james-poyser « WordPress.com Tag Feed

Skillz Feat. Black Thought "Hold Tight"

bringing88back — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:04:58 +0000

Million Dollar Backpack out Tuesday. This track's produced by ?uestlove and James Poyser.

Lay It Down - Al Green (2008)

sondan — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:50:01 +0000

Ok so this CD is full of new material and not the usual covers that are the theme of this blog. But the CD has been put together with talent and love and the instrumentation of an Al Green LP from the Seventies so it fits right in with my theme of "Everything Old being New Again". Besides it's my blog and I can do what I want to (LOL).

This CD is truly awesome and proves the point that new is not always better. There is not too much more that I can say that isn't explained in "The Making Of" promotional video provided for you below. All I can add is that this product ranks right up there with Reverend Green's classic albums of 1972 -- "Still In Love With You" and "Let's Stay Together".

Everyone involved in the collaborative effort to put this project together should be applauded for bringing the 62 years young Rev. Green a shot of 1972 with a twist of the new millenium and coming up with a "new classic."

Congratulations to Blue Note Records for giving Rev. Green a venue for his considerable talents.

And last but not least, much love, admiration and respect to producers Al Green, James Poyser and Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson; co-producers Chalmers "Spanky" Alford and Adam Blackston; Executive Producers Richard Nichols and Eli Wolf ; musical artists Corrine Bailey Rae, Anthony Hamilton and John Legend and the hosts of musicians and songwriters involved in creating these heartwarming sounds. Everyone involved should be very, very proud of their accomplishment.

Here is the track list along with three of my favorites form the CD:

1 Lay It Down featuring Anthony Hamilton
2 Just For Me [audio http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/files/1530787_1wj1c/02.JustForMe.mp3]
3 You've Got the Love I Need featuring Anthony Hamilton
4 No One Like You
5 What More Do You Want From Me?
6 Take Your Time featuring Corrine Baily Rae [audio http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/files/1530789_plqa4/ourTimefeat.CorinneBaileyRae.mp3]
7 Too Much
8 Stay With Me (By The Sea) featuring John Legend
9 All I Need
10 I'm Wild About You
11 Standing In The Rain [audio http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/files/1530788_fibk2/11.StandingInTheRain.mp3]

This is the promotional video on the "Making of Lay it Down" that I watched on Youtube that made me aware of the CD coming out. It had slipped my mind until I saw the great tribute to Rev. Green on the recent BET awards so I went out and made the purchase and it has been in my CD player ever since.

I have got a four hour road trip coming up and I am gonna give this CD even more of a workout. Now that you have heard a sampling I just know you are gonna purchase this set for your next summer road trip as well. Right?

Thanks for dropping in. Hope to see you again soon.

Underrated Philadelphia Soul Singers

vivrant thang — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 05:41:41 +0000

by vivrant thang on philadelphia soul singers

Last Friday's trip down memory lane starring classic Philadelphia soul singers inspired me to think about all the music coming out of the City of Brotherly Love today that folks may not know about. As I said, first we gotta look back to move forward.

When people think about the Philly soul scene, the usual suspects that immediately come to mind are Jill Scott and Musiq Soulchild. Think a little harder and you may come up with Kindred or Vivian Green. Absolutely nothing wrong with that because as you should already know I stan for Jill (preparing to buy tickets to see her for the second time this year and I CANNOT wait) and I'll always love Musiq. They essentially put the Philly neosoul scene on the map. I just want to shine the spotlight on some other artists that deserve some recognition as well.

As I did in the last post, I have to start this off by talking about the man that has written for, produced, and performed with a lot of these artists I'm spotlighting.

James Poyser

Grammy Award winning songwriter, record producer, and keyboardist from Philadelphia, known for his R&B, hip-hop, gospel and pop productions.
Written and produced for Al Green, Jill, Erykah Badu, The Roots, Mariah Carey, and Musiq, and Lauryn Hill
Scored several films and television shows including "Chappelle Show" and "Brown Sugar"
Played on albums by artists like Roy Hargrove, Aretha Franklin, Prince, D'Angelo, and Queen Latifah
Member of the Soulquarians and The Randy Watson Experience

I'll be attending a jam session in Philly this weekend with The Randy Watson Experience featuring Bilal. Here's their interpretation of "Can't Hide Love" and Radiohead's "Morning Soul."

