From LNWJF: The Roots, "Christmas Song"

Music lovers, a Roots show is a guaranteed good time and musical treat. These guys are fearless about playing with music styles under the umbrella of their home genre, hip hop. Enjoy, and happy holidays.

New Music: Sade

OK, exactly how old is Sade? Does this vixen AGE?

Good Music Moment

Q-Tip earns my genius award for teaching Norah Jones how to use her inner funk for this great song off THE RENAISSANCE. Enjoy

The Best Welcomes Have Theme Music

Welcome back, friends! My last post was quite a long time ago--in blog terms--so I offer my deepest thanks to you for giving my lil ole blog your time and attention. Life has been a wild, crazy ride over the last few months, in good and bad ways, and I'll fill you in along the next few weeks. Change is a function of growth, and this blog's growth in this next quarter-year will shine a light on my personal growth. I've lost some "weight" where it matters most: INSIDE. My mind and heart have gained some "extra muscle" along the way. We'll talk about life in America here, but you'll need to hold one thought close to heart as you follow along: LIFE is beautiful even when it's ugly. I'm talking all about the pretty-ugly-sweet-funky-amazing things that life brings and that life coaxes from me, from us and from the world. Speak your mind; this is the Hall of Free Speech--with an emphasis on FREE. I plan to grow with every comment, to build from every conversation.

Thanks for listening before and for returning now. Enjoy my little "gift" to you.

The best welcomes have theme music, I say. Enjoy mine.

New Music, Good Music: Keelay & Zaire

This is what I love in hip hop: impressive, passionate lyricism riding on a smooth and hard-hitting groove. Keelay & Zaire seem to know their way around production and engineering, and their choice in rhymers to headline this dopeness, "The Times," speaks volumes. Blu, a reigning mic terror here in the West, is joined by Fortilive, a name new to this writer who stands a great chance of becoming a true school hip hop favorite. Much love to The Audacity of Dope for sharing this video.

When Hip Hop or Soul Annoys Me

When Hip Hop or Soul Annoys Me

Posted using ShareThis

Click that link, and enjoy the musical treat.

New Music: The Foreign Exchange

This album has been on constant repeat on every music device I own. Good music makes me happy!

The Foreign Exchange, featuring Muhsinah..."Daykeeper."

A Little Groove to Move You

Nothing excites me and mellows me out like a nice groove, something that the hard-to-earn label "straight funk" fits like hand in glove. I fell in groove with this band nearly 18 years ago, and the good feeling lives on. Engage, enjoy, and immerse yourself in some good music--"live" from the Paradiso in Amsterdam, the Brand New Heavies.

Common: Taking Chances, Still Making Good Music

Common takes a different direction on his latest single, "Universal Mind Control."

The song is definitely meant for juke dancers and the b-boy set. Hip hop culture children will dig the strong tribute to Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock," the classic b-boy jam that shook the world over 20 years ago and still stands as a must for any dj who wants to show true school appeal and old school love. The video, shot and directed by Hype Williams, also pays campy homage to the seminal German electropop group Kraftwerk, whose songs "Trans-Europe Express" and "Numbers" served as the sampled basis of Bambaataa's classic (Common's short profile poses in shirt and tie with big glasses are strongly similar to old Kraftwerk album covers).

Lyrical content is still important to Common (whew!), and "Universal Mind Control" covers a few--slightly--over Pharrell's space-age production. Listen closely; this is not Common's usual in-your-face-smoothly style. Instead, the Chicago rhymer intermingles thoughts on materialism in the music industry with his own Kanye West-like boasts on outfits, fly girls and Grand Maurnier. Thematically not what listeners have come to know and love in Common's music, this track may require a second or even third listen. Take the listen; it is good music.

Common ft. Pharrell: ANNOUNCEMENT (Reupped and Playing)

I know what my man Rich is thinking right about now: I stop by your spot sometimes and see nothing new, and then you suddenly have 50 MILLION posts!

SO! LOL!

Common's INVINCIBLE SUMMER project has not received an effective release date, but new tracks and videos are showing up on every decent music site and blog. This Little X-directed collaboration with Pharrell, "Announcement," premiered on Okayplayer today. Enjoy, and I THINK I am done with blogging for the day.

By the way, the chocolate lady who gets in the "Lincoln" with Com--MAAAAAAAN! High-five for Jesus...

Common Feat. Pharrell - Announcement (New)
by wonderful-life1989

We Still Have a Duty

During the last local election here in San Diego, I broke the cardinal rule of the Harris-Wilson-Maine-Morgan family:

Vote, lest ye deny your duty.

