THE WU IS BACK AGAIN IN 2010!
I still get pretty hyped about any new joints that drop from the original Wu crew members. Hearing their voices on a rhyme remind me of the good ole' days of hip-hop! I miss the originality and excitement from the Golden Era of rap, but a few of Wu members have kept that spirit alive. One in particular is Ghostface Killa. Some have said that he single-handedly saved the Wu movement with a couple of his earlier solo joints. That's a personal opinion of course, but I think Method Man and Chef Raekwon were doing their thing as well. The three of them have always been my favorites from the Clan, so I was happy to hear that they have united to make the "Wu Massacre" album. Tracks from this joint are already leaking all over the Internet, so be on the lookout. From what I have heard so far, the crew is solid as a rock! Sounds like 1995 all over again.

In Wu fashion there will be three different album covers released showcasing each emcee as a comic book character. The picture above has a cropped shot of each cover. The nu Wu joint drops on March 30th, so all Wu-Tang fans should mark their calendars...

ERYKAH BADU "WINDOW SEAT" LIVE!


Checkout Erykah Badu and The Roots perform her first single "Window Seat" live! Goodness-gratious...Erykah's thicker than a king size Snickers! How come nobody told me? First, Alicia Keys, and now Ms. Boodu...I mean Badu! Soul music is looking up...! The new album "Amerykah Part II (Return of the Ankh) drops on March 30th.

UN DE SOULETTE MIXX!

Spray some of this soul around your ears and find musical bliss...

Click the PLAY button and enjoy!

SOUND SPOT: JIMETTA ROSE

I have been jamming to the sounds of Jimetta Rose since the end of last year. It wasn't until I had a quick message exchange with my dude Fave on Twitter, that it dawned on me that I had not done a post on this worthy soul singer. I'm going to do her background description Jet Magazine centerfold style! Jimetta lives in California, and she's a painter, poet and revolutionary that enjoys shopping at thrift stores, rockin' cowboy boots and flat sandals. I love it when singers can actually SING! I really dig Jimetta's voice and her overall style. Her fun-loving attitude and confidence shines through her lyrical content. She truly seems happy living her life with a sense of balance between career, love and spirituality. If you haven't already, take a listen to Jimetta's debut album "The Barber's Daughter" to hear what I am talking about. Her joint is 13 tracks deep, and it has been getting much rotation in my iPod! Two of my favorite album tracks are "Sweet Necessity" and "Glory Us" because they are just dope in my opinion. Do yourself a favor and get familiar with Jimetta Rose sooner than later. I think we are going to be hearing more good things from this young lady. Support quality music...

Put eyes on this live video clip of Jimetta singing the track "Glory Us" below:

Get Jimetta Rose's "The Barber's Daughter" album here!

www.myspace.com/queenjrose

www.jimettarose.com

DETROIT MCs: BIZARRE VS. TONE!

Here are two new video joints from two Detroit emcees. First up is Bizarre from D12 with his track "U Remind Me" featuring Krondon for your eyes and ears. Second is my dude Big Tone blessin' the track "Chocolate" featuring the Motown Madame L'Renee on the hook! Both songs have their own vibe, but definitely bring that Detroit flavor. This is street music, so put the babies to bed...

MARSHA...MARSHA...MARSHA!

Marsha Ambrosius (former Floetry member) dropped some new joints via Twitter last night she calls the "Yours Sincerely EP" that can be downloaded HERE! This EP is 8 tracks deep, so make sure you put ears on it sooner than later.

www.myspace.com/marshaambrosius

NEW & FINAL LITTLE BROTHER!
First off, how come nobody dropped me a line to let me know that Little Brother had a new joint dropping on April 10th? It's called "Left Back" if you didn't know already. Secondly, why is supposedly their last album as a duo?? Personally, I could kind of see the writing on the wall for this duo a couple of years back. Creatively, Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh are going in different directions at this point. Phonte is having major success with the whole alternative Foreign Exchange movement, singing and whatnot, while Rapper seems to be trying to build his street cred up as a solo emcee. LB has given us enough quality music over the last few years, so I am not even mad that this maybe their last album together. I guess this is like a farewell party album for the fans.