Carol Riddick

Hailing from the South Side of Philly, Carol started out backing artists like Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Anthony Hamilton, Jill Scott, and Kindred. Once you listen to her sound, you'll see why she couldn't possibly stay in the background. I saw her live at Zanzibar Blue (RIP) a couple of years ago and she blew me away - a young Anita Baker in the making. Her album, Moments Like This, was released in 2006. She worked with James Poyser on some of the tracks.

"I Don't Wanna"

Cover of Anita Baker's "Angel"

Vikter Duplaix

Vikter is a singer, songwriter, producer, and plays multiple instruments. He's released several albums and appeared on tracks by artists like Erykah Badu, Me'Shell Ndegeocello, Incognito, Esthero, and Eric Benet.

Make A Baby

Jaguar Wright

I love Jaguar's style. Straight, no chaser. Highly underrated. I own both of her albums and would love to see her perform live. She has worked with artists like The Roots, Bilal, and Jay-Z.

So High

Cover of Patti's Love, Need and Want You

Ashley Phillips

Ashley is a Philly-born singer and songwriter. Her band formed in 2003 and they mostly perform locally. l had the pleasure of catching her acoustic set here in DC last year. Her stage presence is soothing, yet captivating. She reminds me of Dionne Ferris or Me'Shell Ndegeocello - especially with the way she handles that guitar. You can tell when she performs that it's truly for the love of the music. I hope to see an album from her sometime in the near future.

Can't Stop The Record

Kevin Michael

With a fro like that, you know he got soulllll! He calls his music a mixture of soul, pop, R&B, and funk. He's a self-taught artist who has been singing since childhood. His mother was embarrassed to take him out because he would often randomly break into song. His song of choice? "Me So Horny!" His musical selection has evolved a bit since then. He released his first self-titled album last year and has collaborated with the likes of Wyclef Jean and Lupe Fiasco.

Jazmine Sullivan

I been hearing rumblings about the next coming of Lauryn Hill for a while now but never really investigated further. It wasn't until I heard "Need You Bad" on Soul Bounce that I sat up and took notice. Evidently, I am late. Ain't nothing neo about this soul singer. She sang on Showtime at the Apollo at the tender age of 11 and performed with Stevie Wonder at 13. She appeared on a couple of tracks on Fantasia's album, Free, and wrote a couple of songs on Christina Milian's album. This 20-year-old singer and songwriter is indeed one to watch. Look out for the album on J records sometime this year.

"I Am" with Kindred

Cover of "What's Going On"

A true stan would never end this post without mentioning her favorite Philadelphia soul singer. None other than my man Bilal. He should be no stranger to my faithful readers. But for those that happen in here that may have never heard of him, I'll let the music speak for itself.

Here are a couple of videos from the last show I attended. I'm thrilled to say I'll be seeing him perform later today in Baltimore and then again on Friday at a jam session with The Randy Watson Experience. With President Obama finally delivering that knockout blow to Billary, can this historic week get any better?

"White Turns To Grey" from the never released "Love for Sale"

A NICE version of "Soul Sista"

Did I miss any underrated Philly soul singers that you think deserve some shine? Shout them out in the comments.

Al Green Lay It Down

fuzzythoughts — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 04:59:26 +0000

Fuzzy Bits:

Release Date: May 27

Last Album: Everything's OK (2005)

Sounds Like: A surprisingly refreshing album that stays relevant through the outstanding production of ?uestlove and James Poyser.

