At first, hearing about Elzhi doing a tribute of Nas‘s Illmatic, I was dubious about the project. How can one do a reworking of what was, and still is, a perfect album? Illmatic was released the spring of 1994, when Nas was only twenty years old. 1994 was the year we received Notorious B.I.G.‘s Ready to Die, Gang Starr‘s Hard to Earn, Pete Rock & CL Smooth‘s Main Ingredient, Jeru the Damaja‘s The Sun Rises in the East, Digable Planet‘s Blowout Comb, Keith Murray‘s The Most Beautifullest Thing in the World, Craig Mack‘s Flavor in Ya Ear, Lords of the Underground, Organized Konfusion, to name a few. East Coast rap was alive and thriving. It hadn’t started drinking gin ‘n juice nor partying hard with Puffy and friends, as Jeru the Damaja rapped on “One Day.”

Elzhi has breathed more life into Illmatic with his tribute Elmatic, and in doing so, he has pushed himself lyrically and sonically, translating Nas‘s storytelling into stories of now, confined to Detroit streets and realism. Not taking anything away from the original, but magnifying musical arrangements by bringing live instrumentation. Elmatic is pure labour of love, produced entirely by funk fusion band Will Sessions, who have worked with Black Milk, Mayer Hawthorne, Slum Village, and Guilty Simpson.  The album has appearances by MC Royce da 5’9, Stokely Williams from Mint Condition, and also Pete Rock, who was one of the original producers of Illmatic alongside DJ Premier, Large Professor, Q-Tip, and L.E.S. All I can say, ”It’s Elmatic, shout outs to the homey, nah son, words from the wise one, make both your eyes run.” I often revisit Illmatic, and now I can include Elmatic to extend my Illmatic-isms. Get your Free Download right now! You’ll have it on heavy rotation!

“Genesis”

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“One Love”

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And check out the video for “Half Time.”

Here’s a little visual treat from our favourite New Zealand band, Electric Wire Hustle. The band’s longtime friend Vibol Moeung of Foxtree Studio in Wellington, ceased the opportunity to follow the band during their New York tour last fall. I was fortunate enough to see them live at the Sugar Cuts event at Haven in Brooklyn, which is also featured in the video vignette. The guys rocked, jammed, funked, jazzed it out! Everywhere they performed, the audience were left on a musical high. Electric Wire Hustle are a force; looking forward to their next project and for their next visit to NYC!

Electric Wire Hustle European Tour Dates
5 June – Coldpro Fest, Co Clare, Ireland
16 June – OTB Block Party 2011, Paris, France
17 June – The Red Bull Music Academy stage @ Sonar, Barcelona, Spain
23 June – The Pussy Parlure, Glastonbury, UK
24 June – Magic Bubble, Glastonbury, UK
26 June – Wow! Stage, Glastonbury, UK
10 July – The Garden Festival, Zadar, Croatia
15 July – The Melkweg, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
16 July – Dour Festival, Belgium
17 July – Colours Of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
22 July – Boogie Brain Festival, Szczecin, Poland
31 July – Applesap Festival, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
4 August – Stadtmusik Festival, Basel, Switzerland
5 August – The Big Chill, UK
6 August – Fasching Jazz Club, Stockholm, Sweden

Back in March, we put you on to the sounds of Mar and his variations, with “Variations 1 + 2“, which were a combination of smooth new soul fused with jazz, and the grit of dubstep. The third variation is provided by DC producer Oddisee, a track of the same title taken from his West Coast Beat album. Though the music remains in its original form, the addition of Mar‘s vocals turn it into something deliciously sexy, as he dedicates the song to “the hard working girls” out in the world. Check out the equally sexy and suggestive video below and get your free download of the track HERE!

If you need to let off steam, then a Game Rebellion show is where you should go. These guys are never short on energy — it comes through in their music and even more in their live performance. Hitting us with their latest video, “Blood” which is directed by visual artist and clothing designer, Artful Dodger, whose visual concepts pull the audience into New York’s Ghetto Metal life. Kind of cool seeing a few familiar faces sprinkled about. Check it out!

