Omar recently came to the United States to promote his ninth album, Brighter The Days, and he performed a Tiny Desk show. The King of UK Soul plucked four songs from his four-decade career, starting with “Can We Go Out” from his current album. The title track from The Man, “Little Boy,” “This Is Not A Love Song,” and the first career landmark single, “There’s Nothing Like This,” finished the setlist. Omar promises to uplift your soul with his current album that has guest appearances from Raheem DeVaughn, Eric Roberson, his brother Scratch Professor, Don-E, Ledisi, Jeru The Damaja, Honey Larochelle, Paul Weller, and more. The many challenges in the world now make an album titled Brighter The Days a necessity for getting through the times. The album is available in all formats.

Spike Lee, Don Lemon, and Taye Diggs were amongst the crowd that attended an IMAX screening of Prince’s Sign O’ The Times concert movie in New York Wednesday night. IMAX, Mercury Studios, FilmRise, and Paisley Park Studios hosted the event at the KMC Kips Bay 15 IMAX theatre in New York City. The evening started with attendees walking the purple carpet and standing in front of a floral arrangement and sharing their observations on Prince’s legacy. Luann de Lesseps, Dianne Brill, Amir Arison, and Genevieve Gorder joined artists and musicians, including members of Interpol, Eugene Hutz (Gogo Bordello), Blu DeTiger, and Emmett Skye, along with designers and cultural figures in honoring Prince’s artistry. DJs AKU (Florence & The Machine), The Muses, Rex DeTiger, and a surprise live tribute performance provided the entertainment while guests sipped on purple cocktails.

Sign O’ The Times is one of the most important concert films, as it captured Prince at his height and was the companion film to an equally significant album. It was Prince’s second time directing a film, having done so previously with Under The Cherry Moon. Sign O’ The Times was praised by critics, unlike UTCM and despite it not doing so well at the box office, it has become an essential part of the Prince story and pop music. The IMAX version of the film will be available on streaming platforms and in theaters on August 29th. 

Illa J and Ash Walker are Jaywalk and The Cadillacs.  “Dream,” featuring Belle Chen, is the latest single from their album, Whitewalls & Harmonies. The mostly instrumental single is an arrangement of a soft piano, a fading snare drum and a looming synthesizer. The music has the ethereal quality of an actual dream, with Illa J’s vocals coming in almost as an afterthought. The duo started releasing music earlier this year and have received warm responses to “In Love” and “Y.M.H.D.W.” Illa J’s most recent solo album was Traffic, which came out in 2023 and he also released Second Record that year, which was a collaboration project with UK singer Harleighblu. Ash Walker released his fourth solo album, Astronaut, in 2023. Whitewalls & Harmonies drops on September 26th. 

Kwamé comes full circle as he reemerges as an artist with his single, “Ms Mary Mack.” The rhymes are set off with creative name-calling and he says the music is juke joint vibes over hip-hop beats. It’s a surprise from the man who came on the scene as the Boy Genius in the late ’80s and became a very busy producer in the 2000s. “Ms Mary Mack” is the first song from his album, The Different Kids. A conversation with DJ Tat Money while listening to the theme from Diff’rent Strokes inspired Kwamé to start rapping again. The result was “Stroke Dif’Rent” and feedback he received from the song encouraged him to complete an album. It’s clear from the visual for “Ms Mary Mack” that Kwamé is having fun again as a rapper and he even wears his trademark polka dots. In regard to the album title, he says, “The album title explains how I always felt as a person. I didn’t necessarily align with mainstream life. I’ve always felt different. Putting the “Kids” part of the title as plural, it’s a double thing. It speaks to the people who used to get into my music. I would refer to them as The Different Kids.”

The Different Kids is scheduled for an August 29th release date. It will be Kwamé’s first album in three decades and he will be the latest Gen X rapper to come out with a full-length project. Watch the visual for “Ms Mary Mack,” and if you weren’t around then or if it’s been a while, listen to Kwamé the Boy Genius: Featuring a New Beginning.