Overall Rating: 88

Once legendary acts reach a certain point in their lives, their new material is bound to sound a bit like rehashed material-- and sometimes that works, but often times, it falls far short of benig worthwhile. While Al Green has deservingly continue to stand out in the dying genre of old-school R&B/Soul music, his new material was never particularly relevant. That all changes with Lay It Down, an album that, for once, wouldn't be embarrassed to stand alongside Green's classic albums. Much of the credit for the success on this album goes to prodcuers James Poyser and Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson. The two managed to create an environment that allowed Al Green to flourish, and walked the fine line of paying homage to the sounds and production of his older albums while integrating the new, particularly in the guest spot category. However, unlike many other "revival" albums, the guest spots here are never forced, but come across very naturally. Corinne Bailey Rae and Al Green mesh incredibly well on the sweet, yet seductive groove "Take Your Time," while Anthony Hamilton admirably fills in for background vocals on both "You've Got The Love I Need" and the killer title track. "Just For Me" is a surefire summer hit, with the Dap Kings horn section giving the song some added chops. "What More Do You Want From Me" and "Too Much" are also stand outs. If there's a weakness at all to be had, none of the songs here offer much in the lyrics department, and because of the breezy approach, the album can be misread as lackadaisical rather than a summery groove. Anyone who feels this way simply needs to don a pair of headphones and listen to the meticulous production in addition to Green's seemingly-refreshed voice that boasts amazing presence even at age 62. In doing that very thing, you'll find that the rewards lie in the subtleties. Lay It Down is a true testament to the talents of everyone involved, as Green and company proved that traditional R&B/Soul music can still effectively exist today during a time where "neo-soul" has become the norm.

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Song of the Day: Pharrell & The Yessirs - Best Friend

J. Chin — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 21:57:20 +0000

When Pharrell released his first album, 'In My Mind,' I though "the fuck is this?!" like most people did after hearing it for the first time. Pharrell, alongside Chad Hugo as the Neptunes, is an amazing producer, is sick with hooks and is multi-talented...ish. As the news of a solo effort from Skateboard P. spread, many music fans were filled with excitement, but later was disappointed with the final product. Personally, the album GREW on me and I started to really dig the album. Pharrell himself was quite dissatisfied with the album, and Questlove, drummer of the Roots, along with James Poyser re-did the album and added much soul to the record. The redone effort was appropriately titled 'Out of My Mind' by Pharrell & the Yessirs. 'Best Friends' was always one of my favorite tracks, simply because I just felt it. True friendship is rare, but real. Also, very few people can tell you something and actually make you listen. Peep the video above to hear the audio of the remixed 'Best Friend'.

What I'm listening to: The new Al Green/The Roots album

stevelutzpsu — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:25:13 +0000

I love Al Green, and have for some time (I trace it back to getting the Pulp Fiction soundtrack with "Let's Stay Together" on it in '95. That led to several other Al albums, including his Gospel stuff).

I also enjoy The Roots and their live, tight, hip-hop sound. A friend of mine used to work at "The Studio" here in Philly where stringmaster Larry Gold, Amir "?uestlove" Thompson, and the crew recorded & produced just about every big name in music, from Justin Timberlake to John Mayer to Korn.

So I was real excited when I heard that the Reverend Al would be recording an album with guest vocals from Anthony Hamilton, Corinne Bailey Rae, and John Legend, The Dap-Kings Horns, strings orchestrated by Larry Gold, and “?uestlove” and James Poyser on production. The album, more than any other I've heard, recaptures Al's old school sound, while still bringing in some tight hip-hop sensibilities. The Nu Soul crowd should dig it as well. Here's the tracklist:

1. Lay it Down

2. Just for Me

3. You've Got the Love I Need (feat. Anthony Hamilton)

4. No One Like You

5. What More Do You Want From Me

6. Take Your Time (feat. Corinne Bailey Rae)

7. Too Much

8. Stay With Me (feat. John Legend)

9. All I Need

10. I'm Wild About You

11. Standing in the Rain

12. Wanna Say

Favorite Tracks: You've Got the Love I Need, What More Do You Want From Me (with a signature Roots riff), Take Your Time, All I Need, Standing in the Rain--heck, the whole album is great!

Good article on the making of this album:

http://indangerousrhythm.blogspot.com/2008/04/al-green_03.html

Review: Al Green, "Lay It Down"

jvrabel7 — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:05:46 +0000

Billboard - At this point, if you're Al Green, messing around with your formula isn't so much unlikely as it is pure madness; it'd be like AC/DC deciding to add bassoons. Even the highly touted input of the Roots' ?uestlove (producing with James Poyser, both in place of Green's longtime go-to Willie Mitchell) results more in decoration than innovation. It's not the new-blood-fueled revelation some might have hoped for, but who cares. Green's voice remains lithe magic, and he's brought in such contemporary all-stars as Anthony Hamilton (on the album's two best tracks, "You've Got the Love I Need" and the slinky title song), John Legend and Corinne Bailey Rae for help. ?uestlove's drums get a little boost in the mix, and Poyser's B3 lightly brushes each song's cheeks. But when it comes to Green, what more needs to be said? The reverend preaches on.

