Alternative
Rewind: Sting – “Desert Rose” (Video)
May 14, 2012
Had my itunes on shuffle on the plane ride back from Philly & this classic Sting song “Desert Rose” came on. After not hearing this song in quite awhile it felt so good that I repeated it a few times. So much so I thought I’d bring the video up as a “Rewind” segment reminder to the rest of you of just how good this song is.
B.O.B. Speaks On Why He Can’t Live Without His iPhone (Video)
May 14, 2012
I’ve been telling fools for years….iphone is best period. I really don’t need anything else. B.O.B. agrees….
Happy Mother’s Day…
May 13, 2012
Dedicated to Glennie Ann Williams…..
Posted in Alternative, R&B, Videos | 
Tags: Lenny Kravitz, Mother's Day, Thinking Of You | 
No Comments »
Chicago Bulls Joakim Noah Speaks On The Music & Legacy Of Fela Kuti (Video)
May 8, 2012
“Chicago Bull’s center, Joakim Noah, whose father is tennis star and singer Yannick Noah, and whose grandfather is Cameroonian soccer star Zacharie Noah, grew up listening to Fela Kuti. In this piece, Joakim talks about Fela’s audacity to speak the truth on behalf of his people, Tupac as a new generation’s Fela, Noah’s gift for Obama, and the importance of knowing one’s roots.” – OkayAfrica
Posted in Alternative, Dancehall, Reggae, Sports, Videos | Tags: Chicago Bulls, Fela Kuti, Joakim Noah, OkayAfrica, OKAYPLAYER, World | No Comments »
Rare Footage: The Beastie Boys On The Dave Chappelle Show (Video)
May 7, 2012
With the recent passing of Adam “MCA” Yauch of the Beastie Boys many are going to rare interviews & footage of the group from years past. Recently some unreleased footage of the Beastie Boys on the third season of the Dave Chappelle Show just surfaced on the internet.
Posted in Alternative, Hip-Hop, History, Videos | Tags: Dave Chappelle, MCA, Rare Footage, The Beastie Boys | No Comments »
July 5th – Breakfast In Paris (EP)
May 3, 2012
The UK collective known as July 5th consists of producer VersA Beatz & singer/songwriter Dukus who joined forces for this quality sounding “Breakfast In Paris” project. The duo describe their sound as “Pharrell meets Coldplay” as the music does follow a sort of R&B/Alternative vibe similar to the lane artists like Frank Ocean & The Weeknd have been running with. This 10-song free album/EP does have a slight difference in that their UK background presents another chilled out dynamic that makes this joint all the more impressive. Check out a few standout tracks below & view the complete tracklisting & download the complete project underneath….
July 5th – “Let’s Freeze Time” (feat. Scarlett)
Posted in Alternative, Mixtapes, Music, R&B | Tags: Album, Breakfast In Paris, Dukus, EP, Free Album, July 5th, July V, VersA Beatz | No Comments »
John Forte’ – The Russian Winter Documentary [Trailer]
April 27, 2012
John Forte’ spent 14 years of his life in federal prison for drug trafficking. That’s a huge chunk out of anyone’s life considering he was once riding high within the Fugees camp & as a solo artist in his own right. Upon his release from prison John Forte’ made a trek to Russia where he worked closely with a number of charities & this upcoming documentary that will be presented during the Tribeca Music Festival covers that experience. Check out what John Forte’ had to say about this project & now wanting to do the typical “rapper out of jail” documentary.
“I think the knee-jerk reaction of coming home was to make a documentary about my life preceding prison, and what took place in prison, leading up to me coming home. But something about it just didn’t feel right. It felt exploitative. You know, I went to prep school. When I came back to the ‘hood, it wasn’t like people slapped me on the back and said, ‘Wow, you got your stripes now.’ But there were so many guys that went for a year, went away for two years, went away for five years. And when they came back, it was almost like they were praised. And that’s the last message I wanted to send. There was nothing cool about my time away.” – John Forte’
Posted in Alternative, Cover Story, Hip-Hop, Videos | Tags: Documentary, John Forte', Preview, Russian Winter, Trailer | No Comments »
B.O.B. – “No Where Near Close” (Video)
April 26, 2012
B.O.B.’s next album “Strange Clouds” officially drops next Tuesday May 1st & it seems this song “No Where Near Close” will appear on the album. I’m hoping it’s not just a short interlude because it really sounds very good. Although they used this song as sort of a promo for the “Strange Clouds” album in the above clip, the song has me itching to hear more of it. Without a doubt this ‘No Where Near Close’ joint sounds like a song something I’d definitely buy by the way it’s sounding from this preview….
