soulRocks » Artists

Audio: Robert Glasper Feat. Bilal & Black Milk “Letter To Hermione” (Glasper & Jewels Remix)

soulrocks — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 20:19:56 +0000

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Blitz the Ambassador

soulrocks — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:40:16 +0000

Born and raised in Accra, Ghana, Blitz the Ambassador grew up to the sounds of Afro-Beat, Highlife, Jazz, and Motown. But when his older brother introduced him to Public Enemy’s classic album, It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, as a young boy, he was changed forever. “I had never heard young Black people express themselves in that way before,” recalls Blitz.
After moving to the U.S. to attend college, Blitz continued to hone his musical skills, releasing several mixtapes as an undergrad at Kent State University. After graduation, Blitz moved to New York City to pursue his dream. In NYC, Blitz began to record, Stereotype, a live-instrument-heavy musical exploration, that tests the limits of Hip Hop. Drawing from his diverse musical background, he dove into the project with explicit intent of changing Hip Hop forever. In order to achieve the live sound he was looking for, he formed a band, The Embassy Ensemble, and brushed off his own djembe skills.
After three long years of recording, Blitz took the album to several major labels. Getting the major label run around one to many times, Blitz decided go it alone.
“One day I just said, ‘Fuck it’,” recounts Blitz. “I was tired of record labels telling me I had to be like somebody else. So I came home and wrote, Rememebering the Future,” Blitz explains. This epic, instrument-laden, track illustrates Blitz’ refusal to be a Stereotypical rapper. The chorus of the song is, ‘I am who I am / and you can never change me / Reaching for the sun / remembering the future.’
Now, his label, Embassy MVMT is proving that Hip Hop fans are ready for the future. Hungry for a change, and sick-and-tired of the juvenile radio hits, Blitz the Ambassador is here to give the people what they want.

Blitz the Ambassador/Facebook

4Hero

soulrocks — Wed, 18 May 2011 07:40:54 +0000

In the beginning, the name 4 Hero did actually mark the presence of a quartet. Mark Mac and Dego first hooked up with Iain Bardouille and Gus Lawrence in 1986, through their mutual adoration for hip-hop and involvement in the Strong Island FM pirate radio station. By 1989, Mark Mac and Dego were recording percussive breakbeat experiments and becoming increasingly involved with the breakbeat scene, while Bardouille and Lawrence gradually moved into management of the quartet’s newly formed Reinforced Records. The label debuted with the Rising Sun EP by Mark and Dego, credited to 4 Hero. The second EP, “Combat Dance”, became a big seller in the dance community, though a shady distributor reneged on payment of the profits. Though they were still in the rave scene, 4 Hero’s subsequent recordings also revealed a growing interest in the flip side of rave’s increasingly elegiac feeling. 4 Hero’s 1991 LP debut “In Rough Territory” sketched a sinister path through breakbeat. This was followed by “Parallel Universe”. The smooth sound reflected more of a debt to old – school Detroit techno and Chicago house. Three years after their last album, they signed to Talkin’ Loud and released third album, “Two Pages”.

It was nominated for Britain’s Mercury Prize, and prompted the remix album “Two Pages: Reinterpretations” in 1999. “Creating Patterns” appeared in late 2001, boasting collaborations with Mark Murphy, Terry Callier and Jill Scott. www.4hero.co.uk

Dajla

soulrocks — Tue, 17 May 2011 12:03:16 +0000

dajla.com

Eric Lau

soulrocks — Fri, 06 May 2011 21:35:26 +0000

The production skills of Eric Lau are powered by his love of manipulating sound in a soulful manner. Influenced by artists like Jay Dee, Pete Rock, D’angelo, ?uestlove, James Poyser, Donald Byrd, Roy Ayers, and Shuggie Otis, he seeks to walk in thier path of genre-busting, quality soul releases while adding a twist of his own. Using a blend of samples and instrumentation, his music already spans a variety of different genres and his collaborations with an eclectic collective of soul singers, musicians, dj’s, rappers and producers with the same mind set will help push the envelope further. Production credits include Dudley Perkins, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Lupe Fiasco, Guilty Simpson, Wildchild, Tanya Morgan, Hil St Soul, and his family of artists Rahel, Tosin Tao, Tawiah, Joy Silva and Jodi Miliner.