• Al Green - Take Your Time (with Corinne Bailey Rae)

Talk's cheap, that's why we speak with the dough

heavyloveaffair — Tue, 27 May 2008 17:03:42 +0000

[audio http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/5/26/1930058/09%20I%20Can%27t%20Help%20It.mp3]

The Roots are one of those bands that has never dissapointed me with anything they have released; their new album, Rising Down, is no different. Rising Up is by far one of the best songs on the cd but there is a breakdown that is the best part of the entire album hands down. The end of I Can't Help It is just 100% pure incredible. It was written by James Poyser (?uestlove's partner in crime for the Pharrell In my mind redux album) and the entire orchestra section was recorded by overdubbing a single player ontop of himself until it sounds like it does.

Al Green "Lay It Down" @@@@

Sagittarius — Mon, 26 May 2008 19:25:02 +0000

Les vétérans de la soul music ne connaissent pas la retraite artistique. Aujourd’hui âgé de 63 ans, Al Green a sorti en cette saison des amours Lay It Down chez le prestigieux label Blue Note, son 37^e disque (!) en 41 ans de carrière de chanteur (en comptabilisant ses albums gospel qui lui ont valu de nombreux Grammy Awards et diverses compilations de Noël).

Pour donner une brise légère à sa musique qui commence à faire son temps et sans la dénaturer, ni faire néorétro ou vintage pour entrer dans la tendance actuelle, notre légende vivante s’est tournée pour la production de cet album vers deux représentants de la tribu Soulquarian : ?uestlove, le chef d’orchestre des The Roots, et l’éminent producteur nusoul, James Poyser. Parce que d’abord, Al Green sait vivre avec son temps, quoi qu’il fasse, il demeure indémodable.

Afin de concilier au mieux les férus de soul à l’ancienne et la jeune génération, le pasteur a convié Anthony Hamilton par deux fois (sur l’éponyme « Lay It Down » et remarquable sur « You’ve Got The Luv I Need »), John Legend sur le down-tempo agréable « Stay With Me » et la douce et délicate Corinne Bailey Rae sur le slow « Take Your Time ». Un honneur pour ces auteurs/compositeurs/interprètes qui, avec Ahmir Thompson et James Poyser, assurent la relève de la soul contemporaine.

Sur les premiers titres tels que « Just For Me » et « You’ve Got The Luv I Need », ?uestlove appose des rythmiques possédant un subtil arrière-goût de son classique le plus connu, « Let’s Stay Together ». D’autres redécouvertes sont à prévoir, car on retrouve cette saveur, l'émotion de ce qu’étaient les slow-jams d'autrefois en se passant le magnifique « Take Your Time », avec la petite anglaise Corinne, ou en étant comblé par « Too Much », un coup de blues passager sur « No One Like You » et « What More Do You Want From Me ». C’est fantastique de voir que James Poyser parvient admirablement à recréer cette atmosphère musicale dérivée du gospel, avec ses orgues, les guitares, les cuivres, ceci aux côtés de notre métronome ?uestlove aux baguettes, celui-ci ne manque pas de lancer quelques mid-tempos entraînants (tel que « I’m Wild About U »).

En définitive, Lay It Down c’est des chansons d’amour comme on n’en fait plus maintenant, de la musique soul ‘old fashioned’ remasterisée. Al Green restera heureux et jamais en panne d’inspiration tant qu’il y aura de la Foi et de l’amour sur Terre. Lay it down fait beaucoup de bien, ça permet d’oublier le miel, les textes aux phéromones d’obsédés sexuels et les parties de drague sur le dancefloor du r&b moderne.

cant wait to reach this point.

logicmarsalis — Tue, 13 May 2008 04:42:08 +0000

"Why Can’t That happen on the Black Side of Music?" It Has. Thanks ?uestlove.

ocbeejay — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 04:35:15 +0000

"We're doing it because we all idolize Al Green. Ever since word got out that we were doing this project our phone's been ringing off the hook."

That was the answer The Roots drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson gave when recently asked about one of his recent collaborations. While visiting his record company in 2005, Thompson picked up Loretta Lynn’s 2004 Van Lear Rose album, the singer’s late-career collaboration with The White Stripes Jack White. “I couldn’t stop listening to it,” related Thompson. “I thought, ‘Why can’t that happen on the black side of music?’”