Got to give it to J*DaVey on this video!! “Raincheck” being one of my favourite tracks off the The Evil Christian Cop mixtape, due to its staple J*DaVey dose of sexy. Although Brianna sings about wanting a rain check, the visuals, directed by John Mazyck, is quite to the contrary. Let’s just put it this way, it looks like a successful “leg over”; no preceding walk of shame. Love these guys!

The Afro-European princesses Hélène and Célia Faussart of Les Nubians have returned with their highly anticipated third album, Nü Revolution which is deeply rooted in their ancestral sounds of love, liberation, and expressions of freedom. They call this album a celebration of life where the focus of the songs are to spread joy during our times of uncertainty. And this album does just that. It is their most sexiest and most danceable album to date, touching on themes of love, life and freedom, yet staying true to their original Afrobeat sounds. In fact, the collaborations on Nü Revolution are most impressive, including African music legend Manu Dibango on the remake of “Makossa,” calling it “Nü Soul Makossa“; indie soul icon Eric Roberson on “Déjà vu“; Ghanian-American MC Blitz The Ambassador on “Les Gens“; South African pop stars Freshly Ground on “Africa For The Future“; and Polish MC John Banzaï on “Veuillez Veiller Sur Vos Rêves.” What is so striking about Les Nubians is, while they sing mostly in French, it doesn’t hinder appreciation — the music and vocals translate into emotive and delicious feelings. From start to finish Nü Revolution is a celebration of life and living, and more importantly, Africa. Below is a medley of some of the songs from the album, which can be purchased on iTunes, Amazon, or any online retailer of your choice.

Les Nubians – Nü Revolution Snippets

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And watch the ladies do their “Afrodance” in their new video below!

Les Nubians have a pretty tight schedule next month, with a date in New York, next week. Go and see them, if they’re in your city!

Tour Dates:
April 29 – New York, NY @ BB Kings
May 11 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
May 12 – Minneapolis, MN @ Dakota Jazz Club
May 13 – Minneapolis, MN @ Dakota Jazz Club
May 14 – Chicago, IL @ The Shrine
May 17 – Seattle, WA @ The Triple Door
May 18 – Seattle, WA @ The Triple Door
May 19 – San Francisco, CA @ Yoshi’s (2 shows)
May 20 – San Francisco, CA @ Yoshi’s (2 shows)
May 21 – Los Angeles, CA @ Conga Room
May 22 – San Diego, CA @ Anthology
May 24 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Kuumbwa Jazz Center (2 shows)

One of the strongest songs on the Airtight’s Revenge album, “Little One“, which afforded Bilal his first Grammy nomination for the said song, which is a tribute to his son, who is diagnosed with Autism – a developmental disorder that affects the brain and can make communicating and interacting with other people difficult. When one sings from the heart, the rewards can be nothing but great. A beautiful song that is rooted in pure love. Check it out below.

“Dancing” instantaneously has gotten me geared up for London Carnival. This song will be played on every corner by every sound system, and everybody will be forced to whine their waists up. It’s that tune! Omar has been doing quite a few collaborations, and we’re all waiting in anticipation for a new album from the brother — his last solo release was in 2006! It’s time! Omar and Zed Bias (a.k.a Maddslinky) are a great combination together. Last summer they brought us “Special” and with “Dancing” they go deeper in the afro-Caribbean beats, bringing in elements of danceable grime. “Dancing” will be available on Tru Thoughts Records as part of a limited run on vinyl on May 9th, and then digitally from June 27th, 2011 – the summer kick off tune! Additionally, Tru Thoughts Records will be releasing Omar‘s classic album Sing (If You Want It), which features the legendary Stevie Wonder, Angie Stone, Common, and Estelle, with “Dancing” as the bonus track. So if you don’t own it, you’ve got a special treat!

Whatever it is that Ms. Badu has, please can I have some?

More in the vein of a time in the life of, this video floats between Badu playing it up for the camera in a relaxed performance and having us become voyeurs into her lifestyle—a creator, a mother, a partner, a singer, a nurturer, a player—it’s all captured here. It’s actually quite enjoyable to watch, due to its authenticity and Badu being such an arresting subject. Erykah Badu is who she be—like it or lump it! I love this woman!

ERYKAH BADU IN STUDIO from Creative Control on Vimeo.

And now we have it, here’s the video for Don-e‘s “Find You,” using the universally appealing R&B mix, which was actually the first version of the song I heard back in October. Looking forward to hearing the EP when it comes out later in year!

