The month is flying by: Today is February 11, the 11th day of Black History Month. And if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past month, I’ve been proudly featuring Black artists across a wide and eclectic array of genres and styles that I think can guide you towards further understanding of the Black experience. Of course, I hope that throughout this month you’ll remember — and appreciate the following:
Black culture is American culture — and Black music is American music.
America’s greatest and beloved contributions to the world are Black music styles — the blues, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll and hip-hop.
Black art matters.
Black lives matter — all of them, all of the time.
Simply put, Stevie Wonder is a genius and a treasure. We should appreciate him, love him and protect him for the rest of his days. This post is centered around live footage — and the live footage from the 70s is transcendent. Seriously.
February 10 is the tenth day Black History Month. And if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past month, I’ve been proudly featuring Black artists across a wide and eclectic array of genres and styles that I think can guide you towards further understanding of the Black experience. Of course, I hope that throughout this month you’ll remember — and appreciate the following:
Black culture is American culture — and Black music is American music.
America’s greatest and beloved contributions to the world are Black music styles — the blues, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll and hip-hop.
Black art matters.
Black lives matter — all of them, all of the time.
Tonight I thought it would be best to write about Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul. You can Google any pertinent biographical information but I have a story about ‘retha that I’ve mentioned on several occasions: I landed in Amsterdam Schiphol Airport early in the morning one mid-January Sunday. After going through customs and retrieving my suitcase — a suitcase that I had gratefully borrowed from a girlfriend — I took the commuter train into Amsterdam Centraal Station to discover that I had a couple of hours before anything was open.
A smiling, blonde waitress waved me in a few minutes before they were about to open. They had an oldies radio station on the air, playing familiar and beloved hits from a variety of decades. Within about two hours of being in Amsterdam, I was reminded of how ubiquitous Black music and culture are, and how important the Queen of Soul is when this radio station started playing ‘retha — and the waitress happily sung along in slightly accented English. Now, whenever I hear ‘retha, I think of that Dutch waitress singing along.
Today is the ninth day of Black History Month. And if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past few days of this month, you’d see that I’ve been featuring Black artists across a wide and eclectic array of genres and styles that I think can guide you towards understanding the Black experience.
Through the month — and throughout the year, I hope that you’ll come to understand and appreciate the following:
Black culture is American culture
Black music is American music.
Black history is American history.
America’s greatest and beloved contributions to the world are Black music styles — the blues, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll and hip-hop.
Black art matters.
You can’t love black art and black artists without loving black people.
Black lives matter — all of them, all of the time.
I was awakened to see an alert from CNN that read “Mary Wilson, co-founder of The Supremes dead at 76.” I knew then that a tribute post to Wilson — and the legendary Supremes would be necessary.
The Supremes were one of the best selling, most popular acts of their day. They were also among a handful of Black acts that saw widespread mainstream success: They were not only Ed Sullivan Show mainstays, they were on practically every single variety show and entertainment show in the country — and they knocked off The Beatles from the top spot of the charts, eventually dominating the charts with hit after hit after hit after hit.
Today is the sixth day of Black History Month. And if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past few days of this month, you’d see that I’ve been featuring Black artists across a wide and eclectic array of genres and styles that I think can guide you towards understanding the Black experience.
Through the month — and throughout the year, I hope that you’ll come to understand and appreciate the following:
Black culture is American culture
Black music is American music.
Black history is American history.
America’s greatest and beloved contributions to the world are Black music styles — the blues, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll and hip-hop.
Black art matters.
You can’t love black art and black artists without loving black people.
Black lives matter — all of them, all of the time.
I love The Whispers. I’ve found some way to mention them throughout my years as a music journalist. And I have at least one DJ set where the legendary R&B act comes up prominently. This shouldn’t be surprising: there’s a lot of nostalgia that comes up with them. I can remember hearing “Rock Steady” being played on the AM radio of my father’s brown 1979 Dodge Aspen with the busted air conditioning. But I mean let’s be honest, if you want to have a party — and you what everyone to dance, play The Whispers.