His first attempt, working with reclusive soul singer Bill Withers, got pushed aside when an executive at Blue Note Records asked Thompson if he would be interested in producing Al Green, who was looking to work with a member of the hip-hop community. Nah I'm cool...thanks anyway man....Wait! Of course!

In 2005 at New York’s Electric Lady Studios, the pair’s first meeting, the result was one of a Behind the Music segment. “Every time anybody did something else, I turned around and wrote another song,” Green confides. “We ended up with eight songs in that one night. I hadn’t had an experience like that, ever!”

Sure the man can sing, but behind every great singer is a stellar backing band. The on theyformed was built around the rhythm section of Thompson and bassist Adam Blackstone and featuring the Dap-King Horns (Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Amy Winehouse), met about seven or eight times to complete the album (due out May 27th). The final product — featuring duets with Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend and Anthony Hamilton — should be looser, funkier and more emotional than anything Green has released in decades.

Green’s last two albums (2003’s I Can’t Stop and 2005’s Everything’s OK) reunited him with producer Willie Mitchell, who led all of his classic sessions for Hi Records in the Seventies. Thompson describes those records as “solid but sonically frustrating,” and says that he had a different ambition for Lay It Down.

Most of the time when legendary artists put out a work after sometime they go one of two ways. The standards-filled “Tony Bennett route” or the cameo-stuffed “Santana route,” Thompson strove for the opposite: a return to dirty-soul-filled goodness. “I told Adam [Blackstone] to play wrong notes and to remember they didn’t have tuners back then,” said the drummer, who co-produced with keyboardist James Poyser. “We needed to undo the education we had in order to play that simply.”

Green, however, had no problem staying loose. “I always write in the studio,” he said. “While the band learns the song, I’m finishing the words.” On one particular day, Green was watching some nature program Discovery or PBS (”I watch a lot of wildlife,” he says. “Animals make more sense than humans most of the time”). And the concept of wild animals turned into wild love — and, quickly, into the lyric for “I’m Wild About You.”

By recording everything live and acknowledging Green’s fleeting patience, Thompson and Poyser were able to capture Green’s undiminished voice. “I wanted to make the true follow-up to The Belle Album, which is considered the last quote-unquote real Al Green record,” ?uestlove says. “And I do think this is his most heartfelt record since then.” Thompson eventually found the secret. “The key is that you have to mute everything else,” he says, “and let Al shine.”

Hear two songs here

al green ft corinne bailey rae - take your time

al green ft john legend - stay with me (by the sea)

Check out the behind the scenes footage of the making of Lay It Down below

Buy Al Green music here

Buy The Roots Music here

When 1970 Meets 2008

tws392000 — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 21:44:24 +0000

More proof that R&B has some life: Al Green, perhaps the greatest soul singer of the 1970's, is getting together with Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson and James Poyser to release "Lay It Down", a new album rooted in Green's 70s soul heyday, but updated for here and now. The results seem to be promising...guests include John Legend, Corinne Bailey Rae and Anthony Hamilton (who always sounds like he came from that era). A preview of the album is here:

Oh man, I can't wait.

[H/T: Soulbounce.com]

In the Studio with Al Green and James Poyser

cookclassics — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:25:43 +0000

Another video with James Poyser on keys, Al Green, and ?uestlove behind the camera.

AL GREEN

Jesse — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 03:01:37 +0000

...is about to release a new album featuring:

Corrine Bailey Rae. John Legend. Anthony Hamilton. Produced by James Poyser and ?uestlove.

I don't know if I can handle that much soul. This is the first I've heard of it, though AllMusic claims that it has been in the works for two years. It sounds incredible on paper. Rae, Legend, and the Roots are serious players in my rotation. And if you don't like Al Green.....we don't have much to talk about. Check out the video in the blog post. If that's a new track playing, then it sounds like Green's voice is still working its magic.