If you haven’t purchased your copy of “Find You“—which comes with 7 great versions of the track—it’s available on Soulm8.com and UK iTunes. Get it!

I came across Nakia Henry during the Myspace heydays — before Muphoric Sounds was even thought of — and remembered her name based on her risqué style, where she turns voyeurism on its head with stunning photography that one has to stop and take note. Her most recent release, Love Letter EP, is a lush track that has all the elements of a 70s groove, reminiscent of William DeVaughn’s “Be Thankful for What You Got” or a Jill Scott track from her first album, where Nakia speaks a perfect love, with someone who’s understanding, supportive, someone who allows her to be free. In part two of “Love Letter,” Nakia stretches the song further vocally and lyrically, where a heavy bass groove, in care of producer, Kenneth Bentley arrests the tune as Farrah Burns and Saddi Khali provide equally compelling lyrics in rhyme over the track. I don’t know how I missed “Love Letter”! Check it out below, if you haven’t heard it yet!

Check out the video below, so you can see this Detroit native her in action.

Let’s just call today, Little Dragon day! I wasn’t able to post this video earlier due to technical limitations but could not let this go unmentioned, especially being a mother myself of a pre-teen child. As mentioned earlier today, Little Dragon are hot on the promotion trail – touring Europe and the US, just finished shows at SXSW, and found time to take a trip to Staten Island’s Public School 22 (P.S. 22). These children are phenomenal! It’s initiatives like these that further illustrate the importance of music in schools. Children need to be rounded in academics, arts, and sports. Kudos to the music teacher for introducing independent music like Little Dragon to a younger generation, who ordinarily wouldn’t be exposed such music. Check out P.S. 22 perform “Twice” with Little Dragon. You might tear up watching this!

Oh how I love thee! Sweden’s Little Dragon have been incessantly touring Europe and the US and just finished live shows at SXSW to rave reviews, with their third album release at the helm. Making their debut US television performance on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show this week, they unveiled the title track from their new album, “Ritual Union“. Sounds like they’re staying close to the Machine Dreams formula, with the electro experimental pop sounds and Yukimi Nagano‘s effortless vocals weaving in and out. I don’t know about you, but I am totally in love with her voice; she can sing over anything and make it sound awesome. Below is a second track that was unleashed on the internets —  “Stå Upp”, which will also be on the album and is scheduled to release within the next month or so. I can’t wait! Enjoy!

“Stå Upp” (via East of LA) – Sorry track removed; was a leak and was unmastered.

“Is This Love” was my least favourite songs from the Kaya album by Bob Marley and the Wailers‘ due to its commercial sound. What Bilal and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson have done, is breathed new life into it, giving it a dimension I am certain Uncle Bob would approve of.

Plug Research approached both Bilal and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson independently about the possibility of collaborating on a project of covers. They both agreed and started working on them last summer. This is the first video of from these sessions, shot by Greg Ponstingl and Denny Kim featuring a cast of talented musicians — Bilal (vocals), Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (musical director, violins), Om’Mas Keith (piano), Dennis Hamm (rhodes), Brendon Coleman (organ), Marcel Camargo (guitar), Gabe Noel (bass), Gene Coye (drums), Allakoi Peete (percussion).  Plug Research will be sharing other renditions over time, so look out for videos of Bilal and crew. “Strangers” by Portishead and “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell are up next!

With his third album just 2 weeks away, acclaimed rapper Pharoahe Monch, hits us with his first visual piece from his forthcoming album W.A.R. (We Are Rengadges) with the single, “Clap”—a powerful video which highlights a police raid gone terribly wrong. Powerfully shot, running ten minutes in length, the imagery, cast of characters, including Pharoahe Monch himself, accentuate his powerful play on words – referencing how police oppression in the community continues to digress; there’s no progress, just more senseless brutality. The irony in the “clap” is so powerful, it chills. An amazing video for an equally powerful track – check it out below and clap to Pharoahe!

The video is directed by Terrance Nance, starring Gbenga Akinnagbe (The Wire), Kim Howard, Josiah Small.  The new album W.A.R. (We Are Rengades) hits stores March 22^nd, and iTunes customers will receive the short film of “Clap” with their purchase.