Now, up to here I've only featured hip hop in this blog. Talking about hip hop comes as natural for me as breathing, but there are also other kinds of music that I like. One of my favourites is neo soul, the movement started by the likes of D'Angelo and Erykah Badu. Younger and in an honest love affair with hip hop, but still without losing the warmth and smoothness of its forefathers, this is that kind of music that resparks the soul and rebuilds the energy.
With some of souls biggest voices gone, a new generation of singers are stepping forward to bless us with some art in the best of forms. One of these, catching our ears with his soulful voice (and our eyes with that afro of his), is Jesse Boykins III.
You should recognize him by now. He's that guy that mixes oldschool mellow vocals with newer and more updated production. The Chicagoborn singers two albums, Dopamine: My Life On My Back and The Beauty Created have been out since 2008, and there's definitely more to come, as he is now busy with completing his upcoming album The Love Apparatus, an collaboeffort with producer Machine Drum. That fact in itself promises for a good album, as I always find albums to sound better as a whole product if the same producer is used throughout it. Also, from what I've heard of their collabos up to now, Machine Drum seems to be a talented producer, able to match Jesses singing without making it all sound too heavy.
And there is no way to question Jesses own talent. After all, this is the guy that used to study Shakespear, making him better at writing lyrics, because yes, he writes them himself. You should also be able to tell his talent from the artists he's been surrounding himself with, and with both Theophilus London and Foreign Exchange on that list, we can all rest assured that we will all start seeing the name Jesse Boykins III everywhere very soon. If not already, that is.
The best of Jesse Boykins III
Itis - Just pure smoothness. 'I taste your flavour, and I get lazy". Singing about how his girl is giving him the itis, Jesse himself gives the listener that exact same feeling. In fact, writing this text took me about half an hour as I've been listening to this song over and over again, forgetting what I'm doing and just... catching the itis.
Shine - Another lazy song, more fitting for the hot New York summers that Jesse's comparing his girl to, than the blizzards some of us are enduring right now. But we can always dream, can't we?
With the release of his new project Lovers Holiday just around the corner, Theophilus London gives us a taste of what's about to come. With a little crossover help from Canadian singer Sara Quin he once again shows us that he's a rapper that refuses to be put in a box. And to be true, it's kind of refreshing to hear something that confuses me about what label I should put on it.
Theophilus London ft Sara Quin - Why Even Try
Lovers Holiday is scheduled to drop on 8th Feb, and sounds really promising for a refreshing and original take on hip hop. I hope for at least one song like his version of I Want You, gold star for him who chose to remake my favourite Marvin Gaye song in a way that didn't make me cringe.
Thanks to Blind I, my ipod will now be able to enjoy the sounds of Cali rapper Versis. Even though his debut album dropped in 2010, I had never heard of this guy before. Some listening to the album proved that I definitely have been missing out on something. His sound is very mellow, perfectly fitting for rainy sundays and other moments when you would want a smooth lil bit of jazz influenced realness in the background. And, if you are a fan of Blu, this just might be a new favourite artist for you. Most of Versis catalogue sounds like it could seamlessly fit into Blu & Exiles collabo album Below The Heavens, and that's certainly a good thing, seeing how that is one of the best albums of its kind. What makes Versis even more interesting in the era of Wakas and Guccis is the absence of the 'parental advisory' label. Seems like this guy is able to deliver some nice rhymes in a clean package. Now, less talk, more listening.
Versis - The Journey (4U)
His entire debutalbum iLLCANDESCENT is available here, on his bandcamp page. Your future rainy sundays just got a lil bit more enjoyable.
With the internet to your rescue, there is thousands and thousands of talented artists out there for you to listen to. Y'all should already know about this first one I'm writing about, but since he's by far one of my favorite artists I will make sure he's reintroduced properly.
Recognize this guy? He's The Last Emperor, and if you've been digging in the crates of youtube, you will more than likely have heard his soothing voice before. At first glance, he could easily be dismissed as just another rapper who is really into martial arts movies, but make sure you'll get more than just a glance. In fact, if life would have been just slightly different for Last Emp, he could've been the main attraction at Dr Dre's Aftermath. At that time tho, Dre was much more interested in an up and coming white rapper from Detroit, and Last Emp went on to enjoy his new home at Raptivism Records.
Now, Last Emperor is not your typical rapper. Instead of just rhyming, he will talk to you, or sometimes rather to himself, through a beat. Some of the topics he touches on might not be new, such as his wonderings about life after death or his attempts at speaking to a woman that caught his eye, but still he manages to stay miles ahead of his fellow rappers. Maybe it's in his calming, almost hypnotizing way of rapping. Maybe it's in the intricate beats he likes to use as a backdrop, laced with violins and a helping hand from producers like Ayatollah. But most probably, it's because of something even more intricate than his beats: Last Emps mind. When rapping to us, he gives us a look into his world, and it's not always a pretty sight, but it's more than enough to give you that stinging feel of recognition.
An access to youtube will give you equal access to a great collection of Last Emperor tracks, and as I'm a bit paranoid since both WSHH and OnSmash got shut down for copyright infringement, youtube clips is what you'll get right now. Thank me later:
The best of Last Emperor
Away From The Sun / The Drifter - A heartbroken Last Emp decides to "do the same thing to women all over this earth", a chillingly cold story about him travelling the roads, hurting others to make his own wounds hurt less. A personal favourite of mine. Yeah, I'm cold like that.
One Life - Last Emp is here assisted by the late Too Poetic who blesses us with his last verse, a sad but all the while beautiful and somehow comforting song about life and, of course, death. Singer Esthero and a couple heart-tugging violinstrings gives Last Emperors mellow voice the perfect finishing touch.
And other Last Emp songs that all made it into my ipod, and hopefully yours too:
Shine - Surprisingly produced by house artist Armand Van Helden, this just might be the most interesting hip hop beat ever. Last Emp matches the beat with a fascinating confession of love.
