Medicine for Melancholy

OKSG alerted me about this film way back before we started this blog and it just came up in conversation with someone else. I still haven't seen it and I know it's not expressly about music but black independent cinema about two black indie rock hipsters, having a one night stand, having serious discussions, and riding bikes all around OK's city? I'm there! Check out the website about Medicine for Melancholy, join their mailing list, and find ways to support this exciting project.




Update (via Tuckergurl):
IFC Films has acquired the worldwide rights to writer-director Barry Jenkins' "Medicine for Melancholy." The film is in competition at this week's Los Angeles Film Festival, and will be released in theaters by IFC in 2009. "Medicine for Melancholy is one of the great American discoveries of the year," said Jonathan Sehring, President of IFC Entertainment in a statement. "Barry Jenkins has delivered an intelligent, heartfelt and often funny universal love story and introduced two brilliant performers to the feature film world - Wyatt Cenac and Tracey Heggins. The film will not only inspire and ignite great discussions among the African-American community, but is sure to engage audiences across the globe."

New Grace Jones - Corporate Cannibal

This woman is my queen, forever and ever.

Rahsaan Roland Kirk was nutz!

Rahsaan Roland Kirk- I Say A Little Prayer - Live 1969

In a good way! Alright, not going to try and "sale" yall on this one, but if you are enamored by this as much as i was when i first peeped, than check him out, a virtuoso on reeds this man was, ridiculous styles!!!

the New Posers ft. Jay Electronica

Not usually into these "rock"/"rap" collabo joints but this one go. Jay Electronica, one of our favs, does it nice and the generic emo type singing (that is so popular these days) works fine.

line of the season:
"fear... it can kill a man, turn a real man into a realer man or package you as a bathing ape wearing gorilla stand"

Listen/Download here

...while your at it, might as well read that URB cover story on jay elect from a couple months ago, oh and yes that is who ya prolly think it is on the cover with him.

Early Morning Mellow

Source

I never really sat down and listened to Juana Molina, but today I grabbed this track Micael from their 2006 album Son and I'm really liking it. Must investigate more....

Mickey Factz "Africa"

So this cat Mickey Factz has been realeasing a track once a week as part of some ongoing mixtape, which is cool- I havent heard too much of em, but my ears definitely perked up when i heard that he was using D'angelo's "Africa"(one of my fav cuts on one of my fav albums) as a backdrop on this weeks track. After he alphabetically name drops nations in Africa, including Ghana(holla), as an intro he goes in and does this track justice, well done !!

"If Bush feels that he cant stand terror send the troops to Africa and make the land better"

Listen/Download here (via Nahright)

Let's Discover: Dorothy Ashby

My dear brother always advises that we "get to know one" and I think we'd all do well to heed his advice. Today I am getting to know the fantastic and legendary jazz harpist (yes HARP, people!) Ms. Dorothy Ashby. I first discovered this artist when my bro sent me a mixtape featuring her Little Sunflower. This song has received HEAVY rotation round my way and I have dropped it on many a mixtape since then. Today I grabbed her album "In A Minor Groove" and proceeded to do a little research on this dynamic woman. I won't regurgitate the whole Wikipedia entry (linked to it above), but I can say that this woman is a real deal big deal who has not only played with the likes of Louis, Stevie, and Dionne but also made a name for herself as the most successful jazz harpist in the game.



You can also listen to her album Afro Harping over on the Verve site.





Both Pictures from here

Queens Brings The Quality, Gets The Money

OK, OK so this may have been mentioned on many other blogs, but it definitely belongs here too.


Kelis, Nas, Erykah, Jay 'Lec

Nas's new track Queens Get The Money features not only top quality fresh rappings from Mr. Nasir Jones but it also gets the sweet sweet beats from the incredible(don't sleep) Jay Electronica. All this for one great low price....it's, like, WOW, Steve!

Download here (via Fader).

Zizek North America Tour!!!

Stevie aint the only one who is hotter than July. Our homies from the Zizek posse of Buenos Aires are also hotter than July, and will be on a USA invasion tour during that same July that they are hotter than! They are even going to Canada, now thats North America love right there, and Mexico City- wow!!! This is so sinserious, this tour right hurrr. Im sure they are going to be killing it, so go out and check em at a town near you!

Tawiah

"It’s a conversation I have with a lot of people ’cos a lot of people say that if a white person does soul music then its like 'yeah, oh my God, it’s so soulful'. But if a black person does soul music, it’s just like 'ummm, okay'. But for me, I try not to think about the politics, or have hang ups about being black and having a soulful voice. I just try to write honest music and let it do as much as it can do. I am just doing my thing, man.’ For now – before too long, it’ll be everybody’s thing." - Tawiah


For some reason I was asleep on British soul singer Tawiah, despite the fact that she was endorsed by the venerable Gilles Peterson, was collabo'ing with the likes of Mark Ronson and Wale, and holding it down as an important part of the current East London soul scene. I just didn't bother to check her. Frankly I was a little turned off by her overly wacky fashion sense. But by some pleasant stroke I ended up downloading her bpm presents session on the Brownswood Podcast feed and I am quite enjoying it and her and looking forward to more. Big ups to Ghanaian girls making it happen!



Tawiah - Broken Heart