MIXX FOR EXQUISITE TASTES!
My time for blogging has become limited lately, so I try to post when time permits. It's mixx time again, and this joint is all about soul music. I call this mixx "Esquisite Tastes" and it's full of all types of underground and unique artists worth checking for. Most of these guys and gals stay on repeat in my ears via my iPod and car stereo. Defintely, put ears on it when time permits. The track list is finally available for those seeking artists names and album titles. Check the commments section for it, then show support to those artists that you're feeling by spending $$$ or telling a friend. Radio still sucks, so lets work at keeping the music we love alive...

Get Esquisite Tastes is here!

JAAFAR IS BACK AT IT WITH SL!

Yeah, I know! Don't call it a comeback...I've been here for years. The break was great, but now it's time to fill up your music crate. I love dropping those almost verses from time to time, just to let you that have mediocre talent and that's why I blog instead of rap. Anyway, this post is not about me, it's actually about the soul singer Jaafar. I did a post about Jaafar back in 2009 when he dropped his sleeper first album "Travel Light" that went unheard by the masses. Now, he's back with his latest project called "Supernatural Love" and I am digging it! Jaafar is not recreating the soul wheel with this album, but he stays in his lane pretty well. Musical choices are very personal, so I recommend that you take a listen to this joint and hear what you think. If you like it, buy it!

Supernatural is here!

www.soforealproductions.com/jaafar/music.html

IT IS CLEAR SOUL FORCES!
On your mark, get set and get ready for more of that Detroit hip-hop vibe. A four man group called Clear Soul Forces has dropped some music for all to hear. Their latest EP is called "Departure" and it's a free download. I really digs the cover artwork as well. That street in the photo is named Woodward Avenue located in downtown Detroit. What I enjoy about this new joint is that it doesn't sound like typical Detroit street music. It has a fun and polished sound to it that I really enjoy. The beats and rhymes are tight, and it continues to deserved rotation in my iPod. Definitely some "head-bobbin' music. Ok, enough typing! Time for you to click on the link below and get this EP:

http://clearsoulforces.bandcamp.com

ODDISEE'S "A YEAR IN"!

The hardworking Oddisee is a producer, rapper and group member, so he keeps the e-streets filled with hot material! For fans like myself, that's always welcomed. To bring in 2011 Oddisee released a compilation of his favorite joints from 2010, and he's calling it "A Year In" for those that slept. Even I missed some of the included 22 tracks, so finally getting them is sweet! It's only $5 (U.S. currency) so take some of the Christmas money that you have saved up and pick this joint up. The featured guest list is thorough and includes: Trek Life, Olivier Daysoul, Muneshine, Blu, Asher Roth and Andreya Triana. I got my copy, so go get yours.

http://oddisee.bandcamp.com/album/a-year-in

MUSIQ SOULCHILD IN THE MIXX!I want to wish a Happy New Year to all of my family, friends, fans and supporters! The year 2010 was solid overall, but I want 2011 to be even better. I wanted to start the year off by paying homage to one of my favorite soul artists Musiq Soulchild. His unique musical stylings have kept me pretty entertained over the years. However, I feel that he's an overlooked and slept on artist even today. I still remember when I first saw Musiq perform live as an opening act for Erykah Badu prior to the release of his first album. At that time "Just Friends" was popping on the radio. Even as an unknown artist he ripped the stage, and the rest is history. I can't wait until Mr. Soulchild drops another album, but until then I present you with this "sho-nuff" Musiqal goodie...Enjoy!

MUSIQ IS HERE

www.musiqsoulchild.com

THAT MUSIKAL HEALING MIXX!
This particular joint is for everyone going through something in their lives right about now. We all hope for the best, but we never really know when things may change for the worse. Some people are suffering more than others, especially during the holiday season. I truly feel that music heals the soul and can lift your spirits when life takes an unfortunate turn. I call this joint "Musikal Healing" just for that reason. I hope you enjoy it, and maybe it will make you feel a better about whatever maybe going on in your life! As always, thanks for your support!

