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Maxwell: BLACKsummers’ Night
The best way to listen to Maxwell’s new “BLACKsummers’ Night” is with the volume turned all the way up. The R&B artist didn’t take a turn toward heavy metal during the eight years he’s spent between releasing albums; this one, like his previous three, is full of meditative jams written on the continuum between ardor [...]
Continue reading...Laura Izibor: Let The Truth Be Told
25. October 2009
The Irish diva is soon to go global via her debut album on Atlantic. This album from the young Dubliner was set to be released on Jive Records three years ago, but got shelved. Then, another label, Atlantic, took their time in deciding just when it should see be released. “Let The Truth Be Told” [...]
Continue reading...Johnson&Jonson: Johnson & Jonson
10. January 2009
Blu certainly is valedictorian of the 2007 class. This Los Angeles emcee can’t slow down, and releasing project after project, he excelled quickly from rap fan to gracing XXL covers, and collaborating with a crop of peers that just want to share his spotlight. After the magic of Below The Heavens was followed with the [...]
Continue reading...Common: Universal Mind Control
10. January 2009
Everything’s wacky in Chicago hip-hop these days: Kanye West is all mopey and contemplative, while Common has just landed on Planet Rock. “This is that new shit/It don’t feel the same,” goes the hook to the title track of the rapper/actor’s latest, which, in its employment of the entire soundtrack from the Atari 2600 edition [...]
Continue reading...Q-Tip: The Renaissance
21. December 2008
Q-Tip’s solo career reads like a bad joke. As A Tribe Called Quest’s frontman, he led the alternative hip hop movement and helped establish hip hop as a literate and creative art form during the 90s. After the Native Tongues moved on and ATCQ disbanded, Tip released his solo debut Amplified in 1999 and looked [...]
Continue reading...Yael Naim: Yael Naim and David Donatien
7. November 2008
Despite the Western world’s increasing cultural diversity, there are still many who have geography-class preconceptions about the shape, size and color of the package in which they’ll find an indigenous treat. Multilingual singer/songwriter Yael Naim confounds preconceptions like these on the self-titled release she created in her apartment with co-producer David Donatien. Recording the songs [...]
Continue reading...Jason Mraz: We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things
7. November 2008
From the first track to last Jason Mraz dazzles, perplexes and scintillates on his high-octane 3rd full-length studio album “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things.” His witty, highly individual lyrical style and organic, powerful backing band transform these songs into four minute detours into the mind of the most underrated singer/songwriter of the 2000s. Lead [...]
Continue reading...Video: Winter Warming Without Global Warming
7. November 2008
National Geographic shows us how to warm our homes, without warming the planet. Try these tips to stay comfortable while saving money.
Continue reading...Zamajobe: Ndoni Yamanzi
7. November 2008
“I had a very strong vision in mind for the album,” the artist says of this - her own description. “For me it’s about bringing everything that makes up village life in Africa into an urban setting in a way that’s easy for everyone to relate to.” In pursuit of this vision, Zamajobe again teamed up [...]
Continue reading...Kidz In The Hall: The In Crowd
7. November 2008
Naledge jumps off ‘The In Crowd’ strong in “Black Out,” switching up the flow pace skillfully. Still, with recycled lines like “nice round mics like I was Scott Pippen,” it’s hard to give him props. Naledge’s best work comes on “The Pledge” alongside what emerge as the album’s best two verses by Duck Down stars [...]
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25. October 2009
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