Recognize the title? That's because it's originally the work of 70's singstress Minnie Riperton that's been sampled here. The original is a sweet love song, but with all of that sultry 70's style of production that is so typical to Leon Ware still sticking to it. Yes, Leon Ware. Couldn't go wrong with that. And that's obviously what West Coast producer duo The Decoders thought too. They're not the only musicians with the ear to recognize a good song like Baby, This Love I Have, but probably the only ones with the guts to transform it into a heavily Jamaican-inspired slow jam.
The Jamaican rhythms might surprise you at first, but it all proves to be a very successful union. The new additions will certainly make you give into headnodding a lot faster than the original, but that doesn't mean that the spirit of Minnie is lost. The Decoders have been handling this gem with respectful hands, keeping the very distinct touch of Leon Ware in the mix. It's still the beautiful voice of Minnie Riperton that we hear, just adorned with some island attitude.
The Decoders ft. Leon Ware - Baby, This Love I Have
The track is available over at The Decoders' Band Camp site. It's a 'name your price' download, which means you can help and feed a starving artist (or two) without having to starve yourself. Run over there, and you'll also find their remarkably good version of another Minnie Riperton song, Inside My Love. It's just as sexy as the original, definitely worth a dollar, and so good that I'll publish it here too, even though it's a month old.
Robert Glasper Experiment ft. Erykah Badu - Afro Blue
While the name Afro Blue might bring John Coltrane to mind, this is more along the lines of the Mongo Santamaria version. It's almost some sweetened kind of jazz, but then miss Badu comes along. As soon as Badu puts her vocals on a track, it changes identity into something more mellow, almost spiritually in tune with the rhythm. Robert Glasper's version of Afro Blue is the love child of jazz and soul, resulting in something smooth that I can't really put my finger on, but it's there somewhere in between the piano keys, probably listening to D'Angelo and burning Nag Champa. It might even be the spirit of Neo Soul.
Robert Glasper Experiment ft. Erykah Badu - Afro Blue
It's not just Erykah Badu that came together with Glasper to contribute to his upcoming album Black Radio. There's also Prince approved trio KING, blessing yet another soulful track. Move Love, as it's called, is a more breezy composition, and when accompanied by KING it turns instantly relaxing. It melts beautifully together with Afro Blue. I think we got a well produced and impressively kept together album to look forward to.
You'd think music flows out every time Alice Smith opens her mouth. That powerful voice seems to come just as easy as speech to her. Making a cover of a Cee-Lo Green song is a piece of hard work, but in Alice's hands Fool For You is a completely new song. It doesn't stray that much from the style of the original, but the feeling and power that Alice contributes with is no joke. She keeps it straight forward, and even though it originally isn't her song, this definitely feels personal.
While I felt like somthing lacked from her album For Lovers, Dreamers and Me, this makes up for it. The style fits her voice and attitude perfectly. This cover is interesting, it makes me wonder what her next step will be like, and if she will take her next album down the same way. It also makes me regret not going to the Alice Smith & Gary Clark Jr. concert while I was in New York even more, but that's just me.
Talented newcomers Melo-X, Jesse Boykins III, Joekenneth Museau, Joshua Bennett, Rinaldy Alvarez, Mara Hruby and Theo Martins all came together for a collaboration as Sartorial Sounds, a project started with the guys over at Street Etiquette. The first song made is Take Off Your Cool, a mix of hip hop, neo soul and spoken word. As a lover of all those three, I definitely like this one. The spoken word is beautiful and Mara Hrubys soft voice lends the track some genuine soul. It's a really calming, jazzy song, and we haven't even got to the best part yet.
After some 4 minutes, the song enters a completely other level. That is when the beat kicks in, Jesse Boykins get to sing some lines, and the rap part starts. I won't even say anything more, I don't want to keep you from listening any longer than this.
If this is going to be the level their music is on, I am really looking forward to more tracks from Sartorial Sounds.
Sartorial Sounds - Take Off Your Cool
The track is downoadable for free over here. There's no word on any future collaborations, but I don't think we'll have to wait for too long.
Producer Hundred Strong has been working on his next project Stylin' Free for a while now, and now it's finally out. It's a fresh and new kind of R&B and soul album, mixed with a little hip hop and reggae, and with collaborations mainly from Amp Fiddler. This here is the second single, and best song on the album. Pete Simpsons' smooth voice goes perfectly to the warm and beautiful beat.
Hundred Strong ft Pete Simpson - You Make Me Feel
Stylin' Free is $7.99 on iTunes. Go get it all, or buy just this one track for $0.99.
Wow. Raphael Saadiq is releasing the video for his latest single off his next album Stone Rollin', scheduled to drop in March. I'm glad that the album is released so soon, cause this is a damn good single. With that old school R&B-feeling to it and a video with a really interesting storyline, all that was needed was a good voice. With Raphael on it, we got that and more. He is one of those singers that can pull off a song of another era flawlessly, with a timeless voice and way of singing, making him able to do something different than what's popular right now, and still having a strong fan base.
Good Man is a capturing song with a video to match. The actors we see are Chad Coleman and Yaya DaCosta.
Raphael Saadiq - Good Man
Stone Rollin' is out March 22nd, and Raphael will be performing at Coachella this year, and tour both the US and Europe after the release of his album.
