Over the past two weeks not one but TWO incredible EP’s have dropped in the world of RnB! Raleigh Ritchie who has been blowing up the UK RnB seen over the past year, has collaborated with American Neo-Soul group The Internet on a new EP entitled, ‘Black and Blue Point 2‘. The EP features hot remixes of tracks from Ritchie’s previous EP as well as a new song, ‘Chased‘ showing his lyrics and vocals are as on point as ever. This is a great collaboration and another fantastic EP for Raleigh Ritchie fans to add to their collection – lets hope to hear more from this team in the future! You can buy ‘Black and Blue Point 2’ now on Itunes.

The second EP comes from unsigned American artist Gallant entitled ‘Zebra’. Gallant has teamed up with producers Felix Snow and Maths Time Joy to release this incredibly unique EP, at first listen I became an instant fan – the style lies somewhere between RnB, Neo-Soul and this new electronica soul coming from artists like Sampha and SZA. Gallant’s vocals are stunningly distinctive and at times haunting (in a good way!). His lyrics are rich and emotive and scream wisdom years beyond his young age of 21, if the music industry has any sense this guy won’t stay unsigned for long! If you are a fan of Maxwell and Frank Ocean or just want to hear something enticingly unique you can buy ‘Zebra‘ from Itunes.

With this level of talent being brought at the start of their careers I can’t wait to hear what Raleigh Ritchie and Gallant will be bringing in the future – these two are definitely ones to watch!!

Carly – ann (@CarlyMond)

Gallant – Jupiter Grayscale
http://youtu.be/iE5VqTY9t3c

 

 

 

 

In honour of National Record Store Day, I look back at one of the most innovative Soul Records…

Artist Terence Trent D’Arby released his debut album ‘Introducing the Hardline’ In July 1987; a power force which stormed through the UK charts spending nine weeks at the number one album chart spot. The album produced four top 20 singles and earned Terence Trent D’Arby a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and a Brit Award.

The success of The Hardline was hugely influential to the UK RnB scene, as the album was released whilst D’Arby lived in the UK we adopted him as out own! UK RnB whilst thriving in the 1960s and enjoying some success in the 1970’s was struggling in the 1980’s to gain pace above the underground scene with the exception of Sade. Terence Trent D’Arby was the full package, he had a strong iconic image with long dreadlocks, an undefinable golden skin tone, a sultry pout and of course huge shouderpads! He had almost complete artistic control over the album, writing seven out of the eleven tracks and producing the project; a rare amount of artistic licensing for a debut album. Terence Trent D’Arby was making a statement – he was not just a singer, he was an artist.

The album oozed influences from every area of urban music from reggae, blues, the funk of ‘Dance Little Sister’ to the stripped back soul of ‘Sign Your Name’ to the Motown nod in his rendition of ‘Who’s Loving You’. The production of the album is flawless, mature and at times boldly experimental; boasting layered and complex instrumentals on every track and the vocal range that D’Arby demonstrates is second to none.

The Hardline paved the way for many UK soul artists as it grabbed international attention, the couple of years that followed in the UK soul scene saw the arrival of Omar, Soul II Soul and many of the ‘acid jazz’ groups. Influences of this album also became apparent in the 1990’s during the arrival of the ‘Neo – Soul’ movement in the US, when artists such as D’Angelo, Maxwell and Erykah Badu appeared sporting similar sounds, experimental production and even styles as Terence Trent D’Arby.

Most importantly , Introducing the Hardline has retained its credibility and relevance. Dust off your old copy,or listen for the first time, it still sounds innovative and fresh and is in my opinion, a milestone soul album.

Carly – ann (@CarlyMond)


Terence Trent D’Arby – Sign Your Name


 

 

 

 

I have just returned from Cape Town bringing good news for all Erykah Badu fans; Erykah headlined the prestigious 2 day Jazz Festival on the main stage and I can confirm that she looks and sounds better than ever!

The atmosphere at the venue was intense with anticipation for Erykah’s arrival and she came on to stage to possibly the best crowd reception I’ve ever heard! Her style was understated; wearing over sized workman’s trousers, a simple black shirt and a mountain hat with her hair wrapped in a scarf underneath, she looked stunning regardless – no gimmicks or extravagance required, which mirrored the tone for the performance.

Here is an artist who does not need any extras, she gets by on talent and conviction of her lyrics alone. The Neo-Soul Queen was the ultimate eclectic ‘one man band‘; she sang, she rapped, she even had a multi platform electric pad on which she created synth melodies and added sound effects to her tracks. With a clear awareness of her fans she sang all of her hits; ‘Love of My Life‘, ‘Next Lifetime‘, ‘I Want You‘ and ‘Tyrone‘ during a set which lasted over an hour, before returning to perform an explosive encore of ‘Honey‘, ‘Window Seat‘ and ‘Bag Lady‘ finishing up with a crowd surf sending the audience into an excitement frenzy that left everyone on a high.

