Tag: poetry

Gretchen Parlato – In A Dream

Vocalist Gretchen Parlato was the first ever vocalist to be admitted to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance. In A Dream is a 10 song EP released in 2009 and features some of her best work. A recent album Live in NYC released in 2013 features some of her In A Dream songs.

Lalah Hathaway – Live!

“LIVE, was the product of a special show at The Troubadour in Los Angeles, the same venue where my father recorded Donny Hathaway Live. That night changed me. It was total exposure for me. There were moments during the making of that record… on that day… in that room… on that stage… where I felt like I needed to detach. I had to hide. What I was experiencing was so intense and unchartered I wasn’t sure what was going to happen to me when I really engaged. That was the moment I stopped hiding myself. I realised I was stepping into a light. I was literally and figuratively, taking a step into a new place, a new space where I could no longer hide. The record is not perfect. I didn’t fix every little thing and that was liberating. I submitted myself to the truth of the moment.”

Boonie Mayfield – Boon Documented, Vol. 2

“Solomon Vaughn aka Boonie Mayfield has never culled “a little bit of this, a little bit of that” as an attitude in his creations. From his lush studio instrumentation to the committed, experimental shamelessness of his raps and beats, Boonie has always explored music-making unapologetically, at the risk of radically revising his sound despite its reception on each new occasion. And so he has come thus far with an adventurous, high-flying model of producing music. He transcends genres; he twists and turns styles, always searching for every possible creative edge, no matter how elusive that may prove to be. He has released singles, EP’s, mixtapes and albums, stylistically diverse between them, but always with one common goal in mind – being the best he can be…by his own standards, and means.

Awon & Dephlow – Sleep is the Cousin of Death

“Sleep Is The Cousin Of Death” is the latest release from hip-hop collective Don’t Sleep Records. The project features Virginia’s own Awon & Dephlow on the mic and producer Phoniks on the boards, recreating the chemistry from their 2014 debut “Dephacation” that received over 4.3 million streams online. Dephlow’s booming mic presence is complimented by Awon’s slick, smooth delivery as the two emcee’s weave in-and-out through a compilation of Phoniks turntable cuts and somber boom-bap instrumentals. Without a skip-track in sight the trio proves that they haven’t missed a beat since their debut and are once again ready to prove their status among the underground elite.

Awon & Linkrust – Moon Beams

Moon Beams is a project by rapper Awon and producer Linkrust that takes the listener on a spaced out afrofuturistic journey through the streets as they exist today, yesterday, and possibly the future. The music by Linkrust is obscure, raw, and gritty yet beautiful at times composed as it is an alien operating on a different frquency. The accompanying lyrics of Awon only enhance the vibration making this musical offering one that should be listened to as a mix or in one sitting to gain the full experience of this genre bending journey into another time, place, and possibly galaxy.

Lord Echo – Harmonies

“Harmonies is the new long player from underground super-producer Lord Echo. The new album solidifies his already distinctive mutations of reggae and rock steady with disco, African soul, techno and spiritual jazz. In other words, the Lord has returned from the wilderness with a bounty for his followers. Eat of the bread of life and enjoy access to his crazy World of Sound.”