I’m one of those who can only enjoy R&B if it’s 30 years old, but I make an exception for Raphael Saadiq, whose album The Way I See It is a great throwback to the Motown/Stax era. “Come On Home” is the UK bonus track. Check it out if you need a break from being verbally assaulted by your music. Also, the guy can light up a stage.
Damn, I need to start watching Dancing with the Stars. Raphael Saadiq opened the show with a killer performance complete with energetic back up singers and dancers. Saadiq has excellent showmanship. Have you ever seen a rapper give that kind of performance?
Mr. World Premier via The Young Kingz Daily 2.0
Also, here’s Saadiq performing “Love that Girl” on The Tavis Smiley Show.
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I was bumping this a lot when an early version, which I’ve included, leaked back in January. Busta Rhymes and company sign a heartfelt song about being there for your friends and Mr. Porter provides an appropriately clean and classy beat. Am I the only one who thinks the inclusion of both Jamie Foxx and John Legend is redundant?
via 2dopeboyz
Sphere: Related ContentSaturday Night Live’s digital shorts come correct with another jam, this time around Timberlake & Samberg dump the boxes, and go in with an anthem for all the mother lovers out there. Happy Mothers Day.
Sphere: Related ContentVia Exclaim!
Okay, this is a few days old, but it’s worth hearing. Not as surprising of a combo as you might expect. GZA made a few appearances on the Atlanta garage rock band’s SXSW tour, and seem to have become fast friends. As for the track itself, it’s…interesting.
The band’s playing is a bit too sloppy for GZA to ever gain a foothold, so he stumbles over the song’s reverbed haze. The verse was also clearly recorded separately from the Black Lips’s playing; GZA’s voice sounds too clear compared to the distant vocals on the backing track. The twangy, dusty vibe of the song isn’t too far removed from some of the spacier stuff on Liquid Swords. Nonetheless, I’d much rather hear GZA spitting with the El Michels Affair, or better yet, a full-length collaboration between the band and the Clan. It just makes more sense, especially in light of the Affair’s recent cover album of Wu-Tang instrumentals, Enter The 37th Chamber.
And here’s another reminder of how good El Michels and the Wu sound together:
Like I mentioned before, I rarely post videos..but I had to chirp in about this video, just because of the WTF values of the song/video. This song itself is like as if Lil Kim was itching to make an anthem dedicated to Motorola 2 Way pagers, but didn’t have time to release it (I wonder why?), so she tried to modernize it as an anthem about the internets. Who is this even geared towards? The group of dudes that were in amnesia for the last decade and are desperately looking to Lil Kim to school them on the topic of the internet? At least, there is home honesty in the video, Windows XP reigns supreme! Also, Charlie Wilson (who I do enjoy normally) is not needed in this video..at all. Lastly, you know we are in a recession when instead of using Minority Report style super computers you’d expect to see ala Hype Williams video, you get sub-$300 acer notebooks?? No matter what, in the end, it’s safe to say that Lil Kim is proponent of sexting.
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I just came back from an unventilated apartment full of drunk chicks and douchebag guys bellowing Bruce Springsteen. This track by singer/producer Slakah the Beatchild is exactly what I needed: an easygoing, relaxing neo-soul jam. Slakah’s album Soul Movement Vol. 1 is a great way to dead all your stress for an hour.
There’s actually another version of this song without Drake and it has a pretty dope video, which is rare these days.
via Fresh Selects
Sphere: Related Contentverrrry thin iceeeeeeeeee. Ok I def. found myself bopping my head and playing these back… do I need intense counseling?
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Randy Cain, a founding member of Philly soul group the Delfonics, died on Thursday according to the Philadelphia Daily News. The cause of death remains unknown. The Delfonics’ falsetto harmonies are synonymous with Philly soul. There’s nothing as silky smooth as Randy and company crooning over Thom Bell’s lush production. Pay your respects by making some babies to Mr. Cain’s music tonight.
File under: R&B we fuck with. Chrisette’s last album was a bit uneven, mostly because of the cruddy production. But I dig this a lot. Girl’s got an amazing voice and a lot of character in her singing. Cameo by Drake. According to 2dbz, Her new album comes out on May 19th.
She also nailed the hook on “Can’t Forget About You” on some 40s jazz steez:
