Borrowed from my mom’s record collection about eight years ago, the LP Attica Blues contains a song  “A Blues for George Jackson” by Archie Shepp, which struck me as an odd idea at first. Revolutionary activists and jazz musician, Archie Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida around 1937. He began his career as a recording artist with Bill Dixon, and in 1964 began to record albums with Impulse Records. An extremely talented musician, Shepp is known to be one of the great pioneers of Avant-Garde Jazz music. He plays the alto and soprano saxophone, the piano, sings blues verses, and even raps or “speaks” on his songs. Shepp has recorded over 42 albums working with artists such as Max Roach, the Mal Waldron Trio, Horace Parlan, and John Coltrane. Shepp is still touring a performing today.

The name George Jackson drew me to Shepp. Without giving a full history of George Jackson or “Attica,” I’ll just say that Shepp defined himself as an African American jazz musician and he made musical statements about how he felt. George Jackson was assassinated and this is his blues for him. Recorded at a time of civil rights movement and rebellions in Black communities, it was a politically charged time. The song feels like Shepp has put someone on trial, a chant, or speech with repetitious choruses. Complete with bass, drums, percussion, piano, and a mean saxophone, you feel the emotion in this song. When I hear it I think of how art can really amplify the fight for human rights and social justice with musical notes or paint strokes.

Check out “A Blues for George Jackson” below and let me know what you think!

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We’ve been starving to hear new music from various artists and so far we’ve gotten comeback albums from Maxwell and Sade. There’s talk and speculation surrounding D’Angelo being in the lab and now, to get us even more excited, Lauryn Hill. The question that’s floating around is, is this tune “Repercussions“ new? Hard to decide, as how does one’s voice sound “new” – her voice, is what is it, right? But I will say, the production sounds new. Regardless of its authenticity, I give it the thumbs up and look forward to hearing more from Ms. Hill. Check it out and let me know what you think?

“Repercussions” by Lauryn Hill

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One of the things I love about living in Brooklyn and it being the summer, are the live shows. What was special about this particular show, is it took place at lunchtime, downtown Brooklyn, and featured one of my favourite singers, Bilal Oliver! And boy was it a show! Singing a mixture of songs from his debut album 1st Born Second, the unreleased album Love For Sale, and two songs from his forthcoming official second album, Airtight’s Revenge; the show was a gift. There’s no need for a long preamble; the video below illustrates what you missed if you weren’t there, and if you were there, the video will bring it all back. An amazing talent, with an outstanding vocal range; a voice that is truly an instrument. Bilal has paid his dues ten times over; it is now his time! Airtight’s Revenge releases September 14, 2010. Make sure you support this artist!

Enjoy the video and photos below!

I’ve been saying repeatedly over the past few weeks, “Why isn’t Homeboy Sandman bigger?!!” Had to pull out “Parellel Perpendicular,” tweet about it, complain to a friend about how dope this man is, and why is there so much nonsense out there. Then today, as I did some in-box cleaning, came across a video interview sent to me TWO weeks ago from our friends over at Put Me On It; a video interview with HOMEBOY SANDMAN nonetheless!!! Obviously, I can’t hold out on homeboy any longer. He needs a big up, shout out, and rounds of pounds. If you don’t know him, rid yourself of shame by clicking here to purchase from iTunes to pick up his third album The Good Son, which was released this past June (he’s been making tunes since 2007 people!).

Below are two tunes to wrap your ears around and the Put Me On It interview, which took place a few months ago during SXSW, where they flipped the script by having Homeboy Sandman share his thoughts on Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandi, guilty pleasures, and his frustrations on anti-brown messages in music that US radio sends through hip hop. This homeboy is no light-weight rapper. In fact, the same tenacity and excitement I felt while listening to Jay Electronica was felt with Homeboy Sandman.

“Parallel Perpendicular” from My Crew is Thinner

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“Low Co.” from The Good Son

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With a career spanning over twenty years, Raphael Saadiq‘s musical journey has been nothing short of magical. Having created some of R&B’s best heartfelt ballads, and with an angelical vocal range to make your heart melt. To me, Tony Toni Toné, were the progenitors of Neo Soul; they were doing it long before people even realised it was a movement!

The Central Park SummerStage show on Saturday, July 17 2010, also marked Giant Step‘s 20th Anniversary of Summerstage shows and they couldn’t have chosen a better artist for the celebration! The show started off in high energy, with cuts from his latest 50s retro album, The Way I See It, then quickly turning into a Tony Toni Toné, Raphael Saadiq, and Lucy Pearl revival. When Raphael launched into “Lay Your Head On My Pillow,” it became a beautiful moment of nostalgia for the audience as a each song after song, caused an uproar — “It Never Rains,” “It Feels Good,” “Anniversary,” “Just Me and You” (from the Boyz n’ the Hood soundtrack), “Ask of You” (from the Higher Learning soundtrack), to Raphael‘s brilliant debut solo album Instant Vintage with “You Should Be Here,” “Skyy…Can You Feel Me?” to Lucy Pearl‘s “Dance Tonight,” all performed effortlessly. We were reminded of how great a contribution Raphael Saadiq has been to R&B, Soul, and Neo Soul. He commanded the stage as though we were in sermon, and we sang with him in praise. A brilliant performance!

