At the beginning of the year, Muphoric Sounds shared with you a video of Bilal and Hezekiah in the studio making finishing touches to Bilal‘s third studio album, to be released on Plug Research Music — home to Om’Mas, Shafiq Husayn, Flying Lotus, Quadron, and Exile. It was announced a few days ago that Airtight’s Revenge now has a set release date — September 14th!

Airtight’s Revenge is co-produced by Steve McKie (Jill Scott, Estelle, Kindred, Vivian Green) with Bilal, and also features production by Nottz (Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Drake), 88 Keys (Mos Def, Macy Gray, Musiq Soulchild), Shafiq Husayn, and Tone Whitefield.

To get us excited and in the mood for the smooth sounds of Bilal, his label has made available for free download a track called “Free,” which is a cover of The Supreme‘s “Automatically Sunshine,” where Bilal brings his vocal prowess to the Motown classic, giving the musical arrangement a grittiness the originally did not possess. This song will not be on Airtight’s Revenge; so it’s suggested you get this download! Check it out below and ENJOY!

“Free” by Bilal (Download provided by InnaTV.com)

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Here’s a taste of one of the things that excites me for 2010 – Bilal Oliver! In this video Bilal and rapper Hezekiah work and talk about the meaning of the song “Think It Over.” The song is produced by 88-Keys, and the album will be released on the Plug Research record label (his label mates include Om’Mas, Shafiq Husayn, Flying Lotus, and Exile). He definitely is around friends and family for this release. Based on this teaser, all Bilal elements will be present — stellar vocals, beautiful but yet real lyrical content against some hard hitting Dilla-esque beats, mixed in with some jazz and my kind of R&B. I can’t wait! Enjoy the video below.

Thanks to Put Me On It for bringing this video to our attention.

My affinity to jazz is limited to the jazz masters and jazz infused music, however listening to Robert Glasper makes you want to bathe in jazz, eat jazz, sleep with jazz, damn it, even dream in jazz. Double Booked, his third Blue Note album, Glasper pulls us into the spectrum of his musical life. Leader of an acclaimed jazz trio, consisting of his longtime bassist Vincente Archer and drummer Chris Dave, and being the most sought after first-call sideman for artists like Mos Def, The Roots, and Q-Tip, Double Booked secures his position as a key player in modern jazz. The album is split between The Robert Glasper Trio, which is the showmanship of his jazz expertise and The Robert Glasper Experience which illustrates that the boom clap is instrumental to rap music. Refashioning Herbie Hancock’s “Butterfly” and giving it that J Dilla edge, it’s no wonder that progressive soul singers and alternative rappers alike are clamoring to work with him.

Currently touring with Maxwell on his BLACKsummer’s Night Tour, Double Booked is scheduled to release August 25th. You can Listen to the full album on his Blue Note website. Just open a separate browser window and have this flow through your computer speakers. One of my favorites, and there are many is the pure beauty in “All Matter” featuring Bilal Oliver. Check it out below.

“All Matter” featuring Bilal Oliver taken from Doubled Booked

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Now go and listen to the full album and mark your calendar with the August 25th release date! You’re going to love it.

Bilal Oliver, to me, is indisputably one of the greatest singers to hit the scene in recent years. And it hasn’t been an easy road for him either. Hitting us with his debut album, 1st Born Second in 2001, with the gems like “Sometimes” and the critically acclaimed songs “Soul Sista” and “Fast Lane,” we eagerly awaited for the sophomore project Love for Sale, which unfortunately leaked and got shelved by Interscope. But this did not stop Bilal. Touring the world and steadily working with some of the best producers and artists in the business (Eryka Badu, J Dilla, Common, Pharrell Williams, Mos Def, 9th Wonder, Musiq, Tiombe Lockhart, Hezekiah, Jay-Z, and even Beyoncé, yo!), to create some of the best timeless songs you’d ever hear. Last year, he and friends Tweet, Dwele, and Joy Denalane, performed at the The Dresden Soul Symphony in Germany, reinterpreting soul hits to a classical orchestra. Right now, the compilation The Return Of Mr. Wonderful (a pseudonym of his) is circulating and is a collection of all of these collaborations and live recordings. It’s a solid mix. The new album, Air Tight’s Revenge is set to release later this year on Bilal’s independent label, Jazzman Music. Check out Hezekiah’s “Lookin’ Up” featuring Bilal below. I had a hard time choosing which song to feature here; but settled on this maybe because it contains subtle elements of Marvin Gaye’s “Time to Get It Together” from the Here, My Dear album.

“Lookin’ Up” by Hezekiah feat. Bilal

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