Archive for the ‘bilal’ tag
I’ve always had a ton of respect for Georgia Anne Muldrow over the years and her ability to make music independently, her way. It’s true that most people familiar with Muldrow’s work probably first heard her through her coveted Stones Throw Records material. The reality is, however, that she creates music as a free spirit, often with her sometimes man Dudley Perkins, and just lets Stones Throw distribute it so that her songs can reach a wider audience.
This past November Muldrow released a new album called Owed to Mama Rickie on her new label, Animated Cartunes, and this is the first video off the project. The album is worth buying (ahem) and it’s actually dedicated to her legendary mother, Rickie Byars Beckwith who you can read up on after you watch the video.
Toronto is a kindred city to the essence of what Last Nights Mixtape is all about: global sounds, forward thinking musicians, damn good reggae, and DJs that know how to satisfy listeners from all around the world. DJ Mensa, who we first told you about back with his solid Bilal mix, has returned with a brand new groovy project entitled Hibernation that is meant to awaken the bedroom bully in all of us. As many folks across North America are experiencing right now, this winter sucks! Global shifts have Seattle at 50 degrees and Arizona at 19 degrees. Texas is dealing with a snow storm and Miami is in the 40s every night.
That means it’s a fine time to stay inside and hibernate, right? Check out the mix that Mensa put together and feel free to play this while you’re entertaining a lover. This is contemporary soul for the intimate ones out there. Any time you can get Aaliyah, J. Cole, R. Kelly, Teedra Moses, Sade, and Zhane on one mix, you know what time it is. Stream the whole thing below/download it right here (right click, save as). Full tracklist is below.
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For anyone who was a fan of the early 2000 contemporary soul movement, the name Bilal is hard to escape. He’s collaborated with a slew of popular artist that are commercially and artistically respected (Dr. Dre, Common, Erykah Badu, J-Dilla, and Shafiq Husayn immediately come to mind) in the midst of a career that’s seen its share of peaks and valleys. Bilal, who also happens to be a classically trained jazz singer, recently released his much anticipated second studio album, Airtight’s Revenge, four weeks ago and fans instantly recognized that it had been a resounding nine years since his first proper release. How could such a prolific singer who’s guest appeared on damned near every meaningful urban release of merit over the past decade only be on his second album? The answer is actually a harrowing story and during a recent hour-long interview, Bilal checked in with lastnightsmixtape to chat about new music, what he’s been up to during his assumed “layoff,” his latest inspirations, raising a son with autism, and lot’s more.
And if you didn’t already know, Bilal performs in Seattle this Saturday at Nectar with Xperience, DJ Topsin, and Choklate also supporting the show. Check out the full interview with video and mp3′s spliced in if you’re still trying to figure out if you should go.
You went quite awhile in between studio releases, but I’m sure that doesn’t mean you were unproductive during that stretch. What do most people not know about how you spent that time?
Bilal. A lot of people that haven’t really heard from me in awhile probably didn’t know that I was doing a lot of shows during this lay off. I’ve been with the same band for the past eight years now. We’ve been doing shows off the last major record that got bootlegged a couple of years ago, Love For Sale. So we been gigging in certain markets, but everyone doesn’t know that.
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For Seattle folks that don’t already know, one of the 21st century’s best soul singers, Bilal, is performing at Nectar on Oct. 16th. He’ll be here singing songs off of his stellar new release, Airtight’s Revenge, and our own soul diva, Choklate, is hosting the evening. It should be a good time. This is, coincidentally the same night that Al Green is in town as well so the soul gods will surely be smiling on the Emerald City.
If you’re on the fence about Bilal — not sure how that’s even possible, but ya never know — here’s a two-hour mix recently put together by Toronto’s DJ Mensa of Bilal’s best material. This isn’t simple and corny pillow-talk R&B nor is it the kind of overly saturated material you’ll find on Clear Channel radio either. This is the real deal. And getting two hours of Bilal’s music for free is a treat no matter what.
Here’s a download link for the two hour mix. Of course, you can stream it on our site as well. Be on the lookout for a potential Bilal interview on LxNxM next week and get your tickets for the show now. $15 adv and it deserves to sell out.
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Now I’ve had this song stuck in my head all day. I was humming it, singing it, and recently did a short DJ set over on Hollow Earth Radio where I played some Donny Hathaway. But I didn’t expect to find a fresh video of this song on the internet. Leave it to the good folks over at Put Me On It to have the goods. Enjoy. And shout out to Miguel Atwood-Ferguson for doing such great work — recognizing the genius of J Dilla — and for simply being super nice in person.
And if you’d like to download the song, have at it. After the jump, listen to the Donny Hathaway original. Read the rest of this entry »
Bilal‘s first album in 9 years, Airtight’s Revenge, is set for release on September 14th via Plug Research. Some blogs are saying that this track will not be on the new album, but some blogs are saying that it will be. At this point, I don’t think it really matters. Its free and on the internet. Just enjoy this shit. It’s smooth. Props to Nottz for the production. I’m definitely feeling this more than the Bilal/Shafiq Husayn collabo that Nottz produced for Shafiq’s LP, Shafiq En’ A-Free-Ka. Just sayin.
