Alright, people. Robert Glasper has blessed us with the first track from his upcoming Black Radio Recovered: The Remix EP. Featuring production from 9th Wonder and added vocals from Phonte, “Afro Blue” has now been transformed into a “fly love song,” sprinkled with soft flutes and Tigallo’s mellow lyrics. Black Radio Recovered drops on Oct. 9.
Lately, the ugly monster haunting hip-hop is its virtual underrepresentation of women behind mics. Now, if you’re only tuned into your local radio station, yes, you’ll be hard-pressed to hear a female holding shit down outside of Nicki Minaj. But if you’ve kept your ear to the ground, you should know the name Rapsody pretty well. Being hailed as one of the best femcees, North Carolina’s own Rapsody has finally dropped her debut EP The Idea Of Beautiful. Produced largely by her mentor 9th Wonder and the Soul Council (Khrysis, Ka$h, E. Jones, eric g, and Amp), Rapsody incorporates clever wordplay, intricate storytelling, and personal revelations into the Jamla Army sound.
Rapsody clearly has a deep, personal relationship with hip hop, as evidenced by the many subtle and overt odes to the art form. It’s not uncommon for rappers to personify hip hop, showing love to h.e.r. through dedications and celebratory lyrics. In “Precious Wings,” Rap comes to hip hop as a sanctuary, an escape from life’s confusions and pain. “Everyday is pressure, each one feeling like 22/catches, that’s some give and take/and all of if learning, tryna educate myself as I go through it like Lauryn,” she laments.
Some of the best news I’ve heard this week, the official release of Robert Glasper’s Black Radio Recovered: The Remix EP drops on Oct. 9. Glasper’s most recent release, Black Radio (still in heavy rotation, btw), is a beautiful melding of jazz, hip hop and soul, so there’s no doubt that The Remix EP will maintain that same level of genre intermixing. With production credits from 9th Wonder, ?uestlove and Georgia Anne Muldrow, additional vocal stylings from talents such as Phonte, Black Milk and Solange Knowles, this reworking should be well worth the anticipation. Check out the tracklisting and lil’ performance from The Robert Glasper Experiment with the lovely Lalah Hathaway under the cut. (more…)
#NewTigalloNewTigalloNewTigallo
I’m a huge fan of “blue-collar lyrics”–lyrics that resonate in the everyday (wo)man’s working spirit. And right now, Phonte is diligently providing a voice for the 9-5ers. “The Good Fight” (produced by 9th Wonder) comes from Phonte’s debut album, Charity Starts At Home, which, by the way, is one of the realest albums of 2011.
Get into this Kenneth Price-directed video that highlights the rise and grind of the working middle class.