ericlaumusic

Breis

soulrocks — Mon, 02 May 2011 21:23:58 +0000

BREIS (pronounced breeze) is a Nigerian Hip Hop Rap artist and creative education consultant based in the UK. BREIS is also the author of Brilliant Rappers Educate Intelligent Students – A collection of rap lyrics and the inspiration behind them. He is a remarkable live performer who has performed across the UK, Europe, Africa, America, Guadaloupe, Norway and Japan with his fusion of hip hop, jazz and African rhythms. His work is thought provoking, witty and inspiring. BREIS stands for Brother Reaching Each Inner Soul.

breismusic

Aisling

soulrocks — Sun, 01 May 2011 00:55:23 +0000

Irish born and London based singer Aisling has grown up surrounded by music with a family full of musicians including her Mother, Jazz Singer and two singer/songwriter siblings. Her vocal talents and song writing have been acclaimed by musicians and producers in equal measure which have led to collaborations with Drew Horley (Ty) Domu, Ian Friday as well as tours Roots Manuva and live performces with Don-E, Eska Mtungwazi, Omar and most recently in Hollywood with the Jerry Vivino band. She released her EP “You Took The Sun Away” available on Itunes, along with self produced music video of the same name. Her as yet untitled debut album is scheduled for summer 2012.

Aislingofficial

Amp Fiddler

soulrocks — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 16:54:17 +0000

To many Amp Fiddler would be one of the latest musical innovators coming out of Detroit alongside luminaries such as Jaydee, Carl Craig and Dwele. In fact he is one of the pioneers from the D. with a musical career spanning 20years. It began in 1983 when Amp replaced Bernie Worrell in the George Clinton’s P-Funk set up. It allowed him to escape the street drama of Detroit and learn from one of the masters. Amp toured with Clinton for 12 years and has also managed to work with artists such as Prince, Maxwell and Lucy Pearl. He also steered Jaydee of Slum Village to super producer stardom by teaching how to program beats. The p-funk and hip hop influences are part of the sound that is experienced in Amp Fiddler’s recent critically acclaimed EP’s Bass Mentality and Love & War. In these his house and Latin influences are evident. It is this versatility that makes his debut album so eagerly awaited.

Website www.ampfiddler.com

Alice Smith

soulrocks — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 16:47:48 +0000

Alice Smith is a NYC-based chanteuse, with a 4-octave vocal range with a style that that evokes influences from a broad spectrum of artists such as, Patti Labelle, Nina Simone, Tina Turner, Barbara Streisand and Billie Holiday. Raised between Washington DC and her grandmother’s farm in Augusta Georgia, Alice now lives in New York City. Alice’s musical influences are as diverse as her album having grown up listening to Go-Go, Country, Classic Rock, Blues, Jazz and Gospel music. In the early 2000s, while she was wrapping up her studies at Fordham University, she sang with Greg Tate’s improv band, Moomtez, that drew upon a broad range of influences and was a part of the Black Rock Coalition. The experience was great for Alice, but only the start of her journey towards finding her sound. The sound Alice developed with her debut album “For Lovers, Dreamers & Me,” was a marriage of: her bluesy, soulful vocals balanced by mid-tempo grooves. It’s also an extension of the groundbreaking work created by music pioneers, Ike & Tina Turner.

Website www.myspace.com/alicesmith

Alice Russell

soulrocks — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 16:44:09 +0000

Alice Russell is hugely in demand as a vocalist and is renowned for her performances with Bah Samba, TM Juke, Kushti and as the front woman of The Quantic Soul Orchestra. Her style is a predominantly bluesy, soul lament but encompasses everything from funk to gospel to jazz and beyond. Her debut offering ‘Under The Munka Moon’ was a retrospective of her finest works to date, both in original and remix forms highlighting her work with a range of musicians and producers. Her solo outing is a Live 8 piece band – ‘Alice Russell Live’ comprising of a prime selction of talented musicians. Her second LP ‘My Favourite Letters’ was produced and co-written by TM Juke and released in 2005.

Website www.alicerussell.co.uk