During Clem’s weekly video request night, someone — mostly me — winds up requesting The Whispers. And as a result, it’s a group obsession. So there’s that, too.
Today is day two of Black History Month. And throughout this month I’ll feature Black artists across a wide and eclectic array of genres and styles that I think can guide you towards understanding the Black experience. Throughout the month I hope that you’ll appreciate these facts:
Black culture is American culture — and Black music is American music.
Black history is American history. The end.
America’s greatest and beloved contributions to the world are Black music styles — the blues, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll and hip-hop.
Black art matters.
Black lives matter — all of them, all of the time.
When I got up today, my mind was set on one thing: the legendary Chaka Khan, one of the greatest voices in R&B and pop. Her flirtatious and brash cover of Prince’s “I Feel For You” still slaps — and it was one of the first pop songs to prominently feature rap in any fashion, presaging much of what you’ve heard on the radio over the past 35 years. “I’m Every Woman” is a joyous feminist anthem. And she was down with the Black Panthers in their heyday. So fuck yes to all o that.
Today is the first day of Black History Month. And throughout this month I’ll feature Black artists across a wide and eclectic array of genres and styles that I think can guide you towards understanding the Black experience. Throughout the month I hope that you’ll appreciate these facts:
Black culture is American culture — and Black music is American music.
America’s greatest and beloved contributions to the world are Black music styles — the blues, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll and hip-hop.
Black art matters.
Black lives matter — all of them, all of the time.
Prince. I mean what the fuck can I say about Prince? I don’t think the guy was capable of writing a bad song, ever. So enjoy some of my personal favorites from the Purple One.
The Roskilde-born, London-based JOVM mainstay first gained attention as a solo artist in her native Denmark, quickly becoming a three-time Scandinavian Soul Award winner. Since relocating to London, the Danish-born JOVM mainstay has become an international sensation, crafting a warm and ethereal sound with elements of jazz, classic soul and contemporary R&B.
Dahlstrom has been extremely busy: After successful collaborations with Tom Misch and Alfa Mist, the Roskilde-born, London-based JOVM mainstay released her highly-anticipated, critically applauded full-length debut Like Sand. Recorded in Los Angeles, Copenhagen, and London, the album features collaborations with James Vickery,Jeremy Passion, Elijah Fox,Beau Diako and a list of others. Dahlstrom also continued her ongoing work with the multi-national, all-female artist collective Her Songs — with the act releasing the Toronto Vol. 1 EP.
Capping off a prolific year, Dahlstom teamed up with London-based producer Dan Diggas and Canadian emcee Aligo on a collaborative EP together 4inaRow. Slated for a a Friday release through Dahlstrom’s JFH Records, 4inaRowwas conceived around a central idea — writing and recording four-track EP in just four nights. Essentially, the EP was essentially an experiment in writing, recording and producing purely on impulse.
Each of the EP’s four songs was recorded between 8:00pm and midnight during four nights in January 2020 — and each individual song has its own story to tell. Generally speaking the process was centered around Diggas providing beats and production while the Roskilde-born, London-based JOVM mainstay and Algo shared vocal duties. “Marie and I lived in the JFH flat for a little over a year and after a few months we figured out a way for us to really tap in and make music together.” Aligo says about the creative process behind the forthcoming EP. “We told ourselves every night for 4 straight days we are going to tackle a pack of beats that Dan made while he was on tour with Mahalia. Theme-wise there wasn’t a plan at first but we knew we wanted to explore different emotions and feelings with each night that passed. By the end we noticed the songs came together in a cohesive way that demonstrated a four stage cycle of love/relationships.”
Late last year, I wrote about 4inaRow‘s first single “Fall Down,” a slickly produced yet delicate mix of soulful, contemporary pop, Quiet Storm soul and hip-hop centered around twinkling keys, skittering beats and dueling verses between Dahlstrom and Aligo. The song manages to capture a relationship in a transitional period in which the couple’s resolve and desire to remain together is being tested — and from the perspective of both people involved. “”Fall Down’ is an ode to arguments that can be common at times, but left untreated could ruin a relationship,” Dahlstrom explained in press notes. “Like autumn, this song is a transition period to a colder and more challenging part of the year and symbolic of the changes that can occur when this happens in relationships: ‘consequences get the best of you.'”
