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 best album to date from Orange Pekoe – a lovely blend of light rhythms, acoustic instrumentation, and sweet female vocals! The instrumentation here has a more jazz-based sound than before – with lots of light percussion, guitar, and keyboard bits – creating an almost bossa-like sense of intimacy, one that really lets the breezy vocals of Tomoko Nagashima dominate the set. Most of the lyrics are in Japanese, and titles include "Story", "Heavenly Summer", "Cradle", "Songbird", and "Niwaka-ame". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful work from Gecko Turner – an artist who's always had a vibe that's all his own, and a quality level that just seems to improve with each new record! Gecko's brand of soul is loose and free – sometimes a bit of funk or boogie, sometimes a breezier approach that echoes older modes of his native Spain – but never in a way that's Latin-styled at all! Instead, there's a very contemporary, very globe-spanning vibe here – cosmopolitan, but personal too – a quality that's a bit hard to put in words, but which will win you over right away, once you step inside Gecko's world. Titles include "Little Dose", "Twenty Twenty Vision", "Am I Sad", "Come & Try", "End Of The World", "De Balde", "Ain't No Fun Preachin To The Choir", and "The Sibariteo Appreciation Society". LP, Vinyl record album

The debut release from Terri Walker – an incredible soul singer set to take the world by storm! The album's got a stripped-down, syncopated approach that's quite nice – lots of laidback beats and keys coming together in a style that's clearly informed by hip hop, but without any of the cliches that have crept into so much other modern R&B work. Terri's vocals are great too – really honest and not overdone, set to simple and straightforward lyrics that give the album an instantly appealing quality. Titles include "Brand New Day", "Drawing Board", "Love Fool", "Ching Ching", "Dirty Weekend", "4 Feet Under", "Da Business", and "It's All Good" – plus "Guess You Didn't Love Me", featuring a guest appearance by Mos Def! LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark debut from the mighty Erykah Badu – a record that really set the world on fire when it first appeared – and which continues to blow our minds all these many years later! There's a simple, straightforward grace to the album that comes through immediately – as Erykah tries to forge new ground for soul music, but does it by taking a few steps backwards – not into retro modes, but more in a way that focuses on the core vocal, songcraft, and right instrumentation that can make a special soul record such a standout. She does a great job of both avoiding easy commercial paths, or some of the temptations to embrace other then-contemporary genres – which has made the work of some of her colleagues seem a bit dated. The record defines a whole new style of expression – "Baduizm", if you will – one in which Erykah sings with a depth that stretches back through a century's worth of jazz, soul, and gospel influences – but works a groove in a stripped-down and forward-thinking mode that sets the pace for countless Neo Soul singers to come! Titles include "Certainly (Flipped It)", "Next Lifetime (radio)", "On & On", "Appletree", "No Love", "4 Leaf Clover", and "Sometimes (mix #9)". LP, Vinyl record album