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Goodies List:

Beautiful - Mary J. Blige
Lucky - Dionne
Today - Avery Sunshine
Just Can't Get Enough - Robert Kelly
Out On The Floor - Brian McKnight
I Like The Way - Jeff Hendrick
Walking - Mary Mary
Lay With You - El DeBarge/Faith
Hard Love - Sunshine Anderson
I Get Joy - Coko
Who's Gonna Comfort You? - Kindred
It's Gonna Rain - Kelly Price
I Like The Way You Work (Remix) - Blackstreet
It's Me - Carmen Rodgers
Givin' It Up Is Givin' Up - Patrice Rushen/DJ Rodgers
The Making of You - Lauryn Hill
Boogie Nights/All Night - Erykah Badu
Tomorrow - Tevin Campbell/Q
Breathe Love - Marcell & The Truth
Muzikal Healing - DJ SoundNexx

I leave you with one of my favorite Christmas joints below:

NEXX IN HEAVY ROTATION!

I get asked frequently what I am currently listening to in my iPod, so I decided to do a post showcasing of the joints I currently have in rotation. Place your eyes on the albums covers below:

When I first came across this Nottz album "You Need This Music" I wasn't expecting much. Nothing against Nottz personally, but most rap music today stinks. However, after putting ears on this joint, it has grown on me like a rash. It's fully of solid rhymes and catchy production. Plus, featured guests include: Dwele, Bilal, Royce 5'9, Black Milk, Little Brother and Joel Ortiz!

Slakah The Beatchild is one of the hottest producers in the game, and his latest joint "Something Forever" showcases some of his best work to date! This is good stuff no matter how you slice it, so don't sleep!

If you are looking for some smooth grooves with an old school feel, you need to put ears on this new El DeBarge "Second Chance" album. I was surprised how good this joint sounded, but I may be biased because I am a serious DeBarge stan.


You may not know about the soul singer Iman Williams, but you need to! Her new album "Stupid Human Tricks" is definitely my kind of soul music. Sweet vocals and solid production.

The new R. Kelly album "Love Letter" is definitely his best in years! He's back to actually singing instead of thug rapping. Welcome back Kels...we missed you!

2010 has been a great year for music, and I hope 2011 is even better!

SOUND SPOT: KNXWLEDGE
Time to pay homage to one of my favorite underground beatmakers and his name is Knxwledge. This post has been a long time coming actually. I have been supporting this kat for a minute now, and I get emails asking about this dude all of the time. I have slipped many of his hot beats into several of my past mixxes. His beats always keep my head bobbin' so whenever I can fit one into my mixx I do so. I consider myself a beat-hound, so I have hundreds of instrumentals in my musical archives. In the upcoming weeks, I plan on dropping another instrumental mixx to showcase some other dope producers that you may not know.

Until then, get you ears filled with some beats by Knxwledge:

GET YOUR KNXWLEDGE HERE!

REGGIE NOBLE VS. REDMAN!
All these hip-hop blogs on the Internet, and I am not seeing
enough about my dude Redman's new album! This kat is a veteran, so anytime he drops a new joint I'm all over it like diarrhea. Lyrically, Reggie hasn't lost step after all of his years in the game. The new album is simply titled "Reggie" and it's 13 tracks deep. Featured guests include: Saukrates (when this dude dropping a new album?), Method Man, Melanie Rutherford, Bun B, Faith Evans, DJ Kool and some others I have never heard of. I feel musical taste is personal, and that's why I don't do many album reviews. However, I must state my peace about this latest Redman album. Overall, the rhymes are on point, but I feel the production is lacking something. I miss the days when Erick Sermon handled all of the production duties. If you consider yourself a Redman fan, then I suggest you give it spin. Right now, it's only $8 on Amazon:

GET REGGIE HERE!

Checkout Redman speaking about the current Def Jam situation below:

PETE ROCKTHABEAT MIXX!
There are average producers, great producers, and then there are legendary producers. Pete Rock is a hip-hop legend by every definition. He is one of the reasons why I fell in love with hip-hop music. The classic records he's made with CL Smooth in the past could still rock a party in 2010! There are so many hot tracks by the duo that it's not worth trying to name them all. I know there are plenty of people out there that never really liked Pete Rock spitting lyrics on the microphone. However, I have always felt Pete was solid as a producer-emcee. No he's not a Rakim or KRS-One, but he's no MC Hammer either. Just in case you forgot how Pete Rock used to bring it back in the day, I am sharing a mixx of his musical goodies I call "Pete RockThaBeat" just in time for Christmas.