The soon-to-be released EP’s second and latest single “Rising” is slow-burning and shimmering hybrid of Quiet Storm R&B, contemporary pop and hip-hop. Centered round wobbling synths, finger snaps, skittering trap-like beats, “Rising” evokes the swooning, butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling of a new love/new situationship. And at its core, the song is a powerful reminder that love — and the desire to be loved, are all too human.
“‘Rising’ to me feels like the song you hear at the end of a good movie. It tells the second chapter of a love story after the initial spark: Honeymoons and bright flames,” Aligo says in press notes. “An ode to people in love, the lyrics definitely put you in that feel good space and remind the people that might not be in love at the moment, that there is something for everyone out there. It’s about when the moment comes and the temperature rises.”
“Dan’s beat reminded me a bit of butterflies in the stomach when I’m love, and that’s what went on to inspire my lyrics for the track,” Dahlstrom added.
The Roskilde-born, London-based JOVM mainstay first gained attention as a solo artist inn her native Denmark, quickly becoming a three-time Scandinavian Soul Award winner. Dahlstrom relocated to London, where she has become an international sensation while crafting a warm and ethereal sound that features elements of jazz, classic soul and contemporary R&B.
After successful collaborations with Tom Misch and Alfa Mist, Dahlstrom released her critically applauded full-length debut Like Sand, an effort that was recorded in Los Angeles, Copenhagen, and London and features collaborations with James Vickery,Jeremy Passion, Elijah Fox,Beau Diako and a list of others. Dahlstrom also released the Toronto Vol. 1 EPwith the multi-national, all-female artist collective Her Songs. Capping off a prolific year, Dahlstom teamed up with London-based producer Dan Diggas and Canadian emcee Aligo on a collaborative EP together 4inaRow.
Slated for a a January 15, 2021 release through Dahlstrom’s JFH Records, 4inaRow was conceived around a central idea — writing and recording four-track EP in just four nights, And as a result, the EP was essentially an experiment in writing, recording and producing purely on impulse. Each of the EP was recorded between 8:00pm and midnight during four nights in January 2020 — and each individual song has its own story to tell. Generally speaking the process was centered around Diggas providing beats and production while the Roskilde-born, London-based JOVM mainstay and Algo shared vocal duties.
“Marie and I lived in the JFH flat for a little over a year and after a few months we figured out a way for us to really tap in and make music together.” Align says about the creative process behind the forthcoming EP. “We told ourselves every night for 4 straight days we are going to tackle a pack of beats that Dan made while he was on tour with Mahalia. Theme-wise there wasn’t a plan at first but we knew we wanted to explore different emotions and feelings with each night that passed. By the end we noticed the songs came together in a cohesive way that demonstrated a four stage cycle of love/relationships.”
“Fall Down,” 4inaRow EP‘s first single is features a slickly produced yet delicate mix of soulful contemporary pop, Quiet Storm soul, and hip hop centered around twinkling keys, skittering beats and dueling verses between Dahlsrom and Aligo, who rhymes a verse and sings a dueling perspective verse with the JOVM mainstay. The song captures a relationship in an odd transitional period in which the couple’s resolve and desire to remain together is being tested.
“”Fall Down’ is an ode to arguments that can be common at times, but left untreated could ruin a relationship,” Dahlstrom explains. “Like autumn, this song is a transition period to a colder and more challenging part of the year and symbolic of the changes that can occur when this happens in relationships: ‘consequences get the best of you'”.
Brittany Campbell is a Los Angeles-based R&B artist, animator and actor and activist. Joining the Metropolitan Opera at an early age, Campbell went on to act in and star in a number of Broadway productions including a little one by the name of Hamilton, where she met her girlfriend Candace Quarrels — and formed the R&B and folk duo Mermaid, whose forthcoming full-length album features production by Matt Otto and Sam Hoffman.
