Reviews

Dual personalities in Hip Hop have been around from the jump off. From Kool Keith to Redman to MF Doom, pseudonyms have allowed artists to express themselves in numerous ways, most often they are heralded for their uniqueness. Fast forward to 2010 and we find B.O.B aka Bobby Ray continuing with the trend. Having sprung [...]

If I was to reflect on the best artists to emerge during the last decade, Washington State-based songstress Kolista Moore, aka Choklate, would feature very high on my list.  Without a hint of hyperbole, her self-titled first album is one of the most outstanding debuts I am yet to hear and a firm favourite of [...]

Rapper Big Pooh’s Hip Hop story could have ended sooner if it wasn’t for his tenacity and fervent belief in his ability. Standing tall amidst label issues and the departure of 9th Wonder from Little Brother, Pooh remains a staple name in the cipher of artists reaffirming themselves to the old school flavour of Hip [...]

There are very few acts that can disappear for a whole decade before releasing a new album and still have legions of adherents keep the fire burning.  Sade, with the inscrutable quality that allows them to take these artistic liberties, is one such band. [...]

Six years after his debut release Something In Between (2004), soulful singer-songwriter Russell Taylor is back with the re-release of his sophomore album Confessional this February.  The album is written in its entirety by Taylor, who also produced at least half of the tracks himself under the producing pseudonym of ‘Rt!’. After a couple of [...]

Black Magic is José James‘ second album, released on Brownswood Recordings and includes collaborations by an impressive set of out-wordly beat makers such as Flying Lotus, DJ Mitsu the Beats, Benga, Moodyman, BiLo, Taylor McFerrin and remix creatives Simbad and Joy Orbinson, also featuring Jordana De Lovely, a talented up and coming NYC based vocalist [...]

There’s a whiff of misleading advertising where the new Soweto Kinch weekend residency at the Rich Mix bar is concerned. It turns out, as I discovered on attending the inaugural show last Sunday, that Kinch himself only curates the event. He doesn’t actually play every week and will be merely making cameo appearances once a [...]

Californian hip hop group Deep Rooted is made up of four creative minds and artists: Mr. Brady, Johaz, Brea and DJ Artistic who, together, form one of the greatest unsigned Hip Hop/Soul groups around.  Deep Rooted have shared the stage with other Hip Hop greats such as Wu Tang Clan, KRS-One, The Roots and many [...]

Mary J. Blige is a modern day music icon; I’m guessing there are few who would disagree with that statement.  With 18 years (and counting) in the game as the reigning queen of Hip Hop Soul, nine studio albums under her belt – plus numerous high profile collaborations – it’s hard to think of a [...]

“I JUST TRY TO MAKE MUSIC THAT’S GONE LAST FOREVER…” Donell Jones says on his MySpace page.  Since 1996 the LaFace recording artist has been doing just that with songs such as ‘U Know What’s Up’ featuring Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopes, ‘Shorty Got Her Eyes on Me’, ‘I’ll Go’ for the Love and Basketball soundtrack and [...]