Here is the track list, which looks pretty dope:

Track Listing:

1. Curtain Call (Prod. By Khrysis)
2. Table For Two Feat. Jozeemo & Yahzarah (Prod. By Khrysis)
3. Tigallo For Dolo (Prod. By Khrysis)
4. Revenge Feat. Truck North & Median (Prod. By Khrysis)
5. So Cold Feat. Chaundon (Prod. By King Karnov)
6. Second Chances Feat. Bilal & Darien Brockington (Prod. By Denaun Porter)
7. Go Off Go On (Prod. By Khrysis)
8. What We Are Feat. Quiana (Prod. By Young R.J.)
9. After The Party Feat. Carlitta Durand (S1 and Caleb’s Who Shot JR Ewing Remix) (Prod. By S1 and Caleb)
10. Two Step Blues Feat. Darien Brockington (Zo’s Purple Suit With The Matching Gators Remix) (Prod. By Zo!)
11. Get Enough Pt. 2 Feat. Khrysis (Prod. By Khrysis)
12. Before The Night Is Over (Prod. By J.Bizness)
13. 24 Feat. Torae (Prod. By Khrysis)

www.myspace.com/littlebrother

OFFICIAL HEARTACHES & BREAKS

This is the official post for my Valentine's Day mixx. Click on the picture of Cupid and get your music fix. I included the infamous storm sound effects on this one, so make sure you check it out. Also, be sure to tell a friend, foe or family member to put ears on it as well.

SOUND SPOT: KRYS IVORY

This young lady has been on my radar for a minute. She's a Ryan Leslie prodege' and her name is Krys Ivory. She's a California native, and I guess her music would fall under the soul/pop category. Her music is very catchy and I really dig her voice! It seems to go perfect with her production. With Ryan Leslie executive producing her tracks, it's easy for me to understand why I like her vibe so much. Right after signing with Ryan's label, Krys found out that she had cancer. The good news is Ryan stuck by her and almost a year later Krys is cancer free. Krys' passion and desire to make music is stronger than ever, and she's currently working on her untitled debut album.

To keep everyone occupied until the album is complete, Krys has dropped her free mixtape project "Reflections" for all to hear. Mixtapes are the thing now for singers, so this should be expected. There are 9 tracks plus 2 interludes. What is the purpose of an interlude anyway? Is it like a movie preview, but shorter? Anyway, click on the pic on the left to download it. Put ears on it and hear what you think. If you like it, thank me later...

www.krysivory.com

RAHEEM'S LOVE & WAR!
Mister Raheem DeVaughn has been a busy beaver over the last few months. Truthfully, the man is on his grind trying to make moves get his music career back on track. With label troubles and loyal fans disfavoring some of his previous mainstream flavored tracks, Rah has managed to remain focused. I give the guy much deserved credit. With all of the good music he's given away for free recently, all is forgiven by this particular fan. Raheem's next official album release "The Love & War Masterpiece" drops on March 2nd. It's 16 tracks deep with guest appearances from: Damian Marley, Ludacris, Wale, Malik Yusef and Dr. Cornell West. The track I can't wait to hear is the star studded "Nobody Wins A War" featuring Jill Scott, Dwele, Anthony Hamilton, Bilal, Algebra, Chrisette Michele, Shelby Johnson, Ledisi, Chico DeBarge, Citizen Cope and Rudy Currence. That track should be crazy!

Just in case you missed this joint, here you go:

www.raheemdevaughnmusic.com

NEW FATT FATHER JOINT!

