i’m listening to: jill scott – the light of the sun

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Album: The Light of the Sun (Deluxe)

Sounds Like: The official 2011 soundtrack of the ‘grown ass woman’

Makes Me Wanna: laugh, dance, sing, cry, and stage a one woman lip-synch show in my living room

Filed Under: r&b, new / progressive soul

Favorite Tracks: Le Boom Vent Suite, So Gone (What My Mind Says), Shame

I am currently obsessed with this CD. Once again, our girl Jill has found a way to put words to the silent songs I sing about love, life, relationships and black womanhood. How does she do it? I don’t know. Don’t really care. Just glad that she does, and glad that she does it so well. I think you will be to. Cop. Now.

cheers,

k

end dependence day playlist – a collection of freedom songs

Is it just me? Even though Independence Day has come and gone, I can still sense a distinct feel of freedom in the air. Several of my acquaintances are making bold choices, breaking with normal patterns of behavior, becoming a little more daring, a little more liberated, and a lot more in touch with the little voice inside that often urges us: Just do it. Just be you. Tell your story. Dance your dance. Sing your song.

For this past 4th of July holiday, I compiled a personal collection of songs about freedom and independence that I thought captured the spirit of the holiday while not necessarily being all about American patriotism. I decided to call it the ‘End Dependence Day’ playlist.

I hope you enjoy this selection of 20+ tracks that convey the importance of freedom of mind, body, heart, and spirit. More than that, I hope that in some small way, this playlist might inspire you to: make a fool of yourself for a good cause, to tell fear to go take a long walk off a short bridge, or to flip yourself the finger in the mirror – partly to symbolize defiance of your own unrealistic expectations, but mostly to see how badass you look doing it.

End Dependence Day Playlist on Grooveshark





End Dependence Day Playlist on iTunes


cheers,
k

Photo: Welcome to Independence by taberandrew

i’m listening to: skin, is my by andrew bird

I hate Pandora. Ok maybe hate is too strong of a word. Really, it’s a sort of missplaced hate. Who I really hate is MySpace, since it is the reason behind the demise of the online music service, Imeem, that I was such a loyal fan of. Listening to music on Pandora is much more restricted, so it’s taken me a while to get adjusted to it.

The one ‘sunny upside’ though, is that I get exposed to all kind of music I might not normally find otherwise. Like this track, “Skin, Is My” by Andrew Bird. Found this one while listening to my Zero 7 station on Pandora. It’s groovy, funky, and cheerful all at the same time. What a lovely sound!

 

Purchase Track on Amazon

Purchase Track on iTunes

cheers,

k

before and after: golden brown by the stranglers and omar lye-fook

I first heard the song ‘Golden Brown’ in Guy Ritchie’s iconic caper flick, Snatch. Ritchie has a way of sneaking obscure musical classics into his films that leaves me scrambling for a copy of the soundtrack. This particular obscure classic was originally recorded by English rock band, The Stranglers. The song – when it was first released in 1981 – had a little bit of controversy attached to it because it was said that the lyrics referred to heroin usage. While there’s nothing in the Stranglers’ original video to suggest that, English soul singer Omar Lye-Fook’s 1997 version of Golden Brown – well at least the video – makes heavy visual references to ’chasing the dragon’.

In my opinion, the song’s lilting melodies and day-dreamy lyrics are enough of a drug. Have a look and a listen for yourself. I promise, you will get addicted.

The Stranglers – Golden Brown Video

Omar Lye-Fook – Golden Brown Video

cheers,

k

i’m listening to: DJ Kut Presents the GangStarr Foundation Mixtape

As most of you already know, Guru (born Keith Elam, aka, Gifted Universal Rhymes Unlimited) passed away after battling cardiac arrest, a coma, and ultimately succumbing to cancer on April 19.

Since hearing the news, I’d been scouring the interwebs for a respectable collection of Guru’s music to reflect on the talents and musical legacy of one of hip-hop’s pioneers. All of my Guru / Gangstarr collection is on cassette tapes that I’ve had since the early ’90s, so that really wasn’t any help to me.

Thankfully, I came across DJ Kut Presents Gangstarr – The Foundation Mix late last week. The mix is cleverly divided in to 5 parts: ‘the cement’, ‘the water’, ‘the sand’, ‘the dirt’, and ‘the gravel’ (get it? a foundation mix), each of which covers a set of timeless hits from Guru and that god-sent collabo known as Gangstarr – the group consisting of Guru and DJ Premier.

I can definitely tell that DJ Kut was excited about this particular mix – there’s quite a bit of yelling throughout. But once you get past that, I think you’ll agree that this is a solid collection of Guru and Gangstarr hits that will have you going back in time and reminiscing on when hip hop was… well, in its foundation stages.

Thanks to Twitter fam @fuseboxradio for sharing the link to the mixtape. Get yours: http://www.mixtapetorrent.com/dj-kut-gangstarr-the-foundation-mix 

rest in power,

k

i’m listening to: joy jones – godchild

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Album: Godchild (2009)

Sounds Like: Sunday service with a heavy dose of supersonic soul

Makes Me Wanna:  Dance a testimony

Filed Under: UK soul, new / progressive soul, electro soul

Favorite Tracks: The Joy, Supernova, Over

 

Not since Jill Scott’s Who Is Jill Scott in 2000 have I heard a debut album that I could listen to from beginning to end and put on endless repeat. Joy Jones’ Godchild reveals both her gospel roots and her studies of African history and musical forms.  The tracks are uplifting without being treacly, conscious without being heavy-handed, and with the production talents of Bugz in the Attic producer Daz-I-Kue, the already stellar tunes soar to the outer limits with broken beats and synth-pop rhythms. Be sure to check out the track, ‘Over’, which is subtly reminiscent of old-time call-and-response hymns, and a perfect illustration of how autotune can sound when someone who can actually sing uses it. Though it was released last summer, Godchild is the perfect springtime soundtrack for 2010.

cheers,

k

dj rich medina on current tv

new amerykah part 2 – official album leak today

I was on Twitter earlier than usual this morning and came across this from @fatbellybella (Erykah Badu’s Twitter handle):

At 3:33 pm Tomorrow . Friday . The official leak … erykahbadu.com

In late 2009, Badu announced that she would release the long-awaited followup to her 2008 album, New Amerykah Part 1: 4th World War this year. Entitled, New Amerykah Part 2: Return of the Ankh, this will be the artist’s fifth studio album, containing 11 tracks and featuring collaborations with Georgia Anne Muldrow, 9th Wonder, and the late J Dilla. Badu has said that New Amerykah Part 2 will bear a less ’socio-political’ tone than Part 1, but early reviews of the album confirm that the trippy, electro-soul sound of New Amerykah Part 1 will still be heard on this effort. Apparently, there will also be a third installment, entitled Lowdown, Low Underground,  which will introduce listeners to Badu’s alter-ego, Low Down Loretta Brown.

Synchronize your watches, kids!

The official release date for New Amerykah Part 2: Return of the Ankh is March 30.

cheers,

k

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