“I need to make music that I’m really proud of because at the end of the day that’s all I have left” Seven years ago Omar Lye-Fook released Sing,the sixth album in his 20-year plus journey as the UK’s most resolute and resilient lone soul man. During his recording hiatus he toured globally, did a [...]
“Oh this is a Black male singer so he’s definitely going to do rap” Tunde Olaniran’s play with fantasy, magick and rhythm has crafted a matchless auricular profile in dance music. His theatrical but tightly choreographed stage shows are next generation expressions of a club culture previously blazed by the likes of Sylvester, Green Velvet [...]
“I still feel that when you’re Black and you’re playing Rock and Roll and all these other styles of music it’s a lot harder for America to recognize you and appreciate you because it’s very linear in America. “ Angelo Moore is Fishbone’s prismatic frontman known for leading their Pentecost meets punk funk charge with [...]
“I know for a fact that there are elites, the one percent whatever you call them that control the distribution of wealth” Locksmith’s diligent battle stance, social criticism and regional commercial success as one-half of The Frontline put him in serious view of underground rap fans 12 years ago. He and rhyme partner Left appeared [...]
“The same thing that propelled me to do law is the same thing that propelled me to do hip-hop” Hopie’s bubbly B-girl style injects lyricism into the cranium with an unapologetic intelligence and focused passion. The emergence of her Diamond Dame album in 2008 introduced her spirited spitting in a voice that was quickly compared [...]
“I’ve been singing since I could.” Miguel’s “All I Want Is You” became an anthem for lovers and those who want to be loved early last year when the singer introduced himself as a new voice with a debut album of fetching R&B songs.The Prince-meets-Kanye comparisons pointed to his sartorial challenges to the one-dimensional trad [...]
“People are hungry for media that is more challenging and that will allow people to think about their harder issues” Angela Tucker is the director and producer of the web series Black Folk Don’t. The show is an entertaining dissection of so-called Black customs by everyday people and cultural critics like Toure’ and Melissa Harris-Perry. [...]
“The human voice is still the best and most intricate and most wonderful instrument and no matter how interesting technology gets you still can’t really duplicate the human voice.” Take 6’s vocal harmonies have circled jazz, R&B and even country before returning back to their home of gospel-rooted messages and melodies. The synergy of their [...]
“I’ve never doubted the power of music to cure, heal and make sense of things” Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick has always given credit to the music from the beaches of Mauritius for being the nucleus of the Incognito sound. The Sega music he heard during his youth started his visceral understanding of music’s power to heal [...]
“No matter who it is there’s this common denominator that I’m trying to get to and I think a lot of artists are doing that. I’d love to see them all leave the margins or everyone else step into the margins and be comfortable there and have a party there.” Tunde Olaniran’s thunderous dance music [...]