Urbane #MusicMondays 12-14-09
Posted by WEKetchum | Filed under music
Today’s installment of Urbane #MusicMondays features a hometown musician/schoolteacher paying respects to legendary names in R&B, a Philadelphia singer merging soul and rock for her own eclectic mix, and a Virginia rap duo adding versatility to their cold-hearted, drug-slinging rhymes. For more, read below.
Zo!
…Just Visiting Too
As a special education music teacher in Washington D.C., Lorenzo “Zo!” Ferguson is used to showing people how a record supposed to done. But with his new EP of covers, …Just Visiting Too, he leads by example. Zo! plays all of the instruments—keyboards, bass guitar, guitar, and drums—throughout the record, establishing a jazzy, serene feel that flows from track to track. He also casts an equally talented roster of vocalists to make these songs complete: D.C. native Yahzarah, Phonte (of soul duo Foreign Exchange) and each of the other performers put their own spin on songs from the likes of Prince, Minnie Ripperton and The Isley Brothers while still respecting the originals. The only flaw of …Just Visiting Too is that at a short 34 minutes, it ends too soon. But during the interim until summer 2010, when Zo! plans to release his new album SunStorm, this is a worthy appetizer.
Download Zo!’s …Just Visiting Too here.
Res
Black.Girls.Rock!
Online music pirating has hurt artists’ and execs’ pockets, but a fickle buying market has prompted many artists to make sincere music for themselves instead of for fanfare. Res’ Black.Girls.Rock! project may or may not be a circumstance of this realization, its sincere lyrics and soul-meets-rock genre-bending make it seem that way. Res uses the intro “On My Way” to explain how she rebels from stereotypically negative images, then uses the rest of the album to put actions behind her claims. Coating acoustic rock backdrops with her soulful voice, she chronicles lost love, a strained transition with her father and more with vivid detail. Hopefully, a continued solo career and a group membership of Idle Worship—the trio of her, rapper Talib Kweli and Canadian rapper/singer Graph Nobel—will see more quality material.
Download Res’ Black.Girls.Rock! here.
Clipse
Till The Casket Drops
Between their solo albums and their We Got It 4 Cheap mixtape series, Clipse crafted a formula—sharp, sinister bars about drug dealing over a mix of quirky and dark Neptunes beats—and stuck with it, to critical acclaim. So when the first three singles of Till The Casket Drops talk about carefree summer cruising (“I’m Good”), team with Keri Hilson for a radio pop fly (“Eyes On Me”) and reaching to other producers (the DJ Khalil-laced “Kinda Like A Big Deal”), some fans were worried that Clipse were going too far left. Fortunately, Clipse balances their experimentation with their bread and butter. Songs like “Champion” and “Counseling”—which serve as a triumphant anthem for success, and admittance of an addiction to women, respectively—speak in universal languages without sounding corny. But “There Was A Murder” and “Door Man” maintain the hardnosed street talk they’ve perfected, while Khalil and production duo Sean C & LV contribute beats that blend with the sound The Neptunes have crafted for them. By moving forward as much as they hold their ground, Clipse turns in another solid addition to their catalog.
Clipse’s Till The Casket Drops is in stores now.
Related posts:
- Urbane #MusicMondays 12-7-09
- #MusicMondays 1-4-2010: Late Christmas Edition
- #MusicMondays 4/5/10 - Rap Rehab Day 5
- #MusicMondays 4-26-10 (#RapRehab Day 26)
- #MusicMondays 12-28-09
Tags: #MusicMondays, Clipse, Neptunes, Pharrell, Res, talib kweli, Zo!