Campbell has also released material as a solo artist, releasing her full-length debut, 2018’s Stay Gold, which revealed a songwriter, who could craft earnest, lived-in songs paired with a self-assured vocal range. The Los Angeles-based artist, animator, actor and activist’s creative passion and curiosity led her to become a self-taught animator, who has created videos for supermodel/vocalist Shaun Ross, as well as for her work.
Born Philip Johnson-Richardson, Phil. is a Charlotte-born, New York-based singer, emcee, dancer and actor, who immediately upon finishing his degree in musical theater at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music joined the cast of the Chicago production of Hamilton, where he eventually starred in the titular role. Since starring in Hamilton, the rapidly rising talent has managed to land a number of prominent acting gigs, appearing in TV shows like Chicago P.D., Proven Innocent, The Other Two and the the horror film Haunt. He was also cast as a series regular in the Sara Bareilles and JJ Abrams created Apple TV+ series Little Voice. And adding to a incredibly busy period, the Charlotte-born, Chicago-based singer, emcee, dancer and actor will be releasing his debut EP Different Cities, an effort that will help to further showcase his talents.
Recently Campbell and Phil. teamed up on the slickly produced and empowering pop anthem “Champion.” Centered around stuttering trap beats, shimmering and layered synth arpeggios, Campbell’s sultry vocals, an inspired guest spot from Phil., who quickly alternates between staccato spitting fire and achingly tender soul crooning and an infectious hook, “Champion” is a sensual and joyous ode to queer love, desire and devotion that was specifically released for National Coming Out Day. “I’ve written a few songs about making love but none that were inspired by making love to a woman,'” Campbell explains. “The song and video is my attempt at capturing some of the feelings it inspires in me. . . the euphoria and joy in making love.”
The brightly colored, intergalactic — and downright trippy — visual for “Champion” captures Black, queer love with a boldness that’s defiant yet tender, as it suggests that for the song’s narrator making love to her girl is a transcendent and otherworldly experience.
INNR CIRCLE is a rising Toronto-based Panamanian-Canadian R&B artist, who has started to receive attention both locally and nationally for a sound that meshes elements of New Wave, dream pop and R&B paired with a striking and dynamic vocal register and earnest, lived-in songwriting. The rising Canadian artist’s latest single “Take” has begun to receive attention from a number of tastemakers: “Take” has been featured on Spotify’s New Music Canada, YouTube Music’s RELEASED, as well as Next in Queue, Sine Language, Alternative Hotlist and Your New Alternative playlists — and after hearing the single you’ll see why the Toronto-based artist is so buzz worthy.
Centered around a sinuous bass line, shimmering synth arpeggios, a decidedly Tropical air , a shuffling two-step inducing rhythm and INNR CIRCLE’S achingly plaintive and sultry vocals, the track sonically reminds me JOVM mainstay Washed Out to mind while featuring a a narrator, trying to pursue an old relationship that he fucked up. And as a result, the song touches upon loneliness, longing, frustration, despair and self-flagellation in a way that’s neurotic yet familiar.
Shana is an emerging London-based, Nigerian-British artist. Her second and latest single “No Rainy Days” is a slick and self-assured mix of Quiet Storm R&B and dancehall, centered around stuttering beats, shimmering synth arpeggios, an infectious radio friendly hook, and the rising British artist’s sultry vocals. Coming from — presumably — a new artist, the song is a breezy yet grown and sexy declaration of desire, longing and devotion that feels like a contented sigh.
Filmed and edited by Oliver Brian Productions, the recently released video for “No Rainy Days” follows the emerging artist through her daily life in London while spending time with her beau — and it captures two absolutely beautiful black people in love.
Throughout the course of this site’s 10-plus year history, I’ve managed to spill quite a bit of virtual ink covering Perry, GA-born, Athens, GA-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Ernest Greene, best known as the creative mastermind behind the critically applauded synth pop/chillwave project Washed Out.