R&B singer, Aloe Blacc was the supporting artist, and was a perfect match as he is also embracing 50s retro movement that Raphael is doing right now. The DJ set was provided by the talented singer/DJ Vikter Duplaix.

Check out the photos from the show below!

Flying Lotus – “MmmmHmmm”
Back in May, FlyLo released his second album on Warp Records. His music is so floaty and experimental that you’d expect nothing less than visual euphoria for his music videos. “MmmmHmmm” is just that. Get lost in this one.

K-os – “Zambony”
Last year, I had K-os‘s Yes! album on serious repeat. Still baffles me why this man is not a HUGE star! “Zambony,” shot in movie style, with the opening line of a woman yelling, “Nobody knows what you’re doing?!” The twists and turns of this video leave you asking the same question. It’s all disconnected. Maybe that was the goal, but it’s shot well to keep your attention. Check it out below.

I was cruising through iTunes one day looking for new music when I stumbled across The Guggenheim Grotto. What pulled me in immediately was a beautiful voice that reminded me of Tim Finn from Crowded House, and the search began to learn more about this duo from Dublin, Ireland.  The band’s debut CD, Waltzing Alone, was self-released to immediate critical acclaim in 2005, and they followed that up with Happy the Man in 2008 which only had a small release in the U.S. and Ireland in 2008 before being released to stores in 2009.

The Universe is Laughing is a gorgeous collection of songs that  explore the themes of mankind’s infinite search for love, understanding, wanting and fulfillment. Each song feels like a moment in time where you are getting a glimpse into someone’s soul.  My favorite song is “Ruby Heart” which is just a gorgeous song about being patient while waiting for love: “I’ve been here before/waiting with my arms wide open/like a maestro waiting for his show to start.”  The Guggenheim Grotto also reminds me a bit of my other favorite Irish band from the 1980’s, Prefab Sprout, who also crafted beautiful lyrical songs. Do yourself a favor and download The Universe is Laughing from iTunes you won’t be disappointed.

“Ruby Heart”

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I quite like these fun and unlikely musical collaborations with apparel brands. Last year, we saw Nike team with De La Soul for Are You In?: Nike + Original Run -– a 44-minute musical piece tailored to maintain your correct heart-rate while running. If you missed it, click here for details. Two years ago, Converse started their “Three Artists, One Song” centennial celebration campaign of the Chuck Taylor shoe, starting with Santigold, Julian Casablancas and Pharrell on “My Drive Thru.” The campaign was not only a great success visually, but the three artists produced a great track! Now with their next installment entitled “All Summer,” featuring Kid Cudi, Rostam Batmanglij, and Best Coast, each artist brings their unique styles on the track, synonymously fitting together perfectly, with each artist in their lane — Cudi raps, Rostam on production, and Best Coast on chorus; definitely a breezy cross-over summer anthem.

Here’s the video for “All Summer,” which compliments the song perfectly — mascot heads included! You can also get a free download of the song on Converse’s website here.

If you missed it, Kid Cudi was also featured as one of Converse‘s “You’re It” short videos, where he returns home to Cleveland and reminisces on how his career started.

How often do you come across music that’s good and is actually for a good cause? Rarely. Well, here’s one for you, an album that’s main goal is to raise awareness through what is called Green Hip Hop in an effort to save Mother Earth! All lyrics on Earth Amplified touch on themes of  the environment and socio-political issues of today, covering topics from food and water security, climate change, poverty and prisons, to the potential for social transformation. It’s been a while since an album proactively tackles such subjects against a backdrop of afrobeat, dancehall, funk and old school soul with the jazz vibes of Golden Era Hip Hop.

Earth Amplified is lead by Oakland-based rapper, Seasunz and produced by Brooklyn-based J.Bless, they’ve put together a seminal project that features a host of emcees and singers such as stic.man (dead prez), Killah Priest (Wu-Tang), Zumbi (Zion I), Wes Restless (The Gents, Dynamic Vibrations), Rocker T (Jah-Warrior Shelter) and Jahiti (Brownfish), to name a few.

Ten percent of the proceeds from Earth Amplified will go to the Green Job Training Fund at the Oakland Green Youth Arts and Media Center. Earth Amplified “is the conscious rap of 2010 – edgy, unrelenting, textured and melodically complex, unwilling to shy away from a real look at the world we’re living in.”

