Circles (Vocal Mix) - Nathan Adams & Zepherin Saint

I think I'm in love.

Kraftwerk - Computerlove

du u luv ur kumputr az much az i luv myne?

Juicy Fruit/C.O.D. Remix - Mtume

Candy rain, comin' down......

MARY J. BLIGE COVERS LED ZEPPELIN

Whole Lotta Love


Stairway To Heaven

The UK import version of Mary J. Blige's album Stronger With Each Tear includes covers of two Led Zeppelin classics. Sista be diversifyin'!

FRIDAY NIGHT JAMZ

Get into this.


I'm all over this.


Nicolay werking the remix.


New cut featuring Byron Stingily

MICHAEL JACKSON ALLEGEDLY ADMITTED HE WAS ADDICTED TO PAINKILLERS

A video has surfaced in which The King of Pop admits that he was addicted to painkillers. During an inteview, which was conducted by a lawyer in 2003, Michael claimed that he could have been under the influence of drugs prescibed for injuries sustained during a tour. The purpose of the interview was to respond to a breach of contract lawsuit brought by former managers Dieter Weisner and Ronald Konitzer.

Unfortunately, the video, which was released by the British newspaper The Sun, is restricted to U.K. readers only, but hopefully, it willl be available on these shores soon.

Read the full article here.

HOUSE YOU: DJN PROJECT - TAKE YOU AWAY

DJN PROJECT - TAKE YOU AWAY 2009

New truth from my man Louie Vega's new label, Vega Records.
This is the label's first release.

NEW MUSIC FROM EVELYN "CHAMPAGNE" KING

DIVAS OF COLOR feat. EVELYN CHAMPAGNE KING - ONE MORE TIME 2009

Ms. King is back with a juicy slice of club heaven. Rejoice, y'all.

FRIDAY NIGHT CUTZ

PHLASH & FRIENDS - RUNNIN' 2009

BEEZO'Z CHOICE CUTZ

LISA SHAW - HONEY 2009


FRED EVERYTHING feat. WAYNE TENNANT - MERCYLESS 2008


HAVANA - YEAH 2009

SMOOVE HOUSE GROOVE: DON'T YOU DARE STOP LOVIN - GLENN UNDERGROUND FEAT. PEVEN EVERETT

JAMIE FOXX BRINGS THE HOUSE: I DON'T NEED IT

SO.......WHAT'S NEW? NOTHING! WELL, MAYBE A LITTLE SUMTHIN' SUMTHIN'

There just hasn't been anything happening lately that has compelled me to post, save for the cancellation of D.L. Hughley's show on CNN, allegedly due to his comparing the RNC to Nazi Germany, the on-going Chris Brown/Rihanna Saga and Rush Limbaugh, who speaking of which, was called a coward by a Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman for not accepting his challenge to debate.

Which left more time for me to browse the n-ternets for interesting things to read. I was not disappointed, as I discovered a couple of blogs that I've taken an instant liking to, such as The Black Snob which true to its name, sated my appetite for smart snark on the chocolate side. Another blog I discovered by way of Racialicious is Honky Talk, which claims under its banner that

"This is an anti-racism blog with a message geared to white folks. The mission of Honky Talk is to facilitate a discussion of racism between white folks and people of color in a safe space. The goal of Honky Talk is to end racism in our minds, our community, our state, our nation and our world through the education and unification of all oppressed people."

Yeah, pretty heady, but interesting. I'll be checking on it. HONORABLE MENTION: Afro Nerd

Other than that, I've also been juicing up my iTunes library and generally obsessing over Traxsource, which seems to have a never-ending supply of house tracks to download and buy. So for now, I'll just enjoy the silence and nice weather we've been having here in NYC.


Oh, and the picture is a snapshot I took of a reworked ad for Watchmen in the Clinton/Washington station on the G line, here in BK.

WEDNESDAY HOUSE GROOVE: IN THE MOOD - WAYNE GARDINER (2009)

Eklektik Moves: Kuduro Courtesy of Caramimi Blog

My great friend and all around music muse Antoinette Celes from San Francisco posted this clip, amongst many others, which range from the music of Sun Kil Moon, Erik Satie, and The Cocteau Twins, to various musings on art and breathtaking photography on her blog CARAMIMI. This joint showcases dancers working it out to the sounds of kuduro, a mix of house and Carribean beats, which is popular in Angola. Shit is amazing.

Rich Medina @ Southport Weekender 41

I'm now an official fan of Philly/NYC-based DJ Rich Medina, who much like my friend DJ Ben Manzone, who himself is holding down a weekly Sunday jam throwdown called Masterfleet at coco66 over in Williamsburg, BK, keeps the vibe strictly organic with a mix of rare soul grooves, classic jack beats and funkified house along with a few kitchen sink elements. Yes, your soul can be saved, baby. Check out his homepage.

