that the new season begins March 6.  Featured artists this season include Thelma Houston, Soul for Real, Monie Love and PM Dawn (and it says "and many more").  I wonder what that thing listed for February 27 is, whether it's some special or a mistake that will eventually be taken off the guide.

ETA:  There is a description for the Feb. 27 episodes now.  They are specials covering the history of R&B and hip hop in those decades.

Edited by KWalkerInc
Added description.
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Finally at the last five minutes  of the 80's Decades we get a mini feature on Teddy Riley and New Jack Swing being the dominate form of the late 80s and into the early 90s. Perhaps like the artist who were first featured on the Disco episode and later were the subject of their own a full Teddy Riley episode will come in the future. For the 70'sand 80's while touching on the heavy hitters and different trends they did give love to the smaller, near one hit wonder songs/artist.

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The schedule looks meh, though I'll like watch Monie Love (in the middle/where she at?!) and Soul for Real.

Speaking of SFR....damn, the little one looks like a drunken gnome, doesn't he?  Sounds bitter too, can't wait to watch.

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I recently watched the episode on Soul For Real. I never knew the members were all brothers. 

 I did feel really bad for them as I watched. They are talented, but truly were just a one-hit wonder. Candy Rain was their only hit, which I think worked against them (meaning having only one hit) when they wanted to write their own music etc. They acheived great success with that one song, but had not proven they could sustain it with numerous hits. Moreover, they likely had not displayed any strong writing and producing capabilities either, which is probably one reason why the record label was resistent to letting them have creative control of their album.

All that said, I do think Heavy D and the others who were managing them, absolutely took advantage of the situation and milked their success, as short as it was, for all the money they could make off of it, with little interest in helping those guys come up in the industry. 

It was nice to see that despite their struggles, the brothers still seemed close. 

On 2/15/2022 at 10:05 PM, KWalkerInc said:

Featured artists this season include Thelma Houston, Soul for Real, Monie Love and PM Dawn (and it says "and many more")

I'm very interested in the PM Dawn episode. They were an extremely talented group. Though they sampled a lot, if I'm remembering correctly they wrote all of the lyrics to their songs. They also wrote and produced for others. One of them passed away I believe some time in the early/mid 2000s, can't remember which one. But their episode should be one of the more interesting ones of the season. 

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Just finished the PM Dawn episode. I had no idea the members of the group were brothers. Didn’t know Prince Be was the genius behind the group. So talented. Very sad what happened to his health. I had no idea how horribly it declined before his death. It broke my heart hearing how his quality of life deteriorated especially being as he was still so young. His kids look exactly like him, specifically his sons. :)

It was disgusting what the cousin did in trademarking the PM Dawn name. And then he gone sit there and go on and on about people contacting him on SM and taking him to their homes thanking him for his performance. SMH. Unbelievable how he thought he did nothing wrong.

It was also upsetting to hear that Prince Be’s family have not received any royalites off his music for two decades due to the Masters changing hands so many times because of the sell of the original label they were with. And then the  family can’t do anything with the name of the group moving forward due to the shady cousin. I can’t help but think this whole mess came about due to the group not having the right representation in place to ensure their financial and creative interests were protected. But this is not new. So many talented young artists end up duped like this due to success happening so quickly and not having an understanding of how to protect their own interests long term. 

I do wonder what really happened with the charges against Eternal? I wonder if the 14 year old cousin recanted her story and thus the prosecution had no choice but to drop the case? For him to be arrested and charges being brought the prosecution must’ve believed they had a solid case. When I have time I’m going to have to look up the details on this. 

 PM Dawn’s music was so good and makes me so nostalgic. Sigh. Great episode. 

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The 90s, they had to come near the  end with the Tupac and Biggie story 😢. I guess there really was no way to avoid it. All-4- One saying they are still touring off of there hits make me wonder how much they are getting since they were not the song writers. Good enough to avoid factory work at least

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Miles Davis is not unsung. Perhaps Jazz of 1959 to 1969 is, as the Ken Burns documentary for all purposes practically cut off there. I wanted a wider look but as the book ends Miles got a third of the show.

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I must have worn out a cassette and a CD of the Jean Carne album the Grover Washington Jr produced. That she was also Jean Carn was a surprise as her teaching/coaching .

The Hitmakers Warryn Campbell, I had no ideal we had another super producer. And another episode for the easter Sunday marathons if we ever get back to the pre COVID schedules. I guess the Full Force and Campbell's mentor DJ Quik for that matter episodes could be something similar as they made no mention of The Soul Seekers. I guess they were just a good Gospel group but not ground breaking or with big enough hits to mention. I guess Teddy Riley could be tagged under a hitmakers episode but they would be hard pressed to ignore Guy and Blackstreet to concentrate

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