| Handle with Care: Numero Group reissues Pastor T.L. Barrett | October 13, 2021 |
Jordan Ryan Pedersen takes a critical look at Numero Group's reissue of music by Pastor T.L. Barrett.
| Call Him Mr. Pitiful: O.V. Wright’s A Nickel and a Nail | August 3, 2021 |
Jordan Ryan Pedersen sheds a tear with O.V. Wright, one of soul's most underrated weepers.
| Hyperdub at 10 | June 10, 2014 |
Son Raw is celebrating his 30th anniversary. There was no better place than Fabric to celebrate Hyperdub’s 10th anniversary. It was a little rude – half the people in attendance were seemingly there to pull or get off their heads, a little intense – the bass in room 2 threatened to disembowel more than a […]
| Ty Dolla $ign: Back at the Beach House | July 3, 2013 |
Max Bell wants to drink sake. Ty Dolla $ign (Ty$) buys his women the same red bottoms and the same perfume. It’s the smart move: if anyone asks, you only have to remember one set of gifts. He also only considers taking a woman to the movies if the head is right. That’s just being […]
So you wanted to hear D’Angelo and ?uestlove do a 70 minute set featuring originals and covers of Funkadelic, Bobby Womack, Prince, Sly Stone and Curtis Mayfield songs? Naturally. Thanks to FWMJ and someone in the audience who cares about the children (and making more of them), a version has surfaced of the pair’s Brooklyn […]
| Takeaways from the “Groundhog Day” Video for Craig David’s “Seven Days” | September 20, 2012 |
1. 0:00 Craig David, specifically, is the person that Ali G was a parody of. I have no idea how I didn’t realize this in the past, because it’s indisputable. (Not actually, but they’re so similar.) 2. 0:06 A British echo of African-American barbershop culture is incredibly entertaining. 3. 0:27 Apparently, you can see exactly […]
| Becoming Real and Translatlantic R&B | June 4, 2012 |
Son Raw is a pirate on the Black Atlantic. As Abe so eloquently put it, R&B kicked Hip-Hop’s ass in 2011, even as the seeds of rap’s triumphant revival were already paying off like a fast-growing weed plant. In terms of outside influence however, a completely different strain of urban vocal pop continues to have […]
| Elle Varner’s “Conversational Lush” | February 16, 2012 |
Jonah Bromwich is more in favor of the alliterative phrase, “loquacious lush.” R&B singer Elle Varner has mastered a tricky combination of old-fashioned romanticism and new-school playfulness. On her recent mixtape Conversational Lush, the RCA freshman establishes a winning persona, injecting large doses of her personality into tracks that are clearly structured by someone who […]
| A Love Bizarre: R. Kelly and Experimentation | January 4, 2012 |
Abe Beame is a lover and a fighter. DOWNLOAD: A Love Bizarre (Disc 1) What did “Let’s Get It On” sound like in 1973? Today, it’s a golden oldie, something a cotton-stuffed Jack Black can croon with adorable affectation to close out romantic comedies. But when it first came out, how did it feel and […]
| Bleeding Heart of Darkness — The Weeknd’s Dirty Game | March 22, 2011 |
Abe Beame didn’t even need to make a Chris Isaak joke. Abel Tesfaye and Jeremy Rose are an indie rock-influenced R&B outfit from Toronto who call themselves The Weeknd. If this wasn’t bad enough, they’ve just released an obnoxiously promoted demo called House of Balloons. Yes, for those under the impression they’re listening to a […]
