new tings: janelle monae + jidenna 'yoga'

janelle monae is not here to fit into anybody's boxes. love this. 'yoga' feat. jidenna.

new tings: janelle monae + jidenna 'yoga'

'gucci time' ~ john forté

in which john forté drops.the.mic.

'gucci time' ~ john forté

soul food: kwabs' 'last stand'

this voice, y'all. this voice!

from his beautiful EP, wrong or right, this is kwabs' last stand.

soul food: kwabs' 'last stand'

soul food: yasiin gaye 'inner city travellin' man (soul mates remix)

file under: things you didn't know you were waiting for until they happened.

yasiin gaye = marvin gaye x yasiin bey = pure magic. 

via okayplayer

soul food: yasiin gaye 'inner city travellin' man (soul mates remix)

soul food: willow & jaden smith's '5'

this is unexpected and rather delightful. and i'm digging it.
'5' by willow and jaden smith. produced by Ta-Ku.



via okayplayer.

soul food: willow & jaden smith's '5'

soul food: marian mereba

i've just come across ethiopian-american songwriter/producer/vocalist marian mereba's 'room for living' remixes EP via okayafrica, and i am digging it. love her voice. 

listen to the remixes above, and check out the original EP here.

soul food: marian mereba

soul food: shad's 'flying colours'

no words to describe this dopeness, y'all. i don't know how shad keeps getting better with each album, but he truly does. this is all kinds of magic. and the collaborations are really smart, too. this is a perfect combination of brilliant storytelling and masterful technique.

it is thoughtful, intelligent, sharp, introspective, and it makes you think. it makes you stop everything to listen. and it consistently knocks you over with just how bloody good it is. it has also rendered me unable to review it properly because i keep jumping out of my seat yelling 'whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!! whaaaat!?' and startling everyone around me. i shall therefore leave that to the professionals and go back to my vigorous head-nodding.

soul food: shad's 'flying colours'

video: 'matatizo' by just a band

incredibly powerful video from just a band.



'matatizo' is the first video from the group's sorry for the delay and it's dedicated to the memory of issa juma, the composer of the song, and 'all the kenyans who have their hears and bodies so their children could be free'. via their youtube page, the band urges all to read more about the story behind the video: 'we lived to tell - the nyayao house story'.

video: 'matatizo' by just a band

soul food: 'green garden' ~ laura mvula

you know who's kind of magical? laura mvula.

i love her voice. i love this track. i love this track LIVE, even better.

'green garden'

'green garden' LIVE

(thank you, @giantpandinha!)

soul food: 'green garden' ~ laura mvula

soul food: 'gods' by maxwell [snippet]

deeply excited, y'all. summers soon come. 

soul food: 'gods' by maxwell [snippet]

[VIDEO] k'naan: the story of country, god, or the girl

i have yet to wax poetic about this album, as i have about previous k'naan albums, singles, collaborations, etc. i think i'm still trying to wrap my mind around it. but i'm digging this mini documentary about his process and his journey. it's especially interesting that k'naan's trip to somalia resulted in a change in his songwriting that is more reflective, inward-looking and is 'the most intimate music' he's made to date.

here is the video for hurt me tomorrow. 

[VIDEO] k'naan: the story of country, god, or the girl

afrika21 mixtape~ fela kuti + ginger baker: live! remixed

(Photo Credit: David Corio)

In celebration of Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s birthday, life, legacy and music Society HAE has teamed up with Nigerian hip hop collective and production company Str8buttah to release “Fela Kuti + Ginger Baker: LIVE! Remixed.”   The DocuMixtape combines snippets of rare interviews with Fela, Ginger Baker and Fela’s musicians with sound bites and remixes of the live recordings from his 1971 “LIVE!” album, which featured The Africa70 Band and Ginger Baker.  Original soundscapes by Teck-zilla of Str8buttah are also present on the DocuMixtape's featured tracks.

“Fela Kuti + Ginger Baker: LIVE! Remixed,” is part of Society HAE's AFRIKA21 mixtape series celebrating The Continent's creative thinkers in the fields of music and art.  

afrika21 mixtape~ fela kuti + ginger baker: live! remixed

soul food: kae sun's 'ship and the globe'

ghanaian-canadian artist kae sun is back with ship and the globe, the first video from his forthcoming album afriye. 

the video is beautifully shot and the track showcases kae sun's growth as an artist. i'm really looking forward to hearing the rest of the album.

soul food: kae sun's 'ship and the globe'

new music: 'long gone' by kenna

it's been a minute since we've heard from ethiopian-american artist kenna. 

here is his latest track long gone, from his forth coming album songs of flight.

new music: 'long gone' by kenna

new groove: 'probably for lovers' by just a band

and now...the first in a list of holy-crap-i'm-late-on-this-but-i-have-to-post!

check out the the latest single from "africa's super-nerdy art/music collective" just a band. it's from their forthcoming album sorry for the delay. i love the entire feel of this infectious track.  

@justaband

just a band on tumblr

new groove: 'probably for lovers' by just a band

the awesome: 'buffer slow' by shad k

bonus track 'buffer slow' from shad k's awesome birthday EP, melancholy and the infinite shadness. this is totally my favorite. the neneh cherry sample! so awesome.

the awesome: 'buffer slow' by shad k

k'naan on 'visions of visionaries'

k'naan on 'visions of visionaries'

soul food: 'the village' by ian kamau

beautiful brilliance from the brother, ian kamau. loving his album, one day soon, which is now available, here.

he is currently in south africa and moving up to kenya within the next week and i'm digging following his adventures on the continent via twitter.

soul food: 'the village' by ian kamau

illume sessions: nneka in her own words

nneka was recently on an east african tour. while there, she stopped by kigali, had an amazing performance, hung out with the illume crew and blessed us with her 'madness'. it's an experience i will never forget.  her new album soul is heavy is out now and it is timeless and beautiful and urgent and necessary. here are part one and two of 'illume sessions ~ nneka: in her own words'

illume sessions: nneka in her own words

freshness: fanfare -- leo37

i posted the preview for leo37's fanfare a little while ago and, it's now finally been released

the EP  is a collaborative effort between the emcee/producer/turntablist leo37 and producer and toronto-based mult-instrumentalist, john poon. it features guest appearances by lilian chan [vocals] (you & the night) and tim shia [drums] (fire dance, footwork, & fanfare) and album art from award-winning animator/illustrator howie shia. the result of the collaboration is an effort that is both classic and fresh and that is musically, aesthetically, stylistically refreshing.  dopeness abounds, y'all.


fanfare is available now for free download at:  www.leo37.com

freshness: fanfare -- leo37