Al Green & ?uestlove album dropping May 27th (free download)

universoulproductions — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:04:45 +0000

I reposted some stuff, added some, and found more of that Al Green + ?uestlove album on goodrecordsnyc.com. The album drops on my birthday May 27th. Sound like a good time for "The Green Album" to come out? Shit... I gotta get my act together!!! Here is a clip of Al Green recording "Al Green - Thought it Out" with James Poyser and ?uestlove behind the camera. Here's another track for you called "You Got The Love I Need Babe" Download Here

Erykah Badu "New AmErykah Part One : 4th World War" @@@@

Sagittarius — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:59:12 +0000

À tous les baduistes de la Terre, la reine mère Erykah arrive avec une missive pour éveiller les consciences endormies de son peuple de New Amerykah. Une nouvelle Erykah Badu, une nouvelle musique soul, une œuvre afro-américaine corps et âme dont voici la première partie sous-titrée 4th World War. Ce thème fort à méditer sert à dépeindre le vrai visage de l’Amérique moderne sous des traits sombres et ensanglantés, pointant du doigt ses plaies ouvertes par le système qui oppresse les minorités de descendants d’immigrés africains, maintenus en esclavage dans les ghettos des Etats-Unis de notre 21e siècle.

Retour en arrière pour commencer l’opus, vers les années 70, dans les années Blaxploitation. Malcom X, Martin Luther King, les Black Panthers, Jimi Hendrix,… la révolution était en marche, le rêve d’un métissage culturel, le combat contre le racisme étaient en route. « AmErykahn Promise » (produit par l’illustre Roy Ayers) part de cette racine, de l’espoir de cette ère nouvelle, dans laquelle Erykah est née et a grandit, de cette époque pas si ‘peace & love’ pendant laquelle les communautés black ont lancé des affronts dans la volonté d'améliorer leur existence et leurs droits. « Je t’aimerai œil pour œil, dent pour dent (trad) » lance-t-elle dans ce flashback musical qui rappelle un moment clé de cette lutte pour la liberté. Trente ans plus tard, l'aube de ce rêve américain se trouve sous les ruines des archives de l'histoire, le combat continue encore sous une autre forme même si certaines choses se sont améliorées, en façade.

Retour à la dure réalité. Pour passer le message dans sa musique nusoul, Erykah Badu utilise le biais du Hip Hop grâce à des producteurs à la pointe de l’innovation : Madlib et les Sa-Ra Creative Partners, ainsi que Jay Electronica à l'éxecutif. Mais d’abord il faut sortir le Hip Hop de son coma artificiel, c’est là qu’elle apporte son remède avec le madlibien « The Healer/Hip Hop », une chanson structurée sous la forme d’un dialogue entre la guérisseuse et des enfants, où l’on retient ces phrases comme « c’est plus grand que la religion » et « que le gouvernement » (trad). L’appel est lancé avec « My People », hypnotique et inspiré, autrement dit subliminal et pas très accessible aux néophytes. Lorsque la divinité nusoul rencontre les beats épurés d’Otis Jackson Jr, l’alchimie est très ‘expéri-mentale’.

Il en est de même avec les rythmiques cosmiques des Sa-Ra, à commencer par « Me », une chanson très personnelle sur laquelle Erykah se dévoile sans indiscrétion et raconte comment elle puise dans sa Foi intérieure. Avec des morceaux comme « The Cell », « Soldier » (prod. Kariem Riggins) et le planant « My Hump », Badu traite de divers problèmes de sociétés relatifs aux minorités : les effets de l’addiction à la drogue, le schéma routinier des plus démunis, les ghettos qui emprisonnent les esprits des gens… Cette prise de conscience de ses revendications est véhiculé implicitement par un diaporama d’images fortes, tant par ses métaphores allusives que par les dessins qui illustrent le livret. Et ça peut aller très loin, comme c’est le cas de « Twinkle », une expérimentation psychédélique pour le moins bizarroïde. Son outro influencée par la science-fiction dark a de quoi laisser perplexe, à cause de ce mystérieux langage biocybernétique juste avant le texte de Shafik Husayn.

Deux autres chanteurs ont eu le privilège de participer à ce disque : le discret Bilal, qui fait les backs, et Georgia Ann Muldrow, qui croise ses paroles avec celles d’Erykah par-dessus un sample de Curtis Mayfield sur « Master Teacher ». Le meilleur se trouve, comme le dit l’adage, pour la fin : un superbe hommage à Jay Dee aka J Dilla avec « Telephone », un down-tempo soulful à la Eddie Kendricks, écrit et composé par Erykah Badu, ?uestlove des The Roots et James Poyser aux Rhodes. « Telephone, it’s Ol Dirty… » commence-t-elle, le trouble est absolu, physique et mental, c'est bouleversant.