The show saw some tender and emotional moments too during some of Erykah’s more stripped back tracks and particularly during a birthday tribute that she gave to her backing singer sister , ‘Nayrok‘ who shared the stage with Erykah and who she thanked in a tearful speech for her continued support. Clearly humbled by the response from the Cape Town crowd Erykah expressed sincere gratitude several times and said she felt like she was ‘Home‘.

The show was mesmerizing, energetic and humble and what was so evident was that Erykah Badu has maintained a huge global passionate fan base. The demand from fans and crave for new material is there, the talent is clearly still there, possibly stronger then ever, the love of music from Erykah is still there, so hopefully we won’t have to wait to long for this exceptional artist to be back on the scene with new material.

Until then we relive the classics….and there are so many….enjoy!

Carly – ann (@CarlyMond)


Erykah Badu – Love of My Life

 

 

 

 

I just had to write about everything that’s been going on in music this week! For RnB fans, especially those of us that love the 90’s vibe this week has been colossal in the world of music. So if you’ve slept all week or been working too hard to take note, here’s what you’ve missed:

The week began with the return of Babyface and Toni Braxton on their collaboration album, ‘Love, Marriage & Divorce’. No doubt people will have misconceptions that an album by these 2 artists will be full of ballads but don’t be mislead the album is Fresh! Babyface and Toni’s voices have never sounded stronger and the vibe of the album is slick, sophisticated soul; ‘Sweat’ and ‘Heart Attack’ in particular are great up tempo tracks.

Then came the Timbaland leak during an online fan chat that he is in talks with Devante about working on the new Jodeci album!!! It’s been 18 years since the RnB sensation released a new single and the music world is so hyped about the return it even made a feature in the Guardian newspaper! Maxwell teased and excited fans with the news that he has finished recording the second installment of his ‘Blacksummer’s Night’ trilogy tweeting, ‘#Summers #recording #finish‘. Jermaine Dupri has also been tweeting from the studio this week, he’s been reunited with Mariah Carey, P. Diddy and Trey Songz and promised us all he’s working on ‘#somuchnewmusic’

As if that wasn’t enough Eric Roberson dropped his new album, ‘B-Sides, Features and Heartache’s’, Miguel released an incredible new track, ‘Simple Things’ and in hip hop Nas announced that he will be releasing a 20th Anniversary 2-disc special edition of ‘Illmatic’, entitled ‘Illmatix XX‘ expected to drop on the 15th of April.

The hottest track of the week for me has been ‘Take It’ by Amp Fiddler feat Rapheal Saadiq from his latest EP ‘Basementality 2’ and if you’re a Raphael Saadiq fan you can catch him live with Tony Toni Tone, Blackstreet, En Vogue, Mint Condtion, Total, Silk and Kut Klose at Wembley Arena on the 15th of February for the ‘RnB Superstars Valentines Special.

How will the world of RnB top this? Looking forward to next week………….

Carly – ann (@CarlyMond)

Amp Fiddler feat Raphael Saadiq – Take it
http://youtu.be/SQTFrl50FZg
 

 

 

 

Blessness R&B family,
Jamilla is to deliver your R&B news & gossip plus her Slam Jam of the week is from Syron.
For more with Jamz Check: thisisjamz.wordpress.com
BTW, get well soon hun…lots of lemon n honey!
Click the player below and enjoy peeps.
RH

MONICA ON BEATING UP BRANDY!

[audio:https://ronnieherel.co.uk/Jamznews190312.mp3|titles=Weekly RnB News Flash]
RIHANNA CLEARS UP WHY SHE’S COLLABORATED WITH BREEZY

MIXTAPE HEAT FROM PUSSYCAT DOLL MELODY THORNTON

Sup Soulsters,
‘Child Of The Ghetto’ is UK singer-songwriter KOF’s new single – a familiar tale of hardships, relationships and the strife that these can bring – but the stories supersede location and race, and are stories that many people can relate to.

First played on my R&B Show on BBC 1Xtra, this track has gone from strength to strength. The video was shot in shot in St Lucia!

‘Child of the Ghetto’ is out on March 25th 2012 and also features on KOF’s forthcoming EP, “An Alternative Soul”, due for release on April 8th.

Also check out the UK Remix featuring Lioness, Kobi Onyame and Wrigz: http://soundcloud.com/kofmusic/child-of-the-ghetto-uk-remix
Blessness
RH