Trick Deck featuring Christa Wells and Mr E.: "Freaky Love" Video
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Directed by Mazik Saevitz Featuring...John Yancey Common Will.I.AM Black Thought Talib Kweli Karriem Riggins Frank N Dank Styling by Las Vegas based Fruition (www.fruitionlv.com). James "Jay Dee aka J Dilla" Yancey was born and raised on the mean streets of Detroit?s east side. Little is known of his musical upbringing, but he has most definitely become one of the most talented, innovative producers of our time. Gaining inspiration from listening to Whodini?s ?Big Mouth? back in the day, Jay tried his hand at making beats by using the ?pause? and ?record? buttons on his tape deck. After learning to work an MPC-60 back in 92? from Amp Fiddler, J Dilla was on his way to becoming one of hip-hop?s illest beat makers. After hooking up with two high school friends, T3 and Baatin, they formed the crew called, Slum Village (circa 1988), and Jay started to polish his rhyming skills to match his dope production. As Slum Village began to show themselves in Detroit and around the east coast Jay was also busy getting his production noticed by other artists in the music industry. One thing led to another and by the end of 1996, Jay Dee had produced joints for the likes of The Pharcyde, Keith Murray, Busta Rhymes and De La Soul. After hearing Jay?s ill productions Q-Tip (A Tribe Called Quest) brought him in to lend his expertise to their 1996 release ?Beats, Rhymes and Life?. Jay Dee became one-third of the ghost production team now known as the Ummah, which included Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed. That year also saw the first release from Slum Village with ?Fantastic Vol. I?, a classic hard to find item. A chance meeting with Janet Jackson led to his 1997 remix of the chart topping ?Got Til? Its Gone? single that paired Janet?s smooth vocals with Jay Dee?s intoxicating drum kicks. Now dabbling in other music genres, Jay went on to lace beats for artists like Macy Gray, D?angelo, N?Dea Davenport and Erykah Badu. 2000 was a stellar year for Jay Dee, with his group Slum Village finally releasing their critically acclaimed ?Fantastic Vol. II? through Goodvibe Recordings, he also received notoriety with many other acts. With the now defunct Ummah production team non-existent (breakup of Tribe Called Quest in 99?), J Dilla became a member of The Soulquarians, which includes Ahmir ??uestlove? Thompson (The Roots), James Poyser and D?angelo. Jay produced a substantial amount of Common?s 2000 release ?Like Water For Chocolate? and contributed to D?angelo's Voodoo album. In 2001 Jay Dee released his first solo effort entitled ?Welcome 2 Detroit? (BBE Records). The ?W2D? album showcased a few emcee?s from the Detroit area, but also showed the versatility of Jay Dee and his craftiness. This 16 track ensemble of lyrical tracks, classic ?instrumental? covers and bouncy grooves solidified Jay Dee as one of the illest producers of his era and beyond. Other albums that followed included Jaylib (Jay Dee & Madlib) as well as an instrumental series at Bling47.com and production of 2 songs (Love is... and It's Your World (Part 1 & 2)) on Common's recent 'Be' album. J Dilla leaves behind a body of work which will be loved and rediscovered for years to come. His most recent album "Donuts" was released on February 7th, the day of his 32nd birthday. Two other projects, "The Shining" (BBE Records) and "Jay Love Japan" (Operation Unknown) are completed and will be released in 2006. Other production work has been completed for artists Madlib, Busta Rhymes, Ghostface Killah, A.G., Visionaries, Truth Hurts, Phat Kat, MF DOOM, Skillz, and Frank N Dank.
"Alice" was directed by Andreas Nilsson (The Knife, Jose Gonzalez) and features MCs Aynzil and the 419 Squad on vocals. Last Night will hit stores April 1st and signals a return to Moby?s dance floor roots, casting genre purism to the wind in favor of a jubilant eclecticism that references electronic, hip-hop (both old and new), euro disco, downtempo, and ambience. In addition to Aynzil and the 419 Squad the album also features Grandmaster Caz of Cold Crush Brothers on ?I Love To Move In Here.?