Ya'll know I show much love to my fellow Detroiters out here on the music grind. My homie Fatt Father is in the process of working on his new album entitled Fatherly Advice so be on the lookout for that later this year. In the meantime and in-between time put ears on his new track "R.I.C.H" produced by Lyr1kz.

www.myspace.com/fattfather

www.twitter.com/fattfather

ADRIANA EVANS: WALKING WITH!
A real songstress is building! She's one of the most underrated and overlooked soul artists in the soul music genre today. Her name is Adriana Evans, but I call her Adri-dri because I got it like that (devilish grin). Every since I put ears on her classic self-titled debut album back in 1997, I have been a serious fan. She has such a smooth sound that it's easy for me to enjoy everything she makes. I'm quite sure there are several reasons why she's not a household name after all of these years, but that doesn't matter to me. I look forward to all of her album releases. Adriana fans are in luck because she's releasing her latest album "Walking With The Night" on February 23rd. If you have never heard an Adriana Evans record, I would suggest that you start with her debut joint. If you like that one then continue on by locating her other albums.


Here are two of my favorite Adriana joints:





www.adrianaevans.com

HEARTACHES & BREAKS MIXX!

CUPID'S HUNT 2010

Here is an early musical Valentine's Day gift for ya...

Roses are kind of expensive, so I won't even try to front...

I'm being cheap, so here's a mixx that I did for Cupid's Hunt...

This mixx isn't about falling in love, but rather about falling out...

Relationships can be painful, which makes couples yell & shout...

So, before you raise a hand to slap your partner in the face...

Put this mixx on, close your eyes, and go to that special place...

If that doesn't work and you still feel like raising some hell...

Remember, that if you do something stupid, you might end up in jail!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Click the picture above for your V-Day gift, and then go to CUPID'S HUNT for the rest of the story...

MONICA: REMEMBER WHEN?
Wow, it's been a minute since I have paid the singer Monica any real attention musically. She popped on the music scene back in the 1990s with a couple of decent singles, but her albums never really moved me. However, I have always thought that Monica had a great voice! I feel if her overall production choices had been better over the years she'd have much better albums. Recently, I caught an episode of her reality show "Still Standing" where she discussed her willingness to trust various music executives in the past, which she felt lead to the poor quality of her last few albums. Plus, she's had some serious turmoil in her personal life that slowed her career down as well. It's got to be hard to watch all of these less talented female singers getting all of this recognition. Monica is out to prove that she still has what it takes to make hit records.

On March 23rd, Monica's new album "Still Standing" will be released. I've already heard three tracks from her new joint, and I like them all so far. The title track featuring Ludacris has been floating around on the Internet for a long time, but it still sounds good. If you missed it, put ears on it below and hear what you think:

CORINNE BY THE SEA!
Me likey some Corinne Bailey Rae! Me likey her a lot! When I think of this songstress, the adjective that immediately comes to mind is elegant. She has a soulful classiness about her physical style, lyrics and vocals that is hard to define. I wouldn't even classify her as soul singer. She's just a good singer that creates various types of music that includes soul. Corinne's self-titled debut album really caught me off-guard because I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. At first glance I just figured she was another fly-by-night abstract artist trying to be heard via the Indie/Underground soul scene. I was total wrong, and I was happy about it!

Good news for Corinne Bailey Rae fans. She's for 2010 with her new album entitled The Sea which dropped today. Judging by the few tracks that I have heard off of the new joint, and it definitely has that flavor fans have come to know and love. The mellow production, soft melodies and sweet harmonies are all here. This would definitely be a good album to put on when you just relaxing at home on a Sunday afternoon. My favorite track off of this album without a doubt is the tune "Closer" because it incorporates everything that I like about Corinne's music. No matter how many times it plays, I never get tired of it. So, if you didn't know the new Corinne album was out before reading this post, you're welcome! If you knew, but you still haven't picked it up...what are you waiting for??

Put eyes on Corinne performing "Closer" live below. At the beginning of this amateur Youtube concert footage, the picture is shaking like a Cloverfield and Blair Witch Project double feature. However, things get better after a few seconds, so remain patient.

www.corinnebaileyrae.net