Neo Soul — All Formats  

Badu is back with some of the deepest, funkiest and best music of her career – a mindblowing treatise for a New Amerykah – and what we'll consider an instant classic whether the world at large catches on or not! Erykah steps up this time with a set that balances the wilder impulses of her criminally underappreciated Worldwide Underground and more of a hip hop based, righteously grooving style – but still bursts with a freshness that's unrivaled to say the least. From free spirited soul, to sparse hip hop funk this record is both blunt and beautiful – with a slow-building emotional resonance that'll reach the most jaded souls. Modern soul music of the first order that gives us goosebumps from the first spin to the last beat! The album kicks off with Erykah riffing on and remixing Ramp's "American Promise" as an intro – and it just gets deeper from there. Producers/collaborators include Madlib, Sa-Ra, Karriem Riggins, James Poyser and ?uestlove. Amazing!!! Titles include "The Healer", "Me", "My People", "Soldier", "The Cell", "Twinkle", "Master Teacher", "The Hump" and "Telephone". The 9th Wonder produced single "Honey" is an unlisted bonus track.

Soulful funk with Colombian touches – a real triple-header of talents that features Alice Russell on vocals, and Quantic leading his cool Combo Barbaro! "Magdalena" has a sound that's really wonderful – vocals from Russell that really surprise us – with a mix of soaring soul and warmth that's almost Stevie Wonder, somehow sounding perfect here with the cut's slight Latin jazz touches! "Look Around The Corner" is another great cut from the project – but given two more contemporary spins here in a gospel mix by Simbad and another by Behling & Simpson.

There's a heck of a lot of great music here – a whopping 35 tracks of contemporary and vintage soul, all put together for the price of a regular single CD! The package is the latest in the excellent Luxury Soul series – based around artists who have worked the UK series of the same name – and who really come together here in a warm array of the best contemporary soul styles! There's plenty of Neo Soul numbers, a handful of classics, and a few more modern elements too – and titles include "I'm Not That Tough" by Ashford & Simpson, "Rubber Soul" by Live Tropical Fish with Omar, "Things That I Do" by Gianna, "Enough Is Enough" by Dennis Taylor, "Music & Love" by Victor Haynes, "Just A Simple Love" by Sheree Brown, "In The Meantime" by Johnny Britt, "Crystal Clear" by Howard Hewett, "Just Let Me Be Close To You" by Valentine Brothers, "I'll Come Running Back To You" by June Yamagishi with Bobby Womack, "So In Love" by Chapter 8, "Slow Down" by Al Olive, "Priority" by Kloud 9, "It's Just One Of Those Things" by Incognito, "I Want It" by Soul Talk, "Wake Up Everybody" by Eric Benet, and "Anything" by Angela Johnson.

A contemporary project from Jeter Thompson – of the legendary Quartette Tres Bien!

With Amir Thompson & Black Thought from the Roots.

Badu is back with some of the deepest, funkiest and best music of her career – a mindblowing treatise for a New Amerykah – and what we'll consider an instant classic whether the world at large catches on or not! Erykah steps up this time with a set that balances the wilder impulses of her criminally underappreciated Worldwide Underground and more of a hip hop based, righteously grooving style – but still bursts with a freshness that's unrivaled to say the least. From free spirited soul, to sparse hip hop funk this record is both blunt and beautiful – with a slow-building emotional resonance that'll reach the most jaded souls. Modern soul music of the first order that gives us goosebumps from the first spin to the last beat! The album kicks off with Erykah riffing on and remixing Ramp's "American Promise" as an intro – and it just gets deeper from there. Producers/collaborators include Madlib, Sa-Ra, Karriem Riggins, James Poyser and ?uestlove. Amazing!!! Titles include "The Healer", "Me", "My People", "Soldier", "The Cell", "Twinkle", "Master Teacher", "The Hump" and "Telephone". The 9th Wonder produced single "Honey" is an unlisted bonus track.

Leela James burst proudly back on the scene with a killer debut for Stax Records – a set that comes across with a lot deeper sound than her previous records for other labels – proof that the newly revived Stax is a very good thing! Production is by a handful of different talents – Chucky Thompson, Butter, Gerrard Baker, Kadis & Sean, and Steve White – but there's a really unified feel to the record, thanks to a strong focus on grooves that bump up from the bottom – in ways that make Leela sound a lot funkier than before – a great move, and one that certainly brings a new fire to her music! Plenty of bassy grooves here – on titles that include "Party All Night", "I Ain't New to This", "So Cold", "The Fact Is", "Supa Lova", "Let It Roll", "If It's Wrong", "It's Over", and "Mr Incredible Ms Unforgettable", with a guest appearance from Raheem DeVaughan.

A smooth set of soulful grooves – all very much in the Naked Music tradition (sensual sound, packaged in a cartoony cover with a naked girl – you know the deal!) Miguel Migs blends a range of current tracks that span the groove between house and soul – all quite pleasant, and sliding together with ease. Titles include "Highly Strung" by Headstock, "Happiness is Free" by Onda, "Endless Bow (Jimpster rmx)" by Hajime Yoshizawa, "Release" by Mindflight, "Atmospheric Beats (orig ext)" by Kerri Chandler, "The Dream (deep dreamer dub)" by Fusion Groove Orchestra & Simon Green, and "Tango Sed (Ron Trent drum mix)" by Batidos.