Le single « Honey », nectar de soul résultant du fruit de l’émancipation de 9th Wonder, n’arrive qu’en bonus track. Et pour cause, cette chanson se démarque sensiblement des dix-titres de ce Part One. Ne manquez pas non plus de regarder sa vidéo génialissime qui fait la rétrospective discographique en image des grands moments de la black music, soul, r&b et rap. Le temps de s’habituer petit à petit aux émanations mystiques et de se remettre de la vendetta psychologique de ce premier volet de New Amerykah, on languit déjà de s’approprier la suite prévue pour cet été.

NB : Pour ceux qui seraient intéressés par les travaux des Sa-Ra Creative Partners, l’apprentissage de leur univers sonore avec Hollywood Recordings (sorti en 2007 chez Babygrande Records) est grandement recommandé.

(chronique écrite le 10 Mars 2008 pour Rap2K.com)

Producers on "New Amerykah"

universoulproductions — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:54:30 +0000

My good friend Miguel took the initiative of digging up the producers of each track on Badu's new album. Here is what he dropped in the comment box... I figured I'd post it up for y'all.

"I scoured the net looking to find out who produced what, and was surprised the info was so difficult to come by.

I've pieced together from different sources and post here for everyone... the guest appearances, producers and crew that make New Amerykah my joint.

1 - Amerykahn Promise

2 - The Healer: Madlib

3 - Me: Shafiq Husayn / (sa ra)

4 - My People: Madlib

5 - Soldier: Karriem Riggins

6 - The Cell: Shafiq Husayn / (sa ra)

7 - Twinkle: Shafiq & Taz / (sa ra)

8 - Master Teacher: Shafiq feat: Ty & Kory and Georgia Anne Muldrow

9 - That Hump: Om'Mas Kieth (sa ra)

10 - Telephone: James Poyser & ?uestlove

11 - Honey: 9th Wonder

12 - Real Thang: Madlib

Associate Producer credits: Jay Electronica & Shafiq Husayn" - Miguel

Moovmnt Presents Eric Lau "New Territories"

universoulproductions — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:12:11 +0000

From the Moovmnt:

Eric Lau The production skills of Eric Lau are powered by his love of manipulating sound in a soulful manner. Influenced by artists like Jay Dee, Pete Rock, D'angelo, ?uestlove, James Poyser, Donald Byrd, Roy Ayers, and Shuggie Otis, he seeks to walk in thier path of genre-busting, quality soul releases while adding a twist of his own. Using a blend of samples and instrumentation, his music already spans a variety of different genres and his collaborations with an eclectic collective of soul singers, musicians, dj's, rappers and producers with the same mind set will help push the envelope further. Production credits include Dudley Perkins, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Lupe Fiasco, Guilty Simpson, Wildchild, Tanya Morgan, Hil St Soul, and his family of artists Rahel, Sarina Leah, Annabel,Meshach Brown, Tosin, Tawiah and Jodi Milliner. Ubiquity will release his debut LP 'New Territories' March 18th, 2008. Check out the Eric Lau Moovmnt Promo here Eric Lau - Time Will Tell

Soulquarians

Leandro — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 17:29:35 +0000

Soulquarians

Soulquarians aka Soul Aquarians é um colectivo musical fundado pelos produtores musicais Questlove (The Roots), D'Angelo, James Poyser e Jay Dee (Slum Village) no final da década de noventa.

Pouco tempo depois juntaram-se os rappers Talib Kweli e Mos Def, que formavam a dupla Black Star e ainda os rappers Common e Q-Tip (A Tribe Called Quest), bem como Erykah Badu e Bilal. No entanto as referências enquanto colectivo não são muitas, sabe-se contudo que são artistas que partilham o mesmo espectro musical, e no caso de alguns deles, o mesmo signo, Aquário. O desaparecimento de Jay Dee, em Fevereiro de 2006, foi um autêntico choque.

Existem ainda outros artistas que possuem projectos paralelos a alguns membros do colectivo, como é o caso de Jill Scott e Musiq Soulchild. Alguns dos artistas referidos fazem também parte da comunidade Okay Player.

Leandro