PETE ROCKS THA BEAT HERE

REVIVE YOUR EARS WITH SOUL!
Now, that Turkey Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are in my rearview mirror at this point, it's time to get back to the music. Soul music that is, black gold, urban glee. I dig Indie soul artists, so my latest joint is showcasing some of my favorites. I call it the "Earotic Soul Shock Mixx" so put ears on it if you want to hear some refreshing musical vibes. If like something, please support the artist(s) by buying their music and spreading the word about them. Your musical investigation is only a Google search away. Quality music is slowly becoming overshadowed by the mainstream nonsense, so lets help keep this great music alive!

GET EAROTIC SOUL HERE!

CROSS COUNTRY COLLECTIVE (C3)
It's time for some more musical goodies to satisfy your listening cravings. Music is pratically like family to me. It's been around as long as I can remember, so me and Mrs. Tones got a thang going on. Discussing and sharing music with this blog over the years has provided me the opportunity meet a few really cool and like minded individuals online. Two of those people are Fave and The Big La. These two music minded gentleman have joined forces with Mr. Fresh to create the group C3. Fave plays the keyboards, Fresh is on lead guitar and Big La is handling the drum programming. Together they create some smooth grooves that definitely set the mood! Their debut 5-track EP titled "ContempoJazzSoulHop" can be downloaded for free. Two of my favorite joints on this EP showcase classic tracks from Stevie Wonder and Tom Brock. Don't hesitate putting ears on this C3 EP immediately by clicking ---> c3music.bandcamp.com

Keep up the good work fellas...

RAHEEM SOUL HIPPIE MIXX!
It’s time to drop another soul artist dedication mixx, and nexx up is Raheem DeVaughn. What I appreciate most about this artist outside of musical talent is his aggressive grind. The guy stays busy leaking free music and doing guest appearances with everyone. Personally, I appreciate it! Lyrically, Raheem touches on several topics like love, life, relationships and sex, but I enjoy his music the most when it’s socially conscious or politically motivated. There’s not enough of that in the music today, so I applaud artists that challenge the listeners. No matter what you think about the man or some of his past business decisions as an artist, you have to respect his hustle. For that reason I took some time out to put this mixx together I call the “Raheem Soul Hippie”mixx. This joint showcases some of his old, new, unreleased and remixed tracks, including some guest appearances. Enjoy!

GET SOUL HIPPIE HERE!

www.raheemdevaughnmusic.com

Support quality music and the artists that make it!!

THE SUNSHINE HAS RETURNED!
This has been a great year for female soul artists coming back on the scene after years of being absent. Monica, Faith Evans and now Sunshine Anderson. True R&B is back in 2010! About four months ago I heard Sunshine doing a radio interview, and she somewhat explained her absence. To sum it up, it basically came down to label issues (which is typical). She took her time away from music to focus on her personal life and family. Sunshine wasn't sure if she would ever release another album, so it was nice to see that her new joint had dropped. It came out of thin air with little to no promotion. It's called The Sun Shines Again and after listening to it, I can hear that she hasn't lost a step musically. More music dealing with love, life and relationships with that Sunshine spin on it. Her facial expressions are priceless. Put eyes and ears on Sunshine speaking about her new album below:



Now, checkout the new video for the single "Lie To Kick It" below:

www.sunshineanderson.com

www.facebook.com/sunshineanderson

CHRISETTE IS BRINGING "REIGN"!
One of my favorite voices is back with on the scene with some new music, and her name is Chrisette Michele. Not only does she have new music, but she has a new look as well. If you look closely, you'll notice Ms. Michele has cut all of her hair off, and is currently kicking a natural style. She considers this transformation a rebirth of being healthy, and it starts at the top of her head. Nina Simone is one of Chrisette's greatest influences, and you can definitely tell by her overall style. Nina was a trendsetter back in the day, and I believe Chrisette is becoming just that in 2010. Chrisette's new album Let Freedom Reign hits store shelves on November 30, 2010. The first single from the project "I'm A Star" has been creating a buzz over the last few weeks. If you haven't heard it yet, put eyes and ears on the new video below:

www.facebook.com/chrisettemichele

www.chrisettemichele.com