Check out a couple of tracks below and then head over the Bandcamp and download a copy! “Lady Justice” is also for free download.

If you’re in the New York area, Earth Amplified’s album release party is on Thursday, July 15 at 9:30pm at Rose Live Music located at 345 Grand Street (btw Havemeyer and Marcy), Brooklyn, New York. Live performances from Mobius Collective NYC and DJ set by Chazo.

If you’re looking for an album you can just let play, LISTEN!!! is it! Hitting us with his third release, DiViNe SeVeN, hails from Pittsburgh, PA, a town that is often forgotten. But know that big things are happening in the city of Pittsburgh.

On LISTEN!!!, DiViNe SeVeN teamed up with Shade Cobain (Shade Cobain was featured Muphoric Sounds last month – check it out here) for the production and collaborated with a few friends from Pittsburgh, such as A.P.E.X, Tabu Mahogany, Jon Quest, Beedie, Living Proofe, Vaig, and L. King who all sprinkle their distinct flavours on the album. What you get are gritty tunes, with hard slapping beats, dirty basslines, which are funky and delve through many genres to create interesting sounds. With DiViNe SeVeN‘s lyrical flow laid on top, the music is reminiscent of a DJ Premiere tune. What’s also interesting, while DiViNe SeVeN does not sound like the late Guru, there’s something in his flow that would put one in the mind of him, or his protege’s Group Home.

His previous recordings are The Native Son and Seven Wonders…The EP, which were both released in 2008 to critical acclaim, and he quickly became the staple to underground hip hop in Pittsburgh. DiViNe SeVeN is the recipient of Hip Hop Buffet’s 2008 Best Male and 2009 Best Group Performance awards, and has been nominated for 2009 and 2010 Pittsburgh Hip Hop Awards Underground Artist of The Year. Definitely an artist to watch out for. He is currently working on his next album, The Life and Times of Dat Turner, and a mixtape entitled De Talk About: Vol. 1, which are both scheduled to release towards the end of the year, early 2011.

Check out a couple of cuts below and get yourself a copy of LISTEN!!!, a solid album which can be downloaded for FREE here! Let me know what you think.

The Roots need no introduction, however given the state of the music industry, a mention on Muphoric Sounds is necessary.

How I Got Over was released last week Tuesday, June 21, the same day as Eminen‘s album Recovery. The first week of sales, Eminem reached a whopping 741,413 units sold (34% digital), and The Roots, a quiet figure of 50,961 (42% digital). What does this say about Hip Hop? The answers are so varied, I could write a dissertation on it.

What’s baffling is, a group like The Roots, who tour tirelessly across the world, where their music touches all ages, from college students to money earners approaching middle age, and still they struggle for notoriety in this business.

With How I Got Over, The Roots collaborate with a great mix of artists such as, blu., Phonte, John Legend, Patty Cash, Raw Dice, Joanna Newsome, and many more. It’s such a solid piece of work. It’s rare that you can press play and let it run its course. Lyrically, spot on, with lines like, “I want the girl of my dreams to give me Einstein” to “Technology turning everybody into zombies,” How I Got Over should not be esoteric, but owned by all who listen to urban, alternative music.

So with this, I urge you to go and get yourself a copy of How I Got Over HERE and support good music.

“Doing it Again” feat. John Legend

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“Now or Never” feat. Phonte, Dice Raw

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“Summer’s Coming“ is light, whimsical, and melodic; a wonderful way to enforce this beautiful summer we’re having. Produced by UK-based Nu-Jazz, Electronica DJ Waiwan, “Summer’s Coming” is a perfect blend for Cecilia Stalin‘s voice.

Cecilia Stalin was first put on our radar when she collaborated with Nu-Jazz duo Koop on their tune “Waltz for Koop,” which went on to be featured in Woody Allen’s film, Match Point. Now based in London since 2007, she has collaborated with producers Daz-I-Kue, Waiwan, Keyon Harrold, Dhundee, and Drew Horley and has sang backing vocals The Streets, Alysha Dixon, Nate James, and Mutya Buena.

Take a look at the video for “Summer’s Coming” below. It is available for download on her Bandcamp page. Get it HERE! And we’ll keep you posted on her future projects.

Back in March, Muphoric Sounds introduced to you Nikki & Rich, the sultry pop-retro-soul duo. Their sound, aptly described on their website as “Lauryn Hill meets The Supremes while hanging out with Alicia Keys, and listening to Outkast‘s “Hey Yah!” is the perfect description really. Check out some of the highlights from their showcase, which took place on Tuesday, June 29th at New York’s Ramscale Penthouse in the West Village and was brought to us by the Steve Madden Music Series. Expect to see more of this dynamic duo, whose debut album Everything is scheduled to release next month.