And the honors go to.......

O.k., so yes I'm a big kid. Last night as I was rummaging through the crates I started playing an old childhood game "if you had to choose one which would you choose?" So I figured it be nice to play the game with you all.If you had to crown one of each of the following groups as the King or Queen of Soul/Funk, which would you choose for each question....and most importantly why?

1.) Taste of Honey vs Brother Johnson

2.) Emotions vs Pointer Sisters

3.) Mandrill vs War

4.) Roy Ayers vs Gill Scott Heron

5.) Rose Royce vs Ohio Players

6.) Commodores vs LTD

7.) Teddy Pendergass vs Marvin Gay

8.) O'jays vs Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes

9.) Rick James vs Prince

10.) Kaygees vs Brick

11.) Crown Heights Affair vs BT Express

Menahan Street Band... the gift of collaboration

There is nothing better then when a group of seasoned musicians unite to create a menagerie of audio delights. From the first time I pressed play, Make the Road by Walking has been marinating in the IPOD tracklist. Listening to every track is like sitting by the window on a rainy fall day sipping on a warm cup of tea. The live horns, strings, and bass evoke the spirit of fusion jazz, afro-beat, and ancestral rare grooves that are prime for sampling. Of course, Jigga himself Jay-Z quickly recognized this when he borrowed the debut song "Make the Road by Walking" for his American Gangster hit "Roc Boys". Thomas Brenneck knew exactly what he was doing when he brought the collective members from Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings (Dave Guy, Homer Steinweiss, Fernando Velez, Bosco Mann), El Michels Affair (Leon Michels, Toby Pazner), Antibalas (Nick Movshon, Aaron Johnson) and the Budos Band (Mike Deller, Daniel Fodder). While the soulful instrumentals satisfy my appetite, I can't help but to imagine what heights I would reach if a vocalist such a Maya Azucena, Lady Alma, or even Alice Smith were to grace the mic.

For the Love of Hip-House

Rather late than never......

MTV recently held it's first African music awards show. As usual delayed recognition of Africa's amazing music and diverse talent.Needless to say, the implications of the presidential election is permeating into every aspect of our lives.What a lovely era we are in. In the meantime, let's give thanks for the late Miriam Makeba one of the first artists to bring African music to the forefront of the international community.




MTV HOLD ITS FIRST AFRICAN MUSIC AWARDS
By BASHIR ADIGUN, AP
posted: 3 HOURS 58 MINUTES AGOcomments: 7PrintShareText SizeAAA
ABUJA, Nigeria -Two Nigerian singers won top awards Saturday as MTV held its first-ever music award program for Africa, with acts from across the world's poorest continent being nominated for prizes.
Nigerian singer D'banj won the artist of the year award, while his compatriot, Naeto C, took the laurels for the best new African act, it was announced at the ceremony in Abuja, Nigeria's capital.
Winners were selected by fans sending text messages, said Alison Reid, a spokeswoman for MTV Networks Africa.
Africa has long featured a vibrant music scene, but artists have had difficulties breaking into overseas markets. Famous African artists include Senegal's Youssou N'dour, Nigerian legend Fela Kuti and South African impresario Miriam Makeba, who died this month.
MTV hopes the awards can offer the artists more exposure and celebrate the continent's artistry.
Performers from South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Gabon and others also were nominated. Songs by D'banj and Naeto C, both male, are all but ubiquitous on the radio in Nigeria, Africa's most-populous nation of 140 million people.
African music is highly varied, reflecting myriad tastes in the vast continent. Included across the many genres are call-and-response chanting and heavy drumming, drawing on pre-colonial modes of communication among villages.
Since independence movements swept the continent in the 1960s, African music also has increasingly been open to outside influence, incorporating salsa rhythms, rock beats and, increasingly, hip hop and R&B styles.
Many of the new Nigerian acts nominated Saturday feature heavy beats pioneered by American rappers and hip-hop artists. The lyrics often reflect the desire of many Nigerians to escape poverty and corrupt governance.
MTV's regional music channel MTV Base now reaches almost 50 million African viewers in 48 countries through a network of pay-per-view services and partnerships with domestic channels.

Album Review- BSTC: Music for a Saturday Evening

Time and time again we discuss the controversial term Neo-Soul. The whole idea of Nu-Soul is somewhat irritating because it’s like buying a fake Coach bag when you can get the original. While a fake is often cheaper, it never quite lasts. Some artists understand that it’s not about trying to be something that you are not it’s about being who you are. That’s what makes the BSTC “Music for a Saturday Evening” album so beautiful. You cannot put this group under one title or genre, you know this immediately when you hear the Intro and track one “BSTC”, where the gospel organ takes you back to Mississippi juke joints and holly rolling evangelists. This “baptism by the bass” sets the stage for the journey to come almost as if Bootsy Collins is driving the bus and we’re all aboard. I snobbishly labeled track three “Love featuring JL” as sounding too R &B until I found Samba undertones pulling me out of my seat. If you’re like me, while you’re up you should grab your partner because track four makes you want to turn on the red light and find a nice spot against the wall to get your wind on. “Fresh Love” immediately reminds you of the House yet two stepping roots of these Chicago natives. “Venus and Mars” is tangled with electronic broken beats but again laced by the organic sounds of percussion and keys. The slow jams “Fly away” and “Love and Lust” allow just enough time to catch your breath before your Saturday night endeavors. “Agua De Beber”, “Afrika”, and “Suffering and Smiling” my personal favorites, conjure the spirits of Deodato, Santana, and Fela Kuti causing your hips to effortlessly take over. “Jazz in Outer Space's” old school hip-hop swing will transmit you back to high top fades and Cross-Color jeans. Yet the last two jams “Forty Days” and “Mr. AC” remind you that you’re all grown and ready to take over the world. As their first album release, BSTC put it down! They define themselves as being indefinable, which is lovely because as a great man stated “I cannot be contained in the space of the earth, I cannot be contained in the space of the heavens, but I can be contained in the heart of my loving servant.” In this case BSTC are loving servants to the music.

Sutra

Hi everyone, I posted an episode to my podcast, RECESS RADIO (An IKSA Production).

Click this link to check it out:
SUTRA (Special RECESS EPISODE)

When you know it's time for reinvention......

I'm not going to lie, back in the day I loved me some New Kids on the Block. But notice I said back in the day! What year was that 1988...ah the good old days when stone washed jeans and Music Video Box were what it was all about.



But twenty something odd years later, YOU CANNOT be the same person your were. It's just natural evolution.Hopefully as humans we all grow, learn new things, have families, redefine our art. Unfortunately, someone didn't tell New kids about this.In this new video with Ne-yo they seem to think that they are still the cute little kids from BACk in the day.Look at Donnie, he know he got three kids and a wife at home, talking about coming to the "club" and "single". It was a great attempt perhaps with a N.E.R.D. remix or a Kenye twist they could transform to "men" not the boys they used to be.

Unfortunately, I can't embedd it but check out the "Single" video.

"Single" NKOTB and NE-YO