The collaboration of Talib Kwlei soul singer Res–also known as Idle Warship–blasted through the East Coast last week, playing two shows at Southpaw in Brooklyn and The Black Cat in DC. The dynamic duo went on tour to support their latest full length, Habits of the Heart which was released last month. Check it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Photos by Tashir Lee.

To some Res is one of the best singer songwriters in Modern R&B. To others, she’s not yet a household name. However, to a small group of fans in Washington, DC last week, Res was the center of the world.

Fans packed the Langston room of Busboys and Poets to hear an acoustic performance and a Q&A with DC’s DJ Stylus Inside the Artists’ Studio, modeled after actors’ show on Bravo, sold out quickly, and the finale in the series was one of the best yet.

The setting was an intimate stage: Res starts off timid and slightly nervous but instantly gains control of the crowd. She’s almost shocked when people know her songs. The setlist included a mix of tracks from her classic How I Do, and her latest, Black Girls Rock. Her latest, seem more personal and focused than her previous efforts: Res took the guitar to play a song, Let You Go on a left handed guitar. “I’m too cute to cry all day, ” the lyrics go, “I wish you weren’t such a fucking waste of time.”

To some Res is one of the best singer songwriters in Modern R&B. To others, she’s not yet a household name. However, to a small group of fans in Washington, DC last week, Res was the center of the world.

In several songs Res rails against the industry that never was comfortable with her. On the Idle Warship track “LA Famous,” she talks about her frustrations with the handling of her image and the lack of promotion for her album.

And that was the bulk of her post performance discussion. Why did she not get the play that other stars received?

Discovered by Hank Shocklee, Res was on a world-wind path to stardom. The favorite in backrooms of the record label, her album, How I Do was greenlit and funded. Unfortunately, being a multi-dimensional Black woman causes issues for the label. “I’m a buffet type of chick,” she says about her music. “They didn’t know what department it should be marketed to.”

The discussion was intimate and candid. In response to a question about Nas’ verse on the track “Ice King she says “I didn’t like what he did” to gasps in the audience  “but truthfully everything ain’t for me to like”. She then goes on to tell the story about how she nervously approached him at Baja Fresh in LA. Came to the first show in LA.

Her Second album was never released, and was mirred in label drama. Frustrated, Res asked to leave and never got another deal. But don’t fret–the past 8 years Res has been living life, traveling the world and living on the beach in LA. However, due to public demand, she decided to release her latest album, the free Black Girls Rock.

All in all, Inside the Artists’ Studio was a great way for fans to connect with their favorite artist on a more personal level. At the end of the night, Res and Stylus took questions from the audience. “I personally believe people are ready to see Black people do different shit,” she says in response to one question, and its true.A few questions and several marriage proposals later, I can say that everybody in the room that night was ready for some “different shit.” Are you?

Idle Warship – Steady

A couple of readers have asked me why I haven’t posted much about Idle Warship, the backpacker supergroup of Talib Kweli, Res, and Graph Nobel, however I haven’t really been impressed with what I’ve heard so far. However, my ears are perking up after hearing the track “Steady,” that is featured in this electronic press kit, titled Idle Warship Takes Over Your Party! This album and mixtape, which drops in 2009, should be a good look.

Penang
1837 M St NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 822-8773
Metro: Dupont Circle (Red Line)
Cost: $15

N.E.R.D. – You Know What

Res – You Know What

Who Rock’d it Better? © Concrete Loop

So if you don’t know, the N.E.R.D. album drops on June 10th, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. Go out and buy this album because it’s damn amazing, even if Pharrell annoys me sometimes.

Anyway, I was going to post another track (“Love Bomb”) to wet your appetite (and get you ready for the Listening Party), but I stumbled upon this little tidbit about Res recording the original of their song “You Know What.”  This was not supposed to be a Res song apparently–its simply a reference track for Pharrell in the studio.

Y’all know how much we love Res here so we give her as much shine as possible, and I wish Res could drop this track on an album. (via Soul Bounce, 2 Dope Boyz)

Preorder Seeing Sounds at Amazon.com

N.E.R.D. Seeing Sounds Album Listening Party TONIGHT

Idle Warship – Fall Back

Idle Warship is the combination of Talib Kweli and singer Res. I haven’t posted about them here because I wasn’t too hot on their material, but this new track, “Fall Back,” is pretty fire. “Fall Back” is a Hillary Clinton diss track, telling her to do the obvious, but it doesn’t sound as bad as it seems. Although most topical hip-hop really misfires, I’m really down with this one. Star Trak artist Chester French is also on this one. (hat tip: Nah Right)

myspace.com/idlewarship

Another collection of delectable treats for your iPod.

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Tracklisting

Adele – Chasing Pavements (Various Productions Remix)
While Label (London, UK)

Cadence Weapon – Sharks
from Chasing Kayfabe (Edmonton, CA)

Jay Electronica – Victory Is In My Clutches
from What Tha F*ck Is A Jay Electronica (New Orleans, LA)

Bobby Creekwater – OJ Simpson
from Anthem 2 Da Streets Mixtape – Atlanta, GA

Mickey Factz (feat Travis of Gym Class Heroes) – Overdose on Life
Unknown (New York, NY)

Elzhi - Save Ya
Unknown (Detroit, MI)

Erykah Badu – Honey (DJ Day Remix)
from New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) (Dallas, TX)

Fleetwood Black (Res + Graph Nobel) – Sometimes
White Label (Toronto, CA)

Jessica Tonder feat Proton – The Bee (Remix)
White Label (Miami, FL)

Kelli Scarr – Are You That Somebody (Acoustic)
Live at Pianos NYC (Los Angeles, CA)

Santogold – Creator (Windows Media)

Santogold is the newest Couch Sessions Approved Artist for 2008

Most people’s knowledge of Santogold (aka Santi White) is only recent. She’s been awarded the “next big thing” status from the likes of the New York Times and Rolling Stone. She’s toured with (and been constantly compared to) M.I.A. and Mark Ronson in the past couple of years, and she’s done collabos with Spank Rock among others.

However, Ms. White has been in the game for longer than people think. She got on The Couch Sessions’ radar a couple years ago when she fronted the punk band Stiffed. (We were supposed to actually sponsor a DC show for the band…then drama ensued.) However, she’s also been an A&R for Epic Records as well as a writer/prodcer of the amazing album How I Do, by R&B artist Res. (Seriously, How I Do is light years ahead of its time and one of my favorite contemporary albums to date.)

Anyway, Santogold is dropping a still untitled album sometime in 2008 and the tracks that she has dropped so far have been stellar. Could she be the new face of Black Rock in the new millennium?