SILK'S "ALWAYS AND FOREVER" CD TAKES "BABY-MAKING MUSIC" TO THE NEXT LEVEL "Always And Forever" is not a phrase usually associated with a fickle music business, especially in recent times when one-hit wonders and manufactured artists have been especially prevalent. But for Silk, one of the few vocal groups to breakthrough in the hip-hop era, the phrase applies not only to their own longevity--seventeen years and counting with the current line-up featuring the four original members who have been together throughout--but also to the quality of their music which features finely crafted harmony singing and lyrics that deal with timeless issues of love, romance and sex. With the release of their seventh album "Always And Forever", their debut release on Shanachie Entertainment on October 17th, Silk brings their vocal artistry to a hand-picked selection of songs that have inspired them as simultaneous homage to artists who they respect and musical statement of the ultimate quality of Silk's music. "It all comes full circle on this album," relates Gary Glenn. "A lot of these songs were ones we were already familiar with so it was easy for us to step in and emulate people we have a lot of respect for. It's a chance to show off our own artistry. If someone has the audacity to do a Michael Jackson number or a Prince tune and do it well, or to really do justice to"The Secret Garden" , then they walk away with respect from the audience. That's what we want." The album, which features Silk's interpretations of major hits by Blue Magic, Switch, Shalamar, Prince, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Heatwave and others, simply builds on something Silk had already been doing. ""We've done a re-make on almost every album anyway so it was like time to do this--a full serving of what we've been doing throughout. Like (Blue Magic's classic) "Sideshow", we've been doing that in our shows and people love it. We were doing (Switch's) "There'll Never Be" at shows and people start to "step" when we do it...and it's a beautiful thing. It even happened in Aurora, Colorado, which is the last place I thought people would be steppin'!" The young men who formed Silk grew up in Atlanta. Three of them met each other in the late Eighties in the course of working at a particular McDonald's. Soon --Gary "Big G" Glenn, Jonathan "John John" Rasboro, Tim "Timzo" Cameron and Jimmy Gates (Tim and Jimmy were cousins)--got together around their mutual love of singing. They sang whenever and wherever they could ("I don't think there's a church in Atlanta we DIDN'T sing at," laughs Gary) at talent shows, clubs, churches and in the streets. Louise Ferguson, who is their manager today, was determined to get them a shot with Keith Sweat who didn't particularly want to audition the unknown wanna-be's. So when Keith came to a barbeque at Louise's house, she invited Silk to come over and they discreetly went down in the basement and started singing for the kids there. Keith heard them and liked what he heard enough to make Silk the first group signed to his Keia label in 1992 and they were featured on "two of Keith's tracks on his "Keep It Coming" album. Silk's first single, "Happy Days" was garnering radio play but then "Freak Me", another cut from their first album, starting generating radio play spontaneously and when released a single became a Number 1 R&B hit and Number 1 pop hit. It was quickly followed by two Top Ten R&B hits--"Lose Control" and "Girl U For Me, which grew into a string of hits throughout the Nineties including "Hooked On You", "I Can Go Deep", "If You ("Lovin' Me")and "Meeting In My Bedroom". Their signature sound was dubbed "baby-making music." "At the time we came up," Gary Glenn notes, "producers were putting groups together but when Keith met us we were already Silk. That may be part of the reason why we have been able to stand the test of time. We didn't just get together to get a deal; we got together to sing. We had to find our own niche. You had Boyz II Men with their harmonies and Jodeci with their "from the gut" sound, so we were kind of in the middle. We went from high school stages to arenas very quickly--that was due to Keith." Silk's audience has grown up along with them and some of the children who were the result of "baby-making music" are now teenagers. "People are always telling us," John adds, "I made my first child to your music." That's just a blessing! That someone created a child with our music. We know what people are looking for from our music so as long as we honor and respect that we can keep going in that vein, like The Isley Brothers and Keith Sweat." It's a difficult challenge for even a solo artist to survive in the cut-throat music industry and even more so for a group to stay together. Fourteen years together since the release of their first single, what's Silk's secret? "I think a lot of prayer, patience and understanding," says Gary Glenn. "We don't always realize how important our commitment to each other has been. It's like being in a marriage that you REFUSE to leave. It's like "I got this ring and I ain't going NOWHERE!" But we all bow down to what's important to Silk. And in the end, we just love singing together."
