I’m a nocturnal guy and the other day, I was up and working on a blog post when I a tweet that read “RIP Phife Dawg” came across my Twitter timeline and the first thing […]
Tag: A Tribe Called Quest
New Video: Ixra Divide Returns with a Madlib and J. Dilla-Inspired Instrumental Beat Track and Surreal Visuals
Towards the end of last year, I wrote about Virginia-based producer and emcee Ixra Divide, who has collaborated with JOVM mainstay artist, Toronto, ON-born, Brooklyn-based Joanie Wolkoff, who has recorded with Her Habits, Gemology and as […]
If you had been frequenting this site during the end of 2015 and the beginning of this year, you may recall coming across a couple of posts on Chicago-based R&B vocalist and singer/songwriter The Elle and her collaborations with Minnesota-based singer/songwriter and emcee Blaccout Garrison, Hungry Soulful EP — in particular, “Strawberry Cheesecake Dessert.” which was produced by Dthr33 and featured Jackson, WY-based emcee Abstract, had Abstract and Garrison trading charmingly old-school-inspired lyrics about the ladies they loved over, while The Elle sang the song’s soulful and sensual hook over the soulful and jazzy sample that comprises A Tribe Called Quest‘s “Bonita Applebum.” Hungry Soulful‘s second single was the P-Soul-produced “Wishing On A Star,” which paired a subtly chopped up old-timey, twinkling piano sample and boom-bap drum programming with Garrison rhyming about focusing on one’s dreams and overcoming life’s frustrations and obstacles. The Elle contributes the song’s introductory verses and the soulful and thoughtful hook.
Slated for release next month, Soul Art Music is the Chicago-based vocalist’s forthcoming full-length effort and the album’s latest single “Your Love” was produced by South African producer Keith Virgo. The track begins with an introductory sample of Eartha Kitt, setting up the song’s theme as the legendary actress and singer candidly shares her thoughts about love — and in her mind, real love is essentially a process of learning how to share yourself with yourself and others. The song pairs Virgo’s subtly cosmic and trippy production consisting of layers of twinkling and shimmering synths, tumbling percussion, boom bap drums, electronic bleeps, bloops and beeps with The Elle’s sultry vocals about a love that has made her narrator feel as though she had found her truest self. Within the turn of a phrase The Elle reveals a narrator who is strong yet unafraid to be vulnerable and open, and absolutely appreciative of stumbling about this person at this juncture. Lucky and rare are those who experience such a love.
Blaccout Garrison is a Minnesota based singer/songwriter and emcee, who has started to receive attention on this site and across the blogosphere for his Hungry Soulful EP, which has the Minnesotan artist collaboration with the likes of Jackson, WY-based emcee Abstract and Chicago-based R&B vocalist and singer/songwriter The Elle. Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past few months, you may recall that I wrote about “Strawberry Cheesecake Dessert.” Produced by Dthr33, the song featured the use of a familiar and beloved sample to real hip-hop heads — the soulful and jazzy sample that comprises A Tribe Called Quest‘s “Bonita Applebum paired with The Elle’s soulful and seductive hook, as Garrison and Abstract trade old-school inspired verses about the women they love. And fittingly, much like the old school hip-hop sample, the emcees rhyme about their loves in charmingly old school terms as they describe how strong, stunning and smart their loves are, and how they both want to treat their loves as the queens and goddesses that the emcees know their ladies are.
Certainly, in an age in which contemporary mainstream artists have openly referred to women in disparaging and ugly terms, hearing such old-school sentiment is not just much-needed it’s refreshingly sweet.
Produced by P-Soul, Garrison’s latest single “Wishing On A Star” pairs a subtly chopped up old-timey, twinkling piano sample, boom-bap drum programming with The Elle’s effortlessly soulful vocals singing the song’s introductory verses and hook as Garrison rhymes about overcoming life’s frustrations and obstacles while being focused on one’s dreams. It’s positive, thoughtful and deeply soulful music — and in an age of soulless, cynically calculated, prepackaged music such thoughtful and earnest music is needed now more than ever before.
New Video: The Glitchy, VHS Styled Video for The Age of L.U.N.A.’s 90s Influenced “Boom”
The up-and-coming and extremely young London-based hip-hop collective The Age of L.U.N.A. have quickly developed an international profile with the release of an critically acclaimed mixtape earlier this year. And although they clearly possess an […]
New Video: Introducing The Old School Hip Hop-Inspired Sounds of Virginia’s Aspiring Acolytes of Rap Production
As I’ve mentioned countless times throughout the history of this site, I frequently receive quite a number of emails from artists, producers, publicists, labels, and band managers from all over the world. And of course, […]
New Audio: Pharell Williams’ Atmospheric And Sensual Remix of A Tribe Called Quest’s Beloved Bonita Applebum
More than enough ink has been spilled throughout A Tribe Called Quest‘s lengthy and influential run together, so delving deeply into their backstory will likely seem unnecessary. But what I can tell you is that […]
Blaccout Garrison is an up-and-coming, Minnesota-based artist and singer/songwriter and on his recently released EP, Hungry Soulful, the Minnesota-based artist teams up with the Chicago-based R&B vocalist and singer/songwriter The Elle, Jackson, WY-based emcee Abstract on “Strawberry Cheesecake Dessert.”
The song features Garrison and Abstract trading verses about the women they’re in love with — and they do so in old school terms, as they talk about these women as being confident, strong, stunning and smart as hell, and how they’d treat their women like queens and goddesses while The Elle contribute the soulful and seductive hook over production from Dthr33, who uses what is a familiar sample to real hip-hop heads — the soulful and jazzy sample that comprises A Tribe Called Quest‘s “Bonita Applebum,” to craft a song that channels golden era hip-hop and its positivity.
Certainly in age in which contemporary, male hip-hop artists refer to women as “thots” hearing an old-school leaning love song is much-needed and refreshing — and is perfect for a Sunday afternoon with that special someone.
Live Concert Photography: Mad Satta with Quincy Vidal and All Natural at DROM 7/2/15
Live Concert Photography: Mad Satta with All Natural DROM July 2, 2015 This summer has been an extremely busy one in the world of JOVM — and as you can imagine, I’m still busily attempting […]
Live Concert Review: New Music Seminar, New Music Nights Festival 2015 Misfires in its Attempt to Showcase New Music
Live Concert Review: New Music Seminar, New Music Nights Festival 2015 Misfires in its Attempt to Showcase New Music New Music Seminar can trace its origins back to 1980 when over 200 people gathered at […]
“Searchin’” the latest single by Kyle Rapps and Hefna Gwap featuring Aaron Cohen was produced by Fudge and employs the use of a horn and keyboard sample from Roy Ayers track of the same name, […]
J. Dilla may well be one of hip-hop’s most beloved producers and for many of the genre’s fans, J. Dilla’s tragic death from lupus in 2006 has left a gaping hole. Certainly, there are few […]
For the seventh consecutive year, the folks at OkayPlayer hosted a gigantic party for their friends, journalists, musicians and other industry types featuring the Roots performing with special guests. What makes the party so incredible is that […]
For the seventh consecutive year, the folks at OkayPlayer hosted a gigantic party for their friends, journalists, musicians and other industry types featuring the Roots performing with special guests. What makes the party so incredible […]
A Q&A with Rene Lopez
Rene Lopez is the son of Rene Lopez Sr, the salsa trumpeter who had played with the Ray Barretto Orchestra and Tipica 73, arguably two of the most highly regarded and beloved salsa acts of […]