Sadly, I had little choice; EACH of the candidates for city government posts placed a brother's "spidey-sense" on high-alert vibrate. How sad this truth is, and how shameful it leaves me even now, that I felt powerless to choose someone who could best lead this city. Voting, at its very kernel, is meant to EMPOWER people, yet I felt civilly limp, impotent, and Viagra-less. That feeling was worse than any childhood nightmare.

I pray that I never feel that way ever again. The current President of the United States was able to get into power a second time thanks to voter apathy and a purchased vote, and the nation has been living with the constant abuse of our collective hope and intelligence since the first day of his second administration. Election time is coming 'round again soon, and I pray that the candidates who follow "Tricky Dubby" show more poise and civil respect than Bush has during his entire presidency. I am non-partisan, but I support Barack Obama for president because I feel he is what he displays. I don't agree with his every policy position, but I see a man who understands the need to renew the soil of American hope and and to restore global confidence in the United States again.

In the only words Jesse Jackson speaks that actually stand for something, "keep hope alive."

The opinions expressed on this blog are just that--opinions--and are the sole proprietary thought of the writer. If you happen to agree, please accept a soul shake; if not, so what?

Welcome Back to the Soul in Music

Raphael Saadiq is back, and he brought his A-game in a smooth way. His new project brings fond memories of the first time I heard Tony Toni Tone's SONS OF SOUL album, with its beautiful gritty/smooth mixture of classic soul sounds that haunted and moved the course of my love life for a few years. This new CD, THE WAY I SEE IT, promises to be a step in the right direction for every listener who loves REAL music, true love songs, and musicality that sets quite a high scale for the music industry today. Thanks to my lil-piece-o'-musical-paradise-online, Okayplayer, you can enjoy four tracks from the project AND this cool new video. Enjoy, and dance close to someone you love if you can.

Mmmmm...Sweeeeeeeeeet? Where's my lady love? Come here and dance with your man!

Another Knowles Experience?

I will not compare Beyonce to Solange; talent stands on its own. Beyonce's style grew on me, due in no small part to the fact that she's built like a Commodores song and that she sounds like a force of nature. Her talented sister Solange is growing on me, too. Listening to Solange's new project, SOL-ANGEL AND THE HADLEY STREET DREAMS is akin to taking a tour through a museum of sounds. Touting SICK vocal range (turns out Beyonce ain't the only killa in the family), Solange's sophomore CD may take a patient listen on some tracks, but it will grow on you. She mines great sound fields--Shuggie Otis, Diana Ross, TSOP, and other legendary influences--to make a surprisingly unique and impressive project. Just don't try to figure out the choreography/song combinations as you watch her live...

Check out her performance of her new vibe, "Sandcastle Disco," on David Letterman's show. Enjoy.

And Now...Prepare for the End

Whoa! This is not some apocalyptic notice of doom and gloom, true believer, so keep your happy face shining. The Olympic ceremony, incredible as it was [the sky-runner lighting the torch blew my mind], reminded me that summer is nearly over. Even SoCal, where the rain is [normally] scarce in the summer months, enjoys the prettiest sunrises and sunsets in the summertime. In tribute to the seasons' changing, I present to you my favorite ode to summer gladness and madness, Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince performing "SUMMERTIME." Enjoy it, and cherish every remaining day.

Music:The Newest Fix

Nuff respect to Kanye West and Okayplayer for providing a visual for one of my favorite mixtape cuts of the year! Bentley Farnsworth's upcoming CD (whenEVER it drops) is at the bottom of my list of "must-haves," but this single--"EVERYBODY"--is a pretty strong contender for "knock-worthy beat #1" on my next cd burn. Enjoy, and let me know if it moves your BACK-ground.

Jonzin' for New Music

I read recently that Virgin Records is releasing a "Greatest So Far" collection for D'angelo. I hope that doesn't mean that the new CD he was slated to release this year hasn't gone away...

Groove and enjoy, people.



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Now playing: Common - Southside ft. Kanye West
via FoxyTunes

...And Her Name Means "Hope"

I'm a sucker for young artists who have old-school music leanings. Esperanza Spalding is a new name for me, but I predict that I'll listen to her for a lifetime. Thanks to Okayplayer for giving me a fresh dose of new sound.

Exodus

Hope, lyrics, and freedom: three forces of nature. This is Rhymefest. Listen to great lyricism and social commentary in one compelling piece.

Four Women

Nina Simone.

Needed a Walk Down Memory Lane

Dig some good music from my good old days.