Posted in Alternative, Hip-Hop, Videos | Tags: B.O.B, Bobby Ray, No Where Near Close, Strange Clouds | No Comments »
Idle Warship (Talib Kweli x Res) – “Driving Me Insane” (Video)
April 26, 2012
“A collaboration between hip-hop luminary Talib Kweli and critically acclaimed Philly soul singer Res, Idle Warship is a genre-bending musical project born out of sheer experimentation and unbridled creative expression. ‘Habits of the Heart’ stormed the music scene last year, receiving glowing praise from the likes of People Magazine, RollingStone.com, NylonMag.com, Filter, Bust, MTV Hive, YRB and Vibe.com. The group also drew attention for their unconventional idea to be the first to premiere their full album on Spotify U.S. three whole weeks ahead of release date. The album offers a thrilling hybrid of influences including soul, hip-hop, rock, alternative and electronic, and features guest spots from Jean Grae, Jay Knocka, Chester French, Michelle Williams & John Forte.” – Idle Warship Team
Posted in Alternative, Hip-Hop, R&B, Videos | Tags: DRIVING ME INSANE, HABITS OF THE HEART, Res, TALIB KWELI | No Comments »
R&B/Alternative: Norah Jones – “Say Goodbye”
April 23, 2012
Norah Jones has a great voice & has put together some great songs that are personal classics in my music library including my all-time favorite “Angels” produced by Wax Poetics as well as the widely popular “Chasing Pirates” joint from a few years back. This latest single “Say Goodbye” will be added to my list of personal favorites from Norah Jones when her album “Little Broken Hearts” drops on May 1st. I noticed the sound was quite different from previous Norah Jones joints yet subtly familiar. I even mentioned aloud on my twitter page that I wondered who produced it. After doing a little digging it all made sense when I discovered former Atlanta native Brian Burton, better known to the world as DangerMouse was behind the boards. I’m still bumping the Broken Bells album with James Mercer & it’s good to see he was able to apply his magic for Norah Jones next project. I’ve had this song on repeat the last few days so I can only expect more greatness when the full-length drops.
LISTEN: NORAH JONES – SAY GOODBYE
Posted in Alternative, Music, R&B | Tags: Brian Burton, Dangermouse, Little Broken Hearts, Norah Jones, Say Goodbye | No Comments »
Frank Ocean – Live At Coachella 2012 (Video)
April 14, 2012
The Coachella festival is going down right now in Cali & Frank Ocean just performed his set for the 3 day festival. Spotted this video over at Mr. X’s spot of Frank Ocean rocking variety joints from his “Nostalgia, Ultra” project including the fan favorite “Novacane”. Frank Ocean is definitely one of my favorite new artists, but it seems like they were working out a few kinks with his band in the beginning during the performance of “Thinking About You”. It’s all good….they have time to sharpen up the live performance with the band & get things right for the future performances…..
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Colin Munroe – Invincible feat. RZA & MemoryHouse
April 12, 2012
Toronto singer/Songwriter/producer & musician Colin Munroe enlists the help of the RZA & Memoryhouse for this “Invincible” track that will appear on his upcoming UnsungHero mixtape that’s poised to drop. From a production standpoint the track definitely has that early Wu-Tang & RZA flavoring to it. Nice second peek into what’s to come from the Unsung Hero project since releasing the “Fight Of My Life” joint with Pusha T about two months ago.
Posted in Alternative, Hip-Hop, Music, R&B | Tags: COLIN MUNROE, INVINCIBLE, MEMORYHOUSE, Rza | No Comments »
R&B: Michael Francis – “Dive” (Prod. By The University)
April 11, 2012
Michael Francis has dropped some pretty good R&B joints over the past several months. He falls into that lane of new artists whose music straddles an R&B/Alternative vibe. Right here he gives his growing fanbase a preview of what’s to come on his much delayed “Cold Heart Chronicles” project. In case you missed some his previous releases that I’ve been talking about just peep out his bandcamp page or some of the previous links we posted on the site.
Posted in Alternative, R&B | Tags: COLD HEART CHRONICLES, Dive, MICHAEL FRANCIS, The University | No Comments »
Ayah x Slakah The Beatchild – “Keep Up”
April 10, 2012
This is pure dopeness from the Canadian singer Ayah & fellow Canadian producer Slakah The Beatchild. Nice soulful cool out vibe. If yall dig this like I do then make that move with it below…..
