Love Is The New Black (2021)
Anthony Hamilton – Love Is The New Black “Back in the black.” “Black Power!” “Give me five on the black-hand side.” “Always bet on Black.” In a literal sense, the color black is created by the complete absence of light or the total absorption of all shades. It represents solemnity, sophistication or literal all-encompassing darkness. […]
Sankofa (2021)
Stokley – Sankofa He’s a Midwestern-born musical prodigy, a celebrated participant and purveyor of the funk-laden, soul-powered Minneapolis Sound and a Grammy-nominated performer, songwriter, producer and vocalist. Best known as the frontman of St. Paul, Minnesota’s sextet-turned quintet, Mint Condition, his skills on center stage and in the recording studio have secured his prominence in […]
Stacy Lattisaw – The Cotillion Years: 1979-1985 (2021)
Stacy Lattisaw – The Cotillion Years: 1979-1985 During her childhood, Washington, DC native Stacy Lattisaw recorded seven albums that brightly displayed a soulful interpreter of song whose emotion and delivery belied her age. Whether covering classic R&B ballads or performing funky uptempo fare, the shy youngster came to life and gave her all in the […]
Loc’d in Consciousness (2021)
Loc’d in Consciousness, the new album by the British artist S.E.L is a project that could easily fall into the background amid all the bombast and shiny objects that the music industry puts in front of our eyes and allows to seep into our ears. And that would be a shame because Loc’d in Consciousness […]
Unfinished Business (2021)
After 7 – Unfinished Business While After 7 has not had the prolific presence of Boyz II Men or All-4-One in recent decades, the Atlanta-based vocal group’s hit streak in the early to mid-nineties had the kind of impact that has kept them on many listeners’ radars. After their disbandment in 1997, chief lead vocalist Kevon […]
Perfect Union (Advance Review)
Kool & the Gang – Perfect Union Kool & The Gang have weathered more highs and lows in their five-plus decades in music than most bands dream of. From their original incarnation as a primarily instrumental funk outfit to their days as a commercially conscious R&B/pop group with singer James “JT” Taylor delivering memorable melodies, the […]
Free: The Columbia/ARC Recordings 1977-1988 (2021 review)
Denice Williams – Free: The Columbia/ARC Recordings 1977-1988 My hometown of Gary, Indiana has consistently been the birthplace of some supremely talented people. That was never more obvious than in 1984. Michael Jackson’s Thriller was still a chart-topping album two years after its release. Trail blazing gymnast Dianne Durham reached the finals of the 1984 […]
Generations
The Baylor Project – Generations Marcus and Jean Baylor started in similar places yet took distinct and different paths to the place they now find themselves – as one of jazz music’s most respected and decorated musical dynasties. That path begins with family and church – for Jean in New Jersey and Marcus in St. Louis. […]
Through Rose Colored Glasses (2021)
Conya Doss – Through Rose Colored Glasses It is easy to imagine Conya Doss reciting the words to her song “Black is Beautiful” – one of the tunes on her latest project, Through Rose Colored Glasses – to her students, or singing the song to her son. Doss’s roles as teacher and mother inform the way […]
A Family Man (2021)
Derrick “Doc” Pearson – A Family Man: Instrumental music to inspire, motivate and relax a family man The phrase he’s done it all or he’s seen it all gets used a lot. So much, in fact, that it can lose its meaning. But within the music industry, Derrick ‘Doc’ Pearson comes as close to as doing and […]
