Category: Reviews

  • Matti Roots – BeatRoot | Album Review

    Some artists seem to have been working the circuit so hard for so long, that by the time they get around to releasing their first album, much of the material is familiar enough to give it the feel of a Best of… collection. This is the case with Matti Roots and his quirkily-titled, labour-of-love debut…

  • Dawn Richard – #ATellTaleHeart | Mixtape Review

    Dawn Richard knows pop. Burrowing into the hearts (and psyches) of fans since her days battling hundreds of other girls and her own demons for a spot in the now defunct platinum-selling group Danity Kane, Richard quickly emerged as the most unique voice and compelling personality. We’ve watched her maneuver with great agility and innovation…

  • Pharoahe Monch – W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) | Album Review

    Is 2011 the year when the MCs are once again let off the leash? With Talib Kweli already dropping impressive material, Lupe Fiasco readying his project as well as the UK’s very own Hip Hop squadron dominating, has the ‘change’ which many purists finally arrived? To add further fuel to this suggestion, one of Hip…

  • Slakah The Beatchild – Something Forever (Special Edition) | Album Review

    Canadian producer/composer/singer and occasional rapper Byron ‘Slakah the Beatchild’ Joseph’s latest release Something Forever is a pretty little slow burner to easily rival, even outshine, 2008’s Soul Movement. Operating under several aliases each reflecting his various modes of musical expression, Slakah is Joseph’s soulful/Hip Hop alter-ego. With Something Forever he seeks to create just that;…

  • Creole Choir of Cuba live @BarbicanCentre, London (Feb 8) | Gig Review

    As far as lessons go in show-stopping stamina, I doubt I could find much better than the outstanding Creole Choir of Cuba. The group sing freedom songs handed down by their Haitian forbears, sent to Cuba to work in slave-like conditions on the island’s plantations. Brief clips of the Choir online don’t really do them…

  • Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin' LP Live Listening Session, NYC | Review + Video

    Last week Raphael Saadiq held an exclusive listening session entitled “Saadiq Sessions” at The Royalton Hotel in New York City. For the evening Saadiq turned the hotel into a juke joint. Intimate setting, low lighting, and music that touches your soul. He walked out with the biggest smile on his face, signature black frames, blue…

  • Anthony David – As Above, So Below | Album Review

    Anthony David returns this February with a new studio album and I had the pleasure of checking it out ahead of time. Anthony David wastes no time and signals his intent from the get go with the title track, ‘As Above, So Below,’ which is a mellow number. Its atmospheric soundscape and melody compliment the…

  • K-Nite 13 – The Drawing Board | Album Review

    K-Nite 13 is somewhat of a hidden gem in the UK Hip Hop scene. Whilst his name may not saturate radio playlists or appear at the beginning of every track, his presence is most certainly felt on everything he produces. Not merely remaining behind the boards, K-Nite is also pretty capable with the mic. Whether…

  • Natasha Bedingfield – Strip Me | Album Review

    Strip Me is the third studio album from British pop singing sensation Natasha Bedingfield and the Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter has decided to release Strip Me exclusively in Canada and the United States to follow-up on 2008’s Pocketful of Sunshine which was also exclusively released in those two countries. Strip Me sees Natasha Bedingfield enlist the help…

  • Chase and Status – No More Idols | Album Review

    A name which has brought some credibility and an edge to popular music is the electro production outfit Chase and Status. Composing outrageous breaks, beats and often teaming up with an array of underground (and the odd superstar) talents, the duo of Saul Milton and Will Kennard have up to this point destroyed many raves…