A killer debut from Angelo Outlaw – an vibist who may well become one of the first great soulful talents on his instrument in many years – an artist who can easily become the Roy Ayers of his generation – thanks to an expansive sound that effortlessly blends together jazz, soul, and funk! Angelo plays vibes with a nicely tight combo – and there's vocals on a number of tracks, but a number of others are instrumental – and often use the vibes and a bit of flute as the main "voice", which hardly makes you miss the vocals at all! Production is great – handled by Eraserhood Sound with a very contemporary vibe – on titles that include "Speed Of Light", "Loose Reality", "Diamonds", "Free My Mind", "Silent Horizon", "Memories", "Time Traveler", and "Cosmic Storm". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer debut from Angelo Outlaw – an vibist who may well become one of the first great soulful talents on his instrument in many years – an artist who can easily become the Roy Ayers of his generation – thanks to an expansive sound that effortlessly blends together jazz, soul, and funk! Angelo plays vibes with a nicely tight combo – and there's vocals on a number of tracks, but a number of others are instrumental – and often use the vibes and a bit of flute as the main "voice", which hardly makes you miss the vocals at all! Production is great – handled by Eraserhood Sound with a very contemporary vibe – on titles that include "Speed Of Light", "Loose Reality", "Diamonds", "Free My Mind", "Silent Horizon", "Memories", "Time Traveler", and "Cosmic Storm". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great project from Erykah Badu – a set that's quite spare compared to the fuller sound and energy of her New Amerykah records – done in a bedroom studio in Dallas with producer Zach Witness! The music is lean and stripped-down – hip hop-influenced soul, but almost at a level that has Badu playing with more popular modes of the time – showing that she can do them better than most, but always with this sense of sophistication that draws on all the other sounds she's given us over the years! Badu released the set direct to digital as a mixtape, but it's a fantastic standalone album project on its own – with titles that include "U Use To Call Me", "Cel U Lar Device", "Hi", "Phone Down", "What's Yo Phone Number", "I'll Call U Back", and "Mr Telephone Man". LP, Vinyl record album

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". LP, Vinyl record album

The second chapter of Erykah Badu's New Amerykah – recorded for the most part, quite incredibly, during the same period and with the same collaborators as the mind-altering, murky and righteous hip hop funk experimentalism that was Part One – some months that must be among the most dizzyingly creative in Badu's career! We're reluctant to call Return Of The The Ankh a lighter listen than its predecessor, but, it's a less dense and outwardly experimental batch in the sonic realm – the emotionalism and the head nodding warmth is at the forefront, yet she's as uncompromising and real as ever. The sound is still innovative, unique and her own on all fronts, but the songs chosen for Part Two are ones you want to approach and embrace from the opening seconds – there's not as much of a tripped out overall vibe and you don't need to acclimate from a distance – these songs pull you right in! Includes collaborations with James Poyser, Shafiq Husayn, Ta'Raach, Karriem Riggins, Madlib and Georgia Anne Muldrow. Includes "20 Feet Tall", "Window Seat", "Agitation", "Turn Me Away (Get Munny)", "Gone Baby, Don't Be Long", "Love", "Out My Mind, Just In Time" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The Black Pumas went from underground status to much bigger fame in just a short span of time – and this smoking second album will definitely continue that nonstop rise to stardom! As before, the group are heavy on older references to funk and soul, but given a lean, contemporary spin in the production – handled by Adrian Quesada, with all the richness he's forged on countless other projects over the years – so that the grooves and instrumentation are right on the money, and augmented by these slight sonic surprises that really keep things interesting! The vocals seem even better than before – raw, raspy, and very powerful – on titles that include "Mrs Postman", "Gemini Sun", "Sauvignon", "Angel", "Hello", "Chronicles Of A Diamond", "Ice Cream", and "More Than A Love Song". (Deep Funk, Neo Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal album from the early 90s – one that not only furthered the rebirth of live funk instrumentation at a time when ditigal elements dominated the scene – but also really opened up that mode to a whole new generation of hip hop as well! At a time when the music was all about the samples and beats, Brand New Heavies took it back to the generation before – and provided live instrumentation for a host of fantastic talents – a legendary lineup that includes performances from Main Source, The Pharcyde, Black Sheep, Kool G Rap, Gang Starr, and Masta Ace – all young and at the top of their game, with a quality level that alone would make the album great – then really sends it over the top when paired with the instrumentation! The whole thing's amazing – still maybe yet to be topped in such a style – and titles include "Who Makes The Loot", "It's Getting Hectic", "Wake Me When I'm Dead", "Soul Flower", and "Bonafide Funk". (Hip Hop, Neo Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's got all the classic soul vibe you might guess from the title and the cover, but one that's also got some more contemporary elements too – as Bella Brown and the group weave together strands of soulful influences from many decades – all with the feeling as if a 60s act on Atlantic Records were brought forward in time to hear a bit of Afro Funk from the 70s, Brand New Heavies from the late 80s, and other sweet bits which they then brought back to influence their sound! Bella's a very strong singer in the lead, able to shift things into her own mode way past standard retro soul approaches – and titles include "Bang Bang Bang", "Lady Time", "What Will You Leave Behind", "Soul Clap", "There Is Love", and "Fast As Lighting". (Deep Funk, Neo Soul) LP, Vinyl record album