Toots and the Maytals (featuring Shaggy): "Bam Bam"
Toots is one of the true architects of reggae - so much so that "Do the Reggay," a 1968 single by Toots and his group, the Maytals, is credited with giving the genre its name. Classic songs written and recorded by Toots and the Maytals have been covered by the likes of the Clash and the Specials, and the group was featured in reggae's greatest breakthrough event - "The Harder They Come," the 1972 film that became an international sensation. The all-star guests on TRUE LOVE range from legends like Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, and Bonnie Raitt to younger stars including No Doubt, the Roots, and Phish's Trey Anastasio. The caliber of these collaborators reveals the impact that Toots has had on several generations of rockers and rappers, while appearances from reggae icons Bunny Wailer and Marcia Griffiths show the respect granted to the man who might be the music's greatest living vocalist. At the heart of it all is that voice - drenched in soul, rooted in gospel, and still breathtakingly powerful after almost four decades in the spotlight.
Toots and the Maytals: "Get Up, Stand Up: Live"
Toots is one of the true architects of reggae - so much so that "Do the Reggay," a 1968 single by Toots and his group, the Maytals, is credited with giving the genre its name. Classic songs written and recorded by Toots and the Maytals have been covered by the likes of the Clash and the Specials, and the group was featured in reggae's greatest breakthrough event - "The Harder They Come," the 1972 film that became an international sensation. The all-star guests on TRUE LOVE range from legends like Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, and Bonnie Raitt to younger stars including No Doubt, the Roots, and Phish's Trey Anastasio. The caliber of these collaborators reveals the impact that Toots has had on several generations of rockers and rappers, while appearances from reggae icons Bunny Wailer and Marcia Griffiths show the respect granted to the man who might be the music's greatest living vocalist. At the heart of it all is that voice - drenched in soul, rooted in gospel, and still breathtakingly powerful after almost four decades in the spotlight.
Vampire Weekend: "Mansard Roof"
The name of this band is Vampire Weekend. They are specialists in the following styles: "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", "Upper West Side Soweto", "Campus", and "Oxford Comma Riddim." Vampire Weekend are Ezra Koenig (vocals / guitar), Rostam Batmanglij (keyboards / vocals), Chris Baio (bass) and Christopher Tomson (drums). They live in New York and met while studying at Columbia University, forming the band in the spring of 2006. In June 2007 the New York Times wrote that "Even without an album, Vampire Weekend have made one of the most impressive debuts of the year." In January 2008 XL Recordings will release Vampire Weekend's first full-length. Their first single "Mansard Roof" will be in shops on October 22, 2007. (October 23 in the US)
Marcos Hernandez: "If You Were Mine"
Pop sensation Marcos Hernandez is no stranger to the recording industry. Born in Phoenix and raised in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, this 23 year-old vocal powerhouse caught the attention of many in the industry at the age of 18 as a member of the Dallas-based group Sons of Harmony. C About Me is his debut TVT album release.
The Raconteurs: "Steady, As She Goes"
The Raconteurs are a new band made up of old friends, consisting of Jack Lawrence (bass), Patrick Keeler (drums), Brendan Benson (guitars, vocals, keys) and Jack White (guitars, vocals, keys). The seed was sewn in an attic in the middle of a hot summer when friends Jack White and Brendan Benson got together and wrote a song that truly inspired them. This song was "Steady, As She Goes" and the inspiration led to the creation of a full band with the addition of Lawrence and Keeler. While each of these four individuals have had successful careers with their own bands, the culmination of all of their talents is what truly makes The Raconteurs a force to be reckoned with.
