An all-star record from three contemporary forces in soul, hip hop, and jazz – yet one that's also got a nicely lean vibe as well – as the whole thing focuses on the best strengths of all three talents involved! Much of the music features Karriem Riggins on drums, Robert Glasper on keyboards, and Common delivering lyrics – usually with a style that's much more compact and down to earth than some of his own records of the past few decades! Glasper's right at home in the setting, and really helps set the tone – and singer Samora Pinderhughes is on many tracks, balancing out Common's rhymes with her vocals. Other guest singers include Bilal and Brandy – and titles include "Black Kennedy", "Practice", "Fly Away", "Aya", "Let Go", "The Time", "Optimistic", and "No Apologies". 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

Wayne Snow was born in Nigeria, recorded this debut between Paris and Berlin, and comes across with the kind of globe-spanning sound that legacy might make you expect! This is future soul at its best – not warmed-over cliches from the past, but a record that has a crisp sort of contemporary vibe through and through – a lean style that does more with less, and which really brings just the right sort of focus onto Wayne's vocals when he steps into the mix! A great record that really gets right what so many others try to reach these days, but always end up messing up with a bit too much effort – not the case with Wayne Snow, as you'll hear on "Faceless", "Nina", "Seventy", "Number One", "Figurine", "Relativity", and "Magnetic". LP, Vinyl record album