It’s official, Christmas came early. The King of Neo-Soul, the one and only D’Angelo dropped a single in over 15 years. It has a been a long journey for D’Angelo, he has had some ups and downs throughout his career, but no one ever questions his talent and voice. Again, he doesn’t miss a step on the new single Sugah Daddy, the production has a funky sound that gets your head boppin while D’Angelo’s smooth but raw voice floats over. There has been talk about the Black Messiah album dropping, but I didn’t want to get played, but there is a concrete sign that the album will be dropping the near future. Check out the new single!
Soul
I haven’t heard too much the Australian songstress MAÏA, I was lucky to hear her new single Life Is A Lie and I was blown away by her voice. MAÏA’s chilled vocals goes perfectly with the funky airy production. You can check out a few other tracks on her soundcloud. I can’t wait to hear more from MAÏA, hopefully there is an EP or a full length album in the works.
The Melbourne based group Hiatus Kaiyote is back with a new EP , it is tragically named By Fire because of the loss of Nai Palm’s father in a house fire. While the loss of her father is tragic, I believe with this EP, she is trying to celebrate his life. The sound and rhythms are more gentle and cheerful with her soulful voice coming through. The EP drops Dec 2nd, and their second full length album will drop in 2015. Cop it!
Bonobo’s super successful release The North Boarders exposed world to Szjerdene and her lovely voice. Even though she has released her own EP patchwork in 2013 (check it out if you haven’t), her collaboration with with Bonobo really turned some heads. Even though The North Boarders album was released in 2013, Szjerdene and Bonobo keep releasing reworks, or live sessions from the album. A few days ago, she released a stripped down live session of Transits and man she kills it. I think I love this version even more than the original. The simplicity of the piano keys and her voice is amazing, she has one of the smoothest voices out there. Check it out below!
I am the biggest sucker for a smooth voice, I don’t know what it is, but there is something special being serenaded. by a dope voice The ultra talented Claire Renee collaborates with Bagir-Ba to release the new EP Breaking Codes. The first thing that you will notice is her voice, it is so pleasant. The futuristic soulful production laid down by Bagir-Ba creates the perfect landscape for Claire Renee’s voice to flow over. Regardless of the tempo and rhythm produced by Bagir-Ba, Claire Renee makes every track the star of EP. Don’t sleep and cop this EP, it is free!
Music transcends all, regardless of distance, culture, and language great music can be created. The intercontinental collabo between the Danish producer Galimatias and the 20 year old Ohio native Alina Baraz is something special, it was meant to be. I can’t get enough of their track Fantasy, I am not exaggerating, she has one of the smoothest voice I have heard in a long time. Check it out!
Aaron Livingstone aka Son Little is ready to drop his new EP Things I Forgot on November 11th on the ANTI- imprint. While in his past, he has collaborated with such artists as the Roots and RJD2, Son Little is going solo and creatively directing this EP. He has already released a few singles off the EP, the acoustic version of Cross My Heart is almost a new track in itself. The session was for Sessions Acoustiques series from Le Bruit Des Graviers, the emotion in this performance is great. While the rawness of his voice is balanced perfectly over the soft acoustic guitar. If you like that bluesy soulful rock, I highly recommend grabbing this EP. Son Little is the real deal!
BJ The Chicago Kid has been pretty quiet since his highly acclaimed debut album Pineapple Now-Laters, which dropped in 2012. He is slowly dropping singles which hopefully will lead to another full length album in the near future. One of these singles is Real Love Never Dies, with the support of a full band; he pays homage to the Godfather of Soul James Brown’s song King Heroin. Even though the subject of the song is much different than original, the soul and passion behind the song is still present. BJ’s voice effortlessly flows over the instrumental and you get mesmerized by soulfulness. Check out the video of the demo below and another single Perfect. Don’t sleep, he comes correct!
Sometimes sleeping on albums isn’t a bad thing, after the hype disappears from everybody else, you get to enjoy the music without any influences. You get to listen to the album with a clean slate and make your own unbiased judgements. In this post, I don’t want to be that hype, I don’t want influence your listening experience. All I am going to say is that I slept big time on Rachel Foxx! Let me know what you think!
As of late, I have just been listening to old soul, there is just something about it that just gets you going. I don’t know whether it is the lyrics, the singers, or the just sound or maybe it is the combination of the three, but it has just this passion and emotion that I feel is missing with new music. Modern music hasn’t forgotten this golden period, many artists cover these classics trying to give it a revamp sound while staying true to the originals. Check out the talented Gregory Porter’s version of You Send Me, while it has more of a jazzier sound than the original, he gives it justice. You can feel that old sound come through, I think Sam Cooke would approve. Check out the video below!