Posted in Alternative, R&B | Tags: Ayah, Canadian Soul, Keep Up, SLAKAH THE BEATCHILD, Soul | 1 Comment »
Little Dragon Performing at UCLA JazzReggae Festival (Video)
April 3, 2012
Check out this footage for Sweden’s Little Dragon performing at the UCLA Jazz Reggae festival from last year. The festival is set to kick off again in Cali during Memorial Day weekend for two days May 27th & 28th. Perfect timing for organizers to push this new video of Little Dragon performing from last year so that way fans on the west coast can check out this years lineup of The Roots, Bobby Womack, Shaggy, Don Carlos, Collie Budz, & more….
Posted in Alternative, Reggae, Videos | Tags: Jazz, Little Dragon, Live Performance, Live Performances, UCLA Jazz/Reggae Festival | No Comments »
The Res Documentary (Trailer)
March 31, 2012
Spotted this trailer for the upcoming documentary on the feminine 1/2 of the group Idle Warship with Talib Kweli over at OKP. Res’s solo album “How I Do“ still gets many spins from me on a personal level in the itunes, but what I’m surprised to see there was already a documentary being made with her as the focal point. Filmmaker Steve Zegans has been following Res (of Idle Warship fame and, well, Res fame) since the fall of 2010 as the rarely-idle musical road warrior “recorded new music, toured the country and hustled to get her music and name back out there.†The result is a documentary film on the struggles of an independent artist balancing business with creativity and the ups and downs of life and fate. And now we have the trailer for the doc, getting our first glimpse into Res’ daily grind, including performance footage and extensive interview with Talib Kweli. Watch above and we’ll keep you updated as more info about the film and its release comes our way.
Posted in Alternative, Hip-Hop, R&B, Videos | Tags: Documentary, Idle Warship, mini-documentary, Res | No Comments »
In The Mood: “Velvet Reasons” (Mixtape) By DJ Jamad
March 30, 2012
One of my favorite DJs who consistently comes out with the quality R&B/Soul/Alternative mixes is the homie DJ Jamad. If you’re already a fan of his work then you know he doesn’t put out random mixes every week so fans of his mixes appreciate them more for their song selection & placement, themes, artwork, & everything else that better enhances the experience of listening to anything in his Afromentals series of projects. The latest project “Velvet Reasons” is right on time because I’ve still bumping his “Choc-Lo-Dytes” & “Ginger Snaps” mixes from January & March of last year. While most people fast food their mixes, DJ Jamad’s care in creating these mixes continues to make them timeless regardless of when they were released. Check out the complete tracklisting of this new project by clicking on it under the hood…
DOWNLOAD: DJ JAMAD – IN THE MOOD: “VELVET REASONS” (MIXTAPE) | ALT. LINK
Posted in Alternative, Mixtapes, Music, R&B | Tags: Afromentals, DJ JAMAD, IN THE MOOD, Moods Music, Soul, VELVET REASONS | No Comments »
Theophilus London x Solange Perform ‘Flying Overseas’ Live (Video)
March 25, 2012
Theophilus London’s song “Flying Overseas” featuring Solange is one of my personal favorite songs in recent years. It’s a song that gets repeated play in my itunes at times. While down at the SXSW festival Solange joined Theophilus on stage for a live performance of this beautiful song.
Posted in Alternative, Hip-Hop, R&B, Videos | Tags: Hip Hop, Solange, Soul, Theophilus London | No Comments »
B.O.B. – “So Good” (Video)
March 22, 2012
Man this is a really great song & video from Atlanta’s own B.O.B. for his latest single “So Good”. The video was filmed down in beautiful Buenos Aires, Argentina….great sound, good look, & good subject matter that anyone around the world could relate too. Bobby Ray continues to make some great moves & choices that only seem to further his rise as a global superstar beyond just hip hop…..
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Posted in Alternative, Hip-Hop, R&B, Videos | Tags: B.O.B, Bobby Ray, Hardknock TV, So good | 1 Comment »
R&B/Soul: Frank Ocean – “Thinking About You” (Official Version)
March 17, 2012
We rarely ever post songs that are all tagged up with drops & shoutouts so when this Frank Ocean joint initially hit the web we passed on posting it for those reasons. Now here’s the official radio version of the Frank Ocean’s “Thinking About You” minus the tags & with some tweaks to the actual song by Frank himself…
FRANK OCEAN – THINKING ABOUT YOU
Posted in Alternative, Music, R&B | Tags: Frank Ocean, official, RADIO VERSION, THINKING ABOUT YOU | No Comments »
