1. STAY HERE - MUHSINAH
2. FOR THE HUNGRY CATS - PORTFORMAT
3. PLANETARIUM - IMAN WILLIAMS
4. SON (FEAT. SUZI ANALOGUE) - MINDESIGN
5. LA SAMBA - AFTA-1
6. ELECTRIC LOVE (NICOLAY REMIX) - VIKTER DUPLAIX
7. THE MEANING - 14KT
8. THRONES - GEORGIA ANNE MULDROW
9. CRAZY YOU (FEAT. SY SMITH) - ZO!
10. BEYOND 2012 - DAM FUNK
11. AMERICA (REVISITED) - JIMETTA ROSE
Recently, a lot of people have been sidetracked by the non sense of Kanye West and the theatrical attempts of Lady Gaga. It leaves me to wonder if people are actually paying attention to REAL music anymore; therefore I say: If you don't know about this phenomenal female singer/songwriter/producer, then you are seriously lost in a hurricane of mess. Latonya "Tone Trezure" Givens is from Flint, Michigan but the soul she disperses would have you thinking she was sent directly from Detroit which is known as a soul capital. Tone was blessed with the gift of musicianship and golden vocals. From playing drums at the age of 3 to playing bass at the age of 16, this funkstress was destined to do great things musically.
The first time I heard Tone Trezure 's sultry and funky voice was at least two years ago. I heard her sing her song "Ready to Go" which is on her EP (not sure of release date and title) and was featured on her myspace page. I thought to myself instantly...this girl reminds me sort of Bilal with the uncontrollable vibrato that works very much for her. Speaking of Bilal, Tone Trezure has written and produced for him on such tracks as "Get out of My Hair" and "When We Were Young" off his shelved sophomore effort, Love for Sale. Those two songs are my favorite and with that funky sound, I can believe that she wrote such work for Bilal. She has also worked with the likes of Denaun Porter, Erykah Badu, Snoop Dogg, Strange Fruit Project, Pharaoh Monch, and Little Brother to name a few. According to Tone Trezure she was discovered by Johnnie Evans and Brandon Williams who in turned introduced her to Denaun Porter. From there, she went on to do work for God's Property and the blessings kept manifesting themselves one after another.
When I caught Sister Trezure a few months back at the legendary Mizell Brothers Tribute here in Atlanta,GA, I was able to kick it with her and talk music with her. When I asked her who her inspirations were, she immediately answered, Rance Allen. I instantly had to to check out his collection once I got home, and I must say he is awesome. I see why Tone has such a soulful/funky persona with a gospel undertone. To make this superwoman even more certifiable, she is pretty dope emcee as well, so don't sleep. I will keep BLS Family up to date with Tone Trezure's project, until then check out her recent accomplishments.
I felt like this song was dope enough to share with the BLS Fam. The group is called Smooth Tutors and they hail in the city of Pittsburgh,PA. BusCrates 16-Bit Ensemble put me on to them while I was recording there with him. He actually plays keys for the band. I'm not sure when Smooth Tutors will release a project but I do know that they have songs available at myspace for you to check. While majority of the songs are more experimental, this remix of their song "Drag Tide" feat. Jody Perigo by BusCrates 16-Bit Ensemble has a more electronic/hip-hop sound. Check it out. Let me know what you think.
Again, I can't express how much this Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania producer has me excited about my own new project. Right now, Bus Crates 16 Bit Ensemble is one of the only producers I'm working with and embodies so much soul and raw hip-hop. Influences starting at Q-tip (ATCQ) and ending at Chick Corea should let you know that he isn't a newbie when it comes to production. Check out these remixes of J-Live "Listening", De La Soul "The Bizness", and Tom's Diner and let me know what you feel about them. I always like turning on a new producer that's under the radar to my BLS family.
The D.C. MPC wizard has been making noise for quite sometime now with the release of Muhsinah's Oscillations:Square and Diamond District. Slimkat78 has decided to release some of his gems on a project called Soundfreakers Vol #1. Soundfreakers is for free download so get it now!
Long name huh? LOL However, you will be surprise to know that he is one of the many producers still alive who actually play an instrument. Bus Crates 16-Bit Ensemble is hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and is definitely in need of more ears. Bus Crates started out djing and producing some years ago. He is constantly working on music and elevating his sound. Even though he doesn't claim to be a pianist, much of his music heavily consist of Moog Little Phatty and Wurlitzer 200a electric piano. He also uses Ableton Live 7 LE, percussion instruments, MPC 2000XL and vinyl which certifies him a gear junkie, in my opinion. Bus Crates is heavily influenced by Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Les McCann. Crates also draws inspiration from artist such as J Dilla (R.I.P) and DJ Spinna. In a world field with wanna be producers who get shine, Bus Crates seems to keep his head above water. So far, Bus Crates is staying on the grind and is not collaborating with a gang of people (YET) so he is definitely a producer that artists should want to work with soon.
It has been 8 years now since Aaliyah "Baby Girl" Haughton left this world. She was one of the most talented young Black women of her time and not only a singer but an actress in the making. Aaliyah left physically but has forever soared in our hearts. She continues to live through projects such Aaliyah Revisted, courtesy of UK e-zine Soul Culture. The 8 song compilation consists of remakes of Aaliyah's "Are U That Somebody", "If Your Girl Only Knew", and "Rock The Boat", to name a few. The compilation also, consists of some very prominent and talented artists such as UK's own Tawiah, Jonas, Sy Smith, Jesse Boykins III, Black Einstein,Baby Sol, Vula, Nikko Gray, Marsha Ambrosius (also from UK), and producer AFTA-1. Lucky for you, Soul Culture has is for free download for your enjoyment and to celebrate an unforgettable Angel.
