Review: Sa-Ra - The Hollywood Recordings

Sa-Ra
The Hollywood Recordings

After what it seems like years in the limelight, the LA/NYC producer trio Sa-Ra finally released their promised major label LP, The Hollywood Recordings this week. After the group got shut out from the release schedule at Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Music, they finally found a home at the independent label Babygrande.
Sa-Ra has always [...]

Review: Incognito - Bees + Things + Flowers

Incognito
Bees + Things + Flowers

Incognito - Bees + Things + Flowers Album Preview
The thing that I love about this whole Couch Sessions thing is the not just the music that I get in my mailbox every week, but the little gems I discover that I would never hear of otherwise.
I put the latest Incognito disc [...]

Review: K-OS - Atlantis

K-OS
Atlantis

Woe is the life of the suburban black kid. He’s always put in the position of being too “white” for the black mainstream, and too “black” to fully assimilate into white mainstream culture. Sure, suburban black kids have survived to create wonderful music (Pharrell is the best example of this), but unfortunately, it seems that [...]

Album Review: Pete Rock - Underground Classics

I come to think that most of y’all who read this site long for the days of the early nineties when hip-hop was its peak. If you’re still stuck in that time warp, then you should check Underground Classics, the newest compilation of remixes and rarities from the Pete Rock collection. Most of the material [...]

Review: J Dilla - The Shining

One day, Karriem Riggins got a call from his friend James Yancey. The call was short, but it ended with a prophetic message. “I want you to help me finish this album,” Dilla said.
The album that Yancey was talking about was The Shining, a massive body of work of off-kilter, soulful beats, old school [...]

Nicolay = The Largest Ipod Ever Built

Nicolay is tall. I mean, the dude is basketball player tall. Yes, everyone is pretty much tall next to me, but good lawd, the dude is huge. I just had to get that out of the way.
The Dutch master was in DC for the Here album release party at Anzu in Adams Morgan. I [...]

Review: The Coup @ Black Cat

Boots Riley of The Coup
(photo by yours truly)
Although Oakland-based duo The Coup have been around since 1994, the group never got national attention until their ill fated album cover for Party Music in 2001. Hmm…wonder why? But for a group that has such tracks as “5 Million Ways to Kill a CEO,” you would think [...]

Review: Shambhala - The Lotus Of…

ShambhalaThe Lotus Of…Buy from CDBaby.com

Shambhala - African Sunflower
Shambhala - Enlightenment
If y'all know me in person, then you would know that there aren’ttoo many albums that I would define as absolute “classics.” To me, a classic is an album that 1.)Redefines or creates a new genre (The Chronic, Get Crunk, Who U Wit), 2.)Creatively excels and [...]

Review: Sergio Mendes - Timeless

Chances are you haven’t heard of Sergio Mendes. It’s okay; unless you’re older and into Brazilian jazz, the name wouldn’t be familiar to you. However, he was a driving force in Brazil’s jazz and bossa nova scene in the ’60s and ’70s. Mendes, along with his band Brasil ‘66, enjoyed much success back in the [...]

CD Review: Ursula 1000 Here Comes Tomorrow

If you were to combine pop, hip hop and rock with a dash of reggae and a pinch of salsa and mix it all together in a disco blender, the resulting sound might sound a lot like Ursula 1000.
Alex Gimeno aka DJ/Producer Ursula 1000 can play anything”and I mean ANYTHING”and you will dance to it. [...]

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