BONUS BEATS

President Obama Pays Homage To Beyonce's Single Ladies

Beyonce can rest a little easier now that she has the President's seal of approval. Singer John Legend has captured video of the President Obama working the crowd and greeting the R&B siren at the Concert on the Mall. The Huffington Post reported the following exchange after some light prodding from the First Lady about his enthusiasm for the ubiquitous hit "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It"):

Michelle Obama says, "Mr. President, you didn't tell Beyonce about 'Single Ladies'? Your rendition?"

"I'm not like Justin [Timberlake]" Obama says laughing, referencing the SNL spoof. "I didn't put on the outfit... [but} I didn't want my girls thinking that I couldn't, you know... I got a lil something."

And with that, he did the hand flip and added, "This part I get."

Two days later he again danced to Beyonce, along with wife Michelle, at his first inaugural ball.

Now, about that ever elusive Oscar................

Music Throwback Sunday: House Is In Session

Plug in your phones for a few old and new classics. It's strictly beats for your face.

Moca - Higher (2000)


KB - Feelin U (Osunlade Mix) (2005)


Roland Clark - Resist (2003)


Delano Smith feat Diamondancer - A Message For The Dj (2005)


Lil' Louis & The World - I Called U (1989)

Jovonn - Mistery Love (Kerri Chandler "Dark One" Remx)(1993)

Sunkids Featuring Chance - Rescue Me (MAW MIX) (1999)


Martha Wash - Runaround (1993)


Moloko - Forever More (Balearic Soul Remix) (2003)



Copyright - We Can Rise (2006)


Miguel Migs & Kerri Chandler - Atmospheric Beats (2002)


Ian Pooley feat Esthero - Balmes (A Better Life) (2001)


Bob Sinclar feat. James "D Train" Williams - Got To Be Free (2002)

2008 American Music Awards: Some Of It Was Ill, Some Of It Made Me Ill

Sigh. I guess I'm not all that impressed with awards shows nowadays, considering there are so many of them, but The 2008 American Music Awards, in particular, has further weakened my already shaken faith as far as the credibility of these shows go. Then again, we're talking about the AMAs, which is sort of akin to watching the MTV Video Awards, in that awards are given based on popularity, and, I suspect in some cases, ratings, but I still want to rant about it, alright? I mean, I like Chris Brown and all; he's a very talented dancer, does okay in the acting department, and can sing just as well as any of the other young jacks that saturate the Power-pop stations, but the guy won Artist of the Year, Favorite Male Artist, Pop or Rock, AND, this is the one that I find particularly insulting, Favorite Male Artist, Soul/Rhthym & Blues Music. Just yesterday, I posted a bunch of throwbacks and bemoaned the current state of Soul/R&B, but I also pointed out that there are some younger and not-so-young artists that still carry the flame, so to speak. Some that come to mind are: Raheem DeVaughn, Erykah Badu, Dwele, Jazmine Sullivan, Musiq Soulchild, Raphael Saadiq, Solange, Leela James, Liv Warfield and Algebra, to name a few.

Granted, perhaps some of those I've listed did not have an album out at the time of consideration, but come on, now, they barely get any radio play to begin with. The real travesty is that Chris won over Ne Yo, who wasn't even nominated, and lost at last year's AMAs to T Pain(!), who's best known for collaborating with everyone from L'il Wayne to fucking Liza Minelli. That said, I have tremendous respect for Ne Yo as an all-around entertainer. He writes, sings, dances and acts. Like John Legend, his music and lyrics also tend to be a bit more layered, and at least manages to communicate something other than the usual insipid sex-u-sex-me-canned-computer studio slop that's mistaken for R&B today (at least bring real handclaps back into the mix, please!). Perhaps the Grammys, which sometimes manage to get it right, will reward those who I feel rightly represent a dying genre. Right. As Homer Simpson would say, I was being sarcastic.

Sometimes, I feel as if maybe I just refuse to embrace the inevitable changes that have sucked the soul out of Soul music. It's all about the visuals and the spectacle of watching someone perform a superhumanly complex feat of Cirque Du Soleil type sexually acrobatic dance moves structured to distract me from the fact that they cannot sing well at all. Well, consider me not fooled, Pussycat Dolls. Although the Rihanna, who won for Favorite Female Soul/R&B and Chris Brown (PR Coup ALERT!) might have passable chops, I wonder how good they would sound accompanied by a simple piano, sans dancers? Live? I know that my rant will not likely change anything, so I might as well deal with it and find some of the good things about this show. And there were some. Can't post You Tube clips cuz they've been removed, though:

Alicia Keys sang Superwoman with Queen Latifah and Kathleen Battle

Bey-sasha wiggled her thickness, as per usual, but nobody does it like she does.

Christina Aguilera, drenched in female drag, reeled in the gayz with her performance.

Kanye kept things focused on the future

Ne Yo solidified the new template

And Annie Lennox should seriously consider a duet with Ms. Keys. For real.

As for me, I'll try to Keep Hope Alive.

Lessons in House: Soul Heaven with Louie Vega @ Ministry of Sound

Don't call him "l'il", a'ight?