Earlier this year, DJ Spinna gave us a Sonic Smash to chill our ears in the midst of a sweltering summer. As 2009 wraps up, the renowned producer is back--and this time, he's brought the heat with Boogie Back, a post-Disco/pre-House excursion taking you into the depths of electrified funk with each pulsating track.
Unless you've been living under a rock, Shingai Shoniwa's star has been born. And watching this video for Noisettes' latest single "Every Now And Then," it's impossible to ignore. Not only does everything about her look absolutely stunning, but the video is rather well put together, too. Despite my wishing that this '60s sound would be finally laid to rest with the best rework done this decade, Amy Winehouse's Back To Black, this song isn't getting on my nerves. While I secretly pine for the Rock sound that dominated their last album, I understand that this is the sound that the masses will most likely consume. Though I'm curious to see if this is the beginning of Shingai appearing apart from her bandmates, I won't start up any trouble. In the meantime, feast you eyes on this video.
Words such as "pleading," "longing," "desperation" have been used thus far to describe Mary J. Blige's seminal opus, My Life. You may be tired of reading such descriptions. I'm here to tell you that reading the rest of this post isn't going to be any easier for you if you fall into this category. "Don't Go" is...just...so...damn pathetic in its pleading that it rivals Lenny Williams' "Cause I Love You" with its woeful tale of how planets will smash into each other and Armageddon will begin if, boy, you just can't get it into your thick head that you can't leave me. Previous to this song in the tracklisting, Mary has sung of wanting to save herself even though she really wants to stay with the man she rightfully knows is hers. This is the one song that so unapologetically lets the floodgates open so that every bar is awash with tears. The sucker punch is that the song is set to the beat of Guy's "Goodbye Love." Aaron Hall may have been attempting to be classy and sing his way out of your heart, but Mary simply won't stand for it. Out of all the songs on this album, this is the song I always come back to. Yes, the track is hot melodically, but it's a great reminder of where I've been and that I never have to feel that way again. Hopefully, it's the same experience for you.
Mary J. Blige: "Don't Go"
Robin Thicke has been on an unrelenting campaign against panties since long before he threw on a suit and pined that he's "Lost Without You." Now, Dr. Lothario attempts to win over the undecided with the covers for his upcoming albums Sex Therapy: The Experience and Sex Therapy: The Session. Yes, not one, but two solutions to your sexual frustrations as conveyed by a sultry falsetto and a come hither glance. In the event the eponymous first single didn't make you tingle, check out five ways that these covers are bound to leave you wondering who turned off the lights and who lit the candle after the bounce.
I have yet to see the movie Black Dynamite, but I have fallen head over platforms in love with the music from the film, specifically the Black Dynamite score. It's as if Adrian Younge recorded this in a time capsule; it's incredible how authentic the music sounds. My favorite song on the score is "Gloria (Zodiac Letters)," which is all Afro Sheen and Nag Champa, Jean Nate and Brut. Younge dazzles on the production while singer Toni Scruggs mesmerizes with her vocals. Her voice gets into you like a deep tissue massage. Turn the lights off, turn your lava lamp on, press play below and feel the vibe. Can you dig it?
Adrian Younge feat. Toni Scruggs: "Gloria (Zodiac Letters)"
DC Bouncers, get ready for Hip Hop history to be made on Saturday, November 14th when legendary group Goodie Mob reunites and returns to the DMV for a very special concert at The Scene. What makes this show especially hot is the free tickets that we're giving away! Two lucky Bouncers and their guests will get to see Big Gipp, Khujo, T-Mo and Cee-Lo do their thing on stage on their first concert tour in 10 years. With Scarface also on the bill, this is sure be an epic night. Find out how to be in there like swimwear after the bounce and click here to buy tikcets.
Every time we think Raphael Saadiq may be just about done promoting last year's winning LP, The Way I See It, he comes back with yet another video, or performance, to support the effort. It's almost unheard of these days, an artist spending more than a year reveling in the glory of one project, but we love him for it. This latest video to emerge, courtesy of SpinTV, is for "Staying In Love," which admittedly wasn't one of my favorites, but the video sure is. As the Spin site described it, it's like an "iPod ad meets Frank Miller's semi-animated Sin City." Dead-on. Check it below, and after the bounce, see Saadiq's upcoming tour dates with another of our favorites, Janelle Monae. Should be a very interesting tour, to say the least.
You already know how I feel about Boyz II Men. Their harmonies are uncanny and their image remains wholesome as sweet potato pie. For nearly twenty years, Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman and Wanya Morris have given us a consistent stream of timeless ballads delivered with vocal perfection. Love is the latest contribution to their legacy. It features some of the greatest, tear-jerking, heart-on-your-sleeve tunes of the 20th century--re-imagined by this dynamic trio. This album transcends R&B while covering more than five decades of love songs from various genres.
"Unnecessary pain (pain is pain) / Tell me who would get the blame (you know it hurts) / If we should go astray / What would we do? What could we say?"There comes a time every person's life when feeling stops making sense. When numb is all you have, and you can't even label what you're going through. That's what "Mary's Joint" is on the My Life album: the point where things just don't make sense anymore. Where asking for forgiveness seems crazy. Where promises made should be promises kept. Where making it work is the only thing. Mary J. Blige just lets it all out on ole boy, reminding him of what he said, of what she needs. Of what she's willing to do to make it work. It's the closest we ever got to MJB rapping on the album, like she's looking in the mirror and freestyling her feelings. Numb to the pain. Past the point of exhaustion. Major props to Puffy and The Hitmen for coaxing that out of her. For getting her to that thin line between love and hate without letting her cross it. They especially get props for calling it "Mary's Joint" because it totally is. The one where delirium is a necessary pain, even if a label isn't. The one joint where she has her say.
Mary J. Blige: "Mary's Joint"