Earlier this year, the Perry-born, Athens-based artist released “Too Late,” a track that sonically was a return to form: a swooning yet bittersweet bit of synth pop centered around layers of arpeggiated synths, stuttering beats, Greene’s ethereal and plaintive vocals and a soaring hook — but with a subtly Mediterranean feel.
As it turned out, “Too Late” was unofficially the first single off Greene’s fourth album Purple Noon. Written, recorded by Greene with mixing handled by frequent collaborator Ben H. Allen, the album’s production followed a brief stint of writing with other artists — most notably writing with Sudan Archives on her debut Athena. Those collaborations allowed Green to explore R&B and modern pop and those sounds have made there way into Purple Noon‘s material. Not only is the material reportedly the brightest and more robust sounds he’s ever worked out; it’s also a decided step forward: unlike his previous released work, the vocals are placed front and center at the mix, with slower tempos, bolder, harder-hitting beats and a more comprehensive dynamic depth.
Deriving its name from Rene Clement’s 1960 film Purple Noon, which was based on Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Talented Mister Ripley, the album’s material is deeply inspired by the coastlines of the Mediterranean — with Greene paying tribute to region’s island-based culture, elegance and old-world charm. But the surroundings serve as the backdrop to stories of passion love and loss — with a deeper, perhaps more urgent emotional intensity: the album’s unofficial first single “Too Late” is a tale of a first meet, with all the confused and swooning emotions that come about.
Recently Greene recorded a live session for SiriusXM’s Live for SiriusXM Sessions with his backing band shot in his candlelit front room. The session includes a live version of one of my favorite tracks off Purple Noon, the aforementioned “Too Late,” and a slow-burning, shimmering and absolutely fitting cover of Sade’s “Cherish The Day,” which points at the lush, Quiet Storm-like R&B influences of the album — while reminding the viewer of how great Sade really is.
Luna Musiq is a Manchester, UK-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, whose earliest musical memories were of her folks playing The Supremes, Boney M., Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and 80s pop — all of which were early musical influences. As she got older, New Jack Swing, 90s hip-hop, downtempo electronica, chill-hop and acoustic soul also have influenced the emerging British artist and her work. The Manchester-based artist can trace the origins of her music career to when she was 5: her grandmother had given her a keyboard as a gift — and along with her brother, who had a Casio mini keyboard, they’d create beats, sounds and songs, which they recorded into their beloved tape recorder.
Luna Musiq learned several different instruments during her teens but she stopped playing in her early 20s. Interestingly, Musiq started writing songs in 2017 and went to a a week-0long songwriting trip in the Andalusian Hills, where she met a collection of singers, songwriters and musicians with whom she currently collaborates, as well as some multi-talented and multi-skilled artists, songwriters, producers, composers and vocalist, who have become mentors.
Since then, the emerging British artist has been writing constantly — both as a solo artist and for other artists, with whom she collaborates with. Her latest single, “Fix Me,” finds her collaborating with British indie R&B artist Effy Lowan. As Luna Musiq explained to me . Both our music explores topics around hardship to love, trust, betrayal and the difficulties navigating the relationship with yourself as well as others. Having both worked on previous R&B projects, Effy and I came across each other through the same songwriting network. We thought our styles blended well together and decided to collaborate, resulting in Fix being the first release. We’re working on some more joint projects together for the future, but are both solo artists in our own right (I’ve released 6 tracks so far and featured on a few other releases) and often write for other artists too.”
“Fix Me” is an anachronistic R&B/pop song that’s centered around a warm and soulful production featuring twinkling keys, stuttering boom bap beats, Lowan’s effortless vocals and a swaggering hip-hop verse. And while sounding mischievously anachronistic, with the track sounding as though it could have been released in 1997, 2007, 2017 or just the other day, the track displays earnest songwriting, informed by deeply lived-in personal experience. In this case, the song details the weird mix of co-dependency, need, longing and desire of almost every romantic relationship with a novelist’s attention to detail.
