D’Angelo And The Vanguard: Black Messiah

So, after a 14 year hiatus that has been well-documented, speculated on, dissected, frowned upon, etc, D’Angelo, with his band, The Vanguard, drops a new album without much ceremony. The Wait And close to two years after Questlove said, in a Billboard interview…"Right now, we're just tightening up the loose ends. But I still stand by, 99% of it is done….I would not be far off by saying this is probably my generation's version of Sly (and the Family Stone's) 'There's a Riot Goin' On.' It's potent. It's funky. It's an extremely hard pill to swallow. He's one of those artists that have, of...

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Digital Crates: DJ Chicken George

In the beginning: When I came to the realisation that, to hear good music, I couldn’t solely depend on radio, television, record labels and all the other components of the ‘formal’ music industry for music – because for many, it is simply a business, man. I stumbled upon DJ Chicken George. Talib Kweli either tweeted about him or tweeted him and, for some reason, that I can’t remember, I felt compelled enough to search out his podcasts, Peddlin’ Jazztronica!, starting with iTunes and then also on his site. While hip hop remains a strong foundation, Chicken George marries that cultural...

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Digital Crates: TVOne’s Unsung

Our stories hold lessons that others could benefit from. While there are those whose journey is smooth, without nary a ruffle, for most of us, life is an exercise in experience gathering, not always positive but generally of value, even when it doesn't seem to at the time. The idea of artists being overnight sensations is one that some try to push but the reality is that, for many, the trip to stardom is littered with potholes, burning drums and other potentially apocalyptic trials. In some ways, this is what makes the achievement even sweeter. We put people on pedestals. We celebrate their...

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Digital Crates: DJ Mike Rizzy

One random evening, I was trawling though iTunes podcasts in search of a decent classic soul / R&B mix for bedtime – I generally need music to fall asleep and have even created sleep playlists for me to doze off to. I downloaded single episodes from different ones to get a sense of whether they were worth it or not. And then I came across DJ Mike Rizzy’s  and this has become one of my go-to podcasts  with wonderful mixes of hip hop, soul, R&B, 80s, reggae, old school and the like. Some of my favourites are below with his comments and track listing (Click on headings to link to actual...

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A layman’s thoughts on Maxwell’s BLACKsummers’night

After 8 years out of the music limelight, Maxwell released BLACKsummers’night, a return to the sound that laid the foundation for neo-classical soul. With this album, he showed that, despite being away from the music scene, he still has the ability to create classic, timeless music that moves the spirit and feeds the soul. Musically, it is a journey into the soul; a return to music that is best played live, each song a crafted masterpiece.

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