GET EXCITED//Muhsinah Oscillations:Square available tonight at 12am
This girl is the epitome of new millennium soul singer. She has been putting in much work, so much for others like Common, Foreign Exchange,etc. that she put her on album Oscillations:Triangle on hold. Well, Muhsinah just recently brought to my attention that tomorrow is her birthday, and instead of giving her a gift, she is giving her fans a gift. She is releasing Oscillations:Square tonight at 12am which includes a lot of "gems" that may only be available through digital so get it while it's hot! And if you don't believe me, get it from the horses mouth ;-)
What isn't there to say about the talented D.C. native, Muhsinah? Muhsinah Abdul-Karim aka Muhsinah has risen from all things including direction in career to weight loss. Muhsinah started out singing background for Bilal Salaam and is pinned with crews such as Low Budget (Dj Roddy Rod, Kev Brown, and Peter Rosenberg) to name a few.For those who didn't know, Muhsinah is a very skilled piano player and studied classical music. Nowadays, you will find Muhsinah playing keys for Chicago bred rapper Common (Common Sense). Muhsinah has also been featured on projects such as Stacy Epps's "The Awakening" and Foreign Exchange's "Leave it All Behind". Whether she is in a band or producing for others, Muhsinah still has a sound of her own that can't be simply put into one category. She fuses modern day sounds such as hip-hop and electronic with classical,jazz,and R&B. Whether the lyrics may seem unclear and non-existent at times, Muhsinah still manages to draw you in with her uncanny and subtle voice. In 2008, Muhsinah released her album Oscillations:Sine which is the first of 2 parts. Oscillations:Triangle,which features all new music and production from producersSlimkat78, Mike Slott, Exile,and herself, has been pushed back until further notice. If you rewind back to 2005, Muhsinah released the Oscillations EP which featured songs such as "Millions" which you would find on her Daybreak and Daybreak 2.0 release. The Oscillations: Sine is Muhsinah's album that combines Daybreak,Daybreak 2.0, and Prelude. All which can be bought separately. Daybreak was released first as download music and then she released Daybreak 2.0 which added bonus tracks. It was also sold physically and digitally. Prelude was a Japanese release and had a few tracks on it that wasn't on Daybreak or Daybreak 2.0. You have to love the genius behind her team (Rxlngr pronounced Rock Slinger). What I enjoyed about Oscillations is that it was very diverse in sound yet it was so Muhsinah. Drums are hip-hop and sometimes unorthodox. Melodies are flowing and mysterious. Energy is incredible. You can't turn your ipod,stereo,or computer off when hearing Muhsinah's sound. ________________________________________________________________ "A.M" starts the journey off with a obvious tribute to Alice Coltrane with a synthetic harp sound and piano riffs. In a away, it represents an awakening of some sort. ________________________________________________________________ Slowly creeping in after is "Construction" her hit song, in my opinion, which I feel is very universal. The beginning of Oscillations are all favorites. ________________________________________________________________ "Discovery" is a very non-defying song that I can not place. It just has a feel good sound about it and her voice haunts it superbly. ________________________________________________________________ "Once Again", another favorite of mine, is so beautiful and pacy. Muhsinah's vocals easily shined in this piece. Her harmonies that sat in the back of this track help to bring this song to life. The music is very simple and I was told uses a sample from John Coltrane's "Love Supreme". ________________________________________________________________ "Gogh" is one of those songs that I would say has limited lyrics but the music intrigues you. It's very different. It has a electronic feel with off rhythms. It also features that dark and slowed down vocal along with the reversed vocal she puts in just about all her tracks. This is when it starts to get repetitive. That would be the most annoying thing I get out of her music,but other than that.... ________________________________________________________________ "Outsource" has a rock feel with some,again,off rhythms.Yet, Muhsinah pulls it off with her vocal arrangements. ________________________________________________________________ Same can also be said about "Yiy" which features Muhsinah's piano talent. It is very reminiscent of Radiohead and is executed beautifully. ________________________________________________________________ "Mine" is a song that I can honestly tell you, I had no idea what was going on at first. It seemed all over the place and would probably be my least favorite; however, she manages to again make you pay attention with her vocals even though we could do without the not-so-good rap verse. ________________________________________________________________ "Billieclub" which features soul singer Wayna, is easily a favorite and is named after a wooden club used by police in the UK during the Victorian Era. The song talks of police brutality and the words are very strong. ________________________________________________________________
Muhsinah is a very talented individual and I must say, she has come a very long way. She has much more to give and a lot more growing that is in process.
1=Don't waste your time like I did mine. 2=Waste your time like I did mine but I dare you to disagree. 3=Well, there was the single. 4=If it were a hand in spades there's "two and a possible". 5=It's a "good" album. Meaning at least 3 or 4 solid songs. 6=Really Good Project. Has the "Rewind Factor" more than once. 7=The number of completion. Great Album. Instant Classic.
FMJ Introlude N'Dea Davenport - Bring It On Dom Kennedy - Still Lookin' Reggie B - I Was Wrong Jessie Boykins III - Connected featuring Theophilus London and Keys 88 Keys - Dirty Peaches featuring J*DaVeY Naledge - Do What I Do featuring VerBS and Rapper Big Pooh Now On - The Willows Miles Bonny - What Is It I See Res - Ice King (Remix) Muhsinah - Once Again Peter Hadar - Watermelon Lorett Fleur - POA (Piece or Art)