The quartet convened at Benson's East Grand Studio to lay down the basic tracks for Broken Boy Soldiers. Work would continue whenever the boys could get together over the next year. Finally, the album has found a window for its release in May of 2006. The band is now, for its members, all consuming and they now present themselves to be....consumed, or at best simply heard.
From the ready-made, radio-friendly quality built into songs like "Steady, As She Goes", to the explosive tenacity of "Store Bought Bones", all the way down to the 'hits the cockles of your heart' lullabies that encompass the full length recording, The Raconteurs are more than capable of conquering any genre challenge or tale that they encounter. After all, a raconteur is, by definition, a deft storyteller. And now a new story is unfolding.
Eternia featuring Jessica Kaya: "Love"
In celebration of March's Women's History Month, Canadian hip-hop recording artist Eternia examines the prevalence of violence against women in Canada and around the world. Eternia is drawing from the third single "Love" released from her Juno-nominated album "It?s Called Life" to raise awareness for Amnesty International's campaign to Stop Violence Against Women. This sensitive and critical issue is portrayed through the music video for "Love," which features guest vocals of Eternia?s sister ? Jessica Kaya, and which is slated for release in Canada, Australia and select US markets throughout March 2006. "In their lifetime, more than one in three women around the world report being abused or suffer from other forms of violence," explains Eternia. "Love" is the most personal and meaningful song I have ever created; it illustrates the struggles of physical and emotional abuse my mother suffered at the hands of my father, while having to raise us. Many women endure abusive relationships, thinking that is the only way to survive and raise their children. "Love" is my way of expressing a mothers' ultimate sacrifice for her children." Non-profit organization The 411 Initiative For Change (411), uses musicians as the media to engage and educate young people on pressing social issues. 411 facilitated this collaboration between Eternia and Amnesty International. "Amnesty International is the world?s largest human rights organization," explains 411 Executive Director Tamara Dawit. "Artists, like Eternia have the unique humility to use their prominence in bringing awareness to issues of importance to young people. With just over half of the women in Canada reporting having been victims of at least one act of violence since the age of 16, this is an issue of great importance to Canadians." Amnesty International has more than one million members around the world ? which includes thousands of Canadians; ? who are putting pressure on decision-makers to stop violence against women in families, communities, and war as well as violence tolerated by government authorities. "Each person can help stop violence against women, but only if we speak out," asserts Eternia. "I hope that I can inspire other young people to affect change in their communities." Eternia has rocked rhymes from crowded subway cars in the Bronx to shows across Canada, the US and Australia. Following a slew of successful singles, videos and feature releases, her first full-length, It?s Called Life, came out in Canada and Australia in October 2005.
For its fifth release, Blackalicious has created a record of such sonic depth and breadth and lyrical ambition that it can proudly stand alongside the work of Bay Area funk fathers Sly Stone and Shuggie Otis, or hip-hop classics like Outkast's Aquemini, The Roots' Things Fall Apart and Gang Starr's Daily Operation. But The Craft is not nostalgia for some "golden era" that never existed, it represents state-of-the-art hip-hop with an expansive worldview. From its opening, the sublimely orchestrated Stereolab-esque suite of "World of Vibrations", The Craft moves from peak to peak-including the Prince-ly rush of "Powers", a sinuous funk summit with George Clinton on "Lotus Flower", and the seductive meta-futurist soul of "Automatique," which features special guest vocals from Floetry. The Craft reveals one of global hip-hop's best-loved crews achieving another artistic breakthrough. "It's my favorite of all of our albums," says the Gift of Gab. "I think that it's our best album."
